Nicolas Gevaert, a French Master intern at CEC, is looking forward to some downtime: “I’m working till the end of July. After that I plan to spend a month in Lisbon enjoying some freedom, peace and love….,” he says dreamily. “I try to go to Portugal twice a year, I have family there I like to stay with. I really appreciate the laid back atmosphere. And things are cheaper in Portugal than in the Netherlands. Basically, I just do nothing besides swim in the ocean, lie around and eat some good food. It’s a rest for my mind and body. And also like the Portuguese, they’re very open. I can understand the language and try to speak it, but the pronunciation is hard.”

Jing Li, a Chinese PhD student of Mathematics and Computer Science, has quite a few deadlines this summer, so she’s staying put in Eindhoven. “I’ve still got work to do here but I might take a week off to have a rest,” she says. “I went to see my family in China last year. I’m not going back this year, even though tickets to Chengdu are almost half the price they were last year. People at home are still recovering from the earthquake, but everything is getting better. My Dad is helping with the relief effort further inland. There are still some aftershocks, but they are diminishing gradually. My parents are back in their apartment, which has some cracks, but is essentially safe. They are also no longer so scared. That’s a big relief to me.”

Australian Architecture, Building and Planning PhD student Nicole Ronald has also decided against the long and expensive trip home. “What I’m doing this summer? A week’s worth of daytrips to Dutch towns/ cities I really should have seen by now, and a long weekend in Oslo. I wanted to go to Portugal, so I’m a bit off track really,” she says. “I was back in Australia not so long ago, so even though I miss my partner in Melbourne, I’m staying in Eindhoven. I have quite a big apartment here so I’ll probably have people from home to stay at some point.”

Olha Bondarenko, a Ukrainian PhD student at Human-Technology Interaction (Dept. of Technology Management), is heading for the Greek islands for a few weeks in August. She can’t pronounce its name, but the island is 1km by 3km, so she won’t be getting lost. Rest and relaxation is what she is anticipating. She feels no compunction about not going home to the Ukraine. “My home is in Eindhoven now. Going back to the Ukraine wouldn’t be a holiday, just more hard work. I’m always extremely busy when I’m there.”

Our celebrated (now former) English page columnist Huzaifa Das is an Indian Master student who is doing an internship at Dow Chemicals in Terneuzen. “I’m spending my summer with my nose to the grindstone. If I manage to complete three months onsite at Dow without blowing anything up, I’ll call it a success,” he grins. “I’m feeling just a bit isolated, so I hope friends from Eindhoven will come to visit me this summer.” Das is planning to look for a job in the Netherlands after his internship. Returning to India, even for a holiday, is something he is postponing for the time being.

What’s up this summer

Eindhoven: 27-29 June Fiesta del Sol. Music and street theater in downtown Eindhoven. Hopefully the weekend will be as sunny as the name of this festival. Free.

John Mayall

Eindhoven: 6 July Effenaar, legendary bluesband John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers.

Amsterdam (Velsen): 12 July from 10.00 a.m. to 11 p.m. Dance Valley in recreation area Spaarnwoude. Great Dance event with 4 groups of stages. On the main stage: Carl Cox, Tiësto, Sander van Doorn, Mason, Jessie Vendetta, David and Toni Moreno, Amir Barbell, MC Marxman. Also speeddating events throughout the day. More info: www.dancevalley.com.

Neil Young

Weert: 11 -13 July Bospopfestival with lots of big acts, including ZZ Top, Santana, Neil Young, Little Feat, Crowded House, Buddy Guy, Thin Lizzy, Steve Lukather and Apocalypta.

Branford Marsalis

Rotterdam: 11-13 juli North Sea Jazz. Famous international jazz festival with broad programming, including Chaka Kahn, Youssou N’Dour, Branford Marsalis, Alicia Keys, Al Jarreau, Cassandra Wilson, Gnarls Barkley, Paul Simon, Sergio Mendes, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Gino Vanelli, Joe Jackson and Diana Krall.

Eindhoven: 14 July Effenaar, Wu Tang Clan.

Tilburg: 21 July Roze Maandag or Pink Monday: gay fun fair in downtown Tilburg which attracts about 100,000 gays and locals. Informal dress code: anything pink. Also good times to be had for non-gays.

Eindhoven: 26 July Effenaar Rush.

Eindhoven: 8-10 August Folkwoods Festival in Philips De Jong park. Up market festival for lovers of folk music. The 35 acts programmed include Leine, JW Roy, Faun, Drea Nasager and International Folk Complot.

Den Bosch: 8-17 August Theaterfestival Boulevard. Annual ten-day summer extravaganza of theater, music, dance, film and visual art. One of the biggest production festivals in the Netherlands, attracting about 100,000 visitors. The heart of the festival lies at the foot of St. Jan’s Cathedral in the historic centre of Den Bosch, but the events are spread out over a wider area. More info: www.festivalboulevard.nl

Eersel: 8-10 August Reggae Sundance open air. Laid back Reggae festival at E3-strand recreation lake, program includes King Shiloh Soundsystem, Burning Spear, Junior Reid, Luciano and No More Babylon.

Lierop: 8-10 August Nirwana Tuinfeest with more than twenty acts. Including Gabriel Rios, Sarah Bettens, Buffalo Tom, Vanilla Sky, Stahlzeit and Action in DC. The tribute band day on Sunday is free. More info: www.nirwana.nl/tuinfeest.

Gabriel Rios

Biddinghuizen: 15-17 August Lowlands Festival. Busy pop festival. Program includes Franz Ferdinand, Underworld, Nightwish, British Sea Power, Anouk and GEM.

Eindhoven: 25-26 August Dynamo-festival Catharinaplein, downtown Eindhoven. The exact program is not yet known. August 25th will feature rock and hiphop. Full speed ahead on August 26th with heavy metal and hard rock. Free.