“The extent of individual freedom in the Netherlands is ‘mind dazzling’’

When he says that he is going home, Evert Cornelissen (23) means that he is going to his parents in Genk, Belgium. Which does not imply that he feels more at home in Belgium than in the Netherlands. It is more of a Belgian custom for the student of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry to use the term ‘home’ to refer to the place where his parents live.

“Dutch students ‘wónen op kamers’, and Belgian students in Belgium ‘zitten op kot’. Belgian students go to their parents every week.” It is just one of many cultural differences that Evert has discovered between Belgian and Dutch students, since having bridged the sixty-kilometer distance between Genk and Eindhoven since September 2007. Evert had obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in Hasselt and wanted to do more with his exceptional interest in running water. TU/e would be the proper university for this, he thought. Besides, he wanted to see ‘how green the grass is on the other side’. Although he has barely had any initial problems, he does see all kinds of differences between the neighboring countries. “The individual freedom you have in the Netherlands is ‘mind dazzling’. Take the fact that you can engage in administrative affairs for a year without having to study. I had to get used to this freedom, but now I am a confirmed believer and advocate.”

When asked what he misses most from his native country, it does not take Evert long to come up with an answer. “The extent of importance people attach to taste.” He clarifies this: “In the Netherlands people say that they have eaten luxuriously, in Belgium that they have had a delicious meal. The Dutch seem to find it more important whether they got value for money than whether the quality was good.” What he thinks is missing here in the Netherlands, and particularly at Stratumseind are ‘cozy’ brown cafés. “Only in De Bierprofessor do I feel perfectly at ease. The goal there is not just to swig liters of beer, but just to have a pleasant time together with friends. In Belgium you find many more pubs like that.”

In his room there is a big Belgian flag and a Flemish and Limburg lion hanging down from the wall - “Belgians have layered personalities”. Still, he has no trouble putting on an orange shirt. All in all he feels like a mix between two nationalities, although he is a Limburger first and foremost. “I prefer walking around in Maastricht to doing so in Bruges. I love the geniality and hospitality of the Limburgers. There you have whatever it takes to live well. Fine nature, tasty beer…” During football matches, he supports the Red Devils. No use denying that.

“You have to make yourself at home”

Eric Okyere saw snow for the first time in his life in the winter of 2007/2008.  

Eric Okyere (33), a postgraduate Design Engineer with Mathematics & Computer Science, misses Ghana. He misses the parties with his friends. The congenial moments at the bar. The talks with his family, with his sister Dorothy he always used to exchange the latest novelties. He also misses the food.

His eyes are shining when he talks about fufu (puree made of baked banana or cassava) with goat soup or plantain (type of banana) with yam (radical tuber). Although he can buy the ingredients in the African shop in Eindhoven, they still taste different. The fact that he does not need to phone a taxi, but can just hail one in the street. A culture which he understands altogether and in which he can participate fully. Home is still Ghana, his mother country. He cherishes sweet memories of it. Eric can still see himself walking around in the cocoa plantations in his native village of Sunyani, Brong Ahafo. As a child he liked watching football, though study always came first. “You need to strike a balance between doing fun things and being buried in your books.” In his childhood he consciously looked for a role model, which he found in an older boy who won a national quiz on TV. Years later Eric won the same quiz. He is still friends with his ‘role model’. He is pleased with Skype, which allows him via the Internet to stay in touch with this friend and others, and especially with his family.

He left Ghana to give his CV a boost and arrived in the Netherlands in 2007 via the Erasmus Mundus program. And he is anything but unhappy in the Netherlands. For the first time in his life Eric saw snow in the winter of 2007/2008 – a special experience. He was dumbfounded by some cultural differences. That men do not pay everything for women, for example. “Though in fact that is better”, he thinks. “It also stimulates women to be more independent.” Eric likes the fact that contacts at university are so easily accessible. “You can address a professor by his first name and easily make an appointment.” He regards it as a bonus that he meets all sorts of people and underlines how important it is to adjust. “You have to bridge the gap”, and “you have to make yourself at home”, is how he accounts for it.

“There are only challenges, no difficulties”

Elena with her father at the historical museum in Moscow 

How do you rent a car? How does the gas installation work? What do the Dutch mean when they say ‘twee halen, één betalen’? Why do you have to go to a GP rather than the GP coming to your home? The Russian Elena Lomonova (50) has already been puzzled by a thousand and one Dutch customs. “I really had to start from scratch.”

Prof. dr. Elena Lomonova, professor at Electrical Engineering, first came to the Netherlands in 1994. In her native country she no longer saw opportunities to work at an academic level. In 1998 she brought her son to the Netherlands. Only in 2000 was the family reunited again, when her husband came over as well. From Moscow she took along very little, her household goods she gave away. “Russians are not strongly attached to material things”, the Russian lady explains sober-mindedly. In the Netherlands she had to learn everything anew. Still, she says with a smile on her face: “there are only challenges, no difficulties”.

What still amazes her is that the Dutch do not offer assistance as a matter of course. “I may see someone lugging heavy suitcases at the railway station. That would never happen in Russia.” Lomonova also needed time to get used to the individualist attitude. “In Russia social bonds are very strong, also among friends. Privacy is a concept with which we are unfamiliar.”

Another odd thing for Lomonova: “In the Netherlands you need to plan appointments many months in advance. In Russia you can phone someone in the morning to ask if he would like to come to your party in the afternoon.” Although the Dutch are often accused of being too direct, Lomonova thinks that they should in fact show their cards more. “Dutchmen avoid conflicts. Russians are more explosive, they speak their mind.”

Despite all the differences Lomonova has started to feel at home in the Netherlands more and more. “As I grow older, there is gradually less I miss from Russia. For instance, a few years ago I could really yearn for a typically Russian barbecue with guitars and music. That longing has gone now.” In Moscow she feels like a stranger meanwhile. “So much has changed. It has become a very crowded and fast city. I miss the quietness of the Netherlands when I am there.”

What she does find hard to accept, is the fact that her father lives so far away from her. “Our souls are very closely connected. Just like him, I have become a professor. I think he is proud of me. We have had to find a way to deal with the fact that we see each other so little.” She still bears her descent, although she bears a warm heart towards the Netherlands. “You know, I love the Netherlands. Russia is my mother country and the Netherlands my home.”

“Only now do I see how rich our culture is”

Windi (top left) at her sister Dhini’s wedding.

She had to leave her native country to realize it: Indonesia is very beautiful after all and very diverse. Windi Winasti (24), a Master student of Operations Management and Logistics, has been in the Netherlands for a year now. Despite missing her family, she has by no means had enough of our chilly country.

“Only now do I see how rich our culture is”, says Sumatra-born Windi. “I always hated the place where I grew up. Riau is a genuine industrial city. Only now do I realize how genial the atmosphere was there.” With a mild touch of wistfulness she talks about the playground her father created in the garden. Of the place where they lived later, she can still remember vividly waking up from the sounds made by monkeys. It was with good reason then that she has told her younger sister Dilla to enjoy Indonesia tremendously. Windi always had photos made of herself, but now she wishes she had more photos of the surroundings. “I have asked a friend of mine to send me photos of a temple near a tourist site that I visited. It is only now that I realize how beautiful that spot is.”

Windi had to get used to the gastronomic culture in the Netherlands. “I still have trouble eating bread at lunchtime Sometimes there are no other options, but given the slightest chance I will eat rice.” Via the Internet she eventually managed to find English and Dutch names for typically Indonesian ingredients, so that she could look for them in the Netherlands. Especially the fruit is sorely missed by the Indonesian. Her expression is one of relish when she describes the durian, a delicious, sweet type of fruit. Unfortunately she has not been able to find it here yet.

At the end of last year she briefly saw her family again, when her elder sister Dhini got married in Indonesia. In October she will be going there again, to see her nephew or niece. Via e-mail, text messages and telephone she stays fully in touch with her relatives. “I love them more than anything in the world. I do not miss them constantly, though, for they’re always there. Family never goes away, the bond is maintained.”

She loves to cycle in the fresh air in the Netherlands. “Indonesia is plagued by heavy air pollution. My asthma bothers me considerably less here.” Another positive point: “I can be myself completely. In Indonesia there is more social control.” She will stay for the time being, because she is anything but tired of the Netherlands.

Contest Back Home, Studium Generale

What associations come to mind when you think about ‘home’? What kind of feelings are inspired by this? Studium Generale (SG) is calling on employees and students to create a film, a drawing, painting or photos in which they visualize their home feelings. For the best three creations prizes of EUR 250, 100 and 50 are available. According to dr. Lucas Asselbergs, head of SG, the contest Back Home fits in nicely with the internationalization framework. “It is an invitation to try and learn something from each other. The merging of knowledge and backgrounds is fascinating. As far as I am concerned, entries could come from people from Ohé en Laak or from the other end of the world. Small homesickness is as interesting as severe homesickness.” Joost van Esch, a student of Industrial Design, intends to take part in the contest. “I’m from Schijndel and I rent a room Eindhoven. In principle, home means my parents, but my digs in Eindhoven are also home. I want to make something that will depict the coherence between staying with my parents, living in digs and studying.” 

Entries must have been received by SG prior to 10 September. For more information and registration, see www.tue.nl/sg. In November the entries will be exhibited.