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Checklist for the newcomers

Posted by Bogdan on May 4, 2012 in All, Current students, Housing, How to survive in Netherlands?!, No housing?, Programmes, Prospective students | 0 comments

If you plan to study in Netherlands be sure you checked everything before your arrival.

Nuffic website provides a great checklist for this.

Here is the link: http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/how-to-prepare/checklist

Good luck!

Flower market + farm animal invasion

Posted by Deyan on Apr 6, 2012 in All, Attractions, Food/Drinks/Fun, Holidays, Shoping, Weekend activities | 0 comments

Every spring, Groningen becomes the host of an enormous flower market for a day. The flower vendors take over a large part of the city centre and thousands of tourists from other towns and neighbouring Germany make their way. Be it for buying some flowers or just for a walk, it is fun to see the market.

One thing I surely did not understand was why on my way home I became a witness of Groningen being invaded by farm animals. Not really something you see every day!

Mind the bike!

Posted by Bogdan on Apr 4, 2012 in All, Attractions, Bikes, Current students, Holidays, How to survive in Netherlands?!, Out of Groningen, Prospective students, Student life, Tips and tricks, Weekend activities | Comments Off

We all know that Netherlands is the most bike friendly country in the world.

So, how many of you know the real “power” of bikes in Netherlands?

I just discovered some important tips and tricks regarding biking in this beautiful country. I thought it would be a pity not to share this with all of you, so here we go.

Netherlands has an amazing infrastructure. And I am not talking only about highways and airports.

Since the spring in here a bike trip sounds like a good idea for escaping the rush of the city.

On this website: http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/fietsrouteplanner you can plan your bike trip using the magic tool provided. You can actually travel across Netherlands using just bike paths.

http://www.bikemap.net is another website that provides bike routes that you can enjoy with your friends.

Here is a short movie about the bike paths and their use in Netherlands.

Ready for a trip:Star-Shaped Fort of Bourtange

Posted by Katya on Mar 11, 2012 in All, Attractions, Out of Groningen, Weekend activities | Comments Off

The weather is finally getting warmer and warmer and all signs point out that spring on its way. In other words, the perfect time for a little trip and some adventures is here.
For all of you that like history, dramatic battlefields and have a soft spot for travelling, visiting the Star-Shaped Fort of Bourtange will be memorable experience. Situated one hour from Groningen by car on the border between Holland and Germany, the fort attracts hundreds of tourists every year.
As the name suggests the for is shaped as a star, but there’s a wily logic behind building a fort in such a unusual shape. Simply said, a circular fortification of the medieval era was vulnerable to cannon fire. All the crazy angles and moats surrounding the star-shaped fort made it easier to defend. Built, of hard-to-shatter brick, Bourtange could withstand attacks from cannonballs.
Nowadays, there are no more the glorious battles but the village sheltered by the fort for centuries still has people living their everyday life in this fascinating sight which makes you wonder how many stories and secrets are hidden between its star-shaped walls.

Getting a job in Groningen

Posted by Bogdan on Mar 6, 2012 in All, Current students, Prospective students, Student life, Tips and tricks | Comments Off

Since I first arrived in Groningen (19 months ago) I heard many stories about part-time jobs for students. Mostly of these stories were pretty extreme: “It is impossible to find a part-time job as a student” or “Oh… is very easy to get a job in Groningen. I found a job in just 2 days”.

Like in most of the cases, the truth is in the middle. It might be pretty hard to get a part-time job in Groningen, but it is not impossible. So, here are some tips and tricks:

1. Learn Dutch

The most important think probably is the language barrier. Although in Netherlands almost anyone can speak English, when it comes to a position in a company, suddenly you are asked to speak Dutch.

2. Be motivated!

Just staying in front of the computer google-ing “jobs in groningen” will not get you a job. Take advantage of one of the biggest asset of Groningen: over 100 bars/pubs/clubs. Most of the time one of them will look for a dishwasher, waiter, bodyguard, delivery etc. But, they are not going to come and offer you a job. You have to go in person and tell them a beautiful story and they might offer you a job.

3. Newspapers

If you really need some money, you might consider working for one of the newspapers delivery company. The salary is low (100-200 euros/month), but at least you will have an income. Here are some links of the companies who constantly looking for employees (use google chrome for automatic translation of the webpages):

http://www.bezorgdekrant.nl/

http://www.ikwilbezorgen.nl/

http://www.netwerkvsp.nl/nl/web/folderbezorgers/aanmeldformulier/?activationCode=a5f94beb-381c-43b7-af4f-4a450fb9635e&g=126479b0-28e2-4bf3-963d-a4b512c53837

http://www.worddagbladbezorger.nl/

http://www.santibri.nl/bezorgers.html

4. Facebook

There is a group on Facebook for job seekers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158770247529417/ but of course, because of the high number of students, jobs are not posted very often. You might consider keeping an eye on this group.

5. Study hard!!!

Getting good grades will also give you an advantage of having a job. Let me explain what do I mean. If you plan to stay in Groningen for more than one year, having very good grades gives you the opportunity to get a job from the university. So, if you take an 8-9 or 10 at (for example) statistics, you can try to talk with your professor for a part-time job as a teaching assistant for next academic year.

P.S. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK MORE THAN 8-10 HOURS PER WEEK AS A STUDENT!

P.S.S the new rule that in order to get Dutch studyfinanciering; in the future students will need to work a minimum of 14 hours (used to be 8): More details here: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/03/eu_students_face_tougher_rules.php

Fell free to leave your comments in the section below. By doing this, we can improve this articles for the future students.

South of heaven

Posted by Bogdan on Feb 19, 2012 in All, Attractions, Out of Groningen, Prospective students, Student life, Weekend activities | Comments Off

Wikipedia states about the Dutch carnival the follows:

“Carnival in the Netherlands is also called “Vastenavond” or “Vastelaovend(j)”, and is most celebrated in Catholic regions, mainly the southern provinces North Brabant and Limburg. Dutch Carnival is officially celebrated on the Sunday through Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. Although traditions vary from town to town, some common characteristics of Dutch Carnival include a parade, a “prince” plus cortège (“Council of 11″), a farmer’s wedding (boerenbruiloft), and eating herring (haring happen) on Ash Wednesday.

One variant of Dutch Carnival is known as the Rijnlandsche Carnival, which can be seen in the province of Limburg. The province’s capital of Maastricht holds a street Carnival featuring elaborate costumes that resemble some South American and Venetian influences. Intentionally amateurish marching bands (‘Zaate Hermeniekes’ or ‘Drunken Marching Bands’) traditionally perform on the streets.

The oldest-known Dutch Carnival festivities date from 1385 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. They are depicted in several paintings by 15th-century painter Jheronimus Bosch. During the three days of the Carnival, ‘s-Hertogenbosch changes its name to “Oeteldonk”, which means “Frog Hill.” This name changing tradition is common in and around North Brabant.”

This year the destination for the carnival was Den Bosh (‘s-Hertogenbosch). The weather this year was not very carnival-friendly, but the streets were still filled with funny looking people. It was like Queen’s day in February.

Dress code: madness.