Globetrotter March 2016 by Globetrotter Magazine

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Globetrotter magazine March 2016

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my life Diary of a refugee

Being raised in a war-torn country

Walking in my shoes unexpected Social experiment on a (gay) cruise

SOCIO PATH

Man versus society

Volunteering Is not a (paid) job

Then and Now

How Technology Became Part of Our Values

& Many more inside

EDITOR’S NOTE

Contributor Corner

Martin Výbošťok Designer & Writer

Paula Pop Editor & Writer

Izabela Grundová Writer

Bianka Urbanovská Writer

Kim Smit Writer

Keith Weber Writer

Yosef Indarto Writer

Patricija Saltupe Writer

Stefani Myslovich Writer

Terri Ling Writer

Hannah McGinty Writer

t’s my life!”

You’ve probably just starting singing Bon Jovi’s classic song, but believe it or not this issue is not about Bon Jovi. Although we should give him some credit for standing up for himself and his life choices and the fact that he somehow encourages us to do the same. This issue of the Globetrotter however, is dedicated to the big influences some factors have on our private life, especially social media and how we’ve decided to do something about it, to take our lives into our own hands and ignore what society thinks we should do. We wrote about the choices we made, the changes we want to make and the struggles of living in a world that constantly pressures us to do things a certain way. This issue also tackles important issues such as education, bullying, social media, volunteering and people’s perception on those matters. That being said, hope you enjoy it! -Paula Pop, editor

Adriana Munteanu Writer Irina Strugaru Writer

Ana Carolina Campera Writer

Elvis McKenzie Writer

Eleonora Dimitrova Writer

Aristidis Chatzidakis Writer

Special thanks: Nicki van Campenhout - Chief editor

globetrotter “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

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4 School In Mother Country

Diary of a Refugee

Socio Path

Life of an Exchange Student

Then And Now

CONTENT

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globetrotter Ways of Life

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s My Life But Is It Really Mine?

Volunteering Is Not a Paid Job

Walking In My Shoes

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Then and Now

How Technology Became Part of Our Values By Ana Carolina Campera, Elvis Mc Kenzie, Eleonora Dimitrova

ntroduction

Imagining a life without smartphones, tablets and computers nowadays seems like an impossible task. The instant access to information through the internet became an intrinsic part of our everyday life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from talking to friends and family to even ordering food; these digital devices have covered all types of needs. It is strange to think that only 30 years ago, people had to use resources such as letters and phone calls as a way to communicate with one another. The lack of an adequate infrastructure was a big obstacle, especially among the developing countries. When the email was introduced back in 1993 as

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a replacement to the fax, it caused a whole frenzy around the â&#x20AC;&#x153;wonders of technologyâ&#x20AC;?. The new digital age has infiltrated all spheres of human life such as education, work environment, communication and socialization. It has attained a status of global phenomenon as even remote countries and people with a lower acquisitive power have access to these gadgets. The use of social media has grown mainly among people between 18 and 29 years old, which is the group that most crave social interaction. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp stand out due to the enormous num-

way from Home Blues

It can be established that studying abroad can be beneficial to the students willing to make the trip away from the families and friends. Taken from a perspective of the Telegraph, it is firmly established that “students should study abroad to open themselves up to new experiences.” As stated in Ms. M. Rugolo article, “You are making a commitment to leave our safe, gorgeous campus, all of your friends and the country and social norms you have lived with the majority of your life.” You are leaving all you are used to a new location in uncommon country you have never been too. It can be exciting while at the same time a scare for those. Although it can be difficult to live abroad, today we are lucky. Fortunately despite being thousand miles away we have social media to keep in contact with our loved ones. The most popular today would be Facebook, Twitter and even less so Google+.

ber of users. The establishment of instant communication with people that are miles away is a breakthrough event, with the bonus of sharing photos and videos to large groups. Among these functions, there is also the possibility of connecting to people from other nationalities due to the same interests and experiences. Therefore it is possible to affirm that technology has contributed to connecting people

and establishing new relationships. Beyond the social aspect, it has contributed immensely to the work and study environments. Any kind of information is merely a few clicks away, sparing the long amount of time spent searching on encyclopedias. This has built a blueprint to the human academic formation and the work requirements – being connected to the net became a necessity.

As advantageous as it may be to have social media, it might be difficult to keep personal information private as easily as it used to be in the past. Information can be mistakenly sent to others and there are instances of Facebook being hacked and other less savory individuals taken information to use as they please. In fact, it’s been reported that a man in India figured out how to hack into Facebook, “One man worked out how to hack into any Facebook profile”, a Facebook representative Chris Ison point out the seriousness if an occurrence such as this should happen by stating, “The fallout if this were to happen

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for real is potentially immense when you think of the amount of detail that is stored on you Facebook profile – in many cases it includes payment information”. Now then, the past may have been limited but one can trust that whenever you made a call on those old payphones or write a letter to your parents or any other family member that it would stay between you and them. There is nothing that can replace the sentiment that comes from writing or receiving a letter from a love one. An example of this can be read on the Website Odyssey, where a young woman named Colleen Kelly wrote a thank you letter to her parents. So, whatever you’re left with there is no better, safer and personal way of letting people know what you think or feeling than a letter.

oo Personal for Facebook?

Technologies alongside with social media platforms play an important part in the daily lives of most people around the world. People conduct business meetings through Skype, send emails, or just have a chat with a relative that lives at the other part of the globe. However, an important question arises related to the world of technology and social media, and the question is: Do we unconsciously share way too much information on social media? In order to answer this question, interviews with students from Greece, Honduras and Slovakia were conducted. One of the most popular social media platforms is Facebook and according to Katie Hope the number of Facebook users in 2015 was 1.49 billions. As a result, most of the students

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of The Hague University of Applied Sciences agree that Facebook is a useful platform for connecting with friends and relatives. On the other hand, the students also believe that, certain boundaries exist that should not be crossed. For instance, on the question “Do you share too much information on Facebook?” majority of the students mention that they carefully decide what they are willing and not willing to post on Facebook. Furthermore, on the question “Do you think that some conversations should be private? Why?” all of the students support the idea of privacy, in which case some important moments or events of their lives should not be shared on the social media. According to Julia, a second year European Studies student, some conversations should be held in private because “no matter how safe and private people consider the messaging on Facebook, it might still not be safe enough.” On the other hand, other students have more radical opinions related to that question. As stated by Jana “All conversations should be private. It does not matter if it is an important conversation or just casual chat with your friends.” In contrast, according to Juan Rivera every person has the right to share whatever

he/she thinks. However, he personally is against “any offensive, racist or grotesque comments or posted pictures that degrade or mock any ethnic group, country, gender, or religion.” Finally, it can be concluded that the debate related to what should and should not be posted on social media such as Facebook is ongoing. According to Cheryl Conner a video filmed in Belgium presents a person that pretends to have special powers and can read their minds. The gifted person was able to mention many personal facts related to the people that he had contact with, however, Conner further states that:”His only “gift” was a team of web-browsing gurus behind a curtain who looked up the participants’ personal information in real time on the web and in Facebook”. From this experiment can be concluded that the only way to protect our personal lives is through sharing less information about us, because it could be used against us.

My life,

Life of an exchange student By Stefani Myslovich and Patricija Saltupe

First thought that comes to my mind when hearing somebody say “It’s my life” is Bon Jovi’s song “It’s my life”. But this article is not about the song, although if you listen to the lyrics you can have some parallels. This is about our current lives. For us and probably the majority that means being an exchange student at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The main point of this entire article is to emphasize - What it is that people like the most about the exchange life? Do we have any expectations about the exchange program? How different are our expectations from the reality? Is it as magical as it seems to be at the beginning? How difficult it is to make the right decision?

aving thought of going on an exchange program, we all are faced with one of the hardest decisions in our entire life - where to go. Finding the right place is very important when going abroad. Decision should be based on what do we truly want from our exchange. What are we looking for? Do we want to have fun? Maybe we are looking for a better education system? Perhaps we would like to get more experience and get to know people all over the world? All of these issues such as improvement, education, friends, travelling, running away from our current life could be seen as reasons for exchange. Honestly, we all know that just the imagination of living abroad, in a new place, without our fam-

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ily and friends and without other hundreds things we are used to live is uncomfortable

and might be really difficult. However, stepping out

of our comfort zone in the end is worth it, isn’t it? To find out more about what it is to be an exchange student and all issues that are connected with this relevant topic is the best way to ask someone, and so we did. Let’s begin with Kira - an exchange student from South Korea, who has been studying in The Hague for a month and a half. Since we asked her about expectations before coming to The Hague she answered: “From the beginning, I wasn’t really interested in going to exchange. I was worried that I wouldn’t have a good time, I would be stuck in my room doing nothing just watching the rain and I was also afraid that people might be really racist,” however she continued: “I had this European dream in my mind, just like some people have their American dream. According to me, they (Europeans) have a good welfare system and less corruption, more educated and rational

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people, and that was the reason why I expected that here, in general, would be better. I was mostly worried about people sticking to the same race, which some people who have been on exchange told me could happen.” Even more, Kira says: “Aside from the fact that I expected everything to be beautiful, the city, the environment and everything. I heard that people here are very tall and not so good looking. Luckily it’s not as bad as they said. I made quite a lot more friends than I expected, but I still feel a little hesitant to say that I don’t feel like there are any walls among races.” It’s inevitable that something sooner or later will shock us, in one way or another. For some it’s a good thing, for some bad. “What shocked me here the most? Most of the things actually met my expectations. I did not expect Dutch people to help foreigners as much as they do, also in general Dutch people speak English very, very well, and most of the people are much younger than they actually look.” The last question was which experience she would like to take

home after her exchange. For this question Kira joyfully answered: “My Korean cooking skills, some friends, and the opened and friendly attitude that I found in many people. Also I was thinking that I would like to become a volunteer in my home University to help exchange students to adapt to the Korean society.” Without any doubt it’s easy to say that Kira is living not only her European dream, but probably the exchange dream as well, that so many people have praised and dreamed about. However, not everybody has such expectations as Kira did. Dzenaida, is a Dutch student, who is getting ready for her exchange to Lisbon, due to this she was asked only about her expectations and she mentioned: “None really. I have never been there but I have heard a lot of good things about Lisbon. I do expect the organization of the university to be different than mine and I will have to get used to it, because I need structure. Also, another problem that I expect is the language barrier, because I am not familiar with their English ‘skills’. Anyway, it will certainly be a challenge for me!” Despite not having a n y

expectations it’s sure to say that she is excited and up for the challenge. Different opinion was shared with us by Thomas, originally from Germany. At the beginning of interview, he pointed out a contrasting thought about an exchange. “Well, there is no doubt that an exchange program is a fantastic opportunity for students to live abroad, improve their language skills, make new friends and travel a lot, but the other side of the coin is that there are some negative aspects of an exchange such as expenses and leaving your entire life. If we look in my concrete case, expenses that I am spending here are much higher than at home due to the fact that I do have to pay for rent, for my laundry, for transportation (that is actually pretty expensive). Also, since you are an exchange student you want to travel, at least all around the Netherlands. Obviously, I could not imagine myself go back home and say that I had been only in The Hague. Besides that I just left all my duties at home and at the begin-

ning I was homesick. Nevertheless, if we do not take into account the expenses and unresolved duties, an exchange was much better than I expected it to be. I have met so many new people and I can say that some of these friendships will continue even when we go back home. As far as concerning my language skills, they were improved and now I am not talking not only English but French as well and I am very proud of myself that I have made this decision to come here. I found this program useful and interesting. To answer your question, if there is something that I do not like so far, I would say only expenses, because it is connected to everything, all the activities I want to do. The last question that we asked Thomas was if there is something that he wants to keep after his exchange is done? Without any thinking, he said with all the self-confidence he had: “Yes, be in touch with all my friends that I have met here and go visit them.” To sum it up, certainly there are specific expectations that each person has about exchange. That is pretty natural. No one can say which expecta-

tions are right and which are not, that is completely up to everyone’s personal opinion. No one in the whole mankind has the right to judge what and how expectations should be. Each person is unique thus there isn’t any possibility that two people have the same expectations, at least at some point there are different. Finally, it is worth mentioning that it does not matter which expectations we have and which ones actually took place, an exchange program is something amazing in our life, no matter if we like it or not, because one day and this day will come for everyone that has done an exchange will realize the great and absolutely exclusive opportunity they had during their student years. An exchange programme connects each person a positive life, students travel to places that they would probably not travel by themselves. However, this opportunity should not be taken by granted because not everyone is so lucky as we – students that are on exchange or that are going to exchange, are and definitely everyone should take as much advantage as possible while on exchange because you never know what is around the corner.

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Socio Path T

Have you ever had that feeling that people just look at you and automatically ‘know’ you. Have you ever had that feeling that they ask you ‘how are you’ because that is what SOCIETY expects them to do – they do not care about others’ feelings – and why would they? Particularly about feelings of somebody who does not meet their standards (what standards?). I dare say that it was particularly funny that those people never came to me when I was sitting alone at lunch; they never talked to me about the PC games they were playing; and they never invited me to play football with them. Yet, there is one thing these creatures do – they tell you that they are sorry but they have no time to wait till I make a sentence and laugh at it for 4 minutes straight (ha ha ha so hilarious). They tell you that it would be unfair to you to let you play among NORMAL people (what normal? I mean, seriously, how can anybody use a word normal in 21st century?) SO I ended high school with a thought (or maybe a wish) to be finally happy. However, I forgot one very important thing. Society does not stay behind schools doors; it just matures there, gets power. So do the thoughts, words and actions…

“Breathe in…breathe out…inhale… exhale…Nothing has just happened, right? Calm down. So they laughed – again...” his phrase was like a high school best mate, which I never had, to me. Every once in a while the moment came when I was feeling like a piece of garbage, humiliated and the centre of attention. How much I wish it was a good attention; but that one was for the others – those of good grades or pretty faces, excellent parties and pronunciation. Well, none of those applied to me, although I must admit I used to have an extremely large memory and patience with physics and numbers of any kind and dimension. That was, indeed, my universe – the only place where I could feel safe from those faces looking at me sadly, telling wordlessly “oh poor him, he is never going to get a girlfriend; oh poor him, he will never get a respect from anybody – well, look at him”. In fact, they were right – at least for the upcoming years. Does it seem like hell? If you don’t think so, please believe me- it was worse. Being a short boy who cannot say a word without having to repeat each syllable at least four times to say it correctly (if at all) does not win a title of the prom king. In my case, I did not even go to the prom to be honest. Not that I did not like drinks, dance and sex-drugsrock’n’roll – on the other hand I did (except for the first of the ‘holy trinity’ – that one was as far from me as the drinking water for a man trapped in the middle of the ocean). I just did it my way – alone and longterm. To make long story short I spent my high school time on Prozac to help me deal with social anxiety and depression and as a

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By Bianka Urbanovská & Aristidis Chatzidakis

proper plants fan I helped myself relax on THC. If this seems enough, I must say that this was already the nicer part of my life and that the doctor had a reason to prescribe me that chemical cocktail.

ol 1- The Cradle

ol 2 On the verge of becoming a sociopath

It has been 5 years since I graduated from high school. Things have not changed much. I do not really have a job - who would hire a short guy with a speech impediment and no self-confidence? I went to a few job interviews but I got the same response from all of them: “Your working profile and experience is not suitable for our company.” But I know they are lying. The reality is they don’t want to accept me as society has been doing for my whole life. So what am I supposed to do? My par©Edward Honaker

ents are pushing me to get a job. I think even they do not understand me. Last week, I had to deal with one of those situations I deal with for the past 20 years. But this time, it was different… I was walking by a fancy restaurant and my eye spotted a ‘help needed’ sign on the window. Apart from computers and video games, I also enjoy cooking and I am getting good at it. I thought to myself I should give it a go. I got in the restaurant and asked to see the manag-

“Society does not stay behind schools doors; it just matures there, gets power. So do the thoughts, words and actions…” er. He accepted to see me in his office. I sat down and asked for the job. I am quite passionate about cooking so I was pretty confident. Despite my enthusiasm I stuttered and the manager started laughing -an ordinary turn of things for me. I felt so fed up with the expected, that I wanted to do the unexpected; and so I did. I stood up and punched that guy in the face and bolted out of that place. I did not even care, I had no remorse. It seems like my heart is turning cold because of all these things that have happened to me. I caught myself laughing about that incident. It was an impulsive decision and I actually enjoyed it. I do not care about the consequences. No one cared about me when I was getting bullied and faced depression in high school. Society will never change. I am alone in this world. I took an initiative that day in that restaurant and I feel like I switched into a better life direction. Maybe I should start making more changes...

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DIARY OF A REFUGEE By Izabela Grundová & Keith Weber

With our article we intend to follow the footsteps of being raised inside a coup, we would like to give a special thanks to Denan who gave us a glimpse into his experiences. With Burundi’s first democratically elected official’s assassination in 1993 a subsequent coup and genocide of some 300,000 Tutsi people arose; stemming from blame for the presidents assassination.

June 21, 1993 Had lots of fun with friends today, and tonight our grandparents were visiting. They wanted to congratulate me on my birthday last week! They gave me a football and shin pads for a present which I can’t wait to go out and use! Grandad would began telling stories of the games they would play as kids but I like ours better. Apparently elections happened today, everyone seemed excited, this must be a big deal. Mom and dad kept conversing with Grandma and Grandpa about who they think would do the best job, still not quite sure what the president does though. October 21, 1993 We were told to go home early today, the message felt urgent. When we asked our parents what happened today, they had no answers. However, they both appeared worried. I wonder if this means we can skip classes this week to have some free time! October 28, 1993 Well I got my wish! I haven’t had to attend classes all week. My brothers, neighbors, and I have been playing football matches with my new ball all week, I’m getting pretty good too! Mom tried to explain what happened this past week to us as well. She said the new president is dead and that we won’t be having classes or work for a while. As sad as the news is, no school will be great! It sounds like a party to me!

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December 13, 1993

Still no classes, it’s been great but I’m starting to miss it. Some people have started to return to work but Dad still hasn’t been asked to return yet. They’re calling it a crisis, and people against the new government are leaving the city. Apparently Tutsi people’s lives are in danger. They say that it was their fault the president was killed and they must pay for it. It’s hard to keep up with the news, the television only seems to work once a day if that and only long enough to show the news.

July 15, 1994

I just got the news that my neighbor was killed. I just feel numb.

March 18, 1996

Tutsi, Buyoya just replaced the Hutu president in a coup. Hopefully this means peace is just around the corner.

July 20, 1996

300. The number of Tutsi lives taken today feels unreal. Rebels have fought tooth and nail to gain power. I sit at home tonight and stare at this number; 300. So many lives have been lost in this war that the numbers are starting to lose meaning: they’re just numbers now. President Buyoya and the Hutu parliament have agreed to sign a transitional constitution. Hopefully this is the peace I have been praying for. I couldn’t sign up in time to attend the university this year, so I will be put on hold until next year. It’s not a huge deal, I shall work in the meantime. I think I will be a butcher, mom keeps telling me to stay away from joining the army. Some of my friends have and the killing seems to have changed them. Although I had looked forward to moving away from home and the family, another year won’t be too bad.

July 25, 1998

I don’t know how to start… My sister Sasha left yesterday. She had been thinking about leaving for a while and so we all expected it but still, it’s unbelievable that she actually left. There is a movement supported by United Nations and European Union, they help you to get the visa to leave the country. First Sasha went to the German embassy however they didn’t want to give her a visa because they said her story is not “sad” enough. Ridiculous, right? Finally she got the Canadian visa. I hope she will not have any problems and they will let her get in. And also I hope she will ever come back. My mum has been crying the whole day, also because my other sister, Alida, is going to the Dutch embassy tomorrow so it’s going to be even harder. My parents will never leave the country, even though there are all these massacres, they are concerned it will get better. They still love it here. I wish they changed their opinion, it must be better living out there. And so Nala also left. My parents are ruined and so am I. She was not only my sister but also my best friend. Back at school everyone keeps asking me where she is. I so want to leave, I don’t want to be here anymore. Everyone I meet, everything I see reminds me of my sister. There is also another thing which makes me think about leaving. Do you remember how I was supposed to go to the college in Bubanza this September? I didn’t go because since Sasha left, my mum needed to help with all those home stuff so I stayed home and I was about to go there next year. Bubanza is city of Tutsi, the other ethnic group. Last week the whole dormitory of Hutu people was attacked and circa 400 students were killed. No, I am not going there anymore.

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April 21, 2001

Today my father is going to the embassy to get a visa for me. Since I am 17 I can’t get it by myself. Yes, I made a decision, I am leaving. Well at least I hope I will finally get the visa and I will be able to leave. The first embassy that gave me an appointment was the Dutch embassy. It’s just a random coincidence; however, being in the same country as Nala would be super great. I am sort of nervous, I count on leaving but it may happen that when I arrive to the Netherlands they will not let me in. This happened to many people I knew, after they either tried to get the visa to another country or they were send straight back to Burundi.

December 4, 2001

This was the hardest time of my life however now I am just sitting in my new room in the Netherlands in Groningen and writing this. Leaving Burundi was beyond sad, everyone was crying so much, I am worried about my mum and I hope she will get over it. When I landed in Amsterdam, police officers took me straight to the immigration office and they asked me like million questions, I had to tell them my story from the beginning. Why I am leaving Burundi, what is going on over there, if I am planning to go back… Of course that I will go back if the situation over there will improve. After that they drove me to this immigration camp in Groningen. I got plenty of papers including nonpermanent residence permit. There are lot of people from Africa together with me, plenty of them have the same story as I do. We should stay here for couple of weeks. We have a “Dutch school” every day, they teach us how it works in their country, they teach us the basics of the Dutch language, culture, history etc. They give us money for living and little but of traveling, we have trips together so we see the real Netherlands. It is actually fun, I’ve met great people who I think I will stay in touch even after the camp.

March 16, 2002

A lot of things had happened so far. It was really busy after camp. We got some money for the beginning; however, one needed to get a job right after, otherwise it was difficult to live. After the camp we all had to go to the language school of Dutch so we would be assimilated with locals and we could easily find a job. So I am here, in the center of Netherlands, attending Dutch classes and hanging out with friends. I have this part time job in a restaurant, washing the dishes. It is alright, the boss is quite friendly but the money is really bad. There is no other way though, without the proper education you cannot really do any well paid job. After the language school I definitely want to go to the university. My sister lives in Den Haag so my plan is to move there to finally see her and maybe to live together. There also is a university so it is the perfect place for me. I live in an apartment together with my classmates and it is so much fun. I think of Burundi and my family pretty often but there is not much time to be in touch with them. I love my new life, this country is so open-minded. You are simply safe, you can live your life easily and you don’t have to be scared of anything. I wish all my family could live the same calm life as I do right now…

Séguin

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at the earliest opportunity, is a problem that the government expects society in general to shorten. Education experts say less than 50 percent of the country’s teachers have the qualifications to teach properly.

School in Mother Country By Yosef Indarto & Irina Strugaru

Moving out of the country to another always gives us a thrill. So when the decision was made that we were about to go to a place inhabited by bicycles, canals, windmills, and (most of all) Dutch, our state of mind was somewhere between stoked and stumped. We were stoked because the idea of living in Europe seemed like a totally new adventure, especially for Yosef, though it is the fourth continent that he has been living in, while Irina has been living in Europe her whole life, but never in a different country than her own. However, there are some kind of curiosities we have in mind regarding the choice to study abroad rather than to follow education curriculum in our countries; Indonesia (Yosef) and Romania (Irina).

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enerally speaking, Europe provides a much better education system compared to Yosef’s country of origin. Education is the pillar of every modern society. Being able to read, write, and have access to learning opportunities in today’s world is a necessity. Indonesia has the fourth largest education system in the world yet in an education report of 50 nations, Indonesia ranked last. Despite successful economic development in recent years, it is still unable to better the livelihood of children in Indonesia. Many still lack the access to get the (decent) education and healthcare. An Al-Jazeera program highlighted some shocking facts about Indonesia’s education system. Only onethird of Indonesian student, in a country where 57 million people attend school, complete elementary schooling. So the fact that school produces poorly educated students, or some students just quit school

The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) also claim that there are only few schools in Indonesia that actually free of corruption, bribery or embezzlement, with 40 percent of their budget taken away before it actually reaches the classroom. But that is only one part of the problems. If the national curriculum itself approaches to learning take more emphasize on memorization, it gives too little room to create expansion. He personally believed that the education system should be focused on analysis, essay writing, open communication and group projects – duplicating the Australian model of education. Better education will prepare the students to compete in rapidly globalizing world. Indonesia should fight for higher standard of teaching from school, which includes better science and English education but also IT infrastructure. Recently, the governments do the opposite by postponing these subjects until the students attend middle school and instead introducing a new subject which focused on patriotic values. Most of teachers and university lecturers in Indonesia also face inadequate basic salary, resulting they are seeking a second job to fulfil the household needs. As a result, not a lot of research has been carried out due to their limited time. If Indonesia wants to produce high-quality students, they need more qualified teachers who are actually motivate

The more kids attend school, the brighter Indonesia’s future will be. The future success of a nation depends on today’s youth and the education they access. to produce a better Indonesia by perhaps increasing their salaries. Indonesia also need to invest in human resources to dream, design, and deliver solid education to every child. Good teachers and effective spending should form the cornerstone of Indonesia’s education system, but also mean eradicating corruption chains. The more kids attend school, the brighter Indonesia’s future will be. The future success of a nation depends on today’s youth and the education they access. Considering these reasons, he has chosen to continue his education in overseas. By choosing to study abroad, he will have the opportunity to witness how the world system works, which later can be applied back to Indonesia once he has successfully finished his education.

responds with the age of sixteen or seventeen). The school educational cycle ends in the twelfth grade, when students graduate the baccalaureate. Higher education is aligned onto the European Higher Education Area. In addition to the formal system of education, to which was recently added the equivalent private system, there is also a system of tutoring, semi-legal and informal. Additionally, an article on the Economist estimated one out of two teenagers failed the Baccalaureate exam after 12 years of education, meaning that another more than one hundred thousand young people could end up unemployed, hurting the country’s poor economy.” Paradoxically, Romania is also the country where some of the most brilliant young brains in the world are born. Here the rate of gifted children is twice the average worldwide. In July, the country was ranked first in Europe at the International Math Olympics and 10th among 100 countries worldwide. Some of the most feared hackers in the world are operating in Romania. Corporations

like Microsoft have a big community of Romanians among their workforce and they keep recruiting more”. Moreover, after the fall of communism, the school organism has been declining. Small wages for teachers, no money for European projects, poor economy, almost non-existent budget for education have been at the core of the downfall of the country, and are the assets of a plagued, corrupt and infected being within the system. Those students who do graduate either chose to stay and work in a sick system or emigrate. I did the latter, because of the lack of options in my country. Although, I could have stayed and fought with a corrupted structure and messy policies, I chose to have a better life. Thankful for my western influence from my parents, I packed my bags and didn’t look back for one minute but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want the aforementioned facts about the Romanian education to change. I hope for a greater life, after I go back home and try to fix the mess.

oving on to the system in Romania, you can see the difference from a mile away. Education is regulated and enforced by the Ministry of National Education. Kindergarten is optional under the age of six. At the age of six, children must join the “preparatory school year”, which is mandatory in order to enter the first grade. Schooling starts at the age of seven, and is compulsory until the tenth grade (which cor-

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Volunteering is not

a (paid) job By Paula Pop

If you’re a volunteer you’ve probably heard that phrase at least once. Well, for me it happens all the time, especially from my family, that think that I’m doing it for free and not getting anything in return. Why do I say especially for me? Well because that’s pretty much the only thing I do in my free time, so I get that much more often than you’ll think.

have been a volunteer for about 4 years now. I first started in high school, when I had no idea what was going on with life (not that I know now) and started to really get the hang of it. I would’ve joined every festival or event I laid my eyes on. If there was a volunteer gig in my hometown, you can rest assured that I was probably already signed up for it. As I got older, my interest also increased, so this hobby of mine really hit a peek

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when I started college and joined my faculty’s organization. There I had the chance to truly discover what volunteering is. I started to love it even more (if that was possible) and to get involved in all the projects they organized, which were quite a few. I began to see all the hard work that was happening be-

hind the scenes of a project or event, the brainstorming process with the other members, the struggle of getting sponsors and partnerships, the sleepless nights, the problems that occurred and ways to solve them, but also the strong friendships that were created during those long days. True, I didn’t get paid for any of it. Well not with money anyways. But I did gain things much more valuable than that. I met people that I can now say I consider more than friends, I consider them family, because coordinating a project makes you face a lot of unexpected issues and you are forced to deal with them in order to move on, but we were doing it all together, which only made us stronger. That was the first organization I

VOLUNTEER

joined, but since then I just wanted to do more and more and more and so I joined 4 others. I’m crazy, I know. I met so many different and interesting people, which helped me look at things from different perspectives and realize that things are a lot easier to handle if you’re part of a team.

Although I’ve joined 4 other organizations, the first one will always be my true love, the one where it all began. So step by step I started to get more involved with every week that passed by. I became a member of two of its departments (Public Relations & Marketing and Human Resources) and after a few months I became the co-coordinator of the first one. A few months later I was elected the coordinator of the department and of one of the organization’s main national projects. So I had a lot on my

plate. And of course at times I just wanted to scream and cry and drop everything because it was difficult and complicated and I thought I was in over my head and there were a lot of things to solve at once, but somehow I succeeded to manage it all, with a lot of help from my friends of course. Now I’m even considering running for president of the organization because I really like challenges, and that’s a big one. I think what I’m trying to say is that you need some responsibility in order to be able to discover yourself, your leadership skills, because believe me, you’ve got them. Volunteering helps you to develop not only from a personal point of view, but also from a professional or social one. And it doesn’t hurt to have it in your CV either. I have like 5 pages of them and I’m pretty sure that’s what helped me get here, an Erasmus student in Net herlands. One of the first things I actually looked for when I got here was a volunteer job and I found the perfect one, the Connected Festival. It was a huge festival that was held inside the University, which I thought was crazy, but also amazing. I really wanted to go but the tickets were kind of expensive and so I be-

came a volunteer, not only did I get in for free, but I also met new people and had lots of fun with them. If you think being a volunteer means you don’t getting nothing in return, you’ve never been more wrong in your entire life. Yes, you don’t get actual money, but there are things far more important than money that you can gain from this experience. The extracurricular activities help a lot for whatever job or school interview you want to apply to. It makes you appear more proactive and involved in the modern world issues. Having that much teamwork experience isn’t a bad thing either; it actually gives you an advantage in front of the other candidates and increases your chances of being picked. So what I’m trying to say is that you should be a volunteer. As much as you can. Because you really have nothing to lose, only things to gain and it’s a wonderful experience that every youngster should have. Take advantage of it while you’re still young and have free time. So to sum it up, yes, I do consider volunteering to be a job, which I love and hopefully someday I’ll turn it into a career.

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I’ve never walked in your shoes, why would I? I never have. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if your shoes would fit. Would I try it? Would I try to see the world through your eyes? Maybe. In fact, I would. I’m not frightened of trying, any time will do, I don’t mind. It was a Sunday like any other, except it wasn’t. I was alone in my apartment after a cool day. A play at a theatre, big lunch, a run, the bike broke down, you name it. A friend of mine, let’s call him Joe, called me that his girlfriend missed her flight. They had bought two tickets on an all-you-can-eat pancake cruise. He offered me the tickets. But I had no one to go with, as it was about to start in just two hours. So we figured we go together. Plus, I was really hungry, so off we were. Half an hour in a train, half an hour in a tram, there we were. The boat was good looking. What a decoration, though. Weird, if you ask me.

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Walking in my shoes

By Martin Vybostok

If you try walking in my shoes. You’ll stumble in my footsteps. I would tell you about the things they put me through. But I promise now, my judge and jurors. My intentions couldn’t have been purer. A bit too romantic, tacky. Did I forget to mention it was Valentine’s Day? Damn, I totally forgot. Why is everybody in couples? Are we the only male couple here? Oh man, I’m so hungry. It’s a good thing they started cooking already. Why is everybody looking at us? Is it because I’m sitting face to face with Joe drinking some pink cosmopolitan cocktail with hearts in it? On a Valentine’s day? Okay, you got me. I get it, they must have thought we were gay. That’s unfair. Why would they think we were gay? It’s an honest mistake, really. I mean, they must have known that Joe and I were there for the food, right? I’m very nervous. I notice some rather nice old houses on a small island behind the window, getting splashed by the waves. I’m the one getting splashed here by the cold stares! Joe looked concerned. “You think you have

enough space in your stomach for all these pancakes? “ he grinned. “Let’s go grab them while they’re there!” I said in an uncertain voice. Stop staring at me, people. To make it worse, I’m totally underdressed, aren’t I? I mean, come on! Is this what being gay is like? At that moment, I was really glad nobody knew me there. I could literally feel the hate flowing towards us. It’s mainly the men, though. The women think me and Joe are cute. I can totally tell, you know, from the look on their faces. Wow, these pancakes are amazing. I wonder if everybody else is enjoying them as much as I am. Well, I can see who’s not. The guy across the room from us. He’s been secretly observing us, probably waiting for me to make a move on Joe or Joe to make a move on me. He’s obsessed. Joe noticed him.

He asked me: “Hey, you wanna spice it up a bit? How about we hold hands, see what they do?” I burst out laughing as we held hands, just for the hell of it. “What are the gays so happy about over there? “ the man would have said if his face could speak. We’ve already been here an hour and the looks won’t stop. Nevertheless a wonderful evening, beautiful cruise. I loved what they have done with the place. Hearts, balloons, candles, all of it. I just don’t understand why those people keep staring at us? Are we too flamboyant for their taste? Do we fall out of line? The man has got a girlfriend that many would kill for and all he’s doing all night is keep looking at us, watching our steps: “Ooh, are they going to kiss? Are they holding hands? No? What about now?”. He’s forgetting one simple reason why he came there: To celebrate Valentine’s Day with his love. He’s so stupid, our happiness is stealing away his comfort. I laugh. Instead of devoting these sacred moments to his girl, he’s watching a gay couple having a blast. I must say I love this social experiment. Joe and I have been asked by a crewmember to come up to the middle of the deck to pose for a photo. I was really nervous. I must have been blushing. We had to stand in front of the heart-love-themed wallpaper holding a giant red wire heart. Oh god, my face is on fire, don’t look, people. It must have been the longest 10 seconds of my life, as we waited for the shutter to click. The whole time, we

were standing behind a giant heart, side by side, on Valentine’s Day, on a pancake cruise. Every couple has come up to get a photo, but we were the only ones being stared at. If people’s faces could speak, what would they say? “Disgusting”. “I can’t believe they dared to come here”. “Ooh, Richard, look at them, they’re so cute”. “They must have gathered some courage to do this, look how red the guy is”. “You’re a disgrace, just walk away, please, you’re making us look at you”. I could never forget those looks. Have I offended them in any way? This is not nice, I mean, we haven’t done anything bad. I finally know what it’s like… Oh man, I realised I have looked at homosexuals the same way myself before. Sometimes I have even stared. Not to sound cheesy or anything, but that’s not nice at all, I feel sorry for ever doing that. I mean, they’re not doing anything wrong, it’s love too, just with a same pair of gender chromosomes, that’s all. I’m really glad Joe forced me into this. I get all these sweet pancakes, and while eating them, I get to try out what it’s like to be gay, for free. A good deal, I must say. It turned out that the photo we took earlier came out blurry, so we got to ride the roller coaster of emotions again… It’s been a lovely evening. Two hours of 3D cinema. I really learned a lot. I tried walking in your shoes, man. They don’t fit, but have fun wearing them.

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It’s my life:

But is it really mine? By Terri Ling & Adriana Munteanu Introduction The ways in which young millennials use technology nowadays have substantially altered the ways our daily lives are sculpted. When you think of the theme “It’s My Life,” what really comes to mind? Does technology or more importantly, social media, take up most of the control? And if so, how do we regain this control over our own lives? Most social media users today who are truly active on all different kinds of platforms are the most at risk for this lost of control. The line that separates reality and illusion is singlehandedly blurred with the introduction of an array of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Posing the Problem The main factor that every social media user needs to understand is the lost of experience. If our lives are the summation of every experience that we have ever cultivated since we were young, then every living second of us experiencing our lives using social media does not count. The more young millennials are browsing, scrolling or liking things on various social media platforms, the less we truly live. Think about every mobile application that you have downloaded onto your smartphone - this app is not only taking up space in your iCloud or phone storage, but it is also taking up real memories in your daily lives and replacing it with digitized forms of memories. Ultimately, this space that is taken away are seconds, minutes and hours that you cannot retrieve.

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We have interviewed a few students at the Hague University in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the level of intensity that social media has on our everyday lives (Page 24).

of the time you rarely hear people say that social media makes them truly happy. People make them happy and Facebook, for example, just helps them connect. So this two should not be confused.

Taking Control: Life through different lens Time is the most precious thing we have and we all know how much time we kill on social media. On the other hand, it’s not only about “don’t spend time on Facebook” but also about the actual effects Facebook has on you. Apart from wasting important time, you’ve probably should also consider the negative effects social media has on your brain.

If looking at life through different lens, how can quitting social media change your life? Student: 6 months ago I took the decision of quitting Facebook. My life took a huge turn! You’d be amazed to find out how your life is changed when you go into social media fast. Same happens when you quit. It transformed my life.

We live in a marketing competition-driven world in which everyone has its own interests. The strongest always succeed. As long as you become addicted to social media, you are a victim of lower self-control. From this point of view, you might think how did the social media become so popular among its users and how it managed to describe the new technology driven generation today? Simply put, making people addicted to social media, being pressured by daily subjects about “liking certain things” while messing their ability to think and choose independently makes them easier to control. Over usage of it, might make you fall into a big hole from which you can’t escape. You are trapped now, easy to be ruled. That’s what advanced entrepreneurs are doing today. Taking over your life to reduce competitors and then celebrating success as highly advanced programmers. Most

How can it transform your life? Student: First of all, you won’t feel the need to appear online anymore as a daily habit. You actually start validating yourself with real things, more important like health, private life, education, sport and career. There is no need to fill your spare time with checking your phone to avoid awkwardness. You might grab read a book and it’s even ok if you just stare at the wall and swim in your own thoughts. Secondly, your mood can change in a good way. You are no more reading those depressive statuses, looking at pictures with places you’ve never been to or liking super delicious pizzas which will make you hungry. I started enjoying real life small pleasures and therefore my mood changed.

Interview

1 2

. How many hours per day are you on social media?

Student #1: 24. Wait no - I need to sleep. 12 hours. Student #2: Solid 8 hours.

. Approximately how many social media application do you have on your phone?

Student #1: 7 applications, but I mostly use 3. Student #2: 3 apps total. Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype, but I rarely use Skype.

3 4

. Which social media platform do you use the most?

. Do you prefer messaging through your phone or in real life? If you chose phone/ social media - why? And if in person, do you think that regardless of that decision, are most of your conversations done through your smartphone anyway?

. Do you think the amount of notifications you receive on social media affects you? I.e. the red Facebook notification.

. Is there a social media guru or role model out there that you find influential and affects the way in which you are active on social media? I.e. Your Instagram Feed or the way you tweet on Twitter.

. For those of you who use Snapchat regularly, what are your thoughts on the app and have you ever considered deleting Snapchat?

. Would you ever buy likes/followers?

Student #1: Facebook Student #2: Facebook Student #1: I prefer in person, but I use voice messaging on my phone to make the conversation more intimate and personal quite a bit as well. Student #2: In person, but I find that I am on instant messaging very frequently. Student #1: Yes, I do find I get excited when there is a red notification on Facebook. Student #2: Yes, most definitely. Especially Facebook notifications such as inbox messages! Student #1: Yes. Maria Carriedo. Student #2: Not so much.

Student #1: I love using Snapchat, but I have also considered deleting it many times after a night out - mostly because I post a lot of snaps when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m drunk. Student #2: I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use Snapchat. Student #1: No Student #2: No

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The ways

of life

By Kim Smit & Hannah McGinty There are more than 7.4 billion human beings living on the planet and every single one of them has its own way of living and thinking. There are so many ways to live this life, some like to keep it plain and simple while others go for the extraordinary.

ack to the Future

The Amish lifestyle is already ‘established’ since 1760 in Lancaster. They are strict religious and live according to a certain order. This order however, differs from community to community. Having children, raising them and socializing with family and people from the community are the main functions of the Amish family. They believe that large families are a blessing from God. They are not allowed to use ‘modern’ technologies. There for, they do not have electricity, wear vintage fashion and travel by carriages. They work as farmers and harvest their own crops to feed themselves. They are very kind and helpful within the community, but a little closed when it comes to ‘outsiders’.

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Many consider veganism an extreme way of lifestyle; however, it can still be taken to another level. There is a growing trend in raw veganism. This carries the underlying themes of veganism with no consumption of products that hold origins to animals but further than this, there is no cooking of any food above 48 degrees. The majority of people that adopt this lifestyle do it for the purity of lifestyle. It is a growing trend as more media attention is being brought towards this way of eating and ultimately living. Stars such as Beyoncé do small detoxes and encourage others to try and adopt similar short stunts at this lifestyle. More famously though, stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Venus Williams and Madonna live by raw veganism. The health benefits considered from this diet are the main reasons behind Gwyneth’s lifestyle choice, as she suffers osteoporosis. Venus credits her power and strength to the adoption of a raw vegan diet also. The adoption of this lifestyle is more than just food. The recognition of animal welfare is one of the most important factors. As like vegans, there is no consumption and all avoidance of any product that is remotely related to animals. They want to

ensure that the impact as little as possible on the environment and can be highly sensitive to consumerism and what is considered to be the societal norm. Organizations such as PETA strongly support the adoption of raw veganism, with vast information available and starter packs giving guidelines. On YouTube a simple search for raw vegan brings up endless results, with many videos focusing on the diets you can follow, the benefits and also people’s personal views on why they adopt this lifestyle. One in particular Ted Carr is one of the most extreme raw vegan examples, with an adoption of questioning the products and use of everything in his life. His aim is to live as natural as possible. For example he no longer uses pillows or shampoo, they are deemed unnecessary just like cooking his food. The lifestyle focuses on living by the most natural means, minimalizing the impact on the earth and being as healthy as possible in consumption.

eady for Action

Moving on to our next life choice of activism. This is different in numerous ways, but can be linked with veganism for example an environmental activist may incorporate the lifestyles. If someone becomes an activist it is normally for a cause that they

are deeply passionate about. The point where someone may come to consider themselves as activists is when all their actions and work is towards fighting a cause. Activists often create communities for their fight and surround themselves with like-minded people. They are focused on making their case known and spreading the word to gain new activists. There are currently many movement groups within society, all fighting for something that is imperative to them and their lives. Popular movements on a global aspect are environmental changes: fighting for changes in our daily lives to reduce the impact we have on global warming, also gender equality: this is a growing group of activists, they want to create positive change that will empower all genders. As mentioned the causes that an individual would campaign for will be significant to them and when they initially start they may not have the intention to become an activist, however, the more involved and connected they become the more their lifestyle changes. Their sole mission is to fight for what they believe in and ultimately gain enough momentum to change a society. The common theme behind most activist groups is a fight against a social injustice. This is why activism is one of the most common lifestyles and one people maybe do not consider. Activism connects people with a common goal and is something that is relatable to everyone. Each individual holds their own specific passion to a topic, injustice or movement. Although the majority of activists are fighting for a positive social change that will create a fairer and more equal society, there are numerous activists doing the opposite. There are both sides to the coin present in society. For a group of activists fighting for equal opportunity for black minority, there are extreme activists such as the KKK that work to regain white supremacy and stop the progression to

ame’s Bond

eep Calm and…

The life of a spy seems very glamorous with a lot of action: racing and shooting, just like 007. To be a spy you need to be independent, clever and self-driven. It is not as dangerous as it sounds. Most of the time they have a desk job consisting out of research and preparation, which is quite mundane. Because they are aware of events the ‘ordinary’ people will never know of, and you travel a lot with different identities, life can be very lonely. It also takes a lot of responsibility. It might happen that someone else was tortured or killed because you did not do your job properly. Operating undercover and getting the criminals are the more exiting parts of the job. In the end it is all about getting the bad guys in prison.

In Tibet, monks are living a simple life in the monasteries. They wake up at 6:30 am and start meditating and chanting sutras. Sutras are ancient texts found in Buddhism. After 3 hours the monks start to work. They all have their own task in the monastery; some clean or do gardening, others teach and give lessons. During spare time most monks read, write or study on languages, sutras, history and geography. Their life exists out of a lot of rituals. One of them is debating the Buddhist scriptures and every night they have to make a test to test their knowledge and abilities to become a master. The way they think has changed over time; they learn to be tolerant and forgiving and appreciate the happy life they have now. The way in which we choose to live, shapes us as humans and influences our behaviors and attitudes. Most important what remains is to be who YOU want to be!

a more equal civilization.

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Globetrotter - March 2016 Design - Martin Výbošťok Magazine made by students of The Hague University of Applied Sciences