23 APR. 2018
ISSUE 3
FOOD
COMING OF AGE MOVIES
Vegeterian food & Campus food
#SELFCARE
Unplugging, Skincare, Spring Cleaning, and Workouts
UNPLUG TO R E C H A R G E
CONTENT Privacy No Gym, No Problem 3 Meat-Free Recipes for The Busy (and a Little Broke) Student Sustain-ability Coming-of-Age Movies: What's Out of The Box? Why Should I (Skin)Care? It's Time for Spring, So Let's Get Cleaning
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Photospread: I Want to See a River of Orchids Where We Had a Motorway #IDONTMIND From Quidditch to Pole Dancing Campus Food Unplugging without Unplugging Playlists&Poems
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IN THIS Dear reader, You can all be proud of yourselves. Term 3 of IBCoM is done and over, which means it is basically almost summer already. But not quite yet. With so much going on in an ibcommer’s life such as internships, thesis writing, exchange preparation, or just finishing your first year in a good note, this issue will be of good use. The theme of unplugging and destressing will hopefully help you through the last term before summer break. We wanted to give you tips to unplug and recharge - whether it’s a list of coming-of-age movies to watch and feel less alone in the struggle of adulting, or the best bites on campus during those long study days, we got you covered! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Things get busy, and so will you!
The Editorial Team Ps. We can’t believe issue 3 is already finished, and soon we will be passing on our duties to the next editorial team. Do you think you will be a good fit? Send us an email at ibcomagazine@eshcc.nl with your motivation. For more info, check out our Facebook page.
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ARE YOU REALLY ALONE IN THE TOILET?IS PRIVACY BECOMING A DISTANT MEMORY? — Evropi-Nefeli Syriopoulou Would it be exaggerated to say that our world has turned into a totalitarian state ? I think even George Orwell could consider that an overestimation. George Orwell wrote a novel, called “1984” in 1948, which is considered a ‘visionary’ and ‘futuristic’ novel, that aimed to describe how the world would be in the future. The society that Orwell describes in “1984” has a lot of similarities with the society we are living right now. Think about “Big Brother Is Watching you”. In our days, we have a camera on our computers, phones, any electronic devices whereas the government can capture us. Don’t you think that it’s time to chill and unplug for few minutes from this type of society? State control is one of the parallels with the society that Orwell creates and in the 21st century. In our society, social media has taken the role of “Big Brother” as all the information or everything that we do in social media is transferred to the government. Numerous states and governments continue to have a control on the public, on citizens, and private life, mainly through their social media profiles. For instance, in 2018, Germany started enforcing a hate speech law which aims to regulate social media platforms to ensure the government removes hate speech within 24 hours. This shows how governments now can record opinion and ideas and they have the capacity to guide or even dictate people’s speech online. Oceania was full of telescreens, with no escape. Telescreens transmit a signal to all the citizens of Oceania to be aware of what is occurring in the nation. Each telescreen also transmits a signal back to the Ministry for the Protection of the Public. This helps Big Brother to assure the citizens of Oceania that they are living under comfortable conditions where all their rights are preserved and guarded by him. I would like to compare telescreens with the privacy you may have in the toilet. In the other hand, using a toilet is considered a private moment of the day of an individual, but even there you are plugged into your phone. Checking Facebook or playing “toilet games” because you are bored, so are you really alone in the toilet? Think about that next time you visit it. Think about portable urinals, in the streets, everyone can see you right? In this case, you don’t have any privacy, which makes you a simple citizen being watched by the telescreens, meaning passengers, from this place. How does this make you feel?
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Orwell introduced in his novel a new language, called ‘newspeak’, in order to be different and independent. Language is the most important way of communication between people. People had the need to follow their own new language, as a symbol of independence and advancement. The creation of a new vocabulary makes the citizens of Oceania feel unique and free. In today’s world, this could be transformed to the emoji language or the use of Siri. Now, teenagers use emojis as an exciting way of communicating introduced by social media. It has been considered as the “language” of the future. There are a number of surveys analyzing this social phenomenon. For teenagers is an important way to express their emotions instead of using words or fully texts. But can a simple face express exactly the state of our emotions or simply minimizing our personal feelings with the help of emoji symbols?
sinelab.com
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for social media, privacy is no longer a personal choice, it is about your friends’ choices as well. When you join a social media network, it asks to import your contact list or synchronize it with the application in order to find people you may know and make them your online friends. Most of the time, you add them because you want to stay in contact with these people. But, this social media network shares your personal details, and the more information the network receives about their users, then the better the prediction about people not on the network get. David Garcia, Chair of Systems Design in ETH Zürich, Switzerland, on the topic of leaking privacy and shadow profiles in online social networks concludes that “You are not in full control of your privacy”. This means that the information given on social media, can be directly public information, and protecting privacy is not something any person can do it. You can solve it on your own, it is everyone’s problem. As I see it, next time you sign up to a new social media platform, be careful what you share about yourself! Making your own privacy is an idea, a concept, even an ideology, but is it possible? Invasion of privacy is a legal concept dealing with intrusion into an individual’s private life. Laws governing the right to privacy do not treat all people the same, however, as public figures, such as politicians, are commonly not afforded the same rights of privacy. This begs the question:
Is privacy becoming just a memory?
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— Sara Alkilani
You’re sitting in your room, comfortable and warm scrolling through Instagram and you come across three pictures of friends at the gym. You know deep down that you want to work on your fitness, but a gym is just not feasible. Perhaps you’re far too busy to make it to the gym, or maybe there aren’t any fitness centers near you. Not to mention, the effect a gym membership can have on your bank account! Fear not, for we have the solution for you. HOME WORKOUTS! Yes, you read that right. Getting fit at the comfort of your own home. And no, we don’t mean two sit ups before bed, we’re talking getting sculpted just as you would at a gym. All you need is a yoga mat, weights (optional) and your enthusiasm. You can get things like yoga mats and weights and all your exercise needs at places like Hema and Flying Tiger for a good price!
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If you’re just starting out, and don’t know where to begin by yourself, you can find help on Youtube and Instagram. Creators such as Kayla Itsines, Michelle Lewin, Emily Skype, Cassey Ho (see image) and Jen Selter are well known for uploading their work out videos on Instagram, and they all have programmes (free and paid) where you can print a fitness schedule that fits your needs.
Youtube has also been a useful outlet for exercise videos, with channels such as fitnessblender (shown here), BeFIT,and blogilates, uploading several videos that range from beginner to advanced for all your home work out needs. If you’re on the advanced side, you might also want to check out the possibility of downloading programmes like Insanity with Shaun T and P90X, both of which dubbed “extreme home fitness.”
As great as going to the gym is, nothing beats breaking a sweat in the comfort of your own home;
it’s comfortable, it’s effective, and most importantly, it’s free!
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3 Meat-free recipes for the busy (and a little broke) student — Judith van Driel Spending less time in the shower, choosing the train over a car for your daily commute, and turning off the lights when you leave a room: these are all great ideas for when you want to reduce your ecological footprint. However, there is one thing that has the greatest impact: becoming a vegetarian. I think many of you are familiar with the documentary Cowspiracy, which explains the impact of livestock on the environment and how many organizations like Greenpeace do not recognize eating less meat as a solution to global warming. However, eating less meat (or becoming completely vegetarian) has many beneficial effects, not only for the Earth, but also for your own body. Save the planet and enjoy these vegetarian meals, especially designed for a student budget! Please note: The ingredients for the following recipes include around 3 portions. Prices were gathered from the Albert Heijn website.
Rice with oven veggies Make this dish more filling by adding some vegetarian sausage (like the Hema-rookworst), a veggie burger and/or some rice Estimated time: 40 minutes Price: â‚Ź 4,49 {without the meat substitute}
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Ingredients: - Sweet potato fries; 400 grams (€ 2,09) - 3 carrots (± € 0,70) - 1 zucchini (€ 0,85) - 400 grams of brown rice (€ 0,85) - Optional: ○ 2 vegetarian sausages (€ 2,89, brand: Valess) ○ 1 vegetarian mc2 burger (€ 2,79, brand: De Vegetarische Slager)
.. . . h h h Mmm
Start cooking this up: 1. Preheat the oven to 185 degrees and boil water in a large pan if you are making rice: cook the rice according to the instructions on the packaging 2. Cut the veggies up 3. Put the sweet potato fries, carrots and zucchini on a baking sheet with either parchment paper or some oil 4. Spread some salt, pepper and thyme over the veggies 5. When the oven is hot enough, put the baking sheet in for 20 to 30 minutes 6. 10 minutes before the veggies are done: prepare the meat substitute according to the instructions on the packaging 7. Put some rice and the veggies on a plate, add some sweet & sour wok sauce to make the dish less dry
One Pot: Spaghetti with broccoli, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella Student life can get quite busy with all the assignments, exams and parties: doing the dishes can often be a drag. This dish is so great because you can put all the ingredients in one pot! Less time spent in the kitchen means more time for catching up on your favorite Netflix series. Estimated time: 20 minutes Price: € 6,34
Ingredients: - 400 grams of spaghetti (± € 0,80) - 1 broccoli (€ 1,09) - 1 pack of cherry tomatoes (€ 1,19) - 1 piece of mozzarella (€ 1,17) - Italian spices: parsley; oregano, basil (1 jar: € 2,09)
Let’s get started: 1. Boil water in a large pan 2. Cut the broccoli, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella in pieces 3. When the water boils, put the pasta and broccoli 4. Let it simmer for 7-8 minutes 5. Use a strainer to get rid of the water in the pan 6. Keep the pan on low heat, add the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella 7. Keep stirring for around 2 minutes: add the Italian spices 8. Because you can never have enough cheese top the dish off with some Parmesan 11
Mexican-inspired: beans and rice with guacamole This Mexican-inspired dish is not only cheap, but will take not more than 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for one of those nights when you are really craving comfort food. If you miss the taste of some meat, you can add vegetarian minced meat with some spices. This dish is a little more expensive than the others, you can leave out the guacamole, sour cream and nacho chips if you want a simpler dinner. Estimated time: 20 minutes Price: € 11,69
Ingredients: - 1 can of black beans (€ 1,09) - 1 can of chili beans (€ 0,87) - 400 grams of rice (€ 0,85) - 1 small can of corn (3 for € 1,79) - 3 bell peppers (€ 1,49) - 1 bag of nacho chips (€ 0,69) - Guacamole (€ 3,-) - 1 small can of sour cream (€ 0,82) - Salsa sauce (€ 1,09)
Steps to follow: 1. Boil water in a pan 2. Cut the paprika, drain the beans and the corn 3. When the water boils, cook the rice according to the instructions 4. Meanwhile, warm up the beans and grill the bell peppers two pans 5. When everything is done, put some rice, beans and bell peppers on a plate 6. Spread some corn over the plate, add some tablespoons of the condiments and grab the bag of chips 7. Enjoy!
Bon Appétit!
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CHEAP, EASY, AND TASTY! 13
Sustain-ability I’m standing in front of the bin at Food Plaza, holding my plate with all kinds of waste material in my hand, as I carefully start throwing away each product towards its destined place. Paper goes with paper, my fork goes with plastic, my tin can goes with waste material and my fries box goes with paper as well. Sounds easy, right? Well it’s not, because in my simple attempt to try and be sustainable, I already made a mistake. After doing some quick research, I learned that I have made a lot of more mistakes. Some decisions that seemed to be easy, were quite hard after all. Apparently, paper, that is soaked with oil, is regarded as waste material. But that is just one of the many recycling mistakes people make. Communities rarely accept used plastic bags in a commingled recycling stream because they are tough to separate and clean. So, for starters, never throw your used plastic bags in the plastic deposit bin again. But there’s more. The lids from plastic containers should be thrown away as waste material, except when they are made from metal.
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— Steven Hillen They may then be accumulated inside a metal can and thrown away at once. Never throw away small objects separately, as they are too tiny to be separated! So make sure that your shredded paper will be thrown away in a paper bag that is labelled saying ‘shredded paper’. Furthermore, you should not forget to empty the liquids of your bottles, as full bottles may spill and ruin other materials and increased heaviness can lead to inaccurate sorting at the recycling plant. Still, these tips might just not be enough for you. It is highly recommended to ask for recycling information at your local recycling plant. Each community has its own recycling rules and procedures and just because an item can be recycled, does not mean it will be. Often, your local recycling plant will only accept products in certain conditions. If you’ve started to notice that recycling can become a real pain in the ass, I invite you to hang in there for a little longer. Because very few people are aware of ‘greenwashing’. It might be a surprise to you that products often make misleading, false claims about their environmental impact.
For instance, products that claim to be ‘green’ or ‘natural’, find themselves on a safe ground. There is hardly any evidence needed for marketers to put them on their product, which is why they love them.
Often, the claims products make are not even something to be rewarded for. Products that are claiming to be CFC-free(a certain carbon), are no better than people who give themselves medals for not having committed any crimes… CFC was banned in 1995 already! Again, it takes careful thought to try and be sustainable. Basically, it is impossible to claim that any of your sustainable actions benefit the environment, unless you have done a complete lifecycle analysis of its environmental costs. That definitely seems like too much work to me. I have two deadlines coming up, a mini quiz and exams are coming closer every minute. Maybe when I’m sixty and retired I will try to discover my sustain-abilities, but until then, the environment will just have to wait a little longer.
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COMING-OF-AGE MOVIES — Chi Mai Do Tran
What’s out of the box?
Let’s be straight with one another - growing up is terrifying. It’s probably right up there with the scariest of horror movies; in fact, I’m rather surprised that they haven’t done a number on the horror of, as people like to put it these days, adulting. Growing up is not as simple as getting over your puberty acne or teenage angst. It’s leaving behind the safe haven of your childhood and entering the harsh, cold reality of life where you are expected (and required) to make decisions that will have major impacts on the rest of your life. If that doesn’t sound hard enough, you also have to do it while juggling with several existential crises, the pressure of student loans and the very real need of just crawling into bed for the rest of eternity. Seems fun, doesn’t it? It’s been a few years since I was seventeen and unsure about life (unfortunately, the latter part remains), but I find that I enjoy coming-ofage movies now just as much as I did then, if not more. In a way, it’s probably because all of the confusions and the uncertainties don’t disappear after you’ve passed eighteen and Coming-of-age movies are relatable to people of all ages, because who among us have not experienced that period in life when we are trying to grow up to the best we can be? That’s where the genre’s charm lies, and it also explains why it’s so popular with filmmakers all over the world years after years. Time might change, and technology might be developing faster than we can keep up (IBCoMers, you know this all too well), but many of our concerns we had at that age remain the same.
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2017 has been a good year for coming-ofage movies. Two titles, Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name, received critical acclaims as well as financial success. In the wake of the Oscars, we’ve put together this list of four coming-of-age movies - not the ones whose names you’ve heard repeated over and over, but the out-of-the-box options that might just surprise you.
Sunny (2011):
This South Korean comedy-drama is among the country’s highest grossing films of all time and has received several accolades for its plot, directing and acting. It follows middle-aged housewife Im Na Mi as she, following the wish of a dying friend, brings together their group of high school friends who haven’t seen each other in 25 years. The plot alternates between the present of the women who have taken diverging paths in life and the past of a group of seven high school girls who, despite their different personalities, have come together to form a friendship of a lifetime. Compared to romantic love, friendship’s the type of love that’s much less talked about on the big screen, but it’s no less a central theme in the life of young people.
2. Carrie Pilby (2016): Like Call Me By Your Name, this movie is an adaptation from the best-selling novel of the same name written by Caren Lissner. It’s directed by indie filmmaker Susan Johnson and stars relatively unknown names. The titular character, Carrie, is a genius who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18 (talk about smart!) and who thinks that the world’s filled with oversexed people waiting to jump each other. The story is about her journey towards growing in her own skin, however awkward it might be, and trying to understand the people around her. Carrie Pilby deals with the matter of sex for young adults in a way that show it not as something vulgar and embarrassing to giggle about, but perfectly normal and beautiful.
“Friendship’s the type of love that’s much less talked about on the big screen, but it’s no less a central theme in the life of young people.”
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3. Spirited Away - Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (2001): Okay, I digress - Spirited Away is not exactly out-of-the-box material, but it still receives much less attention compared to the likes of Boyhood or Lady Bird, even with an Oscar for Best Animated Feature under its belt. The anime’s not strictly coming-of-age by Hollywood standards, considering that it happens not in a normal school, but in a land inhabited by spirits of all shapes and sizes. Chihiro Ogino, the main character, is also not a high school student; she’s a 10-year-old Japanese girl who’s dealing with moving to a completely new town. However, her transformation from a sullen, somewhat-spoiled and petulant child to a brave, determined and hard-working young girl is no less relevant for people 18 or 20 years of age. This movie is about growing up as much as it is about diversity, acceptance and friendship. A bonus? The artwork’s a feast for the eyes.
4. Bad Genius - Chalard Game Goeng (2017): What’s student life without a bit of cheating at some point? But whatever you have experienced, it is probably no where near the level of cheating featured in this Thai drama - here, it’s practically an art, one that earns the main character, Lynn, a lot of money (and I mean a lot). Inspired by the real-life SAT cheating scandal in several East Asian countries, this heist film follows the story of Lynn, a straight-A student who has been awarded a full scholarship for her academic achievements, as she devised plans to cheat in class that eventually rise to an international level. The film touches upon issues of class inequality, income gap, as well as typical drama that (probably) every teenager goes through. It also features cheating strategies like you have never seen before, starting with using classical music to know the answers to multiple choices. We would not advise attempting any cheating in real life, but this film is definitely one to check out. 18
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Why should Finding the right skincare products can prove to be quite a challenge; there are so many products to choose from, and how do you know what ingredients to look for? Product labels are rarely any help, because who knows what ethylhexyl stearate, sorbitol or poly-glycerine-3 methyglucose distearate are… So, you are often left guessing and depending on brand-names or pretty-packaging. This attitude is very understandable, but it can also be risky, because although skincare products have to adhere to particular restrictions there still are many harmful ingredients that manage to slip through. One frequently debated example is that of parabens. You have likely seen advertisements stating that a certain product is paraben-free, and might have wondered what they are or what their effects are. Parabens are commonly used preservatives in skin care products,
Number 1: Tea Tree oil
To summarize the controversy very briefly, the ingredient has estrogenmimicking qualities that can have an impact on your hormone balance. Consequences of this have, amongst other things, been linked in research to an increased risk of breast-cancer. However, despite this they are they are still being used by many brands, even ones that you might not expect. Brands such as Lush or The Body Shop for example, which are commonly thought to sell products that are fresh and based on natural ingredients, still sell products that do contain parabens. Now stay calm, I’m not saying you should suddenly throw away all your products from Lush, but it is a good idea to become more informed about what is actually in the products that you buy and use. Plus, it’s good to know that there are plenty of alternatives! For one, many new indie brands are emerging that are more transparent about the ingredients they use and whose products do not contain harmful preservatives, alcohol or silicones which many commercial products do. However, for those who aren’t
This oil is perfect if you get a lot of breakouts, redness or if you suffer from acne. You can use the oil in its pure form and apply it directly on your skin; this can help get rid of spots overnight! However, be careful in how much you use as it is quite a strong oil, and overuse could dry out or irritate your skin. Prices for a bottle of 10 ml range around 10 euros and will last you a very long time, since you don’t need much per session. Suggested use: Spot treatment Treat any pimples you have with tea-tree oil before you go to sleep. You do not need to rinse it off. 20
d I (skin)care ? — Temi de Groen
Number 3: Coconut Oil Coconut oil is probably the most well-known ingredients we included on this list, and one of my favourites. Personally I use it to take of my make-up and as a face mask during the winter when my skin gets very dry. It can be used to cleanse, moisture and heal your skin and has antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (aka its great). It’s also very versatile (you can also use to cook and to treat your hair) and cheap! A jar of 500 grams costs about 3-5 euros and you can find it at any beauty-supply store or supermarket. Suggested use: Cleanser Use it to take of your make-up or simply to clean your face at the end of the day. Work it into your skin, rinse it of with lukewarm water and dab your face dry.
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Number 3: Raw Honey If your skin is in need of moisture, honey can be great to use. This ingredient actually has a rich history of usage in treating skin problems. Besides having moisturizing properties, it can also help reduce breakouts, reduce scars, fight rashes and much more. When you buy honey you do need to be careful, however, that you buy it in its unprocessed form, because in this form the benefits are strongest. Raw honey is unheated, unpasteurized and unprocessed, and a jar of about 350 grams can be bought for 5-10 euros online, at bio-stores or at de Tuinen. Suggested use: Homemade face-mask Mix 1 tablespoon of raw honey with half an avocado and let the mask sit on your skin for 15-20 minutes. After that, rinse of the mask using a washcloth and warm water. Avocado also helps moisturize your face and has been said to boost your collagen production (a protein that promotes skin elasticity, amongst other things).
Number 4: Sea salt Many people don’t realize that most of the commercial scrubs on the market contain tiny bits of microplastic, which is extremely harmful to the environment. Because they are too small to be filtered out, they eventually end up in the ocean, causing serious harm to the wildlife. A great alternative to this is to use sea salt! Salt contains lots of beneficial minerals and nutrients, and has anti-inflammatory qualities that can help soothe your skin, balance your skin’s oil production and help it retain moisture levels. Suggested use: Facial scrub Add two teaspoons of himalayan or celtic sea salt and 1 tablespoon of raw honey to a bowl and rub it gently on your skin. Afterwards, let is sit for about 15 minutes and rinse it of with lukewarm water. It helps to unclog your pores and promotes cell renewal. This method is very gentl
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o s , g n i r p S r o f e m i t It's g n i n a e l C t e g let's — Flore Ziegfeld Coming from a seasoned cleaning-out fan, trust me when I say that spring cleaning is just about the most life-changing thing you can do to your own four walls. I’m here to guide you through a process that will make you want to clean. Yes, even you. 1. The vault that is your closet To clean out your closet, make three piles and pick out items one-by-one: keep, sell, donate. Anything unworn for 6 months will be a garment you probably won’t miss anyway, otherwise you would have worn it in the meantime. Be hard on yourself! Next, let your friends raid your sell and donate-piles before you get rid of these items. Ask them to bring some clothes too; try on and swap each other’s clothes for a new wardrobe sans the hefty price tag. Afterwards, toss the keep-pile into the washing machine for a fresh new start on your new closet. Especially for namebrand items that are left over, take pictures and post them to Facebook selling groups; this is an easy and fast way to make money. Put those IBCoM marketing skills to a test in composing catchy captions for your items! Bag up the donate-pile and drop it off at your closest clothes-donation bin. Instant gratification is a sweet, sweet sentiment.
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2. You are what you hoard Move on to all those areas you’ve been avoiding to look at for months: your desk, old files, any drawers and cupboards that give you headaches upon opening them. De-clutter and re-organize them. File away stray documents, scan/take pictures of important ones and put them into your Google Drive. Makeup and medication, too, have expiry dates. Prevent any skinnasties by tossing your products once the time has come to say goodbye. You’ll find these symbols on your cosmetics, indicating how many months they’re good to use upon opening. Make this process easier by making a habit out of labelling products with the date you started using them.
Find your closest Leger des Heils to donate your clothes: https://www.reshare.nl/map
3. Getting down to business After cleaning out, possibly re-arrange furniture to round off that all-new room (this usually exposes one or the other dusty area you’ll need to incorporate into your cleaning; afterwards, use the storage space under beds and sofas for out-of-season clothes storage). It’s a three-step process: tidy the surface, clean the surface, clean the floors. That way, you prevent having to clean any areas getting dirty again and having to clean twice. Plan something fun to look forward to after cleaning. That way it’ll pass faster and force you to finish by a certain time instead of putting it off until the next day. Remember easy-to-forget spots like the washing machine, microwave, refrigerator, or remotes. Also: your laptop! Clean the hardware and the folders on your laptop. Unsubscribe from newsletters that create virtual clutter.
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come your best, be u yo s lp he ew vi er ov f ie hope this br cleanest self this spring!
PHOTOSPREAD "I Want to See a River of Orchids Where We Had a Motorway" By OMVWB
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#IDONTMIND — Sandra Post There are many different types of mental illnesses and disorders, with more people suffering from these health issues than we might realise. According to statistics (and we students love statistics...) already one out of every five Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis. You might be dealing with some sort of mental illness yourself, or maybe you know someone close to you that is suffering. However, there are also still many people out there of whom we do not know how many are having difficulties dealing with their own minds, because they are too afraid to speak up. Maybe you are one of those people? The best way to treat mental illnesses is to talk about them. But because of the stigma that has been attached to mental health and the idea that mental illnesses are linked to weakness or being faulty, we are too ashamed to talk about it. Every year in May it is mental health awareness month, and from the second monday of May it is mental health awareness week. But why just this one month? Do we also fight for our physical health only one month in the year? No. Every single day you can become ill and when it comes to physical pain, we are not ashamed of it. We can prove it. It is measurable. But the fact that mental illnesses are less visible, doesn’t make them less of a problem. A new Campaign in October last year titled “I Don’t Mind” was launched by actor Chris Wood. Maybe you know him from playing a psychotic witch in the Vampire Diaries, or in his more recent role as an alien fighting crime on the superhero show Supergirl. Yes, his characters have troubles too... But together with the cast of Supergirl he is now also trying to fight the stigma surrounding mental problems. Chris Wood teamed up with NAMI - The National Alliance on Mental Illness - and the cast of Supergirl to raise awareness for mental health issues. They have been selling T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps for people to wear, and by wearing these clothes you are making a statement; that you don’t mind sharing how you feel and you don’t mind admitting that you need help. At the same time, all the money raised by selling these clothes will go to NAMI. This organisation provides support and research for people whose lives have been impacted by the negative consequences of mental illnesses. Sounds like a good plan to me!
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We live in a society where we are ashamed to admit we might not be mentally okay. We do not want to admit that we have trouble mastering our mind and we see it as embarrassing that we might not always be happy. We hide it under fake smiles and pretty pictures. But this does not take away the problem. In fact, all this faking might even make it worse. The issue is closely related to Chris’ personal life as his father struggled with a mental illness. His father was too afraid to admit his problem, too embarrassed to talk about it. Having never been diagnosed and therefore never having received the help he should have, Chris’ father took his own life when Chris was in his early twenties. This mournful story is what was the motivation behind the #IDONTMIND campaign and at the same time shows us the importance of making mental illness something we can talk about.
Defeating the Stigma The idea behind the campaign is to defeat the stigma that is surrounding mental health issues by making people say that one simple phrase: I don’t mind. We shouldn’t be scared to talk about it.
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Several co-actors from Chris have put on the T-shirt and posted instagram photos of themselves with the hashtag #IDONTMIND. But the spreading of the message’s importance does not stop there. Both Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness have put years of effort in making mental illness as commonly known and understood as physical illnesses and have been advocating to help each other. Besides this development, several celebrities have admitted, to be struggling with their minds in the past year, and have stressed the importance of this problem, and how it must be addressed societally.
Are you struggling, or do you know someone who is? Are you willing to talk about it? Are you brave enough to admit? If you want to join it is very easy to find information from Mental Health America, NAMI or #IDONTMIND online. They also give many options to help these organisations. You do not even need to donate money, you can simply join the #IDONTMIND campaign by using the hashtag on your Instagram or Facebook and let the world know that You Don’t Mind. It might seem like such a small thing, but being able to talk about it can actually help many people, and I know it has helped me. I Don’t Mind. Do you mind?
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From quidditch to pole dancing, how will you get that summer body ? — Francis Garlich The winter is finally over, and this also means that it is time to awaken from your winter hibernation and start to get active again. The cold winter often has a funny way of making sports seem like the worst thing ever, because you just want to lay in your bed. But now that spring has come, it is time to pick up your exercise! Luckily, there are so many great sports and activities offered by both Erasmus Sport and other facilities, that it won’t be hard to get back into that summer-proof body!
Erasmus Sport: Erasmus Sport has tons to offer and it is a sure thing that you will find something that appeals to you. You can, first of all, join all these different sport teams that meet multiple times per week and even play games against students from other cities. This is a great way to meet new people, and playing in a team also motivates you to always show up and do your absolute best. They have everything from football to volleyball to lacrosse, it is definitely worth checking out!
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Besides the sport teams, Erasmus Sport also offers a lot of fun courses and lessons that you can join each week. As for the lessons, they have a “body fit” schedule; on there, you will find all the different lessons they have to offer every week. They have a lot of classes that are focused on muscle training and increasing your physical fitness, like indoor cycling and BBB. But they also offer other fun activities, like yoga and boxing.
Maybe the most fun thing that Erasmus Sport offers are the courses that stretch out over a few weeks. These are often sports that you would never consider doing and that is definitely what makes it even more fun. There is, for example, a new pole dancing course that starts in April. It would be so much fun to join this course with a friend and to learn this new sport that you never done before while having fun in company. Other courses that Erasmus Sport offered in the past were a Balkan infused dance class, an aerial hoop class and even a Quidditch class! I can’t imagine anything more fun than exercising while you’re running around with a broomstick between your legs pretending you are part of the Harry Potter world. Lastly, Erasmus Sport also has gym facilities, where you can use the different equipment to exercise yourself. You can buy a sport pass to access this gym and it is way cheaper than other gyms in Rotterdam. The gym has two floors, full of both cardio and muscular training equipment, there are thus a lot of options and it is often not too busy, so you do not have to wait long. Additionally, you will also get a lot of discount at other sports facilities with the Erasmus Sport pass. You can, for example, get discounts on both wall climbing and swimming and you even get free entrance at Crossfit Kralingen and the ice skating rink. In short, Erasmus Sport has innumerable options to start getting active again!
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Other sport facilities: Erasmus Sport is not the only facility to offer fun ways of exercising. Rotterdam has so many other things to offer and here, I want to highlight two more that are really fun and of which you may not have heard yet. The first one is a floatfit course at “Zwemcentrum Rotterdam”, which is the newest and biggest swimming pool in Rotterdam. Floatfit is a workout where you do several exercises on a floating board. This makes it a little more of a challenge and it also provides for a few laughs. It can just be a great activity to do with your friends, and gives a fun twist to more conventional forms of exercise.
The second one is trampoline fitness at Jump XL Rotterdam, a big trampoline park where the floor and walls are all covered in trampolines. Jumping on trampolines is a great way of exercising - it was found that ten minutes on a trampoline equals 30 minutes of running! Jump XL Rotterdam offers a fitness class which takes place almost daily from 8 until 9 PM. It is intensive training that can really help you improve your physical fitness. As you can see, there are countless of great ways to get back into shape. You can join a sports team, start following fun courses, like pole dancing, floatfit and quidditch, or you can just choose to do your own exercising by going to the gym. There’s more than enough options to find something that really fits your fitness goals!
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"GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO SWEAT"
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The Good, The Bad and The Cheap Forever trying to be that #goals, super organized person by planning on preparing and taking lunches, snacks and even maybe a thinking of a nice drink to get you through a rough day of class. But ending up being that sleepy student who stays in bed a little too long and causing you to rush out the door, again, without lunch, is often the reality for a lot of us.
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Most of us don’t mind this however, as the Erasmus campus has so many food and lunch options in every corner, however the costs that come along with choosing for a pizza over a homemade lunch are very different. I went across campus in my search to find the tastiest meals for the best deals.
— Cara Sainsbury
Bean Square
Where: Theil Building (C Building) Average price: €2 Sold most: budget roll The Bean Square is great for coffee and a snack. They have some cheap food options, like the budget roll which is only €1. But there is only a limited selection of sandwiches, sweet snacks or fruit. It is so nice to have a really cheap choice on campus, but the food itself is not very exciting. However, Bean Square the closest snack station to the library, so it is very convenient during those busy exam study days. Rating:
Paviljoen
Where: middle of campus, across Food Plaza and next to the pond Average price: €6 Sold most: burgers Pavilijoen is more of a restaurant, when it comes to food. They have great quality meals, which include pizzas, burgers, pastas, sandwiches and cakes. Their cheapest menu item is the sandwich of the day (which changes daily) or one of the soups, priced at €4 each. Even though Pavilijoen is a little more on the pricier side of the option on campus, the atmosphere is more appropriate for meeting people or hanging out with friends rather than just grabbing a quick bite. Rating:
Erasmus Sport Café
The Etude Global Market
The vibe at the sport café is really relaxed and it seems like there is always someone around. You can get sandwiches, hot snacks, drinks and toasties there. The toasties are also why many people come here, as they are only €1,50. The food is very basic, but does the job for a lunch and is really inexpensive. They also have many options to choose from and they will alter your order easily if you want to change it.
The Etude, or better known as the Tinbergen canteen, has so many options for different kinds of meal situations. They, just like Bean Square, have a budget sandwich for only €1,50. However, they famously serve full dinner meals for a very low price, as well as soups, wraps, snacks and fruit. The atmosphere seems casual, but productive as many students choose to have meetings or to actually study here.
Rating:
Rating:
Where: Sport Building Average price: €3 Sold most: tuna sandwich
Where: Tinbergen Building (H) Average price: €4 Sold most: full meals
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Unplugging without Unplugging a breather for when you gotta keep the tech running — Mona Abdou So, unplugging is pretty hip these days, isn’t it? We’ve all done it — turned to our friend with a theatrical flourish of eye-rolls and exhaustion; “you know what I need?” you’d say, a complacent smile making home on your features, “I need a break. In the woods. Alone and, like, without a phone. Or, you know, whatever.” Pretentious? Absolutely. Necessary? Also absolutely. There’s always a catch though: unplugging is jazzy in theory, but it isn’t something many can manage on a tight schedule brimming with school, work and a potentially deteriorating social life. So, as much as we all want to juggle, it’s best to leave it to the jugglers. That said, what’s the alternative? Unplugging presents us with a peace of mind that’s hard to achieve in a world founded on connectivity. Some of us don’t have the luxury of being able to drop everything all of a sudden, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a three minute breather. So here’s a(n incredibly vast) list of four applications that’ll give you a break when you need it. Word to the wise: if you’re going to be that one person who uses them at the office under desks and paperwork, be discrete — last thing you want is a pink-slip and last thing I want is a lawsuit, Brian.
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I. Headspace Developer/s: Andy Puddicombe Developer description: Headspace is the simple way to reframe stress. Relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that bring calm, wellness and balance to your life in just a few minutes a day. (Type: Freemium). Verdict: If you’ve been on the internet for a grand total of three whole minutes, you’ve heard of Headspace. You’ve either seen the YouTube video-ads floating around, or the static, wellmeaning ones on Facebook. In all honestly, I was pleasantly surprised; with its simple range of breathing exercises and easy-to-follow, bitesize meditation, Headspace seems like an ideal goto for those lunch breaks. The colorful, creative interface certainly did its fairshare to convince me, too.
II. Stop, Breathe & Think Developer/s: Tools for Peace Developer description: At Stop, Breathe & Think, we believe that when more people find peace of mind, it makes the world a better place. Our mission is to help kids, teens and young adults build the emotional strength to tackle life’s ups and downs. Verdict Unlike Headspace, SB&T is a little more niche in that it actually targets ‘problem areas’ along with introducing you to the basics of meditation. Providing everything from quick 5-minute lessons (with the help of some wonderful theme-based caricatures), to encouraging mood management and attempting to remedy anxiety, SB&T could become a useful addition to the mess of apps on your smartphone. (Type: Freemium).
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III. Pigment Developer/s: Pixie LLC Developer description: Coloring has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Just 5-10 minutes of coloring can provide the same benefits as meditation, and help you practice mindfulness, live in the moment, enhance concentration, and encourage your creative side. (Type: Free). Verdict: Some people aren’t into the zen-scene, and meditation might not be your thing. Draw the curtains, in that case, for Pixie LLC’s Pigment: a you-get-what-you-came-for type of application. It’s a digitized adult coloring book with a straightforward interface and a bunch of cool-looking designs. Out of all the applications on this list, this is by far the simplest and quickest to use; you’re not subjected to a narrator and you set the rhythm in terms of time. I’d say give it a swing, if gamification happens to be your forte.
IV. Calm Developer/s: Michael Acton-Smith + Alex Tew Developer description: Calm is dedicated to adventures in mindfulness, the power of a good night's sleep, and cultivating a healthier and happier life. (Type: Free). Verdict: This is the best one, everyone else can just go home. Jokes aside, while Calm might seem like just another meditation app that’s a little sleeker and less playful than Headspace and Stop, Breathe & Think, it’s a lot more creative than just that. The application still incorporates the meditation aspect, but Calm is more well known for what it calls Sleep Stories. Ever wanted someone renowned to read you a relaxing, sleep-inducing bedtime story? Do you like listening rather than playing games or meditating? Do you miss your mom? 42
IT’S TIME TO
UNPLUG 43
Composed by Myley van Prehn
Playlists&Poems
#Playlist
- Today's hits
One Kiss - Dua Lipa ft. Calvin Harris God's Plan - Drake Call Out My Name - The Weeknd I Like It - Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin IDGAF - Dua Lipa Hard 2 Face Reality - Poo Bear, JB, Jay Electronica Let Me - ZAYN Silence - Marshmello ft. Khalid Psycho - Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign Breathe - Jax Jones ft. Ina Wroldsen
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#Poems
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CREDITS EDITORIAL TEAM
Editor-in-Chief Fabiënne Vuijk
Managing Editor Anaelle do Rego
Copy Editor Clement Taffin
CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Alejandra Murcia
Myley van Prehn
WRITERS
Mona Abdou
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Sara Alkilany
Chi Mai đỗ trần
Judith van Driel
Francis Garlich
Temi de Groen
Steven Hillen
Leyla Suleymanova
Evropi-Nefeli Syriopoulou
Flore Ziegfeld
Nicoleta Ciobanu
Cara Sainsbury
Sandra Post
BLOGGERS
Ayesha Ashe
Dana Suckau
PHOTOGRAPHER
Liv Buzzell
Thank you for reading! - The IBCoMagazine Team
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" ALMOST EVERYTHING WILL WORK IF YOU UNPLUG IT FOR A FEW MINUTES, INCLUDING YOU "
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