The International | Issue 2

THE

INTERNATIONAL SEARCHING FOR HIPSTERS

COFFEE & BEANIES

LOMOGRAPHY

The International | 1

A LETTER FROM THE

IN THIS ISSUE

EDIToRS _

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One of the best things of an international study is meeting interna-

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tional students. Being in a class with people from all around the world really enriches your development as a person. You’re getting to know different cultures and you learn a little bit about all the different things that the world has to offer.

We ourselves are working with international cultures day by day. Per example Roos had the chance to take an extra dive into a new culture by being a buddy coach. A buddy coach helps an international student with settling in their new country. Her buddy is from Taiwan and Roos loves to hear her stories about her buddies home country, her stories about being an international student here in the Netherlands, and the differences between her and our culture. If you want to know more about Roos’ buddy and other international students and their experience here in the Netherlands, read their stories on page 10.

ICM Dialogue is also a good opportunity to meet new internationals and their cultures. Being the chairperson of Dialogue greats an great opportunity for Laura to meet those different cultures and get to know more about those, this also counts for all the members of the foundation. Organizing events to bring new international people together is unbelievably lovely to do. Theme parties, city trip, international fairs, and the introduction camp are a great opportunity to see happy faces and make new friends.

Next to different cultures, which come with different nationalities, you also have various subcultures among the students. At the Hogeschool Utrecht you’ll find students with different styles and interest. Many students at the HU love music, they even organize live band sessions at their student houses. Other students love sports, gaming, hanging around with friends, and being fashionable. Some of these are hipsters, but what are hipsters exactly, what are their interests and how do they look like? When are you considered a hipster?

Editors in Chief Laura de Kievit Roos Barneveld

André Ernst Judith Blankman Tudoritza Sahanovschi

INTERNATIONAL

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International Journalists Adelina Prioteasa Maria Golovanova Olaf Nagtegaal

Student Life Journalists

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Lysanne Krouwel Nirit Michaeli Lennart Braatz Ad Franzen Richard Versmissen

STUDENT LIFE

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Photographers

Designers

Sarah Marie Picolet (Lead) Bryan Minton Eainne Mc Donald

Executive Editor

Kassiani Nikolopoulou

Culture Shock: An Insight Arriving Down Under Interview with an International An International Perspective: First Impressions of the Netherlands

Marian Grunden Thelea Terborg Kaisu Nevasalmi Melanie van Leeuwen Stefania Karina Paolini Dennis de Zwaan

Sara Vonk Viktoriya Aleksandrova

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School Journalists

In this issue of our magazine you can read everything about different cultures, both subcultures and cultures defined by peoples nationality.

Read about coffee culture, about how to find a job as an international and about another great subculture; those who practice lomography.

We’re really curious about your opinion about subcultures. Are you part of a subculture or do you think subcultures are nonsense? Let us know on our facebook page and don’t forget to vote on our poll!

Laura and Roos.

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Dennis de Zwaan

Columnists

Love,

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5 6 7 8

Read Faster & Memorize Information More Effectively Hippie Time!

Super Hero Party She Lived Happily Ever After Public Relations: Another Kind of Diplomacy Here, There and Everywhere

Copy Editor

We wouldn’t consider ourselves hipsters. We might go to clubs and festivals in Amsterdam and Utrecht where a lot of hipsters are going and yes we might love to get photographed there, because we might be “cool” enough. However we don’t mind being called mainstream and we do listen popular music too. Yet after reading Kaisu’s article about hipsters, we learned that every hipster is in denial of being a hipster, so we’re a little bit lost here.

Enjoy this issue and until next time!

SCHOOL

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Working as an International Keep it Natural! (DIY) Searching For Hipsters Spring Festivals 2013 Coffee & Beanies Lomography: Here to Stay, or a Snapshot?

22 ¡Buenos Días, Argentina!

23 Why We Study

Printer

Drukkerij de la Montagne

Lomography Photograph Kevin Dooley

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Photos: Martha Sarah - martha.butterflycaught on Flickr

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ANDRE ERNST

Being able to comprehend several books per block is a skill

that institutions of higher education expect from every student.

Furthermore these institutions also expect that students can present their acquired knowledge to the lecturers and other students in class. There are numerous techniques learnable that can facilitate the reading and memorization process by using the brain more effectively. Three of these techniques are called Speed Reading, Pegging, and Chaining.

Speed Reading describes the skill of reading a text with above

average speed but still maintaining the ability to comprehend it. People who use this skill often read four to five times faster than the average reader. The first step to improve your reading speed can be as simple as using a pen to point at the text you are reading. The reason behind this method is that you are avoiding backtracking and that you are constantly moving forward. What is important to understand about the reading process is that you see only a fraction of all letters directly with your eyes since around 80% of your vision is your peripheral vision. Through practicing Speed Reading you focus on your peripheral vision, which allows you to see more words than the average reader with each look you take at a text. Several lines of text can be thus read simultaneously if you are aware of your peripheral vision.

It's Hippie Time

Lysanne Krouwel

Pegging is a memorization tecnique that was

‘I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair… in ’77 and ’69 a revolution was in the air’. The Dutchies may know this song

developed by Stanislaus Mink around 1648, This technique can help you memorize big chunks of information. According to this method, you have to make a list of the information you need to remember. Then you assign pre-memorized objects like a hammer or a bike to each part of this list so that the items are recalled as vivid, mental images. These pre-memorized objects are called “peg“ words and are easier to remember if they are linked to a number with which they rhyme. For example, if the first thing you need to remember is milk you could create a picture of a gun that fires milk in your mind (gun rhymes with one).

Additional reading: http://www.memory-sports.com/

of Sandi Thom (although I think more will know it since Sandi Thom is Scottish and a well-known artist). I can seriously dream this song.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if everyone was a little bit of a ‘hippie’?

According to the dictionary a hippie is “a person who rejected

established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations, expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in casual, folksy clothing and beads, headbands, used garments, etc.” To make this shorter and easier to read: a hippie is a flower child.

When I think of this, I always think of John Lennon with the song ‘Give peace a chance’. The song originally recorded in a hotel room when John Lennon and Yoko had their honeymoon.

Reporters constantly asked John Lennon why he wanted to stay in bed all the time and he then repeated: ‘to give peace a chance’. After this response someone hired equipment for John Lennon and thus the song was born.

Chaining is another memorization strategy that allows you to

remember as much information as you need to remember. Again you organize the information that you want to memorize into a list.

You link two things from this list together in a chain. Each element is connected in a mental image with the next element. The chain continues until all information is coded into mental images. For example, you need to remember the words bucket, duck, plane, and France. You could picture a bucket that is worn by a duck which travels with a plane to France.

4 | The International

Photograph by Deena Jones

The first thought that you have after finishing this article may be that it seems like it takes a lot of effort to learn Speed Reading, Pegging and Chaining but in the end it is only necessary to learn these techniques once and practice them. The strategies will be worth their practitioners time since they can be used indefinitely by those who mastered them. With Speed Reading for example the time spent on reading study material can be significantly reduced even after only reading the book and following the book’s basic recommendations like using a pen as a visual guide.

Denna Jones

Now there are about 16 different versions of this song from Sir Elton John to Stevie Wonder to Aerosmith. All the songs create the atmosphere of the hippie culture. We are all together and there’s only peace and love. And don’t forget the flowers! In these times of crisis we have to take a look at ourselves. What are we doing? What is becoming of the world? We have to be there for each other and help if necessary. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you are from, we all can learn something from the hippie times. That is why I wear my flower jeans, watch Hair and don’t worry. I’ve learned to just sit down, sing a song and imagine the world becoming a better place.

Don’t worry,, be hippie, Lysanne The International | 5

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M C I o r e h r e p y u t S r a p

By Judith Blankman 06.03.2013 - 23.00-04.00.

“Does these numbers mean anything to you? NO?! What!

Has this secret not been revealed to you?

Get ready to absorb some very interesting, top secret information.

Go ahead... sit down.

Sure you can get a glass of water first!

Ok. Ready to read about the World’s biggest secret? Yes? Ok. let’s get started then!”

The numbers above represent the date and time of the very first ICM Super Hero Party! For several weeks the ICM Party Team and the Super Hero League held several secret meetings, to plan this big event. The guest list needed to be set up, a secret location needed to be picked, top agents were hired to create the highest security level, and the superhero DJs needed to be booked.

To ensure that no villains could enter this amazing party, the location, date and time were revealed to the guests just a couple of weeks before the event. First through an official invitation - with a self-destroying mechanism -, a Secret Facebook event, and through your confidential sources.

“Hey, are you still managing? Feel a bit dizzy? Let’s breath for a second. Breath in.... BREATH OUT, BREATH OUT! Pfffff good... Let’s continue!”

Many super heroes attended the party. A big thumbs up for all the outfits! We have seen Superman – in many forms, sizes and outfits – Superwomen, Zorro, the Power Puff Girls, Totally Spies, Spiderman, and many more!

The overall atmosphere was very positive, just like any other ICM Party. The DJs gave their all, the music was loud, heroes could not stop dancing, and the drinks kept coming.

It was really nice to see that everyone got along, that there were no incidents, quite the opposite actually, I believe some Super Heroes really hit it off.

6 | The International

She Lived Happily, Ever After Richard Versmissen “If you don’t organize extra resits for me, I will kill myself”, the ICM student from the country far, far away, told me. “If I don’t graduate this July, my family will marry me to someone they chose for me.”

She was a sixth year’s student and there were two or three subjects that she kept on failing, whatever she tried, in her perception. Two weeks later, she failed the extra resits.

I consulted two friends, both experienced social workers, familiar with extreme cases of neglect and abuse. Typically, they gave me Dutch advice: “people are responsible for their own behaviour, so if the student wants to commit suicide, that is her decision, her responsibility. Did you consider that she is faking all of this?” In the meantime, there was quite a lot of unrest at ICM. The student concerned approached lecturers herself, she wrote to the faculty management, she broke down in the institute’s director’s room.

I took a decision on the actions that should follow; the faculty management overruled this.

Anyway, the student graduated on time, in good order. A few months later, she was married and moved to the United States with her MBA(Master of Business Administration) husband, who really looked after her well. Within two years, she had two children.

Another three years later, she mailed me: “I am moving back to my own country. On my own, with the children. I am looking for a place that feels like a home. I really need a home.”

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ANOTHER P

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Kind of

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If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.

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-Bill Gates

Diplomacy Tudoritza Sahanovschi

drug use in his memoir “Dreams From My Father”. The timing was perfect given the fact that it was an early stage of his political career and this way he kept others from using that information against him.

“Do not think that PR is just media relations. If you have to read PR as media relations, you’re cutting off your future…Go for big ideas.

It doesn’t have to be elegant; it has to be clever”, said Richard Edelman, the president of the public relations company Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm.

Public Relations is one of the most riveting professions nowadays.

However, despite its media coverage, there is a popular misconception among people, and students especially, that public relations is primarily about talking and meeting with people. No, PR is not what Samantha Jones does in “Sex and the city”, to many people’s disappointment. Public relations involves managing an organization’s image through planning, research, communication, and assessment. For example, this is what Starbucks does in order to maintain and attract faithful customers.

Few know that the origins of Public Relations go back as far as the American Revolution, and in the early 1800s authors used publicity to build excitement for their books. Yet, PR as a profession is generally seen as having grown during World War I. How did PR evolve into a profession? Well, without Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays, public relations would have remained an unknown concept. The two founders of modern public relations helped stimulate the development of this specialty as a profession by organizing publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives during World War I. Each of them contributed immensely to the field of public relations. Lee was the first PR professional to deal with crisis management, while Bernays promoted the use of psychology to manipulate public opinion, which was unsurprising given the fact that he is Sigmund Freud’s nephew.

People are generally confused when there is an array of definitions for a single concept, and this is the case of public relations as well.

Yet, a basic, fundamental fact that one should know about public relations is its ultimate goal, which is relating with a wide range of publics. Even though there are many unflattering names that have 8 | The International

been given to practitioners, including “high-paid errand boys and buffers for management” (Marvin Olasky), public relations is critical to organizations that need to interact with the world.

Honesty in Public Relations Honesty associated with Public Relations might sound hypocritical to most people, but yes, these two terms have more in common than one can think. “Tell the truth, tell it all, tell it early, tell it yourself!” This is a famous quote said by Lanny Davis, who advised President Bill Clinton on damage control. Consequently, honesty is the best policy especially when it comes to crisis management.

A proof of the accuracy of this statement is the media disaster in which ended many personalities and companies.

PR Controversy & Mistakes A very good example to illustrate the importance of telling the truth in a crisis situation is the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal when in 1998 she had an affair with the US president, Bill Clinton.

During this scandal President Clinton avoided to tell the truth and the situation got even worse. Had he acknowledged the affair when the story first broke rather than denying it, the story might well have blown over quickly. As a good example on how honesty can work, there is Barack Obama’s revealing of his college-days

Besides delaying a reaction to an event or even worse, lying about it, another mistake a company can make is assuming that glib communication is a substitute for real actions when solving a public problem. No. Not even a single time did this approach end successfully during a media or marketing disaster. Nothing tests an organization’s PR department more than a crisis. There are so many world renowned organizations that faced these situations, such as Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, the consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson, Blackberry, and many others.

An excellent example of successfully handling a crisis is the publishing of “I did It”, a book that ignited a storm of controversy, largely due to the perception that Simpson, the author, was trying to profit from the two deaths for which his civil suit verdict had found him liable. Both Fox News and a HarperCollins publisher did not reconsider scheduling an interview with the author, nor the option of not publishing it. If you think things could not have gone worse, yes they could. Both companies are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp. So what did he do in order to calm down the public? He immediately fired the book’s publisher and cancelled the interview.

Drastic and quick actions are required in these situations.

“Everything you do or say is public relations” is a frequently used

sentence. That might sound as an easy job to most of the readers, but the art of public relations consists of saying the right things to the right audience. Public relations is all about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you...PR can be seen as a vital part of an organization, part that has the magical ability to raise, maintain, improve, or even change reputation. After all, even Bill Gates agrees with that: "If I was down to my last dollar,

Here, there and everywhere AD FRANZEN

In the morning I bike to school. In front of me I

can see a colleague on his bike and he seems to be talking to himself. When I come closer I can see that he is talking to his cell phone, so I pass him by without showing that I recognize him. In school I enter my office and two of my colleagues are at their laptop. When I greet them, one continues to look at her laptop, she is in a Skype session with a student abroad. There is a large silent queue in the coffee room; some of my colleagues are watching a news update on TV while they are waiting and a few others are texting messages on smart phones or IPads (or IPods or EPads, I have lost track of recent technology.)

At 9.30 I have an SPSS workshop and as usual I am running around like a madman to answer all the questions students have about this program. Although I have tried to convince students that they should fully focus on SPSS, the screens of the computers show multiple other applications like Hotmail, Sharepoint and even MSN or Facebook. ‘We have already been waiting for you for two minutes so you can imagine that we get bored, don’t you?’ is the answer to my critical question ‘what are you doing?’ when I point at the Facebook page someone has opened.

I am looking forward to my Statistics lecture to one of my favorite first year groups. When I enter the room at 11.30 twelve students are there. A girl is telling me that the rest does not come because of the ICM party they had the night before. Half of the students is looking at the photo’s at Facebook and I wonder how many photographers there must have been, since the number of photos is exceeding the number made at my wedding, 32 years ago. After rolling my blackboard in, I try to start with my lecture about regression, a topic that, in my opinion, is quite interesting. By asking questions to my audience I try to get them involved in the topic, but this morning most of my questions stay unanswered. A few years ago, sometimes students sent text messages during lectures, trying to hide what they were doing; nowadays this happens more and more out in the open. Suddenly I say to a student who is busy sending a text message on her smart phone ‘hey, I am here!’ while pointing at my impressive chest.

The girl quickly answers ‘yes, you are there and we are everywhere!’ and I can’t help laughing.

Maybe it is time to buy a dog who will listen to me?

Or is it just me becoming an old-timer?

I'd spend it on public relations."

The International | 9

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Arriving Down Under Nirit Michaeli Last time you checked in with me, I was in the midst of packing, and the overall chaos that is getting prepared to leave a country and move to another one. A few weeks and many kilometers (16.539 to be exact) later, I landed in the Promised Land.

I’ll try to be as little cliché as possible, and just say that the feeling I had when I got off the plane and into the warm, welcoming Melburnian sun, cannot be compared to anything I’ve felt before. Again, without being cheesy: it felt like coming home.

Getting settled Down Under was fairly easy, at least compared with Utrecht. There’s an abundance of rooms on offer, so it wasn’t a struggle to find one. However, as with most big cities, you’d have to choose only two out of the three: location, price, and size. Actually, size here refers to how many people you’d have to share a room with, because apparently it’s common for foreigners to rent a room with one or two people! It’s not really my thing, but it is a good option for students who want to save some money; renting a single room can get very expensive.

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I am sure everyone has used the words ‘Such a small world..’ at least once. But is it really a small world we live in? Or is it simply a matter of connections? Through the years globalization has has grown tremendously. This in turn has triggered the popularity of international education, businesses, migrations, and other international activities. As a result we are frequently exposed to people with diverse cultural backgrounds that will sometimes come across as intimidating. What does it take to survive the challenge of change?

Many of you are quite familiar with the term ‘culture shock’. You have probably heard it in sociology classes, psychology, or simply picked it up from other fellow expats that are usually complaining about it. I personally have seldom felt the pressure of assimilating into the new milieu I was exposed to. Coming from a more or less Eastern European country made the process of familiarizing with a new culture a lot more difficult, especially when coming to Western Europe.

To put it simply, the Netherlands and Romania are different on many levels. An example would be the power distance index in our country, which is 90 (according to Geert Hofstede, founder of the cultural dimensions theory regarding cultures across nations). That means that the inequalities among Romanians are easily observable (in terms of wealth), whereas in the Netherlands this is rather difficult to spot. If it’s good or bad, that is up to each of you to decide, yet in a world where globalization is progressing at a fast pace, being equals is becoming more and more important.

Another aspect that I spotted in my first months in the Netherlands was the openness of Dutch people. They are crazy about trying new things and willing to learn a lot from their experiences. Perhaps they are not as tied to their families, when it comes to freedom and independence, and therefore it is easier for them to leave to a new country for example. You see, in Romania we find it difficult to 10 | The International

It's Hippie Time

Expensive seems to be a keyword in Melbourne: a 2013 survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit has determined it, together with Oslo, the 4th most expensive city in the world (Tokyo is first). So if you ever come down here, make sure to plan your finances ahead.

a as e t r io

leave our folks behind. We are a lot more attached to our families and therefore a Romanian student may choose not to leave for this reason, even when given the chance.

Scientifically, culture shock was considered by Sigmund Freud to be a form of emotional disease. A kind of ‘cold’ if you will. Think about it this way: you know what a cold is, you have had it numerous times, but you still can’t cope with it when it strikes. It is annoying, wearisome and it makes you want to stay in bed and do nothing but sleep or watch TV. The very same goes with culture shock. You couldn’t be more wrong when you think that experiencing it before makes it easier. Trust me, been there, done that.

I did my study abroad in England. Before leaving the Netherlands, I thought that being a Western country, England won’t be dramatically different, thus it will be a piece of cake to fit in quickly. Wrong. I was so wrong. First of all, I realized how much I got attached to the Netherlands. I was missing that reliable bus/train schedule (do not dare to complain Dutchie, NS is reliable. If you do not believe me, go to India and then we’ll talk), the small and cozy cities, the modest people that lived in them. I did not miss the language though. Not that much...

Secondly, it turned out that England was, in fact, quite different than my first love, the Netherlands. The latter set the standard so to speak.

I was unconsciously expecting UK to be rather similar, thus I was not exactly worried about my leaving. Imagine me, already having experienced a foreign country, being all self-confident about how I am going to rock another culture. Then imagine the slap I got in my face as soon as I realized I was once again experiencing a culture shock.

Culture shock can be analyzed from two standpoints. One of these is by Freud. Freud used a rather negative approach to culture shock, in terms of anxiety. This approach is also known as the ‘disease

model’. It can be applicable in cases where the expat is travelling to a completely opposite culture (say a Western European travelling to China). It is quite difficult to adapt, especially when confronting a new work place. Many have not survived the change of environment, regardless of the training they received prior to their departure.

An opposite theory is Adler’s growth model, which sees culture shock as a positive experience. This means being able to develop, learn, and gain self-confidence as a result of your adventure abroad.

For a student, settling into a new environment might be easier. We are at the age where ‘new’ means ‘challenge’. A challenge most of us would like to take and see where it brings us. We might be reluctant to change at first, but gradually get used to it and ultimately assimilate it. A combination of the two models represents the common process an expat is going through. We each have our own unique way to cope with it, but for those of you who managed to transform it into a positive experience: you are a hero.

It’s also quite easy to find a job here: there are countless bars, cafes, and Lysanne Krouwel on restaurants all over the city and suburbs. I found a job in a restaurant Chapel Street, which is by far my favorite street and a great place to hang out in. It’s a street packed full of cool bars, great restaurants, and young hip(ster) atmosphere.

The atmosphere in the city in general is very laid back, cool and fun.

There are lots of things to see and do, from art shows to the aquarium, from the Eureka Tower (a 300m skyscraper of where you can step out to a glass balcony) to the botanic gardens, rooftop bars, the beach, Little Italy, the biggest shopping center in the Southern Hemisphere and the list goes on and on. There’s really something for everyone in this city, not to mention the beautiful outskirts, like the gorgeous Great Ocean Road. In fact, with so many fun things to do, it’s easy to forget the main reason I came here. But the cold, hard reality will hit me tomorrow when I attend my first University class... Wish me luck!

In the end, most internationals want to turn this into a positive experience. Baby steps are required though. Be patient, handle the day’s activities with patience and appreciation. Never before has going to a grocery store been more exciting for me then the first weeks in the Netherlands. All by myself, in an exciting new place, with a challenging language – was a thrilling activity. In England the language was not so much of a burden, but I had to start over nevertheless. I may have not landed softly every time after taking the leap, but that one time I did. It got me a enough of confidence and comfort to keep me going.

So, how does one survive the challenge of change? Always keep an open mind for beautiful lessons to learn. Always be kind and patient with new cultures. They might not think the same way you do, but that’s what’s going to make it all the more challenging. You will be provoked to ponder upon your adventures, which in turn will make you wiser.

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INTERNATIONAL

Meet an Meet i n t e rthe n at international ional

By Maria Golovanova

Previously,

The International took you on a trip to Hamburg, Germany and this time we are going all the way across the globe to Asia which is perhaps the most remarkable part of the world. Radically different culture and mentality make Asia incredibly mysterious and at the same time very interesting for the foreigners. The International decided to lift the veil of this Asian mystery and share the discoveries with our readers. We are heading to the country that situates the world’s most visited national park, the world’s largest indoor theme park, Lotte World, the world’s longest bridge fountain, Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, and the world’s largest cinema screen,Times Square’s CGV Starium, we are going to South Korea. And Daom Ma, an exchange International Communication and Media student, gladly agreed to be our tour guide which we are very thankful for. So, buckle up guys and enjoy the trip!

Do you remember your first day in the Netherlands?

It was a very hard day. At that time I didn’t have an accommodation, so I had to stay at a hostel with a lot of luggage. So I felt tired. But when I first visited Utrecht center, I really liked it.

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Western and Asian cultures are very different so what did you find the most surprising about the Netherlands?

The atmosphere in the class is quite different. In South Korea we usually just listen to the professor during the lecture.

But here, there are so many discussions going on between the students and the teacher. Students ask so many questions and feel free to go out and come into the classroom during the lecture.

Which city in South Korea do you come from?

I am from Seoul. It is the capital of South Korea and is located in the northern part of South Korea.

I heard Seoul is huge and highly populated but at the same time it doesn’t feel crowded, is that true?

No, I don’t think so. Seoul is indeed huge and it is highly populated and crowded. Some places might seem a little less crowded but altogether it is a very busy city.

What is it famous for?

For its skyline. Unlike in Utrecht, in Seoul almost every building is lit up at night so the night scenery is breathtaking. Modern and old architecture combine very well in Seoul which also gives the view a special touch.

What are the must-see places for an international person in Seoul?

I would say the King’s Palaces. Some of them are very old but remain well preserved, others had to be reconstructed but both are

very popular amongst the tourists and definitely worth paying a visit. Myeongdong, a very crowded street in the center of Seoul, is another place I would recommend to go to. It is packed with different restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, cinemas, and other entertainment spots and you will always find something for yourself to enjoy there.

Do you have a favorite a building you would advise to have a look at?

Yes, I do. I have to say though that nowadays most of the architecture in Seoul is modern and the skyscrapers prevail over the city. My favorite building is the Namsan tower. This tower is very high, so if you climbed it, you would get a panorama view of Seoul. A better idea would be to visit it at night – the view you discover from the top of Namsan tower at this time of the day is indescribable.

My friend Wikipedia tells me that Seoul has the world’s fastest internet connections, the best subway and the best airport, did you know about that?

We surely have the fastest internet, the best subway, and airport. Ever since my arrival to Europe I have felt so uncomfortable to use wireless internet not to mention how slow it is in comparison with the Korean one. Also when I traveled around other countries I realized that Korean transportation is the best in terms of cleanliness, price, and service. I heard that the airport in Seoul indeed has nice, clean facilities, and offers good service. So yes, I would recommend taking a subway ride and making the most use of the internet while you are visiting South Korea.

I also heard that there are a lot of various markets and shopping areas in Seoul including the biggest electronic market in Asia.

Could you tell more about them?

Hongik University and Myeongdong are my favorite shopping streets. There are plenty of markets and stores in these shopping areas. You can virtually get anything there and as any other place in central Seoul they are very crowded and full of tourists.

What is the traditional South Korean cuisine and what is your favorite dish?

My favorite dishes are tteokbokki and bulgogi. Tteokbokki is a sticky rice cake with spicy red pepper sauce. You can buy it in the street and it is not expensive. For a foreigner this dish would probably be too spicy but almost every foreigner I’ve met really liked it. Bulgogi is meat with sweet sauce. These dishes are traditional in South Korea.

Does anyone famous come from Seoul?

I assume many people know PSY, the singer who performs a song called ‘Gangnam Style.’ Also there is Kim Yu-na, world leading skater. She represents South Korea at this type of sports and won a Gold Medal for it.

Are you proud of PSY? For all I know he is the most watched guy on YouTube but could you tell me more about him?

In South Korea he has been famous since his debut. Though he became famous internationally thanks to ‘Gangnam Style,’ he has many other funny, exciting, and in my opinion unique songs.

What is the distinctive character trait of South Korean people?

South Korean people are very enthusiastic, powerful, and we can cooperate and unite easily.

A lot of 2nd year ICM students are going to do their minors abroad next year and HU has partner universities in Seoul, so could you please tell a little bit about these universities and Seoul student life?

HU is more practical than Universities in Seoul. Here, most of the work involves team projects and the studying process heavily relies on the communication between the teacher and the students. In South Korea, we usually study the theories and just listen to the lectures. So it was quite silent during the classes. However, studying in a Korean university, I think, is harder than HU. Also, there are a lof of different university communities you could join for example, music, religious or volunteer clubs.

How expensive is life in Seoul?

Transportation and eating out is definitely cheaper than in the Netherlands.

As for the accommodation, I believe it would be cheaper to arrange it with the help of the university. Clothes shopping would depend on the brand.

What do you miss the most about South Korea?

Of course, it is the food. I really miss the food my mum makes and the traditional Korean food in general. I also miss the stores being open till late. Transportation and eating out is cheaper in South Korea so I miss that as well.

The International | 13

INTERNATIONAL

An Interntional

Perspective First impressions of the Netherlands OLAF NAGTEGAAL

The Netherlands, a small country in Western Europe, with ‘Sinterklaas’, the royal family, carnival, Dutch parties and the dressed up people during a football match. These are just a few examples of this country at its best. All these aspects of the Dutch culture can be a surprise or even a shock for international students who come here for the first time. Some call the Dutch open-minded, some call them straightforward and some say that they really enjoy life. What do they think about Dutch people? How do they respond to issues that the Dutch take for granted? And are they enjoying life even more here in the Netherlands? All these questions will be answered by a group of 4 international students. They come from different parts of the world and will try to give you a great comparison with their own culture.

Gilana Berry

INTERNATIONAL

Age: 24

Country of origin: Dutch Caribbean, St. Maarten First impression ‘’My first impression was overwhelming. I was smiling from ear to ear. Surprised with the big cities, the big buildings, so many different structures and yet there was so much green. But the thing I was most fascinated by were… sheep. Yes, sheep. Before I came to the Netherlands I had never seen sheep before. We have goats in our country but it’s not the same. I’m still fascinated by them.’’

Did you celebrate any Dutch festivities? ‘’No, I haven’t done that yet. I know that you celebrate ‘Sinterklaas’ every year, but I have never celebrated ‘Sinterklaas’ like the Dutch do.

I think the Dutch do give gifts to each other for ‘Sinterklaas’. We do that as well in St. Maarten, mostly the kids in primary school, at work with colleagues or just with your friends. Even though it is celebrated on many of the other Dutch Caribbean islands as well, I don’t even remember celebrating ‘Sinterklaas’ on my island.

Photograph by Moyan Brenn

Carnival is also a big thing here in the Netherlands every year.

I haven’t celebrated that yet, but I’ve taken part in the summer carnival. I must say that it differs from what I am used to. This has to do with the differences in the cultures of course. The music is different and the way it’s organized seems a bit different too. On St. Maarten we have troops of maybe 75 people or more all dressed in the same costumes, with bright colours and feathers. It’s truly bedazzling and very beautiful to see.’’

Agustin Cahyaningtia Age: 19 Country of origin: Indonesia, Jakarta First impression: ‘’It is cold and rainy, but I like the people and atmosphere. The people are relaxed, friendly and willing to help you out. I once went to a party here in the Netherlands and this me. I was guy came up to me and started talking to me and hugging this spontotally surprised by the open-minded people. You won’t see

taneity in my country.’’

What about student life? t. You see ‘’Here in the Netherlands student life is totally differen mes twice, people drinking alcohol after class, going out once, someti clubs are the sia Indone In time. their a week and really enjoying and you up d dresse usually often more for the higher classes. They are drink people , really see that they have money. Because of my religion out, but much less alcohol. Young people, from my age, drink and hang ’ do that often behind closed doors.’

What do you miss in the Netherlands? cold. But ‘’The weather of course. It is sometimes so extremely rainy and spicier. the most important thing is food! In Indonesia the food is much ts produc spicy own my bring always I When I get back from Indonesia with me.’’

14 | The International

What do you like most about the Netherlands? ‘’The sheep and the snow. I’m kidding, okay maybe just a bit. The one thing that is best about living here is the international experience. I grew up in a multi-cultural family and that has given me great appreciation for other cultures. In this country I met people from Turkey, Poland, Spain, Romania, Slovenia, England, Germany, China, Korea, Uganda, Somalia, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Russia, Bulgaria and Canada. I have learnt so much about them personally but also their culture.

This experience is the one experience that I will never forget. I am truly grateful to have met all of these people.’’

Hristo Donev .

(Richie)

Age: 20 Country of origin: Bulgaria, Razgrad First impression: “It was pretty hectic. I arrived in the

Netherlands on the same day the introduction day started. My plane land

the train from there to Utrecht Central.

ed on Schiphol Airport and I took

When I noticed all the busses tions and constructions workers

in Utrecht, going to all different direc

all around, this made a great impressio n on me. I finally just made it to Uithof safe and on time.”

What do you think about the Dutch?

“I think the Dutch people are very kind

, helpful and open-minded. They will be happy to offer their help regardles s the situation. But you often have to ask for their help. Even if they see you struggling, they will assume you are fine, until you ask them . The Dutch do know how to enjoy life. Student life is quite different here . Back in Bulgaria when people see that the bar is full, they go to anot her, but here everybody squeezes in one bar. I guess you feel more conn ected with others this way.

What are you missing here in the Neth erlands?

Nature. I really miss the countryside, the mountains, forests and the wildlife. The Netherlands is densely popu lated, but even though you don’t have that much rich and different nature, you are taking care of it.

I really like the way you are handling that; you are keeping it clean and safe.

Jamie Wu

Age: 20 Country of origin: Taiwan, Taipei.

First impression ‘’That goes way back to 5 years ago. When I first got into this country I went to Amsterdam. The first thing I noticed were the bikes. Bikes everywhere! The most surprising thing was when I did a bus tour around Amsterdam. The bus stopped at some kind of a parking lot for bikes (with many layers). I had not seen something like that before in my life.’’

Do you have any hobbies? ‘’In Taiwan I did many sports: tennis, golf and swimming. I also used to hang out a lot with my friends, but when I got into the Netherlands, for me it seemed to be much more difficult to make friends. There are a few international students and they all say that it is hard to become close friends with Dutch students. I believe because the Dutch people are more individual. They are nice to you, but it is hard to get a real connection and becoming actual friends with. In Taiwan it seems way easier; when foreigners come to Taiwan people are more passionate. They care about the guests; they want to be polite and more welcoming. In the Netherlands they seem more individually oriented; a single person can take care of himself.’’

What will you never forget about this country? ‘’In the Netherlands people seem to be much more relaxed. In Taiwan, especially in Taipei, everyone is in a hurry. The Dutch people seem to enjoy life much more and really like to have a good time as well. Two years ago I watched the final of the World Cup (the Netherlands-Spain). Everyone was dressed in orange, me as well, and even though they lost the game they still partied all night long.’’

The International | 15

STUDENT LIFE

STUDENT LIFE

Life in the Netherlands is not cheap. It is not cheap for a Dutch person and certainly not cheap for internationals living here, pursuing their dreams.

So the last few days of every month become a struggle for many students – some call them the noodle days since that’s the only food affordable anymore.

The solution seems simple, start working to make more money to spend. Nevertheless many hesitate from doing so simply because there are so many unknown variables to keep in mind like the law or regulations. But fear no more, we will equip you with all the knowledge you need to get a job in the Netherlands as an international.

The Hogeschool

The Hogeschool Utrecht (HU) offers some help if you’re looking for work as an international. There are regular workshops on how to write the perfect CV for your application. These workshops are free for Hogeschool Utrecht students and definitely help to increase your chances of finding a job. If you want to start learning Dutch or improve your preexisting knowledge you can also take one of the Dutch courses at the HU for free. Knowing a little Dutch will always help you to find a job more easily.

Although finding a job as an international student is not part of their responsibility, the international office - which is located at the Economincs & Management (FEM) building - is a place to find some help. They are responsible for internships and will be able to at least help you with the necessary requirements or to give you some additional contact points.

The Agency

The streets of Utrecht are crowded with job agencies. Most of these developed a certain focus to differentiate from others and some have indicated that they welcome international students. If you seek for a job with a focus on logistics, industry, or administration the UBN Uitzendburo in the Biltstraat might be the right place to go. This agency is specialized to place people in these branches and has successfully done so for over 20 years.

to process the work permit which is always issued for a specific employer. The work permit is always valid for the same period as your residence permit so if you extend your residence permit you’ll have to extend your work permit as well.

KEEP IT NATURAL MELANIE VAN LEEUWEN

Work permits are not needed if you do an internship as part of your study program, but your university and your employer have to sign an internship agreement.

they are. Every once in a while there is this certain day where my roommate and I have to tidy up our rooms, because the floor is nearly invisible. We stuff it all back into our closets and eventually… it fits. A t-shirt might mysteriously disappear for a week or two, because it will only reappear once half of my closet is spread over the floor again. The second problem is that while we keep buying clothes and we refuse throwing old clothes away! So they are multiplying and even though I have my summer clothes at my parents place right now and are easily exchangeable with my winter clothes, which is not an option for everyone, figuring your mom lives at the other side of the world.

So I thought, is there not a nice way to organise your clothes, so your room will not have to look like a Zara attacked by women during sales?

Well, my dear ladies and gentlemen, there certainly is and it will only cost you a couple of euros and a bit of time in nature. No more closets from Ikea you have to build yourself. No more ‘Where does this screw go then?’ or ‘I do not think it is supposed to look this way.’

Just find yourself a big, firm branch, hang it up and you have a unique, good-looking way of storing your clothes. Easy as cake!

If you found a job you are immediately obliged to take the Dutch basic healthcare insurance, fines are huge in case you don’t take care of this timely. Information about this can be found on the website of the College voor zorgverzekeringen (CVZ.nl). To obtain one you will need to have a BSN which you get shortly after you registered yourself at your local municipality. The BSN is your social security number, it identifies you and you use it for all governmental communication. Your town hall will send you a letter a few days after you registered. Furthermore your employer will need your BSN, the citizen service number.

Now, that does sound a little weird, doesn’t it? I assure you it will look fantastic. The weather is getting better.

So it is time for you to crawl out of your little winter cave, stretch those legs, and have a walk in the woods, on the beach, or wherever. Look for a long, firm branch, preferably one that has already dried and has no moss or other dirty things on it. In the dykes you can also find beautiful branches. Sometimes you can even find white ones; turned white because they died and dehydrated fast in the salty atmosphere. Make sure a clothing hanger will fit around the branch. If you find a wet branch, let it dry properly first. Wet branches tend to break faster.

If you make money in the Netherlands you have to pay tax over your total Dutch income of the year. It is necessary to keep in mind that scholarships, in some cases, may also be counted as income and increase your tax. For detailed information on tax regulations you can consult your employer or contact the Dutch Tax Office.

The Search

Now that you know everything you need to know, you can start looking for a job in the Netherlands. You know where you can find help at the Hogeschool Utrecht if you still feel some doubts, you know at least two agencies in Utrecht which are willing to work with international students and you are reasonably informed about the law and regulations regarding this topic. Be brave and start your quest for employment and fear no more because you have all the knowledge necessary!

So when you find one, take it home, and rub it with sandpaper for a little bit. My advice is to buy sandpaper with a small grain. Continue until it is soft and smooth. Now, if you prefer it in a certain color, go ahead and start painting! I really like the wooden color and feel, so I have kept mine in its natural state.

The Studentenbaan Uitzendbureau specialized in students and offers a wide array of jobs. Their office is located at the Groenmarkt in Utrecht and you can create an account on their website to get in touch. They have stated that they work with international students from within the European Union. A personal meeting is recommended for interested internationals.

Now the tricky part begins. You will need two small hooks; big enough to carry your clothes and small enough so it doesn’t look like captain Hook is trying to get through your ceiling. Decide where you want to hang the branch. The best place would be in front of a flat wall, with enough free space around, so it becomes a real eye catcher! Then drill two holes in your ceiling. If you do not know how to drill or do not have a drill, ask someone else to do it for you.

Contacting and using the services from one of these agencies will help to scale down any unforeseen obstacles in the process of getting a job.

The agencies know all the requirements and offer you assistance with most steps in the process e.g. getting insurance or questions regarding tax rules.

The Law

r: V

ict or 15 58

Last, but not least, you will need rope. I bought the simplest, smallest rope at Albert Heijn. It is the same ‘natural’ color as the branch and it looks kind of organic. You can also use metal wire, if you like that more.

Cut off two strings, depending on how high or low you want your branch to hang and tie the ends together.

Stick your branch through the ends of the two strings, make sure it cannot fall anymore and … voila! You just made yourself a clothing rack! Now, gather hangers and clothes, put it up there and be proud of yourself!

Fl i

ck

If you are a citizen of the European Union, EEA, or Switzerland you can work in the Netherlands without any restrictioncs.

Citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, or other countries outside the EU/ EEA/Switzerland need a work permit. Furthermore they are only allowed a maximum of ten hours a week or can instead work full-time during the summer (June, July and August). The necessary work permit has to be applied by your employer. However not all employers or job agencies are willing to do that so you have to find one which does. Before they can apply for the work permit you need a valid residence permit. Applying for a residence permit is a long procedure, it usually takes 2 months. An additional 6 weeks are needed

Clothes. They are everywhere. At least at my place

16 | The International

Background Photograph by Andreas Krappweis

The International | 17

STUDENT LIFE

crowd from above. I ask the guy next to me if he is a hipster. He denies and points out in the crowd a girl in thick rimmed glasses and a chequered shirt.

"She is a“”hipster!"

I find his statement amusing as he too is wearing a chequered shirt, just not the glasses. I feel like I have no other choice than to go down to the dance floor and let this girl know about the guy’s definition of her.

“No way!” the girl shouts out as I tell her the judgement from above. Her friend starts laughing and finds the situation incredibly hilarious, almost like she is happy that finally someone said it out loud.

Everything has happened exactly as Linda Duits had said it would. People who seem to be hipsters say: “I’m not a hipster, but that other one is”. Why is hipster such a swear word, I wonder.

Linda tries to explain that hipsters have a very ironic distance to seeing themselves as a group. They even look at themselves from a distance, meaning that they never admit being hipsters. Similarly to punks, it is inevitable for every subculture to get commercialised and hipsters know that. This is the reason to why they want to be above everything, avoid being commercial. According to Linda hipsters clearly fill all the definitions of a subculture but they do not want to be a subculture.

searching for

HIPSTERS Kaisu Nevasalmi

Why are they like they are and trying to be so different? Kaisu Nevasalmi put herself in game looking to find a hipster that would admit themselves being one.

A tall girl with strong make up wearing something which looks like the combination of a dead animal and a bird walks up to me in Amsterdam on a Friday night.

"Do you speak English?"”

"Yeah" “"Is this the Kill All Hipsters party?"”

"Yeah"” 18 | The International

I want to keep my answers as bored as possible because I try to fit in the crowd. I have even dressed up in cutoff jeans and thick rimmed glasses with the intention of looking like a hipster. My mission is to find a hipster specimen and dive in to their culture.

I got some backup from meeting Linda Duits earlier. She is a social scientist specialising in young people and media who helped me understand this trendy crowd.

“It’s surprising that they have stayed around for such a long time, because there was a theory that with the Internet in our lives subcultures change faster and there are more of them than before. Hipsters haven’t done that at all, although they are a product of the information age”, she claims.

Living In Denial

Finally I am in. The small venue is very full, almost impossible to move around, while people are dancing to Bloc Party and New Order. I head to the second floor where there is a balcony, so I can stalk the

“So you’re not a hipster?” I continue with the girl on the dance floor of Kill All Hipsters.

“No. But you look like one” she says and takes a photo of me with her smartphone.

Hipsterism Is A Choice

After observing the club’s crowd, it seems like most people are not looking very hipster at all. The way people have decided to dres s up seems rather mainstream to me. Have I, instead of hipsters, found just a bunch of mainstreamers, wannabes? Linda Duits says that there is a difference between the originals and the H&M hipsters, as she calls the followers, but this is something that always happens with subcultures. Hipsterism is fashion and it is more difficultnot to look like a hipster, because that is what stores are selling. That must explain why it was so easy for me to find hipster accessories for my little field trip to the club.

But Linda also has a point saying that H&M hipsters are easy to spot, as they are not fully immersed in the culture, not everyone can be a true hipster. It takes an effort to learn how to ride a fixed gear bike or use a film camera to get the vintage feel. Not to mention discovering all the unsigned bands or read philosophy.

“No one just happens to fall into being a hipster. Subcultures are always distinctive choices. On the other hand what is funny to me is that hipsters are so ironic that it is okay for them to wear clothes from H&M. A hipster can get away with anything just by saying that it’s ironic” Linda laughs.

As the night at the Kill All Hipsters club is turning to an end I am wondering if I truly found a hipster. Some people did look more like hipsters than others at least. Am I truly witnessing the death of hipsters?

Since after subcultures are picked up and turned into mainstream the “originals” will get bored and the whole thing dies out.

Then the horror strikes me: what if I am a hipster myself? I did have these glasses and the clothes in my very own closet, and just saw Bloc Party live few weeks earlier. Not to mention that the hipsters I met complimented my outlook. But even if I told you right here and now that yes, I am a hipster, I would not be. Why? Because a true hipster will never admit it.

SPRING FESTIVALS

Stefania Paolini

As you have all seen, the first sunrays are a fact. This means

that spring is near, which also means that the Spring Festivals are coming! Every year, lots of people from other countries travel to the Netherlands to experience the Dutch Festivals. We have made a list of the coolest festivals and hotspots for this spring, as well as a little agenda for the activities in Utrecht. Enjoy!

Queen’s Day (30th of April)

A national feast day and a big happening. There are parties, fairs and concerts all over the country. Everybody dresses up in orange or wears the Dutch flag on their cheeks. The best parties on this day are in the big cities, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. Free entrance. http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/netherlands/queen-birthday

Soenda Utrecht (18th of May)

Outdoor and indoor festival. If you like to dance in the sun and want to enjoy the summer music with your friends, this is a great festival for you! There is something for everyone: dance, techno, house, and electro. The tickets can be bought for €37,50. http://www.elevation-events.com/events/agenda/soenda-festival-2013

Dancetour Breda (19th of May)

The concept of the Dancetour is ‘bringing people together.’ DJ’s like Afrojack, Housequake, Hardwell, Sunnery James, and Ryan Marciano will be spinning on this incredible event. Free entrance. http://www.dancetour.nl/

Tiktak Electic Music Festival, Amsterdam (19th of May)

National artists and international artists play together including three seperate stages. Big names performing at this festival include De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Congorock, Redlight, Jack Beats, MC Sef, and The Flexican. Tickets can be bought for €29,50 (early birds) or at €39,50. http://www.tiktakevents.com/festival/

Parties:

Lentekriebels, Central Studios (31st of March) With artists like Quintino and Girls Love DJ’s.

Tickets can be bought for €27,50. http://www.kriebels.nl/ Koninginnenacht!, Kranck Dock154 (29th of April) Tickets can be bought for €12. http://www.kranck.nl/koninginnenacht/

Theatre:

Blof Later Als Ze Groot Willen Zijn, Beatrix Theatre (22nd of April- 23th of April) This is going to be the sixth tour for Blof in their twenty year anniversary. This tour is about reinventing their youth with their new album. While attending these theaters, there will be performed songs from previous albums, but also their new album ‘Later Als Ze Groot Zijn.’

1st row: €31,50

2rd row: €29,00

3rd row: €27,00

Javier Guzman, Beatrix Theatre (13th of May- 14th of May) Starting with the stand up show from Javier about his alcoholic past and how he coped with it, Delirium 2 tells the story of Javier’s fallback and his sharp one liners about his past and his present. Preview: Http://vimeo.com/60556106 1st row: €25,00

2nd row: €22,50

3nd row: €20,00

The International | 19

STUDENT LIFE

LOMOGRAPHY here to stay, or a snapshot?

STUDENT LIFE

DENNIS DE ZWAAN

Lomography

and lomography-styled photography has been growing in popularity in the past year or two, largely spurred by smartphone apps that make it possible for virtually anyone to mimic the style.

Lomography is characterized by its inherent low-fi quality.

Lomographic images often have strange light effects (caused by extra light leaking into the camera body and exposing the film in the original Lomo cameras), ultra-saturated colors, blurring, vignetting, and other imperfections generally avoided in traditional photography. The other main feature of real lomography is the spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment style of images.

COFFEE

&

These “imperfections” are what give lomography its unique look and style. As already mentioned, apps like Hipstamatic for the iPhone and Vignette for Android make it easy to achieve these effects without special equipment. For purists, the original cameras are less expensive than a traditional SLR, but getting film developed can be a challenge (if you don’t do it yourself) now that digital is the norm.

BEANIES

THELEA TERBORG

or work assignment and a headache that only seems to find humor in your misery. You give in, order a double shot of espresso, and anxiously wait. No more than five minutes later the Power of Caffeine shifts your mind into 4th gear and makes you feel ready to tackle any obstacle that dares to tread your path.

Coffee paves a ‘caffeinated road’ that seems able to make the impossible possible. It tricks your brain in a similar way that alcohol does, with fewer health risks, and similar consequences. Those who know of late nights, early mornings, and deadlines are no strangers to this Magic Bean and might develop a very real addiction to it. So what is it about the community of coffee lovers that makes them feel like they are a part of their own subculture?

Before venturing into that, here are some specifics about coffee (especially for those who do not drink coffee, but are curious):

1. Coffee originates from a bright red berry named ‘Coffea’ (the Coffea Arabica, grown in the coffee belt, accounts for 80% of the world’s coffee).

2. When consumed regularly, coffee can become a physiological and psychological addiction.

3. Caffeine is the world’s most used psychoactive drug.

4. The medical benefits from drinking coffee include:

protection from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s.

Coffee: the new cigarettes?

20 | The International

Lomography In History

Now, for those who feel inclined to impress a coffee lover with exceptional coffee knowledge, here is one way to get into their caffeinated heart:

The term “Lomography” is a trademark of Lomographische AG, an Austrian company that caters to the global lomographic photography community. They are the exclusive distributors of the Lomo LC-A cameras outside of the Soviet Union. They also sell various accessories related to lomography, and publish a magazine about the subject.

1. After getting coffee- smell the coffee: good coffee

beans release fragrant oils and have a strong coffee scent.

Camera Du Jour

2. Proceed to tasting the coffee by slurping it: slurping

the coffee spreads it evenly over the tongue and oxidizes it.

If you don’t have a Lomo camera or one of the smartphone apps, there are easy Photoshop tutorials you can follow to create the same effects, as well as a handful of actions for even faster lomo processing. Two years back we could see that the trend was in the middle of its renaissance when Alexa Chung, a known model and Vogue editor, focused her turquoise toy camera on the Chanel Catwalk.

3. Before swallowing the coffee, run your tongue over the roof of your mouth to gauge "mouth feel" (mouth feel gives you an idea of the body of the coffee).

For best result: pretend not to know anything about coffee at all and have them teach you. And if that fails, take them out for a good cup at one of these treasured coffee houses in Utrecht (all highly recommended by legit coffee lovers): The Village Coffee Voorstraat 46 www.thevillagecoffee.nl/

De Ontdekking Voorstraat 110 www.deontdekkingutre-cht.nl/

Blackbird Coffee & Vintage Oudegracht 222 www.facebook.com/blackbirdcoffee

! g n i t n u h y p p Ha

Now for the theory. There are only two modes, – sunny and cloudy – so you shouldn't even think of trying to take pictures indoors without a flash. Outside, look for shadows – if you can't see any, go read a book or something. Sometimes it is nothing more then shooting several films full and only finding one solid picture in it, or getting caught up in a lucky moment and filling a single film with just only amazing shots. Either way, step out the door and find your snapshot, for Lomography is here to stay.

The original lomography cameras were created by Russian state-owned LOMO (or Leningrad Optical & Mechanical Union) in St. Petersburg. They produced the first Russian camera in 1930.

The LOMO LC-A Compact Automat camera was first produced in 1984, and became the centerpiece of the company’s activities.

Another company often considered to have a similar aesthetic is Holga, which is a common 120mm toy camera made in China. It produces the same kind of low-fidelity images that Lomo cameras are famous for, and sometimes the term lomo is used interchangeably to refer to either type of camera.

Photograph by Gidn Hendrikson

The term ‘Coffee Culture’ circa 2013 has been taken over by the hipsters in Starbucks with their MacBooks and beanies - ordering a venti, nonfat, no foam, no water, 6 pump, extra hot, chai tea latte. Even though there is nothing wrong with that image, this is nowhere close to being the substance of this culture. When asking a true coffee lover about his opinion on these Starbucks-fanatics, his answer was: “people who drink coffee just for the caffeine high or because it makes them look ‘cool’, do not know the first thing about it.”

When looking at the current workplace developments, it has been noted that coffee might be on its way to becoming the new ‘cigarette’. Conformity allows groups to self-select members whose behavior matches the norms of the group. Smoking is an overt and obvious way to fit in with group norms. The same can be said about those who meet at the coffee machine. Those who drink coffee often feel a sense of attraction towards one another; they gravitate to each other through the concept of familiarity in comfort. Even though smokers are rumored to be more fun and loud while coffee drinkers are rumored to be more intellectual and prissy, they share common grounds in their prejudicial tendencies.

Photograph by Boudewijn Berends

Imagine sitting at your favorite café, battling an inexhaustible school

Anything goes in the Lomo approach to film photography, the website Lomography.com assures us, even "boring, brou-ha, left toes, blurred nothings". Some greater then others, but people all around the world are getting those great results: among the thousands of images posted on the Lomography.com gallery are many dazzling results, from gorgeously saturated colour to faded images straight from a 1950s magazine. There are optical distortions, weird lighting, blurry silhouettes, superhero skin tones, and ghostly overprinting.

It is undeniable, the Diana+ has become the camera du jour.

Lightweight, colourful and cheaper than a handbag, with limited editions designed by the likes of Paul Smith or the White Stripes, they have an obvious appeal to the teenagers you see cooing over the thrift shops and Amsterdam’s Waterlooplein. But they are also cool enough for our local hipsters intent on exploring the low-fi aesthetic of analogue photography.

Serious photographers tend to prefer the Holga: it’s a bit bigger than the 35mm Diana+, but uses medium-format film, which is relatively hard to come by and expensive to process. Both have fixed lenses and only one shutter speed, but they can produce all sorts of startling effects.

The International | 21

STUDENT LIFE

STUDENT LIFE

¡Buenos Días, Argentina!

WHY WE STUDY

by Lennart Braatz

A short time ago I worked at the Open Day of the Hogeschool Utrecht. I was one of many students wearing the distinctive red T-Shirts with the print “Ask me“ on them. Interested parents and prospective students came to me and asked me about my experiences. It was not until then that I fully realized why we study here, why we pay to learn here, why we take on all the hardships, why we complain about all we don’t like but yet keep on studying.

Where football is more than just a sport Marian Grunden

Studying here is not about what we learn. It’s not about the assignments we write, the projects we work on or the exams we pass. One would think that these are the obvious, important things which define our study but they come with what we have to do. They are our study program and yet they don’t answer the question of why we study.

It was one of these typically, untypical days in the capital of

Argentina. The day was slowly ending and the blazing heat gave way to the mild evening air, but in a sense, it bears a contradiction in itself to mention the smog-covered Buenos Aires and mild air in one sentence. I had a room at the 9 de Julio, the broadest street in the world, according to the constantly in superlatives talking Argentinians. Day-to-day tens of thousands of commonly old, rattling cars, busses, and motorbikes did their utmost to achieve that Buenos Aires (Spanish for Good Airs) one day would be renamed to Malos Aires (Bad Airs) since a grey-brown blanket of smog was constantly hovering over the city. Nevertheless, in this particular night, the engine noises from the steadily pulsating main artery of the city were unusually silent but a melody, coming from the distant, grabbed my attention. I left my house and followed the chanting.

Around the Obelisco, the city´s landmark, was a sea of yellow and blue colors, thousands of people were waving flags on the streets, singing, climbing street lights and standing on public busses. What first looked like a rebellion of voters after a shady election result in the Ukraine, soon turned out to be the most emotional of all football-celebrations. The team Boca Juniors had won El Superclásico.

The main thing, next to Mate-Tea, the whole country is addicted to is football. Argentinians are obsessed with eleven against eleven, obsessed with the game and those who play it. Nowhere else is football shriller, more colorful, and impassioned than in Argentina. Most tourists might be reminded of a great opera when first being introduced to Argentinian football. The dramatic up and down, the eternal pendulum between jubilation and misery, poor against rich, Boca against River.

Both clubs were founded in the beginning of the 20th century. River, home in the posh north of Buenos Aires, with the colors white and red is known to be a club of snobs. When famous bands or international stars are in Buenos Aires they perform in River’s arena the Estadio Monumental. The south of Buenos Aires is home to Boca, the underdogs from the dockland area. Their arena, the Bombonera (English: the Chocolate Box) resembles a concrete bowl. The first time I saw it I was attracted by its inviting simplicity, the hopes and dreams of a whole district cast in concrete.

Located between railway tracks and corrugated-iron huts it sure is anything else but a beauty, but nevertheless bundles the vibe of the Argentinian working-class. Three thirds of the Bonbonera look like a typical arena but one side is steep and reserved for tourists and rented loges. If you don’t want to be in these more or less isolated rooms it can be tricky to get in.

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Why we study is because of the people we meet. All the people from different countries, with different cultures. It’s the cultural exchange we experience, all the small parts of them and their culture we explore. It’s the experiences we share, the nights out in clubs or gatherings at home. The joy we have from looking back at times of enormous hardships of which we thought we would never overcome but still we did. It’s the feeling we have that we are at the right place at the right time. That somehow we made our way here, arrived, explored, and conquered this place – Veni, vidi, vici.

Most of the cards are given away to regular visitors, but if you find the right people that know a way in, you might even get past all security controls without a single person stopping you. Usually these people sell the tickets in some dark side streets, but watch out not to pay unless you hold an original ticket in your hand. As dubious these transactions might seem, it is often the only way into the real Argentinian football world.

El Superclásico is the super-derby between River and Boca.

When these two opponents, or better said, enemies play against each other the whole country seems to stop working.

It is pure class struggle, working-class against upper-class.

Anyone who has the chance to be in Buenos Aires during the Superclásico should use their chance and go out to see the whole city glow in the colors of the winning team. Even though I had seen protests around the Obelisco, the huge mass of people surprised me. As so often, the Argentinians celebrated until the sun rose again.

Inside the Bonbonera you can feel the spirit of the working-class.

The arena shines in yellow and blue, “Let’s go Boca” echoes it in the whole concrete bowl. Relentless drumming and singing makes it more than a typical football experience. Here where the only food you can buy are greasy hamburgers or greasy sausages; where it smells like harbor, sweat, and marihuana would no international artist dare to perform. It is the complete opposite to the Estadio Monumental.

Anyone who likes to spend time abroad and looks for more of an adventure than a perfectly organized trip should go to Argentina. As a student for an internship, or just to get to know the country, Argentina offers more than you’d expect. Somewhere between the emotional Tango, steaks that taste like more than meat, jungle and glaciers everyone will find what they seek for. A country of opposites and extremes, of love of life and melancholia. This, is Argentina.

That is the true reason why we study. And although we might take a while to realize this we do know it because of all the options, all the opportunities and possibilities, this is the one we choose.

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HOLY CRAP IT’S A TRIANGLE OMG SO HIPSTER CAN’T BREATHE AHHH FREAKING TRIANGLE

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