STUDENT HOUSING ETIQUETTE CLEANLINESS

The Dutch place high value on cleanliness and neatness. It is strongly recommended that you keep common areas and rooms clean and tidy. In Holland there is a risk of a mice infestation if you don’t follow these recommendations:

- Always store food in closed boxes.

- Clean the kitchen immediately after cooking.

- Remove food scraps and breadcrumbs from the floor immediately.

- Don’t store waste outside the bins, inside or outside.

- Put pizza boxes straight in the container outside.

- Make sure the containers are emptied on the estimated dates.

- Cigarette butts attract mice so always put them in the ashtray.

- Mice love a warm house so turn off the heaters when you’re not home.

Food

Traditionally

Traditionally, Dutch cuisine is fairly modest. Dutch breakfast generally consists of tea and sliced bread, which is eaten with cheese, thinly sliced cold meat, or jam. Lunch is much the same, with the possible addition of soup, salad, or fruit. For dinner, potatoes and other vegetables are customary, usually served together with meat or fish. Vegetables especially are plentiful, of high quality, and quite cheap if you buy those in season. Typical Dutch dishes are erwtensoep (pea soup served in winter), Hollandse Nieuwe (fresh salted herring) and stamppot (steamed dish of potatoes, vegetables, and meat/sausage).

Convenience foods are increasingly available. Some of these can be rather unhealthy, but it does save time and it also costs less than eating out. Typical Dutch convenience foods are friet or patat (fries), eaten with a meat snack (kroket or frikandel). Supermarkets sell instant meals of all sorts and sizes.

Restaurants And Takeaways

In addition to the popular Chinese-Indonesian and Cantonese restaurants and takeaways, there are many relatively inexpensive grill-rooms, pizzerias and pizza express services, serving Italian pizza, Turkish shoarma (Mediterranean meat sandwich), and various Greek dishes. You might pay € 8 to € 12 for a simple takeaway meal. A simple Dutch main dish in an ‘eating pub’ (eetcafé) or bistro will cost approximately € 20, excluding drinks. Chinese takeaways are less expensive.

Changing Tastes

Dutch tastes have become increasingly international: rice and pasta dishes are now almost standard fare in most Dutch homes. You will find imported tropical food, vegetables, and fruits in many shops. Tropical ingredients can be found in oriental grocery stores called ‘toko’. Some butchers take religious rituals into consideration (Islamic, Hindu or Jewish) and some sell food products from Turkey, Morocco, and Surinam.

GOOD TO KNOW!

If a Dutch friend invites you for coffee at around 11:00 or after 20:00, it is not common to offer a meal. Likewise, an invitation for tea around 15:00 or 16:00 does not include dinner.

A phenomenon in the restaurants and cafes in Enschede is the daghap (daily menu). This is a main course for a reasonable price starting from € 10.50. The daghap changes every day and differs per restaurant. Visit www.hapdedag.nl to see which restaurants offer a daghap

Prepare For Your Stay

To help you prepare for your stay, we have created the UT preparation website. On this website, you can find all the information you need to settle in at the UT comfortably.

Preparation Videos

To help you prepare, some of our current students have participated in several videos explaining exactly what it is like to study at the University of Twente. The videos include topics such as the introduction period, the UT academic culture, the grading system as well as the vibrant student life of students in Enschede.