The Day of the International Student in The Hague

The Day of the International Student (DIS) this year again attracted thousands of foreign students across the Netherlands to the city of The Hague.

An initiative of the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education, or NUFFIC, DIS is an opportunity for international students to get together and take part in various workshop or debates, have fun together during a dinner and a party, and overall feel welcomed in the Netherlands.

On Saturday 8 November 2008, some 90 students from all faculties of Maastricht University boarded two buses and took the 230 km trip to the World Forum Convention Centre in The Hague where the event was being hosted.

Trip to The Hague

Once we arrived there, it wasn’t difficult for my friend and housemate, law student Adriana from the Czech Republic, and I to make new friends in a hall crowded with about 2,100 students from all over the globe.

Not only did I meet fellow Romanian students who are studying in other cities in the Netherlands, but I also got to spend time with students from Colombia, Mexico, Ethiopia, Russia, Austria, Germany and even Uzbekistan with whom I later exchanged e-mail addresses and even phone numbers.

The theme of this year’s DIS was “Connecting Cultures” and the day started with a musical welcome by the Senegalese Percussion Group Sène Percu who invited the students to dance on the stage.

We heard a series of speeches by Nuffic’s Director-General Sander van den Eijnden, the Dutch Minister for Education, Culture and Science, Ronald Plasterk, the Mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen, and the President of the Foreign Press Association in the Netherlands, Kerstin Schweighöfer.

The humoristic performance of stand-up comedian Howard Beckham was a memorable collection of jokes about the Dutch:

“Why do the Dutch have the lowest criminality rate? Because they legalise everything!”

NUFFIC is mostly known for the valuable scholarships it offers to students. The support given by the Netherlands in this regard is one of the reasons why an international student might consider coming here.

Jazz workshop

In fact the general view among international students of academic life in the Netherlands is that its educational system is well organised and offers very good study conditions for very affordable tuition fees.

The Dutch language, being so…Dutch, might sometimes give a hard time to international students. It often happens that we cannot take part in conversations during break at school because we don’t understand what people are talking about.

But as Kerstin Schweighöfer said, “Don’t try to learn Dutch, because as soon as you will speak Dutch to the Dutch, they will start speaking English!”

The evening ended with a party: a lot of people dancing to the music of the cover band Blend, singing in the karaoke programme, and feeling good!

Capoeira workshop

Henna tattoo workshop

Like all my fellow international students, I found the event very appealing. One thing puzzled me though: why did the mayor of The Hague Jozias van Aartsen say in his speech that the Netherlands doesn’t celebrate Carnival?

All international students in Maastricht could tell differently!

By Catalina Goanta

Catalina Goanta, a Master Student from Romania at the Law faculty in Maastricht, is fascinated by the biorhythm of Maastricht.

More information:
Day of the International Student