Just in, fresh internationals, part 3. About 1100 foreign students visited Hanze’s Welcome Day. Who they are? Meet Balraj (India) and Nicolay (Bulgaria).
Balraj Singh, India
‘Next week I will start on the International Business Studies programme. I wanted to explore Europe, meet new people and enjoy the good quality of education here. Europe is a continent I really love and the Netherlands is such a beautiful country. I really want to know more about Dutch culture. One of the things I have to get used to is that one has to arrive exactly on time. In India it’s perfectly alright if you’re a bit late.
‘I’m from a family of entrepreneurs. My father runs a company in dairy farming and transport in Jalandhar, in the Punjab region. So I’m following in his footsteps. Right now I’m m staying with relatives from Nepal who live in Veendam. My family are Sikhs. Hence I’m wearing this turban. Many people mistake me for a Muslim. But the Sikh religion has little to do with Islam. There is no Sikh temple in Groningen, but I have a photo of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on my phone. That gives me great comfort every time I miss the Sikh community.
‘I liked the humour and relaxed atmosphere during the welcoming event. Now I will get my student card and I hope I can find out how I can get a work permit.’
Nikolay Tsakov, Bulgaria
‘I went on a trip to the Netherlands last year and I fell in love with the country. I’m really fond of the relaxed life style people have here. As I see it now, I think I want to stay here forever.
‘So I knew I was going to study Sport Studies in this country. On the internet I checked a number of universities. Hanze came out best because it offers a general first year, so that in the second year I know what job I want in the future.
‘I really liked the great many different sport facilities. My favourite sport is volleyball. I would like to compete in a team in Groningen, but probably not at the highest level. I like to be positive, but I’m also realistic.
‘At home in Botevgrad I checked many websites for housing. This helped me a lot to find the room in the student house where I live now. It’s a student house specially for students of Sports Studies. It’s only for two months but now I have enough time, hopefully, to find something for a longer period of time.’
