Pleased to meet you, internationals #5

Some thousand students from abroad have arrived at Hanze University. What are they looking for in Groningen and which are there first impressions?

Lucas Brazão (18) from Portugal
‘I’m originally from Barreiro, which is near Lisbon but on the other side of the river Tagus, or Rio Tejo in Portuguese. My mother works for the EU in Holland. I spent seven years at the European school in Alkmaar. So Holland is very familiar to me. People in Holland are open and honest. Portuguese people tend to be rude and stick more to themselves. I also like the Dutch countryside. I know there is a lot of pollution in the Netherlands but everything looks clean, maybe that’s due to the vivid colours.
‘My passion is to draw characters for computer games. So I chose the Game Design Programme at Hanze. It’s a very all-round programme leaning towards the technical side, but that suits me fine. Beside studying I hope I can do a lot of sports. I’m also looking for a job, maybe dishwashing in a restaurant. I want to pay for my studies. That would make my parents and me very proud.’