Last month, the European commission on home affairs released a report assessing the implementation of the laid down rules in the 2004 Directive on the conditions of admission of non EU nationals for purposes of studies, exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service. In the report, the commission noted that foreign students still experience...
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Travelling from one country to another, one always has expectations, especially if it is a place you have heard of, or longed to be. Your first impression of the place will either make you love or hate it. In addition, questions arise like: Do I want to come back here? Yes, I would love to. No,...
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So, you’ve arrived in Utrecht. “Welkom”, as the dutch would say. First of all – don’t worry. Depending on where you come from, the Netherlands may seem like an odd and confusing place, with people speaking fast in an incomprehensible language. Nevertheless, this is a hospitable country. It won’t take long before you are...
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Bobbie van der List is the younger of three children and he grew up with “three mothers” as his older sisters took care of him too and advised him in, for example, going on a long trip to get to know himself. After finishing high school, at the age of eighteen, all on his...
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Politics, anthropology, journalism- and a somewhat less serene leisure time. 24-year-old Anouk Mentink is used to the noble art of simultaneous capacity. This hasn’t always been the case, though. - I did a lot at high school, but not studying. I was a bit lazy back then I guess, Anouk admits with a smile....
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By Steffen Hesseldal Windfeld-Hansen and Beatriz Paúl Naya “You just need to look at the yellow piece of paper, and then you will know where to get it”, Arie said in the library. It seemed easy, just around the corner, as many things are in Utrecht, but as it turns out, nothing is that...
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August, 2010. Spanish beaches are crowded with tourists sunbathing, so I need to travel to a different place. I am not a brown girl so I think that in Holland I could go unnoticed. I have already decided to do the Europe in the World programme in Utrecht, so I am spending the next...
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I got my first impression of The Netherlands, and of Utrecht itself, in the train on the way from Amsterdam to Utrecht. Seeing the city from the outside, one of the things that attracted my attention is that those low typical Dutch houses shaping the city are surrounded by some huge buildings, probably belonging...
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By Kai Heijneman & Michael Huguenin The Netherlands is known as a friendly country. So exchange students should have no problem fitting in with the Dutch…right? This was supposed to be easy. My time as an exchange student in Utrecht has gotten off to a decent start. School’s organised, I’ve moved in and I’m...
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Journalism wasn’t Kai Heijneman’s first choice for a career and he readily admits it won’t be his last. Kai first studied Artificial Intelligence in Nijmegen before he moved to Hogeschool Utrecht. But the Arnhem native believes his long-term future lies in politics. “In that regard I’m in the right course now and also with...
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The Netherlands is considered a safe and well run country. In 2004, the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development conducted a study on homicide rates in over 120 countries. The Netherlands was ranked in the top 20 safest nations. Last year, Transparency International’s annual survey into corruption ranked the Netherlands as the sixth...
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The Lisbon Treaty, that enters into force in one week is the second trial for a European Constitution project after countries like the Netherlands rejected it in June 2005 by referendum. But there were other countries in which their citizens also were asked about the project and the answer was different.
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