SAMUDRAKI

  Samudraki's Saturdays Look out your window and you'll see small purple crocuses sprinkled all over the city. This only means one thing - that spring is just around the corner, if not already here! Thus, I'm listing out the ONLY 4 kinds essentials you will need to welcome the Dutch spring weather. 1. Clothing  Spring time means it's time to pack away those thick winter sweaters and bring out your pastel and floral tops, cardigans and skirts! Although the sunny days are a blessing, spring time is the worst time of the year for Dutchies due to several storms and heavy rain, so stay protected and keep an umbrella handy AT ALL TIMES! As far as clothing goes, just pack a hoodie in your bag anyways, or wear a puffy bomber jacket with a hood that will keep you warm and dry.  2. Food Get that spring feeling with flowery teas and fresh fruit. Not only is it super healthy and refreshing, but it's also super aesthetic if you're into that! Bust out that blender and invent ...

Samudraki's Saturdays Covid-19 (Corona Virus), started in Wuhan, China and spreading globally now to over 110 countries is definitely one of the fastest spreading epidemic. Recently alot of countries have adopted a "lockdown" after seeing the tragic effects this deadly virus had on Italy. One of my favorite countries and who blessed this world with pizza and pasta. Why the lockdown you ask? The main reason is to contain the virus as much as possible to prevent further spreading. 17 years ago when SARS happened it didn't spread so fast and have such a deadly effect because of one major reason - travel. This time around with traveling becoming such an easy and fast process the virus managed to reach so far and so fast.  Lack of knowledge about the virus and it's capabilities and not enough medical support means you might find yourself suddenly stuck at home with plenty of free time. Here's a few things you can do to spend that free time and not...

Samudraki's Saturdays Sinterklaas is every Dutch child's favourite time of the year, filled with gifts, ginger cookies and songs! To most international student's its is better known as the Dutch version of Christmas, which many Dutch people hate the comparison to. However, I don't mind it so much because I see it as two Christmases in a month !!! Meaning double the gifts, song-singing and family time, and who wouldn't want that? This past week on December 5th marked Sinterklaas and as an international student who is also an adult , celebrating this kid's festival might not sound so interesting. Boy, are you wrong! Dutch students have found a way to celebrate this fun festival and re-live their childhood in a way that even as adults you can enjoy. So in this blog, I'll share my ideas on how I get my international friends to celebrate this festival with me.  #1 Christmas Tree As a student you might not have a lot of room for a nice big Christmas t...

Samudraki's Saturdays Black Friday is originally the day when the American Christmas Shopping season starts dating back to 1952, right after Thanksgiving (Thursday). However, for millennials Black Friday is THE  day of retail blitz! Not just the Friday, but the whole weekend is a whirlwind of highly promoted sales that makes it impossible for anyone to avoid. This American shopping craze has now infatuated Dutch shoppers a whole ocean away! How did this happen you ask? To be very honest, I don't know. However in the few years that I have lived in Groningen,  I have observed that getting great deals resonates very well with students and families here. The Dutch shopping culture was never like this before, in fact the Dutch are known to be thrifty and are definitely not over-spenders.  As students, we are financially dependant on our parents so luxuries like unlimited shopping are only done on special occasions like birthdays and trips back home. However, there ...