SAMUDRAKI

  Samudraki's Saturdays Dutch university life revolves alot around student associations, and that does not equals partying the whole week and drinking lots of beer. You'll be surprised to know that alot of the student associations are actually made around your own study programme and plenty around sporting activities. If you have been to the open day events at the university, chances are you would have been shoved with flyers in your face and students at various stalls promoting their association either with freebies or yummy treats to get you to sign up. So now that you have 50 flyers, how do you choose which one to go to? Well, guess what you can sign up for as many as YOU like! There's no restrictions and majority of these associations ask for a small monthly or yearly fee as a way to keep you committed ;) In my first year I was part of 4 associations at the same time! It was hectic, but alot of fun and I made my closest friends there. So in this blog, I am going to bust...

      Samudraki's Saturdays University life is going digital thanks to Covid-19, which means learning online is something new to us students as well as the professors. In today's blog I share with you my favourite apps that I used all throughout university to help me manage my social life, studies and lifestyle. This is not a sponsored blog , just the apps that I personally used and found helpful at different stages of my university life. There are plenty of apps, so I will try to make this list more organised by grouping them into 5 categories . 1. University and Lectures Each university has their own app on which you can access your schedule and check notifications from your professors. I find this more organised (and less spam-y) than the email notification from the study portal.  Almost all Dutch universities use Black Board for their lectures. So if you don't want to bring your laptop to class you can access all the files from your phone using the app.  La...

  Samudraki's Saturdays You've made your decision to come to The Netherlands to pursue higher education. Now that the applications are done, you've got to find a place to stay, and FAST! Don't wait till you get here to start your search. It's likely that you are looking for a new house whist temporarily staying at a hostel, or your current accommodation is too expensive, or you're still stuck in your home country due to Covid-19 and are looking a place to stay. Well, this blog is for all of you! Housing in The Netherlands is TOUGH  and for students it's even harder with numerous requirements from landlords and expensive housing agencies. So what can you do to find cheap(er) housing with your student financial status? Read more to find out. 1. Apply To Websites In Advance Alot of student housing have listings online or via agencies. As a student, free posts via Facebook or Websites are more common than going through a paid housing agency service. Using these ...

Samudraki's Saturdays As a student in the Netherlands, you're most likely going to be on your bike ALOT! It's very rare to see students use public transport to commute in and around the city. However, as international students you are new to the city or country and biking here for the first time can be a bit overwhelming with all the biking rules. Don't fret, because this is your guide to the Dutch biking rules. They're actually very simple and easy to follow once you get the hang of it. Trust me, I managed to have 3 accidents in the first week because I was unaware of the rules and was on the wrong side of the road!  1. Bike on the red biking paths   Next to all streets are red strips painted on the road which are the biking paths which are marked with a painted bicycle. Google maps cannot differentiate what is the biking road from the main road, so don't make the mistake of biking directly on the street. The city center has alot of pedestrian zones, so don...

Samudraki's Saturdays Moving out of your home, city or even country for the first time can be daunting, yet exciting! University is all about discovering yourself and learning to be independent . If you're moving to university for the first time, and especially during 2020, a few things have changed from the regular university experience. Due to online classes, students are now home-bound for many hours than expected. This means that you actually do not need that "extra" luggage option when booking flights. So here I present to you, the ULTIMATE packing list to university in 2020! What you SHOULD bring to college:  Important Documents: Without these you can't register yourself at the city hall, hospital and university Passport ID card Student Visa Flight Information Admission Letter Medical Records & Prescriptions Insurance Bank Statements Travel Adapter: Without this your devices won't work, unless you buy new tech here Contact List: Make a list of all th...

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 When you think of college life you think of all the fun activities, social clubs, international friends and wild dorm parties, you know just like in the movies? So did I! To some extent I feel like my college life is quite similar. BUT there's something they don't show you or openly talk about. Stress and Anxiety caused by keeping your grades up while trying to have a social life. That perfect will balance will never happen, so sorry to rain on your parade but that's the harsh truth from yours truly a Dutchie .  You're probably wondering that I have it all figured out and that's why I am able to write this blog, but trust me I'm far from being sorted even after 3 years  - and that's OKAY ! My anxiety is so bad that I've developed serious health problems, but to cope with it I tried to find my own way out. It will take time and some things might or might not work for you. It's your own journey and I'm sure you...

Samudraki's Saturdays King's Day (which was earlier celebrated as Queen's Day) is celebrated on the 27th of April and marks the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. This day is recognised as a bank holiday in the Netherlands. However, the reality is that it's just another excuse for Dutchies to have an all-day city-wide party on the streets LEGALLY! Yes, you heard me right. Infact, the Dutch celebrate the eve of King's Day, - known as King's Night - with much more energy and dancing in the city center and clubs. Each city celebrates this day but for some reason Amsterdam is chosen by the public to be the ultimate party spot for this special weekend. I visited Amsterdam for King's Day last year and I wanted to share a few tips for this year's celebrations if you plan on heading towards Amsterdam. The timing of this blog cannot be more apt as we're just a few days from the biggest birthday party of the Netherlands!!! Be prepared to see the whole...

Samudraki's Saturdays The weekend is finally here and Christmas is only 4 days away. That means it's time for Christmas Holidays , yayyy!!! As a student living in Europe with family in India there's no way i'm going to just lay around in my apartment in a completely dead city for 2 weeks. All my Christmas breaks have been spent in travelling and exploring Europe (to be honest, it's the only time I get to travel due to a tough course structure) and it's been a blast! I'm a travel enthusiast and I seize ANY opportunity I get to travel around and I think it's a family habit, thanks mom and dad. Not to brag, but I've been to almost 9 countries since I've moved to college (in a span of 2.5 years).   Over these past few years, I've gone on student trips as well as solo trips which were alot of fun and filled with crazy activities, but at the same time I still remember how I was so terrified of what can happen on my first trip. Having ...

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...