SAMUDRAKI

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...

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 ...

My University of Groningen Story How Did I find the University of Groningen?  So how did my search begin for this university? Well, it started off by looking at universities all across the country offering this course with the help of trusty Google. I joined alot of student forums like Student Room , spoke to senior students and other Indian students studying in Groningen through Facebook groups and read many top blogposts (because I was too lazy to press the 'next page' button at the bottom of the Google search results) . You see, I have always been a city girl (childhood in Eindhoven, teenage years in Mumbai) and I wanted to see what life would be like in a smaller town. Groningen has so much to offer and I was really surprised to see that the university was so highly ranked - within the top 100 across several published ranking systems around the world (because Asian parents love those ranks, right?) . I absolutely love science! When I found out that there are ...

Day Trip To Bremen (Diwali Edition) This Diwali, my mother and brother flew in all the way from the homeland India to celebrate the festival. We decided to go to Bremen, the small German town 3 hours away by Bus from Groningen. The day started at 5 AM where we got ready and took the Flixbus at 7 AM to Bremen. We saw the sunrise through the bus window as we drove passed windmills, cows, open green fields and trees changing colors to welcome the autumn season. Upon reaching we followed signs near the main station to lead us to the tourist information desk only to be walking around the same block thrice without realising the office was right there. We got our maps and magnets as souvenirs and the German journey began. We made several pitstops to eat crepes and specialty coffee and swirled potatoes that were essentially fries, and of course the infamous Ginger Cookies. We walked around the town square, went inside the St. Petri Dom church, did a little shopping in the medie...