In the city of Enschede this year, 1,200 international students are registered to study at the four educational institutions, UT, ITC, Saxion and ArtEz. All these students share a common plight - they grapple daily with issues that many of their Dutch classmates take for granted.
`It's an honor for me to see so much talent from all over the world,' said the Mayor Peter den Oudsten in his welcome speech. This is the first time that Eschede's central expertise has set-up a joint program to introduce newly arriving foreign students to the city.' He portrayed Enschede as a modern `educational city,' working hard to achieve substantial development on all levels - social, economical and cultural.
`Of course, it's only been a few years since international students have been coming to the area,' reflected Saskia Tempelman who works in the Communications Department at the ITC. Her booth represented one out of 20 organizations at the information market, filling two floors in the Music Center. “We registered 250 students for the event, and now they can meet international students from the other educational institutes in Enschede,' said Tempelman.
The Music Center was the starting point for the Art and Cultural Mile tour. Students were paired with a guide and divided into small groups to take a stroll past old city churches, the Rijksmuseum, the Twentsewelle Museum, and through the completely rebuilt Roombeek neighborhood.
`Following the fire work disaster that struck Enschede in 2000, this neighborhood was transformed into an attractive area for living and employment with top quality architecture,” den Oudsten informed students in his opening speech.
Along the way, there was plenty of entertainment as members of the student association Pro Deo, performed improvisations while the sounds of a street organ or `draaiorgel' in Dutch churned out nostalgic songs like `Tulips of Amsterdam.' Students from all over the world collected at a kiosk to sample Dutch poffertjes (small pancakes).
One of the students, Francesco Santini from Italy, thinks Enschede is the ideal city to complete his degree in European Studies at the UT. `I finished my bachelor's degree at Turino Univeristy and the student population is around 75,000. I like the size of Enschede and the University. It's easier to organize things, and you don't always have to wait in a long queue for everything!' Besides the quaintness of Enschede, Santini opined, `I like the people and the country. The Dutch are flexible and modern in their way of thinking.'
International students flocked back to the Music Center for the lively second part of the program, including the chance to master an essential Dutch skill: riding a bicycle. The coverband Duck 4 Cover played music, and instructors from Rico Latino taught students the salsa.
Far from her home country in Kenya, Serah Kahuri expressed her joy to study in the Netherlands. “When I go back to Nairobi, my plans are to teach in the university. We need this information.' She added, `My country is grateful that I am able to have this experience.' Kahuri received a Dutch fellowship from the Netherlands Organisation for Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC), enabling her to spend the next 18 months living in Enschede while studying at the ITC.
`I think for a first time, the event was a real success,' said Maarten Kuper, a UT master's student, who worked on the planning of the event. `We began organizing the event on July 1, which seems like a long time ago, but it was a really short time to organize an event of this magnitude,' said Kuper.
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| Members of the folklore group Lönneker Borendâânsers twirled international students around to Dutch music at the `International Students Meet Enschede' event on September 18. |
