Dino Distefano (27) is from Biancavilla, a little town in the south of Italy, and he is now at the University of Twente doing his PhD in Computer Science. Next, he tells of some of the things that have constructed his life in the Netherlands.
Dino's place
'You can say I'm a Macandra boy; I have been living in that student's residence since I came here, a year and a half ago. In the beginning I thought it was terrible but I decided that as long as I have a place for my self, my own room, my own shower, my own toilet, it was ok. I only have to share the kitchen but that is not a problem. After a while there is a natural schedule to cook because there are people from several different nationalities. So, for instance Dutch and Norwegian people cook very early, at five or six, then I cook around eight and the latest are the Spaniards, they cook even at 10 in the evening.'
Dino's work
'I think this University is a very good place to do a PhD. If I were in Italy I don't think I would get the kind of education I'm getting here. First, because we invest almost all the time doing research and we really learn how to do it and second, because here I have the opportunity of taking language courses. Apart from that, I really like the atmosphere of our group, there are nice people in it.'
Dino's Dutch.
'I'm trying to learn the language because when I go on a bus or a train I feel like I have a kind of screen that isolates me from the other people and I don't like forcing the others to adapt to me, I prefer making the effort to learn (although for me it's actually a very difficult language).'
Dino's dislikes.
'What I really don't like is the agenda. Of course it is very useful when you have to work and remember a lot of things but I don't understand why Dutch people try to fix their free time. If you invite them to go out at night, they look at their agenda and it's probably empty but they will arrange something for the following week anyway. Besides, if you want to drop by somebody's house, you can't do it because they aren't expecting you and won't feel comfortable. On the other hand, I think Dutch people are friendly but it's difficult for a foreigner to have Dutch friends because as you come intheir environment everyone has his own
friends, so it's easier for you to find your friends among foreigners.'
Dino says that he got used almost to everything (to Macandra, to his bike, to the rain, even to the food) but there is one thing he will never get used to: 'I hate it when people leave. You make new friends and, after a while, they leave. Of course you wish to keep in touch but then, when things go back to normal, it is very difficult to maintain a friendship at a distance. At Macandra that happens to me all the time. I meet people and since most of them are Erasmus students, they are like 'party animals', so sometimes I join them and after a while we become friends but then I know they will leave. That is the worst thing of being a foreigner.'
