Amr Shaker is an international student of engineering at the University of Twente. He received previous education at University of California, Riverside and the American University in Cairo. During his study, he worked as a writer and content editor for several published and online student magazines. In UT Nieuws, he will be writing about a variety of topics including social issues, politics and travel.
Happy is a man who possesses the habit of traveling when he is young. He has indeed secured himself a life-long source of instruction, pleasure, and inspiration. While the norms tend to maintain a life with a planned daily routine, there exist individuals sparing no effort to explore new routes for their lives. Modest as I am, I belong to the latter group.
Netherlands the kingdom is a top rated tourist destination. To me however - as a frequent traveler - I tended to avoid it. The fear of getting driven along with masses of tourists that might ruin the expected cultural experience was my greatest deterrent. This was until a tempting opportunity to study in Netherlands crossed my adventurous consciousness. Till the very last moments, I still had the stereotypical perception of Netherlands being overrated. However, arriving in Amsterdam was an absolute turning point.
In the emerging life scene, the civil design of a city has become a passion or even a dictum for healthy life. On the mighty streets of Amsterdam, whilst the historical buildings had their arts of finesse, each sole building was a delight to watch. Through the gloom of a rainy day, licorice candy drops would tease my taste buds as I walk down a wide street fairly split into lanes for cars, buses, pedestrians, and most importantly bicycles. Practically not a tourist, but can’t help being one. Apart from randomly snapping photographs everywhere, not having a bike was a bold sign saying: 'I am a tourist.'
Poor indeed is a man who neglects the admirable life in the Netherlands and void are his claims. The more time I spend in the Netherlands, the further my curiosity expands, pursuing the ultimate secret of the charm in this land. Living with a Dutch person was a clever rescue plan in order to adapt. No more than a week living with the Dutch that 'I am a tourist' theme slowly faded away. A promising sign of adaptation might be eating lots of bread on every meal, and commenting 'lekker!' after tasting almost any food item.
