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Eva, a sweet girl half Spanish and half German

Hello EVA! Could you introduce yourself to Pequod’s readers?

Buenos días! My name is Eva I am a 24 years old girl who does not know how ended up in Tilburg. Sometimes when I’m walking along the streets it seems surreal living here.  I am totally into sports, I used to practice karate and now that I have moved to Tilburg I go to the University gym very often. I am always looking for justice and a new way to broaden my horizons which is the main reason why I am keen to become a good journalist.

Eva during the Camino de Santiago
Eva during the Camino de Santiago

Why did you choose the Netherlands?

I did not choose them but the MA program chose me.

Tell us about your life in the Netherlands…

My life in the Netherlands is mostly influenced by the international students around me. In the everyday life I try to adapt to the Dutch lifestyle, I interact with international students and I talk to my Spanish dad, my German family and friends. My social life is related mainly to my housemates, who are 7 girls from Italy, Spain, Albania, Czech Republic and Germany, we are sharing feelings and gossiping about relationships and our life experiences here. It surprises me the fact that I get on so well with girls because generally I do prefer to stay with boys.

Eva with her lovely housemates
Eva with her lovely housemates

How is living in the Netherlands different than living in your country?

LUNCH ! Here in the Netherlands it’s very common to have a toast or yoghurt for lunch but I am used to have more varieties when it comes to food! I need a proper meal, for example some proper vegetables or a delicious main course. Another difference here is that some people like to dress clothes with strange colours like light blue, green, yellow and orange – I have to say I like it and I respect their brave choices even though sometimes they’re not perfectly in shape!

Which is the biggest challenge of moving to a new country? Have you had any regrets so far? What do you miss the most?          

Adapting to the lifestyle is itself a big challenge – having supermarkets closed at 7 pm, finding out how to register for a doctor, getting registered in the Town Hall, even having a mobile phone contract requires some effort, but everyone here speaks English, and this makes it easier. In addition, once I had to ask police for help and it was not easy because I had to set an appointment with the National Police and then get an appointment with the local police, they were very kind but I had to pass through far too many steps to get some assistance.

Yes, I have one regret, I could have gone to Cadiz on Erasmus for one year and I did not , especially during winter time when it was rainy and cold I blamed myself for not having chosen the sun and beach. I miss calling my friends in Germany at any time I would like to, I mean, there are several ways to stay in contact, like skype, but it requires to set a specific appointment with your friend.

Eva with international students during the beer cantus in the Top week
Eva with international students during the beer cantus in the Top week

What does Europe mean for you? Do you perceive the existence of Europe as a community? Do you feel part of it? Do you feel European?

For me Europe means to have the freedom to travel and work with all these wonderful neighbours. I totally perceive Europe as community, I know that there are some obstacles at the moment, such as the current crisis which seems to damage the community, but I still believe in its existence. Yes, I totally feel part of the European Union and I consider myself as a European citizen because of my heritage and the other experiences I gathered in this community called Europe.

cadiz, Erasmus, Europe, European, featured, German, Germany, International, karate, MA, netherlands, spain, spanish, tilburg


Alessandro Ausenda

Inizio il mio percorso studi come perito chimico, ci metto circa tre anni per realizzare che una vita in laboratorio tra provette, becchi bunsen e distillatori non farà per me, decido quindi di abbandonare il mondo incantato di Mr. White. Cambio totalmente indirizzo studi e scelgo lingue, concluso il liceo linguistico mi iscrivo presso l’Università degli Studi di Bergamo dove mi laureo in Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne. Attualmente sono iscritto alla Tilburg University, MSc in Business Communication and Information Sciences. Da sempre interessato all’arte in ogni sua forma espressiva, adoro il mondo dell’informazione, della divulgazione scientifica e della ricerca in ambito internazionale. Nei primi mesi del 2015 mi viene offerta la possibilità di collaborare con Pequod, contribuisco alla sezione Internazionale cercando di dar voce ai nostri coetanei e alle loro impressioni riguardanti esperienze di studio, idee e progetti futuri.

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