Matatu’s, dust, ‘How are you?’, Safari and an amazing coast line. Just a few random things that Kenya offers which you definately should experience yourself!

Kenya is a very impressive country. It has a beautiful nature, which is in big contrast to the chaos in Nairobi. Everyone knows that it is not a really safe country, but I must say that I never felt unsafe. You just have to use your common sense, like don’t take to much valuable things with you and never walk on the street at night.

The Kenyan food is really good. The nice thing of Nairobi though is that it is a big city, so they have fast food and western food aswell, which can be really nice at certain times. Moreover, going out is amazing! The African Music, but even more the African dancers; let’s say that we really cannot dance in The Netherlands.

If you are in Kenya you have to go on a Safari, which I found amazing. Next to that, I have seen a lot of Kenya, which is a beautiful country with his Mountains and not to forget the coast!

The thing I liked the most being in Kenya is that you are living very intense. In the morning, you are working and walking in the slum, and in the evening you do only fun things. A very big contrast, but I learned that that is the life there.

STOP imagining and START living!

The AIESEC Indonesia Project 2011

 

Help the environment, support entrepreneurs, or teach English in one of Asia’s most vibrant cities: JAKARTA!

Experience Asia  from the inside!

Other destination wanted?
AIESEC offers (summer) internships in more than 110 countries all over the world, during from 6 up to 52 weeks!

Join our information session:
Tuesday 10th May: 16.45-17.45 – DZ 07
Wednesday 11th May: 16.45-17.45 – DZ 07

Check the video: http://youtu.be/yHJaHHJX2Y8

Books4Life

by Marina Pangaribuan

BOOKS4LIFE, one flight of stairs down to do something for others!

Books4Life. It appeared on my searching results when I typed the keyword “secondhand book store in Tilburg” in google. As I read that it is not merely book store, but it was also aimed for charity. The next day I walked to the store which was located in the basement of the C building in the University. Inside the store I saw a poster of one of their charity projects for a children’s community in Indonesia, my beloved country.

It was my intention since the beginning to do something for others during the one year course of my study, and on top of that I LOVE books. Thus, I decided to join this organization as a volunteer. To be a volunteer means to contribute at least 2 hours in a week to take on a shift in the store. I think the bookstore needs to be advertised and promoted so more students realize its existence and its contributions to society.

Basically, the store received book donations and were sold at a reasonably low price. All the benefit in one year will be donated to two categories of donations. The first is a permanent donation to Oxfam and Amnesty, and the second is for charity projects. It is the board who will decide which project are feasible and are able to match their criteria.

The store is open for any projects which are brought forward mainly by the store volunteers, however, if you are interested to get involved, you can help by thinking of a project to promote this store. If not, you can simply contribute by buying a book, the store has a study books section as well as a collection of novels and other books which can be found in both english and dutch. We will make the most out of the contributions we receive solely for charity projects.

So do visit and see the book collections for yourselves, it will be our pleasure to welcome you and assist you. There is a wide variety of books, so who knows, you may find just the book(s) you were looking for.

For more info, check the following:

• Website: http://universonline.nl/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/universonline
• Books4Life: Basement of C Building

Easter in Holland & Finland

THE NETHERLANDS In the Netherlands, Easter (or “Pasen”) is a holiday that is not associated with Christianity anymore. The focus is more on celebrating spring, life, and family. As a small kid, you would wake up really early on the first day of Easter, Easter Sunday, ready to go and search for the chocolate eggs the Easter bunny hid in your garden or house. The eggs were of course not hidden by a bunny, but by your parents, who would have to wake up even earlier to find the craziest hiding spots. Sometimes a chocolate egg would be found months later, because it was hidden too well! Usually, this day is also used for having a brunch with family. The whole family gathers at a restaurant to be together and eat bread and eggs. Besides eating chocolate eggs and brunch, other Easter activities are decorating the house with Easter branches, usually from a willow, itself again decorated with plastic eggs, chicklets and flowers. Also, for the little kids, eggs would be boiled so that they can be painted and decorated. In the evening, you can always watch Jesus Christ Superstar or The Passion of the Christ; movies that are normally broadcasted during Easter. The second day of Easter, Easter Monday follows. This day is not reserved for anything special. It is a Monday, but most people do not have to go to work. Most families plan fun activities on this day, although a lot of them go furniture-, bathroom- or kitchen shopping	by Kim van Stratum
by Liisa Holopainen	FINLAND Pääsiäinen (easter) in Finland has lost its religious meaning but remains as the first big celebration of the year. Few traditions are visible throughout the country but as Finland is one of the biggest in Europe, area wise, differences are notable as well. From my own childhood I remember that the preparations started about a week before the actual Easter holiday. First we’d start growing ester grass, I would sit down with mom and dad around  the kitchen table full of boiled or chocolate eggs that looked real and we’d start painting them. I’d also go to the woods on our backyard to collect branches of willow and mom would bring all different colors of feathers and we’d also decorate the branches. On Palm Sunday I dressed up as a little witch and went from door to door, recited an old poem that promised health and youthfulness for the coming year. At the end I’d give out a willow branch and get an chocolate egg in return, this was the coolest thing ever as a kid.   On actual easter, our home would be decorated with yellow and green using grass, willow branches, decoration chickens and bunnies, even the curtains were changed to match easter…The most traditional eater food is called Mämmi, which looks and tastes disgusting but a tradition is a tradition J Better ones include lamb, potatoes, pasha etc.  All in all, I’d say that as a kid, easter was about spending time with my family, enjoying the long holiday from school, eating tons of chocolate and welcoming spring (yes, we get it later in the northJ ). Now a days, I’d still decorate my flat, have few eggs, and consider easter as a another excuse to go out for a party.

AIESEC Summer Internships!!

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING THIS SUMMER????

 

Do you want to join an international internship or project this summer, without getting a study delay???

AIESEC offers internships in 110 countries, ranging from 6 to 52 weeks.
It’s up to you to make your summer unforgetable!!!

WHAT DO WE OFFER????

Management Internship (MTs): Internships to develop yourself professionally. Become active in an international company to know and improve your expert skills.

Development Internships (DTs): Do you want to have an impact within a community? Do you want to give meaning to your stay abroad? By joining one of our Development Internships you can help and get to know locals in your country of destination and explore a new culture from within.

WHY AIESEC?

AIESEC is the world’s biggest student organization present globally, encompassing a network of 110 countries.
By participating in one of our summer internships you will not run the risk of study delay

Your Local AIESEC Committe will prepare and coach you professionally, amongst other trainees, you will get to know the concept of culture shock and crisis management.

The AIESEC Committee abroad will arrange your housing and they will pick you up from the airport to give you a warm welcome into their community!
Next to that, AIESEC abroad will arrange different activities for you to join. Get to know their culture and their way of living!

Are you interested in a summer internship?? Do you want to get more information??

Come to our information session upcoming Monday the 28th of March, from 4PM-5.3oPM, in DZ 6.
Or send us an E-mail: info.aiesectilburg@gmail.com

 

Carnaval

by Matthijs van den Akker

Dear ICONNers,

As part of your ‘Dutch’ education some knowledge about the Dutch ‘Carnaval’ is mandatory. Carnival is originally a catholic tradition where, in the period before ‘Lent’ (period of no eating, like the Islamic Ramadan), people would both eat a lot and act out a lot, because after that they wouldn’t be able to for 40 days. It is, however, quite likely that the Catholic Church just absorbed a heathen tradition instead of abolishing it. Carnival is being celebrated all over Europe, and is an event where societal roles, patterns and behaviors are temporarily ‘forgotten’ and ‘everything’ is possible.

Carnival is mostly celebrated in the south, maybe because it is located closer to sunny and warm countries There are two types of carnivals being celebrated in Holland, one in Noord-Brabant (e.g. Tilburg), one in Limburg. Both types are surrounded by lots of traditional elements, among which is the (choosing of a) ‘carnival prince’ and his jester, taking over the city (and being handed over the ‘keys’ to the city by the actual mayor), musical guidance by the presence of so-called ‘dweilorkesten’ (named after small bands of musicians guiding the ‘roaming’ [‘dweilen’], drunk people going from one bar to another) and large carnival processions with the parade carts being all decorated [parade float]. Be sure to enjoy the Tilburg parade this Sunday [6th of March]. See the route the parade follows on http://www.kruikenstad.com/agenda/778/dn-opstoet . The type of carnival celebrated in Tilburg is mostly celebrated within bars and cafes, while the variant celebrated in Limburg includes more traditional music and is celebrated extensively outdoors as well. Carnival is about more than just the festivities which start this upcoming Friday. One example of how deeply carnival is integrated in the Dutch culture is how even companies try to make use of this event, which is nicely shown here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Brandbierbrouwerij

Carnival is a way for Dutch people to go crazy and let go of their ordinary rhythm and lives. Therefore, everybody dresses up as extensively as possible, and people spend hours either making their own costumes or looking for them [either online or in specialized shops]. Celebrating carnival in ‘normal’ clothes is simply ‘not done’ and some bars even reject people who are not dressed up. In Tilburg there are several shops which specialize in costumes and accessories. In the centre you have either ‘Sengers’ on the main shopping street (Heuvelstraat 97) or ‘De feestspecialist’, which is located at the end of the Schouwburgring (157). Closer to ‘home’ [university] there is a small shop at the Westermarkt (next to ‘Emte’) and, behind it, ‘de koopjeshal’ (Bernard Loderstraat 37). If these shops don’t offer what you are looking for, or if you simply want to visit one shop that has it all, visit ‘Hoofs Feestwinkel’ in Den Bosch [‘s Hertogenbosch) located on the Vughterstraat 153 (Center).

All things considered, this blog proved to be more like a statements of facts than a real description of how awesome this big event is. But then again, maybe this adds to the mystery which this big, incomprehensible phenomenon actually is! Therefore, I strongly encourage you to contact me for additional advice, tips or tricks. Perhaps you even have nice (party) suggestions for me!

Enjoy this Dutch event and let it add to your ‘Dutch’ experience!

See you at one of the coming ICONN events, or the awesome ‘event’ I am actually planning myself in the near future…

Ciao!

Matteo

‘the wannabe semi-italian’

Stefan van Elk – In Shanghai with AIESEC!!

 Being an AIESEC Tilburg alumnus I knew I wanted to do an internship abroad before
 starting  ‘the rest of my life’, so as soon as the memorable day of my graduation arrived, I
 made plans to leave.
 A little more than one week later I found myself enrolled and on route to participate in 
 the Young Entrepreneurs Shanghai (YES) program, which is a 3-month special project set
 up between AIESEC Tilburg and AIESEC SISU (Shanghai). In short it combines working
 part-time in a Chinese SME as well as educating Chinese students about entrepreneurship
 in cooperation with AIESEC students….

The ESN Tilburg Introduction Camp

Camp Turbo

Introduction camps, what can you say about ‘em.
Often not too much, besides that everyone tells that
you should go because of the fact that it will be unbelievably awesome.

That can go two ways:
1.The person you are talking too is overenthusiastic and is lying.

;

2. It is true. In fact, after a weekend you believe that the person
you talked to was not even telling about the real craziness involved.

So we left for camp.
With a devastating Thursday beer cantus in our veins
we left Tilburg and took off for a classic Dutch
accommodation in Esbeek: camping farm ‘De Kievit’.
Since we were the first group to arrive,
a true scoop was ahead of us.
Not that seeing two Dutch dudes in a yellow sweater climbing on a
table is a real scoop, but moreover them introducing
us to the magic world that is called the ‘ESN Dance’ was totally unique.
I always realize that for myself this is where the weak part comes in.
My dancing skills are, genuinely, below probably any average.
But after thinking in ‘pussy mode’ you stop crying and find out about
an amazing phenomenon: group strength.
You raise that arm when your neighbour does, you dive to the ground when
suddenly everyone does, and you’re fine.
You go with an unexpected flow, and in the end you find yourself
going for stuff that used to be unreachable every time before.
That is where we learned the ESN Dance, and it changed my life.
Of course, dancing should be followed by eating.
And eating should be followed by action.

Well, we got action. Divided into two groups we took off straight into the forest.
With a lack of flashlights, no moon, and totally poor shoe choice.
The amazingness is definitely in the combo.
For every team the job was to hide a flag in the forest, and
to capture the flag of the enemy.
Defending the own flag was only possible by means of tagging ‘enemies’
that were on your side of the forest.
The shady battlefield shut its mouth and the game started.
Direct routes to the flag were most often stopped by a club of first hiding,
then screaming and finally tagging girls.
Better options were walks through rivers, runs around the forest etc.
Or, for non-amateurs with Finnish army experience, straight
through the middle with invisible mode on. That’s how we won.
After the battling the clever part of the evening came in.
A real classic, and something very rewarding
for smart people: a pub quiz.

Groups clustered together and solved questions in various fields of study.
In between, every group produced a characteristic, custom team flag.
This symbol soon became a beloved object of which losing it was not an option.
In words of good-old Stevie Ray Vaugh: ‘she’s this sweet little thang, she’s my pride and joy’.
Less pride, more joy: a beer-mayonnaise mix drink.
In a world that is famous for rum and coke and vodka orange juice a
beer-mayo mess-up is something unique and new.
And it possesses the same secret as in the movie Beerfest1, ‘you got-ta
wait for the bubble’. Take that smoothly, and victory will be on your side.
We did not win the quiz, even though the quizmaster created
an atmosphere in which we suddenly still believed to have a fair chance of victory, but this hope was idle.
Not worrying about that for a sec, cause the party took over and Esbeek nights proved that they last long.

Activities Day

Saturday morning, damage hour.
No one felt alone in being a little destroyed,
and we got lucky with an everlasting morning work-out session.
In the afternoon more activities were programmed.
Games like beer pong, blow kiss and speed
dating set the right mood,
but the main afternoon event must have been the beer excursion to Hilvarenbeek.
The host over there truly made people
believe he would rather die than never be able to drink a beer again.
This man was in the category of guys that say goodnight to their wife first
and after turning off the light quickly give a cheeky kiss
to the favourite bottle of dark beer on the night table next to their bed. After listening to a short
presentation and touring through the atmospherically small museum we got the chance to go for
the highest quality beer of the weekend. ‘De Roos’ beer, a true yeast feast. We said goodbye to the.

The Saturday evening:
fell in and did not promise to take it easy.
As Dutch as we are, there ain’t no camp without a ‘Bonte Avond’.
Basically anything can happen during an evening famous for its randomness.
Board members blinding each other with hair spray,
Martijn Wuijts making his
appearance in a live dating show, snakes being killed,
returning exchange students lap dancing the
shit out of flabbergasted parents. And so on. It was the paved road to another night in Esbeek that
did not close the gates before severe tiredness was written on every single face.

The Race

Waking up on Sunday has felt healthier before, but there was no time to realize.
With less than half a day of camp left a ‘secret activity’ had been announced.
Unless the fact that The Netherlands are not excessively religious,
there are exceptions to this.
One of these exceptions comes together with a dozen cases of
Euroshopper beers and three bunnies: Saint Beer Race.
The myth around this phenomenon soon possessed the
already familiar party room and the games started.
“Hands in the neck!” You face the big guy across the table and prepare for the moment the race
comes your way. A last breath before your neighbour smashes an empty glass on her head and you
go. You chug the beer as if it was a bottle of water on a sunny afternoon in France and cheer on your
team that is drinking its way to the end of the table. You either win or lose, but you love this line of
people. The simple things make life beautiful, and this is one of them.

Monday morning, January 24th.

As agreed about Mondays, this is the day to go to work at
a bank in Tilburg. Of course you know this particular day
is not the day you will write history, but you also
do not expect major difficulties.
Until the moment the new manager walks in for his first day and
calls everyone together for a very first meeting session.
“Let’s introduce ourselves!” Your mouth
moves, but the words don’t come out.
You take some fresh air and then with a low, creaking voice
it goes: “Hello”. What was it about first impressions?
But then you smile. And within I smiled even
more when somewhere in the back of my head I heard ‘new kids, eternity…’
‘Camp Turbo’; what a legendary start of a legendary semester.

-Michiel Matthijsen
ESN Mentor
Econometrics student

First Impressions of Tilburg

by Katharina Rieniets

Hi, my name is Katharina; I am an international degree seeking student, here for a minimum of one year. I travelled all the way from Australia to live in beautiful Tilburg. The purpose of my stay is to conclude my Master in International Human Rights Law, inspired by my internships at the European Parliament in Brussels, the United Nations Association, the International Humanitarian Law Office of the International Red Cross and Amnesty International. Born and raised in southern Germany, I lived and studied in Australia my second home and nationality, whilst also travelling to West Africa, Asia and the US for a variety of vocational training purposes and general life and inter-cultural experiences.

Tilburg is not only well located, that is, it is close to and amongst the Institutions important in the International arena; no in addition it also is a great meeting spot and melting pot for inter-cultural experiences, communication and friendships. Of course, just like my fellow students, adjusting to a new environment, making new friends and carving a new place for oneself, can at first seem a daunting task! Even for people like me, who are outgoing and confident! I always tell my friends, that I am shy on the inside, for some reason they do not believe me, although it is in truth a fact!  Thanks to the great support of both ICONN and ESN mentors however, our first experiences and integration into Tilburg University, student –and nightlife have been made easy. So here, a big compliment and huge thank you, to all of you mentors who welcomed us so warmly and helped us make our first steps in this new environment!

 

My first impressions of Tilburg were so far only positive ones; I like the fact, that the city is so accessible. I absolutely adore the habit of the Dutch to ride their bicycles everywhere. Although, every time I ride my bicycle, I end up with so many knots in my hair that it looks like one big Rasta lock. People here seem very relaxed and helpful. It reminds me of the laid back attitude of my fellow Australians. In contrast to other international students, who may experience some form of cultural shock or ‘awakening,’ to me the Netherlands feel like a combination of German and Australian traditions and way of life. Of course not in all regards and maybe I should specify, so as not to offend my Dutch readers, it’s maybe best described as cultural similarities with its own unique Dutch facets and flavours. Tilburg is a nice mix of old and modern architecture and I look forward to seeing the landscape of the city change with the approach of different seasons.

It has only been two weeks since our first arrival, and on the one hand it feels like only yesterday that I left home for a new chapter, on the other the variety and hilarity of my experiences here so far could fill a whole book. For example, the fact that I could not walk in proper shoes, but had to wear flip flops (or thongs, as we call them in Australia) during the first few days in this freezing weather, got me a significant number of strange looks and funny comments. I rather not know or reveal, what people were actually thinking seeing me walking like this.  Just days prior to my departure from Perth, I was bitten by a poisonous catfish in the ocean and was suffering from the wound and the poison. Then after a few days here, I fell of a bicycle and injured my knee…so sure, maybe I should have written a story on, ‘what not to do’ instead. However, I prefer to see the positive in difficulties and challenges, which was for example the amount of care and support I received from all the new people I met during this time!

My best advice to all students out there is to go travel, to go on exchange, emerge yourselves in a different culture and way of life and broaden your cultural and educational horizons. Not only will it make you a better person, or help you connect the dots, but most importantly the people you meet along the way and the friendships you establish are worth any challenge which may arise from leaving behind all familiarity. Personally, I am grateful for this opportunity! I look forward to enriching my knowledge, enhancing the fabric of my experiences and learning new languages. I can feel it in my bones; this will be a good and successful year for all of us! In that spirit, I would like to congratulate all international students for their decision to come here and wish you all the best times of your life!

The NOUR Project

The Nour project is a unique and progressive project for academic students. The mission of the Nour Project is to challenge prejudices and to create mutual understanding between the Western and Arabic cultures. The project offers talented and internationally oriented 3rd and 4th year students the opportunity to contribute to strengthening the relationship between the Western and Arabic cultures. The project gives them a chance to work on their personal development through international work experience. During the summer, Dutch students will explore the Arabic cultures by going on an internship to the Middle East or North Africa.

For more information: AIESEC Tilburg office S 5.17 or www.nourproject.nl
or mail: nour.aiesec@gmail.com