COLUMN + INTERNATIONALS OF LEEUWARDEN

COLUMN Tekst: Abel Hoekstra

DE 24STE IS DE MOOISTE DAG VAN DE MAAND

Zullen we het over Corona hebben? Het lijkt me stug dat daar in de media veel over gesproken wordt. Corona is al gauw negen euro voor zes flesjes. BELACHELIJK! Dat kunnen ze toch niet vragen voor waterig Mexicaans maisbier in een doorzichtig glazen flesje? Als student (ik ben het niet meer) kan je dat ook echt alleen de dag van de stufi doen, is meteen je geld op. Kan je beter naar het casino, alles op zwart inzetten. Dan heb je of een hele goeie of een hele karige maand. Of een swapfiets nemen, dat is ook geld weggooien.

Wat is nou nog meer leuk om te doen? Elke 24ste van de maand komt er weer een helikoptertje van Ome Duo je geld brengen. Laughing all the way to the bank. Sla geld stuk bij de Action, wie wil er nou geen buitenlands flesje cola met een nieuwe ingrediëntensticker erop? Joie de vivre mag wat kosten!

En dan ben je een paar dagen verder. Stufi op, vergokt, fiets geleased en de complete inventaris van een filiaal van de Action in je kamer. Wie wil dat nou niet? Op de volgende 24ste van de maand weet ik wel wie minder geld krijgt, of in ieder geval geen geld krijgt van Swapfiets of de Action. Die willen na dit nooit meer adverteren in de Leeuwarder Studentenkrant. Sorry.

INTERNATIONALS OF LEEUWARDEN

DOING THE BEST THEY CAN, WITH WHAT THEY’VE GOT

Tekst en fotografie: Jody Simone Ho Chi Min, Vietnam Student in Leeuwarden, Friesland

“We had just submitted some assignments and we were all so glad they were over. Someone asked if I wanted to join them and a few others at their place. Usually I would just say no because I’m introverted, but this night I said I’d go. I walked there with a friend and as we were walking I finally got to see the city at night. Vietnam’s architecture is constantly changing, but here it feels almost like time has stopped. At the party we talked and laughed into the early hours of the morning. On the walk back home, we stopped under a street light to have a small conversation. Before we continued to walk we looked up at the stars. There were a lot of them that night. Whenever I look back at that memory, there’s always something warm about that moment. The year leading up to my departure from Vietnam I was in the worst place I’ve ever been mentally. I was incredibly alone and lost, and felt that there just wasn’t a place for me in this world. Then I moved to the Netherlands. I am still trying to

figure it out, but things do really get better.”

Budapest, Hungary Student in Leeuwarden, Friesland

“There will always be happy phases. For example, when I was 16 and figuring out my sexuality, (a very desperate time it was) my best friend and I fell in love and during that time I thought I could die from happiness. But there are also bad phases. Like when my parents left me here in the first year. I never felt so empty. I guess, sometimes you think you’ll never be sad again but then shit just hits you. You know you’ll eventually be happier, but you can’t do anything with the shit feelings inside. Although, I think we’re lucky. Nowadays we as people and the media too, have opened up to talk about such things and how mental health is just as important as our physical health. Therefore, it’s not shameful to take some time for yourself or have a therapist and so on. I think I’m a bit too sensitive to be honest, but I also have the feeling that everyone is, some people are just good at hiding it.”

Harare, Zimbabwe Student in Leeuwarden, Friesland

“What I am most afraid of right now, like I am sure most students are, is securing an internship and not being able to physically be at the company location. I think it takes away the ‘feel’ experience of the internship process.”

Galati, Romania Student in Leeuwarden, Friesland

“I believe that every human being tends to experience some difficult moments. Even though we are provoking pain it makes us stronger and more positive about our future, ways of thinking, and ways of approaching life.”