Sensor 17 by Sensor magazine

A www.sensor-magazine.nl

Magazine for HAN students and employees

jrg 20 #17 18 mei 2016

NEW DUTCH ICONS INTER NATI STUDE ONAL N SP E CI T AL

Exclusive Readers Offers ‘THE IDOL’ IN CITYCINEMA REMBRANDT! ‘The Idol’ tells the true story of Mohammed Assaf, the Palestinian singer who saw his dream come true in 2013 when he won the talent show ‘Arab Idol’. Assaf travelled from a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip to Egypt to take part in the television programme. It took him two days to pass through border controls without being seen, but he arrived too late for the auditions. However, when Assaf began to sing in the hotel lobby, it was decided that he should be allowed to audition. Assaf won the final with the song ‘Ali al-Keffiyeh’, which is considered to be the unofficial Palestinian national anthem. It provided the Arab world with a moment of solidarity. Would you like to see ‘The Idol’ in city-cinema Rembrandt in Arnhem for free? We are giving away no fewer than 5 times 2 tickets! If you are interested you can send an e-mail to sensor@han.nl before June 1st.

‘LANGS DE OEVERS VAN DE YANGTZE’ China is one of the world’s biggest powers, but what do we know about the ordinary Chinese? How do they live and work? What do they fear? Dutch photographer Ruben Terlou travelled with his camera along the banks of the Yangtze, 6300 kilometres long, and talked with the Chinese about the impact of economic progress. The contrasts are shown: from Shanghai, the most Westernized part of China, to Shangri-La, the most authentic Chinese part. ‘Along The Banks Of The Yangtze’ is a TV series about progress and stagnation and about preservation and innovation. Do you like beautiful TV series in general and China in particular? We are giving away 4 DVD copies of “Along The Banks Of The Yangtze”. All you have to do is send an e-mail to sensor@han.nl before June 1st.

Sensor is the independent biweekly magazine of HAN University of Applied Sciences. The magazine is free for all students and employees. The next issue to be published on Wednesday June 8.

BROWNIES & DOWNIES

Wendy opened a special coffeeshop in Capetown

EDITORIAL ADDRESS: Nijmegen, Kapittelweg 33, Room A3.11 (024) 353 03 90 Arnhem, Ruitenberglaan 29, Room 3.19 (026) 369 12 40 www.snsr.nl, sensor@han.nl

POSTAL ADDRESS Postbus 6960, 6503 GL Nijmegen EDITORIAL STAFF Dirk Koppes, editor in chief, (024) 353 03 88 Herman van Deutekom, ass. editor (026) 369 12 40 Renée Jenniskens, (024) 353 03 92 Olga Helmigh, (026) 369 12 16 Sander Arink (024) 353 03 89 Els Sanders, (024) 353 03 90

DUTCH ICONS

Meet our jeans, dj & bakfiets

CORRESPONDENTS Ruud Kroes, Tessa Beukenholdt, Claudia Fitsch, Laurence De la Porte LANGUAGE CHECK Prof. Stephen Owen EDITORIAL COUNCIL B. Looten (voorzitter), J. Veltman, N. Kuiper, C. Meijs, J. Velzeboer, A. van Alphen, R. van Hoften PHOTOGRAPHY Ralph Schmitz, Coos Dam, Tim Buitenhuis, Maaike van Helmond, William Moore, Wiebke Wilting ILLUSTRATION Glas water, Joris Moore, Kim Bell, Floortje van Osch, Coverillustration: Kim Bell DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Bureau Bright Ben Schot Marco Westerkamp

20-26

LIVING IN A SHANGHAI SCULPTURE

Two architecture students live the Chinese dream

FEATURES Syrian snacks

Working at our eastern border

Open arms or discrimination?

Every student needs a joint

ADVERTISEMENTS Martini Media B.V. Gert Boerema Info@martinimedia.nl Hoendiep 140 9743 AR Groningen 050 - 314 22 44

MOREOVER

COPY Copy and reactions have to be provided with name and telephone number. The editorial office reserves the right to refuse or shorten received documents

Erben Wennemars

Passion

What if

Frontman

TRUMP OR TRUTH?

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Austin Haw (22) is from Stouffville, Canada. He studies Commerce at Dalhousie University in Halifax and is here for one semester. His grandparents are Dutch, so he grew up with certain Dutch traditions. He is also a certified yogi and gives yoga class every day on campus in Arnhem. Text: Olga Helmigh

What if...

WHAT IF...

… lots of Americans would move to Canada if Donald Trump becomes the president

‘Yoga is so much more than a set of postures. I go through the physical poses in my head often, because yoga is first and foremost a mental training. It would be unfortunate if I won’t be able to practice, but my mind will go on doing yoga. There would be no real loss.’

‘I welcome everyone who seeks peace. Yet I believe that no matter the circumstances, you are responsible for your own purpose. By that, I mean that we can study our own lives and life on earth and reach an awareness of how to be. I am hopeful that if enough people will start doing that, people like Trump would not stand a chance. It’s a slow process, but my life is dedicated to pointing out this highest truth.’

… you had to pick a favourite yoga pose

…. you could change something

… you could never do yoga again

‘The ‘asana’ is a steady and joyful posture which can be executed in various ways. The headstand is one of them. Another one I like is the ‘padma sana’: the lotus.’

… you could bring a Dutch trait to Canada

‘I like the markets in Holland and that everyone is walking or cycling to get places. In Canada everything is widespread, so it isn’t always possible, but I think the Dutch are more active.’

Students show the back of their tongue

‘We are slaves of the food industry. What happened to growing our own produce, to work as communities to put healthy food into our system? I’d like an horizontal power structure, instead of corporations determining what we can buy, and therefore eat.’

…. you spend a day with one of your inspirations?

Can it be someone who is not with us anymore in the psychical world? I’d like to spend time with Mother Theresa. She is the ultimate yogi in mind and spent her time on earth contributing to bringing us together. That is what it is all about: union.’ OH

Into the Dutch Mountains The Dutch used to conquer the world with ships and guns, stealing slaves and spices, but now they have other weapons to win the hearts and minds of visiting international students. For example, arts are a powerful tool to improve your image in other countries. So we use Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh to lure millions of tourists to our capital. And then we complain that Amsterdam becomes the new Venice. Our legendary tolerance for outsiders clearly has its limits. What’s it like for an international student these days to study at the HAN? Does populist politician Geert Wilders spoil the mood? Do students feel excluded? Or are we a happy global campus? Sensor explored the issue. And we decided to give our international readers an introduction to the new Dutch icons. Of course we have tulips and wooden shoes, but don’t miss the ‘bakfiets’ (cargo bike) or trendy Scotch and Soda jeans. The Dutch dance industry is a major export product. For this Sensor special, we confronted some of our international students with Holland’s newest and finest. Plus tips where to find special souvenirs. Finally we broaden our horizon and visit Shanghai, Capetown, Münster, and more. The Dutch are longing for their old ‘VOC’-spirit, the 17th century mindset when we still believed we could build mountains in the Netherlands. These days, we find that mentality in our international students and their many globetrotting travels abroad. Dirk Koppes Editor in chief a.i.

Double Dutch Welcome to the HAN University of Applied Sciences! This warm welcome must have sounded great after you had filled out all the necessary forms to study in The Netherlands: University! Sciences! HAN! To shoot right from the hip: The HAN is not a university, is not scientific and AN stands for two minor cities in the eastern part of The Netherlands, which are always arguing and seldom willing to co-operate. The H stands for ‘Hogeschool’ in Dutch, a ‘Fachhochschule’ in German, or a ‘polytechnic’ in many countries, except in the USA where almost any kind of educational institute is a university (even Trump established one).

‘Education is booming business and institutes are fighting for students’ Education is a booming business and institutions worldwide are fighting for (foreign) students. Internationalization is trending. So also in The Netherlands. When we have the opportunity to establish a university, we do so. The Netherlands is probably the smallest country in the world, with the largest number of universities per square kilometer. It never takes you more than half an hour to find one. In order to qualify as an institution offering the highest level of education, our government passed a law in February 2016 defining more clearly which institutions may call themselves universities and which may not. Some politicians even want to get rid of the suffix for ‘Hogescholen’: ‘of applied sciences’. For the HAN and for all foreign students it is great news that finally it will be far more clear which level of education and which grade you may expect. It will force both cities to co-operate in their pride and probably change the name of this great institute from the HAN to the UAN of applied sciences . Ton van Eck

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FRONTMAN STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS AT THE HAN

ProXchange: connect with international colleagues With so many partner universities in our network, it can be hard to find the right professor or lecturer when you need expertise from abroad. ProXchange solves that problem.

To chair meetings, compose agendas, organize the lot & much more: As chairman of a student association you have to tackle a huge workload. Every week Sensor introduces a ‘front(wo)man’. Desiree Seidel (23), 1st year International Business and Management Studies (IBMS)

President of the International Student Association (ISA) at Arnhem Business School

IMPROVING OUR IMAGE ‘In high school I was already into organizing, so when they asked me if I wanted to be president of ISA, I said ‘YESSS’. If you study in Arnhem as an international student, you tend to know only the people in your class. By joining ISA your group of friends grows considerably. And I also organize events: it’s a great combination for me. I don’t know exactly how long ISA has existed but a few years ago we had a bad image. The only thing ISA did at the time was to organize parties. That’s not what student associations are about. We had to rebuild. Our former president, Mingus, led the transformation; he built ISA up again. We have a supervisory board, an advisory board and a management board. In addition, all members help out with whatever we need. For each event we form a team and organize everything together. May is a busy month for us. We’ve already had a pub quiz at Lokaal ’99, the pub at the center of the Arnhem campus. And we will have a barbeque. Finally the weather is getting better, so I am looking forward to organizing more outside events. We also organize a weekend trip every semester. Last year we went to Paris. That was the right city to go to, I guess, because tickets sold out within hours. This semester we went to Hamburg. We went on a tour through the harbour, which is one of the biggest in Europe. And of course in Hamburg you have the famous Reeperbahn, a long and exciting street. Not everything from the past is bad, so at the end of this study year, we will have our popular annual boat gala. Every student dresses up for the occasion and then we go to Nijmegen and back by boat. It will be held on the 24th of June. Ticket sales have already started. What are you waiting for?’

‘We felt like we needed to create a platform that easily connects with our foreign colleagues, without them getting lost in endless discussion groups, which often happens. We hooked LinkedIn up to a portal that filters your exact request’, states Miriam Zwaan, lecturer at the Arnhem Business School. ‘Professors, for example, will be able to connect based on a few search terms that link them up with the right people.’ Go to www.proxchange.org to get started! Attention: you need a LinkedIn account to enter. OH

New website Arnhem Business School Arnhem Business School has a new site, showing you what it’s like to study and live in Arnhem through the eyes of international students Shehana, Timur, Rens and Angel. ‘We live in a visual culture. Our brand new website fulfils the need for images, videos and storytelling’, says Arjan de Boer, head of the Arnhem Business School, at the celebratory launch of www.arnhembusinessschool.com. ‘We followed and interviewed four students and filmed them at the HAN and in Arnhem city.’ The clips give potential students from all over the world an idea of what it is like to study at the Arnhem Business School. ‘There is a strong sense of community at our school and we believe the website reflects that perfectly.’ OH

Students as partners In four hours, the Education Faculty decided on an agreement for partnership with its students. After intense discussions, faculty director Menno Pistorius and others decided to strive for more mutual commitment between students and staff. ‘Students as partners’ in learning and teaching in higher education has become a hot topic internationally in the last three to four years. At the HAN we are pretty good at listening to students and collecting their viewpoints. But ‘students as partners’ goes beyond the student voice and involves students as co-creators, co-researchers, co-teachers, co-producers and co-designers in learning and teaching. The Education Faculty (FE) decided to put this partnership explicitly in a contract between staff, teachers and students: a memorandum of understanding. Therefore, 50 FE-people discussed principles like synergy, open mindedness, ‘keep each other awake’ and ‘mutual trust’. They put them in a pressure cooking process, and after 4 hours with mediator Menno van der Veen, voila! Everybody, including director Pistorius, agreed this partnership, dialogue, should start right at the beginning of a student’s first year, he or she is a ‘junior colleague’ from the start, and also has ‘ownership’ of his education. All sections within the Education Faculty should be involved with this ‘growth diamond’. Ambassadors will try to promote it. Marc Zegers, former student and now a kind of ‘professional student buddy’, tells about ‘Studialoog’, a program to promote proactive studying. ‘A lot of students are ambitious, they want more options than they find at the institute. But they don’t know about the rest of the organization. Buddies could help them.’ DK

Gold at Dutch Student Championship Judo Part-time student Niek Verhorstert heard there is an annual championship Judo amongst students. He decided to participate and won in his weight class. At the end of April Students from all over the Netherlands went to the Radboud Sportcentrum for the annual Dutch Student Championship Judo. One of the 128 participants, Niek Verhorstert, who studies part-time Education in Nijmegen, won the gold medal in his weight class (-66kg), which is not a total surprise: he belongs to the top of Judo in The Netherlands. We see you fighting with a bandage around your head. How come? ‘After 15 seconds in the first match I got a headbutt from my opponent. Occupational hazard; he couldn’t help it. It looked serious with all the blood gushing out. But in the end it was a small wound. In the evening, after the tournament was finished, I went to the hospital and got three stitches.’ Which means that you got far in the tournament… ‘Yes, I reached the final and I won.’ Is this the first time you participated at the Dutch Student Championship? ‘Yes, I never heard of it before, to be honest. Someone at my club, Top Judo Nijmegen, told me. The nice thing is: because I’ve won I am automatically qualified for the European Student Championship which is held in the summer of next year. In Portugal. That’s not too bad…’ HvD

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KICKING BUTT. FOR FREE

Want to learn some boxing skills? Here’s your chance. Boxing your butt off for free with event organizers HANBruist!: every Thursday between 16.45 and 17.45 participants get to work on their punch-and-kick skills. In the first class of the eight-week course, women were well-represented. ‘It’s not only a good and intense work-out, you also learn some self-defence!’ one of them said. OH

Nominated for health prize with game for aphasia patients With his idea called ‘Aphatos’, a game for functional communication training for aphasia patients, Ritesh Jagdew, a 3rd year speech therapy student became one of only three nominees to win the ‘E-rev@lidatieprijs’. This is a prize that is created by the Dutch ‘Revalidatiefonds’, a rehabilitation fund that wants to finance ideas that help people with a handicap improve their lives so they can participate in society as independent as possible. Unfortunately Ritesh, who also studies Speech and Language Pathology at Radboud University in Nijmegen, did not win. The prize of 10.000 Euros went to a group of doctors from various hospitals in the Netherlands who developed an app for people with an amputated leg. Lilian Beijer, associate lector e-Health at the HAN, is very enthusiastic about the game idea Ritesh came up with. Beijer started it all when she

asked students at the Institute of Paramedical Studies (IPS) to come up with an idea that could win them this prize. ‘Only one student produced an idea: Ritesh. And a good idea as well because it will support patients with aphasia to re-connect with their social environment.’ Because of the integration of social media in the game Beijer sees possibilities for aphasic patients: ‘They can communicate through different channels without having to lean heavily on their verbal skills.’ Beijer wants to emphasize the close co-operation between the e-Health lectureship and IPS. Inspired by the nomination, she now wants to prepare for a grant to realize Ritesh’ s idea for the benefit of aphasic patients: ‘Maybe we can work something out with the Radboud University in Nijmegen and companies within the health sector.’ HvD

Survey to improve student life for international students Reach their family, good wifi and focus on the labour market: that’s what international students want from the HAN. The HAN University has a couple of thousand students from all over the world studying in Arnhem and Nijmegen. What is their experience of student life in the Netherlands? Are they satisfied? Do they have any problems? If so, the HAN would like to know. And now they do know because, for the first time, the University has undertaken an extensive survey amongst the international students called the ‘International Student Barometer’ (ISB). ‘Last December international students answered questions on all kinds of topics that are part of student life, from application to graduation’, says Jannet van de Riet, head of International Offices at the HAN.

IN MEMORIAM

SEUNG PYO HONG We were devastated to hear the news of the death of Seung Pyo Hong, an exchange student at Arnhem Business School. He died unexpectedly during a weekend trip to Budapest. Seung Pyo was an exchange student from our partner university of Ajou in South Korea. He began the exchange programme in January full of enthusiasm and with great expectations. Our exchange students and staff who knew Seung Pyo personally are greatly shocked and saddened by the news. He will be remembered as a friendly student who was very approachable and got along well with fellow students. We wish our students and staff who personally knew Seung Pyo all the best in coping with the unthinkable news of his death. Jolande van Schadewijk, Exchange programme coordinator Arjan Keunen and Rogier Vispoel, management team of the Institute of International Business and Communication Theo Joosten, Director of the Faculty of Business, Management and Law

‘We planned to do the ISB for three years in a row, with the first year as a benchmark. This month or maybe in June we will meet up with international students and colleagues of our faculty to put together a plan of action. After that we’ll know what our priorities are. Topics that are most urgent will be dealt with first.’ Are you content with the results? ‘Students are satisfied with their teachers and how their courses are focused on the labour market. We need to address more practical issues such as access to the Internet and wifi from the day students arrive. It is important that international students have the ability to reach their families.’ At the end of this year we’ll reveal our plans to the rest of the international students.’ HvD

Summer course @ HAN University For most of us the study year ends in July. For some it is only just starting. For two whole weeks, when most of us are preparing to relax, about twenty two foreign exchange students attend HAN’s action-packed summer course. ‘We struck a deal with our partner universities: for every student from the HAN who gets to study at their university, we welcome one of their students back here for two and a half weeks’, explains Miriam Zwaan, lecturer at the Arnhem Business School and manager of the summer course. Most of them come from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and immerse themselves in a two-week pressure cooker. ‘We not only provide classes and workshops on doing business in Europe, we also go on fieldtrips’, says Miriam. ‘We visit companies such as the bicycle manufacturer Gazelle and ‘Hip Cows’, a farm where they milk cows and offer an opportunity to take a look behind the scenes.’ All students work on assignments and receive personal support from tutors. ‘It’s a very fun and dynamic programme. We wanted to get out of the classroom and into the real world. That is how they truly get to experience The Netherlands.’ Want to spot these lucky summer course students? They will be here from 28 June through to 15 July. OH

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‘THEIR FOOD MAKES ME HAPPY’ A lot of HAN people have supported refugees in Arnhem and Nijmegen this year. The ‘new neighbours’ happily give something back… In Nijmegen a group is providing Syrian food and adds a new Mediterranean twist to what we already know. Text: Claudia Fitsch // Photography: Ralph Schmitz 10

The atmosphere is joyful in the brand new Food and Business kitchen in Nijmegen. There, a group of Syrian refugees is preparing dinner for guests, attending a HANgathering about working with refugees. At HAN University there were several initiatives in Arnhem (de Koepel, 400 refugees) as well as in Nijmegen (Kamp Heumensoord, 3,000 refugees). Stuffed The Syrian cooks put on music: Mohamed Mounir’s ‘Na3na3 el geneina’ is filling the air. They move along to the music while delightful dishes appear, such as fatayer (pockets of dough stuffed with cheese), kebbeh (balls stuffed with meat), yalani (stuffed vine leaves) tabouleh salad, crispy pasty with syrup. ‘Delicious’, according to students who sneak into the kitchen and pre-taste. Coriander ‘Typically in our cuisine we use sweet pomegranate molasses, coriander and cumin’, explains Falek Bejou. Hans Kooijman, entrepreneur and cook who works with the Syrian group: ‘Syrian dishes are refined, with a beautiful balance between sweet, sour, salt and bitter. For the Dutch male, coriander is a difficult herb. Men often think it tastes like soap. After they have eaten it several times, they get used to coriander and start to like it.’ Neighbours While dinner is being prepared, elsewhere in the building the meeting is taking place. Several projects are presented, organized both within the HAN and outside. A representative of COA Nijmegen (Centraal Orgaan Asielzoekers, who organizes the Dutch sheltering of refugees) talks about

cooperation between welfare organizations and volunteers. In Arnhem several volunteer groups work together in ‘Arnhem for refugees’. HAN students contributed a lot to the huge camp in Nijmegen, which lasted from October 2015 until the first of May this year. They organized drama lessons, activities for children, helped organize recreation, gave language lessons and organized sports. Bram Kuipers, student: ‘We live around the corner and wanted to be good neighbours. Now the camp is closed but a new scheme is planned to welcome refugees, so we have offered to continue our activities.’ Habits Head lecturer in Food and Nutrition Annemarie Nijhof and her students started a cooking group with Syrian women. ‘Syrians have a different attitude to food: they cook more than they need for a day, because guests may come. The rest of the food they eat next day. We only cook for our own family. It was good that our students learned about other dishes: when they talk to people from another culture, they have to account for their own cuisine and food habits.’ Then it’s dinner time. The Syrian cooks explain the different dishes, the guests enjoy everything. ‘Their food makes me happy.’

Khaled Ziar was a professional kebbeh maker in Syria. Here he reveals his secret.

Kebbeh (balls stuffed with meat) Ingredients for the dough: 500 gr. bulgur (cracked wheat, fine) 500 gr. minced meat (beef) 1 onion (finely chopped) 1 teaspoon salt Method: Mix the bulgur with water, and soak it for 30 minutes but beware: don’t let the bulgur get too wet! Remove the excess water by squeezing the bulgur through a thick paper towel or a cheesecloth. Add the other ingredients. Put this sticky substance in a blender and mix it until you get a dough. Ingredients for the stuffing: 500 gr. minced meat (lamb) 1 onion (finely chopped) 1 (soup) spoonful of coriander seed (aka cilantro), roasted 1 (tea) spoonful of cumin seed, roasted 2 peeled cardamom pods 1 pinch of cinnamon 100 gr. walnuts or almonds, ground 50 ml. olive oil pepper and salt Method: Fry the chopped onion in olive oil until it’s ‘glassy’. Add nuts and minced lamb meat. Add the spices after roasting and grinding in a mortar (aka jack-screw: US or ‘bugger al’: UK) Add some pepper and salt Method assembling and frying: Get some dough: a good (soup) spoonful/small egg size. Put this in the middle of your hand. Poke a hole in the ball with a finger of the other hand. Make the ball hollow and oval by turning it around your finger to mould it. Fill the ball with the meat mix and seal it by pinching and turning the end together. Fry several balls together in a casserole with oil or in a deep fryer for 10 minutes until they are golden.

Extra recipe of stuffed grape leaves (yalani) on the website! SENSOR 17 JAARGANG 20 11

HAN IS A LEAD PARTNER IN A HUGE DUTCH-GERMAN PROJECT

OVER OUR EASTERN BORDER Small villages. What will be their future? Nothing happening anymore, social death? HAN is an initiator of a cross-border project to increase the quality of life there, working together with local people. Text: Renée Jenniskens // Illustration: Floortje van Osch

Look at the boundaries between Holland and Germany, all those little villages. Those towns where school rolls are falling, the population seems to be grayer every year and where even the bakery or the pub is disappearing. The HAN is a lead partner in a large cross-border project working with residents in these villages to find out how they can keep, or make, their village viable. Border ‘Krake, Krachtige Kernen, Starke Dörfer’ (powerful villages) is the project’s name. Altogether six project partners (including three high schools) and forty border villages are collaborating in it. The villages lie in the Euregio’s Rhein-Waal and Enschede-Gronau. In The Netherlands this includes places like Berg en Dal or Zelhem, in Germany for instance Zyfflich or Wissel. A staggering 3.7 million euros has been awarded for the three and a half year project. Half of that amount came via Interreg, a funding program for innovative and sustainable European projects. The rest was contributed by the Gelderland province, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and by the participating partners. In addition to the HAN, two German colleges are involved: Fachhochschule Münster and the Hochschule Rhein-Waal.

Mix Will Bongaerts is the initiator and project manager. She explains how the project is organized. ‘Together there are six themes like ‘Family’ or ‘Healthy Lifestyle’. All the participating villages choose one or more of these themes. Research institutes of the participating institutions are involved in these subjects; at the HAN, the centres of expertise and ‘lectoraten’.

That’s the way the so called ‘communities’ are formed, with a number of villages and researchers and students of German and Dutch institutes. We have mixed teams; this is the way we work together.’ HAN HAN-students get involved through the research groups and researchers. Good news: the themes are very diverse, so students of almost all faculties are welcome. This is a good pilot for the HAN as a lead partner in an international project, Will Bongaerts says. ‘For the HAN it means profiling and positioning itself. It will also gain a lot of exposure in the area. For students this is a HAN-experience in the field where they can contribute to the results.’

Child-friendly villages The programme started only a few months ago, but the first phase of field work has already been undertaken. Olga van Keulen is one of the specially recruited researchers. A HAN-student in the past, and after a Master’s at the university she is now back again at the HAN. The first steps have been taken in two villages: Langenboom (in Noord- Brabant) and Varsselder-Veldhunten (in the Achterhoek region). Three students undertook research in these villages into ‘The childfriendly community’, with questionnaires, tailor-made for the target groups, about what they wish most for their village. Clubs? Buses to go into the city? Other children to play with? Soon we will know. In the coming years, in twelve villages, Dutch students are going to continue working on this topic, as are German students and researchers. According to Olga, the vision doesn’t differ much between Germany and the Netherlands. The intention is that in the forthcoming phase of the project, there will at least be an exchange between the villages to learn from each other. Students can take part in the organization of these events. Netherlands-Germany Dutch and German researchers learn from each other, Olga has already found out. She gives an example: the use of the term ‘social space’. ‘I’m not sure, but it seems to me that theories about that concept are better developed in Germany. At least I can always find German literature on the subject.’ In future, students are going to map the social space in the villages. What facilities are there, what networks exists? Olga: ‘It is important that they do not do this on their own, but together with the residents. Developing selfreliance amongst the villagers is an important goal of the project.’ What will be the results of the research of the students? ‘You cannot tell it in advance’, laughs Olga. It will depend on those investigations. The results will depend entirely on the needs of the villages. ‘We are going to ensure that everything will be shared, so that the villagers can learn from each other. And it is a learning point for the students.’

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Wendy Vermeulen, guiding one of her trainees

BREAKING A TABOO WITH BLUE CHEESE RISOTTO AND DOWN’S SYNDROME STAFF

BROWNIES & DOWNIES IN CAPE TOWN Former HAN (SPH) student Wendy Vermeulen started the first Brownies & Downies coffee shop in South Africa, in the centre of Cape Town. Brownies & Downies Cape Town is a training centre for (young) people with a mental disorder. Wendy: ‘Parents of children with Down’s syndrome like the name because it breaks a taboo.’ Text and photography: Karin Benjamin-van Lierop

Wendy insisted that I should not come before two o’clock because the shop is very busy around lunch time. When I walk into Brownies & Downies just before two, it is amazingly quiet. In the far corner I see two Muslim women, at the table next to them an elderly couple and in the other corner at the window, two more women. The last time I was here with some HAN students, we had to wait to find a place to sit. ‘After the holidays it has become very quiet, but it is like this everywhere. We walked around to check the other restaurants in the neighbourhood,’ says Wendy who is clearly not happy with it, but relieved that hers is not the only place to be so quiet. While Wendy is still busy with her trainees, I have time to look around. In the kitchen lies a pile of bread slices, all cut with big round holes in them. The chef explains that he is making little snacks for the afternoon. The day’s special is a cheese, butternut and red pepper quiche with chips and salad, for 59 Rand (about 3 and a half

Euros). Three trainees sit at the table by the ‘Wall of Fame’, folding new take-away menus. When asked, they give me one. The menu invites guests to ‘come eat something yummi’. Sandwiches like Thai chicken mayonnaise, butternut and blue cheese risotto, a variety of burgers and salads sound yummy indeed. You will not easily find a Dutch ‘broodje kaas’ here; that would be too boring for Capetonians. While two men walk in and order takeaways, I sit down. The restaurant exudes a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. Big windows on two sides create lots of light and the light wooden furniture, the fresh white and blue walls and the plants hanging from the ceiling give the place a fresh look. Since the menu also promises the ‘best brewed coffee in town’, I order one and I am not disappointed. When Wendy is ready for our chat, she tells me that their coffee comes from Truth Coffee - my favourite coffee shop and one of the best in town –

and that Truth Coffee sponsored Brownies & Downies by providing coffee machines. Media hype The concept of Brownies & Downies, wellknown in The Netherlands, is totally new in South Africa. Therefore the opening of the Brownies & Downies coffee shop got a lot of publicity, both on radio and TV. Wendy was interviewed for the national TV station SABC and on World Down’s Syndrome Day by Yo TV. How was Brownies & Downies received? “People were very enthusiastic. A few criticised the name, but you also get that in The Netherlands. Parents of children with Down’s Syndrome like the name because it breaks a taboo.” “We train the people for three to six months and then we look for a paid trainee post or a job. Some will find employment with us, although we do not have space for many people.” says Wendy Vermeulen.

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In South Africa there is still a prejudice against people with Down’s Syndrome; this comes from the state as well as from within communities. According to the law, companies must employ disabled people, but there is little control, so they do not get jobs. There is little recognition or understanding that Down’s Syndrome people have different capabilities. According to Wendy, the taboo amongst the black population is greater than amongst the whites. This is not only a cultural thing, but also has economic reasons. “You hardly see any black people with Down’s Syndrome. Some people in the townships still think it is the devil that did this, or a punishment from God. Children with a handicap are also killed sometimes. There are many single mothers who have nothing and cannot cope with a disabled child. White people have more money to provide their disabled children with special education or to get a carer to look after the child.”

The increased publicity has had quite an impact: “More and more people in the country read or hear about us and more and more people come to visit us and see what it is like. Being situated in the middle of Cape Town’s City Bowl we get a real mix of clientele: many business people who work in the neighbourhood, but also parents of disabled children, or teachers.” The business is running well and Wendy and her team try to keep it that way, for example by offering special breakfasts and lunches. Wendy has a staff of 9 people and 25 trainees, special needs youngsters who work there for one, two or three days a week. Of the staff and trainees, 73 percent are coloured or black. There are also two Dutch students working here as interns, one business student and one social work student, and Wendy emphasises that HAN students are welcome to do their internship with her. “We train for the hospitality industry. We select the trainees from the different schools that we visit, or people approach us via our Facebook site.” says Wendy and then she gets up to help two of the trainees who are serving clients. In a friendly and calm way she tells her trainees what to do, goes with them to the table and lets the trainees do the job. The clients clearly love the service and have a friendly word for the waiters and Wendy looks proud and satisfied. Pride also shines from the Wall of Fame, with newspaper articles about the shop and photos of the trainees with the text ‘Don’t follow your dreams; chase them’, and ‘Coffee with a cause’. And on a long ‘Chalk Pillar’ clients have expressed their positive feedback with phrases like ‘amazing food and service’ and ‘an awesome experience’. No easy road Wendy did her internship in the HAN TWK Programme in 2011. As a social work student she worked with a local Youth Welfare organisation. Even then she came across as a no-nonsense person who knew what she wanted. The Dutch saying ‘klein maar dapper (small but dapper’)’ certainly applies to her. What drove her to start a Brownies & Downies coffee shop in Cape Town? “All

my life it has been my dream to do an international internship and when I got the chance to do this in South Africa, I took that opportunity immediately. After my internship I had to return to The Netherlands, but between my minor and graduation I went back for a month. I missed South Africa enormously and wanted to find out whether it was the country that I missed, or the atmosphere and the group. From the moment I landed in South Africa again I knew it: this is the country where I want to live.’ ‘When it comes to rules and regulations, it is good to live in The Netherlands. But a lot is expected from you as well. Here, life is much more relaxed. Cape Town is a metropolis with lots of different people. They are much more open to different cultures.” It took Wendy two years to become registered as a social worker in South Africa and another ten months to set up her business. “I always wanted to set up a day centre or a lunch room for people with a disorder. Because it is a well known concept in The Netherlands, I thought ‘why not try the same in South Africa?’ There is an enormous need in this country to find employment for people with a disability.” “It wasn’t an easy road. To set up a business you need 5 million Rand, so we decided to start a Not for Profit Organisation instead. The money we earn goes back into the organisation and the staff get a small salary. The trainees do not get a salary but they can keep the tips.” Wendy does not let anything stand in her way when it comes to chasing her dreams. Her dream for the future is to have Brownies & Downies all over South Africa and already there are requests to start up coffee shops in other places. People are willing to invest in it financially. And although her big dream is to help as many disabled people as possible, when it comes to business she proves to be very level-headed, a ‘nuchtere (sober) Hollander’: “Let us do this first and see how it goes in a year’s time.” FOR MORE INFO, VISIT: WWW.BROWNIESANDDOWNIES.CO.ZA

‘YOU CRY ALL THE TIME!’

2.0 INSTITUTIONAL PLAN

FAMOUS SPEED SKATER ERBEN WENNEMARS TALKS ABOUT MOBILITY Mobility is an important aspect of the new HAN-vision. Speed skater and multiple world champion Erben Wennemars is invited to share his thoughts on the subject. A few hundred students and staff members are present to listen to him while he talks and cries. Text: Ruud Kroes // Photography: Ralph Schmitz

‘Maybe you’ve seen me in “De wereld draait door” (a famous Dutch daily television show) but in fact I used to be a famous skater.’ The students and workers on the Han present in the auditorium at the Kapittelweg laugh and smile. Of course they all know him very well, because speed skating is one of Holland’s most popular sports. Erben Wennemars is one of the many great champions that this country has produced. He has won 8 world championships and two bronze medals at the Olympic Games. Frank Stöteler, Member of HAN’s Executive Board, introduces Wennemars in an informal way. ‘I’ve changed my job every six or seven years. It’s important that you’ll find the perfect place in our system. If you want to be ready for a rapidly changing future, you’ll have to be mobile and flexible.’ Wennemars shows the audience a short movie of his biggest success and failure and asks the audience what they’ve seen. ‘You cry all the time’ is the answer he gets. ‘Correct, some tears are happy ones, others not. What you see is passion in action.’ He confronts his audience: ‘Do you know your passion and what the goal is of your company?’ Nobody answers. ‘Know your goal. Mine was winning. So I looked at every detail. I abraded my skates so they became thinner and more flexible. I talked with the starter before the race started. I knew his family, and asked him how they were doing. If he had to decide whether or not to disqualify me, he would decide in my favour - I hoped. Every detail is important.’

HOW TO BE MOBILE ACCORDING TO WENNEMARS: 1.

Find your passion and formulate it simply. Wennemars: My passion is winning but 90% of professional sportsmen don’t want to win. They have other goals, for example travelling. And it’s true. If you’ll like travelling, become a skater. I’ve been in a lot of countries during my professional life.

Be your own boss. Inside a company, you can still be an entrepreneur. Look for ways to distinguish yourself and make mistakes. ‘One mistake is that I trained too much for the Olympic Games in 2006. I wanted to be sure that nobody could blame me for failing. Taking risks is more important than being sure.’

Keep moving. The more you train, the faster your body recovers. You’ll have to find new ways to become better. Ask yourself the question: ‘What am I going to do differently next year?’

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Amino: ‘Ik ben gevlucht uit Somalië. Nu wil ik graag weer studeren.’ Geef om talent en maak deze studie mogelijk! Kijk op www.uaf.nl

Studie en werk voor hoger opgeleide vluchtelingen

NEW DUTCH ICONS Of course we have Rembrandt and tulips, but don’t miss the bakfiets or vintage Dutch jeans! We confronted our international students with Holland’s newest and finest. Text: Editorial staff Photography: Frank Uiterwaal, Wiebke Wilting, Coos Dam // Illustration: Joris Moore

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I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike There is no place in the world where there are as many cyclists as in the Netherlands. Dutchmen cycle 1000 km a year on average. No wonder the Netherlands is internationally famous as a country of bicycles. One of the typical Dutch bicycles is the cargo bike, in the Netherlands also known as the ‘bakfiets’. The Dutch name says it all: it’s a bicycle with a bucket on the front and it’s mostly used to take children to school. ‘The first time I saw a cargo bike was in the Netherlands’, says the Chinese IBMS-student

Zibila. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw one because there was a woman with three or four children on the front and it seemed very difficult to control.’ Difference with China Just like everyone else in the Netherlands, Zibila cycles to university every day. She says that Holland is a very bike-friendly country. ‘In China we don’t have cycleways so when I first came here, I had no idea what a cycleway was, until a friend told me. In China cars, bicycles and scooters drive on the same road and unlike the Netherlands, scooters don’t make any sound so you don’t hear them coming. That can be dangerous sometimes, so when I studied in Beijing, I travelled by subway or by bus because that isn’t so expensive in China.’

Car…go! Since Zibila hasn’t experienced a cargo bike, it’s time to let her try one. She gets to ride on an Urban Arrow cargo bike. As she sits on it, she turns the handlebar slowly because it’s quite heavy. Zibila takes a few steps then begins to ride very carefully. She moves with the handlebar to get her balance. There she goes, from one side of the street to the other. She does this a few times. When she comes back, there’s a smile on her face. ‘It was like I said, hard to control sometimes! But other than that, I think it’s okay. Would I buy a cargo bike in the future when I have children? I don’t know, maybe’, she laughs. For now, she’ll keep cycling to college on a normal bike. More information about the cargo bike? www.snelbander.nl/bakfietsen

King’s Day in Nijmegen An experience on its own is the very Dutch King’s Day. If you’re not wearing orange, you don’t belong here. The best Dutch experience one can have in Holland is ‘Koningsdag’ (King’s day). Although it's the birthday of King WillemAlexander, it’s a people’s party. Dressed in orange, people clean out their attics to sell their used stuff on the street. In Amsterdam this is a tradition since the seventies, in Nijmegen since the eighties. At four o'clock in the morningat the Goffert park, the biggest park of the city, people are already occupying the best places, even when it's freezing at that time.

For the first time in their lives today five students of HAN Life Sciences experience this holiday. Yesterday evening they all went to the city center of Nijmegen for the King’s Night. Borjam from Macedonia and Claudio from Italy enjoyed the lively parties in the city, although they had a strange experience in one disco when they weren't allowed to leave the building for an hour. They were told it was because of a bomb alert, but later they heard it was because of a big fight in the streets with lots of people. Sadly that is also part of King's Day… After a long night’s sleep the five take a walk into the Goffertpark to visit this huge flee market. The students cannot believe their eyes. Thousands of people, all selling old used stuff and negotiating the price. Claudia from Spain, the only girl in this group, wants to buy a children's book to

learn Dutch. She's lucky: at one stand they sell dozens, books of 'Sinterklaas' (Santa Claus) and 'verkeersles' (traffic lessons for children). She can't make up her mind and decides to come back later. Umberto (as a real Italian guy) is the man who is concerned about his good looks. He tries hats and caps, even buys a hairpiece and finishes his new look with mirroring sunglasses. Claudia's walk in the park also ends up in luck: finally she finds a mirror for her room, an accessory she missed badly these last months. Only one new problem occurs now: how to get it on the wall. Nice guy Umberto thinks he can help her with that soon, although with his hairpiece on his head he has his own problems. When a gust of wind raises his rug he laughs: 'Oh God, my curls!' RJ

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Everybody dance now! One of Holland’s biggest export products in the entertainment industry is electronic dance music. The world yearly spends 300 million euros to watch Dutch dj’s perform and to visit our dance festivals. We sent Canadian Stephanie Farrugia (25), who is taking a management course at the HAN University for five months, to the Beat the Bridge festival in Arnhem. ‘I had a lot of fun dancing to this music!’

Difference with Canada ‘Typically I enjoy listening to progressive rock, electropop, and rock music. In Canada I have been to music events in Edmonton, Alberta during the summer, where popular bands come to play. It’s a similar environment to the music festivals here because they are outside.’ ‘The music at Beat the Bridge was not what I was expecting, but it was great. I don’t think I would necessarily label it as ‘culture shock’, but it’s definitely different from what I have experienced back home. This type of music would have never been my first choice, but now that I have visited this event I will likely return in the future. There were about four different stages situated near the

John Frost bridge and the sounds at each of them were quite different from one another. I really enjoyed the music at the Factory Stage and I loved the people who hung out there. Everyone was pretty chill and fun to be around, and it wasn’t too crowded when we went to the event. Dance to the music ‘I don’t really know how to describe their dancing to this type of music. It was energetic and it coincided with the music being played. I also tried it and I had a lot of fun dancing. Even my friend Julia loved it, and she was not a huge fan of electronic music before this festival. Despite the rainy weather I had a great time.’

Jeans Capital of Europe Maybe Holland is not exactly the fashion leader of the world, but as far as jeans go, that’s another story. Fashionistas study our denim design. When you hear, talk or read about the Netherlands, probably the first thing that pops up in your mind is Amsterdam. However, not everyone knows that the big city in this small country is the jeans capital of Europe. Take G-star or Scotch & Soda for example. Both Dutch companies have their headquarters in the capital. G-Star was founded in 1989 and has grown into a company that has outlets all over the world. Time to ask two students of International Business & Management Studies what they think of the style. Although she knows of G-star in passing, Scotch and Soda is more familiar to Peruvian student Nicole. ‘I know Scotch & Soda because they also have a store where I’m from, but I didn’t know it was a Dutch brand!’ Swedish H&M is a more popular brand for Romanian student Stefania: ‘Usually I buy skinny high-waist jeans from H&M; they are the best. I think they are really comfortable and the prices are quite good for students.’ The girls like the style here in the Netherlands. It is a bit different from their own countries, though. Stefania: ‘When I was in Romania, they used to wear long jeans, not high-waist, and when I came to the Netherlands, almost everyone I saw wore high-waist jeans and jeans with scratches and holes. That trend had only just started in Romania, so it was rather different for me.’ Nicole says that trousers in Peru are slightly thicker. ‘The trends are quite the same, but I think that fashion in Peru is influenced more by American people than by Europeans.’ After talking about denim, it is time to introduce the two to G-star. They look at a few things. Then they see a pair of dark blue jeans. The jeans are wider around the hips and skinny in the leg. The bottoms are folded. ‘It’s like boys’ jeans, but skinny at the same time. You can wear either heals or sneakers underneath’, says Stefania. Just like most people, the girls like this trend in the Netherlands as well. SENSOR 17 JAARGANG 20 23

NIGHTWATCHING One painting in particular at The Rijksmuseum may truly be considered a ‘Dutch icon’: The Nightwatch (‘Nachtwacht’) by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). The masterpiece is full of amazing details, miraculous contrast of light and dark and hidden gems. Sensor took Arnhem Business School students Lynn (Chinese), Veronika (Greek/Russian) Camille, Trâm and Trang (Vietnamese) to see it for themselves.

If you want to treat your family on some real Dutch icons, Sensor found the best shops for you. 24

Upon entering The Rijksmuseum, it is immediately clear that we are not the only ones who want to admire Rembrandt’s most famous work. Long lines at the ticket counter prepare us for the queue at the painting itself. Luckily, The Nightwatch is big enough to cover the entire wall, so at all times you will able to study parts of it before getting up front and close. While we wait, we grab an information chart and learn more about what makes The Nightwatch so special. Not only did Rembrandt create an amazing, lifelike contrast between light and dark, he also hid secrets in the oil painting. For example: the (only) girl in it, resembles his late wife Saskia and he also included himself in the background, peeking over the shoulder of a

Stroopwafels

De Lunchclub, Jansstraat 26, Arnhem: a lunchroom in the centre of Arnhem, that has an open window where they sell freshly made stroopwafels. Heaven!

civic guard. Veronika is captured by all the facts, but admits she doesn’t understand what makes the Nightwatch stand out. ‘It is interesting. The more you look at it, the more you see. But in the end, it is just a group of men and nothing is really happening.’ Camille agrees. ‘I respect the amazing work Rembrandt did, especially the light. It looks real. Yet there is no action.’ They do like the ‘Dutchness’ of it. ‘It is completely different from Asian art’, says Trang. ‘This painting really defines the style in the Golden Age in Holland.’ Another thing the group appreciates is the lay out of the museum. ‘The building is beautiful, the atmosphere great’, says Lynn. ‘I will definitely come back to check everything out.’

Fashion & design

Dutch design sells well in Milan and all over the world. In Arnhemcomingsoon.nl, Kerkstraat 23, Arnhem, you will find great original shoes, plates, etc. of 26 designers

RED DAY LIGHT DISTRICT Blink your eyes and you go from Dam Square to the Wallen: the infamous red light district. It’s an unrealistic experience seeing prostitutes in their windows, next to flower shops and canalside houses.

Drop

The best liquorice (‘drop’), the famous salty Dutch snack, you’ll find in the Openlucht Museum, Hoeferlaan 4 in Arnhem. The museum has a candy store with vintage sweets.

Pork

Dutch farmers have the most efficient pork factories in the world, which they export

There are brothels, venues with live sex shows and many sex shops in the narrow canalstreets. Trâm, from Vietnam, points to a barely dressed woman (or is it a transsexual? It’s hard to see from across the water) who stands in her open window, trying to convince a man to do business. ‘It’s strange to witness it in broad daylight. I think it’s good that prostitution is legal here, so there is more regulation and safety. In my country it is illegal and there is more violence.’ Camille shakes her head. ‘Yes, it is better this way, but still hard to see. There is a

sadness to it.’ One street further down, we get bubble tea from a tea bar, and discuss the complexity of prostitution. ‘I don’t think each and every one of them is forced to work as a hooker. Some enjoy it’, says Veronika. ‘But there are women who see no other way of creating income or have been tricked into it. That breaks my heart.’ Lynn agrees. ‘It weird to think that only a few metres away, prostitutes are at work, while we sip on our tea. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was just a regular neighbourhood.’

to Canada, USA etc. A royal Dutch butcher in Arnhem sells premium steaks at Slagerij Evers, Kerkstraat 14.

57, the shop is open 6 days a week.

Herring

No study in Holland is complete without a joint. Kronkel, Vlaamsegas 26 in Nijmegen has the biggest collection hashish. In the centre of Arnhem you will afind Upstairs at Beekstraat 12. Very busy and almost ‘gezellig’.

Long before everybody was eating sushi, the Dutch introduced raw fish to the world. For great herring go to Wilma Graat, a fish stand that sells every Saturday at the Market in Nijmegen. In Arnhem one visits Visgilde De Visscher in Middelgraaflaan

Hashish

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OPEN ARMS OR NOT? At the HAN, internationalisation is one of the spearheads of its education. Our students travel abroad and vice versa; we like to welcome students from abroad on campus. But will our open-arms culture change because of the rise of populist Geert Wilders? Sensor looked for racism, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments at the HAN. Text: Laurence De la Porte // Illustration: Kim Bell

‘Did that negress leave early?’ somebody asked those exact words about Karin Wirth (29). The Occupational Therapy student was born in Surinam, raised in Aruba and came to Holland to study. ‘Negress!’ When she indignantly started a discussion about his use of this word with a student on the train, she explained how the word referred to slavery in the past. Nobody in the full train compartment backed her up. The young man really didn’t understand that the word is not acceptable. He tried to explain his use of the word: ‘But that’s what you are, isn’t it? I don’t mean it negatively.’ Well’, she sighs, ‘even if he didn’t mean it that way, it can still be offensive.’ Nevzat Cingoz, personal counsellor, agrees. Every year four or five students knock at his door with similar dilemmas. One student told him how a teacher in class had said that all Muslims are terrorists. Probably a joke, but still unnecessarily hurtful. That student eventually decided not to file a complaint, a listening ear was enough. In most cases counsellors like Cingoz ease the impact of the situation. They are mediators in the conflict, get the involved parties to speak to each other and prevent escalation. If it comes to an official complaint, they assist in the procedure. For instance, the immigrant student who felt she had been treated differently from her fellow students because she was told she totally sucked and failed. The complaints commission didn’t agree with her point of view. Nevertheless, she was satisfied with the procedure, because people were listening. Difficult name But not all problems occur within the walls of the HAN. Cingoz talks subtly about ‘trainee problems’ and ‘students with a migrant background’. A survey from 2012 shows that Moroccan and Turkish students looking for a traineeship get the door slammed in their face regularly. ‘It is a national fact: people with difficult family names are not invited for a traineeship’. And even when you are invited, you don’t

always get a fair chance, says Lynn Kuenen (25). She has just graduated in Applied Psychology. Kuenen is a Dutch woman who converted to Islam five years ago, and married an Iraqi Muslim man. For the last three years she has been wearing a headscarf, and this has changed the way people approach her. She applied for a job and the person on the other end of the phone reacted really positively. However, during the conversation ‘in the flesh’ she was disapproved of after one look at her headscarf. Colleagues at the traineeship where she was eventually accepted didn’t want to include her when they were smoking a cigarette outside. ‘They all thought I wanted to convert them.’ The PVV (Party For Freedom, right-wing populist Dutch party of Geert Wilders) has increased the fear of foreigners, but it would be ‘too easy’ to see that as the only cause of Dutch anti-migrant sentiment, says Applied Pyschologist Kuenen. ‘That sentimsstudents who support the PVV and keep silent about their opinions. However, in the end you are not allowed to discriminate at our school, full stop.’ Girls, girls, girls The three Indian Automotive students: Sanker Dutta (24), Hrishikesh Kakade (23) and Prajwal Ramakrishna (23) feel welcome here. They have a vague notion of Geert Wilders, but the PVV? Never heard of. The trio thinks fear of ‘outsiders’ exists all over the world, and Holland doesn’t rank amongst the worse nations. This is – according to Sanker, Hrishikesh and Prajwal – a ‘near perfect country’. Although… courting Dutch girls is neither simple nor smooth. The girls are not into dark foreign guys and prefer to shoot their love arrows at tall blond local guys. Laughing: ‘Girls only hook up with guys from the same country!’ ‘I do feel racism’, says second year English student, Golan Muhyaldin (24) originating from Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. ‘When I go to a supermarket and the employee �

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looks at everything I do, or when the only woman with a headscarf needs to get her bag checked before she enters the store.’ In her opinion, imaging in the media feeds the fear. ‘When a Dutch man kills his family it’s called ‘family tragedy’, when a Moroccan man does the same it’s ‘honour killing.’ Kuenen also thinks the media sow unnecessary fear: ‘If you have done something as a 31-year old Muslim or Palestinian, the media mention your background, but with the Dutch they never do. And people always say; why don’t ‘the Muslims’ have an answer? Why don’t the mosques say anything? I wonder where the media look, because that happens all the time. Only they don’t get a microphone.’ Talk, talk, talk Everyone agrees that the solution to discrimination is: talking. Cingoz thinks every person who asks for his help is one too many. It is necessary to pay attention to

migration and its related problems. ‘Society as a whole is becoming more diverse and the refugees’ dilemmas remain topical. So it is very important that our students learn how to deal with other cultures.’ Muvaldin explains ‘The only way we can deal with racism and terrorism is by people getting familiar with their neighbours and knowing that there is more common ground than differences. Then your heart will be at ease. I do feel that if we keep talking, through the generations racism can be eradicated. Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ Sanket Dutta would love to see a huge HAN party: ‘Get together with all the students, as a chance to unite.’ But Ramakrishna knows what his friend really means: ‘As if you want to meet any other people than girls!’

O OLGA OBSERVES

Music Beyoncé – Lemonade

Who is Becky with the good hair? That seems to be the number one question the world has been occupied with since Beyoncé dropped her new album ‘Lemonade’ on us like a bomb. She sings about ‘Becky’ having an affair with her husband. And we all know who her husband is: rapper Jay-Z. Guess the elevator fight in 2013, between him and Solange Knowles, Bey’s sister, was called for: if you have to believe the lyrics on Lemonade, Jay-Z does have 99 problems, but regularly cheating ain’t one. Beyoncé consciously decided to spill the beans on her marital issues, so it seems. She doesn’t go as far as saying ‘Jay-Z is a crappy husband, my sister bitch slapped him for it and now you get to hear the juicy details for just 17.99 (and only through Tidal)’, but she does make it very clear shit went down and she is ready to share her pain. The album kicks off with the gloomy ‘Pray you catch me’, setting the tone. It’s heartfelt and for a moment you suspect she may never shake her delicious booty again, flinging her hair back with a great swagger, looking like she’s going to rip you to shreds with her bare teeth. Same on the beautiful ‘Sandcastles’, mid-album: she sounds like

she might break, her sad voice wobbly with emotion. This record feels like the most vulnerable she has made so far. The piano often creates the right mood, while haunting drums and synthesizers blend in perfectly. Even on more swinging tracks like ‘Freedom’, featuring Kendrick Lamar, there is a soulful undertone, a layer of authenticity. I say ‘authenticity’, because to be honest, I have missed that on her previous albums. There is something contrived about Beyoncé. Her image is carefully thought out, we see little of how she truly lives and thinks. This has always bothered me. The whole feminist outcry seemed based on the wrong motive, the fight for black lives truthful but also clichéd. I have to admit I was sceptical when everyone started praising ‘Lemonade’ to the point of blind worship. Though I am not sold on every track, such as the repetitive, annoying ‘Hold Up’ and standard r&b song ‘Love Drought’, I actually dig it. Enough to roam the internet to find out who Becky is. Though I suspect it may be a PR stunt. Just like the marital problems. That would be insane, but also brilliant. I wouldn’t put it past Queen B.

TALKING TRUMP & TRUTH 'What do you think of Donald Trump?’ is perhaps the most asked question Americans in Europe get lately. So we figured we’d do the same and ask our American students at the HAN University what they think of ‘The Donald’, the US Elections and America’s reputation in Holland. Text: Olga Helmigh // Photography: Coos Dam

‘I TALK ABOUT AMERICAN POLITICS MORE OVER HERE, THAN AT HOME’

Matthew Rorvick (22), Maddie Alexander (21), Yunha Seo (20) and Brandon Canny (21) all flew in from Mankato University in Minnesota to follow one or more semesters here. Except for Brandon, who studies Automotive, they work at Buro302, a creative design bureau that is part of the Information and Communication Academy (ICA). It will be the first time that Matthew and Maddie will be able to vote in a presidential election; four years ago they were minors. Brandon has voted once before. Yunha won’t be able to vote: she is South Korean and has a visa to live and work in the United States.

So, here it comes: what do you guys think of Donald Trump?

Maddie: ‘It’s unbelievable he got this far. When he first made public he was running for office, I thought it was a joke. Or at least something that would quickly be over, because no way would Americans consider this guy competent for the job. It's scary he now seems to be the official Republican candidate' and I fear what happens if he

manages to get into The White House.’ Matthew: ‘Trump knows exactly how to play the media and tap into frustrations of working class Americans. There is also a loud group of ignorant folks, I guess you could call them rednecks, who love his idea of ‘making America great again’. Whatever that means.’ Maddie: ‘I do believe that it is just a very vocal minority. There is a silent majority against Trump, which needs to speak up. Or at least vote and make sure he doesn’t become the president.’ Brandon: ‘The media plays a big role as well, they feed on all the craziness. Trump knows how to get a rise out of people and it creates a lot of attention for him. Though I have to point out he is also misunderstood. He talks out of his ass a lot, yes, but his tax plan is pretty good and I honestly think he is not the raging racist he is now made out to be. Does he have unfortunate ways of expressing himself? Hell yes. But media loves to add an extra madness to it. That said, I do think he is a true disaster for our country and even more for international affairs.’

Yunha: ‘I don’t know if I would feel safe if Trump becomes the president. I might not be Mexican, but as an immigrant I do feel discriminated by him. I would seriously consider moving out of the country.’

Who will you vote for then?

Maddie: ‘I haven’t decided yet. I lean heavily towards the Democrats, though I feel our political system makes it hard to vote for Independent Parties. In the end, it is always about the Republicans and the Democrats. A multi-party coalition government, like you have in The Netherlands, is something I like, because it represents the diverse demography of a country. Obviously I would never vote for Trump. That leaves Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, but it seems like he will lose the candidacy to her. Clinton is too eager and is already deeply immersed in politics. Which makes her seasoned, but also caught up in the shadiness and manipulation of it.’ Brandon: ‘What bothers me about Clinton is that she is still under investigation for the e-mail scandal (she used private email for �

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top secret affairs), and there is probably so much shit we don’t even know about. At least Trump is an open idiot, Clinton is a closeted one. Which is more dangerous? I will vote for the Libertarian Party. It won’t matter in the great scheme of things, but I don’t support the Republicans or Democrats. They tend to focus more on their rivalry than working on actually solving problems. It’s a sick and twisted political system, entirely based on money. It needs a serious overhaul.’ Matthew: ‘To be honest, I haven’t been following the news much. I was more focused on coming here. But I often get the question how I feel about Trump and the future of the United States. It got me thinking I should get more informed soon.’

A statement you might hear as expat students in Holland: America thinks it is the world police

Maddie: ‘It is a position America got itself into. We do tend to get involved in everything, sometimes when we shouldn’t. But let’s not forget that the world has a double standard about it. They accept America’s help and in many cases we proved to be a powerful and influential nation. But it’s also easy to shit on us because of that. We are an easy target.’ Brandon: ‘We need to keep our nose out of other people’s business. We often create more problems instead of solving them. Let’s clean up our own mess instead.’

Yunha: ‘Coming into the USA as a foreigner, I knew about the reputation of America being dominant and bossy. But I think you can only judge a country by living there first. It is much more complex than its reputation. The USA is an ambitious and dynamic nation that strives for greatness. That can go either direction.’

Another statement: America thinks it’s the perfect democracy

Matthew: ‘I wouldn’t go that far. But we founded our nation on independence and freedom. The freedom to be who you want to be and become what you want. Through hard work and minimal control of government. Obviously that comes with a set of challenges, but we are a relatively young nation. With good intentions, or so I would like to believe.’

Do you feel you are treated differently in the world as an American?

Maddie: ‘Here in The Netherlands not so much, but sometimes I get that look: ‘Oh no, here comes another loud, obnoxious, gun loving, shallow American!’ Like I said: we are an easy target and there are a lot of preconceived ideas about us. America dominates pop culture, the entertainment industry and yes, world politics, which largely contributes to the image we have.’ Brandon: ‘I experience the opposite. I was worried when I came out here that people

Maddie

Brandon

would express their frustrations about the US. But everyone seems positively interested. The fact that so many Europeans follow the US elections closely, was something I did not expect. I talk about American politics more over here, than at home.’ Matthew: ‘Honestly, I couldn’t care less what people think of me being an American. But I know some people who say they are Canadian if they sense a hostile vibe.’

Who do you think will become the next president?

Maddie: ‘At this point I hope anyone but Trump. I am not a fan of Clinton, but I guess I would rather have her run the country than Donald the idiot.’ Yunha: ‘I agree: anyone BUT Trump.’ Brandon: ‘Both options are horrifying to me. I once saw a Robert Rodriguez movie called ‘Machete’ in which Charlie Sheen was the president. At this point, that actually seems like a more appealing situation. That is how messed up I feel about it.’ Matthew: ‘The harsh truth is that as a white man, I would survive Trump if he managed to get into the White House. But of course I hate the idea of what it means to the US as a nation and as a key player in the world. I might have to say I’m a Canadian after all.’

Yunha

Matthew SENSOR 17 JAARGANG 20 33

HAN architecture students do their thesis in Shanghai

Living in a sculpture If you are an architecture student and want to see exceptional architectural buildings, where do you want to go? Shanghai will be one of the cities on your list. Two students from the Built Environment institute are doing their theses in Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest city. Text: Mesut Ulku, Thijn Smit and Herman van Deutekom Photography: Mesut Ulku and Thijn Smit

Mesut Ulku and Thijn Smit are architecture students of the HAN Built Environment institute. They are currently in their graduation year. They both took the opportunity to do their thesis abroad. The thesis involves researching a unique design called The Habitable Sculpture, by the famous American architect Philip Johnson. The task was set by Van Aken Architecten (VAA), a European company based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. ‘VAA created a partnership with the St. Johnson company in Shanghai to support each other in projects abroad’, Mesut explains. ‘A former student of Mr Johnson invited us to his office in Shanghai to collect information about the original design.’ Shanghai and the Habitable Sculpture The Habitable Sculpture was originally designed to be built in New York in 2000. The building earned its name because it was modelled on a series of sculptures, which Philip Johnson scaled up to a one-hundred-and-five metre high apartment building. The building’s facades are constructed from many fragments, all of them reflecting different buildings and architectural styles in the building’s surroundings. Despite the remarkable design and the fact that many critics and locals loved it, the design remained unbuilt because the local government rejected the plan on account of its height. ‘In our opinion Philip Johnson was a game-changing architect, ruling the American architectural world in the twentieth century’ says Thijn. ‘During his long life and career, he created many world-famous buildings, like the Glass House in New Canaan, near New York. He won countless architecture prizes and sadly passed away in 2005, at the age of ninety-eight.’

The purpose of the thesis is to discuss the possibility of realizing a new Habitable Sculpture based on Philip Johnson’s design. Thijn and Mesut started their research last February and will finish at the end of May. During this period they have worked for two months in the Netherlands and two months in Shanghai to collect information and expertise from both firms, Van Aken Architecten in Eindhoven and St. Johnson in Shanghai. Shanghai and the possibilities For the two architectural students, living in Shanghai is like kids living in a toy store. ‘Every weekend we embrace the opportunity to explore this vast city with a population of 24 million people, and an incredible skyline with outstanding architecture, including the secondhighest tower of the world’, says Thijn. ‘We explore Shanghai the Dutch way: by bicycle. This of course means cycling to landmark The Bund, a beautiful promenade along the Huangpu river with modern skyscrapers on one side and a series of colonial-historical iconic buildings on the other.’

Shanghai and the world In their daily lives Thijn and Mesut have met people from over 25 different countries. Mesut: ‘Which means you suddenly have friends all over the world. When you live here for quite a long time, like we do, you understand how big this country is and how different people are. It has roughly the same size as the whole of Europe. Most Chinese are honest, a bit shy at first but very helpful. After a while you see the beauty of these people and you discover greatness in the smallest details. China has been an exceptional and unforgettable experience for us that lasted nine months. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’ Follow the adventures of Thijn and Mesut at the HAN-blog: http://blog.han.nl/studeertechniek/ tag/habitable-sculpture/

Shanghai and the people But it’s not all about architecture, Thijn explains. ‘For us living in a city like Shanghai is an amazing experience full of opportunities. Cycling through this vast city with more inhabitants than the whole of Holland, we like to look for people and stuff you don’t see every day, like a shopping mall with a five story slide or the magnet train ‘Maglev’ with a top speed of 430 kilometres per hour.’ The Dutch students noticed that the inhabitants of Shanghai use their smartphones for everything: Mesut: ‘They use well-crafted apps to go shopping, pay bills, book trips, arrange a cab or find the right restaurant, with just one click.’

The Habitable Sculpture by Philip Johnson

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SOMETIMES IT TAKES BALLS TO BE A WOMAN Some people like to dance, others play football and some people like the less popular sport: the shot put (‘kogelstoten’ in Dutch). Finnish Maarit loves how the sport makes her feel strong and powerful. Text: Tessa Beukenholdt // Photography: Ralph Schmitz

Finnish Maarit Iso-Jaakkola is twenty-seven years old and is taking the ‘International Sustainable Development Cooperation’ minor. She has been shot putting for seventeen years already. It all started when she was ten years old. Her father took her brother to athletics meetings and little Maarit wanted to go along to watch. ‘While I was watching, I was thinking: ‘Yeah, I want to have a go.’ That was the moment she started training with her father in the backyard. ‘My father is a sports enthusiast. He had a few shot put balls. Since we lived on a small farm and the next neighbour lived a kilometre away, there was enough space to train.’ Lifestyle And so her love of the shot put was born. ‘I like the different elements of the shot put. It’s not only throwing the ball. You have to be fast and your rhythm and timing have to be right. You’re also challenging yourself by finding your balance. If you’re very strong but slow, it’s not good. And if your physics are good but your technique isn’t, that isn’t good either. It’s like a puzzle.’ And to fit the pieces together, Maarit trains a lot, alone and sometimes with a coach. ‘I’m an active person so I train very often. I try to train a minimum of four times a week but sometimes I train six times.’ It has become a lifestyle for her. ‘Of course I like to go to student parties but I don’t do that very often because it’s not good for my health. If I want to achieve my small dreams in the shot put I have to train regularly and I have to focus.’ Personal record In addition to training, she regularly takes part in

competitions. Maarits’ best moment came last year. She took part in a championship in Finland where she achieved her personal record: 13.30 metres. ‘That was magical for me, because I hadn’t managed thirteen metres many times before. It’s always so crazy how nervous I am in these situations. And when you achieve your personal record in the most important competitions, like the Finnish championships are to me, those are the best moments.’ Some people in the sports world use drugs to perform better, what do you think about that? ‘I hope that they don’t. I’ve studied health so I know it isn’t good for the human body. To me the shot put is just a hobby and a sport to improve my health; money and success are not my values. I don’t think it’s worth it; it’s cheating yourself.’ Not afraid to be powerful While the shot put isn’t that well-known in the Netherlands, it is getting more popular in Finland, says Maarit. ‘There are a lot of talented young girls who like the shot put. It’s good to take part in sport and be strong. Girls are not afraid to be powerful. It’s not the most feminine sport but I think the girls who are doing the shot put don’t think about that.’ And so Maarit doesn’t. Her dream is to get in the top eight or ten in Finland. Whether she’ll reach that goal or not, one thing’s for sure: she wants to do this for the rest of her life.

PASSION

‘IT’S NOT THE MOST FEMININE SPORT…’

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ROLLING STONERS IN A LIBERAL COUNTRY Lots of foreigners who come to the Netherlands, have one important reason: smoking marijuana is allowed here. Is it true that everyone here smokes a joint at least once or is that a myth? And, if you are visiting Holland, do you really have to smoke pot to get the full Dutch experience? Text: Renée Jenniskens

POINT OF VIEW You haven’t been to Holland if you didn’t smoke pot. ‘Psst, psst, wanna smoke?’

OVERRATED

Daan is a HAN-student. He thinks coming to this country just to smoke is overrated. ‘In France and Belgium or pretty much everywhere else in the western world, you can smoke marijuana as much as you like. The only thing is that in Holland it’s easier to get your hands on it. I’ve heard of American students wanting to go to Amsterdam, but their parents wouldn’t let them go. Everywhere in the world people think we are smoking pot all day long. And that we always wear clogs, haha.’

LAUGHING

In Amsterdam you can buy hashish and weed in coffee shops and on the streets, when you suddenly hear: ‘Psst, psst, wanna smoke?’ Teun, a student, has worked in a coffee shop for over five years now. In his experience most foreign students give it a try when they are in the promised land. ‘Foreign students always seem a bit too eager. For their first attempt they choose the strongest joints to smoke. In that case I advise them to buy something less strong and smoke in a safe situation with trusted friends. I have never seen people getting sick while smoking for the first time. But often they get the munchies and order lots of sweets afterwards or they cannot stop laughing.’

VISIT

Lecturer Leon van Woerden thinks that visiting a coffee shop is an excellent chance for foreigners to experience the liberal climate. ‘There once was a delegation of lecturers and students from Finland here. We thought it was a good idea to let them get acquainted with the phenomenon of coffee shops. So we went to one and bought joints for everyone. They wanted to experience marijuana, and as it is possible here, that’s what we did.’

WHITE WIDOW

HAN-student Marni (not her real name: ‘In the future I want to be a teacher and you never know who is reading this…’) declares: ‘Although I often smoke a ‘funny cigarette’, I think everyone should decide for themselves. But when I studied for a semester in Wales everybody shouted out ‘marijuanaaaa!’ when I told them which country I come from.’ She smoked her first joint a long time ago. Most of the time I smoke White Widow, about 1.5 grams per week, but sometimes more during holidays or at parties. Lots of my friends are stoners, too, and at parties we share our joints. The only other drug I take is alcohol. In the past I used to take psychedelic mushrooms. It’s a pity it’s illegal now, but fortunately the psilocybin grows in the woods in autumn.’

DANGERS

‘Pay attention’, Marni warns. ‘Smoking cannabis enhances your emotions. When you are an inexperienced user and you are sad, you become even more down. Don’t buy hashish with a high amount of THC; you can get sick. Also it’s better to roll the joint yourself; that way you’ll know how much you are smoking.’ Another big problem according to Marni: because marijuana is grown illegally in Holland, lots of chemicals are used, with unknown effects. Her best advice is to buy a few little plants, put them on your balcony and wait and see: in autumn you will have your own marijuana. ‘And one more thing: keep on rolling!’

COMMENT? GO TO WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SENSORMAGAZINE OR MAIL TO SENSOR@HAN.NL

SENSOR 17 JAARGANG 20 39

LOOKING AT THE AGENDA? CHECK WWW.SENSOR-MAGAZINE.NL

ANNOUNCEMENTS In this section you will find announcements of interest to staff and/or students. The editors retain the right to refuse or shorten entries. Sensor no. 18 will appear on June 8; the deadline is May 30th. Notices or information about the calendar can be sent to the editorial office of Sensor, preferably by email to sensor@han.nl.

TARA PROJECTS THANKS HAN EMPLOYEES FOR THE CHRISTMAS DONATIONS In December 2015 a lot of HAN-employees donated Christmas presents to Tara Projects, an organization in India that focuses on education in the slums of Delhi. A total of 1125 Euros was donated and Tara Projects is very grateful for this wonderful support! Asha Dijkstra, HAN employee and ambassador of the Aara foundation, supports this project. For more information visit (Dutch site) www.aarafoundation.com

START UP MIX NIJMEGEN IS LOOKING FOR BOARD MEMBERS! Start Up Mix Nijmegen is the student vehicle for entrepreneurial students. The board of Start Up Mix Nijmegen supports student start-ups and brings an entrepreneurial mindset to the campus. We organize inspiring activities and workshops and we provide a location where new entrepreneurs can work. There is also a Start Up Manager to give you advice. Are you interested in spending a year as a board member at Start Up Mix Nijmegen? http://startupmix.nl/bestuur1617/

WANTED! NOMINATIONS FOR THE ECHO AWARD 2.0 Higher education institutions are invited to nominate their students for the ECHO Award 2016, the ECHO Award 2.0. The ECHO Award 2.0 is committed to helping young people as citizens of the world, in different circumstances and with a social mission, to contribute to equal opportunities for all, with a specific focus on the labour market. For more information or for nominations, go to www.echo-net.nl/

FREE AFRICAN FESTIVAL IN NIJMEGEN On Sunday afternoon, June 19, the 13th edition of Africa Festival will take place in Nijmegen! You will be carried away by the spirit of Africa, the beautiful inspiring African culture with music, dance, workshops, snacks, drinks and games at Thieme Park in Nijmegen. A nice detail: you can visit Africa festival for free! For more information www.afrikafestivalnijmegen.org

SUPPORT THE CROWDFUNDING FOR TENDENS HOLIDAYS! Foundation Tendens Holidays in Arnhem organizes smallscale holidays for people with learning difficulties and for people with non-congenital brain damage of more than 20 years standing. Tendens Holidays provides the ultimate holiday feeling for about 50 participants. A camping holiday where people can enjoy the outdoor life and also sleep in tents. The foundation likes to think in terms of possibilities, not restrictions. But help is needed! Because of the popularity of the holidays, the foundation needs new tents. For this the foundation has started a ‘crowdfunding’ to secure these unforgettable camping holidays for the future. Would you like to help? www.tendensvakanties.nl/nieuws/crowdfunding www.dreamordonate.nl/5583-kamperen-met-een-beperking

Win tickets for Woodstock or Blues festival in Zyfflich Germany!

june 3-4

DIME-DATA IS ME FOR FAIR TRADE DATA! DIME-Data Is Me supports a fair market in which personal data can be traded. It is an initiative taken by three young entrepreneurs. With this platform you can decide what information you provide. Make information available in a fair way - that is what DIME-Data Is Me calls fair trade data. www.dataisme.com.

On 3 and 4 June, the German village of Zyfflich (35 minutes from Arnhem, 20 minutes from Nijmegen) will be transformed into a real festival village. On June 3rd Zyfflich will become a copy of the world famous flower power festival, Woodstock, that took place at the end of the sixties. With the Woodstock Tribute band as one of the main acts, the line-up is quite nostalgic, with tributes to The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and The Beatles. Also Tim Hardin and Genesis will not be forgotten. But there is more to be found in Zyfflich! On June 4th, Zyfflich will be transformed once again, this time into a true blues mecca.

This year the ‘Blues in Zyfflich’ programme will feature national and international names such as Cologne Blues Club, Meena Cryle & the Chris Fillmore Band, Super Chikan & The Dynaflow, Ralph de Jongh and Detonics. So, enough Blues to choose from! Especially for the readers of Sensor Magazine there are tickets to be won: 2 tickets for Woodstock and 2 tickets for Blues in Zyfflich! Longing for a musical escape? Please send an e-mail to sensor@han.nl before May 27th, specifying your preferences.

For more information: www.festivalinzyfflich.de

DEVELOPED DE CO-WORKER AND THE PICTURE

WHO: ANN WOLTER OCCUPATION: FINANCE AND ECONOMICS LECTURER AT THE LOGISTICS DEPARTMENT OF THE ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT FACULTY WHERE: AT HOME IN SHEFFIELD, ANN IS THE ONE ON THE LEFT WHEN: 1973

THE PERFECT ROLE MODEL The year 2016 did not start out well for me. My dear Mum past away in February after being diagnosed with lung cancer on Christmas Eve, just a couple of months earlier. She was my role model. I really looked up to her. She was a strong and smart woman who was head of a company producing cutlery with 200 employees and still managed to raise a family of four kids. When I was six years old my Dad past away, aged 36. When you’re this young you really can’t comprehend the impact of losing one parent. My Brother kept asking all kinds of men if they would be his Dad. My Mum kept things going by employing nannies. After a while she met my Stepfather to be. They married when I was 12. Me and my two brothers and sister grew up in Sheffield. A great place to live but when we were young adults we all wanted to see more of the world. We all went abroad, one of us even as far as Christchurch, New Zealand. I stayed closer to home. After my Economics degree I went to Germany to study and afterwards worked for Deutsche Bank and even on the Stock Exchange in South Africa for a couple of years. After working in international banking 42

for 12 years I went back to Germany and started a family of my own. I also have four children. I live in Emmerich, Germany, just across the border. I started coaching professionals in businesses around Emmerich when I saw a position for a finance lecturer at the HAN. That was five years ago. My Mum was fine with us moving out of the UK. She came and visited us wherever we were. Although the lung cancer cut her life short, she had her 80th Birthday last September, so that’s a good age. She smoked cigars and lived life to the full. After the diagnosis she decided she didn’t want any treatment. She knew that chemo therapy would probably prolong her life for a couple of months but would mean going in and out of hospital and being very sick most of the time. She chose to live the remainder of her life living in the comfort of her own home. At the end she lost her short term memory but she would still beat everyone at Trivial Pursuit. I respect her for deciding not to have the chemo. Not everyone has the courage to make such a decision and stick to it. My Mum chose quality of life over quantity. She wanted to die with dignity, I guess.’

The adventures of Dilek in

ISTANBUL

Dilek Bozok, (25), 4th year Social Work and Services (Maatschappelijk Werk en Dienstverlening), did a year-long traineeship at a home for the elderly in Istanbul, Turkey. Now she is doing a Psychology minor in the same city at Medipol University. Throughout her college year, Dilek keeps us informed about what’s happening in her life.

Chez Dilek!

I have been on a short holiday visit to Cappadocia, a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in the Nevşehir Province of Turkey. I went there for a few days to see the beautiful views in Göreme, Avanos and Ürgüp. Cappadocia has beautiful landscapes, with big rocks in strange shapes. The most astonishing were the hoodoos and underground cities. A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock. The first thing I thought when I saw the hoodoos was: how is this possible? Cappadocia consists of a tuff landscape created by volcanic eruptions. I booked a room in Göreme in an hotel that was inside a hoodoo. I slept in a Hittite stable! Honestly, I thought it was better than a modern hotel. In Avanos I met a potter: Galip Körükçü. He’s married to a Dutch woman, Lilian van der Zee. During her travels through Turkey she met Galip who invited her to stay and help to decorate his pottery. The Turkish for potter is ‘chez’. Galip is known for his pottery, but he also has an astonishing hair museum which was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998. It began with a French woman who fell in

Dilek :

pot too ‘I made a

at c h e z G

alip. Nice

!’ t dif ficult

love with Galip 35 years ago. After three months in Cappadocia, she had to go back to France. Before she left, she cut off a piece of her hair and hung it up in Galip’s pottery with a note. In the note she wrote her name, address and telephone number. When tourists saw this, they started doing the same; they cut off a piece of their hair, and hung it in Galip’s pottery, accompanied by a note. After 35 years, there are thousands of pieces of hair in his hoodoo. I decided to cut off a piece of my own hair as well and hung it with the other pieces, with my name and address, of course. Not without reason: twice a year (in June and December) there is a lottery. During the lottery the first visitors choose ten pieces of hair. These women win a 15-day holiday in Cappadocia or a Pottery course. I hope that the visitors will choose me! By the way: you can call me ‘chez Dilek’, because I made a pot too. It was very nice to do that, but difficult as well. I can’t wait to go back to Cappadocia: I haven’t seen everything yet!

Dilek: ‘The most astoni shing in Cappadocia were the hoodoos and underground cities’

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Body Art

Students and employees show their tattoo(s) and share the story behind it. Text: Olga Helmigh // Photography: Ralph Schmitz

Tomás Brandão (25) First year Communications

‘I remember the 10th of June 2004 very clearly. It was the day my father died. Heart conditions run in his side of the family, but the heart attack that killed him struck suddenly and quickly. I was waiting for him to pick me up from my English class, in the centre of Lisbon, where I’m from. My parents were divorced and I was supposed to spend the weekend with him, hanging out and playing our favourite video game, ‘Legend of Zelda’. For three hours I sat on the steps, wondering where he was. That day my phone died, so no one was able to reach me. When I saw my mom drive up, I instinctively knew something was wrong. She asked me to get into the car and ask no questions until we were home. When we got there, she sat me down. ‘What I am about to tell you, will be the hardest thing I will ever have to tell you’, she said and my heart sank. In the years afterwards, I struggled more and more with his death. I missed him so much, but I also felt like I wasn’t mourning him properly. It felt surreal. On the fourth anniversary of his death, I cut myself on my upper left arm to mark it. It felt like a way to force myself to feel the pain. It took six more years of self-harm before I realized that this was not a respectful way to honour my father. I decided to have the TriForce triangle of ‘Legend of Zelda’ tattooed over my scars. Every time I look at it, I feel close to my dad, in a positive way. The triangle stands for power, courage and wisdom. It is about finding the strength to not give up. I remember my father fondly now. The pain is still there, but the sweet memories triumph.’

' THE WOLF IS MY SPIRIT ANIMAL' ‘My mother remarried before my father passed away, and she had a daughter, Leonor. She is my half-sister, but I consider her my full blood family. In honour of my father, mother and sister, I had three swallows tattooed on my back, inspired by the sculptures of Portuguese artist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. After that, I wanted a symbol to represent myself. The wolf feels like my spirit animal. He travels in packs, but is solitary. He is loyal and protective, but knows how to stand on his own. Like I learned to do after my father passed away. Hopefully, he would be proud of the man I have become.’