Posts with: Europe

Through the eyes of… Dela Cardona

I have been in Leeuwarden for more than half a year now, but when I first got here, there was a lot of stuff that surprised me. For example, at the beginning it was quite awkward because at the time of introducing to someone, everyone shook my hand! In Spain, the normal thing to do is to introduce to someone giving to kisses in the cheeks, and that’s why every time I met someone I got closer with the intention of kissing them, but they gave me their hand to shake it. At the beginning it was a bit uncomfortable to me, but now shaking hands is the normal thing to me. More →

Seven lilies on a flag

Have you ever wandered through the small Frisian cities and recognized the blue and white striped flag, with the red heart-shaped symbols on it? Right now, you can find it on bottles, postcards or in souvenir shops. I saw it around a hundred times, until I thought about, what the story behind the Frisian flag might be. More →

YourPost’s DNA: Karolina Dasenkovaite from Lithuania

Hello! My name is Karolina; however, I like when people refer to me as Caroline. I do not know why, maybe it sounds better? People always ask me that. I am 21 years old media student from a small yet incredibly beautiful country in the Baltic states – Lithuania. More →

Through the eyes of… Aline Barbosa from Brazil: Houseboats and quiet parties

Hallo allemaal. My name is Aline Barbosa, I’m Brazilian, 30 years old and I moved to the Netherlands for Love. I knew a couple of things about Holland. In Brazil we learned about the Dutch in school. How they also tried to build a colony in Brazil, but were expelled by Portuguese and British in 1637. More →

Through the eyes of…. Maria Fernández from Spain: Lanes ánd parking garages for bikes

Everyone somehow knows about how much they like to cycle in The Netherlands but you don’t really realise how serious this is until you experience it. I came to Leeuwarden by train and even before getting to the city where I would live, before actually standing for more than five minutes on Dutch ground, I was already surprised. On my way from the airport to the station, the train passed somewhere next to a three-floor bike parking garage. What a thing! It may sound like the most common thing for Dutch people, and I’ve seen a few more since then, but you need to know that’s really shocking at the beginning for foreigners. I had never seen such a thing before. More →

Through the eyes of… Milen Elefterov from Bulgaria: Drinking coffee and nightlife

It is a surprise for most Frisian people to find out the amount of foreign students that come to Leeuwarden to study. Why Friesland?, Why Leeuwarden?, How did you find out about this city? are amongst the most common questions that I have been asked throughout my stay so far. People have been pleasantly surprised by the fact that foreign people know about this Dutch province. And as an Eastern European who emigrated to seek new opportunities, I have tried to make the most of my stay. More →

YourPost editors work on ‘One of us’

(sitting from left to right) Laura Apostol (Romania), Milen Elefterov (Bulgaria) and Nynke Laverman – (standing) Leo Wildhagen (Germany), Nadja Nordström (Sweden) and Anna Greifeneder (Austria).

A few YourPost editors participated this week in the new LF2018 project by singer Nynke Laverman. The young journalists, all international students of HCL Stenden, spoke a sentence in their own language. More →

YourPost’s DNA: Leonhard Wildhagen from Germany

Hey, my name is Leonhard Wildhagen, but usually everybody calls me Leo. I am a 24 year-old student from Germany. I am studying Media and Entertainment Management at NHL Stenden university Leeuwarden for about 2 years now. So, I had a lot of time to experience this beautiful city. I am originally from a small town in western Germany, called Recklinghausen. However, after my high school graduation, I started moving around a lot and traveled the world and ended up in Leeuwarden. Since then, it is the only place I would consider as home. More →

Through the eyes of… Anna Greifeneder from Austria: A different way to drink beer and budget-friendly coffee

For me as an exchange student from Austria it was predictable that I won´t have that huge of a cultural shock, because Austria is, as well as the Netherlands, located in Northwest Europe. I guessed life and things will be quite similar to my home country, but there are more differences than I have thought there would be. I have noticed many small and nondescript seeming things. More →

Through the eyes of… Tomás O’Reilly Gallardo from Spain: The irony and excessive kindness

I arrived in Leeuwarden on January 26th. Prior to my Erasmus application, I had never heard of the city or even Friesland for that matter, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I read in forums that students here had a wonderful time, but I was unsure whether this tiny northern Dutch city would suit me, what would the people be like and a thousand other questions that were flying through my head. It was already dark when I set foot outside the station and the first thing I saw was a whole set of party-like lights and decoration. It was indeed the first of many times I was going to hear the words “Cultural Capital of Europe”. More →

Through the eyes of… Karolina Dasenkovaite from Lithuania: Wooden shoes and a greeting from the bus driver

Early morning. You open your eyes and see the world. The world, that is completely new to you, whose walls are freshly painted with the bright new colors you see around yourself. New surroundings, new people, new experiences, new, new, new… More →

YourPost’s DNA: Tomás O’Reilly from Spain

When people usually ask me the question “Where are you from?” I don’t have a straightforward  answer. So, first of all, let me introduce myself. I’m Tomás but people call me whatever: Tom, Tommy, Thomas… I’m half Spanish and half Irish, as you can see from my surname, O’Reilly, which is in my Spanish passport. Confusing, right? More →

YourPost’s DNA: Nadja Nordström from Sweden

Hej/Hoi/Hello! My name is Nadja Nordström and I’m 24 years old. I was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of my move to Leeuwarden is because I’m an exchange student at the NHL Stenden. My major and field is within Communications. Back home in Sweden, I study at a University called the Mid University, which is located in a town called Sundsvall. More →

YourPost’s DNA: Anna Greifeneder from Austria

How to introduce myself? Let’s see: My name is Anna Greifeneder, I am 23 years old and I am currently an exchange student Communication at NHL Stenden. I am born and raised in a small city in Austria, called Wels. It was always one of my wishes to study abroad and therefore, to get the chance to be part of Erasmus programme for one semester seemed perfect to me. More →

Through the eyes of… Leo Wildhagen from Germany – Monthly noises and strange kisses

My name is Leo. I am a foreign third year student at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden. I was born and raised in the western part of Germany, an hour from the Dutch border. Moreover, my family is partly Dutch. Therefore, I had contact with the Dutch culture nearly all my life. I went to Callantsoog for holidays and ate massive amounts of Kibbeling and Vla. However, when I moved to the Netherlands, I recognized a lot of things, which were weird or special to me. More →