Leiden through the eyes of an international student
What is it like to just pack your suitcases, leave your friends and family behind, and come to study in Leiden? You can find the answer on The Leidener, a blog for and by international students. Blogger Laurence McGivern: ‘We want to show people that Leiden is more than a weird place full of Dutch people.’
Stereotypes
From left to right: Laurence McGivern, Emma Louise Garthwaite and Saleem But
Laurence arrived in the Netherlands in August 2011. ‘I cycled from Hoek van Holland and straight away saw those famous windmills and greenhouses at first hand. Within half an hour I had run into all the stereotypes about the Netherlands.’ On The Leidener, the master’s student in Public International Law writes among other things about these stereotypes. His fellow-bloggers are Emma Louise Garthwaite, exchange bachelor’s student in English Language and Linguistics and Saleem But, Erasmus exchange master’s student in Chemistry. Laurence: ‘The blog is meant to provide international students with information, but it’s not some kind of travel guide.’
Student life
‘The blog gives you an idea of what it is like to study at Leiden University as an international student.’ The topics are aimed at students and student life. What are good places to study? Where should you go if you want to do sports? But also activities for the weekends.
Bicycle parking spots
The bloggers talk about their Leiden adventures and perils. There is also room for light, funny topics on the blog. You can read, for instance, how Saleem found out that you shouldn’t park your bike alongside the canal. Emma can confirm that cycling in the Netherlands is subject to certain (unwritten) rules, which she sums up for her readers. Laurence will soon be posting about his search for accommodation. ‘All three of us have a different style and we use different formats, like in a photo blog. It all makes the blog more varied.’
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Laurence’s style borders on the poetic. His description of the Leiden Saturday market reads like the start of a good novel; it is full of stylistic effects and subtle humour:
The market
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Future perspective
A guest post might provide more variation at some point. ‘If an international student has something interesting to share, why not?’ At the moment, Saleem, Emma and Laurence are still the only three regular bloggers. This might change in the future. ‘If the blog is a success, we want to include other nationalities, such as German and American students. For now it’s mostly aimed at British students.’
Fun for everyone
Despite this British focus, the articles are fun to read for all international students. And the Dutch students will also enjoy the passing, often funny reflections on their own culture. So who’s the funniest of the lot? ‘The jury is still out on that one.’