Experience Groningen 2014

One of the first questions people in Netherlands used to ask me when we introduce ourselves to each other was why I chose the Netherlands for Erasmus, where drugs and prostitution are legal. I did not come here for those reasons in case you are wondering. In the beginning, it was all about Dutch friends in Finland I had, good reputation or simply nice words of mouth I heard about how open and high-quality-material Netherlands as a country is, that made me so eager to apply for this short and expensive exchange program for me compared to staying in Finland, which has already been a rewarding opportunity living abroad for me. It was also the travel-bug that had bitten me and pushed me on that plane. 

Only until recently that I have quite the full answer for why I want to be here in Groningen, where you can find just enough things going on around for an ideal student life - great international education & English speaking level, lots of activities & awesome parties,nice people, etc. 

Most importantly, this small city up north of the Netherlands has one of the richest Dutch cultures among all the areas. What is Dutch culture? Hard as it might seem to embrace Dutch culture, it is to me the way Dutch people talk and behave towards each other, the drink and food they typically eat, the celebrations they organize, the language, etc.

A short video about Experience Groningen - a 2-day event for new international students to explore and get to know the city

Here's how I see Dutch culture diverisity, of specifically Groningen's 

Social culture

Among all beverages, Jenever is a very typical well-known alcoholic drink specially owned by a family business HoogHoudt of Groningen. The taste is amazing, fruity, high quality and prices are incredibly inexpensive compared to a very unique brand image HoogHoudt brought to the Dutch market. 

I love the way Dutch people celebrate Saint Nicholas Day on 5th December night and 6th December morning with ginger biscuits (peppernotens) and the well-prepared journey of Sinterklass (Dutch Santa Claus) arriving from Spain to different cities in the Netherlands 2 weeks before his birthday, which is featured and broadcasted in every media. 

Sinterklass in Fraeylemaborg

Dutch Mustard soup

Art culture

Another thing I especially love about citizens of Groningen and the city itself is diverse art culture, well drown with artists, dancers, and musicians every here and there. It is not difficult to find dance classes, theatrical performances such as Jonge Harten festival, music clubs, latin parties, etc. 

Club Guy & Roni - where you find amazing performers, artists and dance teachers

Working culture

I think Dutch people are typically confident, smart, initiative, straight-to-the-point and could be assertive when working together, especially with foreign people. I love being around them, enjoy their energy, the way they organize things and stick to the deadlines. Dutch people are mostly punctual, though concept of time is a bit more relaxed in the international environment. If you are looking for a  high-quality educational environment where people a talented and efficient at performing & presenting themselves, Netherlands is an ideal country.

Presentation at IBM Groningen 

Best Vacation Ever Video Contest to Caribbean - Best Friends Travel Story

As a travel blogger, I am more than proud to say that lying in my heart and soul is the ultimate passion for travelling, though I have not been to that many places as a pro/full-time travel writers. One of the foremost inspirations for my trips & stories is my best friend June, whom I have been apart from for almost 1 year until now. June is also a young travel-addict like me. She has lived in 3 different countries and been to over 20 countries.

The Best Vacation Ever Video Contest, which we entered few days ago, gives us the perfect possibility to reunite this Spring 2015 on a funded 10-day vacation on Little Corn Island Nicaragua in Caribbean, if we win hopefully. Thanks Adventurous Kate and GreenGlobalTravel for spreading the words!

Best Vacation Ever Contest Policy. Enter the competition here!

What does Little Corn Island say to me?

Located 43 miles off the coast of Nicaragua in Caribbean are the Corn Islands, including the Little Corn Island which is far more remote and isolated from the big ones. Here you can find the dreamland of sun shining, pure blue beaches and a great opportunity to relax your mind with yoga, spa, and a get-away from the chaotic modernized life. Most importantly, I see Nicaragua - 'The place to be' as an ideal destination for exotic Caribbean food, lovely people from a different culture, new adventure and experiences which differs a lot from European countries. True happiness, which is the main message of Yemaja Little Corn Island travel concept, as well as the Best Vacation Ever Video contest, delivered what we were looking for. 

OUR VIDEO #happyatyemaya

Vote for us in YEMAYA LITLE CORN ISLAND NICARAGUA's FACEBOOK FAN PAGE 

Thanks for watching. We hope you enjoy!

Our Travel Story

We begun our study in Finland at the same class in 2011, when we started to know each other in the little town Rovaniemi located in the very North of Finland, where you can easily find Santa Claus and reindeers in Christmas. We were very young teen girls, sharing the same age, academic program, apartment where we lived together for almost a year, and things we have been through together from good to bad times, especially during depressing winters. 

The year I moved to Helsinki was when June decided to stay in Rovaniemi to continue her study. She met a lot of exchange students from all over the world, made many new friends and fell in love with their story as well as discovering new countries. Half a year later she went back to Vietnam for an internship, then to Germany for an exchange to study. Here she begun realising her travel passion by having couples of trips and road-trips. Last summer June also took her 70-something-year-old grandparents on an Europe trip throughout 6 countries. She wanted to show her family the world in her eyes, and she made it through. Her grandparents' story was very inspiring, well-recognized and appreciated by publicity.

June and grandparents in Barcelona, Spain

Ever since we were apart, I have been to Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. We never lost contact, as I would always call her and tell my story whenever I arrive at a new country. We met each other few times every now and then in the last 2 years. I took a flight to Munich where she was on Erasmus exchange to visit her. These days I am dying to meet her to talk endlessly about Netherlands and my experiences in this lovely country.

Eventually, I guess what kept us not falling apart all these years was not only these special memories in different countries we had together, but also the similar aspiration we have and look forward to fulfilling every day. We are definitely thrilled and looking forward to spending the best vacation ever together, meeting people from all walks of life to share food & culture, building great conversations, and creating the best experiences for our last year of college!

Us in Helsinki, Finland

What to eat with less than 5Eur in Groningen

It seems obvious that typical oversea students like me have the same problem: hungry, lazy to cook sometimes/most of the time and facing money problems because of spending too much already on alcohol, clothes, parties or fancy dinners. The best solution to save money concerning food is cooking at home, though I am not always in the 'cooking & washing' mood, especially when living alone. I believe we all are frustrated with looking for some easy take-away food other than McDonalds or cheap restaurants from Tripadvisors, which is not cheap at all. Below you can find my cheapest options for lunch/brunch/extra meals.

The most highly recommended restaurant to visit with a low budget by me is Bagels and Beans, which is apparently well-known to many people. There are bagels with plenty of flavours, bread types, cheese kinds and different drinks to choose from, ranging from hot to cold, tea to coffee and juice. I ordered a sweet bagel like a dessert but you can have it for lunch as well, which is perfect because lunch at school usually sucks here or there is no such thing as proper lunch at all. 

Wok box is a perfect option for Asian-food addict like me. You can choose between various flavours of meats and veges, plus the small box was enough to make me full. The most common flavour is sweet and there is nothing spicy at all.

Tosti World is without doubt the second best option because tosti burgers are cheap and taste amazing. I personally love the toasted salmon version, which I order twice for both time I went there. 

Normal burgers are a bit more expensive option as drinks and fries cost a bit extra. I personally enjoyed this but would not come back because of the price.

And don't forget you can always spot plenty of street-food in or near Vismarkt/Grote markt like fried fish/shrimp, fries, toasted chicken, kroket, kebaps, etc. Everything is made within 5 minutes and incredibly cheap so you can just grab and go!

Frozen yoghurt at Pure Frozen is not in the lunch list but its perfect for dessert after all the junk food filled in your stomach, isn't it?! And they look too cute to resist by the way.

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Also, in case you are addicted to sweet like me, don't miss trying bubble tea inside Amazing Oriental which is an Asian groceries shop, or at My Dream BubbleTea. Bubble tea, which is milk tea with jelly, may taste a bit weird to European people so make sure you like or have tried them before. There's always first time for everything anyway!

BON APPETIT!