Onafhankelijk magazine van Tilburg University

26. International
Univers 12 mei 2011
yourself. “It’s not that you’re dealing with it a lot but you just
notice and experience the differences.”
He thinks that being a mentor is mostly a lot of fun. Partly it’s
the atmosphere that he missed, but it feels different too. “As
a Dutch student you’re pretty close with the exchange
students, but amongs themselves they are even closer.”
Because Matthijssen isn’t always there. “There are mentors
who are at the Verbernelaan five days a week. Apart from the
Tuesday I see the group once more every week, in the Sports
Center for example. It’s very casual, you meet up when you
want to. The students like it when you’re there, but they
realize that you have other things to do too.”
Great vibe
Rob van der Kruijs also searched for, and found, the typical
international vibe he was familiar with during his own
exchange through ESN. Rob (23, MA Human Resource
Studies) studied in Denmark for a year. “The vibe in such a
group of international students is amazing”, he says. “Everyone
is very open, everyone is ready to make the most of it.”
According to Rob, that’s because everyone joins the group as
an individual. “You’re on your own, and that’s the same for
everybody. Because of that, you form a bond with other
people very quickly.” Rob was mentor for the first six months,
and now he is the secretary of the organization and mentor
coordinator.
Many of the mentors have been abroad themselves, Rob
confirms. “They want to relive their own exchange. Or they
want to give something back for the guidance they have
received themselves.” Another group has international plans
or interests. For them, this is a good way to become familiar
with an international environment. And on top of that, it looks
good on your résumé. “My goal is to work for a big international
company, drawing up personnel policy. So it’s good that
I’m a mentor coordinator now.”
Holiday addresses
ESN is more than just getting a beer belly, according to Rob.
The intercultural differences make the group interesting.
“During dinner, we often discuss current affairs, such as the
death of Osama or the game between Real Madrid and
Barçalona. Students from different countries deal with those
things in very different ways.”
The friendships aren’t as shallow as they may appear, so Rob
thinks. “The basis is stable. When you’re on an exchange,
everyone is in the same boat and you’re all exploring. You
share something that might be brief, but at the same time it
feels very intense.” As a mentor, you also experience that
feeling. You’re a guide on their journey.
“At the end of the semester, everyone is very emotional, and
they invite you to come by when you’re in their city or
country.” So being a mentor is very good for accumulating a
long list of holiday addresses. And in the case of Rob, it’s
even good for something else too. He met his Spanish
girlfriend when he was a mentor and she an exchange
student. They have been together for over a year now.
In numbers
In the first semester of this year, about 270
exchange students came to Tilburg University.
There were 42 mentors. In this second semester
there are 36 mentors for about 170 students.
An angry crowd versus a
group of Scottish soccer
fans in kilts
Column
Do you want to become a mentor or a buddy?
I*ESN is looking for students who want to help
out the international students by becoming a
mentor or a buddy. Mentors guide exchange
students and buddies are the contact person for
international students who are doing their
Another protest?
So what?
About a month ago, I spontaneously joined a group of friends on
a football-trip to see Brazil play Scotland in London. Little did I
know that I would find myself in the middle of the largest
public protest since 2003- a demonstration against public spending
cuts. There were 84 injured and over two hundred arrested.
Seeing London in such a mess – the city is usually hosting boring
tours - was almost entertaining. There were people climbing the
Piccadilly monument, yelling through a megaphone, and setting fire to
piles of trash at Oxford Circus. A group of trouble makers, their faces
hidden, clashed with police officers on Trafalgar Square, throwing
bottles and bricks at them. My gut-instinct recognized disaster coming
when I caught a glimpse of a bottle with a piece of cloth in it, sticking
ominously out of somebody’s pocket. A red flag with clearly communist
symbols appeared over the crowd’s heads. I ran around with my
camera immortalizing these bizarre scenes ... but I soon got tired and
headed for the bar instead.
It was exactly the indifference of the bystanders (me included) that
struck me most. People around certainly took many pictures, but they
showed little surprise. While showing some tourists the way,
policemen maintained friendly faces as if they hadn’t just been in the
middle of a massive demonstration. I couldn’t help but notice the
grotesque combination of an angry crowd versus a group of Scottish
soccer fans in blue kilts and ornamental hats walking calmly through
the city. I also gave a head-to-toes evaluation of the girls in short
dresses and high heels chatting outside of a club, ice cubes tinkling in
their fancy glasses. The Saturday night fever was clearly hotter than
the protesters’ anger.
It would seem as though demonstrations run down us like water off a
duck’s back. Mass media repeatedly expose us to scenes of protesting
crowds, be it in London, The Hague or even Cairo, turning them into
familiar images. Will we soon be anesthetized?
Sonia Kolasinska
is a second-year
Liberal Arts
student.
entire bachelor or master’s degree at Tilburg
University. The registration deadline is May
20th.
www.thenewthing.nl