So last week we (URDS) went on a expedition to......Paris, Milan, Brussels...nope!! If only...sigh. We went to Oude Noorden, yeah thats right, Rotterdam......just down the street. But interesting it was...hoping we'll do more of it. We had a lecture at the Office of the Sub-Municipality North that spoke to how participatory planning was utilized to address social tensions that can happen in a multi-cultural society such as this.
I learnt so much in the few hours of talk and the tour that I realized that my experience so far it has been very superficial. I've allowed my opinion of the Netherlands to be formed by the few places I've been and people I have met. I wanted to know more about the challenges this country faces, its people, its politics but the language is the biggest challenge. I can't read the papers and I can't understand the TV news.
So what to do? I know I could not be alone with this desire to feel more integrated and a part of this society for the few months here. Well I will continue to find additional sources of information but the for now one good place to go would be http://www.expatica.com/. This is a pretty cool website that actually delivered more than I had anticipated. But its self-described as the place for "news and information for the international community" for those who "do not speak the language".
Here you can find a summary of the latest headlines BUT there are also links that take you to:-
- Moving to the Netherlands
- Life in the Netherlands
- Forums and Connect
- Health and Fitness
- Housing
So until I can dig up more news sites in English, this will have to do. Check it out and see if this can be a resource for a more satisfying 7 months left in the Netherlands.
Cheers!!!
P.S. So as promised here's a few more online news sites in English http://www.dutchnews.nl/ and http://www.nisnews.nl/ and a favorite of mine http://www.rnw.nl/english. So all you income students for the Masters and short courses....read up a little on the what's what and the who's who before joining the gang. :0)
