Pillows, the Super Bowl and Amsterdam

     I was here for almost two weeks before I had a real pillow.  I had been using this inflatable pillow that was not comfortable at all and sometimes I even slept with out.  You would think that finding a common bed pillow would be easy...wrong!  Our dorm is about a 5 minute walk from a small shopping area with a few kind general stores.  Some of the other international students said that found pillows at one of these places, but apparently they all bought them so there was none when we went.  One day we went to the city center which has a lot more shopping.  We went into one small general store and found one pillow, and there was three of us that needed pillows.  They do not have a store here that is equivalent to Wal-Mart or Target.  Finally, on one Saturday Stephanie, Emily, Max and I decided to make a trip to Ikea that we heard was located on the outskirts of Arnhem.  We heard from someone that we need to get on the number 5 bus so we got on the bus and then at one of the stops Max asked the driver if the bus would take us to Ikea and the drive said no, that his route went no where near Ikea so we got off the bus just around the corner from where we got on.  We asked the bus driver of another bus if his bus would take us to Ikea, he said no but he would take us to the bus stop of the bus that would. So we got off at the correct bus stop, and looked at the schedule and saw that the bus left in about an hour. So we just walked around this mall area.  When we went back to the stop we looked at the schedule again and saw that the bus we need actually did not run on Saturdays!  There was a group of about 3 girls waiting at the stop and we asked them  if they knew how to get to Ikea.  They said that they were going their themselves and told us a different bus we could take.  But of course we had just missed it and it didn't come back again until about 40 minutes.  Finally we made it on the bus and made it to Ikea.  Ikea was a successful shopping trip as I got a pillow, clothes line, a candle, and a vase.  Once we got outside Ikea, we had no idea how to get back home because where we got off at didn't really seem like a stop.  We asked someone outside Ikea but I don't think they really understood what we were saying.  They pointed us in a direction and we went that way but we quickly found out that it was not correct.  After stopping to re-group at McDonald's we went back towards where we got off.  We ran across some people who had just got off the bus and asked them how to get back on the bus.  We had to go under this bridge and around the corner from  where we had gotten off.  We made it to the bus stop and then had to wait about 45 minutes till the bus came but we made it home! That day I really wished that I had a car!

     I was able to watch the Super Bowl!  My buddy, Christian, said that he was planning on watching the Super Bowl and that we (Steph, Emily and I) could come over to his apartment to watch it.  I think that there were a lot of guys that were jealous that we had a place to watch the game.  I had two guys asked where we were watching it.  The Super Bowl started at 12:30am.  Christian was able to find an Internet site that had live stream of the game in English and hooked up his computer to the TV.  Christian is German and said that he didn't follow American football much, but he did know the basics.  So during the game he would ask some questions and I'm not sure the three of us girls were the best people to be explaining to him about football.  But it was worth staying up till 4:30am to see the Packers win!!

  
  Last weekend I did my first travel! I went to Amsterdam with Stephanie and Emily.  When we left our dorm it was raining so we debated if we should even go, but decided to go anyways.  We had a direct train that left Arnhem at 8 and we arrived in Amsterdam a little after 9.  As soon as we arrived we went to the Anne Frank house.  We were able to get in right away.  The museum was really interesting to see.  I was surprised that none of the rooms had furniture in them at the request of Otto Frank.  The rooms had signs and pictures of the room to describe it.  In the parents room you were able to see the marks on the wall where they tracked the growth of the girls during the stay and in Anne's room was some of her pictures that she had glued to the wall. They also had Anne's original dairy on display along with some of the short stories that she wrote.  I had just read her diary before I left so it was fresh in my mind what all happened there.  When we were done it had stopped raining so we just explored the city and wondered around for an hour seeing many canals, bridges, bikes and shops.  Then we went and ate lunch at the Pancake Bakery.  They had many kinds of toppings you could put on your pancakes including fruit, meat, cheese and even ice cream! I had one with apple and grand marnier and it was pretty good.  Then in the afternoon we just walked around more and even stumbled upon the Red Light District.  I wish we would have done a guided tour because we had no idea what we were looking at and some of the buildings, when we thought they looked important we would take a picture of them.  Next time we go I think we will do a canal tour.  I bought my first souvenir, which was a small pair of ceramic clogs with windmills and flower painted with delft blue on them.  They are a cute little nick-nack. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with an old charm to it.  It is often call the Venice of the north because it has so many canals because a lot of the city is below sea level.  When the windmills where originally built they were used to pump out water.  It will be nice to go see Amsterdam again when the weather is nice.

To see more pictures of Amsterdam, check out: http://www.flickr.com/kristen_smith 

In front of one of many canals in Amsterdam.

Anne Frank Museum.

Why Arnhem?

      When talking to people here, a lot of people ask "Why did you choose to come to Holland?"  I would ask the same thing to people to come to Wisconsin because I really like to know why people pick Wisconsin over places, that to me, seem more interesting like New York California or Florida.  When asked this question I don't really know how to answer so I usually just kind of laugh and say "because the classes are in English."  This got me thinking to why am I am here in this county.  I really do not think I gave much thought to where I would study abroad; I always knew coming into college I wanted to study abroad because when else am I going to get the chance to come live in another country?

     Originally, I was just going to do a three week summer class because I did not think that I could handle a whole semester away.  Being a summer program, there were not as many options to choose from as to where to study.  I have always had an interest in Europe, so I knew that Europe was the continent that I wanted to see the most.  For the exchange program I could study in Mexico, Japan or Germany but all classes were in the native language.  The only programs that offered English was the Netherlans, Finland, and Sweedan.  I really had no interest in Finland or Sweedan.  Which only left the Netherlands which sounded like a good program for business.  The more I started looking into the program and talking to people the more excited I got to study abroad.  I decided that I wanted the full experience of living abroad.  If I was only there for three weeks, I would not have really fully experienced the Dutch culture as I probably would have stuck with my group for most of the time.  It also did not leave me time to travel outside of the Netherlands.  I decided to do a whole semester abroad.  I did not even look at other programs that offered full semester exchange, I just stayed with the Netherlands. 

      I do not regret my decision to study abroad for a whole semester. I have already been here for three weeks and I cannot imagine leaving already.  I am just starting to get settled in and get into the swing of things.  I have already meet so many new people from all over the world including Argentina, Mexica, Canada, US (California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Carolina), Spain, Finland, Germany, Slovekia, China, Vietnam, Australia and more.  It's kind of funny that when people ask where I am from, and I say Wisconsin, most people know of Wisconsin because of "That 70's Show."  I have already spent the day in Amsterdam, and I would really like to visit Germany, Prague, Italy, Barcelona, Paris and Brussels before I leave.  Right now, I think it is too early to say if I am happy with my decision to study in Holland; if I had to pick again would I still pick here?  I have always had a facination with Italy; maybe if I go for my masters degree I will study abroad there.  I wish that Arnhem was a bigger city or that the University was in Amsterdam.  Here is a lot slower pace of life which I guess it is good to experience change.  Its interesting that on Sundays pretty much all of the businesses are closed and even during the week most things do not open until 8 or 9 and then close early, usually around 7.  I am not good with having nothing to do; I like to always be busy so I guess I have to learn to entertain myself and to relax more. 

First Impressions

I have been here for a week and half and already I have learned so much.  I think this adventure is going to teach me a lot about who I really am, help strengthen my beliefs and values, and push me to step outside my comfort zone.  I don't think I really thought this trip through when planning for it.  I was focused on the adventure--seeing the world and meeting new people; that I over looked how difficult and trying it is going to be.  Overall, I think so far I have adjusted pretty well and there is a lot more adjusting to come.  First, adjusting to the time change was really easy.  I think it really helped that we had an overnight flight so when we got here it naturally seemed like the morning rather than the middle of the night.  I was kind of surprised at how many things are actually in Dutch.  When talking to people about the trip, everyone kept saying that everyone speaks English.  It is true that mostly everyone here does speak English but the signage and groceries and such are in Dutch because that is their language.  Some things that are in English are still called different than what we would call it.  An elevator here is a lift, a bath room is called a water closet (W.C.), and our class schedule is called a timetable.   I am starting to learn my way around the city and how to read the bus and train schedules.  But because we are all still learning our way around, we don't go any where by ourselves. I think that has been one of the hardest things to adapt to because I feel that back home I am pretty independent; I go shopping, get groceries, go work out, etc. all on my own but here we always go in a group, which I prefer to go by myself.  I don't miss my car yet too much because the public transportation is pretty easy to use, but it does make you realize the cost of every trip.  In the States, I never really thought much about driving places and how much it cost me until I would fill up my car, but here since I have to pay every time to use the bus I can always see money going out of my pocket.  I did buy a strip card to help reduce the cost of the bus a little, but I would really like to buy a used bike so I can save even more.  Normally a trip from the dorm and back from the city center cost 4 euros so about $5.50; with the strip card its only 2 euros.  I have also had to get used to living in a dorm again since I have pretty much lived by myself since last June.  It's nice that at least I don't have a roommate here so I can have some time to myself to study and just to take a break from everything. We are the only floor that does not have a toilet in our room. I really hate having to share a toilet; it is always so dirty and smells and the housing company doesn't provide us toilet paper so we each bring our own every time we go. One weird thing here is that not all public toilets are free; some of the time in stores and such you have to pay to use the toilet.  Its not much; luckily I have only had to pay once at a department store and it was .25 cents but one place I saw was .70 cents which is almost a dollar in the US.   I don't mind sharing the showers as much because they are decently clean, but its just annoying having to carry all your shampoo and everything down the hall, wear shower shoes, and learning when the showers are usually full.  In the dorms, each floor shares four mini fridges between two kitchens.  Since there is not much room in the fridge at one time, we go grocery shopping about every other day.  Its different having to actually cook meals for super every night.  Here, usually for breakfast I have some fruit and bread, for lunch a sandwich and chips, and then cook supper.  They don't have as much pre-packaged food here.  Usually, I would eat a hot pocket or something from the freeze section.  I always make supper with my friend Emily; its easier to cook with two people.  We have made chicken alfredo twice, hamburgers, breakfast burritos twice, and a frozen pizza cooked in a pan on the stove top. We want to make pancakes and grilled cheese but we are going to run out of  ideas really fast.   Another thing with the dorms, is that people here party all the time and of course, most of the time it is on our floor.  I don't mind going to parties occasionally, but they just seem to go out all the time.  People here also smoke a lot, so I might develop lung cancer while I am here.   That's kind of an exaggeration, but my cloth always smell really bad after the bars and sometimes its gets really smoking that I need to leave and get fresh air.  There is a guy on our floor who smokes pot, which stinks up our entire floor.  Another thing is, that going to the bars here is expensive, because one the city center is too far to walk so you have your bus fare plus the alcohol.  I would rather spend my money on trips! Remembering the conversion rate has been difficult.  Its really easy to look at prices and see them in dollars; things seem comparable back home until I remember exchange rate.   With everythingI think this trip is going to be really good for me and I can't wait to see how everything plays out.

Description of Classes

Even though I sometimes forgot, I am over here to go to school.  I am just finishing my first week of classes.  I got all the classes that I signed up for and have a decent class schedule. The class descriptions below are from the program handbook.


Business Performance Tools:
      Mondays and Wednesdays: 12:00-1:30
      Professor Marco van der Woude

      The programme teaches students how organizations and its people can achieve a better performance.  This course is based upon the concept that organizations continuously have to change in order to stay competitive and bring added value to their clients.  This course is an integration of both financial and non-financial factors that can be delivered for the success of both companies for and not-for-profit.  This course is built on the basis of the performance improvement cycle, and introduces the Balance Score Card, on of the tried and trusted methods to translate strategy into practical, measureable objectives.  It gives insight into trends and tools used by organizations in their response to both external and internal changes. It highlights the organizationl and personal learning process.  This course provides students insight into the trends, tools and instruments companies can use in their permanent learning process to stay competitive.  In parallel, students gain insight in their own personal performance, their role in a team and behaviorial opportunities for improvement.

Finance
     Tuesday 11:15-12:45
      Wednesday 2:15-4:00
      Professor Witek ten Hove

      This program teaches students to manage and evaluate companies and organizations from a financial perspective.  The module is built along the principle that a company can be considered as an investment.  The course gives insight into the public and private capital and money markets as well as how companies organize their relationship with potential investors.  The course will give insight into the relevant forms of financing.  It will address why different financial sources have different concepts and prices and how companies can organize their optimal financial structure in order to create value for all its stakeholders.  Students will learn how financial managers combine the need for a satisfying return to their financiers and an internal controlled system to support the neccessary risk management.  Students will learn how investment decisions are made and what different forms of capital budgeting companies can use.  The course will show the benefits and risks of the principle that companies and managers are evaluated whether they have been able to create value for their financers.  The program will explain why cash and cash flow are so relevant for both business decisions as well as for current and future financial sources.


Business Ethics
      Wednesday 8:45-12:00
      Professors Stephan Plat and Robert Penning

      In this course students will get insight into the complex world of Business Ethics.  During this couse ethical issues and approaches will be dealt with on several levels, including the individual, the organisational and the social and culture environment.  Students will be challenged to elaborate on their future role as a(n) (international) (HR) manager.  The aim of this course is to stimulate critical thinking and enable students to actively participate in discussion and reflections. 

Event Management
     Wednesday (tutoring hours) 4:00-5:30
     Thursday (lecture) 8:45-10:30
     Tutors Saskia Kreutzer and Jacqueline van Schalm
      5 different guest lectures

      This 12 week module will increase students' professionalism in planning and organising events in groups.


European Integration
    Thursday 12:45-4:00

     The course will help you understand European Institutions.  It focuses on mergers, cooperation and expansion of companies across Europe and deals with economic and legal aspects related to such developments.  Moreover, you will study the differences in culture and society to help you find your way in Europe. Topics covered will include European Insitutions, European and Instituational law, competition law, economics, export, marketing and cross cultural aspects as well as recent developments in the field of business, politics, employment, export, environment, expansion, mergers, and take-overs and their consequences.

Me inside the school

Business School