All work and no play makes dull boys and girls. So how do Dutch and international students enjoy spending their free time? Carlas S. Smith (23), from the Netherlands, MSc applied physics“Delft can get pretty boring after a while, especially if haven’t joined a fraternity, although I’ve never lived in Delft.
If you want to beat boredom, there are a lot more options near Delft than in Delft. Most of my social life happens in Den Haag, because most of my friends live there. A place I really like to go is The Fiddler, an English pub in Den Haag, which occasionally has live bands and also a pub quiz night every two weeks.
“My favourite pastime is to travel. I try to save money for my travels by working at TOPdesk two days a week. A few weeks ago I went to Surinam with my father and brothers to compete in the Surinam Savannah Rally, and we unexpectedly finished in first place in our class. I’ve been a sailing instructor in Friesland for years and really enjoy sailing with friends. When I’m on a holiday I always try to rent a sailboat to get out on the water.
“I’m really a chaotic person when it comes to hobbies; for instance, I was bouldering for a while when camping in the USA and then was practising boxing at the Sports Centre, and this goes well with my philosophy of having fun, which consists of doing something that exhilarates your heartbeat and ends in a good story.”
“There are some nice spots in the area where I like to hang out with my girlfriend. When the weather is good I like to go somewhere outdoors with her, like the beach or Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam. Another great place where we love to spend time alone is Meijendel, a park that runs along the sea coast between Den Haag and Wassenaar. It’s a very nice place and has some really scintillating beaches, dunes and forest. It’s a great place to relax and hang out as a couple. Other nice places like this are the national parks Veluwe in Gelderland and the Biesbosch. I also love to go to nice restaurants like Trias and Momiji Sushi in Den Haag, and Malee, a Thai restaurant, in Delft.
“The bars in Delft are good but get boring after a while, so I like to try different clubs, like Waterfront in Rotterdam or Het Paard in Den Haag. Other bars and pubs in Den Haag where I love to hang out are De Paap, Het Lokaal and all the bars on the Grote Markt, where there are also outdoor concerts all year round.
“There are also really good parties around that aren’t well known and are held at different venues every time. Great organizers of these parties are NeonPunx and Langweiligkeit, if you enjoy electro and drum’n’bass. De Piratenbar in Scheveningen is also a great place to go to have an interesting time. And you should definitely watch out for all the free festivals and concerts which are held in the area, like Parkpop, Waterpop, Vlietpop and Werfpop. ”
Carlas Smith was interviewed by Karthikeyan Ganesan
Met het hoofd in de nek keken scholieren naar het zacht ratelende en achterover hangende vliegtuigje dat zich vlak boven hun hoofd met klapperende vleugels voortbewoog door de hal van het gebouw voor Luchtvaart en Ruimtevaarttechniek.
“Het is voor aankomende studenten leuk om te zien dat we niet alleen aan grote vliegtuigen werken en aan ruimtevaart”, zegt L&R-decaan prof.dr.ir Jacco van der Hoek, “maar ook aan kleine dingen als de Delfly en dat daar ook vernieuwing in mogelijk is.”
Donderdag trok de Open Dag bij L&R 250 bezoekers, voor vrijdag worden er 350 verwacht. Dat is volgens de afdeling marketing en communicatie van L&R vergelijkbaar met vorig jaar.
Dat geldt ook voor de TU in zijn geheel. De afdeling voorlichting verwacht voor vrijdag 1775 bezoekers (scholieren met hun ouders) en voor vrijdag 2675.
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