Sinterklaas goes international

04 / 12 / 2013 | Niels van der Spek

Sinterklaas, the patron saint of children, will visit the Netherlands the 5th of December. This tradition is dear to every Dutch child and grown-up and will now also be celebrated by local and international students this Thursday evening.

Photo by: Gijs van Ouwerkerk

Sinterklaas and his helpers will ride the roofs of Holland, throwing poems and presents down the chimneys to make the children happy. Families come together, read the poems and give the presents to one another.

UniTe, a platform for internationalization and integration at the University of Twente, organizes this evening of gifts, coziness, traditional Sinterklaas snacks, music and games for internationals next Thursday. Everyone is invited and entry is free. The idea is to write a short poem in English or your own language and bring a gift of € 1,- to € 5,-. The evening starts at 20:00 in the Atrium of the Bastille. More details can be found here. Bring along your friends and enjoy this evening of Dutch tradition.

Recommended

Eenzame international wil meer Nederlanders leren kennen

Veel internationale studenten hebben weleens last van mentale problemen. De helft wil meer contact met Nederlandse studenten en één op de vier voelt zich hier niet thuis.

Lonely international students want to get to know more Dutch people

Many international students experience mental health issues from time to time. Half of them would like more contact with Dutch students and one in four does not feel at home here.

‘Get the guidance for international students in order’

How should the UT deal with the 34 percent non-European first-year Bachelor students who experience psychological and social problems on campus? The Platform International Affairs (PIA) met this week to come up with an advice for the University Committee for Education.

‘Begeleiding internationale bachelors goed op orde te krijgen’

Hoe moet de UT omgaan met de 34 procent niet-Europese eerstejaars bachelorstudenten die psychische en sociale problemen ondervinden op de campus? Daarover vergaderde het Platform International Affairs (PIA) afgelopen week om tot een advies te komen voor de universitaire commissie onderwijs.

‘As an international you are pushed out’

'I don’t want compassion, but help,' says the Mexican bachelor student Javier. Because compassion is what he got when he talked to the UT psychologist about the alienation he felt from all those other students.

‘Je wordt er als international uitgedrukt’

‘Ik wil geen medelijden, maar hulp’, zegt de Mexicaanse bachelorstudent Javier. Medelijden is wat hij kreeg toen hij aanklopte bij de UT-psycholoog. Hij voelde zich vervreemd van al die andere studenten.

UT Language Policy: What does it mean for you?

The University of Twente has formed an official Language Policy, which states that at the UT ‘English is the primary formal language of communication from 2018 onwards’. This means there are a few changes on the horizon. What can you expect?

Wat betekent het UT-taalbeleid voor jou?

De UT heeft een taalbeleid uitgewerkt, waarin staat dat ‘Engels vanaf 2018 de formele taal van communicatie’ is. Er gaat dus op taalgebied wat veranderen, wat kan jij verwachten?