Currently here on a student exchange for the next 6 months and I miss home already... :( anyway, this post is not about being homesick but to let you into part of my everyday life here!
Eindhoven is a beautiful small city in Netherlands and I have finally more or less settled down here :)
#Accomodation
Hereby introducing you to my new apartment!
small cosy kitchen where I do most of the cooking :)
Living area for 3 persons :)
My compact and cosy room, with garden access! I actually have a whole garden to myself.
Still trying to learn how to tidy up the soil stuffs, its currently in a mess right now. oops :X
I still remember my first days in this city. First impression was that it was not as European-ish as I thought out to be. It is actually rather urbanised, with buildings and proper pavements and all. They have Primark (retail outlet) which sells low quality but super cheap clothes! The restaurants here looked more or less like pubs and bars from Singapore, so I got that going for me.
But... the prices of things were like $$$$$!
The next few weeks of meals that followed was just fries, fries fries... then bread bread bread... just cos those were the only things that seemed affordable and value for money. This messed up situation lasted all the way till second week of school when I entered the realm of self-cooking...... :D
#Food
Look at all the dishes I can whip up easily now.
Just look at my beginner achievements! Japanese gyozas, wanton mee, beef steak, pastas and all... I'm impressed by my transformation in just 1 month. All thanks to the pricey outside food here compared to Singapore hawkers -.-"
Time to up my game! I tried simmering vinegar pork shoulder yesterday and it was oh-so-awesome! The fats literally melted in my mouth omgosh... Time for a career switch, LOL. #quarterlifecrisis
#Friends
Anyways, other than food, So far I only met a few European nationalities I would call them "friends" in my stay here so far. One German flatmate, 2 Turkish girls, 1 Italian, and that's about it. The rest feels so far apart. I'm not saying they are racist or anything but they just don't feel welcoming. Oh well, #lifeofanasian in an angmoh-land. :/
I have settled down with a comfortable group of friends from NUS. It consists of 5 Singaporeans, 1 Malaysians, 1 Indonesian, 2 Chinese, 1 Indian. We would go grocery shopping, do Friday dinners together, and explore Europe together! :D
Most of the time we are still doing our own stuffs but weekly gathering with this group of friends is what has kept me sane (cos' I was super homesick) for the past few weeks. Thank you people :)
Yay to more Friday asian dinners together ^^
#School
School-wise, I would think that their bachelors standard is slightly below NUS standards, but since I am doing non-core modules here, everything is so tough!!! BOOOO :( Coming from mechanical engineering background, but studying about psychology and chemical systems?!?! nuff said.
One thing I noticed about the education culture is that people don't usually stop at Bachelors, they go on for Masters Course. Stressed much. That being said, even though Masters is the norm here, but the rigour of the courses are actually equivalent to Bachelors courses in NUS. Might wanna consider doing masters here.
#Travel
Leaving my footsteps everywhere ever since I have been here. :) Planning for more adventures ahead! Here are my routes that I have gone or planning to go to :)
February = Finland (City), Iceland (Reykjavik), Germany (Berlin), Netherlands (Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Roermond)
March = Germany (Munich, Triberg), Belgium (Brussels, Ghent, Blankerberge, Brugge, Antwerp), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Den Haag)
April = London (City, Brighton), Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest)
May = Italy (Rome)
June = ??
July = ??
Current Count: 9 countries, 21 cities :)
Posts will be up individually for the different countries/cities soon :D Stay tuned!
But... the prices of things were like $$$$$!
The next few weeks of meals that followed was just fries, fries fries... then bread bread bread... just cos those were the only things that seemed affordable and value for money. This messed up situation lasted all the way till second week of school when I entered the realm of self-cooking...... :D
#Food
Look at all the dishes I can whip up easily now.
Just look at my beginner achievements! Japanese gyozas, wanton mee, beef steak, pastas and all... I'm impressed by my transformation in just 1 month. All thanks to the pricey outside food here compared to Singapore hawkers -.-"
Time to up my game! I tried simmering vinegar pork shoulder yesterday and it was oh-so-awesome! The fats literally melted in my mouth omgosh... Time for a career switch, LOL. #quarterlifecrisis
#Friends
Anyways, other than food, So far I only met a few European nationalities I would call them "friends" in my stay here so far. One German flatmate, 2 Turkish girls, 1 Italian, and that's about it. The rest feels so far apart. I'm not saying they are racist or anything but they just don't feel welcoming. Oh well, #lifeofanasian in an angmoh-land. :/
I have settled down with a comfortable group of friends from NUS. It consists of 5 Singaporeans, 1 Malaysians, 1 Indonesian, 2 Chinese, 1 Indian. We would go grocery shopping, do Friday dinners together, and explore Europe together! :D
Most of the time we are still doing our own stuffs but weekly gathering with this group of friends is what has kept me sane (cos' I was super homesick) for the past few weeks. Thank you people :)
You can take them out of Singapore, but you cannot take the Singaporean out of them.
- Ahbishek
Yay to more Friday asian dinners together ^^
#School
Technical University of Eindhoven, the school I will be situated at for the next 6 months.
One thing I noticed about the education culture is that people don't usually stop at Bachelors, they go on for Masters Course. Stressed much. That being said, even though Masters is the norm here, but the rigour of the courses are actually equivalent to Bachelors courses in NUS. Might wanna consider doing masters here.
#Travel
Leaving my footsteps everywhere ever since I have been here. :) Planning for more adventures ahead! Here are my routes that I have gone or planning to go to :)
February = Finland (City), Iceland (Reykjavik), Germany (Berlin), Netherlands (Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Roermond)
March = Germany (Munich, Triberg), Belgium (Brussels, Ghent, Blankerberge, Brugge, Antwerp), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Den Haag)
April = London (City, Brighton), Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest)
May = Italy (Rome)
June = ??
July = ??
Current Count: 9 countries, 21 cities :)
Posts will be up individually for the different countries/cities soon :D Stay tuned!
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