Personal Report from Netherlands by Jakub Mazúr, Slovak Student

Hey there, I am Jakub Mazúr and this is a story about my stay in Netherlands through program Erasmus. After months of preparations (read delaying preparations) on 30th of November 2017 around 10:45 we finally left from Prievidza by van to the airport of Vienna. That morning started to snow harshly and on the road along capital city of Slovakia – Bratislava, we saw everything covered in snow. After we came to Vienna, we had some time until our plane arrived, so first things first – we registered our baggage at the airport. I paid 5 € for the hands-free option, which allowed me to have my backpack in the cabin by sending my bag to the aircraft hold. Then we found ourselves a place to sit, let someone guard the bags and we went to see the shops at the airport. But man, the prices. So damn high! So, I went off to watch over the bags without buying anything and after everyone got back, we landed the plane few minutes later. The flight was really nice, almost no clouds, meaning we could see everything down on the ground. Well, at least me, since I had been seated next to the window of the plane. We took off when it was still bright, but before our landing in Netherlands, it was possible to see all the bright-shining lights of night Amsterdam from my window. Throughout the landing, my ears started to hurt because of the change of pressure. When we landed, we got to a huge airport with lots of shops and restaurants, but we didn’t have time for that since all the groups of foreign students started gathering at the meeting point of the airport. At first we couldn’t find it, but then we found it on a map and we got there. We were here actually first, but then Italian, Greek, Dutch and UK people came as well. Everybody quickly started getting to know each other and I made some friends, mainly from Italy. But we were still waiting for the bus to come. Well, it arrived, we got in and travelled to a spot where we met our exchange students, in my case, Sergio and his mom as well. We got to their house by a car. There I met his older brother, they told me, I’d be sleeping in his sister’s room and we were chilling. Next morning we went to school (much later than normally) on bikes, which they use in Netherlands all the time. In school, everybody did their presentations, including me. I said few sentences about Prievidza, the city I go to school at, before a short video made by one of the members of Erasmus team in our school had been played. That day happened quite a few things, one of them was a pancake evening at a pancake restaurant where students from all countries went. The pancakes were great and I had fun talking to the Dutch students at the table where I was sitting. After we finished at the restaurant, we went back to Sergio’s place to retrieve some energy, so we could go chill with his friends. And that was basically the end of that day. Next morning was Saturday, so we didn’t have to go to school. Instead I went to an open door day at a company called Da Vinci with his parents, while Sergio went to football (soccer) match. The excursion throughout the company was interesting and after our guide told us all he wanted, we had some food, including a typical Dutch one - chicken in peanut sauce. And we left just in time to see the second half of the match, where Sergio played. The match was great as well. There were lots of goal chances and players were really good. In the evening we were playing on the PS4 and resting to get ready for a party in the club. That night is a bit blurred. We were jumping, screaming and encouraging the performers on the stage. On Sunday we went to Amsterdam, where we checked out the important sights (including red-light district, even though briefly) and I bought few games in the Game Mania store. Monday was Rotterdam day, since we went there. The view from the tower was absolutely amazing. And in the evening we went to a restaurant, where you could eat as much as you wanted if you paid a certain amount of money. Tuesday was the day with the school party at the end, which I really enjoyed, despite the slow start. I even performed a Slovak rap song, for which I received applause. It’s amazing feeling, if you’ve never experienced it. And then, next morning, we had to leave. We said our goodbyes to all new friends and we went by bus to the airport. There again we waited for our plane to come. The road back was seemed much faster, at least for me, since I was remembering all gained memories. I had a great time, one of best in my life. So if you want to meet new people and have a ton of fun, travel to Netherlands or with Erasmus. Or both.