Practical Tips - First days in the Netherlands

Having a chance to live in Europe is the best thing in my life. I had mixed feeling 6 months ago when the departure day was approaching. I was nervous about literally everything, like how to survive there, did I pack enough clothes, do I need to buy more Indonesian spices, what should I do if I feel home sick. So guys, If you are about to fly away to study abroad, I know exactly how is your feeling right now. 

At that time I did not know all the clues, so I guess it will be useful if I write about all the things you need to prepare on the first days living in the Netherlands, particularly for international student like me. 

• Before departure day

The first tip I can give you before departing is - you have to check the weather in the Netherlands. When you are coming in winter time, make sure you wear warm enough clothes and proper shoes. Also, make sure that you contact related person who will help you settle down or pick you up at the airport like a family or a friend. Indeed, you have to tell your landlord or housing agent about your arrival, how to get the keys and everything. 

Importantly, you need to make sure that your life insurance in the Netherlands has been activated. You must know that it is mandatory and please be aware sometimes it takes longer for insurance company to inform you about the activation. You have to be proactive to get their confirmation or I can say do it aggressively!  Some of my friends just realised their insurance was not activated yet even after months living here. It may give you difficulties if you fall ill or need to go to a doctor for any reason. I just don't want you guys to experience the same thing.

If you hate yellow lights I suggest that you bring your own white lamps from your home country. As an Indonesian, I feel more comfortable to study under white lamps and people say it is so difficult to find white lamps here. 

Bring enough euros. I suggest you to bring enough cash (Euros) to buy things like train ticket, sim card and whatnot when you arrive in the Netherlands. 

• Arrive in Schipol - Amsterdam

After touching down the Schipol Airport you may need to immediately connect with your friends, family, or even your landlord/agent. So you need to get your sim card for your dutch number. There are several sim card provider booths you can easily find in Schipol Airport, like Lebara, T-mobile, Vodafone and what not. I bought Lebara for 30 Euros, I do not really remember what is included on it but all I know I have 1GB and my own number. So you guys better to find information by yourself which provider suits your needs. Internet data package here is so expensive for me so I would like to remind you to make use of your data wisely and don't worry because the Netherlands has wifi everywhere (bus, train, train station, campus, around government institution, around touristy place). Isn't it amazing?! That's why I love Holland :3 

Also, if you are about to go to your apartment for instance in Amsterdam, Leiden, Utrecht, or even Groningen, Wageningen (up north part of Holland) or any where else, the cheapest and easiest transportation is by train. So I suggest that you buy a temporary OV-Chipkaart (blue card) at the large ticket window near to Burger King in Schipol. I am sure that you are gonna commute a lot so it is very important to have an OV-Chipkaart since it can be used not only for train but also for bus, tram and metro. Later after you have a bank account you will be able to subscribe for your personal OV-Chipkaart (yellow card with your own photo on it) with some benefits (we'll talk about it later). 

But again, if you are rich, you can take a cab outside the airport. However, taking train might give you different experience especially if you rarely use train in your home country like me. 

Commuting in Holland is so convenient. The facilities are really good and on time. Even when they're not on time, they will inform you through apps or monitor around the station or stops. I believe you need to download the most important apps as foreigner. It's called "9292". This apps will tell you which train/bus/tram/metro you should take, which platform, the schedules, the travel time and the prices. If you are quite observant, the schedule screen at the station is in Dutch. So trust me you need that apps. (oh God this apps should have paid me for doing this.. ppfft)

• First days in the Netherlands

Bike - You may have noticed that number of bikes are bigger than car especially if you do not live in Amsterdam. Yup, Dutch love to bike everywhere. Even number of bike is bigger than its population. (My program coordinator said that and based on the articles I read somewhere). I suppose have a bike is really good idea for student like me, I can stay in shape and save some transportation budget. If you agree with me, I suggest that you buy bike, second hand bike is fine if you do not have much budget. I bought a second hand bike (kids bike because I am so petite) from my senior who already graduated for 80 Euros including its lock and lamps. It works so well until now. You can easily find second hand bike in facebook group like : Leiden Housing, Amsterdam Housing, Utrecht Housing. I think every city has it own facebook group for sale-purchase second hand things. As an alternative, you can go to Budget Bike in your city or other similar bike stores. You may need to bargain a little bit to get a good deal. 

Bank Account - Cashless regime is really on in the Netherlands. You basically can buy everything with pinnen (pinnen: I believe it means debit card) or via online. You need to make your bank account immediately. I know some of banks require you to have a BSN (Citizen Service Number) whereas you can have it after you made appointment to Gementee (Municipality office) in your city. However, in my experience I don't need those. In my case, ING Bank was quite lenient, I went to one of branches in Leiden and asked them to open an account for me. All I need to show them are (i) Letter of Acceptance from University; (ii) Taxpayer Identification Number (or for Indonesian you called it NPWP); and (iii) my passport. 

However, some Universities may also ask you to open bank account in certain bank like ABN Amro or else. So you may need to make an appointment with Gementee first before opening the bank account. 

Appointment with Gementee (Getting BSN and Residence Permit) - To be able to register yourself in the Netherlands you need to have a fixed address and it should be registrable. Better ask your landlord or agent about it before signing the renting agreement. You can make your appointment through website of municipality where you live. Please click this link for better information and do not forget to bring all required documents and be on time! Dutch hate late comers. 

Personalised OV-Chipkaart (Yellow Card) - As I mentioned before that you may want to have personalised OV-Chipkaart. This card offers you several benefits like 40% discount or weekend free. Since I love to travel a lot on weekend, I subscribed a weekend free package and paid 32 Euros per month. You can get this after opening bank account because the fee will be deducted automatically from your bank account. Have a look at this website for subscribing. Your card will be sent to your place and it takes 7 days approximately. So be patient :) 

Explore the neighbourhood - After you have everything you need do not forget to explore the neighbourhood. I used to go to difference supermarkets to know which one is cheaper ("women"), walk around to see if any Chinese store or restaurant is nearby ("asian") and go to park in front of my University to check hot guys. :p If you have some free time before your first class in college, spend wisely! 

I hope those advices help you to settle down in the Netherlands. Last thing I need to say is :

Enjoy the Netherlands guys!  

Yours,

Brimanti 

Studying abroad and its bitter sweet

Never crossed my mind that I will be able to write this "studying abroad experience". At least today two years ago, I was still grumbling in front my computer about my demanding clients. Long story short, now I am a law student of Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, the Netherlands. I have been here for five months. I can say that I know things here, like which is the cheapest supermarket, how to buy train tickets, what does the meaning of 'alstublieft' (google it!), where do I buy 'indomie' (re: famous indonesian instant noodles) or even where I can find cute guys (everywhere!). 

As my parents think, I am gonna work my ass off to study here. They are absolutely right! I have never been studying this hard before, when I was in bachelor degree I never studied until at least 3 days before the exam. Me and my friends often went to cafe or mall after class and not going home until my father sent hundred messages saying "where are you? go home NOW!" 

I did not possess that kind of insecurity back in the good old days. I was pretty badass since I managed to finish it 1 semester faster with sufficient grade :p. Then everything changed. I jumped into something new. I heard that it was so hard of getting a good grade in Universiteit Leiden and it is all true. They gave me bunch of required readings, pile of unfamiliar case law and assignments. I realised that I should be responsible to it since not everyone as lucky as I am now. I still remember the feeling on the day when I saw the scholarship announcement. Grateful! So I changed my pattern. I read books and cases before classes which I never did it in bachelor degree. I am trying to be committed to it.

However, it does not change me to be a boring human being. I have set an ambitious travelling plan around Europe. Come on! I came from 7000 miles away to be here and I am not gonna spend my time by only studying. One interesting story about this, I had a deadline for paper and presentation but I was up for a short holiday to Mount Titlis, Switzerland. So I used travel time not for sleeping but working on my paper. It was more than 10 hours travel by bus but I did not sleep at all. I managed to hand in the paper timely (few minutes before the deadline) and still enjoyed my holiday though. Yea you can tell, I'd like to live dangerously. 

Now, I am entering second semester which is harder than the first. I need to juggle between thesis, assignment and mooting (based on oxford dict re: oral presentation of a legal issue or problem against an opposing counsel and before a judge). Many sleepless night I have been through. Seriously guys, we, the students, are struggling. 

Seemingly, people can only see the fun part of it. To be honest, I hate when people think that all I do is travelling instead of studying. Even my scholarship provider suggests that the awardee to have some fun to reduce the "stress". Have you guys ever read articles that some students who are studying abroad tried to suicide?! I know it is a little extreme but it happens. Especially in the time like this, winter season, we have to cope with those deadlines, cold weather, and sometimes loneliness. Our level of stress is so damn high. So people please be more supportive to us :) Every positive words really help us to get through the day. 

For others students like me, all I can say is something big happens in our life for a reason. Well, I do not know the reason yet but lets be optimistic about that. Also, effort never betrays. We will make it till our graduation. Soon. 

This post is dedicated to my best friends who are also fighting for LL.M degree, Kristen Natalia in Rotterdam, Anita Patresya in Maastricht and Budhy Apriastuti Evita in Edinburgh. We are surely gonna make them proud, girls. 

Yours truly,
Brimanti 

Another bullshit of new year, new me.

Another bullshit of new year, new me. 

It has been a while since I posted last piece of writing on social activities. I am 26 years old now. Despite many insecurities strikes in, women at the same age like me may already have a wonderful life, like having babies, being engaged, or even getting married. Am I too generalising? Yup maybe, at least that is what I observe from my home country, Indonesia.

As I look back to my accomplishment years ago, I found myself now being laid-back. When I was working as a lawyer in a big law firm, I actually had clear goals, either for short or even long term. Such as, when I will get married, when I will resign from law firm, what type of career I would like to pursue afterwards. It was all clear, at least in my head. 

Like many religions proverbs said that you may have plan, but God knows better. Then all shit happened, failure and disappointments ruined my timeline and goals. Imagine, I broke up with a guy whom I thought he was the love of my life (it was quite interesting story and I am not gonna write it this time), I had a quick relationship with a douchebag, then a friend introduced me to a great guy who was living in South Africa. how weird my life is?! (Ok, enough about love history of mine now) That was all happened within less than 3 years. Not to mention that I also have a positive breakthrough in my life which was moving to the Netherlands. I never thought of this chance, I am totally a lucky bastard for this one.

I am now living in the Netherlands to pursue a master degree. Family and friends were so proud and a bit sad about it. It was a good kind of sad actually because I will be no longer around them. First few months, I was still sticking on my mindset about career, marriage, life goals and whatnot. As a consequences, I always worry about not fulfilling them. 

After settling down with adaptation to cultural differences, I have perspective. I found myself brave enough to explore new things. Sounds a bit cliche, I admit. But really, as you may hear it from other international students like me, studying abroad is not merely about getting the diploma. It is about surviving life, building yourself and finding your own perspective. Silly example I might give you is now I can do chores by myself. I am no longer a spoiled brat. Seriously, I stepped out from my comfy zone to have connection here. Apart from my shaky english, I have some friends with different nationalities who are so welcoming. 

Let's talk deeper about perspective. Over several years, my colleagues and friends considered me as desperate girl who really wants to get married and have family. Yeah I was but not that desperate, I think. I might look like one, but I was not.

Ok continue... After having conversation with people, observation and contemplation, I can finally enjoy my youth without having fuss about that. I might hurt some people on getting this perspective but at this stage I can understand that people might not have the same timeline. I realised that everyone seems having their own problem eg. just because they looked happy on social media does not mean that their life is easy. Like me, you may see  me smiling on @instagram while travelling around Europe but deep down I still have my own problem. Some may get married first, some have to deal with thesis or career and some may be dead already. JK. 

Of course people may have different value to live their life but it does not mean that their ways are wrong. Based on my research, the differences might come from the way we are raised, where we live, and our surrounding. So it is pretty normal most Indonesian young ladies might have priority on getting married rather than pursuing career.  The trouble is when you are going abroad and meet people with different way of thinking, you have two options to do, first - you can be a judgemental bitch and think that everybody else is stupid or second - try to learn their perspective. In this case, I wisely opt the last one.   

I met 30-something year old woman, a really sweet married woman with two children, a friend's of my best friend. She is now completing master degree in the same university like mine. People might think she was too late; but I never thought something would be that wrong. I believe she is doing very well in class while juggling with her job and family since she always look happy and fell blessed. Truly an inspiration. 

I also met a female friend, slightly older than me. She has been living together with her boyfriend and never thought of getting married anyway. Apart from that, she is a sweetheart and always be a positive person. Meanwhile, in Indonesia she might be dead already. Ok now I am exaggerating, she must have been judged by many, but no one seems to care about that in Europe. 

Well again, different value of living does not make a person better or happier than the other.  It is just our mindset, I observed that people in Europe do not give a shit about other's business at all. They respect the differences. As I am being an asian, I am always anxious about other's judgment. Seems like level of happiness set by them. If they do think our way of life is same like them, it is good, otherwise you are terribly wrong. Indeed, that kind of person exists yet I emphasise that your mindset is more important. Do what ever makes you happy, of course without having people get hurt, if possible. People grow differently anyway. 

As an outcome after living in Europe for several months, I have perspective that I should be honest to myself about what I want in life and not what people think I might want. I should pursue things that makes me happy, be chill with timeline by not rushing everything and stop being a judgmental bitch to others (this is the hardest :p). 

So this is it. After some paragraphs and making somewhat unclear point, here I am with new perspective of life. Like I said, another bullshit about new year and new me, but fuck it! now I am living my life with joy. Hopefully. 

Best,

Brimanti 

Think Globally, Act Locally

      Frasa "Think globally, act locally" or "Think global, act local" acap kali dipakai dalam berbagai konteks, baik kesehatan, lingkungan dan lain sebagainya. Bagi saya, frasa ini adalah frasa yang saya jadikan pegangan untuk melakukan suatu perubahan. Sebagai anak muda, saya harus berwawasan luas, global dan terbuka akan informasi, dan kemudian untuk melakukan perubahan dimulai dari diri sendri dan lingkungan sekitar. Ini adalah hal yang sangat mudah. 

    Saya merasa sangat miris melihat kebiasaan beberapa orang yang tidak peduli akan lingkungan sekitarnya sendiri. Mulai dari hal yang kecil seperti membuang sampah pada tempatnya. Hal sekecil ini pun terkadang sulit dilakukan. Tidak sedikit dari orang saya kenal masih kesulitan untuk membuang sampah pada tempatnya , parahnya mereka termasuk dalam kalangan yang berpendidikan. Memang pemerintah telah memperkerjakan ribuan petugas kebersihan. Namun hal tersebut tidaklah cukup, jika masih banyak yang membuang sampah sembarang. Saya berpikir, hal apa yang dapat merubah pola hidup masyarakat Indonesia agar sadar betul akan pentingnya membuang sampah pada tempatnya. Mungkin kita dapat mencontoh negara tetangga, Singapura. Tetangga kita ini sangat terjaga kebersihannya. Sepertinya Indonesia perlu menerapkan denda seperti yang diterapkan tetangga kita, namun bukan denda yang muluk-muluk, lebih baik denda yang masih bisa dijangkau sehingga dalam penerapannya benar-benar dilakukan dengan baik, bukan hanya menjadi sekedar peraturan yang diabaikan. 

      Jakarta sebagai Ibu Kota Indonesia, mengalami banjir besar hampir setiap lima tahun sekali. Ketika banjir datang, kebanyakan orang menyalahkan pemerintah, terutama sang Walikota. Miris. Ya, banyak orang tidak berkaca kepada dirinya sendiri, apakah sudah benar-benar menjaga lingkungan sekitarnya. Saya tidak pro pemerintah, namun tetap saja menyalahkan pemerintah bukanlah hal yang bijak bagi seorang warga yang berpendidikan. 

(Foto di pesisir pantai utara Jakarta). 

        Kemarin malam, Sabtu, 15 Oktober 2011, sekitar pukul 23.00 WIB, saya menyempatkan diri untuk menikmati akhir pekan di Taman Impian Jaya Ancol. Malam tersebut saya menyaksikan suatu kejadian yang sangat tidak patut untuk dicontoh, dan hal tersebut membuat saya kesal. Jujur saya bahkan sempat mengumpat karena hal ini. Malam itu, saya melihat beberapa pasang anak muda berjalan di jembatan di Pantai Ancol, kemudian salah seorang gadis melempar sampah bungkusan plastik ke laut tanpa rasa bersalah sedikit pun. Sangat memalukan. Padahal jelas sekali terdapat tong sampah dalam jarak 2 meter didekatnya. 

     Satu keinginan terbesar saya dalam hal ini adalah memberitahukan banyak orang akan pentingnya membuang sampah pada tempatnya. Mengingatkan bahwa kebersihan itu sebagian dari iman. Hal yang membuat saya selalu takut untuk membuang sampah sembarang adalah dengan menganalogikan para petugas kebersihan sampah sebagai orang tua saya sendiri. Jika orang tua saya petugas kebersihan saya tidak akan tega membuang sampah sembarangan. Saya selalu mengatakan analogi ini kepada teman-teman terdekat saya, bukan karena saya ingin mengajari, tetapi saya ingin mereka ikut menyadari pentingnya membuang sampah pada tempatnya. 

      Pada intinya, jika sulit melakukan perubahan bagi Indonesia, maka lakukan perubahan pada diri sendiri dan lingkungan sekitar terlebih dahulu. Dengan demikian saya yakin dan percaya akan ada perubahan yang besar jika semua orang memulainya. Amin. 

WORLD DIABETES DAY AND ALSA CARE FOR GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

            Menurut data WHO pada tahun 2009 jumlah pengidap diabetes di Indonesia  mencapai 8 juta jiwa dan diprediksi akan meningkat menjadi lebih dari 21 juta jiwa pada tahun 2025. Indonesia menempati peringkat empat negara dengan jumlah penderita diabetes terbanyak di dunia. Survey terhadap pengidap diabetes di Jakarta menunjukkan bahwa 1 dari 8 orang mengidap diabetes. Baik pria maupun wanita, tua maupun muda, tinggal di kota maupun desa, memiliki risiko diabetes yang sama.

     

DIABETES ADALAH IBU DARI SEGALA PENYAKIT. 

Seperti diketahui pula penyakit jantung koroner, stroke, diabetes, darah tinggi serta kanker hati sekarang masih menjadi penyakit pembunuh nomor satu di Indonesia.

Pada tanggal 14 November 2007 lalu United Nation (Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa) melalui WHO dan IDF beserta usaha dari pakar-pakar dunia telah menentukan hari tersebut sebagai The First World Diabetes Day (WDD) dan menerbitkan suatu Panduan Praktis untuk Membantu Mencapai Resolusi PBB pada Diabetes. Tema WDD pertama adalah “No Child Should Die of Diabetes”. Sebagai bentuk pengenalan kepada masyarakat dunia dibuat suatu kampanye global atas WDD ini.

Dalam menyambut Hari Diabetes Sedunia ini telah diluncurkan The online Blue Circle Test - sebuah aplikasi web yang interaktif yang telah dikembangkan untuk menunjukkan faktor-faktor resiko Diabetes.  Klik :  The Online Blue Circle Test

THE WORLD DIABETES DAY LOGO

 

  
Keterangan :   

• Lingkaran dan warna biru adalah lambang resmi Hari Diabetes Dunia

• 14 November dipilih untuk mengenang hari lahir Frederick Grant Banting, sang penemu insulin bersama dengan rekannya Charles Best pada tahun 1921.

"NO CHILD SHOULD DIE OF DIABETES"

           

            Sebagai suatu aksi preventif jagalah pola makan. Selain itu konsultasikan gizi teman-teman  secara gratis di stand pemeriksaan kesehatan dalam rangkaian acara ALSA CARE 2010 (Asian Law Students' Assciation CARE) yang akan diadakan di FAKULTAS HUKUM UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA, Depok pada tanggal 22-25 November 2010. Selain pemeriksaan kesehatan ALSA CARE (tes kadar lemak, tes tingkat kesuburan dsb) juga mengadakan Penyuluhan Kesehatan dan ALSA Free Medical Action (Pengobatan Gratis yang bekerja sama dengan STUNIKA kedokteran internasional UI) di Kampung Rawa, Depok. 

           Sukseskan global campaign of World Diabetes Day dengan berkontribusi dalam acara ALSA CARE 2010 yang terbuka untuk umum. Sampai bertemu di ALSA CARE 2010 22-25 November 2010, FH UI Depok.

"ALSA CARE 2010 - MEDICAL ACTION FOR HEALTHIER LIVING"

"WHEN YOU DON'T CARE, ALSA CARE! MEDICAL ACTION FOR HEALTHIER LIVING"

(untuk info lebih lanjut hubungi saya, Brimanti melalui twitter @brimantisari ) :)

Bukti transfer: bantuan untuk merapi, mentawai, wasior melalui PMI

            saya meminta maaf kepada teman-teman sekalian atas keterlambatan saya menge-post bukti transfer  yang bantuan kalian khususnya warga fakultas hukum UI yang pertama kali saya akomodasi. maaf jika nilainya tidak sebesar yang diharapkan, tetapi setidaknya kontribusi teman-teman sudah sangat membantu. :)

            Jika ada yang mau menyumbang untuk bencana di Jogja, Mentawai dan Wasior bisa langsung mentransfer ke rekening a.n PMI :
1. Bank Mandiri KCP Jakarta Krakatau Steel no.rek 070-00-0011601-7
2. Bank Rakyat Indonesia KC Jakarta Pancoran no.rek 0390-01-000-030-3
3. Bank BCA KCU Sudirman no.rek 035.311-223-3

atau untuk bantu mentawai melalui AKSI CEPAT TANGGAP via bca : no.rek 676-030-202-1
cek via twitternya : @actforhumanity

"LET'S DONATE THEM!"

WORLD HUNGER RELIEF 2010 by Pizza hut

Informasi untuk teman-teman sekalian yang hobi makan di Pizza Hut. Jangan lupa besok, Minggu 31 Oktober 2010 merupakan batas terakhir untuk ikut mendonasikan sumbangan kalian untuk 7.8 juta Balita di Indonesia yang kekurangan gizi melalui pizza hut. :)

berikut link mengenai program sosial lain yang telah dilakukan mereka :
program sosial pizza hut lainnya.
ayo contoh mereka atau setidaknya berkontribusi didalamnya. :)

Terima Kasih, Tuhan Berkati

"LET'S SAVE THE BABIES"