Ever enjoyed hutspot, boerenkool met worst or erwtensoep? Ifes, the Christian student organisation, offers international students some Dutch hospitality.
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Two purple couches, a pink rug and several furnishings decorated with rose pink fabrics bath in sunlight. The fourth-floor flat is drenched in rays from the setting sun. Two enormous cats eye each other, as traditional Chinese music plays softly in the background. Miles away, Koninginnenacht in The Hague is starting, but here, in a high-rise Zoetmeer apartment building, peace and quite rule.
”Do you want coffee, Luo?” Lennie Guyt asks. She and her husband, Piet Guyt, an internship co-ordinator at the faculty of Architecture, have entertained international TU visitors for years. They%re playing host to Guanzhou Luo, from China. Actually, Luo doesn’t like coffee, but he%s willing to try it with lots of milk.
”There%s a project like this in Beijing, enabling American students to experience Chinese family life. I wanted to do the same in Holland,” Luo, an Electrical Engineering MSc student, explains. He began his MSc course this year, and expects to see his ‘parents’, as he calls his host family, about once a month. His own parents will come over to tour Europe in June.
This is Luo’s second visit to the Guyt%s. During the first visit % after Luo photographed the Christmas tree and entire flat % they visited Piet Guyt’s parents and went to church. Lennie Guyt is a member of the Full Evangelical Pentecostal Church: ”We’re not out to convert him, because everybody must read the Bible and work on their personal relationship with God and Jesus themselves. But as we enjoy going to church, why shouldn’t we try to share this feeling.” Luo says he was impressed by the experience.
Ben Hur
Converting international students isn’t Ifes% aim. The organisation, consisting of ”Christian students and former students who like to make and maintain contact with international students,” as they say on their website, welcomes everyone, regardless of religion. With intercultural evenings, Bible study groups, the eat-and-meet-project, and host family project, Ifes aims to ”make your stay in the Netherlands more enjoyable”.
At the eat-and-meet-project, international students experience Dutch student life. Having met each other at an intercultural evening, the Dutch students then invite the foreigners to dinner at their student houses.
The family project picks up where the student edition leaves off. Besides going to church and having dinner, the Guyt family has other plans for Luo. Piet Guyt: ”We could go see the windmills at Kinderdijk, or show him some cities. I%d also like to watch some movies with him on videotape, especially Ben Hur.” And should Luo encounter problems, he can always turn to his Dutch, childless, parents for help.
Compared to Ifes% other activities, the host family project is very popular. So popular, that well over forty students applied, while Ifes has only 38 host families. Consequently, Ifes is no longer accepting applications.
Invisible
”You might wonder why we do this. Maybe it’s because we’ve been single for so long. Then you’re used to welcoming other people and entertaining visitors,” Lennie Guyt reasons. ”And I lived in England for a year after secondary school. I had a wonderful time there, everybody was very kind and hospitable.”
Luo disappears into the kitchen to watch Lennie Guyt cook a Dutch meal. Later, Luo helps serve the meal. No hutspot or erwtensoep, but half a grapefruit with sugar, followed by rice with curry sauce, broccoli, green beans, chicken and tutti frutti. The desert, caramel vla, really agrees with Luo, who then helps clear the table. ”He’s very sweet,” Lennie Guyt says.
International students participating in the project certainly get a colourful picture of Dutch family life. ”I’m at the ICT department of Electrical Engineering. I%m especially interested in wireless communication, like mobile phones,” Luo explains. Lennie Guyt exclaims: ”Yes, mobile phones are so interesting! With all those invisible things happening, it’s really a lot like praying.”
Ever enjoyed hutspot, boerenkool met worst or erwtensoep? Ifes, the Christian student organisation, offers international students some Dutch hospitality.
Two purple couches, a pink rug and several furnishings decorated with rose pink fabrics bath in sunlight. The fourth-floor flat is drenched in rays from the setting sun. Two enormous cats eye each other, as traditional Chinese music plays softly in the background. Miles away, Koninginnenacht in The Hague is starting, but here, in a high-rise Zoetmeer apartment building, peace and quite rule.
”Do you want coffee, Luo?” Lennie Guyt asks. She and her husband, Piet Guyt, an internship co-ordinator at the faculty of Architecture, have entertained international TU visitors for years. They%re playing host to Guanzhou Luo, from China. Actually, Luo doesn’t like coffee, but he%s willing to try it with lots of milk.
”There%s a project like this in Beijing, enabling American students to experience Chinese family life. I wanted to do the same in Holland,” Luo, an Electrical Engineering MSc student, explains. He began his MSc course this year, and expects to see his ‘parents’, as he calls his host family, about once a month. His own parents will come over to tour Europe in June.
This is Luo’s second visit to the Guyt%s. During the first visit % after Luo photographed the Christmas tree and entire flat % they visited Piet Guyt’s parents and went to church. Lennie Guyt is a member of the Full Evangelical Pentecostal Church: ”We’re not out to convert him, because everybody must read the Bible and work on their personal relationship with God and Jesus themselves. But as we enjoy going to church, why shouldn’t we try to share this feeling.” Luo says he was impressed by the experience.
Ben Hur
Converting international students isn’t Ifes% aim. The organisation, consisting of ”Christian students and former students who like to make and maintain contact with international students,” as they say on their website, welcomes everyone, regardless of religion. With intercultural evenings, Bible study groups, the eat-and-meet-project, and host family project, Ifes aims to ”make your stay in the Netherlands more enjoyable”.
At the eat-and-meet-project, international students experience Dutch student life. Having met each other at an intercultural evening, the Dutch students then invite the foreigners to dinner at their student houses.
The family project picks up where the student edition leaves off. Besides going to church and having dinner, the Guyt family has other plans for Luo. Piet Guyt: ”We could go see the windmills at Kinderdijk, or show him some cities. I%d also like to watch some movies with him on videotape, especially Ben Hur.” And should Luo encounter problems, he can always turn to his Dutch, childless, parents for help.
Compared to Ifes% other activities, the host family project is very popular. So popular, that well over forty students applied, while Ifes has only 38 host families. Consequently, Ifes is no longer accepting applications.
Invisible
”You might wonder why we do this. Maybe it’s because we’ve been single for so long. Then you’re used to welcoming other people and entertaining visitors,” Lennie Guyt reasons. ”And I lived in England for a year after secondary school. I had a wonderful time there, everybody was very kind and hospitable.”
Luo disappears into the kitchen to watch Lennie Guyt cook a Dutch meal. Later, Luo helps serve the meal. No hutspot or erwtensoep, but half a grapefruit with sugar, followed by rice with curry sauce, broccoli, green beans, chicken and tutti frutti. The desert, caramel vla, really agrees with Luo, who then helps clear the table. ”He’s very sweet,” Lennie Guyt says.
International students participating in the project certainly get a colourful picture of Dutch family life. ”I’m at the ICT department of Electrical Engineering. I%m especially interested in wireless communication, like mobile phones,” Luo explains. Lennie Guyt exclaims: ”Yes, mobile phones are so interesting! With all those invisible things happening, it’s really a lot like praying.”
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