See you, Netherlands!

Period 2 has officially ended for me, and it's time for Christmas holiday! And this also means saying goodbye to life in Netherlands. At least until the time when I have to extend my residence permit again next summer. So, when people ask me, "What is your impression of the Netherlands?", here are my answers: The Netherlands was the place where I feel like I'm a hobbit. In terms of Asian standard, my height (163cm) is around average. Here, I had to elevate my head to the angle of 60 degrees or above parallel to the ground. I don't think 15cm...

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Instant Noodle around the World 14 - Ajinomoto Oyakata Noodle

Dusseldorf, Germany, is well known for its Japan Center. When I went to Dusseldorf's Christmas Market early this December I decided to visit one of the Japanese supermarkets there called Shochiku. I went there to satisfy my sudden craving for nattou, but I didn't forget to check out the instant noodle aisle, and I found Ajinomoto Oyakata Ramen series. And I have to say that this was the most amazing instant noodle I've ever found. Reasons for it?...

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The Netherlands - My Original Stamppot

When you are in Rome, you do what the Romans do. When you are in the Netherlands, you do what the Dutch do, and that is to make stamppot. I had my first stampott during the orientation week AID in Wageningen, and my second one made by my awesome Dutch friends.  Not a while ago I introduced this blog to my head of programme, and he said "I haven't seen any post with stampott". And yeah, actually, I couldn't figure out why I missed this...

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The Netherlands - Christmas Market at Wageningen

Since this will be my last visit to the open market in Wageningen, I went out despite having too many things to study for the final exams. I needed to buy a roll of packing tape and some fruits and veggies for the next 5 days. The moment I set my feet at the market I realized that it was more lively than usual. I saw crowds - mostly families and barely any students - gathering around the city centre, and heard Christmas songs on air. Oh yes,...

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The Netherlands - School Life at Wageningen University

I'm almost getting used to life in the Netherlands, and I will have to leave this country in about a week (I don't plan to spend Christmas holiday here). Due to the nature of my masters program, I will have to travel to 4 different countries: The Netherlands, Ireland, France and Sweden. And God knows where my internship will be next year. I have been living a somewhat nomadic life. I left home when I was 11 to Singapore because of the full scholarship...

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The Netherlands - McDonald Easy Order System

What to do when your tummy rumbles so badly but it's dinner time and there are at least 5 people waiting in every line in McDonalds? Cut the queue. Legally, of course. Life in the Netherlands without a debit card (they call it PIN here; there's a chip attached to the card, which is not very common for a debit card in the US or perhaps Asia) is almost like cashless, especially in my university. School cafetaria and even vending machines don't accept...

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Germany - Dusseldorf Christmas Market - Non-Food Aspects

While my main reason to go to the Christmas Market in Dusseldorf on the 1st of December was to eat as much yummy street food as possible, the city center of Dusseldorf offers amazing experience. We arrived at the city center at around 11 AM, when the Christmas Market opens on Saturday. As I explained in the previous post, there are 6 different Christmas markets around the city center, and we explored 5 out of 6 of them. Each market has its own...

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Germany - Christmas Market at Dusseldorf Food Excursion

15 euros for a round trip to Dusseldorf Christmas Market from the Netherlands? Sure, why not! We got the bus tickets from betuwe-express.nl, and by the help of Google Chrome's auto translation service, I managed to book tickets with no problems. There was a 3.50 euro service fee per reservation, so if you book at least 4 tickets per reservation (of course you can book more tickets per reservation), the service fee is almost negligible. I've...

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