Europe 2014: erasmus

My EGOS conference was held in Erasmus University Rotterdam. Didn't manage to take a lot of photos of the campus, but here are 3 of them.

statue of Desiderius Erasmus

I prefer universities to have proper (well-designated) campus instead of being situated within or close to CBD or other neighborhood. I like to know where the campus starts and ends, and have a clearly defined school grounds. The campus of Erasmus University reminded me of NTU with its location far (far is relative in the small island of Singapore) from the city, its sizable campus and its abundant greenery (trees, gardens and ponds) between buildings.

Would have loved to explore the university more if not for my itinerary. I didn't allocate enough time for a comprehensive tour as I was too preoccupied with visiting the city of Rotterdam and The Hague. Anyway, I will ensure that I list campus tour as one of the itineraries for my next international conference!

Europe 2014: EGOS

I think it is about time I write about the conference that made my Europe trip came true. My adviser mentioned this conference during one of his classes last year. The 30th Colloquium organized by European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) was held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Since I've yet to visit The Netherlands, I've decided to submit a paper for it and see if I could be accepted. After about 5 months of reading, researching, and writing, I produced, first a short paper of 3,000 words which was accepted and then a full paper of 26 pages for the colloquium.

This was my first truly international academic conference. Although I've attended a few while in Japan and Taiwan, they were only 'international' in name as most of the attendees are locals (meaning bad English, both oral and written) and/or 'old boys' club' (where the same few faces turn up every year and sing each other's praises unashamedly). The EGOS Colloquium resembles more of what I thought a truly international academic conference should be. There were more than 1500 attendees from over 100 countries!

I went to the venue, Erasmus University, the day before the conference to attend a pre-colloquium workshop. The EGOS Women's Network Meeting was a wonderful opportunity for women academicians to share their experience and knowledge. I joined the round table on publication strategy which I really thought was very useful. Most of them are from European and American universities and seemed to know each other. As someone who is not very apt in socializing in a big group, I just observed and absorbed the entire experience.

The opening ceremony was held in a two-level lecture hall which kinda reminded me of Victoria Theatre in Singapore with its steep steps and cramped seats. The ceremony had the usual - a couple of welcome speeches by the organizing committees and one keynote speech. The keynote speech was interesting and not too dry. Also, I really like that they incorporated some jokes about the World Cup in their speeches and kinda ribbed the Americans for their failure to reach the quarterfinals. Another surprise was a modern dance performance by Erasmus students with live music (maybe their symphony band). It was kinda long and repetitive after a while but I gave them full marks for their enthusiasm and passion.

There were many diverse themes being discussed in this colloquium. We were grouped according to our sub-themes so that we can benefit from those who are doing similar research. Each sub-theme group was allocated a small conference room for participants to present their papers. The rooms were scattered all around the Erasmus campus in different buildings. It was a nice way for the participants to get to see the university. Most rooms can accommodate around 20 participants and it was a rather intimate setting. We were all seated around tables arranged in a U shape which I prefer. Unlike in a big lecture hall, this arrangement forces everyone to pay attention to the presenter.


Usually, there were 3 papers scheduled in each 90 minute session. This meant that each author will have about 20 minutes to present his/her paper and 10 minutes for Q&A. I was scheduled in the last session on the first day, from 16:00 to 17:30, with another group from China. Unfortunately, they didn't turn up, so I was the only one to present during this time slot. In order to be fair, I was given the same amount of time to present and was not expected to fill that entire 90 minutes.

My adviser didn't register for the colloquium but he came with his wife to give me some support. They were travelling around the region so he dropped by to cheer me on. I met with them at the registration booth during the short break before my session. I took them to the conference room where my session was being held. They decided to sit outside and listen to my presentation. He said that he would bail me out if I got stumped during Q&A.

Frankly, I managed to calm myself down before I met my adviser. Although I had been practicing my presentation in my head many times, I was quite nervous the night before because this was after all my first international conference. And I was somewhat nervous during earlier sessions too but when it was time for me, I kinda became numb. The nervousness reached its highest when I was introduced to the group and then it was gone once I got into my grove. I told myself to just winged it cos what was the worst that could happen, right? I've handled worst situations and more hard-to-please people than a handful of scholars.

In the end, I think I did a fairly good presentation. ^.^ Everyone in the session was very attentive and supportive. Just the fact that some of them actually read my paper and found my research 'angle' interesting already made my day. And the icing to the cake was that they provided some really good suggestions and very constructive comments. That I think is the main reason to attend and/or present in an international conference(s), no? :)

Seriously, after attending a REAL international academic conference, I really can't stand going to a 'fake' or 'pseudo' conference that is only international in name only.

Europe 2014: canals @ amsterdam

Another thing that Amsterdam is famous for is its canals. I am totally in love with the canals, the boat houses, the bridges and the houses that lined these canals. So please forgive me for sharing some of the many photos I've taken.. :)

See? I really can't get enough of these canals and the sights it presented..

Europe 2014: cook

I cooked for all but one of my CS hosts because I want to show my appreciation. One of hosts actually said that I am brave to want to cook in a kitchen that I'm not familiar with. I know I am good in improvisation and concocting dishes using whatever I can find in their pantries. I was more worried/afraid that I might mess up their kitchen. Houses here aren't very big so the kitchens are relatively smaller too. But if compared to Japanese houses, they are about the same - small but well-equipped.

Here are a few of the kitchens I've cooked in.

Not a pub-crawler/party-person, I kept all my evenings free so that I can cook/eat, interact and get to know my hosts. I was very happy that they liked my dishes (or they are just being nice). I also showed them some of the recipes/tips I have. Some of them also cooked for me so I was very fortunate to have had more home-cooked food than restaurant food during my trip.

After dinner, we usually talked over a cup of tea or some nice (Belgian) beers or wine... we cheered for the same team when we watched the World Cup matches together (ps: Clockwork Orange is now my 2nd favorite team after Die Mannschaft ;) )... we watched some classic movies together.. or we just made conversation over some nice indie music at the background..

We shared, we exchanged and we discussed. We might not agree with each other but at least we now know one another's perspectives and views. I've learned many interesting things from each and every one of them. So these chitchat sessions are definitely the one thing I love about couch-surfing..

Europe 2014: sleep

As I've mentioned before, I can sleep in almost any places as long as it is flat and has a pillow (or two) and a blanket. So sleeping on my CS hosts' couches/sofa beds was never an issue. In fact, I can truly say that I didn't have a bad night's sleep throughout my 23-day trip! And it did help that I was dead tired by the end of the day after so much walking and sight-seeing. :)

So here are some of the 'beds' I've slept in..

the only hotel bed that I've slept in @ Rotterdam

As you can see from photos above, these were all very nice sleeping arrangement, so you now know why I didn't have problem sleeping soundly. :) I didn't take any photos of my 'beds' in Brussels and Utrecht cos I forgot. Those were my last 2 cities which I think I must have been so used to sleeping in a non-conventional bed and/or bedroom that I forgot to take a photo of it.

Once again, I would like to say a big 'Thank You!' to all my fabulous CS hosts!!

Europe 2014: markets

Went to several different markets while in Amsterdam : book market in Spui, Albert Cuypmarkt, the Flower Market, and a local organic market.

I stumbled upon the book market in Spui while walking back to my host, Merijn's place. Spent more than a hour walking and browsing through the stalls. The stalls have some really interesting stuffs, other than books. There are lots of old and obscure books. Most of the books are in Dutch so it was good as I would be tempted to buy them if they are in English. :) Wanted to get some old posters but decided against it as I don't have a proper case for them and this was just my first destination of my trip. I don't want to carry them all over only to get them crumpled and/or torn. There are also some very nice old wooden/metal signage from the 1960s and 1970s which would make very nice home deco items. Again, had to resist my urge to buy them due to my already heavy luggage. :(

For me, it is so refreshing to see people being (still) so passionate about books in this electronic age. Although I bought a Kindle 2 years ago, I still prefer to read actual physical books. Reading is still very much a pastime that many in Europe engaged in. All of my CS hosts have at least 1 shelf filled with books. In fact, a few of them have wall-to-wall shelves that are lined with books of at least 2 different languages!

My 2nd host, Amy, lives near Albert Cuymarkt so she took me there after I reached her place. It was like a mixture of 'pasar pagi' and farmers' market. Lots of stores selling clothes & accessories, cheese, fresh produces, flowers, traditional Dutch food, etc. The weather was good, so the place was pretty crowded. Again, I didn't buy anything. Just browsing and taking in the sights, sounds and smells. 

After Albert Cuypmarkt, we went to the flower market. We took a slow walk there, since you can practically walk to anywhere within Amsterdam city. The stores there are selling lots of seeds, seedlings and grown plants. Lots of tulips and other types of flowers which as a non-flower person I don't really recognize much less name them, but they sure are very nice to look at. :) 

The local organic market was also another pleasant place I stumbled upon while wandering around Amsterdam. It was a small market with just a few stalls selling fresh agriculture produces and a few more selling snacks and drinks.

Really love visiting these open-air markets.. ^.^

Europe 2014: bicycle and rembrandt

Borrowed jacket & scarf cos of the drizzle

How could I have stayed in Amsterdam for 6 days and NOT cycled? So my 2nd host in Amsterdam, Amy, took me riding along Amstel River, all the way to one of the many Rembrandt statues within Amsterdam and a nice windmill (actually, this is outside Amsterdam 'city').

It was drizzling and we almost didn't want to do it. But in the end, I decided 'what the heck!' cos how often do you get to have a local willing to take you bicycling, right? We avoided the city area because the bike I'm on was high, even for me. It belonged to a family friend of my host. I've always thought of myself as being tall, but being in The Netherlands, I'm short! The bike seat is higher than my waist! For the first time, I can't reach the ground with my foot/feet while seated on a bike. I tried to lower the seat but it was already at the lowest. Anyway, since I need to 'jump off' every time I stop, we decided to take the bikes to the outskirts and avoid the crowds. I've seen several bike crashes and accidents involving tourists in the city center, so I'm not going to be one of the statistics.

statue of Rembrandt & windmill

It was a fun and leisure ride, we chatted during the ride as the roads we took were pretty deserted. We were the only ones on most of them. Nice scenery along the way, with trees, farms, canals and wide fields lining the sides in intervals. Along the way, we talked about lots of things, from religion to education to relationships to FB 'friends' to everyday stuffs.. Think it took us more than an hour to get there. There was a tourist bus there but left just as we were reaching. So we kinda had the entire place to ourselves.

The place is nice and quiet.. no place to actually sit down and chat, so I just took some photos and we left. We then took another route back, going through all the neighborhoods and small roads.. it was really fun cycling in the rain. This is definitely something you'll never get to do if you're staying in a hotel/hostel! ^.^

Europe 2014: stations

With my plans to visit 8 cities in total, there was no way for me to avoid stations of any sort. And with Europe being a continent big on rail transport, I was more than happy to rely on them as a mean of travelling between cities, especially with my big suitcase..

Rotterdam Centraal Station

Amsterdam Centraal Station

Gent St-Peters Station

Brugge Centraal Station

Most train stations are also trams and buses stations so it was very convenient to change between these three types of transportation. Big or small, all stations are unique. Some are easy to navigate while some are kinda mazes. Some are modern while others are majestic architecture wonders - case in point: Antwerp Centraal Station. 

All counters staff speaks English, so no worries about communication. But one thing is for sure, you need to do your own homework first before approaching them. Most of the stations are crowded and queues are long, so always go early and allow time for queues. 

Overall, I can say that it's not difficult travelling between cities but you need to make sure you know the exact name of the station you need to reach as they tend to be fairly long.

Also, do not forget to verify your ticket before boarding. I made this oversight on my way to Schipol Airport from Utrecht and it cost me very very dearly.