Helemaal klaar voor Utrecht - Housing, visa, flight tickets, etc.
The last 2 months were INTENSE. Full of preparation work and communication. The number of e-mails with the “utrecht” tag in my Gmail inbox neared 150!
But, finally, the time has come for the last big “status update” before the big trip… I now have (almost) everything prepared, the excitement is on the rise and I’d like to share all of these news with my friends. What I do already have:
Housing
I am going to live in Utrecht’s largest student housing complex, the “IBB”. It was built in the 70s and is the “home sweet home” of more than 1000 students. It is only 5 minutes away from the university campus by bike, and 10 minutes away from the historical city center. There, at the IBB, I’m going to share a spacious flat (on the 16th floor) with 7 other people, each of us with their own private room. There you have it, a picture of what “IBBers” like to do in the summer:
And now, a rough idea of how my room and my flat should look like… These are pictures taken by a canadian exchange student, who lived last year in the same flat I’ll now live in:
One-way flight ticket
I will begin my ONE-WAY journey to the Netherlands on September, 2nd, at 12:05, on Florianópolis’ Hercílio Luz International Airport. This is the detailed path which I shall fly:
- 02/09 - 12:05 - Departure from Florianópolis/Brazil (Hercílio Luz International Airport)
- 02/09 - 13:39 - Arrival on Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport)
- 02/09 - 16:50 - Departure from Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport)
- 03/09 - 06:30 - Arrival on Lisbon/Portugal (Portela International Airport)
- 03/09 - 13:00 - Departure from Lisbon/Portugal (Portela International Airport)
- 03/09 - 17:00 - ARRIVAL on Amsterdam/The Netherlands (Schiphol Airport Amsterdam)
Once more, it will be a pleasure to fly with the nicest airline ever, KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij):
Entry visa and residence permit
On the last Tuesday (July 31st, 2012) I visited the Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Curitiba, where I met Consul Robert de Ruyter. I am officially authorized to remain in the Netherlands for the following 3 years. From now on, I just have to wait for the visa to arrive in my mailbox with the seal of Queen Beatrix :)
Academic affairs
Now I am officially registered as a postgraduate student of Utrecht University, and on the following week the academic calendar for 2012/2013 will be released, along with the list of courses for the Computing Science M.Sc programme :) Did you know that?
René Descartes, the philosopher, lived for some years in Utrecht, where he studied and taught at the Universiteit Utrecht? He is still a celebrity these days in Utrecht :)
Professors and students of Utrecht University have won a total of 12 Nobel prizes throughout the years?
One of the most important cerimonial halls of Utrecht University, in the city center, was THE PLACE where the Union of Utrecht was signed (on January 3rd, 1579)? This document is considered the declaration of indepence of the dutch people, against spanish opression. The Union of Utrecht became widely recognized as the first modern republic. I was at this hall on August 2011, where I watched a concert with some of J.S.Bach’s works:
