09 februari 2012
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Marie Zwetsloot

Marie Zwetsloot

UCM student Marie Zwetsloot applied for a freelance job at Observant as soon as she arrived in Maastricht in 2007. Becoming a journalist one day is something she keeps in mind, though whether she would like to study journalism is another question. Theatre, development or conflict studies – it's all possible. Born and raised in a small village in the north of the Netherlands, she left home early to finish her last two years of high school at the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. She is ashamed of Geert Wilders but proud of Dutch biking culture. Last year, Marie was a student ambassador in Peru. She is currently on exchange at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.

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Artikelen van Marie Zwetsloot

¨So you guys never lack water?¨ I give a nod. The Ecuadorian students in my agriculture class keep on staring at me. Like they don’t trust what I’ve just said. So I decide to save what I was about to tell for later. It’s more than never lacking water. The Netherlands rather has too much. A sunny day makes everything look brighter. It is about the opposite in Ecuador.   Finally, Quito got som...

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Grammar mistakes in Spanish. On the phone with my family, I tend to lack Dutch vocabulary. And my English is turning into ¨Spanglish¨: ¨I think we are casi there¨ or ¨Could you pass me my mochilla? ¨. The fact that most Dutch learn English, French, German and sometimes Spanish impresses my Ecuadorian classmates. It is indeed a privilege to speak and understand different languages. Not just becaus...

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Before you cross the street: look to the left, to the right and to the left again. If you don’t see a car, you’re free to go. A rule I learned at primary school but never put into practice. Now I try to use it, it proves to be absolutely useless. I’d be stuck to the sidewalk for the rest of my life. Quito has a serious traffic problem. Cars, buses, trucks. Everywhere at any time. Neither paying a...

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¨Hey! I saw you reading in the library. I read too. Could I have your mobile number?¨ I should start keeping a list of ways Ecuadorian guys have tried to approach me. Whilst in the Netherlands, I might have taken it as a compliment. Here I feel insulted. He doesn’t even know my name. And, for sure, I am not the first blond girl with blue eyes he has tried with. On the streets, it gets out of hand...

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My Ecuadorian schoolmates told me to be careful in the busses: ¨They are all out for your money. They’ll even rob your earrings¨. I can’t stand these prejudices. How would they now? They have been driving around in their fathers’ cars!  The university that I am studying at is probably the most elitist in the country. Just the campus in itself is an excessive display of wealth. Tropical trees...

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"What?! You lost my passport! So what am I supposed to do now?" "I don´t know, señorita. Maybe come back tomorrow. I don´t know." Great. I had expected that registrating a visa in Ecuador would take different forms than in the Netherlands. However, I hadn´t expected them to screw it up. Or am I not understanding the rules of the game?          &...

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Who still considers Europe to be one of the most civilized places on earth should give this idea a second thought. Go to Schiphol airport. And you’ll find yourself trapped in a war against all. This time we aren’t fighting for survival. It’s about being the first to enter the plane. Wait a sec. In some way, this battle seems pointless. Didn´t we all get an assigned seat when we checked in? W...

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There I am. In front of the VVV (tourist information office and shop) in Groningen. About to go in. One more deep breath. My task? To find a Dutch gift for my host mother who I’ll be staying with in Ecuador. Going gift shopping for foreign friends and strangers might seem innocent, maybe even fun, to some people. My response: try it out yourself and we’ll talk again.  How to decide betw...

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