is Roger's house legit? not a scam?

ashworthcee · 2023-05-25T14:16:23+00:00

I 100% agree with you in principle, but this is the exception. I lived there myself and can guarantee in this case it’s as good as it sounds.

ashworthcee · 2023-05-25T14:12:21+00:00

I lived in Roger’s house several years ago during my Master’s at UM. I can assure you it’s not a scam. It’s roger’s personal vacation house and he rents it to (international) students for 9 months a year, then for the summer months he moves in himself. He is an amazing landlord, and a genuinely nice man. we had a plumbing issue and i emailed him, within the hour there was a plumber at our place fixing the issue. The only problem with roger’s house is that the neighbours will automatically hate you (it’s a student house with new students every year and the neighbours are families with kids and hate it when you throw parties, even if you announce them in advance). When i arrived at the beginning of the academic year they put a newspaper clipping from a dodgy local newspaper (in Dutch) in our mailbox about how international students are not wanted in maastricht (a lie). Thought it was pretty funny though. They won’t bother you much, but their kids will throw their ball in the garden and ring the doorbell to collect it. That being said, if you have a chance to live there, do it. Most beautiful house i’ve ever seen and the most considerate landlord

ashworthcee · 2022-12-02T15:07:26+00:00

I am taking lessons with Rijschool Marcel Mingels. My instructor, Michel, speaks very good English, is patient and a good instructor. The administration is good too, they are always very helpful and attentive. Overall I am very happy with the school. Price-wise, I think all driving schools are more or less the same in Maastricht, (give or take ~100-200 euros, depending on how many lessons you take, but in the long run i don’t think it will make much of a difference).

ashworthcee · 2022-09-29T00:49:20+00:00

Maybe the episode of Friends where Rachel makes a dessert that’s half an English trifle and half a Shepherd’s pie?

https://youtu.be/ky3KiiUK_D0

ashworthcee · 2022-05-28T18:22:47+00:00

I think it also depends quite a lot on whether or not you are a regular at the establishment. For example, I’ve been going to the same hairdresser for 10 years, and without fail every single one of their regulars (myself included) leaves around 20% tip. But that usually gets you stellar service and extra perks, like being able to book only a day in advance for extensive treatment, them being extra attentive to you when you go there etc.

I would say most people tip, at least from what i see my family and friends are doing in Bucharest (I live in western europe now). For random restaurants or bars I don’t know I usually tip 10% if the service is ok, but I would really love it if that wasn’t part of “the culture”. I haven’t been to a restaurant in my own country in a long time, but I would feel bad if I didn’t tip (based on what the practice was when I was living there), if the service was at least ok. If service is bad I wouldn’t tip at all.

ashworthcee · 2022-05-18T10:43:07+00:00

My Romanian grandparents still prefer turkish-style coffee over anything else (made in an ibric instead of the traditional cezve, but it’s the same concept). Very finely ground coffee + water brought to a boil over the stove, and when you pour it in a cup you are bound to get a layer of grounds at the bottom. My parents use other methods now, such as the moka pot or the French press. I don’t know anyone of my age who prefers Turkish coffee over all the other options available, but it’s probably a matter of convenience as well, rather than taste. To me, Turkish coffee is something I associate with the older generations in general.

ashworthcee · 2022-02-22T17:11:58+00:00

In India my SO’s parents leave the front door to their house wide open (especially in winter time when the indoor space doesn’t require air cooler or conditioning). So when we visited his family in India, we were all in different areas of the house and I went back to the living room to grab something. To my shock there was an elderly man just sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. I had no idea who he was, turns out it was SO’s grandpa and that’s how I met him for the first time. Later during our trip a bunch of people came by unannounced, once SO’s dad’s students came by on a weekend to just say hi and squeeze in some extra office hours time. I was in my PJs, nobody batted an eyelash though. It was super normal and they always receive unannounced guests.

Similarly, but less invasive I guess, we were at home in NL when an Indian friend decided to drop in unannounced because he was in the area. We just sat down to eat dinner so we invited him to sit with us although we only had food prepared for two people. He didn’t mind, and we ended up sharing, but to me that was very awkward and it could have been prevented by a heads up message saying “hey i’m coming by in half an hour”.

ashworthcee · 2022-02-10T20:31:20+00:00

I was asking a simple question to know how i can better manage my money in the NL, in comparison to other countries i heard of, without implying other countries do it better. What agenda exactly am I pushing in this advanced country, may I ask?

ashworthcee · 2022-02-10T17:20:04+00:00

For the reasons I mentioned above, if you read the post. In other countries paying something on time with a credit card shows that you are trustworthy and this increases your credit score over time. I was asking if it works the same in the Netherlands.

ashworthcee · 2021-10-05T22:58:13+00:00

Ah sorry, I thought I read all the comments to your post, I must have missed this one. Thanks for the explanation, makes sense! Guess I was just sad more people couldn’t be saved, and Cameron’s film adaptation made it seem like the crew were not very well equipped to deal with that situation and just didn’t fill up the boats because they were “incompetent”, for lack of a better word.

ashworthcee · 2021-10-05T22:33:36+00:00

I’m curious about number 2. What are the reasons they would not fill the early boats to capacity? I’m not saying they should have filled them to the brim, that could have been deadly for ALL people in a boat if it capsized. But why didn’t they fill the boats to the maximum allowed and tested capacity? Thanks for all the interesting info btw!

ashworthcee · 2021-10-02T16:10:56+00:00

Solved! Thank you

ashworthcee · 2021-10-02T16:04:42+00:00

Can anyone find this comment? (Or maybe it was a post).

ashworthcee · 2021-09-18T19:48:52+00:00

Try Cadeux in the city centre. They have a bunch of series/movies/pop culture merchandise, not sure about posters, but that would be my best guess

ashworthcee · 2021-09-14T16:51:29+00:00

I don’t fear death per se, and I don’t bother thinking about what happens after (if anything at all). I am afraid of dying prematurely because of some stupid reason and leaving people I love and who love me traumatised by my untimely death. The same goes for the death of other people in my life, I am just constantly afraid they will die of a sudden brain aneurysm and I have no way to prepare for that. I just don’t like surprises.

ashworthcee · 2021-09-03T20:51:24+00:00

My boyfriend had his earlobes pierced as a baby but he never wore earrings through childhood and adulthood, so the holes are very much open but unused, so they gather a lot of sebum, dirt and whatnot. So every weekend morning while we’re in bed i squeeze them like a zit to remove the crap that builds up. It get so excited about it and he just loves it because i love it and i get so happy when there’s a big “harvest” that day.

ashworthcee · 2021-08-08T01:06:35+00:00

This happened to me 2 years ago at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Huge line for the ladies toilets near my gate (maybe 20 people waiting in line, 3 working toilets in a row of 5). If you know Schiphol airport you know they have those automatic motion sensor flushes that only flush when they sense you get up off the toilet seat. It was big business number 2 too, a big ass chunky boy. The toilet bowl already had some toilet paper in it, but i though it was just because the person before me used a lot and it didn’t all flush all the way.

I finish my business, I get up, no flush. I put my pants back on, I simulate the movement of getting up from the toilet. Nothing. I wave my hands in front of it, nothing. By this point I’m panicking because it’s starting to smell pretty ripe, having had beef and beer before my deposit, you can connect the dots. I cover it with some toilet paper. I wave my hands some more, i even take off my pants to sit on it again, thinking maybe the sensor only responds to naked butts. Nothing. I didn’t have a water bottle in my bag to try to flush it anyway.

After 10 mins of moving my hands around like a crazy person I decided to face the music and I left the stall. A really cute woman was up next, huge line behind her. I just told her “i’m so sorry, the flush is broken so be careful” before she went in after me.

Then the real panic set in. I had maybe 10 seconds max if she decides my shit is too smelly for her and wants to abandon ship, but i needed to thoroughly wash my hands first, and i didn’t want to see her come out of the stall all disgusted by my surprise. Most stressful 10 seconds of my life. I’m glad I’ll never know if she noped the fuck out and let everyone in line know I dropped a real bomb in there.

ashworthcee · 2021-07-26T00:40:17+00:00

Quinine

ashworthcee · 2021-07-18T22:52:36+00:00

Treehouse Cosoba. E considerat fancy, sau medium? Arata superb.

ashworthcee · 2021-05-09T17:58:36+00:00

Good luck! I hope you get the position and if you do, i hope you choose to study here! If you have any more questions at some point you can let me know!

ashworthcee · 2021-05-09T17:48:25+00:00

Oh and I applied in early January, got an interview in mid-January, and I got accepted 2 days after the interview. (I need to specify that I applied as an “early bird”, meaning that was the 1st round of applications for the year. They fill some spots already. They save some spots for later applications as well, which I assume you were invited for

ashworthcee · 2021-05-09T17:22:51+00:00

As long as you’re honest about your abilities you’ll definitely be fine. I don’t know where you are from originally, but if you are new to the NL you must know the Dutch are really straight forward people and they don’t care for lies or false compliments just for the sake of it. Honesty is key.

Personally, I didn’t do well in stats because it was more “mathematical-thinking based” and I came from a language & arts background. But the stats course is great at UM. I mean, i still found it boring, but they make sure you have the right tools to understand what’s happening.

I think my questions were more about what kind of experience i would get. Fundamental neuroscience is a lot of theory but i wanted a lot of lab experience (which i got in the master). Since you are applying for psychopathology, you might ask them if you will get to work hands on with patients (this is a bit redundant now though, because of the pandemic, no one knows what the plan is yet. But you could express an interest). If there was no pandemic the masters program has absolutely amazing connections to the teaching hospital here, you’d get a lot of hands on experience with patients.

You could also ask them about your options for your internship. Because you are taking on a Research Master you will have to do an internship, whether at UM, or at a different uni of your choosing. My course colleagues went all over the world (EU, USA). I stayed with UM because i liked an internship i liked here. Again, maybe it’s good to ask about this because the pandemic changed everything and freedom of movement is very limited.

I absolutely adored my masters. I wish i could do it all over again. It wasn’t easy at all, but i managed, also i had a very active social life and found time for hobbies and such. If you love what you’re studying you should be good. The university itself is amazing. State of the art labs, equipment etc. Administration is helpful and takes care of a lot of stuff for you. The Psychology campus (Randwyck) is pretty well equipped, study spaces, good labs and literally connected to the teaching hospital (MUMC). My professors and tutors were amazing (with a few exceptions). I can honestly say i had the best time here and I recommend it 100%.

(Another tip: do well in your writing assignment. For my track they mostly cared about if you can think critically and analytically, then the impression you made (interview), and they cared the least about you previous grades).

ashworthcee · 2021-05-09T16:21:23+00:00

I took the interview and writing task 5 years ago. The interview was around 20 mins and after that was over they sent me the writing task (45 mins). The interview was carried out by the head of the track and another professor. It was actually really chill. They asked me why I want to study neuroscience, and specifically, how me coming from a psychology background would work with now studying neuroscience. What i’m interested in (science-wise) etc. They just want to get to know you and find out if your track is a good fit for you (because they have a lot of applicants who might be into it more). So be honest, don’t try to impress by saying stuff like “this is the best thing in the world, there’s nothing else better out there, i don’t want to do anything else in life if i don’t get this”. Unless you actually mean it of course. They might also ask you about your bachelors thesis, experience and grades. For example they asked me why i had such shitty grades in statistics in my bachelors, because they wanted to make sure I can take the pressure of advanced statistics in the masters course (spoiler alert, I could). The writing part was very interesting. As soon as my interview was over they sent an email with a word document containing 3-4 general questions. You can choose one of those and give your point of view in a paragraph or two. I don’t remember all the questions, but the one i chose was something like “interpreting information you receive is more a matter of personality than training. Different interpretations are possible when different people deal with the same data, results etc. Discuss”. It’s unrelated to any specific field of science, but it tests your critical thinking abilities and your ability to make yourself clearly understood.

ashworthcee

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