Lucas Folmer
(18) has just woken up after his first sleepover on the AID campsite. ‘I really like the campsite although we are here just for sleep. Now we are getting ready to meet our AID groups for breakfast.’ Lucas chose to do his bachelor in Biology in Wageningen after visiting one of the open days. ‘I really liked the campus and the fact that the city is small.’ After spending almost half a year looking for a room in Wageningen, he decided to temporarily join the campsite and enjoy the AID. ‘It has been a while that I am searching for a room, but I can’t say I am very actively looking for one. Until I am lucky enough to find a place here, I plan to be travelling back and forth from Amersfoort for my courses.’ Joining a student association is something that Lucas is looking forward to. ‘I had so much fun yesterday with my group and all the games we played. I am really curious to experience more and orient myself with all the different associations.’
Although Alexander de Vries (21) really enjoys camping, he only slept four hours last night. ‘I had a wonderful evening with my AID group yesterday. I met many international students, had lasagna for dinner and then partied until early this morning. That is why I did not sleep much. The highlight of the evening was the cycling ride back to the campsite with a group of new people. We had some very interesting conversations.’ Alexander chose to do his bachelor in Landscape and planning in Wageningen because of the program’s good balance between theory and practice. ‘It is very nice that here you also have the opportunity to directly apply what you learn. The fact that Wageningen is a small city is also an advantage because it feels like you get more attention from the professors.’ Looking for a room is not in the proximate plans of Alexander as he prefers to experience how everything works before he finds a place to settle. ‘I plan to be travelling from my city, Leiden, for at least the first semester. Joining a student association is also something I want to temporarily put on hold so that I can first focus in my studies.’
David Kras
(17) had a quiet and easy first night on the campsite. ‘I have camped before and so I did not have unpleasant surprises or discomforts.’ Since he enjoys calmness and serenity, David does not expect many distractions from his studies. ‘I really like that Wageningen is a small city and so I can be more concentrated on my courses. The campus also looks beautiful. The main reason though why I chose to study here is the bachelor in Food Technology. Apparently, WUR is the only place in the Netherlands that provides this program.’ David comes all the way from Zwijndrecht and he really wants to find a room here. ‘It is quite far from here. For now and until I find a room, I plan to be travelling daily for my courses. Unfortunately, I cannot join an association yet or be involved in more activities because of that.’ Although he would prefer to live alone, David is ready to settle for any available room he finds. ‘Living alone is also more expensive so I am not sure yet whether I would go for it. My priority for now is to just find a room here.’
From left to right: Luca, David and Alexander