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| Ali Srour at a carnival in the Netherlands |
Some of the best things that happen to you are things that you didn't plan for. Ali Srour knows this firsthand. Before Ali headed to the Netherlands for his semester abroad at Tilburg University, he wrote a letter to himself detailing the goals he wanted to achieve during his time abroad. Things didn't go exactly as he mapped them out, but Ali had an exciting, unique, colorful experience regardless - and he plans to return to the Netherlands for his graduate studies.
Ali is a finance major and psychology minor. His fields of study were the main reasons he chose to go to Tilburg University in Spring 2019: "Tilburg is one of the top 50 universities worldwide in business, economics, law and psychology, so I chose it for that," he said. The first unplanned aspect of his journey was that the Netherlands and Tilburg University were his fourth option, preceded by three universities in New Zealand.
Ali reads from the letter he wrote to himself: "I wrote, 'I'm probably not going to read this letter because I will stay [in the Netherlands], but if I don't then that means I came back for graduation and that I will be going back there afterwards.' Which is true, I came back for graduation," he said. "My goals there were to get a scholarship, an internship, a job offer, [and] to have a plan for me to migrate there. See, I didn't get a scholarship because they only give them to Dutch students there. As for the internship, they prefer native Dutch speakers. I couldn't get the job offer because I couldn't get an internship, but I definitely have a plan now."
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| Ali with his letter to himself and IXO Publicity Specialist Bayan Al-Masri |
Laughing, he adds, "I also [wrote] a small note for myself, which is 'Keep It Simple, Stupid.' Because I was really anxious about it, and I was planning a lot and going crazy."
During his time abroad, Ali took up cycling, which is very popular in the Netherlands. "I went on bicycle trips from one town to another, which was a distance of around 150 km. It’s like going to Abu Dhabi, but by bicycle. Traveling is really easy over there because if you have a residence permit, you can go to any European country [in the EU] without a visa. For example, if you wanted to go from Tilburg to Paris, it’s only 50 euros, which is about 200 dirhams. I also once travelled across all the towns and cities of the Netherlands on a train."
Ali was the only Arab and Muslim there during his semester abroad, but he managed to befriend many people from different backgrounds. "My closest friend [there] was a Norwegian guy. He was in the room next to mine. I was also friends with a Turkish guy. And I made a lot of friends through playing sports, namely powerlifting and football," he said.
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| Ali and friends at the carnival |
Once Ali graduates from AUS, he plans to return to the Netherlands. "I'm going to do my master's degree in Leiden University, which is one of the top universities in the country. I [now] have a very good idea of how the system works there; I know the fees, how much you would earn in a part-time job, the living costs. So the experience readied me for the real deal, and it was a great experience; I would recommend it for sure."
Watch a video Ali made about his semester abroad:
Suzana Saoud
IXO Publicity Specialist
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