We’re happy to announce that on Saturday, Sept 10th, from 14:00 – 17:00 hrs the Benelux Pitt community will have a network meet for the Pitt alumni.
We’ve chosen a typical Dutch venue in the form of café het Paleis. It’s a cozy, cute, neighborhood cafe just behind the real palace of the Dutch King and Queen on the Dam in Amsterdam. It should be pretty easy to get to by public transport or walking from Central Station.
Large windows to let the light in, terrace outside to enjoy the sun, the sights and sounds of the city and breath in fresh air. All very typical Dutch, in my opinion.
Cafe het Paleis
Pitt will be sending out announcement and invite very soon. So keep an eye on your mailbox. Please RSVP to Jason Kane from Pitt, or use the contact form here, so we can keep track of the size of the crowd.
If you’d like to give a shout out on your socials about this Pitt Europe network meet, then we’d really appreciate that too!
We are very happy and very sad at the same time… Our alumni event in Rotterdam is filled to capacity and the venue has requested we do not take on any more attendees.
Approximately 20 alumni will attend this popular Pitt Europe event for alumni. They come largely from the Netherlands but we welcome a few alum from Belgium and France. They happened to be in the neighborhood! (Cue “small world” Disney song here…)
The event is held at the massively popular restaurant BY AMI in Rotterdam. The place is at the waterside and features a large terrace.
But the popularity comes from the gigantic, colorful Instawalls hand painted by an artist and friend of the owner Jeroen van der wall.
The place features five of these huge graffiti and the rest of the inside is decorated lavishly to match the walls.
Chef and owner Ahmed has gone to great lengths to create equally colorful and appealing plates and dishes, making each course a visual treat as well as a mouthwatering experience. Add custom printed frothed milk cappuccinos and designer-level cocktails and you can see why the restaurant quickly fills to capacity. Especially with lockdown having finished a couple of weeks ago and many people trying to make the best of it while they can.
Did you know that Pitt works together with the University of Groningen (RuG) for their ‘study abroad’. program? No, me neither! And I have been a liaison for Pitt in the Netherlands since my graduation in 1990. So that’s a lot of wasted years that I could have helped, but glad to discover this now!
Students are offered a full year abroad in Groningen starting in the Spring Term.
I’ve sent an Email to their contact and offered to work together, so the Pitt alums in the Netherlands can potentially help out these PItt students with life in the Netherlands.
It would be trivial to meet up with a student in advance of their stay or upon their arrival and welcome them. Tell them where to get good stuff, what an affordable place to rent is, how much rent is acceptable in your neck of the woods and how to get around in your city or region.
As a seasoned international citizen and having lived in four countries so far, I know first hand how time consuming it can be to get up and running. Finding local government offices, getting paperwork and permits arranged, knowing which forms you need for what, where can I can a public transit permit or card, getting a bank account and card, can I borrow a car occasionally or where could I rent one, how hot or cold will it get during your stay?
Having a fellow (former) Pitt student levels the playing field, it removes hurdles, you speak a more or less common language. For the alum getting fresh information about PItt will mean a great deal, many us have left part of their hearts at Pitt. For most of us, it was a great time in your life. For the student, it is a great time in their life becoming even greater by going abroad for a semester.
So teaming up with a student abroad in your home town will be great. We get to be student again for a little while to a certain degree. For the student, it will mean first-hand inside information about the place they travel to and live in, something that will otherwise take months to learn and find out for themselves.
Are you interested in helping out a Pitt student who’s in your area through Pitt’s Study Abroad Program?
Are you a student who’s in Europe or travelling to to Europe soon through Pitt’s Study Abroad program and would like to meet a Pitt alum to help you around and show you “the ropes”?
Leave us your Email address and we will get in touch with you.
Disclaimer
Please note that we will check with the University if you are indeed enrolled in the program or a known Pitt alum. For that we will share your Email address with the appropriate University’s department.
