EVERY EURO COUNTS
“THE WASSERIJEN ARE TOO EXPENSIVE”

After arriving in Leuven, a lot of international students are quite surprised that some structural differences exist in the infrastructure of their new student town and their University city at home. Mireille, a self-supporting student from Italy, stated that international students find it very strange that there are no washing machines, nor any facilities to dry clothes, available in the student houses. Most international students agree that ‘wasserijen are really too expensive’. For a lot of them, the extra expense of the Laundromat is just annoying. The only consequence they face with it that they have to cut in the budget they assigned to visiting pubs and the like. For some students, however, the extra living expenses really make a difference. As some Polish girls remarked, saving some 25 Euros a month on living expenses would make it possible for them to go for a coffee outdoor without feeling guilty about it.

The situation of students like Kunle, a master student in physiotherapy from Nigeria, is yet from a different order. He lives on a budget of 600 Euros a month, an amount that according to himself the university recommended as sufficient to maintain oneself in Leuven. Kunle plainly told us that he is not able to live as comfortable as he would like, as he sees himself forced to eat the same food for days when unexpected situations occur. Students who face financial problems as grave as those Kunle has to deal with, will understandably try to look for a job to make some fast cash. Finding work in Leuven, however, turns out to be very problematic for international students. A lot of factors have to do with the very limited offer. But it should be emphasized that, in the first place, it is a problem of a structural nature. The tradition of student jobs simply is not present as obvious in the way of living of Belgian students as it is in the culture of most international students. |

In the next issue of The Voice, the difficulties with finding a student job and the possibilities of the Social Service of the K.U.Leuven will be put forward.