Yesterday I told my uncle that I just don't know where I want to study, in Italy or here, in Holland. I simply just don't know. His answer was the following: 'I think the answer that you should find is what you want to study, if you have that answer, the where will follow.' And I think he's right. That's why the next couple of months I will go to different classes at the university of Firenze. Just to find out where my interests lie, and what I think of the study in practice. Why do this? Well, in my opinion you can't make a good choice if you go to one day that they designed for high school people that need to be persuaded to choose that study. So I'll just go there, try stuff out, and make a good choice.

By the way, studying over here is going to be a lot more expensive. This because of the fact that the Dutch government wants to cut the basic scholarship, which is about 100 euro a month for people who live with their parents, and 170 euro for people who live on their own. I know, it isn't much, it doesn't cover half of the rent I pay in Firenze right now, but it is a gift from the government. Now they are planning on turning it into a loan. By now I had so many discussions about that part that I'm almost convinced that, with a degree from university, you should be able to repay the government easily.

A thing I don't agree on though, is the fact that they are planning on cutting the free public transport program for students. Let me give you an example: Say that I'm going to study in Amsterdam, which I'm not, I would have to take a bus from Leusden to Amersfoort for about 2,50 euro. The train from Amersfoort to Amsterdam costs 15,90 euro, and then you have a to go and return ticket. When I get back to Amersfoort I would have to pay the bus ticket again, which means another 2,50 euro. That makes that travel costs for one day of university would be around 20 euro's. If you need to go to university five days a week, it would make a total of a bit over 100 euro's on public transport. I really don't get that.

I really don't get the public transport idea around here though. Everything was working perfect, you would go to a supermarket, buy a card on which they could place 15 stamps and go to the bus driver and say: 'I would like to go to Amersfoort.' The bus driver would place three stamps, and you had paid. Easy as that, sounds pretty ok right? Well, a couple of years ago, one certain genius thought that this good system wasn't working properly, and decided that it was time for a change. So now we have the 'OV-chipkaart'. This is basically a credit card which you have to buy for 7,50 euro. Than you have to place a credit of at least 10 euro's on there to activate it. So, before you start travelling you already paid 17,50 euro's. Then, when you go by bus, the saldo on your card needs to be at least 3 euro's, and when you go by train at least 20. That's nuts right? Right now it's still possible to buy paper tickets at the bus or at the train stations, though, that's going to change.

Let me tell you why it doesn't work. My uncle is here right now, and he's staying in Amersfoort. If he would like to come by bus, he would have to buy a card for every person in his entourage that would like to come over here as well. This means in this case three cards of 7,50. That makes 22,50. Then he has to activate them, which means uploading at least 10 euro a card. Another 30 euro's were just added. So before he can travel he spends at least 52,50. Then he can drive four times to our place by bus before he runs out of saldo, because a trip costs about 2 euro's every time, and the minimum on the card should be 3 euro's if you go by bus.

So, if you decide to come to Holland and take the public transport, better take a well filled wallet with you.