PHOTO: HENK VEENSTRA
THOMAS SPEKSCHOOR
PHOTO: STEFAN HEIJDENDAEL
AIN WONDRE STAD
Groningen. University.
But also countless streets, houses,
bridges, squares paved with memories.
Famous former UG students talk about
their special place.
AIN WONDRE STAD
TEXT ELLIS ELLENBROEK
‘I couldn’t find a room, so I spent three months travelling back and forth between the Achterhoek (in the east of the Netherlands) and Groningen. Two-and-three-quarter hours there, and two-and-three-quarter hours back. It was so exhausting that I ended up falling asleep in the train and had to be woken up at the final destination, which was Rotterdam. I should have changed trains in Zwolle.
I finally found a room to rent in Helpman. Someone I knew from my village, Lichtenvoorde, decided not to continue with his degree programme and let me take over his room. Six square metres, a bed, a cupboard, and a convector heater. But at least I had a room! Later on,
I moved into a bigger room in the same house.
The house itself was anonymous. Nobody really spoke to each other. One girl hardly ever left her room. Her dirty dishes just piled up on the kitchen counter. It was enough to make you weep. One day, a roommate and
I washed everything up. A new start. Things would be better now, we thought. But they weren’t; the whole thing just started up again! We decided to pack all her dirty crockery into a cardboard box and leave it at her door. She just put the box with everything in it back on the kitchen counter. It became an ongoing battle, without a word being spoken. I wasn’t brave enough to put my foot down. When I did say something, it was more like: “Do you think you could please do some washing up, if you’ve got time?”
When she left, the girl left 65 rubbish bags on a balcony. I remember it clearly, because we’d just got those underground containers. I threw every single one into the container. This prompted a letter from the municipality telling me that I wasn’t supposed to dispose of so many bags in one go.
I also had a visit from the bailiff in that house. I hadn’t paid my municipal tax. I had no idea about things like that. I was 19 and it was the first time I’d ever heard of it. Although to be honest, it was partly laziness and procrastination.
My parents were worried when I left home: Would I start eating unhealthily? Would I spend too much money? Yep, I did it all. It’s part of the process. Living in Helpman made me grow up.’
Thomas Spekschoor (42),
climate correspondent with NOS, previously
EU correspondent in Brussels and home correspondent
for the same broadcasting service; studied history and
journalism at the UG from 2002 to 2008, spending one
of these years in France
His place
Helper Weststraat 2a
THOMAS SPEKSCHOOR
PHOTO: HENK VEENSTRA
PHOTO: STEFAN HEIJDENDAEL
AIN WONDRE STAD
Groningen. University.
But also countless streets, houses,
bridges, squares paved with memories.
Famous former UG students talk about
their special place.
AIN WONDRE STAD
Thomas Spekschoor (42),
climate correspondent with NOS, previously
EU correspondent in Brussels and home correspondent for the same broadcasting service; studied history and journalism at the UG from 2002 to 2008, spending one
of these years in France
His place
Helper Weststraat 2a
‘I couldn’t find a room, so I spent three months travelling back and forth between the Achterhoek (in the east of the Netherlands) and Groningen. Two-and-three-quarter hours there, and two-and-three-quarter hours back. It was so exhausting that I ended up falling asleep in the train and had to be woken up at the final destination, which was Rotterdam.
I should have changed trains in Zwolle.
I finally found a room to rent in Helpman. Someone I knew from my village, Lichtenvoorde, decided not to continue with his degree programme and let me take over his room. Six square metres, a bed, a cupboard, and a convector heater. But at least I had a room! Later on,
I moved into a bigger room in the same house.
The house itself was anonymous. Nobody really spoke to each other. One girl hardly ever left her room. Her dirty dishes just piled up on the kitchen counter. It was enough to make you weep. One day, a roommate and
I washed everything up. A new start. Things would be better now, we thought. But they weren’t; the whole thing just started up again! We decided to pack all her dirty crockery into a cardboard box and leave it at her door. She just put the box with everything in it back on the kitchen counter. It became an ongoing battle, without a word being spoken. I wasn’t brave enough to put my foot down. When I did say something, it was more like: “Do you think you could please do some washing up, if you’ve got time?”
When she left, the girl left 65 rubbish bags on a balcony. I remember it clearly, because we’d just got those underground containers. I threw every single one into the container. This prompted a letter from the municipality telling me that I wasn’t supposed to dispose of so many bags in one go.
I also had a visit from the bailiff in that house. I hadn’t paid my municipal tax. I had no idea about things like that. I was 19 and it was the first time I’d ever heard of it. Although to be honest, it was partly laziness and procrastination.
My parents were worried when I left home: Would I start eating unhealthily? Would I spend too much money? Yep, I did it all. It’s part of the process. Living in Helpman made me grow up.’
TEXT ELLIS ELLENBROEK