Your passport, wallet and phone charger – items you’d rather not forget when you go on holiday. What other things do Avans students say you should pack when you go on a trip?
Rachele De Benedetto, second-year Finance & Control student in Breda
“What I take with me on every trip is an envelope of photos of me and my boyfriend. We’ve been together nearly a year and we met in an Italian bar. I often look at the photos, especially on my birthday. That’s a special day for me. I keep them in my laptop case.”
Anne den Besten, first-year Public Administration student in Den Bosch
“It sounds obvious, but I’m never going to forget my phone again when I travel. When I was in Albufeira with my friends, I lost everyone while we were out. When I wanted to message them, I realised my phone was still in the hotel. I always put it in my bag, but this time I had forgotten my phone. It was stressful because it was very busy and I didn’t speak very good English. I tried to describe my friends to a barman, to ask whether he had seen them, but with no luck. After two hours, I literally bumped into my friends. They had been looking for me all that time, but we kept on missing each other.”
Tjebbe van Bergen, second-year Computer Science student in Den Bosch
“I never forget to pack my walking boots when I travel in the Netherlands or abroad. They are good for walking long distances in and they are waterproof. I did some great hiking in Luxembourg, and in the Black Forest in Germany. I choose places to go on holiday that offer good hiking. I like sun and sea, but I prefer to go to areas of natural beauty.”
Anastasia Rebrova, second-year Finance & Control student in Breda
“My lip gloss goes with me wherever I go and I never forget to pack it. I really love it and always wear it. I have about six different varieties. My favourite one is by Dior. It’s transparent and it goes with everything. And it’s really good quality.”
Jay Schutte, Write LOUD minor student at St. Joost School of Art & Design in Breda
“What you should never forget when you go away is your belt. I realised that when I was in Barcelona and spent three days with my trousers falling down. When I’d had enough of it, I decided to make my own. I found a video on TikTok explaining how to do it, and I got to work. I bought the buckle and I made the belt myself using materials including zinc. It took me a couple of days and it was a lot of work getting the right thickness, but I managed it. Since then, I have appreciated belts more and I have started wearing them more often.”
Roos Cornet, second-year student at the School of Education in Breda
“I’m always looking for stuff. So when I go on holiday, I’ve started taking a bag with me to put my things in. Before then, I would take everything separately, and that often caused me problems. Recently when I went to Texel, I thought I’d lost my phone on the ferry over. It turned out that I’d left it in a compartment in the car, but I only realised that after two hours. Those hours were horrible and I learned a lesson: take a bag.”
Petar Solakov, second-year Finance & Control student in Breda
“I love my ‘bugs’, they’re like AirPods. I hate not having them on me when I travel. If I’m travelling alone, I’ll listen to music, podcasts or audio books. Recently I realised I had forgotten to bring them when I was on a flight. That was really annoying.”
This article appeared in Dutch in Punt magazine ‘Grenzeloos’ (boundless). You can pick up the magazine for free at the various Avans locations.
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