Rowing is a very typical sport for students in the Netherlands. In a relative short period of time, it is possible to train excellent rowing skills. For example, three of our rowers started the Olympic Games in Rio without even stepping in a rowing boat before their college time. Two of them even won a medal! Whether you want to train every day of would rather enjoy a beer on our terrace as much as a light peddle in the sun, rowing is what connects our ambitious association! Besides rowing there are multiple other ways to broaden your college experience at Proteus like parties, festival weeks, a wintersport trip. All events are organised by our own members, so even organizing one of the biggest rowing competitions in the Netherlands or one of our festival weeks!. At Proteus you make friends for the rest of your life to make Delft your new home as soon as possible. Even though Dutch is the official language, there are some international students that join Proteus every year! Read the stories of 3 foreign Proteus members below!
Katie
I moved from Canada to the Netherlands in 2018 to start my
Master’s and was looking for a way to get involved in
student life while meeting a few Dutch friends outside of
the international bubble. During the orientation week I
heard about the roeivrerenigingen (rowing societies) on
campus and decided to sign up for Proteus. At the time I had
no idea what I was getting into, but it’s the best decision
I could’ve made. It’s also been a cool way to learn Dutch,
even if it’s mostly rowing terms!
After a 5 weeks intro-to-rowing period, you can
continue in either the competitie or wedstrijd stream (I
still don’t know the English words for these because they
both translate to competition). Competitie rowing is the
more chill stream where you can choose your own amount of
training, while wedstrijd rowing is a bigger commitment.
Apart from rowing, there are also lots of ways to get
involved in the rowing society through boards/clubs and
social events.
In my first year, I ended up in a competitie team that
we named Ongekend (translates to unprecedented or unknown)!
We were very fanatiek (enthusiastic) about rowing and put a
lot of effort into training but also went to many of the
borrels (drinks/parties) throughout the season.
In my second year at Proteus I joined the selectie
(tryouts) for wedstrijd rowing and ending up in the
Eerstejaars Lichte Dames Ploeg (Freshman Lightweight Ladies
Team). It was echt gezellig (this also doesn’t translate
well but means something really positive). So I am grateful
for the experiences I’ve had at Proteus and I’m looking
forward to next year.
Emre
I'm Emre Karaosmanoglu, I come from Turkey and I have a
French background. I am doing my Mechanical engineering
bachelor at the TU Delft. But since the bachelor of
Mechanical engineering is in Dutch, I had first to learn
Dutch in 6 months in 2018-19 then start my studies in 2019.
Apart from this I was a youth rower for 4 years and I
was determined to row in the Netherlands. I heard a lot
about Proteus-Eretes since when I was in Turkey. And during
my OWee I registered myself for this team. Everyone was
incredibly nice. And I had one goal, to row with the best
ones of this team. Then my first year started as my rowing
career with Proteus. From the beginning I did the selection
for the professional Proteus Heavyweight team. We were
training 6-7 times a week. I was at the same time worried
about my BSA and also the intense racing season that was
about to start. But everything went so well for my studies
and at Proteus thanks to everyone I know. They never made me
feel like a foreigner. We quickly became a family and
everyone helped me either with my studies or with my rowing
career. And I also started DJing for parties at Proteus
(which are absolutely amazing). In short, Proteus-Eretes is
for everyone and it doesn`t matter if you want to row at top
level or just have fun with your teammates at parties.
Marko
Hi, my name is Marko. I come from Slovakia. I study computer
science, and I am a member of Proteus-Eretes since my first
year in Delft.
What I like about rowing is the balance it brings to
my student life. In school, I get exhausted mentally. At
Proteus-Eretes, I can break a sweat on an erg (ergometer),
or I can calm my mind in a boat, surrounded by beautiful
nature around the Delftse Schie.
In my first year, I wanted to have enough time for
studying, but also row a lot. That is why I opted for
competition rowing (competitieroeien). I had enough time to
focus on school, and with my teammates, I traveled all over
the Netherlands for rowing competitions. Together, we had
fun at parties and rowed hard in a boat.
In my second year, I signed up for selection to pro
rowing (wedstrijdroeien). I made it into the freshmen`s
heavyweight team. The experience was something entirely
else. Being in a group of people so dedicated to winning,
pushed me to my limits every training.
During all this time, I got around Proteus-Eretes just
fine with speaking English. Everyone there is friendly, and
being part of an association is like finding a new family.
During my experience, I have learned many new things about
the dutch, student, and rowing culture. These are the
memories I will keep my whole life.