IRPRESUNIV.ORG, Cikarang – Foreign Affairs Division of PUMA IR under International Relations Study Program of President University had successfully conducted IR Excursion Study 2019 with the Netherlands, Brussels, and Paris as the destination. The participant 30 students from batch 2017-2018 on September, 3rd until September, 10th 2019. The participants have safely arrived at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam on Wednesday (4/9) morning. Followed with direct city tour to Zaanse Schans, discovering Dutch crafts and windmills. The trip continued to Volendam that famous with its fishing village and old Holland style.
On the second day, the participants were warmly welcomed on Embassy of the Republic Indonesia in The Hague, Netherlands. The presentation session was delivered by Minister Fikry Cassidy, Deputy Chief of Mission and with his other colleagues. There are some explanation about how Indonesia’s embassy were built in this country, the bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia, also some information about internship on the embassy itself. After the presentation, its proceed to the question and answer session from the students of President University’s International Relations Study Program that were answered by Minister Fikry Cassidy and his colleagues. The event had closed off with giving the token of appreciation to Minister Fikry Cassidy, and continued to the photo session which marked the end of the visit.
Three days in Amsterdam won’t be completed without a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. After discovering Amsterdam’s culture and also historic canals, the participants got a chance to visit Gassan Diamond, and got some explanation how a rough diamond is polished into a brilliant cut diamond, also the value of diamond itself. Then there are some free time on Damrak, the main street that leads from Amsterdam Central Station to Dam Square. On the fifth day of excursion study, the participants went to Atomium which is the landmark building in Brussels that were designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak. Paris, the capital city of France that famous with its romantic spotlight as the last destination was travelled almost 3,5 hours from Brussels. In Paris, the participants enjoyed some city tour from Musee du Louvre, Champ Elysees, Place de La Concorde Square, Arc de Triomphe, and other historical place to Eiffel Tower with French tour guide that can speak in Indonesian. Also after dinner, the participants won’t miss a perfect experience by exploring Paris with cruising along the Seine and the capital’s canals. After 12 hours flight from Monday (9/9) we left Paris from Charles de Gaulle Airport until Tuesday (10/9), the participants safely landed back to Jakarta, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport which marked the end of the IR Excursion Study 2019.
By: Julieta Permata Sari Chandra (IR 2018)