PortfolioCreative Writing

By Teun van Son

European Humanities University

Supervisor: Dr.Olga Sasunkevich

DiaryAcknowledgementsReviewCVFeedback

Vilnius, 2016

Contents

25689

2

I wake up. It’s the kind of waking up that starts with the transition from sleeping to slumbering, then slum-

bering to snoozing, and as I slowly get conscious of the world around me, I realize that I have all the time in

the world to make this process as long as I want. So I turn around, open up my eyes and look at the pat-

tern on the wall for a bit. It’s a repeating pattern of blue flowers over a yellow background. I see it without

thinking much, realizing I’m still halfway between sleep and awakening. It’s not often that this balance is

so stable, so I decide to enjoy every second of it. I don’t remember dreaming anything. When I tract back

the minutes I see only black, no exciting story or bizarre pictures. As I turn around once again I realize how

I’ve gotten used to this place. Less than two months ago I went to Vilnius, leaving behind practically ev-

erything. Well, all immaterial things at least. I took my laptop with me, only to lose it in a trolley during the

first week of my studies. I got over it within a day. But even leaving behind my family was surprisingly easy.

The moment itself was difficult of course, and at the airport I felt like I didn’t want to go at all. Even if it

meant seeing my girlfriend again, and not just for one or two weeks like it had been before, but for at least 6

months. That prospect was alluring, but walking away from my parents and my younger brother was incred-

ibly difficult. And now, lying in bed with my girlfriend next to me – I think she’s still sleeping – I can’t say I

ever felt like that again. Of course I miss them, as well as my family and my friends, but I feel at home here,

and that’s what matters.

It’s 10:30. My girlfriend just left to her university and I have to work on some things for my own studies. I

have about three or four hours until I have to go to my university and I want to use my time well. As soon as

I’m home alone I get this feeling of freedom, the feeling that I can do whatever I want. While this is techni-

cally true, I shouldn’t give in to it. I have stuff to work on. Although, I’m not exactly sure what, and in what

order. And I see that there’s dishes in the sink, I should clean them too. But first I should allow myself a little

rest. Go to Youtube and see if there’s something new and interesting.

…

11:42. I should really get to work. See what I have to do and just start. I’ve been watching videos for over an

hour now, that’s typical. Oh yes, I have to write for Creative Writing. I want to write that auto-ethnography.

It seems challenging, but I think it’s what I find the most interesting. I’ve always liked noticing things and

making up ideas about the world around me. I should just start writing. I start writing about my girlfriend

and how our cultural differences affect us. It’s a topic I find truly interesting, but I can’t seem to structure it

Diary

3

right. After being stuck at two-thirds of the page for more than 15 minutes, I stop. I’ll finish it some other

day. Or not, maybe I made it too difficult for myself, maybe I should just drop it. I’m not sure what else I

was supposed to be working on, and I let myself get distracted once again. I’m annoyed that things are not

going the way I hoped. I don’t feel like trying to get anything done anymore, I’m just not capable of doing

anything meaningful today. I get a message from my girlfriend, asking me if I want to meet for a coffee. I

reply:

It’s the first warm day in Vilnius. The sun is pleasantly burning and the air feels soft. Every change in sea-

son brings a brief nostalgia for last year. Now that I walk around with an open jacket in the sun, I feel like I

felt last year in summer, or maybe I always feel the same way in summer. As if the cold weather had made

me forget what summer feels like. I’m still annoyed by my lack of productivity from this morning, but the

weather charges my annoyance into an energetic frustration, and I can’t help but to be slightly amused by

my own mood. I jump in the trolley and get on my way to my girlfriend and a much-wanted coffee.

I’m sitting in the back of the trolley on my way to the university. I’ve always liked sitting in the back. As I

realize this, I think of a very crude joke that makes me grin and that will never see the light of day. A few

stops before mine, a man in his fifties sits next to me. As he’s slightly bigger than his seat, he occupies

part of mine too. He doesn’t smell great, but in the segment of over-fifty men on trolleys in Lithuania, he’s

probably above-average. I suspect that he drinks. He might not be an alcoholic, but he simply doesn’t look

cared-for enough to be free from the stuff. One of the other men in the trolley starts talking to me in Lithu-

anian. He’s a bit younger than the man sitting next to me, and his tone is loud but not unfriendly. I ask him

if he speaks English, and he starts over, asking me if I smoke. I say “no, sorry”. I assume he wanted to ask

me if I have a light or a cigarette. But he doesn’t seem to be disappointed. Instead he sits down next to the

fifty-something guy, and asks me where I’m from. “You’re from the Netherlands and you don’t smoke?” is

the somewhat mocking reply when I answer him. I’m pretty sure that people here smoke much, much more

than in the Netherlands, but I tactfully don’t speak my mind about this.

It turns out that the two guys know each other, and I get into a chat with both of them, although the other

one doesn’t speak more than two words of English. The younger guy tells me that he’s from Russia, that

he’s worked in Belgium for two years and that he lives in Vilnius for a year now. His English is broken but

understandable. I wonder how he worked in Belgium with that level of English. Maybe he speaks French?

4

He goes on to tell me that he was exiled from Russia for stealing, I don’t think of asking him what it is that

he stole. He’s clearly down on his luck. He looks about as well kept as the other guy. With a big smile on

his face he says he’s in Vilnius to drink and fuck, and even though saying that is the easiest way to make

me judge you, my smile in response is not purely politeness. He’s a friendly guy. Socially gauche, no doubt,

and with a skewed view of morality perhaps, but it seems like it comes from a good place. The guy next to

me points to himself and says something that sounds like “skinhead” – although he didn’t have the look,

so up until now I’m not sure what he really said – and he makes slow punching movements while he says

something in Lithuanian. The younger man translates it: “he hits well”. I smile and feign being impressed.

Of course I couldn’t be less impressed by a guy that self-proclaims that he punches well, but at this point the

two are friendly enough to have won over my sympathy.

They get out at the same stop as I do. To get something to drink from the Iki, apparently. As I turn around

to walk away I tell them to “take care”, which is my way of saying “please don’t drink yourselves into a

coma”. After I say it I realize that even if I did tell them this literally, it would be nothing more than naïve

from my part. I would like to see them stop drinking and start taking part in society. But is that what they

would want? Is that what would make them happy? And why do I even assume they aren’t already taking

part in society? The more I think about this, the more I dislike myself and my own assumptions. When

someone’s experience of the world is so drastically different from yours that it’s beyond comparison, there’s

no use in wanting that person to change. It’s better to be friendly and not challenge their beliefs and lifestyle.

Adapt, just for a moment, to their world and see the difference you’re making. As I wait for the light to turn

green, I hear someone shouting behind me. “Olandija!” I turn around to see the two guys, the younger of

which is shouting and lifting up his hands. I can’t help but laugh and wave back. I then turn back and cross

the road, towards the university. I wonder how they would react when they would be placed in one of the

classes. Welcome to this class of Public Understanding of Social Sciences and Humanities. Would they think

it’s all nonsense? What would they say of this text? I think it would mean very little to them. Nevertheless, I

walk to the university with a smile on my face.

5

AcknowledgementsI would like to take this opportunity to thank some people, without whom I could’ve never finished my in-

ternship and made this report in the way I did:

Sandra Smits, who was of great help as my mentor during my internship and who helped me make sense

of the study assignments. The talks with her were uplifting and she has been a very pleasant, open-minded

person to work with;

Janneke van Oijen, my mentor at the venue, who helped me adapt to the culture of the workplace and who

was my first aid when I needed help, both with practical and personal issues;

Lenny Boschman, who was a very pleasant colleague and who helped me with a range of activities, from

teaching me to write texts to brave attempts to show me how social media marketing works (and of course

the delightful discussions about the Oxford comma);

Yara Drissen, my fellow intern, to whom I’m indebted to a lot of knowledge and with whom I enjoyed walk-

ing through the city and spreading posters;

The other colleagues I had the pleasure of sharing an office with, who together built the atmosphere that I

enjoyed working in every day;

Marja and John, who have been an amazing support for the promotions team for so many years, and whose

visits formed a weekly bright spot in the office;

All staff and volunteers, who help make this venue the beautiful place that it is.

to my internship report

6

Reviewof the tour through the energy and technology museum in Vilnius

Lithuanians know a lot about their country, and they love telling people about it. This is one of the first

things I noticed when I first visited Lithuania, and the tour through the Energy and Technology museum

once again showcased this.

The Energy and Technology museum is located just outside of the Old Town of Vilnius. It was built as a

power plant in 1903 because Vilnius wanted to be independent of Germany for their gas. It functioned until

1998, and in 2002 the Energy and Technology museum was opened.

Walking into the building, we were greeted by an enormous industrial machine, full of pipelines and cham-

bers. All components had bright colors. Later it was explained that the colors were meant to separate the

different functions of the components; blue pipes carried cold water, red pipes hot water, et cetera. Of course

the installation isn’t in use anymore, but it was an impressive start of the tour.

The main tour guide was enthusiastic and happy-looking, which in itself made it pleasant to follow his sto-

ries. He told enthusiastically and off-the-cuff about the history of the building and its place in Vilnius for the

past century, while showing various exhibits in the building to support what he was saying.

During the tour, the museum was used as a backdrop for the history, instead of the other way around. The

machines, instruments and pictures gave color to the stories being told, which I liked a lot. I prefer hearing

what people have to say over simply looking at things. That said, I would have liked to see more of the mu-

seum itself. The tour showcased only three rooms, and even though I liked the depth the tour was giving to

every place, it did leave me wondering about the other rooms.

Moreover, the tour was at times a bit technical. The many sociological and historical concepts that were used

were sometimes hard to understand for me, and I can imagine that they would be even harder to understand

for the average layperson. I’m all for creating depth when talking about history, but a little more time devot-

ed to explaining some concepts and ideas would’ve made it easier to follow.

After the main part of the tour, there was a presentation about a data center project in the north of Sweden.

This part wasn’t so much connected with the city or the museum, but rather with the general theme of urban

planning. Although the subject was quite interesting, the presenter didn’t manage to spark my interest in the

same way the tour guide did before her. The presentation was largely read from sheets of paper, which made

7

it difficult for me to stay focused. However, when the presenter was answering questions and not reading

from the paper, she instantly regained my interest.

Overall, I look back positively on the tour. It was an interesting and in-depth look at a fascinating piece of

history. I would’ve liked to have a more complete look at the museum, but the sacrifice of quantity for the

sake of quality is an understandable one, even if it turned out to be a bit too technical at times. The presen-

tation in the latter part of the tour was somewhat lifeless but nonetheless interesting. It’s definitely a recom-

mended experience if you’re interested in city planning or the history of the city of Vilnius.

8

CV

Teunvan Son

www.teunvanson.wordpress.com

teunvanson@gmail.com+370 614 06944

Geležinio Vilko g. 19-58Vilnius, Lithuania

ExperienceMEZZ CONCERTS & DANCE // AUG 2015 - JAN 2016Communication & promotion intern  - Designed promotional materials for diff erent media  - Managed distribution of promotional materials  - Filmed and edited short promotional videos  - Maintained social media  - Managed online analytics  - Wrote promotional texts  - Created and realized promotional plans

RUN FOR A SMILE // YEARLY // 2014 - NOWDesign & support volunteer  - Designed printed promotional materials  - Provided general support

BREDA BARST FESTIVAL // YEARLY // 2011 - NOWPromotion & support volunteer  - Distributed promotional material  - Accompanied and guided the artists & gear  - Provided general support

EducationFONTYS ACI // 2013 - 2017Bachelor communication for the creative industries  - Third year  - Specializations in fi lm and music industries  - Member of the Curriculum Committee

EUROPEAN HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY // MAR - JUL 2016Minor media and communication  - Courses in media design and creative writing

OLV BREDA // 2007 - 2013Atheneum  - Profi le Economy & Society  - Extra courses Music and Informatics

Skills  - Creating promotion/communication plans  - Designing promotional products  - Thinking freely and creatively  - Communicating clearly

Software  - Windows and Mac OS  - Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator and   Premiere Pro  - Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Google Drive  - Learning Adobe After Eff ects

Languages  - Dutch // Native  - English // C2  - French // B1  - German // A2  - Lithuanian // A1

9

Feedbackon the portfolio of sviatlana aleinikava

Narrative autobiography

I really like this. It’s an interesting text to read and it honestly makes me want to know more about you. I’m

wondering if you made the conscious choice to mostly address your academic life and not other aspects like

family life, personal life, et cetera. Maybe this is because your academic life is the most important for you

right now? In any case, I like your writing style. This text feels personal even though not a lot of personal

statements have been made, maybe because I can sense the honesty in what you’re writing. I changed a few

grammar points here and there because I’m a bit pedantic.

Review

A very informative review, and you clearly did your homework. The information and analysis of the tour

are both very full and interesting to read. I would’ve liked to see some more elaborate criticism of the things

you didn’t like. You say that the tour was “pretty interesting”, so maybe there were things that could’ve been

improved? And you couldn’t really keep your focus on the lecture, but why was that? I would maybe give a

bit more constructive criticism on what could’ve been improved to make it an even better experience. I do

like your structure, it’s very pleasant to read and it has a clear beginning, middle and end.

Diary

I absolutely love this. Over the past few months I have taught myself to grab a marker and mark things I

find interesting in a text, and while reading this I constantly had the urge to look for a marker. The subject

to some people might not seem like the most personal or brave, but I know myself how difficult the feeling

you’re describing can be, and how difficult it is to even admit that you simply don’t know what you want to

do with your life yet. As someone who is experiencing the same right now, I can say that it was incredibly

pleasant to read this. Your choice of words is great, and at times you describe things clearer than they even

are in my head. I have very little to criticize here, except from maybe a few tiny grammar things here and

there, and the usage of “say” 3 times in one paragraph (“say”, “let’s say” and “I would say”). But this is real-

ly nitpicking, this is just a great text. Personal, brave and very well-written.

Acknowledgements

Very good, and even heartwarming to read. Your sincerity shines through in your choice of words. I do

think that acknowledgements are usually written in the third person, using “he”, “she” and “they” instead

of “you”, but I’m not sure if this is a requirement. On the other hand, the use of “you” does make it more

personal and less formal, which I quite liked here.