Me, Myself and the Dutch

PERSONAL DETAILS:
Where are you from?
Latvia
What university do/did you attend in the country of your origin?
Vidzemes University
What university do/did you attend in the Netherlands?
NHTV

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS
What kind of cultural expectations did you have before arriving about the Netherlands, and were they right?
Expectations before I came: Open- minded, straight forward and tolerant people. Bikes, tulips, canals and legal drugs.
My expectation were correct.

Did you have any language barriers in the Netherlands?
Not at all. Almost everybody speaks English from your fellow student to the lady in flower shop.

Did you experience any kind of culture related miscommunication?
As I count myself an open minded person, didn’t have any miscommunication, at least nothing to serious that I could remember.
Maybe sometimes when Dutch people is too straight forward and too honest I found it a bit rude, but that was just in the beginning. Got to use to it fast.

After your arrival, what surprised you about the Netherlands?
There where many positive surprises. I was surprised how important the bike is and was surprised that everybody is using them, doesn’t meter if your a student or a manager in a bank.
The Dutch food surprised me. I found it unhealthy and without any variety, sure there are many international restaurants and if you can cook yourself it shouldn’t be a problem.

STUDYING IN THE NETHERLANDS
Were the people you get in touch with mostly Dutch, other Exchange students or people from your own country?
Dutch, exchange and international full time students.

What is the difference in communicating with teachers compared to your own culture?
Back home teachers dress formal, talk formal and for a student it is not that comfortable to communicate with them because you always have to think how to say thinks so it sounds polite and formal. In the end it makes a communication unnatural.
Here you are at the same level as the teachers are, with that I mean you can talk with a teacher easily, they are open - minded, they dress informal and the atmosphere is more natural and free.

How does the Dutch school system differ from your own?
The ECTS system is different. In Latvia sufficient mark is 4, instead of 5,5 in The Netherlands which made my life a bit harder. Everything else is almost the same, just found the subjects here more useful for my future then the ones in Latvia.

What are, in your opinion, the advantages of studying in the Netherlands?
The studies is in English.

What are, in your opinion, the disadvantages of studying in the Netherlands?
The organization is not that snug (talking about NHTV). many times the classes has been canceled without any warning, or the teacher just do not show up for the lecture.

If you had to make a choice again, would you choose to study in the Netherlands again? Why or why not?
I would do it again. Never regretted my choice. The studies where useful and the student life was a lot of fun.

LEISURE:
What do/did you do in your spare time?
payed basketball, went swimming, went to clubs, bars, home parties, relaxed, traveled.

What are the differences in going to a restaurant, bar or club in the Netherlands?
In The Netherlands the variety is much bigger then back home, much more places to hang out or go to eat.

What kind of parties did you attend in the Netherlands, and were there many of them?
Did attend different kind of parties. The difference is that in The Netherlands the student organizations (Compass etc) are more active so there are much more parties with different themes and different activities. But in general the parties are the same, with the same aim - to have fun.

Did you experience any differences in rules about dating or relationships?
Didn’t feel any difference.

OTHER SUBJECTS:
What are the differences in financing your student life compared to your own country?
The rent was two times higher then in Latvia. Everything else was a bit more expensive but the difference was not that big. I got and scholarship but still my parents had to help me and in the end I was working as well.

What kind of differences in foods did you experience compared to your own country?
As I mentioned earlier the difference was huge for me. In Latvia we eat warm meal in the lunch, in The Netherlands its just a sandwich so it was really hard for me to get a warm food for lunch. Dutch people eat a lot of snacks which in Latvia is not popular at all. Didn’t get use to the food in The Netherlands even I lived here for almost a year.

What do you think of the Dutch people?
Nice, open minded, tolerant, happy and tall

What kind of advice would you give to new exchange students?
Buy a bike and a good lock. Be open minded and enjoy The Netherlands to the fullest.

‘THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS INTERVIEW!’
To emphasize the objectivity this document has been duplicated literally. Therefore there might be some inaccuracy in the English grammar and vocabulary.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Latvia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.