Me, Myself and the Dutch

PERSONAL DETAILS:
Where are you from?
Phoenix, Arizona
What university do/did you attend in the country of your origin?
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona
What university do/did you attend in the Netherlands?
NHTV Breda

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS
What kind of cultural expectations did you have before arriving about the Netherlands, and were they right?
I really was not sure what to think before coming to the Netherlands. I had not known anyone that had come this area. But the little research that I do on the Netherlands before coming give me the impression that the fashion and food is a lot different than what it actually is. I read and I was also told that the fashion in the Netherlands was more dress and not a casual as it is. When I was told about the food I was kind of worried that I would not be able to find many places to eat out and try the different type of food. In some cases that is the truth, there are not many locations that you a vegetarian can eat out. In the states in every restaurant that you go to there is at least one type of salad on the menu. I think that this would deter people vegetarians in the Netherlands from eating out. I was not really sure what to expect with the schools. Before coming here we had meetings with advisors who told us that they school was going to be much harder than it was when we got here. The main things that I was not prepared for was the large amounts of group work as well as writing papers.

Did you have any language barriers in the Netherlands?
There really was no language barrier when I came to the Netherlands. It is true that the people in the Netherlands do not speak perfect for English but they know the basic concepts and it is enough to carry on a normal conversation. The only thing that I found hard was when I was writing a paper with a group of Dutch speaking people. I would use words that they would not know as well I use more advanced grammar that they do not know so it is was hard having to explain everything to them.

Did you experience any kind of culture related miscommunication?
The only thing that I noticed that was a culture related miscommunication was the openness of the Dutch people. I mean people are judging people before they actually know them. I mean people in the United States do this as well but they would never tell the person to their face. As the Dutch people are just straight forwarded that they will come a straight up to you and tell you how they are feeling about you. That was the only main culture related miscommunication that I noticed.

After your arrival, what surprised you about the Netherlands?
The main thing that I noticed when I first arrived in the Netherlands was the lack of the larger cars and cars in general. I first stayed in Amsterdam and noticed that there is not many people are driving around in cars. And the cars that I did see where much smaller than the normal car that I would see in the US. The other main thing that I was surprised by when I first arrived in the Netherlands was the friendliness of the Dutch people. I mean I had just gotten into the city and everyone was there to help me. Especially the hotel clerk helped me with everything that I needed to do. Another thing that I found striking was the size of the cities. They are much smaller than the normal city in the US.

STUDYING IN THE NETHERLANDS
Were the people you get in touch with mostly Dutch, other Exchange students or people from your own country?
When I first come to the Netherlands I kind of keep to myself and then the main people that I hung out with were Americans. I did not even hang out with my own roommates at first but now that I have been here longer I branched out and I hang out with everyone. I have a lot of Dutch people, as well as exchange students. It is good to hang out with everyone because it gives so many different aspects of things. The main thing that I like about it is when I travel I will know someone in a lot of the countries that I plan to travel to. So when I am there I can send them a message and we can hang out.

What is the difference in communicating with teachers compared to your own culture?
The main difference with communicating with teacher in the Netherlands is they don’t seem to have much time to sit down and help you. When I am at home and even when I am here if I need help with someone many of teachers would drop everything to help the students. It may be the fact the classes are much smaller at my school in the States and the teachers are able to get to know you. The biggest thing that noticed was when I was to email one of my teachers in the Netherlands it could take about two days to hear a response from them. Which is sometimes to late if I need to know something soon. I mean if I need to know something from my other school in the States I just send an email and in less than a day I have email explaining everything to me.

How does the Dutch school system differ from your own?
The only main difference between the two schools would be the amount of group work and the amount of papers that you are required to write. At my school is more you go to class sit and listen to the lectures and then you take a test or a quiz based the on the information that you have learned.

What are, in your opinion, the advantages of studying in the Netherlands?
The advantages of studying in the Netherlands are that you get a wide range of different people and background teaching. And since this is a large draw for tourist it is a great place to go and get that view on the European tourism. But I feel that they are many reason to study aboard whether it is the Netherlands or anywhere else.

What are, in your opinion, the disadvantages of studying in the Netherlands?
For me the disadvantages are the way of teaching. I really dislike having to sit and write a very large paper. I would rather take a test. Also I dislike group work I feel that the work that I do is much better if I was to do it myself and not have to work with a group of people that all have different backgrounds. The worst thing that they do is to have a group students write a large paper and that is hard because everyone in that group as different opinions of how things should be done and then you never get work done.

If you had to make a choice again, would you choose to study in the Netherlands again? Why or why not?
I do not think that I would study here again. I would rather study someone where that I can study about hotels. I am going to school for hotel and restaurants and not tourism. And I was not able to go to school at the hotel school in Breda so I had to do tourism instead. I think if I had to choose where I wanted to study I think that I would be France. I love the way their hotels and the country. And it would just be a great experience since many of our hotels in the states are just like the hotels in France.

LEISURE:
What do/did you do in your spare time?
In my spare time while I was here I did some travelling and the main thing that I did was just hung out with the people that I have meet while I was here.

What are the differences in going to a restaurant, bar or club in the Netherlands?
The difference of going to a restaurant here is the fact the servers are not worried about “tips” since most people do not “tip” the server they are not constantly checking on you. They are more worried about getting people in and out of the restaurant so that they can make more money. The main difference in the bars or clubs is that amount of people that they let into them. In states these bars would never be able to have this many people in them just because it is unsafe. As well the music is much different. We do not play house music we play more music that is on the top charts. Another thing that is different is the size of the bars. Our normal bar is about two to three times much larger.

What kind of parties did you attend in the Netherlands, and were there many of them?
The main parties that I attended when student parties that were held in the bars. As well as student parties I also attended some house parties which sometimes I feel are much better than the student parties because you have a better chance to talk to the people that are at the party.

Did you experience any differences in rules about dating or relationships?
I really did not experience them myself because I tried not to date anyone while I was here because I knew that I would not be here that long. But on my friends was dating someone here. And the main difference that I noticed is that they rush into a relationship here. I mean the two spent a lot of time together but that does not mean that you are dating someone and when he said something about them dating she told him that they were not dating because she did not want a relationship while she was here and he got made and called her a very disrespectful name and they have not talked since. The other main difference that i have noticed is that when we break up with someone that we are dating then sometimes you will remain friends and that is opposite here.

OTHER SUBJECTS:
What are the differences in financing your student life compared to your own country?
Everything is about the same with financing my student life. My parents have agreements with me that as long as I keep good grades they will pay for my schooling because they want all their children to graduate from large universities and hopefully go on get their masters. The only thing that I am not used to paying for is the travelling which right now is really expensive for Americans since the dollar is so weak compared to other currencies.

What kind of differences in foods did you experience compared to your own country?
I did not notice a big difference is the foods that you can buy here. I mean there are a few smaller things but I mean that is the same with different area of the States as well. It just depends on what that person would rather eat.

What do you think of the Dutch people?
I think that Dutch people are really nice I just do not like the fact that they are so straight forwarded. I have big problem with people judging people before you actually know them. I used to do this but I did not like it when someone did it to me so now I will get to know someone before I decided that I do not like them.

What kind of advice would you give to new exchange students?
The only advice that I can give to future students is come out your shell and get to know people. There are many people that are studying here right now that do want to take the time to get to know new people and would rather talk to the people that they know from their country. If you want to do this than it is not worth studying aboard, this is supposed to be a life changing experience and giving you a chance to get a idea of how things are outside of you own country.

‘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 Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 4:41 pm and is filed under USA. 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.