Letter home

I study Environmental Chemistry and Technology at Centria and I spent the autumn semester studying in Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, Netherlands. The program I joined was project intensive, with 22 out of 30 credits dedicated to project work. The project work involved a lot of independent work though we also had a project coach that we could consult if we got stuck. The project work was quite similar to the ones we have at Centria so we had to write a project report, had a mid-term and end-term presentation and we had to make and present a poster. I only had two theoretical courses and I found them tough but at the same time interesting.

I spent the majority of my studies mainly with my project group members. My group members were diverse and so it happened often that we clashed because of different cultures and different work ethics but in the end we had a successful project. I find the study culture in Netherlands similar to Finland in that the teachers encourage and expect independent study. The teachers are also on a first name basis and are very approachable.

For me, everyday life involved about 6km bike ride from my hosts home to school (if I happened to have a class or group meeting). I often enjoyed these bike rides except when it rained (which it did a lot). The Hanze campus is merged with the University of Groningen's so there are many buildings in that area. After my class or project work, I would then head home or to the shops. The ESN (Erasmus Student Network) also organized many activities so I participated in many of these during the week as well as the weekend.

The most challenging me for me was the courses which I found quite tough. Most of it was new to me so I had to study quite a lot independently. However, the highlight of my studies was meeting so many interesting people. Groningen is a student city with up to 20 000 students so I ended up meeting people from all walk's of life.

D-I-E Netherlands

Written by Fiona Mwacharo

I have been in Netherlands for about a week and I love it. It is quite different than Finland. The city in which I am staying in, Groningen, is a student city with over 20 000 students. The average age is approximately 34 years for the residents here so there are a lot of young people and activities for young adults here. So here is my D-I-E experience

Describe

The Dutch are incredibly good at small talk, so much so that they end up talking about, what I feel is, super personal things just a few minutes after having met them. For example, my student group at the school was tasked with giving a small ppt introduction about themselves. Most people gave the usual information about their age and their hobbies but for the Dutch they went a step more. One of the Dutch students told that he was a Christian and had recently proposed to his girlfriend and that they would be married at the end of the year. Having lived in Finland for the past 10 years, I have become accustomed to the Finnish culture and I know that there is no way a Finnish student would discuss something so personal in front of people they had just met. Another Dutch student also talked about being engaged. Plus with other conversations with other Dutch people, I have seen that they are incredibly open people and can more or less give their life story after meeting someone for the first time. This is incredibly shocking for me.

Interpret

After encountering a handful of Dutch people who have been just as open, my interpretation is that this is a common thing in Netherlands. The people are overall incredibly friendly and just want to get to know other people. Maybe for them, giving such details is not too personal and they are not shy to give all kinds of details about their life.

Evaluate

After some googling I found that this is a typical Dutch stereotype. They are known for being open minded and being friendly and also discussing everything and anything under the sun even after meeting someone for the first time. Overall, this is something that at first made me feel weird but I am learning to adapt and be just as open as they are.

D-I-E Netherlands

D-I-E, Phong Ho, Netherlands

These were what I hear in Welcome Day for international student of Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (a city in Netherlands):
- Do you know that Netherlands is country with more bicycles than people?
- One survival lesson for new students is how to lock your bicycles correctly!
I think those are jokes.  Lesson about bicycle locking is over 15 minutes and was taught carefully. It is also like a marketing for bicycle lock and bicycles store. However, from those sharing, we could understand more about Dutch culture.

At first, I have no idea why there are a lot bicycle in Netherlands. Besides, although I know that bicycle is one main transportation in Netherlands, I think locking a bicycle is really simple. Why do they make it seriously? If many bicycles were stolen in Groningen, so they taught us about that. It was not normal for me because the police had been surprised when I had informed about my stolen bicycle Kokkola (Finland) police station. However, why does Hanze just not send new students an email as warning? Many stolen bicycles mean that the city is not safe. If the school doesn’t hide it, they should not public it like that. Having a bicycle is a kind of scary here. Maybe they just told us a joke...

After that, I knew that many bicycles was stolen in the city is real. Some sound like a joke, but they are serious. That shown Dutch culture. They are direct. they see straight to problems and try to find solutions. Maybe because they taught students to lock bicycle well, bicycles are more than people. Many international students come to Netherlands for study every year. They mostly stay from 6 months to 4 years and get out. They get out Netherlands, but their bicycles with good locks are stay.

From that time, I know that I will learn many things in Netherlands. Besides, Dutchs are humor. They smile with problem. They end lesson with a joke:
- If you do not loose bicycle three times, you did not really live in Netherlands. If you lost bicycle 5 times, you are like a Dutch. If you lost bicycle 7 times, we will beg you to get a Dutch citizenship.

After five months, I really learn a lot from my exchange study!

Phong Ho - Smiling from Netherlands

Hi friends,

My name is Phong Ho. In Finland, I study Environmental Chemistry and Technology in Centria University of Applied Sciences. From September of 2018 to the January of 2019, I had an exchange study in Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands. My exchange program is Renewable Energy, Materials and Processing. This time is valuable experience.

Generally, studying and daily-life in Netherland are quite different from Finland. They are different in details, also. Campus of Hanze is located in same place with campus of Groningen, so that area like a village with many large building from many faculty. Hanze university is much more crowded, diversity. In here, it is easy to meet all nationalities around the world. I had about three subjects per period. The hardest is project subject and the easiest is about Dutch culture. There were about twenty students in my class with half Dutch students and half international students. As exchange students, we had some field trip with bicycles to experience Dutch culture with other international friends. For other subjects, it is quite similar in Finland. I had lectures, assignments, group-work and presentation. From my point of view, teaching in Netherlands is not as freedom as in Finland.

For challenges, there are housing problem. About housing problem, Netherlands has serious housing crisis. In September, over 100 students did not have apartment. A big tent is located by school in campus (outside buildings) for some students. School also provided students live in a secondary school or a boat. I did not use these services. I traveled some hours per day for studying my between my relative house (in Einhoven) and school. Someday, my friends hosted me. However, I have apartment at November. This time is new experience for me.

To sum up, studying in Netherlands give me valuable experience and opportunity to live in a new place with new culture. During that time, I understood deeply about myself, recognized some problems which I had not realized before. I think exchange study is valuable chance for Centria student.

Phong Ho

Introduction of Fiona Mwacharo

Hello everyone. My name is Fiona Mwacharo and I am a third year Environmental Chemistry and Technology student. Honestly I am a little terrified about going on exchange because of being in a completely new environment and culture where I know no one, but I am looking forward to meeting new people, immersing myself into a new culture and experiencing education in Netherlands.