It was here! Finally. The acceptance letter I had been waiting for. Although I had never really travelled abroad, I was excited about moving to the Netherlands and experiencing university life. Moving to a new country can be nerve-wracking, especially post the pandemic when everything has changed. But throughout living here, these are a few things I learned and experienced that helped me feel at home in Groningen.

It takes time to settle down

Before arriving here, I imagined making friends easily at the university and to learn the language soon. I realised that my expectations were not realistic. At times I would get upset that I was alone, but I learned to be patient and to give it some time. This also made me more confident since I started doing things independently and was getting comfortable with being myself.

Asking for help

Since I moved during the pandemic, I had to deal with the restrictions that made it difficult to figure things out by myself. Classes were all online, I did not have any friends yet and everything from the cycle paths to the academic pattern was new to me. I was initially very hesitant to ask for help and would try and do everything myself, which got too overwhelming. Slowly I started reaching out to my housemates and the faculty at the University. They have been very supportive and helped me during such times.

Starting afresh

Naturally, I was looking for things that were my comfort zone- Indian students, Indian food, and Indian music. But what was the point of moving halfway across the world, to do the same things that I did in India? I started exploring and began by learning the basics of the Dutch language, observing people, and the basics of Dutch culture. My Dutch friends helped me understand the simple bike rules, how to fix things at home, and the Dutch way of “tikkie”.

Learning cultures

Travelling and exploring the world is one of the best teachers, but what better way than to live and work with people who are from completely different countries. I was lucky to find a student house that had students from different ethnicities. This meant that every day I was learning something new about their cultures, experimented with cuisines, and also shared my culture with them. Not only did it help me learn about the world, but also helped me connect with them and make friends for life. 

Going beyond study and work

During the week, the university kept me busy while the assignments, exams, and household chores occupied my weekends. But I wanted to do more. I looked up volunteering activities over the weekend and found the free café Groningen. This helped me make friends out of the university and also gave me the gratification that I was helping people by doing something I love- cooking.

Planning finances and career path

Living here is a lot more expensive than in my home country and over the course, keeping an eye out for my expenses helped me. Also during my study, I focused on finding internships that can easily help me get a job as soon as possible. This was my goal since the beginning, and having that in mind helped me keep a check on my progress.

Overall, moving to a new country is exciting, but there are also days that I was homesick and low. Things like the Groningen Indian students association kept India close to me. But what helped me grow was to be able to settle in and accept every emotion. To be open to new experiences, get out of my comfort zone, and be patient. And today, I can gladly call Groningen my second home.

Feel free to contact me if you need any more information!