Culture shock comes in many distinct flavours – kind of like ice cream, kind of like Van der Poel in the city centre. And just like ice cream, you’re bound to find some flavours pleasant, and some not, but you’ll learn to deal with it all the same, because you don’t just throw away a scoop of ice cream, right? Either way, these are the stages you’re bound to go through as an international student in the Netherlands.
1. The honeymoon phase
Before the ‘shock’ part hits, there’s usually a honeymoon phase, where everything feels new and exciting: the architecture looks different, the campus looks serene, and even grocery shopping feels like an adventure. This phase usually lasts anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and it’s easy to think you’ve got this whole ‘studying abroad’ thing figured out. Unfortunately, the real adjustment hasn’t started yet. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to romanticise your life, even after the honeymoon phase ends.
2. Academic shock
This one catches a lot of students off-guard. The grading system, classroom dynamics, and expectations around independence can be wildly different from what you’re used to. Some students come from systems built around memorisation and are suddenly expected to think critically and argue a position. Others are used to close guidance from professors and find the more self-directed, ‘figure it out yourself’ style of studying quite alien. Deadlines, group work culture, and how much initiative you’re expected to take can all feel like culture shocks at first.
3. Biking as your main transport option
If there’s one culture shock that’s almost universal for international students at UT, it’s biking. The Netherlands runs on cycling, and campus life is no different – the Horst, the library, your student house, and everything in between and far beyond is all connected by an enormous network of bike paths. Learning to cycle in the rain, realising that cars will (usually, careful!) wait for you, getting overtaken by someone’s grandma on an omafiets – these are all rites of passage that everyone must go through. So is the sinking realisation that your bike has been stolen, honestly, so go buy a cheap second-hand bike instead of something fancy. Give it a few months, though, and you’ll be overtaking grandmas in no time.
It’s known worldwide that Dutchies bike everywhere. However, it’s a different thing to actually live here as a foreigner and realise that Dutch people will go to great lengths to ensure that they will be able to use their bikes for everything, including transporting heavy furniture such as fridges and sofas. It’s more impressive than it is shocking, honestly.
4. Student life is very… loud
Every country has its own student culture. You have your brotherhoods and fraternities in America, for example, and in the Netherlands, that role is largely filled by study and student associations. At UT, these associations are woven into everyday life – they organise trips, committees, sports, and offer study support, and they’re often where people find their closest friends. A big part of that social fabric is the borrel, an informal get-together, usually after class or on a Friday afternoon, where people catch up, unwind, and get to know each other outside of lectures. For a lot of international students, these gatherings might often appear loud and uninviting. And they are loud, don’t get me wrong, but uninviting is the last word that comes to mind, especially when you’re with people that also want to get to know each other. Joining an association and showing up to a few borrels ends up being the fastest way to actually feel part of student life here, rather than just attending it.
5. Food is kind of bland
This is the culture shock people joke about most, but it’s real. Dutch dinner is often served early, around 18:00, and not 20:00 or beyond like it is in other countries. Meanwhile, eating hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) on bread for breakfast, a frikandel for a snack, and a cold cheese sandwich for lunch might take some time to warm up to, since the food is (admittedly) bland and uninspiring.
6. Also, when does the store close again?
I think it’s a great thing that work-life balance is taken so seriously here in the Netherlands. However, I’d be lying if I never thought how inconvenient it was, especially as someone who comes from a country where you have 24-hour shops open every day, when you get sick past dinner and you can’t get any medicine from the pharmacy because they close at 18:00. I mean, most people are working or in school from 9:00-17:30, so you’d only have half an hour to go grab your necessities.
7. Independence
Dutch culture places a strong emphasis on self-reliance, and it tends to show from a young age, too. Teenagers here often already have their own bank accounts, their own place of work, cycle to school on their own from the age of eight, and plan their own schedules well before finishing high school. That mindset carries straight into student life: doing your own laundry, cooking your own meals, arranging your own insurance and adult things, and generally sorting out your own problems before asking for help is simply the default expectation, not a sign that no one is looking out for you. This independence, this freedom, was something I had never experienced before – I mean, just the fact that you can be invited to something last minute and realise that yes, you *can* in fact go there, nothing’s stopping you, and you don’t have to check with anyone, and you can just hop on your bike and cycle wherever you want. It can be as easy as that.
Culture shock isn't a sign that something's wrong with you or that you made the wrong choice – it's simply part of the process of building a life somewhere new. And much like ice cream, it's rarely one single flavour: it's a mix of homesickness and excitement, frustration and curiosity, all melting together into something that, eventually, tastes a lot like home. And so I hope that this ice cream sandwich of an article was of help to you, dear reader, in managing your expectations and shocks in this wonderful country.
