Our podcast Brewing Student Cultures has officially launched! What culture shocks do students face when moving to the Netherlands? In the first episode our hosts Alyssa and Isabella talked to Matheus Santana, a Brazilian influencer who shared his experience. You can watch the episode on Dutch Cultural shocks on our YouTube channel and get insight in the this blog post.
Matheus mainly shares relatable videos connected to his life as an expat on Instagram and TikTok. This time he joined our podcast and said ”Being in the podcast was incredible, the girls truly makes you feel so comfortable as if you are at home!” We have written down little sneak-peak for you on a few cultural shocks that were discussed.
Dutch dinner time
5 o’clock, the famous Dutch dinner time – you either love it or hate it. Matheus loves to eat early and says himself that he probably is the only Brazilian in the country eating dinner around 5/5:30. He even had the habit back home already, so the Netherlands seem to be the perfect place for him in that regard.
transportation
While the Dutch dinner time is quite a controversial topic, most internationals probably have the same opinion on Dutch public transport. All three agree that is great that cities throughout the whole country are connected. Punctuality and having monitors in the bus are also a big plus.
Next to trains, biking brings a lot of independence and mobility. Cycling anywhere within your city brings great freedom. ”As a broke student I don’t have to pay for gas and don’t have to worry about parking”, Alyssa sums up further benefits
people minding their own business
Matheus talked about the good and bad sides of people minding their own business in the Netherlands. On the one hand it was hard for him to make friends and meet people who are willing to go out of their bubble. On the other hand, he sees the benefit in not having to care as much about what people might think of him.
Are you curious about other culture shocks like the Dutch weather or food? Then watch and listen to our podcast! Stay tuned for our episodes every second week to get to know everything about the student life in the Netherlands from a Dutch and international perspective.
