How do international students perceive a city like Amsterdam?
Every year, more than 15,000 international students study at the University of Amsterdam. How do they look at the Dutch capital and its inhabitants?
One third of students at the UvA come from abroad. This brings a lively mix to the city, but it must also spark moments of surprise. How do Laura, Isa and Johan view their new city?
Johan Degel (20, PPLE) from Germany and Singapore
“Amsterdam is not the usual big city. You don’t have the big skyscrapers in the middle, but historical buildings instead. With the canals and parks I feel close to nature in the city, more than I expected when coming here from a rural village in Germany.”
“Germans and Dutch people have very similar characteristics: being very direct and on time. Also, there is no faking in who you are. I lived in Amerika for a while and there you could have a ten-minute chat with someone at the grocery store. In Amsterdam and in Germany, people are more closed off, they keep more to themselves. What I did not expect was the large international community: I can get through the entire day doing my normal things without needing to speak Dutch.”
Isa Mavie Schrader (20), PPLE from Germany
“For me, Amsterdam is the most beautiful city I went to so far. It seems big but once you live here, it is actually quite small. You can bike anywhere in 15 minutes. I lived in Londen for a couple of years, and compared to that, Amsterdam is very peaceful and the people are friendly.”
“The housing market is of course impossible, but I managed to find a room in the city centre via a friend. The owner of the café down my house basically adopted me. I was new to the city, and I didn’t know anyone, and he was the first guy I met. Now I go there every morning and get my coffee and have a chat. He is like my parent basically.”
Laura López Parejo (23, student Science Communication) from Spain
“I am from Madrid, and what first occurred to me when arriving in Amsterdam was that the houses always have the curtains open. This feels so weird, like I am invading someone’s privacy. In Spain this would never happen.”
“I lived in three places now in Amsterdam, in East, in West, and now in the Bijlmer. The housing crisis is worse of a problem than I expected. You see gentrification at work: the more you get to the outskirts of the city, the more multicultural it becomes.”
“Most people I meet are not born in Amsterdam. They are international or live in other cities like Amersfoort or Utrecht. It was hard at first to get to know my Dutch
classmates. I was used to grabbing drinks after class in Madrid and suggested this to in the first week at uni. They were like: let’s make a poll in the group chat and plan a date for next month. Now, two years later, I do the same.”
