Uh oh?

I was scheduled to start work on Tuesday, which left me with a free Monday. I had grown tired of paying my bus fares with the bank card, so I decided to get myself an ov-chipkaart - it works much like any other bus/ public transport card, you transfer money to it and you're free to travel. Although unlike with most other bus cards I've used, with the chipkaart you have to tap it into the reader both when you get in and when you get out. Apparently you could use the card on trains as well, but I haven't tried that yet and, knowing myself, I might just stick to buying train tickets the old-fashioned way.

Buying the card was easy, too, a lot of local kiosks sell them for 7,5 €. And admittedly, it IS very handy to have, and looks pretty cool too.

Unfortunately, now we come to the (almost) only complaint I have about the Netherlands (or at least Groningen area, but I imagine the problem is nationwide): almost no place will accept Visa Electron. And as Finns know, Visa Electron is the only bank card many young people here have.

So far, the list of places/things that actually DO accept Visa Electron:
- ATMs
- buses (the ones where you pay with a card)
- the ticket machines at the central station

I stopped trying to pay anything with the bank card after the fifth time when an apologetic Dutch cashier told me my card had been declined. Even IKEA declined my card, and I figure that if a shop that size won't accept it, the chances are pretty slim everywhere else. By now (2,5 weeks later) I'm used to just carrying cash so it doesn't bother me anymore, but it took some getting used to - back in Finland I hardly ever had cash on me.

And now basically when I want to put money on my travel card, I have to go all the way to the central station to do it. Maybe there is a way to do it online, but I have what they call an "anonymous card", so that might complicate the matters as well. Still, I'm now used to that as well, and luckily the bus that stops at the nearest bus stop also takes me conveniently to the central station.

Other than the troubles with Visa Electron, that Monday was pretty chill. I visited the local tourist information centre (and IKEA, as mentioned above), did some walking and went grocery shopping. Of course I felt a little bit nervous about starting at the new workplace, but luckily my calendar had a very nice message for that particular week:

                                                                     (don't panic, everything will be okay)

Arriving to the Netherlands

On 6th of April, 2019, I got on a plane from Helsinki and, via Stockholm, flew to Amsterdam. I'm fairly used to traveling, but it's always a weird experience not to be able to understand most of the signs and speech around you - although admittedly knowing English and some Swedish and German CAN help with understanding Dutch. Not fully, obviously, but some words here and there at least.

At the airport my first plan was to go to the information point and ask them what would be the easiest way to get to Groningen, but the line was so long I decided to put my trust in Google Maps instead. And with that, I made my way to the train station - located conveniently within the airport. I even bought my ticket through the ticket machine to avoid long queues, though I did use an information point within the station to ask which platform I needed to take. I'm sure where would have been billboards with the required information as well, but sometimes it's nice to actually talk to someone else. But all in all, buying the ticket and getting on the right train was pretty easy, albeit quite costly.

And then I arrived to Groningen. I did feel a little bit intimidated by everything, as there was a language barrier and this was the first time I've ever been to the Netherlands, but the city itself seemed very pretty to me right from the start. I had the address for my new home (for the next five weeks), and Google Maps is very helpful these days, even pointing me to the right bus platform to go to. Getting the bus was easy too, although it's a bit funny - some buses here ONLY take cards, and some buses ONLY take cash. This bus took card payment, and the text on the screen flashed in Finnish, which seemed really hilarious to me at the time.

So, with the help of Google Maps, I found the right neighbourhood. It's a little bit off from the city centre (about 4 kilometres) and where I work, but honestly, the area itself is quite nice, so I'm not disappointed by that.

I found the apartment through Airbnb, and the host, Tineke, was quite friendly from the start, even during the original messaging online. She introduced me to the house, and to my own two rooms at the top floor. It IS an older house so anyone expecting a palace would get disappointed, but having spent a lot of nights at cheap hostels, I think it's more than fine.

The rest of the Saturday and Sunday was spent walking around the area where the apartment is located. Coming from Oulu, where there was still snow on the ground when I left, to Groningen really highlighted the fact that spring is in full bloom here.

And my first impression of the people in Groningen? Everyone is super friendly, and practically everyone will at least try to speak English with you, even if they say they aren't very good at it.

I guess it's easy to be happy when your surroundings look like this.

Where it all started

I think getting started is always the hardest part of almost any project, and same goes for blogs. 

They gave me the option to write in Finnish or English, my final conclusion was that English has the potential to reach more people. Plus, if the people I've been working and hanging out with in the Netherlands would also like to read the blog, they'd be having much harder time with it if it was in Finnish (Google Translate isn't always 100% reliable). But seeing how both the Finns and the Dutch in general have pretty decent skills when it comes to English, perhaps we can call this the middle ground. 

I'm sure both Heli and Hennie (the international relations coordinators in Finland and Netherlands, respectively) sometimes had to shake their heads and sigh in frustration at all my requests - I'll own up and say I probably wasn't the easiest "customer" when it came to this foreign exchange, there were some requirements I wanted fulfilled in order to agree to it. For example, as I knew I would be working with kids, I wanted the kids to be able to speak English as well, so I could actually talk to them and not just mime and rely on my coworkers to do all the talking and translating for me. But in the end we found a place that matched all my hopes and expectations, and plans were set in motion. 

Now, I trust that I don't need to give anyone general advice on what you should be doing or packing when you are temporarily moving abroad (make sure you have a valid passport though). There are probably online guides for that sort of thing, However, I will briefly mention one thing very specific to the Netherlands, and as such would be important to know for anyone who wants to do an internship there, especially if you'll be working with children.

You're going to need a VOG: Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, aka Certificate of Conduct. What's that?, you might ask. I hadn't heard of it either before I was told I needed one. Basically, it's a "document by which the Dutch State Secretary for Justice and Security declares that the applicant did not commit any criminal offences that are relevant to the performance of his or her duties", as the website says. So for Finns, think of it like ordering a criminal record extract, which you'll need to do if you work with children. 

At first this may seem a bit daunting, but in the end it was fairly simple, especially when you already have an employer. I was emailed a partially filled 6-page document, I then had to fill my own part and scan it again. In addition, I had to scan my passport, and add another PDF file proving I had paid the 41,35 € fee the process costs. After that, you're good to send it forwards. Just keep in mind that if you call the VOG helpline, the queue is automated and offers explanations only in Dutch. If you happen to speak no Dutch, you'll pretty much have to guess which number to press. The lady I ended up talking to was very friendly about it, though. 

And another thing - try to get the application done as soon as possible and you'll save yourself some worrying. Mine arrived in the mail on Monday - I was due to leave the house on Friday. But hey, at least I got it!

Next up, arriving to Netherlands.