Leeuwarden

On 15th and 16th at work, the Easter mood was already in full speed. The kids had an Easter hunt for some chocolate eggs hidden in the garden, and we painted some bunny whiskers on for everyone. I later on proceeded to go to a supermarket, having completely forgot I was still having facepaint on. Hope it amused some of my fellow shoppers.

On Wednesday I first did a half-day at work (normally I'd have Wednesdays off, but I wanted to do a half-day on Friday, so...), so I could meet Hennie at a city called Leeuwarden around 15. It's the capital of Friesland, much like Groningen is the capital of the province Groningen. Leeuwarden was also the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2018, and you could still see some signs of that.

Hennie showed me a few places around the city, and we booked a canal cruise. Before the cruise, though, we had time for some afternoon tea. Hennie took me to Brownies & DownieS - a lovely cafe with the idea of offering work and training for people with intellectual disabilities, a concept which I would gladly welcome into Finland as well.

We also visited Museum de Grutterswinkel, which was both a little museum and an old-timey shop, just like it might have been 50 years ago.

Afterwards, we had the canal city tour. When the cities are largely made of canals, you do see a lot if you're on a boat. The guide only spoke Dutch during the tour, but tourists were handed out information sheets in English (German would have also been available, I believe) which had the details of most of the points of interest.

After the tour was over, we were getting a bit hungry, and I wanted to try something that was very Dutch. That's how I was introduced to krokette, which I can only describe as meat stew that has been covered in breadcrumbs and then deep-fried.

After that, it was time to drive back towards Groningen - although we stopped briefly at Drachten to take a look at the new school campus for younger students.

It did look nice, new and modern indeed - I'm sure younger students appreciate it greatly.

We even managed to have a quick peek inside!

But not for too long, as the building was empty and even the cleaner was leaving. And it was getting late anyways, so good time to head home.

Cultural exchange and biking

On Saturday 13th, I met Rija, a Dutch adult student who's planning on doing Erasmus+ training exchange in Finland later in the year. We got matched by Hennie, who figured we could use the opportunity and learn a bit about each other's cultures.

Rija came to Groningen and, as I was still fairly new to the city, was kind enough to work as a tourist guide of sorts, even though it wasn't a city she'd ever lived in or anything like that. Still, she introduced me to a few local sights, knew a really good spot for some hot drinks, and showed me an easy, affordable dining place.

Who is Uncle Loeks and why is his horse famous? I never fully understood. Perhaps it's better left a mystery.

Regardless, we had a good talk, Rija was just as friendly as most Dutch people are, and I managed not to completely ruin the image of Finland for her - but I like to think I gave her some tips to avoid potential culture shock. Finns aren't always the easiest bunch for strangers to approach. Not that I think Rija will have any problems.

2,5 hours went by quite fast, and as we said our goodbyes at the station, we tentatively agreed on meeting up another time, this time on her hometown.

For Sunday, I had only one clear agenda: get myself a bike.

As Netherlands is a biking country and I'm no stranger to biking in Finland, it seemed like a fairly obvious conclusion that I ought to get myself a bike. Basically it's faster to travel from home to work on a bike than it is on a bus, and renting yourself a bike in Groningen isn't too difficult. There are several companies, but I opted with Swapfiets, because they had their website conveniently in English, and offered a basic bike with 16.50 euros per month. The bike has served me well enough, but it does feel a bit heavy to me - I wonder if the "Deluxe" bike (19.50 euros per month) had felt lighter. Still, I was heavily warned about just how many bikes get stolen in Groningen every day, and you have to pay less deductible for the regular bikes in case of theft.

So on Sunday, I went to the local "swapstore" and got myself a Dutch bike.

Now, a few words about biking in the Netherlands, and about Dutch bikers.

I always maintain that the Dutch are some of the nicest, kindest people I've ever had the pleasure of being around.

This does not apply to the bikers. 

The bikers are fast, aggressive, and would probably just yell at you if you had a heart attack in the middle of the morning commute to work.

Obviously, not ALL bikers. But I've had three people yell at me in Dutch for biking crimes I apparently committed, sometimes without knowing what the crimes were. Was I too slow? Didn't signal enough? Hesitated at a turn? Well, since they were all so very helpful and yelling at me in a language I don't speak, I'll never know for sure. In hindsight I always tell myself I should have yelled back in Finnish for maximum confusion.

I was told that it's the student bikers you need to look out for. So far, the most vicious bikers I've had the joy of encountering have always been middle aged or elderly men or women, so not sure if I agree with the others on that one.

Still, after some trial and error, I think I've mostly managed to master the ways of biking. A few tips:

- Do not be biking on the pavement where the pedestrians walk. Bikes either go on the side of the car roads or, in many cases, there is a separate biking lane. You will often notice the specific red paths. Sometimes they are one direction only, sometimes they go both ways.

- Hand signal when and where you're turning. I think I've become so paranoid about Dutch bikers appearing out of thin air and screaming at me that I'm using the hand signals even when I'm 95% sure there is no one cycling within 50 meters of me.

- Pay attention to the "shark teeth", aka the white triangles painted on the roads: if the triangle is pointing at you, it's your duty to stop and let cars and other bikers pass. And obviously if the triangle is pointing at someone else, they have to do the same for you.

- Bad news for future travelers relying on Google Maps to get you somewhere, though - apparently starting in July of 2019, using your cell phone while cycling can get you a fine. This can make your first few trips somewhere REALLY difficult, or just really slow.

All in all, I am happy with my decision to rent a bike for four weeks, as it does allow you to explore places in a very different manner from public transport. But it does take a while to get used to.

First week

(yes, I know, I'm writing these blog entries incredibly late. I blame this on being chronically late for everything.)

So, my first work week started on 9th of April. My workplace for the next five weeks: SKSG DoReMi, and more specifically the English-speaking daycare group. From the very first day, I got a pretty good feeling from everything: the coworkers, the children, and the facility itself. It was actually somewhat surprising - I've left some Finnish workplaces feeling a lot more shell shocked at the end of the first day. Perhaps the Dutch friendliness applies here as well.

However, due to extremely back luck, I also ended up getting sick that week, and as such my first work week only lasted two days. ... an easy and gentle start, I suppose, but I was genuinely disappointed about it at the time.

I'll be sure to write more about the daycare in another blog entry, but for now I'll make a few notes about my Wednesday visit to Drachten and ROC Friese Poort.

On Wednesday morning, I found myself leaving the house very early, first to catch a bus to the railway station, and from there on a quick train ride to Zuidhorn, where I met Hennie, a teacher at ROC Friese Poort who coordinated my foreign exchange with Heli from SDO. Hennie then drove us to the Drachten campus where the adult students have their lessons. I was warmly welcomed, too!

It started with Hennie showing me the campus - it wasn't too big of a building, but it felt nice and cozy. Then I took part in Hennie's lesson and gave a short presentation to her Dutch students: a little bit about Finnish culture and food, as the topic of the lesson was food. It seemed to go fairly well, although I made sure to have some Finnish chocolate on me I could use as bribes.

After that I was given the opportunity to follow a Dutch lesson - students practicing medical skills for an upcoming exam, such as giving injections, measuring blood sugar levels and so on. Skills you might need on certain professions, and really, probably useful things to know in any case. Obviously as most of the conversations were in Dutch, these was a lot I didn't quite get, but the teacher (I've unfortunately forgotten her name, but rest assured she was really nice) did try her best to translate here and there, and especially whenever I asked about something. I think some of the students were a bit shy about using English, they didn't say much more than a few words to me, but some actually seemed interested in having short conversations, which I really appreciated.

And whenever I would go to the staff room with Hennie, all the other teachers were incredibly friendly as well. I don't recall if they mentioned whether they've had many foreign students visiting them in the past, so I don't know if everyone was so friendly because having a foreign student there was a novelty, or whether it's just because Dutch really are really kind and polite. Maybe both.

But after midday, when the lessons were done, Hennie had official business in Groningen, so I was able to catch a ride back home with her. Probably better for me - as much as I like exploring areas outside the city as well, I have to say the train tickets aren't always the cheapest.

Ps: On Friday, I was almost shocked when for the first time ever since I arrived to Netherlands, my question "Spreek je Engels?" was met with "Nee" at a local Chinese restaurant. Luckily I survived the situation thanks to knowing exactly two words of Dutch (kip en rijst, chicken and rice) and by having another customer help a little with translations.

I am trying my best to learn a little bit of Dutch using Duolingo, but it's a slow process.

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.