An interview with a French exchange student, as the ideas that other people have about the things we are used to are undoubtedly interesting.
Synergy members come from all over the world. From Japan to America, from Russia to Spain, all are welcome to the Synergy family. However, all of these people have their own backstories, cultures and ideas when they come to Nijmegen, and it is always interesting to find out what the differences between these people are. In our opinion, this is a very good reason to keep interviewing them.
This week, we interviewed a girl from France. Her name is Julie Conrard, 22 years old. After first having finished her first year, she is now here to take some courses in Business Administration. In the semester that she is here, she takes both first-and second year courses. For example, the took the second year course Strategic Human Resource Management, but also the first year course Organizational Theory. When Julie returns to France, she says she will do an internship, following up with a masters in Human Resources.
It’s of course always kind of a big step to go abroad, even to a country like the Netherlands, but Julie has a good explanation as for why she wanted to come here. As she is from France, her English could use some improvement and going abroad was a perfect opportunity for this. Then she decided that she didn’t want to go too far abroad, because this would be her first full international adventure. ‘For example, the time difference with the United States would mean a great difficulty for communicating with my family.’ Consequently, there was a big list of opportunities for Julie, but Radboud really spoke to her. The courses were really close to her courses back home and she had a friend who had already gone to study in Nijmegen, who told her that it was really well organized and great.
When Julie first came to Nijmegen, her first impressions were great. As she did not have any expectations, all the international people she met and the cultural aspects she discovered were all cool experiences. Indeed, there were many of these cultural differences. The biggest thing she noticed was the intensive use of bikes. The fact that the use of bikes is so ingrained in Dutch culture is astounding to her, as well as the fact that there are cycling roads everywhere.
The second really big difference that Julie noticed was the schedule around dinner. Whereas in France, she was used to a big meal at a later time in the evening, she really had to get used to our Dutch system. Indeed, eating around 5 pm in the introduction week instead of at 8 pm, like she used to do, was quite a new experience. She does mention, however, that at midnight, it feels like it is two in the morning, because you are not used to the schedule. Another thing Julie really likes about Nijmegen is that she does not have to spend a lot of time in the classroom. The study is more ‘do-it-yourself’ oriented, so she has more time to do things like skyping with her family or spending time with friends.
Of course, like most internationals, Julie visited many places in the Netherlands. Especially Maastricht, with all the lights was appealing to her. Another great place that she visited was Madurodam, as you can see on the photo. Certainly a recommendation for all internationals - and Dutch students for that matter.
I want to thank Julie for talking with me today, it was truly interesting to hear what her experiences were in ‘dealing with the Dutch’. I want to wish her a wonderful time during the rest of her stay!
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