Netherlands - #BIMdannmalinAmsterdam

Antonia: Hello and welcome to our FHWS podcast #Bimdannmalweg. In this podcast, we talk about the experiences of students who have spent a semester abroad, and today we have our dear Jessica visiting us once again.

Jessica: I'm glad to be part of it again. Hello.

Antonia: It's nice that you're here again, for the second time. Jessica not only spent a semester abroad in Australia, she also did an internship abroad, and that's what we're talking about today. Jessica, you already introduced yourself last week, so tell us where you went for your internship.

Jessica: That's right. I was in my internship abroad actually before my semester abroad, and that's when I ended up in the Netherlands. I was in Amsterdam for six months.

Antonia: Great! How did that come about? Did you always want to do your internship abroad or was it a spontaneous decision?

Jessica: Yes, I always wanted to go abroad. Unfortunately, Corona limited my options a bit, but luckily it worked out.

Antonia: Nice! Did you consciously choose the Netherlands or was it your only option because of Corona?

Jessica: The whole thing was the alternative to Australia. There was a moment when they said that the borders to Australia would be opened, but then they didn't. I had to find an alternative. Then there had to be an alternative, because I didn't want to just wait a semester. Then, fortunately, the FHWS and the university in Australia agreed that I could do my internship before my semester abroad, and then I suddenly had to find an internship within 3-4 weeks, because otherwise it would not have been enough time with the scope of the internship with the following semester. I found the e-learning course with the internship suggestions on the FHWS website and became aware of this internship. So, it did not necessarily had to be the Netherlands, but it was fortunately one of the countries in which it was possible due to Corona.

Antonia: Which company did you do the internship with?

Jessica: The company is called Spryng, so it's kind of spring spelled with a y. It's a small company with about 15 employees. They make SMS technologies, so ways to connect enterprise networks with phone networks to then send SMS, like "your package has arrived", or an SMS with one-time login data or promotional offers.

Antonia: Okay, that sounds exciting! And what exactly did you do for an internship there, i.e. in which position?

Jessica: There were different areas. That was the nice thing about this internship, because it's a very small company, I had the chance to look into different departments. The position was called Marketing, Sales and Customer Service, or Customer Experience, intern, I think. These were the three areas in the end. Marketing, on the one hand it was about the social media channels, so the classic: Instagram, LinkedIn and we also experimented a bit with TikTok. Then we also dealt with the website, so going through everything and improving or touching up. Firstly, the German website, but then also the English one. Then it was also about filling the blog, so writing articles and doing research. But then there were also other projects, like creating a case study or writing a glossary. That was the marketing area. I was also very creative there and was able to contribute many of my own ideas. Sales was then the classic sales, a lot of cold-calling, so just calling companies "hey, don't you need SMS technology?". Then we did e-mail marketing and worked with automation programs, and we also processed the responses that came in and entered them into our customer management system. Of course, if there was interest, we also made video calls with the companies to explain the product to them in more detail, to look at their requirements and how our product could be used with them. Basically, it was about how we can expand our customer base, which also involved a lot of market research and analysis in Germany, since the company has not been operating in Germany for very long. Then there was the third area, which was customer service or customer experience. There was a help chat on the website, which was used by customers to get in touch with me, and if it was someone German, it was my job to take over and help them. For example, it was about logging in or sending SMS. That's when I came into play. I looked at the problem, followed it up and then helped out and clarified it internally with the legal department or finance department so that the problems could be solved. Yes, those were the three main areas, but there was also a bit of small stuff, such as finding the next intern. I was able to get a taste of HR by reading the job description and taking part in interviews with applicants. We also had an additional project with the move. The company moved to a new building, and I was able to help plan and furnish the new offices and get involved, but these were all minor tasks. Sorry, that was a long monologue.

Antonia: No problem! That was very exciting! It's cool that you had the chance to look into so many different areas there. It's not a bad thing, especially in a program like ours where you're really prepared for different areas in business. Based on our current studies alone, you would basically have the chance to work in any of these areas, so it's great that you've had the chance to get a taste of almost all of them. Is there one area that you particularly liked?

Jessica: I think that marketing shaped me in the sense that I chose my second course of study - I'm doing a second bachelor's degree in business and media psychology at the same time - because I noticed during my internship that I was very interested in marketing and dealing with the media. That was very formative for me in that respect.

Antonia: What else was your internship like for you? Were you able to contribute a lot as an intern, did your opinion carry a lot of weight?

Jessica: Actually, yes, that surprised me, but it was also very pleasant for me, because I've experienced that quite differently in other jobs. That was the nice thing about the company being so small I guess and I would also attribute it a little bit to the Dutch culture, people there I think are just a little bit more open to this whole topic. We held weekly meetings in which everyone participated. Everyone took 1-2 hours and we went through everything together and even I, as an intern, was allowed to contribute new ideas, just like the CEO, marketing manager or anyone else. It could be the improvement of a product or the improvement of a process. It could also be something completely new, creative, crazy. Sometimes there was feedback from colleagues and you had time to think about it again and refine the idea, and sometimes everyone liked the idea right away and then you just sat down together for two hours, tried it out and saw what came out. It was really nice to see that one's own opinion counts for something.

Antonia: Cool! Also that one's own opinion is then so valued and not ignored under the motto "that's just the intern anyway”. This way you can also find out if you are suitable for something like this, i.e. to come up with ideas, to bring them into the conversation and to implement them.

Jessica: Yes, that was really nice and important and helped me in the sense that I learned a lot more than if I had just done my routine tasks every day.

Antonia: Of course! Was the internship entirely in English then? You mentioned earlier that when there was a German customer, you did the customer support in German, but basically: in which language did you work?

Jessica: The company is trilingual. Most of the employees are from the Netherlands and therefore speak Dutch. But there is specifically also a German and a French department, because the main markets are just the Netherlands, Belgium with a little bit of France and Germany. The company is also always looking for three interns, so I wasn't the only intern at all that was pretty cool. They are always looking for a Dutch intern, a Belgian or French intern, and a German intern, so that they can serve these three languages. At work, the main language was English. Some colleagues talked in Dutch, but as soon as I joined them, they always switched to English. Communication here was always in English, and with my customers it was mostly in German.

Antonia: What was it like with the other interns? Did you have a lot of common tasks or did everyone work on their own stuff?

Jessica: We actually had relatively few joint projects, because everyone worked on more or less the same thing, but in their own language. We wrote articles and I translated the articles into German, the French intern into French and the Dutch intern into Dutch. Or we looked after e-mail marketing, for example, but each for his own country or language. We didn't have anything to do with each other, of course you talk to each other when you're sitting next to each other or when you have a problem or a tip that you can discuss with the other interns, especially if you use the same programs, but we didn't really have any joint projects.

Antonia: All right. And how was it with the other colleagues? How were the relationships there? Did you guys collaborate a lot?

Jessica: Definitely. It was an open-plan office, so it wasn't that big, because there weren't that many people, but we all worked in the same office and they were all relatively young. Everyone was very open-minded and interested. They often asked what you did on the weekend. And because you worked in different areas in this internship, you always worked with different people, sometimes with the customer experience manager, sometimes with the marketing manager. Then I also had a colleague who was responsible for the German market, who also spoke German. I worked with him quite a bit, and we often exchanged ideas with the CEO or CTO, so you always ended up working with a lot of people. And because of the office situation, it was easy to call across the desks and say, "Hey Mark, I need something from you”. That worked quite well.

Antonia: Great, that's exactly what you want in an internship. On the one hand, that you are noticed as an intern, that your opinion is valued and asked, and on the other hand, that the cooperation with colleagues is good and pleasant. It's up to you whether you want to answer this next question or not: Were you financially compensated during your internship?

Jessica: I got the normal mini-job wage, i.e. 450€ per month, even though it was a full-time position, but that was the norm for interns and that was totally fine.

Antonia: I think that's the case with most internships.

Jessica: Yes, there you still have the problem that the companies think that if it's a mandatory internship, it doesn't have to be paid at all.

Antonia: Did you have any other financial support? For example, scholarships or grants or something like that?

Jessica: Yeah, I actually got myself some more scholarships. Erasmus, that's probably known to most people here, I got that during my time in the Netherlands and additionally I'm with the Studienstiftung, they offer a scholarship abroad, I got that too and with these two grants I was able to cover my expenses quite well.

Antonia: Very cool! Then I think that's it for now from my side about the internship itself. Now I'd like to ask you about everything around the internship, about your time in the Netherlands. Where did you live? How did you live? And how did you find it?

Jessica: That was actually a very difficult topic. I would have actually hoped for a little bit more support from the company’s site there as well. It was a little bit difficult because due to the Corona situation I couldn't be there beforehand to look for an accommodation on-site, so I tried to find an apartment via the internet. This went neatly wrong. I was fooled twice, by two different apartments and was about to give up looking for apartments, but then I came across a concept called student hotel. The concept actually comes from the Netherlands but is now also available in other countries in Europe. It is basically a normal hotel, but then there is a section that is specifically for long-term stays only for students who are doing their semester abroad or just like me their internship abroad there. You have your own room with a bathroom, and you share the kitchen with about 5 to 10 people. The whole hotel looks really great and is very cool. There are ping pong tables, a small café and sitting areas. Of course, there is also a possibility to do laundry there and, which is of course necessary in Amsterdam, there is a bike for every room. That's how I ended up in this student hotel, which is a bit like living in a shared flat.

Antonia: So, the room was for you alone?

Jessica: Yes, you used the room and bathroom alone, and the kitchen and common rooms with the other residents.

Antonia: Sounds like a very cool concept!

Jessica: Definitely. Then upstairs in the building there was also a co-working space, which I thought was really great because I worked from home office from time to time. Because of the initial difficult Corona situation, not everyone could work in the office at the same time, so there was an alternation of working in the office and home office. I was able to use this co-working space for that. There was also a gym, which was very cool because the normal gyms were still closed at that time due to Corona. But because the gym in the student hotel was private, we could use it at any time. So, the student hotel really turned out to be a very good solution for my time there.

Antonia: That sounds really great! But now I have to ask, because that sounds almost too good to be true, what did you pay?

Jessica: It was really expensive. But after it already went so wrong twice when I was looking for a cheaper place, I decided to go with student hotel because I could be sure that it was real and that it is a functioning concept. I would also say that student hotel with all its advantages and benefits was definitely worth the price, but it was always unpleasant when this sum was then debited from my account every month. 

Antonia: Yes, I can imagine that, but you had everything you needed, even including a gym and a bike.

Jessica: Yes, definitely, it was a cool package. And also, everyone who visited me could stay at my place and didn't have to pay extra for a hotel room or accommodation again.

Antonia: That's great! Did they visit you?

Jessica: Yes, my family took quite a bit of advantage of me being there, because we had never been to the Netherlands before. And since the distances in the Netherlands are not that great, everyone visited me about twice to explore the Netherlands a bit. They then set up their home base with me, so to speak, and then we went to the beach, sometimes to the north and sometimes to the south, and went cycling, because that's what my parents really like to do. My cousin and other relatives also visited me there, so there wasn't much time when I was alone.

Antonia: Did everyone always nestle in with you then too?

Jessica: Of course, everyone always nested with me very sweetly.

Antonia: Of course. Hotel Jessica. We are Germans and we save money wherever we can.

Jessica: Of course. If you have the opportunity, you should use it.

Antonia: It's kind of nice to be away from home and still have your family around you a bit and not have to suffer from homesickness.

Jessica: Definitely. I always really enjoyed showing everyone the city and spending time with them.

Antonia: Yeah, I think so. You don't seem to be a person who suffers from homesickness easily, since you've already had several long stays abroad, but of course it's always nice to see your family.

Jessica: Yes, especially if something doesn't go as planned there, it is of course difficult not to miss home.

Antonia: Of course, I think it's especially difficult in the beginning, when you get there and you're all alone.

Jessica: Yes, definitely. That was also a very big point of Corona, because when I came to the Netherlands you still had to do 2 weeks of quarantine and you didn't know anyone yet, so at least it was good that I knew that there were two other interns my age in the company. But outside of work it was really difficult to get to know people. So I was very grateful for the living concept, because I could just go in the kitchen and say, "Hey, I'm Jessica, by the way." And then somehow you were able to make connections very quickly.

Antonia: Great! That sounds great. I have to come back to the bike now. How far away was your work from your housing, were you able to use your bike to get to work?

Jessica: Definitely. In Amsterdam, I have to say, it's not just clichés, but really everybody rides a bike there. You can also see some really interesting things there, for example how people transport their Christmas tree on a bike and so on. So really everybody uses the bicycle in Amsterdam. It took me about 10-15 minutes to get to work by bike, so that was really comfortable, only when the weather wasn't so good it was less nice. But I think I really only got on a bus there 2 times and otherwise I always took the bike. To go by bike is also just much more flexible, it is cheaper and faster. That was really optimal.

Antonia: Even though you didn't use public transportation that much, would the option have been there? I mean, was the offer so broad that you would have been able to get from your housing to work by public transport?

Jessica: I actually don't know at all, because I really always rode my bike to work. Of course, Amsterdam has a pretty normal bus system and there are a couple of subway lines as well. So, the offer is not enormous but the city is also not huge, so it's actually fully sufficient. There is definitely the offer and I think it was also not so expensive. But because of the fact that there are bicycles and bicycle parkings everywhere and you also have a special status with the bicycle, so the pedestrians pay attention to you and the drivers pay attention to you, that's why everyone really rides a bike there. There really is a kind of road next to the road for the bicyclists, with extra bike traffic lights. So, the system is really very well developed there. But I'm actually not a cyclist here in Germany at all, I also stopped it right away when I came back to Germany, but there I used the bike all the time.

Antonia: Yes, of course, it just lends itself there. Of course, you can also ride a bike here, there are also bike paths, but if there is a kind of bike highway, like in Amsterdam, it is of course a good idea.

Jessica: And it's not uphill or downhill anywhere, it's all flat. It's really fantastic. The bike I had was really simple, no gears, not even a hand brake but only a coaster brake, I had to get used to that, but then it was really easy. And riding a bike there is also really pleasant, because you never really have to exert yourself, you don't arrive at work sweaty.

Antonia: Super pleasant. We've already touched on the cost of housing, but what about the cost of living?

Jessica: I would say that the Netherlands is pretty comparable to Germany. Most of our trips were day trips, because the distances in the Netherlands are not very long. We usually took the train somewhere and then back in the evening, which was cheap. That's true, the trains there are cheaper than here in Germany. But otherwise, the prices are relatively the same as here in Germany, so as far as food and activities are concerned. So relatively good to cover with the salary what you got.

Antonia: Yes, I think especially if you are used to the prices, so if it is like you said very comparable to Germany, you can estimate very well and plan how much money you spend on what. You just mentioned the keyword: activities. What kind of activities did you do there on the side? Or rather, how much time did you have for them, i.e. how much did you work?

Jessica: It was a normal full-time position, so it was more or less 9-5, Monday to Friday, a total of 40 hours per week. As I said, in the beginning there were also many days in the home office, which I found quite pleasant, because you could do the laundry or the like at the same time. But then it changed again relatively quickly to everyone working on site in the office, and then you had to do things like laundry on the weekend or in the evening. In the end, I only had time to do things or see the country on the weekends. But as I am, I also wanted to explore the country and use this time and therefore I used the time during the week to plan the weekends. Then I was mostly with the girls on the road, less with the people with whom I lived together. I have a little trick to get to know people, namely I noticed during my time as an aupair in London that it works relatively well if you simply write in the Facebook group: "Hey, I'm new here and looking for people who want to do something". And then usually quite a lot of people respond. And so, I also had some friends in Amsterdam who did aupair in the Netherlands, with whom I usually spent the weekends. Often, we stayed in Amsterdam, there were also, for example, the King's Day and similar festivals or holidays, but we often went to other cities too. I don't know if you know about the Netherlands, but Groningen in the north or Scheveningen in the south or just to Zandvoort on the beach right next to Amsterdam and spent our time there. I can go into a little more detail now about what we did if you'd like.

Antonia: Yes, with pleasure!

Jessica: Amsterdam itself has quite a lot to offer. At the beginning, most things were still closed, so museums were not an option, and also for shopping you still had to book appointments. Restaurants were still closed, I think.

Antonia: To go shopping you had to book an appointment? At the supermarket?

Jessica: No in the other stores, you had to book appointments. That was a bit of a hindrance. Everything else was then pretty much outside, although it was still really cold outside in March. I think I wore my winter jacket until June, I was very surprised. But there was no other way, because as I said, almost everything took place outside because of Corona. But we just got cake and hot chocolate and sat down with it at the canal or visited the different parts of the city, the parks and also the harbor of Amsterdam. In the north of the city there is a ferry that takes you to the other side, where some of my aupair friends lived. There is the more industrial side of Amsterdam, so a big difference to the old town that you know of Amsterdam. When it got better with Corona and the museums and the like opened again, we went there a lot, because it's warm in there. There is the Rijksmuseum and the Museum of Modern Arts and so on, we all visited them. And then little by little everything was open again and we went to play miniature golf and billiards and things like that. We tried out a lot of cafés, tried out different pastries and were generally out and about a lot by bike and looked at the area a bit.

Antonia: Yeah, I think so. Is there one thing, or two, or three that you can particularly recommend from your trips?

Jessica: The beach was always really nice, that's only half an hour by train from Amsterdam. That was always nice to get away from the city. Once we had a really long picnic on the beach, I think it went on for six hours. We just sat on the beach and had a picnic, which was really nice. I also liked to just sit by the canal and watch the people, what they were doing and what was going on in their daily lives. That's when I would often sit down with a book to watch the sunset.

Antonia: That's nice! Are there any restaurants, cafés or museums that you can recommend to us?

Jessica: Definitely, I just don't know if I can remember the names, it's been a while now. There's a cookie store that's really awesome, they have a little Ferris wheel in the window that the cookies run along. I really enjoyed going there, but I have to admit, I can't think of the name at the moment. The best apple pie in town was also definitely the best apple pie in town, I just unfortunately don't remember the name there either. It was really warm and delicious.

Antonia: I know what you mean, it makes your mouth water immediately.

Jessica: Yeah, exactly. So definitely those two, and the museum of modern arts also definitely made a cool impression. It's very cool designed, just the building from the outside is already very creative and mystical designed and also inside it's very cool done.

Antonia: That sounds great, all things that I would also do if I were there. So, now that we've checked off the internship and the other stuff, let's get to the big picture. Does the company where you did your internship have any other subsidiaries?

Jessica: No, as I said the company is very small and that's why they've only been there for, I think, 10 years, so they don't exist anywhere else.

Antonia: All right ok. And how was the internship for you? Were you able to learn anything from it or take anything away for yourself? Did you find out through the internship that this job is something you can imagine for your future or rather that it was nice to try it out but that it is rather nothing for your future?

Jessica: I would say partly. It wasn't terrible that I would say, I never want to work in sales ever again, but I realized in the internship that the department concept is not for me. I need variety and a little bit of several departments and that's why I was also very grateful that I had the opportunity to work in different departments there at the same time. I've since tried my hand at other areas and departments as well. So, it was actually mixed, I really enjoyed parts of the internship, but I also realized that it doesn't have to be Sales for me. 

Antonia: Okay, I can imagine that. When you started your studies, did you already have a rough idea of what you wanted to do with your studies or what you wanted to do after graduation? Most of the time this idea develops during the course of your studies or changes completely. Did your internship have an impact on your idea of what you want to do after graduation?

Jessica: Yes, it was funny how I got into this major in the first place. There was a circus at my school and the teacher who ran that circus for 25 years retired. But I wanted that circus to continue to exist, so I took over as director.

Antonia: Wow.

Jessica: Then that was kind of the beginning of management for me. It was all about the stage, the costumes, the music, the arrangements with the school administration, the performances, the money and at the same time practicing the things that you want to perform and so on. That's when I realized that managing and organizing is actually something that suits me quite well, and then I thought, with regard to my studies, that it might go in the direction of event management. Then Corona came along, and events weren't really a thing anymore, so I got rid of that idea relatively quickly. Unfortunately, the internship didn't help me much in the sense that I now know exactly how to proceed. However, the internship definitely helped me to get a picture of how the business world works and what it's really like in a company, since I hadn't had such experiences before.

Antonia: Even though you still don't know exactly what direction you want to go in despite the internship, it still helped. It was similar for me. But I had a slightly different experience. My internship was great and yet I knew afterwards that it wasn't for me. Although it was a really great internship and I really enjoyed the 6 months and was able to really flourish in my tasks, I knew that it wasn't for me. I walked out on my last day and thought to myself, no, this isn't it.

Jessica: That's how you learn something. That's why I think we have the mandatory internship in our degree program.

Antonia: Yes, definitely. And it can also be different. I've heard from many people who said after their internship: yes, that's exactly what I want to do.

Jessica: Yes, exactly. For some of them it's a perfect fit.

Antonia: And for you it was a middle course.

Jessica: Yes, I also realized, for example, that the size and type of company was right for me. I don't need to work in a huge corporation where every employee really only has his or her specific tasks and there are thousands of employees. I like the somewhat more open structure, the togetherness and that you know all your colleagues. I found that very pleasant. And I also don't need a completely fresh startup with only 2 people, no, rather something in between. Exactly the way it was in my internship, actually.

Antonia: Nice! Would you recommend your internship as it was?

Jessica: Yes, I definitely would. In the meantime, they have changed a few things. There is a bit more salary for interns and there is still this structure with the 3 interns, so they are always looking for interns. I can definitely recommend that. So, for everyone who wants to have a look at the Netherlands and wants to get to know Amsterdam, this internship is a great opportunity.

Antonia: Okay, to summarize everything now. You can't see that, I'm gesticulating wildly with my hands, because that's part of talking somehow. So, to summarize everything, the internship and everything around it, describe your time there in 3 words, or more or less words, as it suits you.

Jessica: Okay, I'll try. It was definitely different. I've been to a big city or two before and Amsterdam kind of doesn't quite fit in there. Amsterdam doesn't feel so much like a big city. The city has a very special flair. It feels more like village life, but there are still a lot of people there and a lot to do and to experience. Nevertheless, everyone is always very friendly and nice, and everyone is very open. That was just nice, and it was great to get to know it that way. The internship was definitely instructive. I was able to take away a lot from it that I didn't know before and that has helped me even now after the internship and that I have also found again in my studies. Those were the two things and then definitely bicycle. Bike. That's the third one. I really used the bicycle every day. I used it to go to work, to go to the supermarket, to go to town, everywhere, all the time.

Antonia: Did any of that stick, so you still use a bike here too?

Jessica: To be honest, right after that I went to Australia for my semester abroad, so I didn't have one, and after that I did another internship, so I didn't have one either. And also, at home I rarely used the bike. But I was lucky: my bike was never stolen in Amsterdam, and that's really a big problem in Amsterdam, you really have to see where you can lock your bike properly. And twice a year there's an event where they fish all the bikes out of the canal that have fallen in. It feels like there are always more bikes than people living in Amsterdam. So, you can easily lose your bike there, but luckily I had mine the whole time and could use it throughout my stay.

Antonia: Lucky, very good! Okay, so now I have my last question: the usual question, rating on a scale of 1 to 10, but today divided into two parts. So once for the evaluation of your internship and once for the evaluation of your overall time there. Because I think, unlike the semester abroad, you can't look at the internship and the time around it as one, because they can be so different, so you really have to make a separation between work and not work.

Jessica: Good point. So, I would say the internship was an 8. It was really cool from the atmosphere and from the tasks that I had to do, but I think I would have liked to learn and take away a little bit more. And then there were little things that came up, difficulties in the home office or something, but they're not crucial, so it's an 8. In itself, the time there, I think I would rate similarly. The people were nice. We still keep in touch, even though we may not have been the very best of friends. The internship was good, even if maybe not perfect. And in itself the country was beautiful, and we could see a lot of it and make excursions but in itself the atmosphere it has in the city is very nice but I am rather a person who fits better in other cities. So therefore, also rather an 8, I would say.

Antonia: Also, an important experience to find out. Am I a village person, a city person, or such a city person.

Jessica: Exactly. I knew before that I wasn't a village person. But getting to know the different cities and also getting to know the different way of life in different cities was very important and that's where I just fit less into Amsterdam as a person. Nevertheless, I recommend everyone to have visit it, because it's really beautiful there. Only for me Amsterdam is not the right place in the long run.

Antonia: Ok, also important to find out. And in the end, you can only find that out if you've really been there and tried it out. Now I had another question: About the work culture and work ethic in the Netherlands, would you generally recommend an internship somewhere in the Netherlands? Is it very different from our German work culture?

Jessica: Well, it's a bit more relaxed, so it can happen there that the beer is on the table at 4 in the afternoon. They're really proud of their Heineken, they always had a keg standing around in the office that you could help yourself to. The Feierabendbier but just before the end of the work day, because you actually work until 5. So, it's already a bit looser there and everything a bit more relaxed than here in Germany, so I would recommend it to everyone. Especially those who care about the openness of people. What also surprised me a lot was that they all speak English, which is very advantageous. If I had gone to France with my French skills, hoping to speak English, I think I would have failed. In any case, you don't have such problems in the Netherlands. Even the fruit seller at the market can communicate with you.

Antonia: Ok, great, that's it from my side. Is there anything else you want to share with us? Oh, wait, last time you told me, something went wrong?

Jessica: Yeah exactly, just this apartment hunting in the beginning. It was a dream: I applied and got feedback after 2 days that I can start the internship in 3 weeks and then I was quite enthusiastic and started looking for an apartment and that was a bit more difficult and sluggish, but then I finally found something. But then that went very wrong. Looking back, I would say that I did everything right, so there was no mistake on my part, but the problem was that it happened again. I lost a lot of money very quickly. That was very unpleasant and then I was also very demotivated and had no desire to go there at all, because I had the whole time in my head: what if the whole city is like that. And then I talked to my parents, they cheered me up and then we found this accommodation, which was really great. I no longer had the feeling there that I was uncomfortable or that crime was somehow a bigger problem in Amsterdam. It was really only at the beginning that it went wrong twice because of the scam.

Antonia: Yes, it's a shame. But it's also important to have someone who has your back and supports you and tells you that you can manage that. In your case, it was your parents, and it's super nice to experience something like that, when you know that you can always rely on these people in such situations, and that they're there for you and always have your back.

Jessica: Exactly. And the first two weeks in Amsterdam made the bad attitude disappear very quickly. We had a lot of new and wonderful experiences and memories relatively quickly, so that wasn't a problem anymore.

Antonia: Perfect! From my side that would be it. Is there anything else you would like to share?

Jessica: Yes, I would definitely recommend: if I go to the Netherlands, check out Rotterdam. It's a very beautiful city and very different than what you expect. Different than Amsterdam or just these modern skyscrapers, but it has the contrast of old and new. So, if you make it there, check out that city as well.

Antonia: Great, thank you so much for the tip. And also thank you so much for sharing your experience with us once again. I'm glad you were here. To you listeners: hopefully it motivated you to do your internship abroad or maybe even directly in the Netherlands, or even in Amsterdam or even directly at Spryng.

Jessica: I'm happy to pass on the contact.

Antonia: So, you guys know. I'll link Jessica, and then you can get in touch with her if the internship appeals to you. Then, thank you so much Jessica.

Jessica: Thank you so much for having me.

 

Antonia: I'm glad you were there. That's it for today. See you then!