New Places and New People: Week 1 in the Netherlands

The first few nights in the Netherlands came with a bit of a housing crisis. There was a combination of us not getting the keys to our dorms ahead of time and the dorm service not being open on weekends that led to a two night stay in the hostel in The Hague. The hostel was very nice and came with free breakfast and bike storage (which was now a must). After these nights, however, we were finally able to move into our permanent dorms: single dorms with a bathroom, fridge, hotplate, sink, and even a balcony!

The living area of my dorm in Delft

Having never lived on my own before I was ecstatic to see all of the amenities that were available to me. The dorm is an easy 10 minute bike away from TU Delft, the campus on which we’re studying, and a similar ride to the center of Delft, which is where we meet in the morning prior to our outing excursions if we have one scheduled for the day.

First view of a Dutch canal: in Delft

At first, I was a bit nervous at the airport as I knew two people who were doing it but not too well. It seemed that everyone sitting around waiting to get on the train already knew each other better than I ever would. One night out with everyone, however, proved that wrong. On the first night, we all went out to get food in the city center of The Hague, and everybody was extremely friendly and conversation came easily. Nobody seemed to be cliquey which I really enjoyed. There was definitely an open social atmosphere that has continued throughout the trip up until this point.

So far, we have done many things during our free time as an entire group, including biking to the beach, playing soccer and frisbee, going out to eat, and just biking around. It’s been great making new friends and meeting new people that I potentially would have never encountered had I not embarked on this journey.

Riding to the beach in The Hague on our first free day

Delft city center

A day spent exploring The Hague