Lotte during her internship in Bristol

Hey! Who are you and where are you from? Where do you study/live/work?

Hey! My name is Lotte and I’m from the Netherlands. When I went on an internship abroad, I was studying to be a secretary.

What was the first thing you thought when you got off the plane? (bus/train/car)

The first thing I thought when I arrived in Bristol was, wow I really did it, I made it! I couldn’t wait to start my internship.

What was the most shocking difference between your home country and your new country?

 I think the biggest difference between England and the Netherlands is that England is so polite and sincerely kind, they wanted to help me until they were sure that I would find my way. The people who helped me literally guided me to the place I had to be, the other couple almost went on the bus with me, to make sure I would find my house. Dutch people just tell you where to go and that’s it.

What does your usual working day look like?

My work days were long but really fun, I had the greatest boss ever! She is so fun, so polite and I learned so much from her. Not only from my boss but from everyone. I worked with so many international people and had to help so many international students. I loved it. It is a great opportunity to meet so many different people.

What's the working-atmosphere at your internship-company like?

The working atmosphere at my host company was really good, everyone is kind, fun, young and very open, open to get to know you, but also open to share their life with you.

Did you ever feel homesick? How did you cope with this?

 I was very lucky to never get home sick. I’ve never really been home sick, but being away for 5 months, was hard sometimes. I just skyped a lot with my friends, called and skyped my parents and sisters, received and sent lots of postcards. You just have to keep in contact with the people at home, but make sure to not have too much contact, you have to make friends in the place you are. If you don’t make friends you will be very lonely and will get home sick.

Did you feel at home in your new country? Why (not)?

 I definitely felt home in Bristol, it is a young city. I was afraid I would feel lost because I come from a very small village and would be in a big city for 5 months. Bristol feels really small and even though it is very crowded and kind of big, you don’t feel it like that. It has lots of cool and quiet places. Bristol has room for everyone, there is a pub for every kind of person.

Please give us tips about who to befriend when living abroad. The Russians? The Irish? The Chileans? (Honestly, we want to know some gossip about other internationals you’ve met.)

I became friends with Spanish, Polish, Turkish, French, English, Irish people, even with Korean, Saudi, Italian and Mexican people. I don’t think that there is a kind of nation you can be friends with best. I worked at an international school and there you see that the inside of people from nations can change a lot. You just have to find your kind of people in the country you will go to. Don’t judge people from where they’re from.

Describe the inhabitants of the new country in three words.

 I would describe Bristolians as Polite, Funny and Kind.

What did you learn from your experience abroad? Was it the loving community you liked? The cheap cocktails? The overwhelming nature? Or was the experience less helpful than expected? Details, we want details!

I learned to be myself, to be more open to people and to stop judging people. In Bristol people really were who the hell they want to be. I also learned to get out of my comfort-zone. I loved Bristol because it is a city that always lives. When the sun is out, people are everywhere: in the grass, shopping, at the harbour, in the parks. Bristolians are people who enjoy and love life. They live every day and enjoy every moment. Every Friday after work people go to the pub to celebrate the weekends and every pub is full, the whole weekend. I would love to go back and would recommend it to everyone. Also a plus about England in general is, that they have bus companies that give you the opportunity to travel through England for like 5 pounds, yes! So cheap!! So do it! Discover England while you’re at it! I definitely did ;)