DUTCH EXPERIENCES IN SUNDERLAND
Talking about food, parties, alcohol, sex and drugs.
NEDERLANDSE ERVARINGEN IN SUNDERLAND
Praten over eten, feesten, alcohol, sex en drugs

While The Netherlands is one of England's close neighbours 'just' across the Northsea I find out it takes less time to go to China by plane than sailing to Newcastle from Amsterdam. After being seasick on the ferry for 16 hours I finally arrived at a very sunny England for a period of five months at the University of Sunderland. My Student's Union driver immediately told me this kind of weather is quite exceptional for this part of the country. Luckily the climate in The Netherlands is pretty much the same as here, so I am used to changeable and rainy weather.

Still, it's hard to explain what you're going through in the first couple of days in a totally new environment with total strangers and no idea about the (near) future. You would have to experience it yourself to be able to fully understand all the feelings involved. What I do know is that I have never been so frequently drunk as those first few days in Sunderland. But at least I got to know The Royalty, Wearmouth Bar, Manor Quay and The Palace in only two days. Two days that felt like two weeks, because of all the new impressions.

After the parties the official academic introduction started and we were all broke. That is, by the way, the great advantage of having a credit card: you don't feel how much money you're spending until the end of the month. Actually a credit card is a necessity for me, because England is so expensive compared to living in The Netherlands.

Article Writer, Tefke Van Dijk (above)

On earlier visits to England and Ireland I already noticed that the English eating habits differ from the Dutch in several ways. The most shocking eating habit for me was crisps on bread and vinegar on chips. But then again, English people are often astonished when they hear the Dutch put chocolate sprinkles on bread and mayonnaise on chips. Well, they say every country has its unique features, but I am still getting used to being a Dutch and English girl at the same time.

Speaking, writing and thinking in English turns out to be easier than I initially thought it would be. It bewilders me how easily a person can switch between two (or more) languages. After only three days in England I already had my first dream in English! At this moment I have reached a point where speaking English comes almost more naturally to me than speaking Dutch. But, to be accurate, I don't speak British-English. My English is overshadowed by a huge American accent. That's because Dutch youngsters get years of (British) English lessons at school, but they watch American sitcoms and drama with subtitles on television.

Go to Page 2