I have been in Amsterdam for two years now and I can tell you its being a bittersweet experience, I came here 2018 and the first few months were hell, i couldn't make friends the people were nice but didn't want to let you in their circle. What no one tell international students is that although the Dutch would say the only bad thing in the Netherlands is the weather, but they don't tell you the xenophobia international students face when searching from accommodation and getting a job. As a student I pay 8,700euros and in my ID card it shows that I'm only allowed to work only if my employer applies for a working permit for me(students outside Europe) and let me tell you this is very difficult to find an employer who would be willing to apply for that permit for you. Till now i still have not gotten a job my parents take care of my whole needs which is very frustrating, and the government don't care about the international student from third world countries. My rent monthly is 500euros, and my fees is 8,800euros (i pay 1000euros monthly) which went up by the way during Covid-19 can you imagine that and groceries shopping is so freaking expensive then, i pay 100euro extra for my OV-travel card to get to school or anywhere i want to go in Amsterdam.
When i came here i was so excited because it was my first time travelling abroad and, my parents sacrificed all they had to send me here however, unknown lily to me life was going to taking a twisted turn when i stepped in that plan to Amsterdam. I tried reaching out to the IND about this telling them about my situation and how it is horrible for me here, they then suggested that this might not be the right country for me then i was so sad because most of my friends who came here expected to work part-time to take the same load off their parents but unfortunately, that cannot happen. I just wish the government can allow students work without that restriction of allowing your employer apply for a permit for you first, and by the way if you do find an employer who does that, you are only allowed to work 16hours per week.
Racism
When people think of a racist country all eyes turn to America which is true, however, European countries are also extremely racist the only reason people hear about America racism is because they are outspoken about it. Without doubt one thing I'm very sure of is most of the Dutch people i have met don't believe racism exist in their country, and the reason for this is they allow tourist in their country so how can they be racist. On September 2019 I experienced my first racist attack at me and my friend at that time just finished writing our exams. A white man who was drunk came to me and called me a nasty nigga, multiple times I was so shocked because I only see this in news being that i come a black populated country(Nigeria) I never experienced this before. After that incident this began to occur more frequently that i have lost count, as we all know there was a popular BLM march in the month of July worldwide over the death of George Floyd. During this time was horrible for me, man white males would throw nasty slurs my way and downgrading names. My friends who were Asians, were not spared either when the news that Covid-19 was in the Netherlands their lives became hell, my Thai friend was even so sacred to leave the house after a group of black teenage boys were following her on her bicycle calling her names and saying she brought the corona. My Korean friend also experienced this at my university before the school shut down and reported this to the board but no action was taken.
As we approach the Christmas season the Netherlands is once again embroiled in their own black face debate around Santa's Dutch magical helper Zwarte Piet also known as Black Pete. Black Pete is normally portrayed by white people in black face paint wearing frizzy wigs and red lipstick. It is heavily criticized for being racist, However, the Dutch disagree with that saying it's a party for the people and it isn't blackface. He's just black because he slides down the chimney and gets the soot all over him and should stay the way it is. I'm able to reason with this however, why the afro and big red lips? Why doesn't Santa also come down covered in soot? The issue is the Dutch don't want to agree there is racism in that culture they care about so much more information can be found in the link below. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/black-pete-christmas-zwarte-piet-dutch/.
Another thing is colorism, the bias of skin tone, an issue not only in the Netherlands but worldwide even in my country Nigeria. My friend who wanted to get into modelling in Amsterdam, always got shut down she was tall, thin and drop dead gorgeous. But the thing it's everywhere she never got picked, so she gave up on that modelling dream, in even in dating most guys would prefer mixed or light skin over dark skin.
Dating
Dating in the Netherlands how is it? As we all know the Dutch are very beautiful people and no one can take that away from them, not only are they tall but gentlemen also. My dating experience maybe different from others but i am willing to share it, for me dating was kind of hard because i was a shy person when i first moved here. One way Dutch guys flirt is by staring at you very hard because according to my guy friends they are awkward, in the Netherlands be expected to make the first move or you might miss out on the potential love of your life, also going Dutch on bills isn't always true lol, most Dutch guys pay for stuffs on their date i got treated on 300euro date at a seafood restaurant, overall we live in the 21st century babes i prefer we pay for our own meal than expecting a guy to unless he insisted. Tinder, Bumble and other dating apps can help in dating, most Dutch guys kinda expect casual sex but if you're not up to it, you can always decline. I won't say much about the type of girls Dutch girls go for before all men are different and have different type but one advice i would give is make the first move because sometimes the guys want you to.
Making Friends
Making friends is very hard here the Dutch are very nice i won't take that away from them, but having a conversation with someone and being their friend is different, it hard for them to accept you in their circle as they are very judgemental. Many international students even European student who are not Dutch suffer from this and end up being depressed because they are in their room all day after school and have no one to hang out with. My university Hogeschool Van Amsterdam has a high drop out rate, for two reason the international students and Dutch student don't mix, and this is why internationals make friends with other internationals or drop out because they feel alone and are depressed and it's not because of the weather. Second reason is the school doesn't care about internationals they say they do, but they don't. If i was to fail my first year, rather than taking that year again i would be kicked out from the course and see i came here on a student visa automatically my visa would be taken away from me. The teachers don't engage well with the students in teaching its like we are teaching ourselves, they didn't create an environment for the student to mix and even the teaching style is horrible but, there are few teachers who try to make all students follow along. As an international don't bother going to them for accommodation problem, it's a waste of time as they will ask you to go on room.nl, or DUO which the waiting time is more than 8months to get a room, so i suggest you go on Facebook and join groups offering rooms that's faster. As for me I'm lucky i have few friends who love me dearly and some of them are Dutch so who knows your experience might be different from mine.
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