GOING DUTCH WITH THE LOCALS: HOW GRONINGEN SHAPES YOU | MAG GOING DUTCH S01E04 скачать в хорошем качестве

GOING DUTCH WITH THE LOCALS: HOW GRONINGEN SHAPES YOU | MAG GOING DUTCH S01E04

Making local friends as an international student can be tricky. And how do Dutch locals feel about internationals changing their city? In this episode of MAG Going Dutch, Daria and Natasha sit down with Mike, a born-and-raised Stadjer who grew up in the province and later moved to the city of Groningen for his studies. Now working and living in Groningen with his girlfriend and their corgi, Mike reflects on what it means to grow up Dutch in a city that is becoming increasingly international. Groningen is often described as the most student-friendly city in the Netherlands. With nearly 25% of its population being students, and more than 12,000 of them internationals, it’s a place where flat land, bicycles and diversity collide. But what is it like for a local to witness this shift? Mike talks about growing up surrounded by farms, biking 25 minutes to school through open fields, and viewing Groningen as a collection of puzzle pieces that only made sense once he started exploring the city by bike. For him, the change came with studying chemistry in a fully English-taught programme, where classmates from all over the world became the norm. He reflects on how speaking English with fellow students slowly made it his default language, even in casual conversation. ‘At some point, I forgot Dutch words simply because I wasn’t using them anymore.’ But while internationals are going Dutch in everyday ways, from using Tikkie to falling in love with biking, Mike shows that the reverse is true as well. Locals like him go international without even realising it. ‘You just absorb perspectives when you're surrounded by different people. It changes you.’ The episode dives into how internationals leave their mark on the city, not just with restaurants and languages, but also through how locals start to see their own culture. Mike is honest about how his world expanded just by talking to people from different backgrounds. ‘You don’t have to move to another country to open your mind. You just have to meet people who live differently.’ Still, Groningen remains proudly Dutch at its core. ‘We’re more conservative up north,’ Mike says, ‘but mixing things up a little is a good thing. You can still go to Koningsdag and hear Dutch, but now the menus might be in English too.’ With humour, insight and a healthy dose of reflection, this episode explores what it means to live in a city where cultures meet and where being a local is no longer a fixed identity. So can internationals become true Stadjers? Mike thinks so. ‘If you live here, ride your bike and sit on a terrace, you’re one of us.’