For the last 2 years I’ve been studying at TU Delft, Netherlands. Now
that I've earned my slip of paper, my time has come to fly back to Australia
via Malaysia.
I was expecting the feeling of departing the Netherlands to be much
harder than it actually was. I have made a lot of good friends here, adjusted
to the bike culture, and have developed a pretty severe addiction to chocolate
croissants. But to my surprise, the departure was simple and easy.
Perhaps what made the departure so easy was the interaction I had with a
lowlife at the train station on my way to the airport. I was walking through
the gate with my luggage, and a guy in his mid 20’s squeezed in right behind me
to avoid paying for a ticket. Partially out of surprise, and partially out of a
burning sense of injustice, I tried to block the guy by propping up my luggage.
It didn’t work though; he simply clambered around me. As he passed me he
shouted in a Dutch accent “Why you block me, man?! Next time, I’ll cut you!”
and made stabbing gesture. The Dutch really are direct.
My flight was at 8:55am so I had to wake up at 4:50am in order to get me
there 2 hours beforehand. I would rather sacrifice an hour of sleep and walk
3km with luggage, than spend 3 euros for a quick and simple tram ride to Delft
station.
Netherlands, you've been fantastic. In particular, I love your biking
culture and the friendliness of the people - although, this doesn't apply to
customer service - you can improve a bit on that front.
Even though I feel just as unprepared for the industry as when I first
entered Delft, I'm slightly optimistic that I can now get a job that will
utilize my theoretical knowledge. Watch out world! Here I come! I may stumble,
slip and fall, but dammit I'm going to move forward.
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