My name is Stephanie and I am from Dublin. Even though Dublin is the capital of Ireland, and the most diverse part of the country, I still decided to study abroad. I decided this because I lived in a small suburban area and I wanted to meet more people from different backgrounds. When I came to Vlissingen to study at HZ, I was overwhelmed by the amount people I met from different nationalities. Some were even from countries I had never heard of before. I have become close friends with people from all over the world. Germany, Italy, Peru, Tanzania, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Mexico etc. and I think it is fantastic! I am learning so many new things about these countries and trying out a wide variety of food.
Learning new languages
I am also learning basic phrases in different languages thanks to these newfound international friends. Before coming here my aim was to be almost fluent in Spanish. When I was back in Dublin this was very hard for me because I didn’t have any Spanish speaking friends to practice with so of course I was making little progression. After moving, I have met many people who speak, or at least understand Spanish and all of them are very supportive and very helpful to me which is why my Spanish speaking, comprehension, and listening skills have greatly improved.
Making friends all over the world
Another reason why I wanted to meet people from different countries is because I want to travel to many different countries and it helps when you are friends with someone from that country because they can give you tips on where to go, where to stay, where to eat, where to book accommodation and if you are close friends with the person they can even accompany you on your journey to their home country. It is very important to have friends from different countries because it makes you more aware of the world and more tolerant and informed about different nationalities and cultures. Also, in the working world you will be working from people from all over the globe, so I think it is best to get used to it at a young age.
