Greetings readers,
as my alarm goes off at 6.30 (following a few too many taps on the snooze-button), so starts a day in the life of a Finnish intern in the Netherlands.
A quick breakfast and I’m off on my daily journey to get to work. In order for me to arrive at my destination, I must carefully pace myself to set me off on a unique chain of routes by public transport.
STEP 1: Hop on my titanium horse (read: bicycle) Ride 400m. Arrive at tram stop.
STEP 2: Hop on tram that takes me to Central station. About 10 minutes.
STEP 3: Transfer to train towards Hoofddorp (small city West of Amsterdam). Arrive at Hoofddorp station. About 20 minutes.
STEP 4: Walk from station to workplace. Around 7 minutes.
One thing that surprised me initially at my internship was the flexible work hours compared to a rigid minute-to-minute monitoring sometimes present in Finnish companies. This of course places more responsibility on the individual worker, but with time it becomes routine: do the work you are responsible for but no need to stress if work is left for the next day.
Another culture shock so to speak was the bread lunch. The Dutch eat an unruly amount of bread, and at any time of day. For someone who is used to eating a proper lunch somewhere around one and two o’clock, the noon bread lunch was something that took time to adjust to.
During my spare time, I enjoyed biking through the city, as each time I left my apartment it felt like a brand new adventure. Just soaking in the city vibes was enough to get me in a good mood. Also the hip waterside terraces were a nice way to unwind with friends after a long day at the office.
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