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Franziska went on high school in the Netherlands

Franziska from Austria spent a year abroad in the Netherlands.

I chose the Netherlands because I felt drawn to this country from the beginning and wanted to know what it was all about.

My host family

I got along well with my host family straight away and was included in everyday family life and on all excursions. After a short time, I felt at home with them, and it was a really familiar environment. My host family also helped me a lot to learn the language and they were very patient with me. When I finally was able to speak Dutch fluently, they were very proud of me. Even after my year abroad, I still have a lot of contact with my host family.

About school

My teachers were very understanding of the fact that I didn’t have the same level as the rest of my classmates at the beginning and tried to give me the best possible support. Since everything was in Dutch, it took me a few weeks to get used to it.

My friends

Even before I flew to the Netherlands, I was in contact with a few classmates, and they accompanied me for the first few weeks. They ended up becoming my best friends. I also met up with the other STS students in the Netherlands and did a lot with them!

I recommend going!

I would recommend everyone to go on a high school year to attend a local school and live with a host family. Not only do you get to know a new culture, but you also learn a lot about yourself and develop yourself further.

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Grace studied abroad in the Netherlands

Grace from New Zealand was on exchange in the Netherlands.

I chose to go to The Netherlands, because my family is originally from here. I thought it would be great to learn the language, learn about the history, buildings, and experience all the food. I love the food! Especially bitterballen, pindakaas and oliebollen.

People have been very welcoming. The school is a lot bigger than what I’m used to, the teachers are nice and relaxed, the students are eager to learn, and everyone speaks English very well. I’m taking English, history, Dutch, maths, PE, religion and art. It’s interesting to see the class dynamics. I’ve noticed that classmates here tend to be a lot closer than in NZ.

My host family has been amazing. I’m especially close to my host sister; we have similar interests and do a lot of things together. My host parents love to travel around the country and show me new things, which I really appreciate. As a family we also have a board game night every week, which I love. The match with them has been perfect, and I’m 100% sure we will stay in touch and hopefully see each other soon again!

If I could give future Host Families advice, I would say: encourage your student to try everything. They might not love everything, but they will be thankful in the end that they’ve tried something new.

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Andrea chose to study in the Netherlands

Andrea from Italy was on exchange in the Netherlands.

When I was little, I traveled a lot with my family. When we visited The Netherlands, I felt drawn to this country. I could really see myself living there when I got older, so I decided to go on a high school exchange to The Netherlands.

My host family was amazing! They were so nice and helped me with everything. After only two weeks, I started to feel at home already! I loved spending Christmas with them, celebrating birthdays, going on trips, and having family dinners.

The school was sometimes hard, but the teachers were open to help and didn’t expect me to be at the same level as the other students right away since I had to get used to the Dutch language first.

Making friends at school was easy! People in Brabant are just very welcoming to exchange students.

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Abigail went on exchange to the Netherlands

Abigail from Australia was on exchange in the Netherlands.

My mom was born in the Netherlands and part of my family still speaks Dutch, so going on exchange to the Netherlands to learn the language and understand the culture better, was great.

I felt at home with my host family immediately. I was in the same family as an Italian exchange student. It was actually great to share the exchange experience. Our host parents and older host sisters included us in everything: trips, holidays, activities, etc. And that’s what I would advise future Host Families as well: include your students as much as possible, but give them space to discover their own ‘Dutch life’ as well!

The school was great, the students and teachers were really nice. My English teacher introduced me to some girls in my class, who ended up becoming my best friends.

Although I had been to the Netherlands as a kid, I still had quite a culture shock. Part of that was me taking a bike to school every day! 😊

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