51²è¹Ý¶ù

Eight years ago, I decided to study Dutch in Sheffield on a whim. I didn’t know anything about the language, nor the cultures associated with it; I just knew I wanted to study a Germanic language and I thought, ‘why not?’. Eight years on, it continues to be the best decision I ever made.

Living with an Antwerp family

After falling in love with the Dutch language in my second year at 51²è¹Ý¶ù, my love (and borderline obsession) only grew during the pandemic. I’m not sure whether it was Filip’s enthusiasm when talking about Antwerp, or my own difficulties with the northern Dutch pronunciation of the ‘g’ that drove me to chase a Flemish accent, but my heart was set on Antwerp, and once I graduated, I made it my mission to move there.

I would be lying if I said that moving to Belgium has been all sunshine and rainbows. It hasn’t, and moving abroad is no easy feat – especially not since Brexit. That’s why I ended up working as an au pair for six months in Antwerp after I graduated – it was the easiest way for me to stay in Flanders for longer than three months. Although childcare was definitely not what I had envisioned for myself post-Sheffield, what better way to immerse yourself in the language and the culture than by living with a family? I attended a wedding at the city hall in Antwerp, ate typical Flemish food, celebrated Easter, I came to understand the cultural significance of K3 (look them up), and learnt the vocabulary for a whole host of household items, not to mention putting my Dutch to the test with three young children! Although being an au pair wasn’t for me, I knew I wanted to continue exploring Antwerp in a different capacity.  

Dutch as a superpower

After a year back in England, I returned to Antwerp to start my master’s degree. Having spoken to a number of the Dutch language coaches during my time in Sheffield, I knew that university in Flanders would be different, having heard that ‘students are at university to study, not to make friends’, but it was still quite a shock, especially coming from the warm, welcoming and bubbly Dutch department in Sheffield. Flemish students can be quite reserved; add a shy Brit into the mix and it’s not the best combination. That was rather challenging as university just became going to a lesson and going home again, without talking to anyone, despite being surrounded by others. I forced myself to get creative and search for other social opportunities.

This is where being able to speak Dutch really felt like a superpower and the key to ‘infiltrating’ Flemish society; my experience in Antwerp has been very different to that of my international friends because I can speak Dutch, and although everyone has very good English in Antwerp, one of the best ways to people’s hearts is by speaking to them in their language. That’s certainly not to say that if you whip out your best sentence with ‘er’ that you’ll have friends falling at your feet. You won’t, sadly. Building up a social life here has taken an awful lot of perseverance, effort and putting myself out of my comfort zone. It’s uncomfortable, it’s scary, and at times it’s unbelievably demoralising. HOWEVER! It is not impossible and very rewarding: there’s both the moment of ‘I did it, I made a friend in Dutch!’ and the sense of pride you feel for taking the steps to make it happen, gaining a little more confidence each time. 

A home away from home

I now have friends from work, hobbies and volunteering, and I even made friends with two Flemish students after almost two semesters! Although the British sense of humour often doesn’t land so well here, people soon come to understand that sarcasm is an integral part of my personality, and if the jokes fail, the weather is always a safe topic of conversation. All jokes aside, once you get to know people here, they are incredibly hospitable and generous – they want to show you their culture and their country, they want to help where they can, and once you’re in, you’re in. 

A wonderful thing about being part of the Sheffield tribe is that there’s always someone close by when you’re in the Low Countries, whether it be one of the language coaches, someone on their Year Abroad or alumni. Even though I graduated from Sheffield four years ago, I’m still friends with a few of the language coaches and seeing them always feels like a piece of home away from home.  

Although I may be eight years into my ventures with Dutch, I still remember Filip repeatedly asking me during a lesson to say the word tuin until I somewhat pronounced the vowel sounds correctly. Did I turn bright red? Yes. Does it eventually get easier? Yes, I promise. I could never have predicted the path that learning Dutch would take me on, but I couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out.