Foreign Eye

(Photo/caption: Ricardo Mejia, from Colombia, MSc, IDE)

Talk to me about the weather…. As an international student from Colombia one of the biggest changes in my lifestyle over the past two years stems for the shifting, seasonal weather conditions here. The first fact is that the Netherlands, lying in the temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe, between the tropics and the polar circles, has generally mild shifts between summer and winter and a moderate maritime climate, rather than extreme hot or cold, according to my Lonely Planet travel guide. When preparing your trip to Delft from a distant warm country, you’re ready to face the weather; in your luggage a big jacket is packed, because winter winds can be cold and the official Dutch website for tourists www.holland.com says you ‘should certainly wrap up well in January and February’. And they add: One of the nice things about Holland is that ‘the Dutch are relaxed about clothes’. And I must admit that, yes!, all this about geographical, social and cultural conditions is really true, but nobody tells you about the impact the weather can have on your feelings and emotions. Yet international students report the significant influence that Dutch weather conditions have on their perceptual and emotional estimations of the university, the city and the country, all of which radically changes their lifestyles. So with winter coming, it’s better if you’re ready to face it.