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              Dutch PM Mark Rutte says that apologies for Dutch history as slave owners and traders are “not wise”

              Rent relief on the way for low-income households

              How to support victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

              How to support victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

              Rail strike hits services on Arriva lines

              A bus at a bus station.

              New round of regional transport strike in the North

              The outside of a building by night.

              Pro-Russian hackers claim cyberattack on UMCG

              A woman.

              Groninger photographer Courtney Bonneau launches new exhibition in Lebanon

              The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

              The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

              Philips Drachten

              Philips to fire 6,000 staff to cut costs

              First flight from Eelde to Munich

              Eelde Airport secures two new summer routes

              Trending Tags

              • Lifestyle
                • All
                • Food & Drinks
                • Nightlife
                • Shopping
                • What's happening
                Groningen welcomes Qatar 2022 with cheer and criticism

                Groningen welcomes Qatar 2022 with cheer and criticism

                The anti Zwarte Piet protest in Emmen

                Emmen: Four people still detained after anti Zwarte Piet protest

                The inside of Forum Groningen

                “Let’s Gro” opens a discussion on the future of Groningen

                What about food in student city Groningen?

                Where to get knockout fries in the northern provinces

                Ukraine Food opens in Groningen

                Ukraine Food opens in Groningen

                Buses will no longer travel through the Grote Markt in Groningen

                Buses will no longer travel through the Grote Markt in Groningen

                “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

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                Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                Plans for extensive Kardinge residential expansion revealed

                Plans for extensive Kardinge residential expansion revealed

                Trending Tags

                • Culture
                  • All
                  • Dutch history
                  • Typical Dutch
                  International Welcome Centre North

                  International Welcome Centre North

                  A woman.

                  Groninger photographer Courtney Bonneau launches new exhibition in Lebanon

                  Eurosonic Noorderslag

                  Eurosonic Noorderslag

                  Ending the Year with a Bang!

                  Ending the Year with a Bang!

                  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                  A devastating defeat; an unexpected victory

                  A devastating defeat; an unexpected victory

                  Sinterklaas is Here!

                  Sinterklaas is Here!

                  A moment from NFF 2021

                  Noordelijk Film Festival 2022 has started

                  “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                  “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                  Trending Tags

                  • People
                    • All
                    • Expats
                    • International students
                    International Welcome Centre North

                    International Welcome Centre North

                    The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

                    The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

                    Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                    Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                    People protesting on a street in Groningen.

                    Former Sugar Homes residents protest for return of withheld deposit

                    I’m not Black; I’m African

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                    A letter from the Editor – Internationals from 120 countries: Welcome to Groningen, Leeuwarden, Assen and Emmen!

                    MPs call for cap on foreign student numbers in order to ensure ‘accessibility’

                    Watch: I’m 100% positive about my Groningen internship – Hanze international student

                    Watch: I’m 100% positive about my Groningen internship – Hanze international student

                    Common cold becoming too common

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                      The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

                      The cold of the North is compensated by the warmth of its people – Ocean Grazer engineer

                      Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                      Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                      Watch: We’re hiring internationals to help us with foreign clients – ACS Buildings CEO

                      Watch: We’re hiring internationals to help us with foreign clients – ACS Buildings CEO

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                      Small but mighty: TECNED is looking for internationals to help it grow

                      Talk on International Growth by local founders to take place on the 21st of June

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                      Groningen to host its first sustainable business day

                      Groningen to host its first sustainable business day

                      Companies in Dutch energy sector seek next cohort of young leaders

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                      Annual Beta Business Days event a success

                      Annual Beta Business Days event a success

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                      Home Opinion

                      It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                      But not everyone is feeling jolly.

                      Sandra Longmore by Sandra Longmore
                      December 20, 2022
                      in Culture, Groningen, International students, People
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                      It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                      Creative Commons International 4.0 / Author: Jody Richards

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                      Most university students anticipate spending quality time with family and old friends in the weeks leading up to the Christmas break. With the winter sapping motivation and spirit from us all, it’s no surprise that people look forward to those two short weeks for rest and rejuvenation.

                      Surrounded by friends, family, and traditions, students living in Groningen can separate their student life from their home life as they take their train, car or even bike journeys to “thuis thuis” (home home). But for some foreign students, particularly from outside of the EU, there is very little chance of experiencing this level of comfort due to the higher ticket prices from inflation. Those unable to afford the high prices are left with no option but to attempt to reproduce that homey feeling in a new country or even continent – something at which I have not yet succeeded.

                      In lieu of time spent with family and friends back home, over the course of our years here as students, Groningen becomes like a home away from home, where we make lifelong friends who can at least become surrogate family, or in some cases really come to feel like our own kin. The bustling binnenstad becomes the focal point of our lives until, at Christmas time, the city is slowly drained of its lifeblood: students. Although many students and families also choose the leave the city to go on vacation during the summer, the longer duration allows people to leave for a couple of weeks and still have time to enjoy the pleasant weather and laidback atmosphere in Groningen. On the other hand, winter in Groningen remains cold and bleak despite the Christmas lights strewn across the city, making it infinitely harder to fight the homesickness that creeps in from time to time.

                      As for me, I have loved the Christmas season my whole life – which holds true for most people around the world. As a child, it was mostly because of the presents under the Christmas tree and the excitement of Santa’s visit. But as I grew older, it meant that I could take time away from the stress of school and really just spend time doing things that I enjoyed. Now having moved across the world, the Christmas break has morphed into something entirely different.

                      With the brevity of the Christmas break, it is an almost impossible task for me to fly home to my family in Zambia. Additionally, the astronomically high ticket prices and the 14-hour duration of the journey (not including transfers and waiting times) would put anyone out of their cheerful Christmas spirit. So for the past three years, Christmas has been synonymous with a longing for familiarity, and an intense, deeply ingrained homesickness. Living in a strange land where you don’t feel like you belong can also exacerbate feelings of isolation and homesickness.

                      In my long experience away from home, I have learned that it is so essential to remain connected to your family and friends by phone, but also that you find family in the friends around you. While it is good to remain in touch with your family, getting out of your comfort zone and making a new network where you can feel at home is crucial. I would not have made it through these last three years, especially during the pandemic, without the support of my friends in Groningen.

                      Having said that, this year, I am determined to avoid the ghost town and to reunite with my family, so I will take an easier, more affordable flight even further away from my motherland to meet my parents in Denmark. While I prefer the sweltering Zambian heat, I don’t much mind the knee-deep snow if it means seeing my family. Home is where the heart is, after all.

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