Kelsey Singer: From Vancouver to Vliss

All my life, I have lived in the greater Vancouver area. There’s a skytrain station five minutes from my house, equipped with a 24 hour corner store and pizza place open until 2 in the morning. Costco is conveniently located a minute away, and if I need anything else I just get into my car and drive.

 

Vlissingen feels like Vancouver’s polar opposite. Almost everything closes at 6pm, and on Sunday’s almost nothing opens at all. Public transportation in Vlissingen isn’t really a thing, either. There are a few buses that will take you out of the city to a nearby town, or the train station that can take you pretty much anywhere in the Netherlands. However, if you want to get to school by transit, you’re out of luck. I started with walking to school the first week as I was getting settled, and soon realized it was necessary to get a bike.  

 

 

In Vlissingen you see double the amount of bikes as you do cars. Everyone rides his or her bike everywhere and anywhere. At home the biggest struggle with driving to school at Capilano is finding a parking spot for your car if you arrive in the afternoon. In Vlissingen the biggest struggle is finding a spot for your bike at HZ if you don’t arrive early enough!

 

Another big difference is the language barrier. Before leaving Canada I researched the Netherlands in general and saw that the population was 80% English speaking and I also knew my schooling was in English. What my research didn’t prepare me for was that nothing is labeled in English. Going grocery shopping takes double the time when you don’t know what spice or sauce or even type of meat you are looking at! Luckily the people in stores are really friendly and willing to help and so is Google Translate!
 

 

The last big difference for me is definitely my favourite. At home, whether I’m going to work, school, or to see friends, I’m getting into my car or onto public transport with headphones in and then arriving at my destination. In Vlissingen you are always outside on your bike or walking, and because it is such a small town you are bound to run into at least one person you know. Since I have arrived there has not been one time where I left the house without seeing someone I recognized and saying hi, and that has been truly an amazing change. Everyone is so friendly, and this place has quickly come to feel like home to me because of that. It may have been a scary change at first, but I am happy to see and appreciate the differences in the place I come from and the place I’m currently calling my home.

Kelsey Singer is a Bachelor of Business Administration student at Capilano University. Kelsey studied abroad at HZ University of Applied Sciences Vlissingen, Netherlands.