Adjusting to college can be a difficult time for any student who leaves homes, but for Laurens de Jonge ‘20 this step meant travelling 5,000 miles away.

de Jonge is an international student from the Netherlands who chose to spend his freshman year at Linfield. He gave a presentation about the different experiences during a presentation in Jonasson Hall. The talk focused on the politics of the Netherlands and other major differences such as holidays and sports.

One of the things that seems the hardest for de Jonge was the lack of transportation being in such a rural area. In Amsterdam people are more reliant on bikes than cars, the opposite of what he noticed here.

“There was readapting, like in the beginning you’re looking around, you’re taking everything in and you’re trying to build up a life again.” de Jonge said about rebuilding his life when he moved here for the year.

Being on the soccer team was something that helped de Jonge rebuild by forcing him into a routine and allowing him to meet new people. To help him gain more structure he also got involved in greek life.

“When I came here we immediately started with the soccer season, and you immediately get brought into this group of people that you see almost on a daily basis and that really helped in the beginning and hopefully throughout year.” he said.
Although he missed many holidays while in the US he got to experience his first Thanksgiving with a friend’s family. Along with the missed holidays he missed the first election he could vote in. Unlike in the US however he could sign over his voting rights to his mother. His presentation focused on the politics of the Netherlands and how they differ from US politics.