Memory Lane: Miraculous Summer 2017 (2/2)

Last time I talked about my struggles before coming to the Netherlands. It was one of the most nerve-wracking and stressful experience I’ve had last year. You might think the difficulties and problems will start later when you arrive in Nijmegen or on the 1st week of studying. But according to my experience, it can happen anytime.

For some of you, newcomers of Nijmegen, everything is smooth sailing. But for others, things aren’t as easy as it would seem. So I would like to elaborate some things from my last blog and put some important key points that might seem simple yet very much important

Preparation is the key. From the last blog, I said that I didn’t have time to fully prepare. By this, I meant supplies and materials. But mentally, spiritually and physically I was. Don’t get me wrong, preparation for such things is important however have you equipped yourself for the unpredictable?

The climax I had last year was the getting the visa. Which was taking super-duper so very long! The university had to apply for the residence permit and visa thingy to IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) before I can go to the Embassy. And this requires important documents that needed to be sent to Nijmegen. The literal physical document. (This might be different for your case.)

Then things started to get crazy. I don’t want to blame the university or anything, but actually, it was their fault in the first place (sorry). The documents which they told me was okay turned out to be invalid or something, So, I needed to send the new ones. If only they had told me sooner, it would have been done sooner too.

It was a race against time. After IND, it was the Embassy. I didn’t have to wait too long for an appointment but getting the visa done was stressful. Full of uncertainty. I was that close to not getting to the Netherlands on time. I laughed. I cried. It wasn’t easy. But deep down, it’s not over, it’d only just begun. If I hadn’t reassured myself, I probably won’t be where I am right now.

You need to be able to convince yourself that, “This is what I want to do, where I want to be.” So whatever happens to anything, know that something big is waiting for you. If one thing is out of place and you’re giving up, the end result will be disappointment on yourself. You don’t want that, do you? So, be prepared for the unpredictable!

The pictures are taken around Nijmegen after the last class on that day. It was perfect timing for the sun sets and hits the trees in the right spot. Reflecting the beautiful colours of the autumn season