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One phone call from my mom changed the course of the next six months of my life in a blink of an eye. I thought I was packing up to go home for the winter break and then return to Ottawa for my winter semester. I was fortune enough to find out that life had other plans for me, I received an offer for an internship in a reputable company. The catch was that it was in the Netherlands, and I’d have to leave in one week for six months. I knew it that moment that I needed to be very open to change and just do it, so I naturally started packing and booked my flight with no hesitation.
The Netherlands is a beautiful place, and I never knew it was going to become such a big part of my life. Being open to change allowed me to go on this adventure and to learn many new things about a new place that eventually let me learn things about myself that I never knew. This exploration not only translated well into my personal life but my professional life as well. I got to explore a new workplace, culture and language and new modes of daily transportation.
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Royal IHC is a Dutch Shipbuilding Company. I was an intern in the business control unit, I helped with financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting. I had the chance to learn new skills like how to create meaningful dashboards in Power BI. This was my first corporate experience that opened the doors to my current job as a Business Data Analyst at Go to Guys, and it was all as simple as being open to change and embracing it. If being open to change ever contributed positively to your life or opened doors for you, email me, and share your stories with me, the same way I’m sharing my stories with you!
Dutch Company Culture
Comparing Dutch company culture and North American company culture was an interesting thing to do. Some of the main differences were that Dutch companies tend to work in open spaces rather than closed offices to foster an environment of collaboration within a department. They also encourage informal conversation among colleagues to build more meaningful relationships. Another heartwarming custom they have at their companies, is that when one person is making a coffee, tea, or a drink for themselves, they make it for everyone else as well.
A big difference between the company cultures was that everyone in the department, regardless of seniority level, is treated equally and their inputs are seen as valuable. Royal IHC was an extremely interesting and cool company to work at , make sure to visit their website to read more about what they do!
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I’ve heard stories about how funny language barriers may be and never realized how true it was until I experienced it myself. The first coffeeshop I went into, I wanted a croissant and a coffee. After 25 minutes of the waiter and I trying to communicate with one another, I ended up with no coffee, no croissant but with a book that has the history of the town I was staying at. After my second try asking for a coffee and a croissant, I ended up with a plate of nachos and a Fanta bottle. Although it wasn’t what I originally wanted, it turned out to be delicious and once again I was grateful to have been someone that’s open to change and that’s had the opportunity to live this story.
Staying in a smaller town for work, I had the chance to experience cool new modes of daily transportation. To go to work, I woke up two hours earlier because the only form of transportation that was available was a bicycle. While I was in Canada, I had my own car and was able to take myself anywhere I needed to go, but a daily bike ride to work while surrounded by waterfronts, tulip field and windmill farms was something that could not be beat. I learned how to appreciate nature and be a lot more present with my surroundings.
When the weekend came, I got curious about the bigger cities surrounding me, such as Rotterdam. When I searched for ways to go visit Rotterdam, I found out that the way to do it from where I am, is to ride a waterbus, what I didn’t know is that there’s a very limited schedule and only a few waterbuses travel daily from Kinderjik to Rotterdam and back. I learned my lesson to constantly check their website, https://www.waterbus.nl/en/about-the-waterbus for the schedule, you can even learn more about what it is and its history.
The first time I went, I got stuck in Rotterdam with no way back and had book a hotel room for the night. The old version of myself would’ve been so upset at the inconvenience, but because I made a pact with myself to always be open to change and see what happens, I ended up watching a fun live soccer match the next day there for the first time ever.
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You got to hear different stories of things I’ve experienced during my time in the Netherlands, you might be thinking of how this is useful to you, so let me tell you. These are all wonderful experiences that I was only able to have because I was open to change. When an opportunity came that required me to shift my life completely, I did not shy away from it, I embraced it and made sure that I was open to change. If you are going to takeaway one thing from this, it’s that the more open to change you are, the more positive experiences you are going to get in your personal life and professional career. Don’t forget to contact me to share your stories with me!