Juli Osepashvili, an international student from Georgia, is studying at Windesheim until the summer. For WIN, she is reporting on her experiences.
As an exchange student from Georgia studying in the Netherlands, I knew I would encounter cultural differences. But I didn’t expect one of the biggest surprises to be time itself. From daily routines to business hours; life here seems to run on an entirely different schedule.
Almost unimaginable
One of the first things that surprised me was how early people here wake up. I remember talking to one of my Dutch classmates who casually mentioned that he goes to bed at around 8 or 9 p.m. and wakes up at 5:30 a.m. Something that seemed almost unimaginable to me. In Georgia, our schedules tend to start later. University lectures typically begin at 10 a.m., and we often study well into the evening, sometimes until 8 or 9 p.m. Shifting to a routine where classes at Windesheim University often start at 8:30 a.m. was quite an adjustment.
Plan ahead
Another experience that caught me off guard was how early businesses open, and close. In Georgia, it’s common for shops to open at 10 a.m. and stay open until 10 p.m., while supermarkets often remain open until midnight or even operate 24/7. In the Netherlands, however, most shops close by 6 p.m., which felt incredibly early to me at first. I quickly learned that if I needed something in the evening, I had to plan ahead. Something I wasn’t used to doing back home.
Courtesy calls
The cultural differences didn’t stop there. One memorable moment was when our student housing window broke. After waiting for a repair appointment, the company finally called to inform us that the repairman would arrive at 8 a.m. In Georgia, this would be quite unusual. Out of courtesy, people typically avoid making non-urgent calls before at least 12p.m. to avoid waking someone up. In fact, it’s common practice to wait until later in the day to schedule things like repairs unless it’s an emergency.
Experiencing these differences made me realize how Georgians are, in many ways, late people. We start our days later, work later, and socialize well into the evening. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, life seems to start, and end, much earlier.
Cultural shift
While adjusting to this new rhythm wasn’t easy, I’ve grown to appreciate the structure and balance it brings. Early mornings may never feel entirely natural to me, but embracing this cultural shift has helped me better understand Dutch life. And has even made me reconsider my own habits.
For any students planning to study abroad, my advice is simple: be prepared for surprises, embrace the differences, and maybe… set your alarm a little earlier than usual!
