More and more students leave home to study abroad. Every person with their own motivation, history, their own cultural background and personal interests.

Above all it is very interesting to step out of your normal daily live and experience a different culture. You’ll get to realize how much you’re own way of living is influenced by culture. By comparing just ordinary things like cooking, studying and the way of discussing things you’ll see that there a thousand different ways of living life. Because of this, intercultural contact will not only expand your view, it enriches you and stimulates personal growth.  On the other hand, getting to know other cultures leads to a better mutual understanding which is so important for good international cooperation.

Personal growth: Besides the possibility to improve your Dutch, Spanish or Russian and to develop Italian cooking skills, this buddy project will give you some more profund insights. By mixing international students with the Dutch locals, we like to share interesting stories and funny facts. Remarkable stories about the Rumanian maffia for example or the strictly censored politics in China will undoubtedly adapt your way of interpreting the world. It makes you think about the kind of country you live in and the relative freedom you have. Personal contact with people from all over the world really opens your eyes!

Cultural understanding: Cultural understanding does not only enrich you as a person, through intercultural contact more understanding will be created. This is important in developing a good and just international collaboration. A value that’s gaining more and more importance in a globalizing world.

To create more understanding and international cooperation many European Universities joined the Erasmus-exchange program. Also the University of Utrecht acknowledges the importance of intercultural contact, and for this reason supports BuddyGoDutch.

BuddyGoDutch works together with the faculty of social sciences (Student Group Social sciences) to create a good integration with the Dutch students.