I felt pretty prepared to live in the Netherlands, but the biggest culture shock I experienced was the weather. Everyone talks about how rainy and gloomy London is, but Amsterdam also has a lot of gray days.
I thought I was used to the rain in my hometown, but I felt blindsided by the amount of rain. I did not realize how much I would walk outside because of my dorm location. I got to the Netherlands at the end of January, so I expected cold weather and maybe even snow. While it was cold, I never saw snow. Throughout the spring, the temperature stayed pretty constant and never got below freezing. Some days it would pour rain all day while other days would only rain for 15 minutes every couple of hours. I love rainy days, but a walkable and bikeable city like Amsterdam, made going into the city a lot less enjoyable.
Eventually, as the semester went on, there was less rain and more sunny days. When the sun was out, the weather was amazing. However, without it, the temperature was so cold that I wore my coat in June. Locals even told me that this year was much colder than others. I was sad to not wear my cute Summer clothes, but I was able to appreciate the nice days even more.
Despite the mostly gray weather, there were some benefits to the colder weather. Because most buildings do not have air conditioning, I was able to open my window to cool down my room. The stable temperature throughout most of the semester also helps with deciding what clothes to bring abroad. I never wore shorts, even though the semester ends in the Summer. The main thing that I loved about the Netherlands’ weather was the long days. Because the country is further north than the U.S., the sun sets much later. By the Summer Solstice, the sun would set around 10:20 PM. I witnessed some beautiful sunsets and loved having more sunlight.
After being spoiled with the great weather in Washington, D.C., it was a little hard to adjust to the weather in the Netherlands. Once I bought a great raincoat, the weather did not phase me as much. My tip is to always have a coat with a hood with you because you never know when it will start raining. Umbrellas are not the best because there is very strong wind in Amsterdam and many people bike with just their raincoats. Having realistic expectations for the weather and packing well will help with adjusting to life in Amsterdam.
Marin Polechko
Spring 2024
GW Exchange - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
Biological Anthropology Major