All by yourself in Groningen? Take a buddy

Suppose you find yourself completely on your own in a strange city like Groningen. What to do? ESN-internationals take a buddy, or they become one.

Who is the buddy over here? ‘You are, right?’ says Samanta Estevez Carias. ‘Or is it me? Am I your buddy?’ Samanta, who had been living in Groningen for two months now, is one of three students who can always turn to Livia Stein. ‘It is the first time I’m abroad by myself’, says Samanta, ‘when I came here I didn’t know anyone at all.’

And to get back to that pressing question: who is the buddy… they both are

Samanta is happy that Livia is showing her around the city this semester. The two youngsters are members of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), an association for exchange students with a scholarship from the Erasmus Fund. The Groningen branch of ESN has a Buddy Programme that linked Livia and Samanta. And to get back to that pressing question: who is the buddy… they both are. Livia has been studying Psychology in Groningen for three years now, which is why the German student can call herself the local buddy. Samanta has just arrived in Groningen, at ESN they call her a new buddy.

I was looking for someone I could trust, someone I could ask for advice about the city

Originally from Venezuela, Samanta enrolled in the buddy programme soon after her arrival in Groningen. ‘I was looking for someone I could trust, someone I could ask for advice about the city. The buddy programme was the perfect solution and extremely convenient. I did have a look at Facebook for groups for new international students, but that was a bit less personal.’

A local buddy can give a tour of Groningen’s nicest and most convenient spots, help you buy or rent a bike and show you how to open a bank account in the Netherlands. The buddy can point out the best places to do your shopping and show you around the Zernike campus.

Buddies can give tips on how to get to Groningen in the first place

But local buddies may also be your very first point of contact in the Netherlands. In that case they can give tips on how to get to Groningen in the first place. But they are also able to answer questions like: what is the culture like in the Netherlands? And thanks to the buddy, a new student can be sure of gaining other buddies at the ESN get-togethers. Samanta: ‘In the beginning I asked a lot of questions. Livia answered them alle very nicely.’

This semester, 1,900 international students joined ESN, one in six needed a buddy

At their first meeting, Livia and the three new buddies under her wing went for a bite to eat before going to the first ESN social of the year. They met many other newcomers over there. This semester, ESN ended up counting 250 new buddies and 110 local ones (the latter are a bit harder to find). ‘The number of buddies is still growing every year’, says Elli Winetsdorfer, ESN-Groningen’s integration coordinator, ‘that growth is in line with the increase in the number of ESN members.’

This semester, 1,900 international students joined ESN, says Elli. ‘One in six needed a buddy.’ Should everything go as expected, about a thousand new ESN members will sign up in Groningen in January for the second semester (in which always fewer students go on an exchange).

I can ask her anything, and suppose I would be so unlucky as to fall off my bike…

‘It’s nice to have a friendly face during your study time’, says Samanta, ‘I can always turn to my buddy. We may not really be close friends, but she feels like a big sister. I can ask her anything. And suppose I would be so unlucky as to fall off my bike… in that case I know I can always call her.’

‘No news is good news’, Livia says of her typical buddy approach. ‘Because that means new students integrate well and make new friends.’ And they also have not fallen off their bikes. Livia estimates that she spends about 10 to 15 hours a month with the buddies. ‘In the beginning it takes more time, because they have more questions in that phase.’

Elli herself had struggles when she first arrived in Groningen

The system runs like clockwork, coordinator Elli thinks. Yes, we spend a lot of time matching, but the rest kind of goes by itself. ‘Yes’, laughs Elli, ‘it’s a bit like a dating app! Hey, that one likes sports and ha, that one too. It’s a match!’

Elli herself had struggles when she first arrived in Groningen. She had bad luck, because she came here in the middle of the corona pandemic. ‘That was quite difficult. Because of the lockdowns, I couldn’t meet up with my buddy. Our contact was limited to text messages.’

Now Elli is happy to help students connect. ‘Local students can mingle with international ones. It is a way to meet people from other cultures all the time. And new students can get to know the new living environment and culture.’

Photo (fragment): Victor Grabarczyk