A New Life in Holland

Dancing in Dutch
Report by Paula Reis, Pedro Santos, Rui Cunha and Maria Inês Mesquita

Isabel Ferreira is a 36 year old dance teacher at Ginasiano Escola de Dança, who decided to study in Holland.
She went there in August 1995, after going to an audition at Rotterdam’s Dance Academy.
Why Holland?
Isabel Ferreira already knew about the academy and about its fame, so she decided to go to an audition, which she passed, and so asked for a scholarship.
Dutch language and culture
The language is troublesome to learn, but she didn’t have to do it after all. In fact, she only had to speak English in order to be understood. Plus, she loves English, so it was enjoyable for her.
Interpersonal relationships were hard to achieve, and life there was of worse quality and more expensive than in Portugal.
The accommodation
At first, she decided to stay at a student’s dorm, but she moved to live with her boyfriend in a house, afterwards.
Coming back
Although she had wanted to be a dancer since she was a little girl, she returned to Porto because it was her dream to dance and teach here.
Studying abroad has its pros and cons. The good things about it are getting a wider life experience, independence and knowledge about other cultures. There are a few bad things though, like making new friends, which is difficult, the amount of poverty in some countries and the especially expensive essential products, besides the language.
Be sure to think well enough before you decide to go to another country.