If it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you! 

These were the thoughts running in my mind when my boyfriend proposed me for marriage and moving to a different world came into picture. I didn’t know much about the Netherlands apart from what I mugged for my social studies exam, which when I think now is such a superficial knowledge. I left my research job and hopped on a plane to join my brand new husband in Eindhoven. I still remember how excited I was! (To finally wear the winter coat I bought…). Little to my knowledge 0 degree winds were all prepared for my arrival. I am pretty sure my husband, in his mind, was thinking of sending me back due to my constant shivering. Well I just needed a new coat 😛 

My husband, Rohit Chaudhary, was a second year PhD student in the Chemical Engineering Department of Eindhoven University of Technology then, and I too wanted to pursue my dream of doing a doctorate in the same. There was an Introduction Day organized by the TU/e and all newly joined employees and their spouses were invited to join. I thought of it as an opportunity to see the campus and various departments, maybe personally meet a professor or two. During the event there were three ladies talking about Get in Touch, spouses, integration etc. Honestly I didn’t understand, mostly because such a concept was foreign to me. It was true that I was dealing with many changes within and outside environment and was questioning my big decision of moving. But I didn’t know that somebody out there was all ears for it with a big warm hug. One lady out of those three, Carola Eijsenring, talked to me as if she knew me since a long time and convinced me to attend the upcoming GiT workshop. It turned out to be a big motivation for me to get out of house and do something without Rohit being part of it.

I was shy at the beginning mostly because I wasn’t around internationals much when I was in Mumbai. But the comfortable and warm atmosphere in GiT meetups made me realize that I wasn’t alone. Carola was always vocal and supportive of all the challenges we spouses faced in our day to day life. It was like being born again, the different culture, language, colour of people, weather, food, traffic rules and oh my god the bikes! It was all very overwhelming. But Carola was all equipped with her Expat spouse starter pack 1.0. I could talk to her about anything and she was always resourceful. She not only initiated conversations about our cultures back home but rather used it to bind us together and form friendships in this new city. The more we discussed, the more we believed that us, spouses, even with our different nationalities are more alike than we thought.

When I was in Mumbai, I never thought I could stand in front of a room full of internationals and speak about my journey. But, Carola, thanks for building this confidence in me by starting it with smaller GiT spouse groups and taking me to be a speaker in an international conference. Be it GiT workshops or presentations, story-telling in Witte Dame, EURAXESS meet ups or TU/e conference, the numerous opportunities you and Willem van Hoorn of TU/e have given me have always made me learn something new about myself. Not to mention when Carola recommended me for the interview video series for the local newspaper (Rohit started calling me Celebrity of Eindhoven, haha). In the quest of finding work here, GiT meetups have always been a tension release therapy for me. The wonderful friends I gained meanwhile in GiT are as crazy as me. Life is not the same without you guys, Audrey, Giulia, Megha and Musarrat (in alphabetical order, so don’t kill me!). Their company and heart to heart conversations make me miss my family a little less. All the sports we did together is the most sports I did in my life. Thanks for always encouraging and sometimes pushing me, I needed that. I remember the first swimming lesson we did together and Carola was on the sidelines like a nervous mumma watching us. Her proud face after our lesson and after many of my talks is so satisfying. I am going to photograph that and show it my mother in India.

In the end, I just want to say that, without Carola and GiT in general, I might have somehow got accustomed to this new city and life, but I definitely wouldn’t have such positive people and amazing experiences in it. Thanks for taking me in, crying and laughing with me and more importantly challenging me to be better version of me. Thanks for reading!

I am Tasnuva Jannat. I’m from Bangladesh. I have done my Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery and completed Masters in Public Health in Bangladesh. I went to Belgium to do double masters, Masters in Epidemiology. My husband also did his master’s in Ghent University. In 2018, however, we started a new journey in Eindhoven when my husband started his PhD at the TU/e. So both of us started this journey from 25th of January, 2018.

Now, how I came to know about “Get in Touch” program? Well, my husband started searching for PhD from September 2017. At that time we were in Bangladesh. One day he told me, “you will not feel bored if I get an opportunity to do a PhD at the TU/e.” I was surprised. How can it be possible?

Then he told me, “I have seen a video in the TU/e website that they arrange some programs for the spouses.” I was really happy to hear that because during my Masters program in Belgium I didn’t find this type of activities to meet different people. Then both of us together watched the whole video again and it was so inspiring. Some girls talked about the interesting activities which are usually done every week. They also shared their experiences about getting a job by discussing with different spouses and the mentor. I felt relieved thinking hopefully I will not feel bored since I am going to meet different international spouses.

In February 2018, some of my Bangladeshi friends also told me about that program and we planned to join GiT. We also heard about Carola from one of my Bangladeshi friends. She told me just knock her and introduce yourself. She will reply.

After that I met Carola, this amazing lady. She is just like a mother to all of us. I learned a lot of things from GiT. I attended some interesting programs like making handicraft items (decoupage). These were really fun. I also attended one meditation program which was very interesting as we learned to visualize our inner self.

The most beautiful part of GiT is after each program Carola asks us to say something about this program. How was it/how did we enjoy  it? One of the sweet part of my GiT memories is that I asked Carola about second hand shops in Eindhoven. To answer my query surprisingly she arranged the GiT visit to a second hand shop ‘Het Goed’. This shop was so big and all the items were just wow. That day we also visited two parks and enjoyed a lot.

Another program that I attended was a potluck party. Different cultures and countries’ spouses brought different delicious foods and this program was also arranged in a beautiful park. That day we also enjoyed a lot and we acted like a baby; we were swinging in the playground, taking lots of pictures. I also met Hermine through GiT. She is a sweet dutch teacher. Unfortunately, I also missed some of the programs when I was sick and visited Bangladesh.

It is difficult to express all the great memories of GiT in words. In few  words I can say- Get in Touch is really a wonderful platform which is not only about meeting different spouses  but also about learning various amazing things and spending quality time. It’s like a family for all the spouses. My husband always tells me, “You people are really lucky to get involved in this beautiful program.” I will always cherish my memories of GiT and will always try to be a part of this beautiful program. Last but not the least hartelijk bedankt to Carola Eijsenring and “Get in Touch” .

My name is Eliana, and I am an Environmental Engineer. I was born and raised in Colombia. I have been living in Eindhoven with my husband for almost three years. We came to the Netherlands because my husband got a position at the TU/e in 2016.  

My first year here in the Netherlands was a little difficult especially for the language because in Colombia you do not have much opportunity to speak a second language. So, I took some English grammar and conversations courses and my second year, I could feel more comfortable to communicate with people. That second year, I contacted Carola Eijsenring because I really wanted to meet new people and improve my English.

I knew about the GIT program on the “Introduction day” that the university offers its employees and families. I started going weekly to the GiT programs and it has been a great experience. I have met many women who, like me, came to a new country with a different language and culture, where we have tasted a lot of variety of food, learned about decoration, craft, dances and many different places in Eindhoven. Also, thanks to the initiative of the GiT program, I have been attending the free Dutch classes where I learn a lot from my lovely teacher Hermine van der Meij. I appreciate the effort and dedication that she has for me to improve my knowledge in the language.

My advice for the new ones and those that have not yet integrated into the program is not to be afraid to join even if you do not have a good command of the English language, because in GiT you will find a family, great persons that would be happy to help you to improve it.