The What
Welcome to aisj.nl, a personal journal by your friendly neighborhood introvert (hi, that’s me!) chronicling my move to the land of tulips, bikes, and windmills: the Netherlands.
As an international student, I started this blog to capture all the weird, wonderful, and occasionally weather-challenged moments of my Dutch adventure. (Fun fact: I love the rainy weather!)
The Who
The name’s J. AISJ.
JK!
You can call me Sajib. Yes, the J is pronounced. Here’s how to say my name:
Shaw-Zeeb!
The Why
Why am I doing this? Well… why not?
Life’s a journey—and when that journey involves learning to bike like a local without causing a traffic incident, it deserves to be documented.
I’m sharing my experiences here (and soon on YouTube - link coming soon!) not just to help future students and fellow expats survive and thrive in Dutchland, but also to connect with people, whether they’re Dutch, expat, or even in a different part of the world.
Sure, I may be introverted, but I love a good conversation! Which brings me to the next bit:
Why Subscribe?
I don’t just mean subscribing to my YouTube channel, but you can also subscribe to this Substack using your email address.
The great thing about doing so is that you and I…we won’t be relying on any ever-changing algorithms. It’ll be just you, me, and my other subscribers. Even if this platform goes under, our connection will be as strong as the wind in Groningen!
Oh, and what kind of posts/videos should you expect?
You should totally subscribe if any of these sound like your cup of tea (or coffee):
=> An international student’s life in the Netherlands
=> An expat’s awkward-but-honest journey in the Netherlands
=> Daily life in the Netherlands (including how to love the rain)
=> Cool stuff to do and see
=> How they do things here (hint: bikes are involved)
=> Just… the Netherlands in general
Currently, the archive is empty, but please hang tight! Once I start publishing more, you can take a sneak peek there to get a taste of what’s coming!
Lastly, if watching videos is more of your thing, don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel as well!
A word on AI
As a lifelong lover of all things writing (with the occasional exception of, well, the act of writing), I hate generating text using LLMs and AI. That said, AI is here to stay, and they are phenomenal tools.
So, I, too, utilize AI to brainstorm ideas, accompany my research, and check for alternative words and phrases.
However, nothing posted here is AI-generated. The AI slop is real, and you’ll have none of it from me. I’ve typed every word you read, and I will continue to do so for as long as aisj.nl and all of my other blogs (yes, there are several :P ) are alive.
