Visa Obtained!

It's been another Minute since I've posted. In fairness, I did try about a week ago, and Wix wasn't letting me post anything nor edit anything, and I haven't had the time recently. That's the good news, though: I officially have my two-year residency visa! I won't have to worry about renewal until 2028, when I can apply for a five-year as a next step. And that means I can also work! FINALLY. I'll post all my social stuff down below, but since getting to hit the GO button, my days have been packed. Website updates, product photos, product making, practice, socials, content creation, portfolio editing...and then, simultaneously: LinkedIn and linktree creation, CV workshops and updates, upwork, indeed, and glassdoor memberships and applications sent, and scouring the internet for sponsored jobs who could potentially hire me full-time and roll my visa over into a longterm residency-and-work visa.

We're nearing summer at the university, too, which means graduation for the upperclassmen is approaching. And thus, the uni has been putting on a bunch of free workshops for both entrepreneurs and newly-graduated students. I've attended each one I've been able to, which has amounted to four workshops and one 5-hour series of workshops, including a 1:1 CV feedback session, a professional headshot, and advice on how Dutch recruiters use LinkedIn

I'm overwhelmed, to say the least, and also still juggling being a full-time student. I've maintained a high grade point average, which kind of sucks because I was invited to join the Honors program but obviously won't be able to if I have to stop attending. Alas.

On a language note, I've achieved B1 in NGT (intermediate low) and though I haven't taken a formal test for spoken Dutch, I'm having interactions in Dutch now, and I can pretty reliably make my way through the cities and through Dutch online spaces with little assistance. I did need to make one appointment with the tax authority to ask how to report an IRA here, but I'm giving that an exception, because tax terms tend to be weird and highly specific.

So, in all, I'm carrying on and doing my best to juggle everything all at once. Until we know for certain that my partner's visa application went through, it's a little scary to make plans for them to move. But it's getting down to the wire for me (I ave to be out of my current apartment August 10) and I need to know if I'm searching for a one-man room or a two-person, two-cat spot right away. Wish us luck, ugh.

I have also unfortunately hit the photo limit on Wix (stupid, stupid platform) and haven't decided what to do about it yet. Deleting uploads removes them from the posts they're attached to, because of course it does. When I settle on a solution, I'll be sure to share it with you all.

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As always, thank you for reading! And, finally, you can find me and my work at these places!

linktree: @roekwaren

my website: roekwaren.nl

my portfolio (coming soon)

youtube: @roekwaren

instagram: @roekwaren