# @life_and_sunshine on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DUdoXFEiBhh
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63278407-life-and-sunshine-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1d8584de0c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-02-07T16:13:14.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Nat ☀️ (@life_and_sunshine) — https://gondola.cc/life_and_sunshine

## Caption

It was one of the hardest things I think I’ve ever done 🥵 as if defending my PhD wasn’t already one of the toughest things I will ever have to do 😱 Let’s add an extra level of difficulty and do it in Dutch 🇳🇱 Just as a cherry on top 🍒
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And while I am fluent in Dutch 🇳🇱 and you probably can’t hear an accent when I speak 🗣️ My entire scientific education had been in English 👀 So the idea of talking with the same precision about a subject I usually only spoke of in English was VERY daunting 🫣
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Luckily, I did have some idea of how to talk about my subject in Dutch 🤓 My supervisor was Dutch and most of our meetings and conversations took place in Dutch 😃 So I had some ground to go on 😊 but it still felt different somehow…. Doing it for a whole defense 😅
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Thank goodness most scientists speak English because there were a few times I could not think of the Dutch word 😬 and I just said it in English and it was fine 😮‍💨 and I passed 🥳 so I must have done a good job!! 🎉 I’m so glad it’s all over now 🤩
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#phddefense #phdone #graduated🎓 #thenetherlands #dutch

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 12,794
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- **Comments:** 373

## Tags

dutch, phdone, phddefense, graduated, thenetherlands

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