Alumni in love: Floris Stork & Joske Sanders

Floris Stork (21) Final year of his Bachelor’s in Economics and Business Economics, started in September 2021; club champion and former board member of Groninger Student Swimming Association De Golfbreker
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Joske Sanders (22), just finished bachelor's degree in international business which she started in September 2021, is doing additional internship in Utrecht; member of Groninger Student Swimming Association De Golfbreker
Relationship since: Valentine's Day 2023

Floris

'I grew up in France and moved to Groningen on my own at 17 to study. I didn't know anyone there at all. I joined De Golfbreker. I swam from the age of four until I couldn't anymore, due to corona. At De Golfbreker, I wanted to pick it up again. During the introduction on Schiermonnikoog, I was in the same scavenger hunt group as Joske. We hit it off right away.

It took months before we started texting, though. At the time, I still had a girlfriend in France. In the spring of 2022, Joske and I ended up at a house party together. By then, I was single. We sat on a couch talking about everything and nothing. That’s when I fell for her. From that moment, I was completely smitten. A few parties later, we kissed. I wasn’t familiar with the Dutch dating system—all these stages like 'scharrel'*, 'kwarrel' *, and 'prela' *. I found it all a bit silly. To me, once you kiss, you’re together. But apparently, that’s not quite how it works here.

There was no one else for me. It was Joske, Joske, Joske. I wanted her attention. But for a long time, I only saw her at parties. Outside of those, I was too nervous to talk to her. Childish, really. Joske needed time, too. When I finally mustered the courage to ask her out, she turned me down—more than once. But I just tried again a few weeks later. And again.
In the summer of 2022, she went to Greece for work. When she came back, we started dating for real. Our official relationship began on February 14, 2023. We spent the evening cooking and drinking gin and tonics. We both knew it was coming. Around ten to midnight, Joske said it was too cliché to start dating on Valentine’s Day, so we sat there in silence for ten minutes until the clock hit midnight. She probably still says our anniversary is February 15.

Joske is tall, just like me. I love that. I don’t have to bend down to give her a kiss or a hug. Teasing her is my love language. And honestly, I think she’s the one. I really do.
Right now, she’s in Utrecht for her internship, while I’m still in Groningen. Swimming is going well. I recently became the club champion of De Golfbreker, and since last year, I’ve also been training in Drachten. Six mornings a week, I get up at 4 a.m. to train. My dream is to win a medal at the Dutch Nationals. After that, I’d like to work for a few years, save some money, and eventually take over my parents' B&B in France—with Joske by my side."

*Dutch dating terms explained
Scharrel: Fling
Kwarrel: Quality fling
Prela: Pre-relationship

Joske

"Floris is my first serious relationship, but it already feels so right. I first met him during our swimming association's introduction weekend on Schiermonnikoog, in 2021. We were in the same scavenger hunt team. He had just moved from France, so I asked, 'Why is your Dutch so good? You don’t even have an accent.' French people often have a pretty thick accent. At the time, he still had a girlfriend, and I wasn’t interested in relationships anyway. I was perfectly fine on my own.

Everything I heard about Dutch dating culture did not appeal to me. Friends did tell me stories about dating boys. Kissing hardly matters anymore. Nobody wants anything serious, it's very superficial. Boys don't dare show when they like you or find you interesting, afraid of being rejected perhaps. I can't explain it super well.
After Schiermonnikoog, Floris and I mainly saw each other at swim practices and parties. We had some catching up to do after the lockdowns. By then, Floris was single, and he showed a lot of interest in me. I was skeptical: 'Is this real? Does he actually like me?' That was my own insecurity talking. Letting someone get that close is scary. I also didn’t really know what I was supposed to feel, since I'd never had a relationship before.

Occasionally we kissed. I also remember one time we watched Formula 1 in my room. How nervous we both were! We lived pretty much around the corner from each other and before we knew it, we were together every day and even sleeping at each other's places. Still, it wasn’t official until Valentine’s Day 2023, when I finally said I was ready for a relationship. After that, we introduced each other to our families. I took Floris to Emmen, where I grew up, and I met his parents in Bussum, at his grandma's house.

Floris never gave up. He just kept trying. I still think he's crazy for being so patient with me. He just fell out of the sky, seemingly from nowhere. He’s such a good guy—kind, well-mannered, raised with solid values.
The fact that I always want to be with him is a good sign for me. Still, our daily lives are quite different now. We are both not sure yet what we want to do in the next two years. We have our own schedule. Floris' focus is on swimming. I have just spent six months on exchange in Sweden and have now started an internship in Utrecht. But despite the distance, we always manage to find each other. And that’s what counts.",