In this paper, we problematise a competence-oriented reflective approach to intercultural education by drawing on four students' reflective essays about their experiential learning experiences on an "Intercultural Competence" (IC) module. Their reflections sometimes evidence much-vaunted IC attributes such as "tolerance" and "empathy," but often indicate individually-developed, non-teleologically based IC criteria. Furthermore, reflection was often painful and at times led to a "falling back on" essentialist notions of culture. We suggest that rather than reject essentialism as a "simplistic" starting point, it should be recognised as existing symbiotically with non-essentialist notions and could be used critically throughout intercultural learning.