MaastrichtExchange2013
IcompletedanexchangetoUniversityCollegeMaastrichtinBSemester2013.Ihadalwaysdreamed
ofdoinganexchangesosinceIwasinmy3rdyearofuniversityIthoughtIbettertakeupthe
opportunitywhileIwasstillatuniversity.DecidingtogotoMaastrichtUniversitywasaneasy
decision–itwastheplaceIwantedtogofromthestart.MyfatherisDutchandIhavefamilyover
theresoitseemedlikeaperfectopportunitytomeetthemandtolearnaboutthecultureofmy
relativeswhilestudyinginanothercountry.
MyinternationalexchangeexperienceissomethingIwillneverforget;itwastrulysomeofthemost
amazingmonthsofmylife.NotonlydidIgettomeetmyextendedfamilyforthefirsttimeoverthere,
butInowalsohavecountlesslifefriendsfromallovertheworld.Inaddition,studyingatanother
universityhasgivenmeusefulskillsthatIwouldnothavegainedotherwise.
IleftNewZealandonthe25thofJuneandflewtoRome,travelledwithmyfamilyforamonthandthen
withmybrotherforamonth.IthenleftmybrotherinAmsterdamandmadethejourneytoMaastricht
bymyselftostartmyexchange.Thisisafewofmyfavouriteexperiencesfrommyexchangeandtime
inEurope:
1. Thehistoricaluniversitybuildings–the
UCMbuildingisactuallya14thcentury
monasterywithbeautifulwhitewallsanda
largecourtyardinthemiddletomeetfriends.
Inbetweenclassesyoucantakeawalk
aroundthe
remainsofthe
oldcitywalls,
whicharejust10
metresfromtheUCMentrance.
2.
SkillsfromUCM–atfirstIfoundthe‘problem‐based
learning’ofMaastrichtUniversitytobechallenging.Itfocuseson
tutorialswithpre‐discussionsandpost‐discussionsafteryouhave
learnttheinformation.Tutorialswerenotcommonwithmypapers
atWaikatosoIwasnotusedtothem,butIhavegainedconfidence
withspeakinginaclassroomdiscussionanddoingpresentations
whichIthinkisavaluableskilltohaveforthefuture.In2anda
halfyearsIdidonepresentationatWaikato,butin4monthsat
UCMIdid6presentations,whichhasbeenverybeneficialtome.
3.
Vrijthof–oneofmyfavouriteplacesinMaastrichtisoneof
thecentralsquarescalledtheVrijthof.Ononesidethereisaline
ofrestaurantsandcafesandontheothersideistheamazingred
colouredcathedralcalledtheJanskerkandanothercathedral
calledtheBasiliekSintServaas.Weevenhadtheopportunityto
climbtheJanskerkandseesomebeautifulofMaastrichtfroma
birds’eyeview.Itisaperfectplacetomeetfriendsandenjoy
some‘koffieenvlaai’,grabsomedeliciousPinkyice‐creamorto
enjoyoneofthe
manyeventsthat
takeplacethere
–theopeningoftheCarnivalseasonandthe
ChristmasMarketweresomethatIenjoyed,but
therearealsomanyothereventsthroughout
theyear,includingperformancesbythefamous
violinistAndreRieu,whoisoriginallyfrom
Maastricht.
4. Markt–anotherlargersquareistheMarkt–
whereyoucanfindthetownhallandmarketthatwasheldon
WednesdaysandFridayseveryweek.Ireallyenjoyedvisitingthe
marketandeveryweekthere
werealwaysenthusiastic
growerssellingtheirfreshlocal
produce,aswellasbread,fish
andotherlittlenick‐nacks.
5. Volkspleinfamily–Iwill
neverforgettheamazingfriends
ImetinVolksplein–thebuilding
Ilivedin.Itwasabout50rooms
ofinternationalstudents,so
everyonewasinanothercountrytohome.Therewere
peopleasfarawayasNewZealandlikeMeganandI,orascloseas2hoursawaybytrainfrom
NamurinBelgiumforBen.Thebuildingwasarrangedsowewereeachpartofaflatof4‐5
peoplewithakitchenandbathroom.Wewould
oftencooktogetherwithpeoplefromotherflats
andenjoyedtryingfoodfromothercountries–
althoughitwasdifficulttofindsomethingunique
fromNewZealandtoshowthem!Inowhave
friendsfromAustralia,Belgium,Austria,England,
Canada,France,Italy,Spain,Swedenandmany
morecountries.Insuchashorttimewegotto
knoweachothersowell–wetravelledtogether
andwenttounitogetherandessentiallybuiltafamilybecauseweweresofarfromourown.I
can’twaittotravelagainandvisitthemalloneday,althoughIamluckytohavemykiwi
companionMeganbackinNewZealandwith
me!
6. SocentralinEurope–Maastrichtisright
banginthemiddleofEurope,makingisa
perfectbasefortravellingtoothercountries.
AlongwithairlinessuchasRyanair,trainsthat
areeverywherein
Europeandbuses,
itiseasytovisit
manyothercountries.WhileIwasinMaastrichtIflewtoLondon
for15euros,flewtoDublinandcaughtanovernightbusfrom
LiegetoParis.Howmanypeoplecanjustsay‘I’mofftoParisfor
theweekend’?AnotherweekendafewofuswenttoBen’shouse
inNamur,Belgium,bytrain.Fromtherewetookhisparentscar
andspenttheweekendtravellingaroundBelgiumandvisiting
Bruges,GentandBrussels.Itwasamazingandsoeasytoseeso
muchinjusttwodays.
7.
3countryborder–Maastrichtis
nearajunctionbetweenTheNetherlands,
BelgiumandGermany.Infact,whereIlivedinMaastrichtwasonly
3kmtotheborderwithBelgium,soitwasassimpleasgoingforarun
orwalktovisitanothercountry,orjumponabustovisitthe
ChristmasMarketinAachenonly1houraway.Andwhilethereare
stilltallnarrowbuildingsliketheyhaveallaroundtheNetherlands,
Maastrichthasalargeinfluencefromtheseothercountriesaroundit.
Belgiumisonly3kmawayandsotherearestallsthroughoutthemainstreetwhereyoucantry
adeliciousBelgianwaffle.Italsohasaninfluenceontheuniversityaswell,whereGerman
studentsmakeupalargepercentageofregularstudents.Itwasquiteamazingtowalkdown
thestreetsandhearpeoplespeakgerman,frenchandother
languagesaswellasdutch.
8. Bikes‘opdefiets’–youcannotliveintheNetherlandsand
nothaveabike–theroadsaredesignedtoincludebicycle
lanesandbikeshavetherightofwaytocars.Weallhadbikes
soitwaseasytomeetupforcoffeeattheVrijthoforjust
quicklypopdowntotheMarkttobuysomefruitandveges,or
goseeamovieontheothersideoftheMaas.
9. Koffieenvlaai–or‘coffeeandpie’inEnglish.Theregion
thatMaastrichtisin,Limburg,iswellknownforitsLimburg
‘vlaai’whichisamazingandagoodexcusetocatchupwith
friendsatthevrijthof.Also,everycaféinMaastrichtaddsa
specialtouchtotheircoffee–alittlespeculaasontheside(adeliciousspice‐flavouredbiscuit).
LuckilyIhadthesegrowingupsoIknowyoucanbuytheminNewZealand!
10. LearningDutch–IhavebeenlearningSpanishforabout6years,andlanguagesisdefinitely
oneofmypassionssowhenIsawIcoulddoaDutchcourseinMaastrichtIdefinitelychose
thatpaper.Ilearntthelanguagefor4monthsandIgainedmyA1levelinDutch.SomedayI
hopetolearnmoresoIcantalkmoreeasilywithmyrelatives,someofwhodonotspeakany
English.Howeveritwasdifficulttopracticeonthelocalsbecausetheyjustwantedtopractice
theirEnglishonyou!
IwouldneverhesitateifIhadtheopportunitytolive
overseasagain;ithasbeenanamazingexperience.I
woulddefinitelyrecommendittoanyonewhoever
hasconsideredthethoughtofdoinganexchange
whilestudying.Ihaveexperiencedanotherwayof
learningandadifferentculture,metcountlessfriends
frommanycountriesandvisited14countriesintotal!
Ican’twaittovisitMaastrichtonedayandforany
moreexcitingtravelopportunitiesIwillhaveinthe
future!
BridgetSteenkamer