I have been in Maastricht, The Netherlands for only 4 days now, but a lot has happened! When I first arrived, I was surprised to see the rural the area around Maastricht. Between Brussels, Belgium (the airport I flew in to) and the city of Maastricht, The Netherlands there is a lot of open space and small towns. Usually it is dreary and rainy here, but the weather has been awesome. It made for a beautiful drive in!
Maastricht itself has about 120,000 residents, but the city seems much smaller than that. Everywhere I have to go is 20 minutes or less by foot. Pretty much everyone here has a bike, so I am getting a second hand one in a few days (people LOVE the second hand market here for furniture, bikes, etc). I am attempting to learn my way around the city, but it’s kind of hard. There are a lot of traffic circles and old churches that all look the same! So far, I have figured out how to make it the the grocery store, some small shops, and to the school of business and economics (where I will be taking all of my classes). Hopefully the city will start to make more sense soon!
All of the exchange students in the School of Business and Economics had orientation Thursday and Friday. The school operates A LOT differently than Mays. Instead of the large lecture style that I am used to, at Maastricht University they use problem-based learning (PBL). PBL has very few lectures (sometimes only 1 per semester), and the rest is made up of small group “tutorials”. These tutorials are basically discussions of about 10-15 students that group together and use a “scientific” method to discuss the subject material. I have only had an example tutorial so far, but I think I will enjoy the different learning style. In Maastricht we only take 2 classes at a time. I’ll be in Maastricht for 2 “periods” which will equal a total of 12 hours of course work.
One of the greatest things about Maastricht University is the large number of exchange students from all over the world. Maastricht does a great job of organizing events for exchange students the week before classes start. I’ve met people from dozens of different countries, most of which live in the same building as me. It is really interesting to talk to students from different countries to see what their school/life is like back home.
The only let down so far has been the food. The Dutch aren’t exactly known for fine cuisine. I guess I will have to travel to find some good eats! Their redeeming quality though is friendliness. I can easily ask someone for directions (luckily most people speak English), so that has been very helpful.
Classes don’t start until February 3, but I am very excited! It’s all so different here, but it’s definitely a blast!