Study Abroad, Emphasis on “Abroad” | Dutch Diaries Week Four
It’s officially been a month since I arrived in Maastricht, but it still hasn’t completely sunk in that I have another three and a half months to go. You see, even though nearly every moment that I’ve spent in Maastricht this week has been spent studying, for some reason, being here still feels like vacation. I’ve even found myself subconsciously preparing to go home, noting things that I already know I’m going to miss when I come home (like the endearing rattle of the broken fender on my bike when I ride on cobblestone roads) and bracing for the inevitable culture shock that will hit when I’m back in the United States.
The Weekend | Het Weekend
More than anything, I know I’m going to miss my long weekends that can stretch from three to five days long depending on my class schedule that week. This time around, I had three free days to fill, so my friends and I packed up our things in our backpacks (turns out I need a little more practice with the packing light thing) and hopped on the bus to the tiny country of Luxembourg.
I never really believed in love at first sight until the bus pulled into Luxembourg’s namesake capital city. Luxembourg City belongs in a fairytale, and even the torrential downpour that greeted us couldn’t even put a damper on just how beautiful it was. Of course, the sunshine on our first full day was more than welcome as we explored all that the city has to offer.
And when I say all that the city has to offer, I really mean that we did it all (or at least everything we could afford to do). The weekend’s activities ranged from a stroll through a hidden underground gallery (hint: the entrance is through a bank), to cocktails at a gin and tonic bar, and even an evening at the carnival.
By the time we finally returned to Maastricht on Monday evening, there was a consensus among my friends and I: we would all be more than happy to live in Luxembourg one day. Between the stunning (and frankly, regal) architecture and the ability to suddenly escape into nature, even in the middle of the city, I don’t think I could even imagine a place more perfect.
Tuesday through Thursday | Dinsdag tot en met Donderdag
As I’ve already alluded to, my weekdays in Maastricht this week were overwhelmingly dominated by time spent in class or buried in articles preparing for class. No really, these were the only two pictures I took over the course of those three days:
However, between all of this studying, I’ve found student life in Maastricht to come with more small daily excitements than student life at home, probably because I’m still figuring a lot of it out…
This week, these little excitements came with finally finding trash bags in the grocery store (it’s the little things) and the added challenge of commuting to class via bike. You could say I experienced both the highs and lows of my riding ability over the course of twenty-four hours: successfully riding with no hands for what I consider to be a significant distance but was probably only a few yards (you know I bragged about it in all of my group messages), to physically toppling over in front of a crowd while trying to get on my bike (yep, I fell while not even moving. I’m cringing for me too).
Still, one source of excitement stands out for me above all: trip planning.
Next Week | Volgende Week
As I sit here writing this in an Amsterdam cafe, I’m actively living the results of planning my first solo trip of the semester, a project that took up almost as much time and effort as my studies over the past week. For the next four days, my time will be split between three hostels in two cities, all by myself (it’s safe Mom, I promise). Then, back to Maastricht for more of that studying thing that brought me abroad to begin with.
