Category: Netherlands

Part of my orientation at Maastricht University is the faculty taking us on a trip to Berlin, Germany to explore German history and culture. A four day trip, we were meant to explore the historical impact of Berlin and its history dating back to World War 1 and 2 and the Cold War.

On Tuesday, all 100 plus of us boarded three buses to Berlin. The drive ended being around 9 to 10 hours long and we got there in the night. Some kids chose to go out, but I decided to explore the city around the hotel. I walked past a TV tower that you could go to the top of (more on that later) and found a restaurant that served falafel sandwiches. Being a vegetarian, you know I had to give it a try, and it was delicious. I did not really do much the rest of the night in preparation for the next day.

Day 2 was all about exploring the city. We were given a three hour walking tour of the city of Berlin and saw what it had to offer. We walked past memorials, the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Chapel, Lund University, and the famous “Museum Island.” After the walking tour, I took the time to further explore the Berlin Chapel and the TV tower. I started with the Berlin Chapel and was able to experience the beautiful; architecture of the building from the murals to the interior design. In addition, I was able to climb up inside the dome and experience an amazing view of the city of Berlin from atop the Chapel. Later that night, I went to the top of the Berlin TV tower. Speaking of that, I feel like every big city around the world has at least one TV tower of some sort that you can go to the top of. Anyway, I went to the top of the tower at night so I could see the city of Berlin at night. The views were spectacular; experiencing a city at night from above is an extreme beauty for me.

Day 3 we were split up into groups based on our specializations at Maastricht and given our own itineraries that fit our majors. For people studying international relations, we were given a tour of a political prison that held Socialists during the Cold War. There, we were taught what the day in a life was for a political prison and the various ways. For me, it was very impactful because I feel like this side of history during the Cold War is not presented in history classes in the US (through my experiences). Germany does a nice job of acknowledging their history good and bad and I feel like that is important for explaining what happened from their point of view. After the tour, I continued to walk the city exploring and at night, I went to this bar where I struck up a conversation with the bartender for about an hour. She was a very interesting person and it was nice to talk to someone since I was alone that night at the bar.

Day 4 was an emotional day. We visited a former concentration camp and it was a really sad sight. The overall atmosphere was eery and I kept having flash images of prisoners in the barracks and in the execution chambers. Visiting the concentration camp allowed us students to get a glimpse into the brutal history of Nazi Germany. It is important to understand all of history good and bad to know what went on and why it is important in today’s world. I cannot talk much more about the camp since everything was so sad and horrifying based on the information I read about what went on in the camp. Later in the evening, we all had a group dinner at an authentic German restaurant with liters of beer and everything. The late night part of this day was so much fun. We went to a bar called the Ice Bar and enjoyed ourselves in freezing cold temperatures and being surrounded by ice sculptures. After that, we went to a club that was underneath a highway and danced the night away to bass boosted electronic music.

Overall, this trip presented me with valuable insight into the Cold War in Germany (specifically West and East Berlin) and the fact history should be presented how it is, good and bad.

On August 15th, the journey started at Chicago O Hare International Airport. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, a year in the making. I will travel to Maastricht, Netherlands, for the next four months. This would be my second and longest time abroad. The first two days here have been about adjusting to life in the Netherlands and exploring what the city of Maastricht has to offer.

The journey started when I arrived at Chicago O Hare International Airport. There, I met up with a few other kids in the Maastricht study abroad program, and we ended up sitting on the plane together. We all tried to sleep, but due to the stark difference in time, the middle of the night in the Netherlands was only the early evening in the US. So we did not sleep on the flight. When we landed, we got through customs, got our bags, and met up with our Maastricht advisors and more students in the program. Meeting everyone that day was exciting; I was ready to have fun with them for the next four months. We boarded a bus to our guesthouse, where we would stay while in Maastricht. That was the only time that day I got natural sleep (I slept the entire three-hour bus ride. Once we got to Maastricht, we checked into the guesthouse and got the keys to our rooms. Spoiler alert, the rooms do not have air conditioning, but I will survive. The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping and finding places to eat around the city. The first day was long, but I soon became more comfortable in my setting. This was prevalent on day 2.

When trying to sleep on night 1, thoughts pondered in my head. Can I do this for four months? What if I don’t belong here? What if I don’t adjust to Dutch culture? These thoughts lingered in my head the entire night, but I soon realized this place was too easy to adapt to. This was the first anxiety that I overcame during this trip. Day 2 was when I began to feel at home in the Netherlands. It started with our group being led on a city tour, where I familiarized myself with the city and what it offers. We ended up eating at a place with the best bread, cheese, salad, and lemon pie I have ever had. After lunch, we went on a boat tour that took us to various caves (technically, they were mines) and explored the caves/mines. I was able to familiarize myself with the surroundings that day, and it made me feel like I was at home, even though I was across the ocean. The day did not end there, as some friends and I went to clubs and danced the night away in the pouring rain. It is only day 2, but my experiences here in Maastricht have been life-changing as they have opened the door to new experiences and taken me out of my comfort zone. An example of this came with going to clubs. I have never been good in crowds. I get nervous and scared as I feel like I am being suffocated. Last night, I overcame that fear because I was surrounded by friends who were having as good a time as me. This motivates me to overcome anxieties and step out of my comfort zone in Maastricht.