I have a midterm tomorrow; so, naturally I decided this was the oportune moment to write a blog! I am about to wrap up my second and penultimate week of classes at Maastricht University. I’m just taking one class: “The Politics of European Integration,” and I’m also participating in a “Social Program” hosted by the university. Even though its summer and the University isn’t as busy as it would be durring a semester, I’m definitely getting to experience what studying is like for students here.

Maastricht is actually one of the newer universities in the Netherlands, having been founded in the 70’s. Part of their mission is to be an “international” university, and they do boast impressive numbers in terms of non-dutch students. They also host a “summer school” that allows students to come take short courses throughout the summer break. That summer school actually overlaps with the program I’m in, so I’ve been able to study with students from Brazil, Italy, Russia, and Macedonia, to name a few.

The diversity of the students in the class has lead to a fantastic learning environment. Though our class focuses on the institutions and functionings of the European Union, we use the systems we’re familiar with to help us compare and understand them. So I’ve really gotten to hear a global perspective on issues around integration and globalization. My life’s goal is to work within the international political realm, so this experience is preparing me more than any class could.

Speaking of the class, I had been curious to see how thorough of an education I could get from a class that only lasts for three weeks. It turns out that it’s easy to pack a lot of information into a short time. Our professor specializes in law, so we’re focusing on European Law and looking directly at the treaties that form the basis of the European Union. If anything, this class has let me know that law school is probably in my future. I enjoy flipping through pages of documents to find the small clause that will inevitably decide the nature of a law. It may seem like tedious work to some, but I find these legal douments to be like treasure hunts and logic puzzles! It’s actually my idea of fun.

It may be hard to believe, but we are also spending time not studying while we’re in Europe! With the other international students, I’ve attended vinyard tours, lazer tag in caves, and soon we’re going to tour a castle! Maastricht offers a wealth of options for a fun day, and I’ve made fast friends with everyone in the program. I’m lucky that about thirty of us are all from Penn State, and therefore I can see them in my normal life as well. But I don’t even want to think about saying goodbye to the friends I’ve made from other universities.

I also wanted to mention how well I’ve adjusted to Dutch life. A common phrase around here is that “the dutch are born with a bike between their legs.” And since the university is about a thirty minute walk from our dormitory, I decided to rent a bike and really get the Dutch experience! I love being able to just jump on my bike and go anywhere (no really, it’s only a ten minute ride to Belgium!). I can take it and leave it at the train station, and grab it again after a weekend trip. Even though almost every street has its own bike lane, traffic laws favor bicyclists so heavily that I feel safe biking even in heavy traffic. I’ve enjoyed owning a bike here so much that I plan on getting one to take with me back to Penn State!

A group of friends and I are going to Amsterdam for the weekend, and then I have my final week of classes! Time is flying, so I really have to enjoy every moment of the next two weeks.

Location: Maastricht, The Netherlands