Rachel – Maastricht University, Netherlands
Semester 1, 2017
Bachelor of Business – International
As part of the Bachelor of Business – International, I chose to attend Maastricht University. It had a different learning approach to my usual university learning. Instead of lectures, we had two tutorials for each subject. During these tutorials, we were required to discuss, present, or answer questions about the weekly readings. It really forced me to participate more (participation was 30% of my grade!), and stay on top of my readings which really did help my retention of knowledge.
At first, I was really shocked; I was surrounded by students from all around Europe who were really motivated and knowledgeable about the subjects. Luckily the tutors were very understanding of how this was such a shock for me and gave me time to adjust without it affecting my grade.
As the oldest city in the Netherlands, Maastricht is a small university city; it is usually pretty quiet and peaceful except during the carnival! Everyone was really friendly and nearly everyone spoke English , which helped a lot when shopping! Buying a secondhand bike is essential because nearly everyone bikes everywhere. It is a great way to keep you healthy especially with the delicious Dutch food like kroketten, frites and bitterballen, which are all deep fried or even their obsession with sweets (even for breakfast) such as stroopwafel and hagelslag.
It rains a lot in the Netherlands and is often quite overcast but never fear, it is really light rain, more of a drizzle. Just flock to your local bar or enjoy a hot coffee at one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world (it is in an old cathedral). But once the sun does decide to come out, everyone, and I mean everyone, flocks outside to soak in those precious rays. Maastricht is also very famous for its boutique shopping so if you’re into fashion you will feel right at home.
Maastricht University is spread out throughout the city, similar to Kelvin Grove, so some exploring may be necessary to find a different faculty building. I attempted learning Dutch on my exchange, and while I was pretty good at it, it was hard to balance with all the travel and study I did.
It was definitely a challenge being so far from home but I have some tips on how to make the most of your exchange!
- Bring waterproof shoes! (It rains a lot in Europe and you don’t want to be the foreigner with wet feet, especially in winter)
- Attend as many events in your universities o-week, you may never see most people again but you might find some great friends to travel with!
- Youtube is your best friend. (When you are homesick and dying for some Australian culture, watching old episodes of Australian shows is the best! My favorites were Blue Water High and Thank God, You’re Here)
- Most of all have fun, even if you miss home you will still make some great memories
Before my exchange I had only left the country once, now I have travelled to 17! I had a great exchange experience and now I am more confident, extroverted, and prepared for whatever life has to throw at me.
