When I made the move from my rural Monroe County home to Foster Quad as an IU freshman a little more two years ago, I rarely ever felt far from home.
The move was hardly jarring, though my body may have disagreed. You try sustaining yourself exclusively on spicy chicken sandwiches and soggy alfredo pasta for eight months.
When I embark on a semester-long adventure to study business at Maastricht University in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Jan. 19, the same won’t be true. It will be my first time in Europe and only my second trip outside the United States, so I’ll be going into this experience with my eyes wide open.
Given my largely conventional upbringing, it doesn’t get much more surprising than that.
Spending a semester abroad has long been an objective of mine. In December, I wrote about the importance of constantly exposing oneself to new ideas and perspectives, and this adventure ought to provide endless learning opportunities.
It will also help me achieve an academic goal — completing my international business co-major and becoming comfortable with the idea of conducting business in the age of globalization as I prepare to enter the full-time workforce.
In some ways, Maastricht is not so unlike Bloomington. Maastricht University, founded in 1976, is noted for its growing population of international students.
Of the university’s 16,000 students, nearly half hail from other countries.
In all, the student body has students of more than 100 nationalities. Bloomington is home to its own mosaic of cultures, but I’m excited to experience this sort of environment from the other perspective — that of an international student.
Maastricht is also rich in history. Though it’s subject to some contention, many consider it the oldest town in the Netherlands. Many beautiful medieval structures are still intact today. Since the Middle Ages, Maastricht has been subject to multiple sieges by the Spanish and French, Nazi occupation, and a cultural and intellectual resurgence toward the end of the 20th century.
Though I’ll surely never run out of things to explore in and around Maastricht, its central location within Europe made it difficult to consider studying elsewhere. Both the Belgian and German borders are within manageable and scenic bike rides.
London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin are all among cities that are easily accessible via train, and discount airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair will allow me to reach the more remote corners of the region for absurdly low rates. The possibilities for weekend trips are virtually endless.
While the mystique and allure of spending the semester in a far-off country has consumed much of my imagination in the weeks leading up to my departure, I’ve also devoted some thought to preparing mentally to succeed in an academic environment unlike one I’ve ever been part of.
Maastricht University’s problem-based approach to instruction puts far less emphasis on rote memorization and instead requires students to solve problems creatively to reach a solution. There will be no more Scantrons.
Smaller, more intimate classes are another central tenet of problem-based learning. Professors simply provide direction and guidance while students work with one another to learn the subject.
My transition to life in the Netherlands may be made easier by the fact that the majority of the population speaks English. However, I hope my introductory Dutch language course allows me to speak English as little as possible.
Over the next several months, I’ll surely find myself out of my element on more than a few occasions, but a certain level of discomfort can be a good thing. This time around, thankfully, I’m confident the discomfort won’t be a result of my eating habits.
dkilcull@indiana.edu
@daniel_kilc_
