“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain.
If you try googling ‘travel quotes’ you’ll soon come across a robust list of snappy one-liners, clichés, word tapestries and thought provokers. I could have easily chosen twenty to kick-start this blog with, however if I have gained any impression of Maastricht, CES, AIM, The Netherlands and the new friends that I’m currently sitting around the dinner table with, it is one of broad-mindedness.
Hello, or as we say in the Netherlands, Dag!
We arrived exactly a week ago now. Some of us were bright eyed and bushy tailed, some were hungover from their one night stop over in Amsterdam and then there were those that you could just tell had been backpacking for weeks prior (they’re usually the unshaven ones with a slight odour). However we arrived in Maastricht, we were here as a single broadminded group, united in common purposes; discover the world and discover ourselves. But our goals mean more than it appears, they mean discovering the world beyond studying International Relations just as they mean discovering ourselves beyond our Positive Psychology. We are here to live and learn, and after some introductory sessions with the lovely Aude and Dario and the CES crew, we got right to it.
So what exactly do Aussie students get up to when they’re thrown together in the pulsing heart of Europe? It seems that despite the helpful Student Assistants’ introduction to Dutch supermarkets, the first night had pub dinners on everyone’s menu. A great get to know you. Roommates were met, the seeds of friendships were planted and even a few nicknames found their origins. It seems that we all found our beds a lot earlier than usual that night, psyching up for a day of orientation and getting to know this gem of a city.
The next day lived up to our expectations and more as some of us dared to try the very romantic national dish of The Netherlands, hot chips and mayo…or as we say in the Netherlands fritz met fritzsauce (little did I know this would later be one of the only Dutch phrases I can pronounce well).
As friendships were forged under the good vibes of CES and fritz, a free weekend soon opened up a whole world of imagination to us. Suddenly the penny dropped and we realised that we were in Europe…we were actually in Europe…it sounds stupid now but who knew we had been flung smack bang in the middle of a whole stack of countries accessible by a short train trip!
Imaginations ran wild as a million and one different plans were made and remade. While some journeyed to dubstep parties and cathedral climbing in Cologne, others were tempted by the home of chocolate itself; Belgium. Some day-tripped to the close by Aachen for some real German character, while a few friends and I embarked on a classic Australian pseudo-pilgrimage to Ieper (Ypres). Drenched in history and solemness, this incredibly friendly Belgian town taught us so much about our own country, despite being on the other side of the world. Seeing my own great uncle’s name on the walls of the Menin Gate will truly be an experience I won’t forget.
That’s the crazy thing about travelling though, just how much you learn about yourself, your home and other people and by adding studying to the equation you create an explosive package. It seems I’ve been too ambitious by setting out to write about a whole week, so I’ll spare your eyes and write another post soon about our first week of actual class.
Until then, as we say in the Netherlands, HOI HOI!
Nathan Johnston is participating in our January 2012 International Relations and Politics in the EU program at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Nathan is about to enter into his 2nd year of a Combined Bachelor of Laws/International Studies degree at the University Wollongong.
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