Students in Maastricht: Share Your Experiences

Yesterday I received an email from a young woman living in Colorado who is considering a move across the pond to our very own Maastricht to attend University. She’s interested in studying Neuropsychology, but isn’t in a position to visit the Netherlands before applying to the school and making a commitment to attend.

So what do you do? Email a blogger of course.

I’m quite honored that she’s emailed me and I’ve answered her questions as best I can, but I came to Maastricht as a trailing spouse; a much different experience and purpose than moving abroad for school. So I thought I’d put her questions out the blogsphere for help. If you are or were a student in Maastricht (especially if you are also from abroad), we’d love if you could share some of your experiences in the comments below. Or, if you don’t want to post them here, email me and I’ll pass them along. So without further ado:

• What has your experience been like as an International student in Maastricht (particularly at Maastricht University)? Do you have any advise for a potential student coming from the United States?
• What are the pros and cons of living in Maastricht and/or attending Maastricht University.
• How livable do you feel Maastricht is if you do not speak Dutch?
• How’s the weather?
• Are there other Neuropsychology programs in the Netherlands (or probably elsewhere) you’d suggest she check out?

Please share your comments below and pass along these questions if you know someone who can help. And if you’re not a student, feel free to chime in too. The more the merrier.

Back to Language Learning

It’s been several months since I dropped out of my Dutch class at the University (I couldn’t keep up!). Since then I’ve been feeling pretty down about my language skills. But with some additional pressure coming from external sources, I’ve decided it’s time to make another go at becoming properly bilingual. Even though Dan and I are still undecided about our future in Maastricht, I’m sure that not learning Dutch will push me towards definately not staying in the country; while learning Dutch may help us make the decision based on other factors like jobs and quality of life. Plus a little multilingual ability can only help in the “get a job” department if/when we return to the United States.

Attending the IWC meetings recently is actually what got the fire rekindled under my butt. We were discussing learning Dutch and some of the women I met suggested alternatives to the Maastricht University courses I’d taken before. The UMaas classes were pretty good, but they are pricey and there is one teacher there I’d like to avoid; so retaking those classes is out for me. Fortunately these “new” options sound more affordable, although probably not perfect for everyone.

Gemeente Course

The class I would have taken had I know about it when we first moved to Maastricht is a free language class offered by the Gemeente. It’s an intensive course intended for immigrants who will be taking the Inburgering test; part of the whole integration/citizenship process here in the Netherlands. Lasting 18 months, you attend a 3-hour class, 3 times per week and then have to pass a test at the end (which I think does or will cost 270 euros to take). Then if you fail the class you have to pay 500 euros. You can learn more at their website, but you’ll need to do some creative Google Translating. I’ll never understand why Dutch language courses only have information on their beginner classes in Dutch.

For Dan & I, this option isn’t going to work out. Dan’s contract is up in a year and a half, so essentially if we didn’t renew the contract we’d be setting ourselves up to fail the test at the end. Plus I don’t know if the Gemeente class is open to people on the 30% rule since the 30% rule requires that you do not plan to stay forever in the Netherlands.

Jules & You Classes

Another, less intensive, alternative are the Dutch language courses offered by Jules & You; a organization that supports students moving to Maastricht. I had seen these classes before, but assumed they were only available for students. Apparently this is not the case. Internationals may sign up for them as well; although at a higher price. They have classes at the A1, A2, B1, and B2 levels and each course lasts 10 weeks, with a 2-hour class each week. Students only pay 100 euros, while everyone else pays 200 euros. Assuming that the 10 classes are enough to pass each level, then the cost per instructional hour is lower than any other option I’ve seen in Maastricht.

I think this is the class I’ll end up in simply because it is a monetary and time contribution I can handle and it is accessible by foot or bike.

Over the Border to Belgium

A third option that I’d like to explore simply because it is much cheaper than the local options is going across the border into Belgium. The Dutch for Foreigners classes at the PCVO Adult Education school in s-Gravenvoeren are just 60-80 euros and meet once a week (either for a regular 1-hour or intensive 2-hour class). If I’m reading their website right each course is about half a year long. Sure, Flemish Dutch is a bit different from Netherlands Dutch, but from what I’ve been told they are alike enough for the cross-border education to be viable. For carless people like me, the 20 minute drive is probably a greater deterrent.

I’ve written to this school to see when their classes start and if I can take one. The website is a bit tricky to navigate, but they do seem to help coordinate carpooling, so if I can find a ride, I may be heading out twice a week for this course. (And if you have a car and might be at the same Dutch language level as me, drop me a line and maybe we can work something out.)

If you’re looking for a Dutch language course, you can also check out the listings maintained by Crossroads Magazine.

Quiz Night for Trivia Fans

Do you like trivia? Competitions?

Then you should seriously check out Quiz Night at John Mullins Irish Pub; located just past the old St. Servaas bridge here in Maastricht. Held every Tuesday at 8 pm, Quiz Night is a typical group trivia competition with 8 rounds of questions including a picture round and an audio round. The winners get a bottle of whiskey (to be shared in the pub).

The international quality of the quiz night is actually the one that makes it attractive to me. All the questions are in both English and Dutch, making it easy for more people to participate. In addition, much of the trivia comes from outside of the Netherlands, which gives the average expat a better chance of knowing the answer. The questions are generally pretty Europe-centric, but we are in Europe after all. The musical era and types of photos change each week, which makes those rounds more accessible as well.

I attended my second quiz night yesterday with the Junior International Women Club, and while I’m terrible at trivia I had a good time. For me it’s about meeting up with people and enjoying an evening out over a mutual activity. Maybe other groups are different, but the two times I’ve gone to the quiz we’ve been pretty casual about it and even people like me who can only answer one or two questions all night are still welcome. If that’s not enough, sometimes I even learn something.

The quiz happens every week and you can compete individually or in a group; although you will need to assemble a group on your own. Participation costs 2,50 euros per person and you can have as many team members as you wish. Be prepared to stay late; this is a long event. Have Fun!

Source: This post was original written for Maastricht Region: To Live.

Another Excellent Pecha Kucha Come and Gone

Monday evening saw yet another excellent Pecha Kucha event here in Maastricht; and not just because my own husband gave a presentation. In addition to the many artists who always participate, there were also several scientists and social activists presenting.  Some videos will be up soon, and the moment I hear about them I will definately link a few of my favorites. The videos are live. Check ‘em out!

To give you a taste of the presenters we saw, here’s the line up from the Pecha Kucha Maastricht website and a few words on the ones that stuck with me.

Dan Potter: online cartoon writing: Obviously my husband, but I always enjoy how animated he gets when talking about subjects he cares about. Lots of arm waving and exciting talking about finding his creative passion in our webcomic Walking the Lethe.
Mahdi Abdulrazak: cyborgs without surgery
Bart Knols: the mosquito and the Limburg cheese: This research shows how a particular type of mosquito is attractive to a bacteria on our feet which is remarkably close to a bacteria in Limburg cheese. I find it funny that somewhere a long the line, someone decided to put his feet in a troth of milk, let it congeal and then (ludicrously) decided to eat it.
Angelo Vermeulen: open source art
Joery Wilbers: we need rock and roll
Markus Bediako: Africa = Eden: Markus gave a powerful presentation and made a powerful case that we in the “West” need to rethink our perceptions of Africa and that our governments need to work with the people of Africa as adults. He was very passionate.
Marc Smulders: 2012 – proof of the pudding: On the other hand, this garbled collection of statements about crop circles and the end date of the Mayan calendar was terrible. Even if you do believe in aliens, god, and the end of the world, his attempt to “change our lives” failed in a glorious lack of real proof or providing explanations for why what he was showing us was “obvious”.
Manfred Lueth: radical innovation
Sanjay Sharma: it’s all in attitude
Koen Beumer: scar pride: About the changing perception of scars and the practice of scarification. My scars are all from cooking mishaps.
Egid van Houtem: software thinking
Youssef Joumani: mish-mash
Tanja Ritterbex: save the holy goblin

There was also an interesting session of “Laugh Yoga“, which I had never heard of but naturally have everyone giggling.

Behind the Stage

Of course the interesting thing this time for us is that Dan was a presenter. Presenters were invited to arrive at the AINSI building at 5 pm to allow everyone a chance to run through their presentations. This was a nice touch because it really helps get the nerves out and makes sure that the slides are running properly and that speakers who don’t use a microphone get a feel for it. I got to tag along for this (I assume because I’m the partner, but maybe just because I know Sueli).

The team also fed all the presenters and gave them free drink tickets to use at the bar during the beer break and after the event. Nice perks for participating in the event.

Dan on Stage

I’ll leave you with a video of Dan’s presentation:

A Visit to the International Women’s Club

Wednesday evening I finally tagged along with Sueli to a meeting of the South Limburg International Women’s Club, a social organization whose purpose is “to bring together women of all nationalities living in the area of South Limburg, promoting friendship, sharing mutual interests and extending support and information to newcomers”. I’d been meaning to attend a meeting or event for a while now, to check it out, but only just managed to get my head above water long enough to register that 1) an event was going on and 2) actually go. Thanks to Sueli for introducing me to what appears to be a great (if large) group of women; all of whom have gone through a similar experience to my own.

The meeting I attended Wednesday was a monthly social, when several of the smaller groups of the club (people are organized by the area they live in) get together to hang out and discuss some business. It was a little intimidating, I’m shy around large groups, but I did meet several people and had several very nice chats during the evening. The upcoming activities discussed also sounded pretty interesting, including country walks and a visit/workshop at a hat factory.

There is also a Junior IWC group, which is aimed more at people my age (20-40 range) which I think I’d like to learn more about.

This meeting actually came around at a good time for me. I’ve been feeling progressively more isolated in our experience here and have been “checking out” a bit mentally. The occasional week of silence here is and at my other blog is a testament to that; when I “check out”, I do it both on and offline. I’ve been trying to focus on my work, but even that can be difficult and the more I put things off to “clear my head” the more they pile up on me and increase my stress levels.

Maybe something like this group will be good for me. I think I’m game to try.

Featured image is by edknowles and licensed via Creative Commons.

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