The days are already flying by! We've only been here three days and I'm already falling a day behind in my blogging. I still cannot believe I'm really here and that after all the anticipation, anxiety, nerves and excitement, I'm now living in Europe. Have I mentioned I love it here?
On Tuesday morning we woke up at 7:00 for mandatory breakfast at 7:45. Afterwards, we walked about 20 minutes to the CES (Center for European Studies) building, where many of the group's classes will be meeting. The building itself is beautiful and modern... while Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands, Universiteit Maastricht is the youngest university in the country (32 years).
At the front of this photo, there is seating for a class or meeting to take place. The stairs behind lead up to CES offices and the main lecture hall, where my British Literature class will be held. The seats are surprisingly comfortable, and with the click of a button the professor can close the blinds for a slideshow presentation.
After our informational meeting, the staff asked us to join them for coffee and "fly" - I'm not sure if that is indeed how they spell it, but that is what they call the pastries. We enjoyed getting a chance to talk and get to know each other even better, and the coffee was pretty stellar! Before going to lunch, we were able to snap a group photo... we forget how many of us there are; it's no wonder we get funny looks in the streets as we travel together!
The tunnels are named after d'Artagnan, the Commander of the First Company of Musketeers, who died in front of the fortifications during battle. A little history - back in the early 1200s, the Dutch built a city wall around Maastricht to protect themselves from another siege. After being attacked 21 times, I guess they'd had enough. This wall was important because an attack on Maastricht could mean doom for all of Northern Europe. Later in the 16th century, the walls were strengthened, towers were removed, and tunnels were created as bunkers for the army. It was these tunnels that we ventured through with only the light from our flashlights! The tour guide gave us each a book of clues and challenges in order to make our way through the maze. Before we started, he did warn us that a wrong turn could lead us down a much, much longer path, possibly doubling our time underground. It was a bit spooky and we got a little turned around at times. There were probably 18 "t-junctions" we came to, different sets of stairs to take, a ladder in a tiny shaft to climb down, and a corridor to walk through in total darkness! Two and a half hours later, we finally arrived at the end of the challenge! We all felt so accomplished, and trekked back to the Guesthouse to meet the rest of our group for dinner.
Here's a photo of Kaitlyn and me inside the tunnels!
A local restaurant sponsors the university, so a few students from the ESN (Erasmus Student Nextwork) took us there for dinner. It was called Cafe de Twee Heeren, or the Cafe of Two Gentleman, and we had the entire upstairs dining room to ourselves. We all welcomed the chance to sit and enjoy a nice meal after a long day of walking! They had delicious salmon which a lot of us ordered, and that was served with the ever-so-fancy side of french fries. One thing I have discovered though is that water is not free like at restaurants back home. As a college student, I've learned to save my precious pennies by ordering water to drink. Here, however, our tiny bottle of still water cost the same as a beer, 2 euros. Maybe next time I'll indulge and get a soda? I think so.
Today we woke up to beautiful blue skies and freezing temperatures! We walked again to CES for the remainder of our student orientation, and afterwards had two guest speakers come and talk to us about their experiences in Maastricht. Both were Baylor graduates who studied at the university and ended up staying. One guy got a job in Liege, Belgium after graduating because he loved Europe so much, and the other girl fell in love with a Dutch man and never came home! Both encouraged us in our studies and gave us some inside information on d0's and don'ts in our travels. She even mentioned something about a decent Tex-Mex place around here, so I think I'll be e-mailing her soon to find out where that might be... :)
We were then taken on a "practical" city tour by some of the ESN students. They showed us the library and other landmarks for the university and then took us to Vrijthof Square where a lot of shops and restaurants are. The rest of the afternoon was ours to enjoy, and a group of us stopped for quiche for lunch in a cafe called V&D. Afterwards we treated ourselves to the first of, I'm sure, many waffles! These things are amazing, I'm telling you. They're sweet and sugary and sprinkled in powdered sugar (or white sugar, as they call it) and are served at street vendors all over the city. We crossed the River Maas to get to the train station where we validated our Eurail passes and attempted to find a bus ride home. No such luck, so we walked the 45 minutes back to the Guesthouse where we've crashed for the rest of the night.
I just looked at the clock and realized I have to be up in a few short hours! I guess I'm just too excited to sleep, for tomorrow we go to LONDON! Thank you for your prayers while I'm here - I definitely feel the love!
