So my bags are packed...

... and its my last night in Maastricht.  Tomorrow after checking out I'm headed to Amsterdam to drop off my bags at Schiphol airport and then will be boarding a train headed to Paris for a couple days.

I'm extremely exhausted from packing and running around doing last minute errands around the city and yet I don't want to sleep.  When I wake up tomorrow, its the end.  I have to leave.

I'm dreading tomorrow.  I have no idea how I'm going to carry all my stuff to Amsterdam.  I have three bags, one of which is ridiculously heavy.  Hopefully I'll be able to enlist the help of someone to carry my luggage on and off the train...

I guess I should probably sleep.  I have some last minute packing to do tomorrow morning.

I Fear For My English

I'm starting to notice that my English is starting to go.  I've started picking up weird combination of words and phrases that do not make sense.  I no longer speak or write grammatically correct without thinking twice.  I can't spell properly either.  I keep on making silly mistakes or forgetting how to spell certain words.  When talking, I've gotten use to speaking slowly and enunciating my words. 

I'm going to sound like an idiot when I go back to Canada >.<"

All I Want for Christmas is YOU!

So classes have more or less ended and people are studying and preparing to head home.  This past Wednesday evening, my corridor gathered together (25 of us!! so hard to coordinate) for an evening of world dining and gift exchange.  There are a lot of nationalities in my corridor ranging from German to Columbian to Italian to Australian.  So each of us was responsible for making a dish that was representative of our nationality.  I had no clue what to make - what's typical Canadian food?!  Maple syrup?  I didn't have any.  I decided to make something Chinese...  I've run out of rice and I don't want to buy another bag so close to leaving so that takes fried rice out (which is what I typically make for potlucks).  But I had a huge bag of rice noodles (米粉) left.  I've never fried them before, only had them in soup, so the experimentation began and the results were pretty good.  It tasted okay, but the others loved it.  Apparently Chinese food is a huge hit, half the table didn't get any.  I'm going to make it again tomorrow for dinner (I still have half the package of noodles left anyway).

My noodles!

Here is some of what the others made:

Making Knödel- potato dumpling stuffed with meat (German)

 

Tuna stuffed eggs appetizer (Spanish)

Elaborate salad (Italian) and some wrap appetizers (American)

Cheese fonduee~

Our dinner table!  So much foood~

And of course - dessert!  We had Panettone (Italian cake that is only available during the holidays) with Marscapone.  There was also some Portuguese desserts (I forgot their names) but I was way toooo full to eat it.  Someone was handing out homemade Brazilian chocolates and those were ridiculously good. 

And then came presents time! 

... and with it, the stupidness started...

C4.10!  Best corridor ever!

The Countdown Begins

Today I ran into a friend from York on exchange here that I hadn't seen for a couple weeks and we got to talking.  He asked me when I was leaving and then it struck me: two weeks.

Two weeks today, I'm going to be boarding my flight home from Amsterdam.  In 9 days I'm going to be leaving Maastricht for a couple days in Paris before heading home.  Today I had my final tutorial ever at UM.  Only a group paper and an exam before I'll be finished with my classes.

While I've had my ups and downs, battling homesickness and language barriers, Maastricht and the way of life here has become natural.  It has really become my home for the past four months and I'm sad that I have to leave soon.  As I go about my daily life, it strikes me, this may be the last time I'll be here or the last time I'll be doing this.  Definitely it will be hard to say goodbye to all the people I've met here from around the world. 

I'm scared to go home too.  What use to be normal will probably feel weird to me.  People will be different - I'll be different.  I'll have to adjust all over again.  I've been putting off purchasing a box to send my things home (through mail).  By going and buying that box its like saying to myself, that yes its true I have to leave.  I don't want to think about packing up everything here, putting it into boxes, and heading home.  Its exhausting and makes me feel bittersweet. 

I feel like there is so much I haven't done, so much I haven't seen - even within the city of Maastricht.  And there's barely any time to do all those things.  For awhile I took for granted what I had here and I forgot about experiencing things, instead withdrawing into myself.  Now that time is so short, I'm starting to realize all the things that I could have done. 

Bah - enough of this self pity.  I have a paper to write!

Why Europe is awesome

I took this recording ages ago, but I finally put it up.  I love how cultured everywhere is.  One day I was walking home, and I stumbled upon this.  LOVE!  It was taken in the centrum area of Maastricht, right outside the tourist information building. 

When I first heard them, they were playing Czardas by Monti which really caught my attention cause that was one of my favourite violin pieces.  This is their interpretation of Pachabel's Canon in D:

A Canadian Thanksgiving – Dutch Style

This past weekend I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner with a chicken instead of a Turkey.  People don’t eat Turkey here and it can’t be found in the grocery store.  I was making dinner with some help from a couple others.  There were 6 people eating dinner: 2 from Taiwan, 2 from Poland, another from Turkey and me!

One of my friends had a roommate with a largish toaster oven and I was able to roast a chicken.  I’ve never roasted a chicken and I was super scared.  In the end it turned out pretty good.  It was slightly burnt on the top and the stuffing was falling out, but the chicken turned out pretty tasty.  Definitely proud of myself =)  We also made orange glazed carrots, candied yams, corn, stuffing, gravy and some veggies and dip.  The only true disaster were the orange glazed carrots, but the girls from Taiwan really liked it. 

Turkey Roasting ^^

The full menu

Apple Tart (no pie)

It was really good meal and I’ve already finished my leftovers.  All my dinner guests have never had Thanksgiving dinner before (not that this was a true Thanksgiving dinner).  They knew of the concept of Thanksgiving, but didn’t know what it meant.  So it was pretty cool.

Truly a Dutch Evening

Last Tuesday I was invited to a Dutch dinner at a local’s house.  They have taken an interest in Asian culture and has helped a lot of the exchange students from Asia get settled.  Also, they introduce the students to a bit of Dutch culture.  We met when I joined the group to Tongeren.  I was invited along with one of my friends for a Dutch dinner.

We had pea soup (split pea maybe?) and apple pancakes for dessert.  This is apparently a very traditional Dutch dinner.  If you know you will be having pea soup, then you definitely will know that pancakes will be for dessert. 

Pea soup

Served with sausage and bread

I’m not sure I liked the pea soup.  It has an interesting texture.  I definitely got full though.  The Dutch typically eat this in the fall and winter when it it super cold out, but on this day, the sun was shining and it was warm. 

The pancake with apple bits

Dessert was pretty much a pancake with some apple bits that made it sweeter.  Instead of maple syrup, they have an apple type syrup (called Apple Stroop) to go with it.  Its a bit like jam in taste, but less clumpy.  Its not as runny as maple syrup either.  Maybe around the consistency of marmalade and is spreadable (with a bit of effort).  Its too sweet for me, but I might bring back some for you guys to taste.  This kind of spread is very Dutch.

After dinner, I headed to an AIESEC event at UM.  They were having a Dutch night where they were going to play some Dutch games.  They had invited a couple of trainees that were currently in the city (mostly working for BMW) from Poland, Germany and Finland (although originally from Latvia).  The AIESEC meeting was pretty similar to home =)  Organized chaos pretty much.  We played a couple Dutch games and I got to try some traditional Dutch snacks. 

One game we played was an eating game.  Pieces of a cake were strung through some string and held above participant’s heads.  Each person had to finish a piece of cake.  The person that finishes first wins.  It was pretty funny watching people trying to get at the cake above their heads.  Oh – no hands =)

  

Racing to see who finishes first!

I tried a bunch of snacks they had available.  There was a “meatball” that was crispy on the inside.  I say “meatball” because it is (supposedly) made from meat, but inside was all mushy – not what I was expecting at all!  They crispy part was yum though.  Marshmallows, gingerbread cookies and Stroopwafels were other things I tried.  They had licorice as well, but that was a definite no for me.  The gingerbread cookies (called pepernoten) are associated with the Sinterklaas holiday that takes place in early December.  One girl told me that they celebrate both Sinterklaas and Christmas – lots of festivities (holiday decorations are starting to pop up in supermarkets and stores)!  The Stroopwafels are thin waffles that are filled with a type of syrup.  It was really gooey and sweet.  I could barely finish mine.  The Dutch called marshmallows “spekkies” but they just taste like marshmallows – just a bit more decorated.

Debit Card Finally!

My letter from the bank finally arrived! I went to go pick up my card today. Now I just need to get the visa office to move my money from their account into mine and everything will be all good.

ESN Arrival Week

Another thing the ESN organized was arrival week with a bunch of activities. You have to buy tickets to everything in advance and many were sold out really fast. I got tickets to the Cantus, the Dutch buffet and the final party. I wanted to go on the fortification tour but they ran out of tickets. I think there was a bowling night and a pub crawl as well. I met tons of people and it was an awesome way to start the year.

Market Day!

On Wednesday and Fridays, the Centrum is turned into a market with stalls selling everything from fresh groceries to fabrics to perfume. Apparently, the market on Wednesday is famous for its cloth and fabrics and the Friday market is known for its fish. My first day here, I had stumbled upon the market as it was being taken down. This time I headed out earlier and was able to wander around and see what was being offered.

There were tons of people walking up and down the stalls. On the outside of the square, were the food and produce vendors (meat, cheese, baked stuff, fruits & veggies, and hot food). On the inside, there were stalls for everything else, such as fabrics, card making supplies and clothing.

The inner stalls

Prices are pretty reasonable. One thing that stuck out in my mind was the price of the flowers. For a bouquet of roses it only costs 5 Euros (approx $8CAD), but if you got those roses in Canada, it would be super expensive.

Veggies galore! Super entertaining group and really decent prices!

The produce is fresh and definitely cheaper than going to the grocery store (and the market environment is fun too). I ended up getting some oranges (they're HUGE) and some cookies from the bakery. I think next time I'll get something from one of the meat stalls... First I'll have to figure out what "chicken thighs" is in Dutch...

Mmmmm freshly baked goods! Smelled like heaven =)

Where exactly IS Maastricht?

Maastricht is in the southern tip of the Netherlands right in between Belgium and Germany. Makes for a GREAT travel location!

Maas River

I finally was able to make it across the river on Monday, while waiting for the stores to open. The water is pretty brown, but the sun made up for it =) There are a number of bridges to cross the Maas River. You can see one in the picture below. The one I was on, was pedestrian (and bicycles) only which was nice.

The bridge is divided into two sections to allow for passing boats too tall to still get across. In the above picture, you can see the divider.

Do you see the swan?

YUM! FOOD!

I've been doing a lot of eating lately (and no exercise >< unless you count walking...). On Saturday I went to Dutch buffet. They had underestimated the number of people they had sold tickets to and there wasn't enough room in the restaurant and definitely not enough food. By the time I got to the table, there wasn't too much interesting stuff left.

What my plate looked like

It just seemed like typical western food. It was pretty good, but wasn't all that different. The kebab on the upper left corner was the most interesting (I think). It was covered in a peanut like sauce. My mom had told me that Indonesian food is really popular here. I have definitely noticed in the grocery store that the food sold is very heavily influenced by Indonesia (I see lots of Nasi Goreng pre-made.)

On Sunday, I headed to the food festival (Preuvenemint in Dutch) in the main square. There were lots of musical entertainment and tents serving food and beer. To try the food you need to buy tickets.

Front of my ticket

These tickets can be exchanged for food depending on the stall's "price" list. There was a wide range of food available from sushi to Korean to Dutch food. I really wanted a sausage as I was unable to try one at the buffet. The only place was this:

I ended up getting a Grillwurst which just looked like a hot dog to me. It was served in a bun with lettuce and some mayo. It definitely did not taste like a hot dog. It was really juicy =)

Cell Phone

I ended up getting my cell phone unlocked at an electronics store in Richmond at a reasonable price. Because I was picked up by the ESN (Erasmus Student Network) at the train station, they gave me a SIM card from Ortel Mobile with 2 euros credit. I used it for a week and then I found that the rates were really high compared to other prepaid SIM cards.

In the end I chose Lyca Mobile because they had the lowest rates. 18 cents per minute calling within the Netherlands and 9 cent per text. Its 12 cents to call home and 9 cents as well to text to Canada. Its only when you leave the Netherlands it gets pretty expensive. When you first buy the card, you can register it to get additional free credits. I did that, but my credit never came (but I think I may have entered the address wrong so its probably my fault).

Another alternative with similar rates is Lebara Mobile. I also heard that T-Mobile had pretty good rates too.

Cantus

A couple nights ago, I headed to a Cantus, a traditional Dutch beer and singing party that was organized by the student exchange group here. They led us to a club quite a distance away from the residence.

Outside, waiting for them to let us in

Inside, there were long tables set up with benches up and down both sides for us to sit on.

More waiting for the start inside the club

Basically, a Cantus has two "players." There is the Senior who is in charge of running the event and the Corona, the remaining people participating. The Corona cannot drink unless the Senior says you can. If you don't follow the command, you get punished. Punishments were being forced to drink beer mixed with unappetizing ingredients (although by AIESEC standards, they were pretty dull...).

Song lyrics and instruction booklet

The sequence of the Cantus starts with singing a song. They provided us with booklets of lyrics to some well known songs (I Will Survive, Summer of 69, the FRIENDS theme song, Greese medley, and It's Raining Men among others). After the song, there is a toast before the Senior tells us how much to drink. There are three commands:

• Ad libitum - drink however much you want
• Ad fundum - drink until your glass is empty
• Ad statis (??) - drink until the Senior says "statis" meaning stop (I forgot the exact spelling)
  

If you drink at any other time (like during the song) you'll get punished.

Pouring out the beer - from a watering can

It was definitely an interesting night. Lots of beer was consumed and people got rowdier and rowdier as the night went on. By the end of the evening, the whole room was soaked in beer. People had spilled beer pouring it causing everything to get wet. Right before they kicked us out, people were starting to throw beer around (apparently at normal Cantus' this happens at the beginning?!). Half of my body got soaked in beer, but I ran for cover and was able to escape most of it. Some people I met were completely soaked head to toe.

Afterwards, I headed to the Centrum for some frites. I had seen tons of people walking around with them smothered in mayo so I decided to try that. It was pretty good although the mayo was a bit much. Its a lot tangier than what we have at home.

Frites avec mayo (a la gauche) et ketchup (droit)

It was definitely an interesting night. I met tons of people and found out a bit about Dutch (student) culture. I can't wait to take this tradition home with me!

Adventures in the Grocery Store

Despite everyone (more or less) being able to speak English, everything is still written in Dutch. After I had gotten settled, I decided it was time to search for a grocery store. I had been told it was close by, but got lost searching for it. Finally I was able to find it after many different people giving me directions. Everything here is really different. The packaging, flavourings, brand names... It was so disorienting walking in to see groceries that are the same as home and yet very different. For example, at home, heading down the chip aisle you see Sour Cream and Onion, BBQ, Ketchup and Salt and Vinegar flavours (among others). Here, there is nothing like that. Instead they have Paprika (see pic below), Bolognese (I thought this was a type of pasta?!), and Cheese and Onion. There are a bunch of other flavours, but each as unique and different as those.

I bought a bag of Bolognese flavour chips and they don't really have much taste. At one of the events I went to I tried the Praprika flavoured ones which weren't bad. For the most part, chips here are less salty and have less intense flavouring compared to those at home.

Getting fruit and veggies is an interesting process too. They have these machines (see pic) where you can weigh the produce, select what it is and then it will give you a sticker to put on your bag. Cashiers don't have to memorize code after code like at home.

Produce sticker machine

The end result =)

Another thing drastically different is the availability of alcohol in the grocery store. They have a couple aisles filled with wine, beer and other alcohols. Definitely weird coming from Canada...


One thing I heard a lot about was the cheese here. There are soo many varieties. Some of them look scary (and smell funny). Can't wait to try the different types. Mmmm cheeeeeeese!

Banking Information

In the orientation package, the faculty recommends that we open an account with the Postbank (which I think is a part of ING). I went down to the main branch to open my account. The line was super long - I guess there are tons of students wanting to open an account. Its a pretty good account too - virtually no fees attached.

To open the account, you need to bring your passport and certificate of enrollment from UM. It is a relatively easy process. Only you need to wait about 10 days before the account is actually open. They'll send you a letter with a place to go to pick up your debit card.

Exploring Maastricht

Yesterday I decided to venture out on my on and start exploring the town. I wanted to go to a grocery store, but somehow I made a wrong turn and ended up in the main square. The main part of Maastricht is pedestrian only and has tons of stores, bars and cafes.

Walking through the streets - everything is brick!

There are tons of shops here and I can't wait to go exploring in them! Most of the brands I've never heard of, but there are a few ones that I recognize. I saw a Body Shop, a couple of Claire's, KFC, Espirit, Zara (I only saw the bag, but a number of people had them so I'm guess there is one around somewhere) and Mexx.

Pedestrian only central part of town.

H&M <3!!!>

A McDonald's too! In true European style - with its own patio seating area.

There are tons of cafes lining the streets. One thing I noticed that was really popular are fries. It seems everywhere you turn there are little shops selling fries in a newspaper cone. People were walking around the shops eating fries. Definitely will have to try some one day. Another thing I noticed that was being eaten a lot are waffles (or what look to be waffles) with some kind of syrup drizzled over it. It smelled soo good. Another thing I will have to try.

Cafe lined street

On my walk, I was trying to see if I could find any Asian influenced shops and restaurants here and to my surprise there were! I spotted the following restaurant en route to the main square. I don't think I will want to eat there though. Seems a little sketchy. It sames the same name as me though...

And on the main square, I found this tiny Chinese grocery store. It has a small variety of typical Chinese stuff - soy sauce, various types of instant noodles and herbs for making soups. They even had bok choy! (Although at a ridiculous price) Most things, except for the veggies were pretty reasonably priced, even when converted to CAD. Its about the same price as things in Victoria. At least I know if I'm really craving something Chinese I can probably find it or something really similar here:

After exploring the main square I decided to head for the university campus. I got horribly lost on the way, but thankfully, the city has put up maps at various intersections and I was able to direct myself to the right place.

Tongersestraat 53 - the building where all my classes are

I went to see the student services building too in hopes of getting a school mug, but they only sold sweaters and t-shirts. They don't have a SUB like in Canada. I wonder what they use as a meeting place then... The walk back to my dorm isn't too bad. It took about 10-15 mins. Once I get a bike, it will be a lot faster!

Thats another thing - there are bikes everywhere here. They zoom in and out of traffic with almost no concern for other cars and buses. There are special lanes created for them on the side of the road too. And if they want to cross the street at an intersection, they have a special crosswalk similar to what is provided for pedestrians. You press a button and soon the light will turn green for you to continue on your bike ride.

In place of intersections, there are a lot of roundabouts. It'll be interesting trying to navigate these on a bike. A little intimidating too...