Ok so I’m considering studying abroad in the Netherlands. My school offers courses in Maastricht. My questions is…well what is there to do in the Netherlands besides go to Amsterdam? This was not meant to be condescending in any way, I just really don’t know.
Any information will be greatly appreciated.
Americans are usually huge fans of the coffeeshops.
(For the information, they don’t sell coffee anymore)
When you’re in Maastricht, Germany, Belgium, France are just a few hours away should you get bored.
I haven’t been in Maastricht in a long time but I guess it’s nice there.
I can’t come up with other things to do in particular.
(It’s still early here)
well, what do you want to do?
And what are you going to study?
It will get winter soon
Maybe you are in to iceskating
Well you are on the continent so you are not reallt limited to your options
But i hear Rotterdam is pretty cool
My friend did his masters in Amsterdam, I went to visit a couple of times, he was having fun out there.
I’ve never been to the place your going, but Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrect are nice enough place.
LR
[quote]Erasmus wrote:
And what are you going to study?[/quote]
I’m a Finance major with an Economics minor (maybe a double major) and my school recommends the Netherlands for Business students. I’ve never even thought about going there before the school mentioned it. That is probably what interested me about it, I don’t know anything about the place.
Don’t think of it in terms of what you can do out there, there’s always something to do, you just need to know where to look.
Think of it more as an opportunity to travel and see the world outside the US. If you get chance, you can travel round Europe too.
In short, go for it, if you don’t like it, then f**k it, at least you’ve tried it.
I recommend Barcelona; I’m currently here for a year and it’s fucking amazing. Easily one of the top cities to study abroad in (as evidenced by the tons of Erasmus students from all over Europe that are here in addition to all the U.S. kids). I’m at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, which is one of the the top colleges in Europe, especially when it comes to Social Science and Economics (so it compliments your major).
The only barrier is the language obviously, though even if you don’t know catalan or spanish, you can still get by (professors are usually lenient and helpful on account of all the international students here). Then again, if you know dutch, Maastrich should be awesome, and like others said, you’re really never limited in terms of fun in Europe; traveling between Schengen states is both really easy and really cheap, so you’ll never be bored.
…Maastricht is a nice little city in the south of Holland. The area isn’t flat like the rest of the country, and you’ll be close to Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg if you want to get international.
The city itself has a limited nightlife, but those southern girls make up for it. Amsterdam is 2.5 hours away by train, Rotterdam a little less. Be prepared for a culture shock, but it’ll be good for your allround development, especially in business. Try to learn the language, chicks love that. So, go for it…
I agree that if you waste this chance for travel you will regret it forever. The Netherlands are great. Everyone is friendly, the women are attractive, the food is awesome and the partying is unbridled (Ooh, I like that word!).
Go for it.
Oh yeah, the train system is excellent and you can be almost anywhere in eastern Europe in a couple hours. Boredom will be the least of your worries.
[quote]Kruiser wrote:
I agree that if you waste this chance for travel you will regret it forever. The Netherlands are great. Everyone is friendly, the women are attractive, the food is awesome and the partying is unbridled (Ooh, I like that word!).
[/quote]
Wait a minute! I agree with all of the statements above EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE: <> In the Netherlands, are you joking me??? I guess if you like potatoes and Gouda cheese then the food is awesome. I mean, every time I have been in Holland I have been pretty stoned most of the time,had the munchies and even under those circumstances I couldn’t call the food awesome. I mean, yeah, the food is better than in England or Finland…but if you’ve eaten much English or Finnish food, you know that’s not saying much.
Now, for the rest, I agree the Netherlands is a wonderful country. In some ways more civilized than the rest of the world.
Alright thanks a lot everyone. And the Spain is only recommended for high level Spanish speakers at my school, which I am not.
Feel free to let me know anything else, I’ll be sure to check back.
[quote]Americans are usually huge fans of the coffeeshops
entheogens wrote:
I mean, every time I have been in Holland I have been pretty stoned most of the time,…
[/quote]
I told you so!
I’m studying in Rotterdam now and I recommend the night-life, especially on thursdays (studentnight)
If you take a train and hop off at centraal station you’ll only have to walk 300 meters to the first club (the Baja beachclub for those who are familiar in R’dam)
make sure you try the Dutch french fries which are the absolute BEST in the world, pancakes and “poffertjes”( like minipancakes) are delicious too