CES Newsletter December

December 2010

Table of contents

Season’s greetings page 4

CES team at a glance page 5

New programmes at CES page 7

New brochures page 8

CES team-building event page 9

Study trip in the Ardennes page 11

Mid-semester event page 14

Maastricht at this time of year page 15

Students’ impressions page 19

Farewell drinks page 22

CES info page 23

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Season’s Greetings from

the whole CES team

With several comings and goings and changes at CES during 2010, we thought it was time to (re)introduce the CES team. An international staff, dedicated to creating the ultimate international experience for international students.

The ‘old’ staff

Jorg de Vette Originally from Schiedam, since joining the team back in 2000, Jorg has coordinated most of the programmes at CES, as well as been a key figure in programme development, recruitment and new ventures. Jorg has also travelled extensively for the institute, particularly within the US and Asia. As head of CES since January 2010, he’s using his experience and vision to guide and frame a new and exciting era for CES as we look to the future.

Laura Marley Laura, our resident Brit, arrived in the Netherlands in 1997 and has been working as a programme coordinator at CES since 2001. Laura coordinates the Study Europe Programme and her special field is academic guidance and course selection, as well as visa and immigration issues. She’s also pleased to have had the opportunity to travel to the U.S. on various occasions to meet with partners and students.

Nathalie Ummels Nathalie, who is a Maastricht original, started working at CES in 2006. She’s proud to represent CES in the U.S. during visits to study abroad fairs and partners. She’s been coordinator of several programmes and is now the driving force behind programme development and educational issues, as well as using her expertise within recruitment and related areas.

Séverine Dufour Having been born and bred in France, Séverine moved to the Netherlands in 1985. She strengthened the team with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ in 2006 and coordinates the Baylor University and University of California programmes, among others. Séverine also directs the European Career Orientation Trip and is an essential authority on student admission and institutional procedures.

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The new-but-not-so-new staff

Dario Giorgi Dario, a Belgian with Italian roots, joined the team originally as an intern in 2008. He proved to be a critical addition to CES and is now an experienced aficionado as the Business in Europe, Muhlenberg and Xavier/LVC programme coordinator. He’s responsible for housing matters and also plays a key role in student registration and the development of study trips and excursions.

Maaike van Eck Maaike started at CES in January 2010, originally to replace Laura who was on maternity leave. Since then, Maaike has become indispensable as both programme coordinator and leading within communication strategy and implementation. She’s been an integral force behind CES’s new brochures and website and will also be involved in programme development.

The totally new staff

Aude Collioud Originating from French-speaking Switzerland. Aude joined CES at the end of Summer 2010. She is responsible for developing and coordinating the new AIM programme and will also manage the Pre-Academic Training. Aude is a valuable asset to CES and brings her creative talents and craftsmanship to the table as the artisan of this new CES newsletter.

Kyra van Leendert Last but certainly not least, Kyra, also a Maastricht original, is CES’s most recent ‘acquisition’ and started in September 2010. Kyra’s challenge is manning the secretariat, and organising study trips and introduction programmes - and the rest of the staff! She’s also responsible for the CES Library and has already become an essential pillar of the team.

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New programmes at CES

AIM Overseas : The newest addition to the list of programmes at CES comes straight from the other side of the planet. For the first time in January 2011, we will welcome a group of 25 students from universities all around Australia. They will be in Maastricht for a three-week intensive course on International Relations and Politics in the European Union, and will get to discover not only Maastricht and the area, but also Brussels and The Hague and some of their most prestigious European Institutions, as well as Bruges and Amsterdam. For more information, check the programme-specific page on our website.

UC : This new programme is tailored especially for students from the University of California who come to study in Maastricht for a semester or a year. Before the start of their classes, CES provides a two-week orientation programme, filled with Dutch language classes, introductory lectures on Dutch society and way of life, a study trip and much more. It also includes fun and typically Dutch activities, such as learning how to ride a bike safely through the beautiful streets of Maastricht, making traditional Delft-blue ceramics or discovering Dutch movies in a delightful local art-house cinema. For more details, check the programme-specific page on our website.

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New brochures

The Summer of 2010 brought a bumper crop of students and energising times at CES. Not only did the CES team handle all the usual tasks with enthusiasm; we were also able to put together a new fantastic set of brochures to promote our programmes and courses. This task turned out to be quite challenging (and definitely time consuming) but extremely rewarding – and we are extremely proud of our new brochures. Just in case you haven’t had the chance to admire them yet, please click on the following links to view them all in a PDF format! CES General brochure Study Europe brochure Business in Europe brochure Liberal Arts in Europe brochure Summer Programme in European Studies brochure Pre-Academic Training (PAT) brochure If you would like to have some (more) hard copies for your international office, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

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A fun weekend in the snow

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CES team members left the office for two days in October for a fun and fruitful team-building event. There was snow (lots of it as we were at an indoor skiing center nearby Maastricht - the biggest of its kind in Europe, apparently), there was snowman-wrestling, downhill sliding on rubber-tires, good food, lovely people, productive meetings and definitely lots of great team-building fun!

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Text by Professor Dr. Karl Syndram The wooded hills and green valleys in the borderlands, where the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany meet, are peaceful now and have an altogether serene atmosphere. There are no longer any boundaries now between countries, and people live happily together in a cross-cultural environment. But 66 years ago, this pastoral landscape with picturesque villages and small old-world towns sprinkled in between has been the site of some of the most fierce battles on European soil in World War II. The evidence of bravery and sacrifice of the American and Allied troops who liberated the world from Nazi terrors is still there. Be it through remaining Sherman tanks and other pieces of armoury, turned into reminders of former battlefields, war museums and monuments erected by the grateful people or majestic US cemeteries, where a huge number of those giving their lives for the freedom of others are laid to rest. There is even a ‘Road to Freedom’ with milestones, leading from Omaha Beach in Normandy, France to the capital city of Luxemburg.

In the tracks of American heroes… A field trip in Belgium and Luxemburg

In Fall 2010, an excursion related to the CES course called ‘The Roaring Twenties, Nazi Terrors and the Cold War’ took the students, accompanied by professor Dr. Karl Syndram and Aude Collioud from CES to the sites of the so-called ‘Battle of the Bulge’ in Luxemburg and Belgium. It was a fine November day with the scent of autumn leaves in the air, when we first of all visited the US cemeteries of Margraten in the Netherlands and Henry Chapelle in Belgium. Then the bus took us into the Ardennes, to the region where the Germans started their desperate surprise attack to turn the tides of war to their favour in a final battle in December 1944. We passed through Saint Vith which was completely destroyed and had to be re-mapped after the war and went onto Luxemburg. In the small town of Clervaux we stopped for lunch with some extra time to stroll around and have a look at the old castle (now rebuilt and restored) in the town centre where brave American infantry soldiers fought for days to buy valuable time for the Allied troops to regroup and counter-attack.

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In the afternoon, we took the short ride to the Mardasson Memorial over the border into Belgium, erected by the grateful Belgian people to honour the decisive American contribution to liberate their country. At Mardasson we visited the monument itself and the impressive World War II Museum, which displays a great collection of documents, uniforms, weapons, even military vehicles, together with related information and the showing of original film footage. Finally, we spent the rest of the afternoon in Bastogne town, where the central square is now named after General McAuliffe who commanded the US troops, holding the town and surrounding hamlets successfully against the attacking forces and refused the demand to surrender with one famous word: ‘Nuts’. It was a great trip, just one day long, but packed with things to see and experience. Enough to really get an idea of what happened here and envisage how it might have been 66 years ago. A short journey to connect the present with the past and to give evidence of how important and lasting the American commitment in Europe was and still is.

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On Tuesday October 12th, the Dutch national soccer team played against the Swedish national team, a qualification match for Euro 2012. It was a very exciting game, where the Dutch, once again, showed how good they are at soccer and why they are the (second) best team in the world! Amongst the crowd of 50,000 in the Amsterdam Arena were some very special spectators: 150 students from Maastricht University accompanied by most CES staff members. The group consisted in the main part of students from CES programmes, but also a lot of other students from Maastricht University came along for this unique experience. In the three buses that drove up to Amsterdam for the evening there were as many as 23 different nationalities: Students came from America, Australia, Brazil, China, Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and many more! The whole group dressed up in orange t-shirts, flags, scarves, wigs and crowns and cheered heartily for the Dutch team. Everyone was absolutely delighted with the end result (Holland won 4-1), and this evening will stay in students’ minds for a long, long time! The last words go to Dave, a CES student from Muhlenberg College (Pennsylvania, USA) who summarised the experience very well: “I think it is safe to say many of us from the States have never been to a Euro football (soccer) game before so what better way to start than with the Holland team! I think the evening was great and many thanks to you and the CES team”.

CES at the Holland vs Sweden soccer game

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Winter in Maastricht

The past few weeks have brought Maastricht its ‘winter outfit’. Temperatures have been going down to below zero most mornings, there is a pretty layer of snow covering everything, fairy lights all around… it really feels like the city has turned into a magical place. The main squares of the inner city are adorned with beautiful lights and welcoming Christmas markets. Just like many cities in Northern Europe, one can enjoy the wintery delights of warm mulled wine, grilled sausages, potato fritters, delicious waffles or sweet poffertjes all to the tune of jolly Christmas carols.

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Student impressions

As Christmas approaches and the 2010 Fall semester slowly gets draws to a close, we asked some of our current students to look back and give us their impressions of the incredible travel experiences they have been living in the past few months during their semester in Maastricht.

My experience studying abroad was incredible. When I reflect on my four months in Maastricht, I cannot help but remember the friendships I formed, places I travelled and the exposure to a culture I had never seen before. The city itself is beautiful and quaint while the university is challenging and thought-provoking. The memories I have will last a lifetime. David Schutzbank, Muhlenberg College

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Prague was such a beautiful place; it was like stepping into a winter wonderland. It was entirely covered in snow from the trees to the streets along with being bitterly cold. We tried to do as much walking around as we could but we made lots of coffee breaks along the way. We stayed in the center of the new city, which was perfect because there were lots of shops and Christmas markets with lots of mulled wines, candy, and cute boutiques. Kara Schondorf, Indiana University

One of my favorite parts about living in Maastricht are the travel opportunities. I have been to Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, England, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. A lot of it was crammed into a short amount of time but it was definitely worth seeing as many places as possible plus my roommate and I always have very interesting travel stories. My favorite place was Barcelona because the city is on the beach with tons of tapas restaurants and the weather was perfect. It is also a very lively city at night, from music in the streets to street markets. At these street markets you could buy anything from rabbits to jewelry. We went on a tour bus that took us to all the major spots including one of the major shopping districts. Even though shopping was one of the highlights, my favorite stop was the Sagrada Familia. It's a beautiful church with elevators to the top where you can see all of Barcelona. Even without the tour bus, Barcelona was really easy to navigate and the people were always friendly when we seemed lost. Erica Taylor, Trinity College

One of the many highlights of my time in Maastricht was the study trip that was organized for us at the beginning of the semester. On this study trip I went to Brussels, Bruges, Paris, and Reims. I learned a lot through the planned activities, but more than that I become friends with many new people and met people from a completely new culture. My most vivid memories of the study trip are talking with some of the local people in these cities. You can learn a lot about people by just talking with them. Of course, the time in Maastricht was also wonderful. There are so many nice cafes and restaurants in the town to go to. The city is also very historical and the architecture of many buildings is very nice. I think the people from Maastricht are some of the friendliest people I have met. They are always willing to help you and seem to have a very cheery outlook on life. There are way too many highlights of my time in Maastricht to pick out just one because the entire experience was wonderful and without a doubt the best experience of my life. Ethan Schmick, Muhlenberg College

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My stay in Maastricht for this semester has been filled with so many different experiences; it is quite difficult to only pick one event as the highlight of my trip. The 5-day study trip that we took to Belgium and France was probably the most memorable experience of the whole thing. To be able to take a bus and go cross-country to countries you only hear about on the television and in movies is a lot of fun. Walking along the streets of Paris and partying in the clubs at Bruges are memories that I will soon not forget. We also had two great chaperones, Tim and Bert, who made the trip run smoothly and fun for everybody. After all the traveling however, coming back to Maastricht was always a welcomed feeling. Maastricht has that small city/big town feeling that allows you to feel at home, recharge, and get you ready for your next great traveling experience. David Olson, University of Denver

Maastricht is the perfect balance of a small Dutch city mixed with a young and culturally diverse atmosphere. Maastricht has great shopping, beautiful sight seeing, and thriving nightlife, without the heavy traffic of cars and people like major cities. For me, one of the highlights of the CES programme was the two-week traveling period before classes started. This gave me the opportunity to meet and connect with some amazing people who I know I will keep in touch with for many years to come. During this trip, we were given the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the European culture, and experience the unique nightlife of some of the major cities in and around Maastricht. I will always remember our amazing CES coordinators who helped us with any problems we were having, or were there just to chat with. This has been an experience of a lifetime and I will always think of Maastricht as my home away from home. Ali Wolff, Florida Atlantic University

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Farewell drinks Fall 2010

Spring 2011 at CES AIM Overseas (Australia) – January 8-29 Dutch Culture and Language (University of California) – January 17-29 Study Europe – January 24 – June 11 Business in Europe - January 24 – June 11 Liberal Arts in Europe - January 24 – June 11 Baylor in Maastricht (Baylor University, Waco, Texas) – January 22 – April 21

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CES info

New website The brochures were just one of the many steps towards renewing our materials. Our beautiful website, which was officially launched in March 2010, is another fine example of how we project ourselves to the world. The website has a wealth of information; you can find everything you need to know about studying in Maastricht, our courses, programmes, application forms, etc. Please keep us posted with any feedback.

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Mailing address

Maastricht University Student Services Centre | SSC Center for European Studies | CES PO Box 616 6200 MD Maastricht The Netherlands

Visiting address

Maastricht University Student Services Centre | SSC Center for European Studies | CES Bonnefantenstraat 2 6211 KL Maastricht The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 43 388 5282 Fax: +31 (0) 43 388 5290 Email: [email protected]

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