Daniel, Rachel and I in Belfast International airport
On the morning of Saturday the 21st of January Rachel, Daniel and I met in Belfast International airport to begin our journey to Nijmegen. The journey to Nijmegen went perfectly as planned and we had just enough time to grab a Starbucks coffee upon arrival in the airport of Amsterdam. The hour and a half train journey to Nijmegen was fascinating. The landscape of the Netherlands consisted of continuous fields of flat ground with numerous lakes and canals, not a hill to be seen for miles around.
In Nijmegen train station waiting for our transfer to our accommodation.
Upon arrival at Nijmegen train station we were collected by a student from HAN University to take us to our accommodation. The journey took us through the town of Nijmegen and we got our first glimpse of where we would be living for the next five months. My first thought was the sheer amount of bikes, parked everywhere. There were even roads made just for bikes. It became apparent that bikes would be the main form of transport for me throughout my stay. The houses were also very interesting and many resembled old barns in shape. However, there was also a range of very modern, contemporary buildings.
When we arrived at our accommodation we were shown our rooms and we then met our flatmates. We found out that we would be living with two Spanish boys, two Belgium girls and two Greek girls. The rooms were basic but each room had a shower which is an improvement from Stranmillis halls. The following day was Sunday and all the shops were closed which was unusual considering all the shops in Northern Ireland would be open on a Sunday. I was soon to find out that the shops were closed due to the religious nature of the Netherlands. The week followed with a range of introductory classes including a campus tour, downtown discovery tasks in Nijmegen town and a visit to an Art museum.
I have thoroughly enjoyed grocery shopping and cooking together with Rachel and Daniel this week. Rachel and I have taken on the roll of cooking and preparing the dinner and Daniel has the job of the after dinner dishes.When we arrived at our accommodation we were shown our rooms and we then met our flatmates. We found out that we would be living with two Spanish boys, two Belgium girls and two Greek girls. The rooms were basic but each room had a shower which is an improvement from Stranmillis halls. The following day was Sunday and all the shops were closed which was unusual considering all the shops in Northern Ireland would be open on a Sunday. I was soon to find out that the shops were closed due to the religious nature of the Netherlands. The week followed with a range of introductory classes including a campus tour, downtown discovery tasks in Nijmegen town and a visit to an Art museum.
Me on my new bike.
It has also become clear that the Netherlands is very keen on promoting recycling, with most households sorting out their rubbish instead of merely throwing it away. There are a variety of rubbish containers for glass, organic waste and chemical waste dotted around the town. In the shops I also noticed that there was a substantial range of packaging that is advertised as environmentally friendly. I decided to go green myself be buying a second hand bike from a local bike shop. Our accommodation is located 6km (approx 20 min cycle) from the university and 8km (30 min cycle approx) from the town centre. To be honest, it was quite hard during the first week getting used to cycling rather than being used to the luxury of driving. In addition, the climate is very cold and so I had to make sure to wrap up well before the journey to university every day.
The University of HAN is state of the art, the range of facilities are outstanding with many new buildings and facilities to accommodate for extra-curricular activities. I have had a brilliant first week and I can’t think of a better way to spend the months ahead other than in Nijmegen.
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