May 25 Weekend

This weekend was one of those weekends where I didn’t plan anything ahead and thought; well maybe I’ll get a lot of work done! And as it so often happens, I was convinced to spend most of my time with friends. On Saturday morning Celeste, Jessica, Ellaisha, Naf and I had brunch together (pancakes, omelets, and hard boiled eggs).

 After brunch we headed to Rotterdam for the day. Ellaisha’s friend Naf had been in town for a week but hadn’t seen much of the Netherlands since everyone was studying for their finals. First we visited the market and bought some food for lunch, and prawns to cook for dinner. Afterwards we took the train to the central station and walked to the Erasmus Bridge. We crossed the bridge and came back towards the station on the Willemina Bridge. We were exhausted so we headed home, and lucky for me Celeste offered to make dinner. Shrimp with garlic butter, rice, and broccoli fresh from the market.

 On Sunday morning I got up early and headed to the laundry room since I hadn’t done laundry in weeks. Luckily no one else needed the machines since I took up 3 of 4. While I was studying in the laundry room Laura and Andrea were desperately trying to reach me so that I would join them for Dutch pancakes in the city center. Two of Laura’s friends, Antone and Anna who I met when in Germany were visiting, and her friend Rebecca (now Mikko’s girlfriend) was also back in town. Naturally after lunch I headed back to the pond for the afternoon. How could I not when the forecast is calling for rain all next week!

 

On Sunday evening another large group of us got together and we made pasta. Later on that evening Emma, Lukas, Marta, Laura and I played a German version of the game sorry, which got a little competitive at times.

Tilburg University

Fountain at the end of Campus

 Throughout the semester I have been observing all the differences between Tilburg University and University of Waterloo. Although they are quite similar in some ways, for the most part these two universities are very unique. I will definitely miss the laid back attitude of Tilburg students, as opposed to the competition that is so apparent in Waterloo. The 100% finals have the bonus of more free time during the semester, but the stress at the end of the term isn't preferable. I think its really interesting to spend a semester or two in a new school to see things from a new perspective.

My Lovely Bicycle

Copenhagen Building

Albert Heijn: Grocery store I visited almost every day

Tilburg	Waterloo
Nobody sits at the front	People fight for the front
During exams you just start without warning	During exams you have to wait for the prof to tell you that you can start
100% finals	30% finals or no final at all
Small library that is only full during finals	Two large libraries that are often full
Small campus	Large campus
People never answer questions in class	People aren’t afraid to say anything in class
School elections are very important and advertised (which can be slightly annoying when you aren’t even permitted to vote as an exchange student)	School elections are barely noticeable
Each class is in different classrooms and sometimes at different times every week (making it rather hard to keep a routine schedule )	The same class is always in the same classroom at the same times each week
You have to register for exams	You are automatically signed up for an exam when you take a course
You can take a resit (redo an exam you failed)	You only have one try to pass each exam
The spring term lasts until mid-June	Winter term finished by mid April
Midterms and assignments are not common (any assignments given are often on a pass/fail or sufficient/insufficient basis)	Midterms and assignments are very common
Security guards walk around the library	Nobody is ever checking on people in the library
Campus is full of bikes	Barely anybody will bike to school
Blackboard website	UW learn website
Lots of green space, trees, and ponds	More industrial, modern buildings
Professors from many countries (Netherlands, Belgium ,Canada, USA etc.)	Mainly Canadian Professors

Academia Building

 

Library

Sunshine and Studying

This past week in light of our newfound sunny weather I developed a sort of routine. Each morning I started off the day with my classes (yes my classes are still running!) and the afternoon was spent by the pond. The pond just around the corner from verbs is my favourite place to spend a sunny day. Lying on my towel I finish readings for class, listen to Stuart Mclean, sing along to music, or just watch the ducks.  Once in a while I have a friend come with me to the pond, Laura, Beka, and Ellaisha each came for one afternoon.

With some friends leaving in the next couple weeks people were determined to see each other every moment they could afford to. Because of this, each night all week we held some sort of family dinner in which around 10 people cooked and ate together. Often we stayed until 11 or 12 talking and playing games. If only we had thought of this earlier, since the meals only cost each person around 1.70 euros.

 On Thursday evening I made dinner with Éadaoin and her boyfriend, and after dinner we spent over an hour making and eating waffles with Dominika and her sister. Each small waffle took almost ten minutes so desert was a drawn out affair.