My Exchange Life in Holland
Chen Xiaojun
2007-2-26
Two years ago, I joined the exchange program offered by the Department of Economic and Finance to the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands for one Semester. The great memory from the life in the Netherlands would, I believe, last for my entire life.
My first impression of the city of Maastricht was small and quiet. Away from the noise of big city, I felt relaxed. People there were very kind and helpful. Without the help from local people, I would have had a lot of trouble especially for the first several weeks.
But studying in University of Maastricht was never relaxing. On the opposite, I felt a lot of pressure seeing so brilliant and diligent fellow students. The University is famous for its exchange program and more than 90% of the students there were exchange students from abroad. In spite of that, it never lowered the standard of teaching. We were provided great learning facilities and resources. The biggest difference from University of Maastricht from CityU was that it did not offer large lectures except for occasional guest lectures. We only attended tutorials which allowed freer discussions and question-raising. Small group discussion, self-studying and real life case studies gave me an idea of how Dutch students learn business and why these business students were so excellent.
Traveling has become a big ‘bonus’ offered by the exchange program. I had not wasted any of my free time to plan and travel around Europe. That was really a challenge to my time management because I also had heavy work-load from study. I was proud that I not only got excellent results from the University but also realized my dream of traveling around Europe. Despite the time limit, I saw the best of Europe and got to know the real European culture. The architecture, food, and people in different countries represented different history and custom. Among all, I was most impressed by the city ofAthens in Greece. It was a city full of historical scenery what was worth scrutinizing.
Although I have already graduated from CityUniversity, I would always cherish the great memory from the exchange program provided by my department. Without the support from the EF Department as well as CityU, I would never have had this golden opportunity to live and study in the Europe. This experience enhanced my communication skills and built up my self-confidence. It will always stay in the deep of my memory.