04 The Bubble

What superpower would you like to have?

No Words Please with International Relations Professor

Gerard van der Ree

Marina Lazëri and Klementina Ristovska

How do you feel when students ask you for deadline extensions? How do you feel about Christmas?

What do you think about the Boomerang?

Aliens attack! What do you do?

What is the current state of the International Relations field?

How would you wish it was?

Utrecht, 20/11/2012

In that tense month leading up to my exchange, I was told I’d have no problem fitting into the Netherlands. As a mad cyclist (in terms of both enthusiasm and stupidity), a parttime admirer of nice-looking churches and a great lover of drinking small cups of coffee and wafting an artsy-looking book around, everyone assured me I’d settle in just right. Plus, if actually engaging with the culture didn’t work out, I am blessed with the most valuable tradable currency in the world: a cut-glass British accent. Although it should be said that mine is more hopeless, more bumbling Hugh Grant than chiselled Daniel Craig (I’d rather run a bookshop than have to bother with all that spying anyway).

So I hopped on the plane which took about sixteen seconds and was greeted with my first experience of UCU. The first two hours were a crazy whirlwind of activity, excitement and caffeine fuelled enjoyment. Then I left my Schiphol chaperones, the enigmatic Tim and Nicole, to meet the parents. Intro week will go down in history as the busiest week where I’ve ever achieved nothing (and thoroughly enjoyed it) and I was thrown to the dogs into the ‘real’ world of UCU.

The dogs all turned out to be characters but perfectly harmless – although the outrageous workload wasn’t (ed: isn’t) – and once life starts to settle down, one can start to move out of the safety-net of campus and into places like Albert Heijn and Hema. These can be confusing places for those who are not accustomed to so many varieties of tasteless cheese but once you’ve learnt the Dutch for ‘would you like a bag?’ it’s all fine and the British accent can be put back on ice. Utrecht itself is a fine city with plenty little surprises to uncover and once you’re bored of that, Amsterdam, The Hague, Brussels or even Berlin await.

The thing that has struck me most about UCU is that it’s got a lot to be proud of but is immensely down to earth. Ordinary things just work; it has seven-hundred students who could all be chat-show hosts; it has its own, surreal language where electronic text documents are called ‘papers’ and a pub which has none of the necessary conditions of a normal bar (tasteful music, clean surfaces etc.) is still known as the bar; and even some of the tutors are hipper than Russell Brand’s pelvis. Everyone knows everyone, but despite the bubble, UCU is one of the warmest, most welcoming institutions I’ve ever set foot in.

Tom Goodsir

The rain is pouring down, it’s dark before 16.30 and strong gusts of wind keep me from going out today. A very stereotypical image of England, indeed. Fortunately, I am not only experiencing the typical British weather on my exchange; great pub food, beautiful coastal cliffs, cream tea (scones), cider and ale, British accents and cynical humour are among the many things I can tick off my list. And I am planning to do more: Sunday roast, baked beans, Christmas craziness, road trippin’ through the South West, and, oh, writing essays. I am already on three quarters of the 11-week semester. And to be honest: I’m not too happy about that. Firstly, I’m enjoying the British way of life far too much. Secondly, I feel that there is still so much to do here, and thirdly, I don’t want to face the essays and exams. They frighten me. My professors spent nearly an hour talking about essay requirements and standards and it appears as if only the brilliant and mind-blowing essays deserve an A. Interestingly, I’ve seen two very different faces of students here. British students (and exchange students, too) drink, drink and drink. Extreme drinking games and wearing prac- tically just underwear or see-through clothing seem to be the rule rather than the exception. It’s another of those stereotypes, and again, quite true. I’ve never seen so many people passed out on the streets or drinking bright coloured shots at 7 in the evening. But then again, a lot of students at Exeter University seem to be proper into studying. They bring audio recorders to class, print the lecture slides before class and frantically write on them and after class they present elaborate essay plans to the teachers.

Since I’m here for only 4 months and there is so much to be seen, I decided not to be my nerdy self and spend more time exploring life. It’s a conscious choice you have to make: what are my priorities on exchange? This experience has helped me figure out how I want to live my life. Here, I do all those things I always longed to do when I was daydreaming in Voltaire. It’s great to see how studying in a different country can change you for the better and value the little things more. I can take all these experiences and memories home which will hopefully give me the strength to face my last semester at UCU.

Cheers!