Day 21: Maastricht, Netherlands

Sunday, September 11, 2011: Maastricht, Netherlands

So today was another lazy morning - my last for awhile though, since classes start tomorrow for me...yay! Call me nerdy, but I have always enjoyed school. I guess that's a good thing! Tomorrow I will have two lectures. Each are about 1.5 hours and will be introductions to my two courses for the first period of my studies here in Maastricht. This semester is divided into two periods: period 1 (Sept-Oct) and period 2 (Nov-Dec). For each period, I have two courses. This round includes Human Resources and Work Psychology. There are also two practical courses (that don't have exams!) which are Research in Field Settings and What is it like to be an Organisational Psychologist? These courses are integrated into the other two core courses for the period and supplement the material.

Anyhow, that begins tomorrow. In the meantime, I have been preparing for class. I bought notebooks and folders at Action the other day and have looked through the course manual (akin to a course syllabus in the US...also contains readings) and gone to all of the trainings and info sessions thus far. We'll see how the courses turn out tomorrow!

So today I am enjoying my last lazy day before all hell breaks loose (* I mean, classes start*). I did my laundry, cooked breakfast and went to the fitness center. I just subscribed for a membership on Thursday. While my fitness activity has lacked particularly in the last two years, I am hoping that purchasing this membership and the proximity of the facilities to my residence will motivate me to exercise several times a week. They have a nice facility at the UM Sports Center. Plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, and weight machines. I had an Agnes moment though when I walked into the fitness room today....I looked around me and there were all men! Seriously, not one female entered the fitness room while I was there! I guess this will take a little getting used to (after using the ASC facilities for so long, where there are practically only women!).

While cycling back, I noticed a something unusual. Next door, the our neighbors were flying an American flag in front of their Dutch home. At first I thought, maybe they're American. Then I remembered. Today is September 11.  Of course, they were commemorating the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that struck my home country, but affected so many people around the globe. Today is surely a somber day of remembering.

Today also marks three weeks since I have been gone! Wow, time goes quickly. Its weird that I have been here for so long already and not started classes. But is has been nice to have some time to settle in and get acquainted with the city. Tonight I will enjoy dinner with my housemates and relax a bit before starting classes tomorrow. Best go and enjoy my last hours of freedom!