With only less than a month left in Maastricht and 2 weeks left until my final exams for Period 2, I have started to get very nostalgic about the city. My days in the city have been cut short, especially because of my wild travelling plans I have coming up.
With the days getting shorter and the weather getting gloomier I am starting to feel like Maastricht is sad to see the end of my time here too. I’ve come to love and appreciate this beautiful quaint city. The city has the most elegant river site, walking paths to luschious green parks and serene sunsets and sunrises.
The view from my room has been an absolute delight to wake up to. I watched the magnificent tree in front of my window go from being a green giant to an autumn beauty to a naked tree. The beauty of nature is something I have never been able to appreciate back in Dubai due to the lack of proper greenery, but I’ve fallen love with the nature here. With the tree in front my room dying, I feel even more sad to leave this city.
The Dutch way of life is something I have embraced. Eating Dutch foods while pronouncing the names almost accurately and riding a bike to every location has been easy to get into. Kruidnoten, Hagelslag, Stroopwafels and Dutch cheeses have made their way to my grocery lists. I even have managed to actually learn and follow the proper bike lane rules (including using my hand as an indicator and riding the bike with one hand). I feel pretty accomplished in that sense, but I worry that it’s going to be hard for me to go back to driving a car.
With Sinterklas and Christmas around the corner the city has been adorned with beautiful lights and Christmas decorations. Walking through the streets in evening really makes you feel the holiday spirit.
The Christmas Market in Maastricht is absolutely beautiful. They have a Ferris Wheel, Ice Rink and multiple food stalls to fill your bellies. A specialty of the Christmas Market is the Wine drink they serve. It’s a sweetened, warm and diluted rendition of wine that has a slight medicinal aroma, but it tastes great.
This entire exchange experience has been a rollercoaster of experiences, with me discovering things about culture, people and myself. It’s sad to see this entire experience come to an end but I am grateful that I had the opportunity to explore this experience.
Study abroad 
Beautiful