Posts tagged GlobalE3
Willemijn de Boer, University of Maryland, post #1, Arriving on campus
Hi everyone!
My name is Willemijn de Boer, I am a third year TPM student who now studies at the University of Maryland for this semester. The University of Maryland (UMD) campus is located approximately 20 minutes from Washington D.C.
As you may hear from other Exchange students, it is hard to imagine what it would be like to study abroad. Since I went to the United States, I expected everything to be bigger and better: this expectation turned out to be quite close to reality. The campus is huge and after 8 weeks I still manage to get lost when walking back from class… With almost 40,000 students living on the UMD campus (twice the number of students enrolled at the TU Delft) you feel like being part of a big community with many events and activities going on. As an exchange student you are very well accepted into this community of American students, as long as you tell them everything about your home country. What the USA is for European students, is Europe for American students!
University of Maryland campus
Most of the exchange students here live on campus. In my opinion, living on campus is what contributes highly to my study abroad experience. I got very lucky that I was assigned to a very spacious apartment with a kitchen, together with three American girls and two other exchange students. Most of the on campus students share bedrooms with another student, but since my Italian roommate is also an exchange student we get along very well and I am very happy that I got her as my roommate.
Another feature of American campus life is the possibility to subscribe yourself into a meal plan. Although this meal plan is quite expensive (around $20 a day), I can recommend every future UMD student taking it. It gives you the perfect opportunity to get over your day together with all your friends and you never have to do any cooking or grocery shopping. With this meal plan, you can enter the dining hall anytime a day and get as much food as you want. This ‘Anytime Dining Plan’ tends to be a proof of discipline, and as we don’t want our moms to be negatively surprised when walking into the airport arrivals hall at the end of December, we try to keep it to only three meals a day.
Studying in the United States is an amazing experience and I am so happy that I have been given the opportunity to go here. At first I had to get used to the American accent of most of my American teachers, but since the education program gives you lots of possibilities to ask questions and get familiar with the class material, passing courses is not very difficult. The difficult part however is finding time for studying, as all the exchange students want to join every activity and see every American city. We travel a lot and that’s what makes the experience even greater.
All the best from College Park and I’ll keep you posted during the second half of my semester!
Willemijn
Philadelphia
New York City
Tessel Grubben, NYU, post #2, Classes & midterms
Hello,
Very happy to say that I have passed my midterm exams! And at the same time a little sad as well, because that also made me realize that I am already halfway into the semester..
The theme of the courses I am taking is Sustainable City Design. Not only is this a field of study that interests me a lot, but also could there be a better place in the world to study city design than in New York? Besides that, I think it is useful for every future engineer to be learning about sustainable design in whatever field. We need to be aware of the impact of our work on the environment, the climate, and the people around us, for the present as well as the future generations. And the ways we can best be building our cities is really something to think about considering the rapid urbanization and population growth in the world.
Model of New York (The Skyscraper Museum)
New York is often used as an example during a class and we have visited several places for field trips such as parks, musea, and an urban farm on top of a rooftop (see pictures). It is really cool to be walking around in the city and then seeing things you have been studying in real life. Having that extra knowledge about my living environment makes me feel a little more like a New Yorker and less like a tourist, at least just a bit.
Field trip to the urban farm (Brooklyn Grange Farm). I am the sixth from the left, top row
The courses are organized very differently from what I am used to in Delft. They involve a lot more reading, which was something I had to adjust to. Moreover the classes are a lot smaller, attendance and participation is required and counts for you final grade, and lastly the contact with the professors is more personal. They almost all know you by your first name and are open to individual guidance. I really like this style for a change. However, if one day you’re not really feeling like it, there is no possibility of hiding out between other students in a great, big, anonymous lecture hall. Which can be nice sometimes as well 😉
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