This morning, we waved goodbye to Amsterdam and began our journey across the Netherlands to the city of Enschede. Enschede is home to the University of Twente, where we will be staying for the next three nights.

After arriving, we were received warmly by the Twente faculty and given a tour of the campus. They also provided us lunch from a popular sandwich shop on the campus. We learned how vital student associations are to the school, which are different than typical student clubs or societies in America. The associations in the Netherlands offer close-knit communities and opportunities for professional development. When a person serves on the board of an association, they must take an entire gap year where they solely complete board responsibilities.

Afterwards, we were taken to Kristalbad, just a short walk off of campus, by one of the university’s faculty. Kristalbad is an artificial wetland that is designed to treat wastewater, provide storm water retention, and offer space for recreation as well as wildlife. It also acts as a connection between Enschede and its neighboring city, Hengelo. The efforts of this project include adding different plants in and around the water to help purify it naturally.

In the evening, we visited the University’s engineering building, where we met other engineering students and had dinner with them. It was interesting to discuss the differences between our schooling and social lives. I felt that I learned a lot about their experiences and became more aware of my own.