Day 6 was one of the most free days of the trip. For the day we got I trip of Enschede which was a little bit of a cultural shock to say the least. 

     The guide started by explaining to us how the city is on one of the biggest hills in the Netherlands and how that makes it pretty difficult to control the water during heavy rainfall. We learned all about how the recent climate changes have affected their ability to fight the water and some of the innovations they use. Along their streets there is some grass spots that can collect the water, they have permeable driveways and streets too for the same purpose. Overall I think I remember the guide saying they can handle 60 millimeters of water per hour in total by basically making the whole city into a sponge for water. He showed us a graph of the Netherlands which showed the elevations and it had a big spike where Enschede was, and based off of his map looked like a pretty big change but he then said it was only about 60 meters of difference from the lowest part to the highest point. For reference that’s about the size of Cathy at Pitt. This absolutely amazed me because I can almost get that change in elevation by going from the bottom of campus to the top.  

     After the tour we got to explore the farmers market in the city square which felt so similar to the farmers market near my home that I got a little bit homesick. For lunch there I got some really good blueberries and strawberries based on the recommendation on Enno our guide. 

     We then went back to campus and watched the finishers for the largest relay race in Europe at the university. The race is over 170 kilometers long and about 500 students were at the finish line to watch it end. Some of the runners had really fun items that they carried for their part and some had flags of their student organizations. Overall the Dutch had an extremely fun way of creating community on the campus by connecting students from all over the Netherlands.