Today was our last day at the University of Twente. We started the day with a walking sustainability tour of Enschede, where our tour guide told us about the different ways they try to prevent flooding in the Netherlands. Much of the Netherlands is flat land, so when it rains, the water stays still. Enschede, on the other hand, is very hilly. When it rains a lot, the towns at the bottom of the hill flood from the water coming down the hill. After a handful of floods, they found a sewage system that would store the extra rainwater. They also added divots and pools in the ground in order to store that extra water, and now have it just go down the hill. We ended the tour at a local market that they have on the weekends. They had all kinds of fruits and fish, as well as all different kinds of cuisines to try.

The University of Twente, every year, hosts the end of the longest relay race in the world every year. The race runs over 185 km, or about 115 miles, split into 25 stages, 17 men and 8 women, ranging from 3.4 km to 11.9 km per person. More than 300 teams, so about 7,500 people, from Dutch and international universities participate in the race. It started at midnight on Friday and ends in Enschede the next day. At the end of the race, they host a rave night to celebrate the runners’ accomplishments. This rave goes late into the night and is also hosted at the University.