As an international student you are expected to travel a lot, have a busy life making memories to last a lifetime, gain as many new experiences and friends as possible and effortlessly have the time of your life. Of course, I encourage everyone to travel as much as they can. However, I feel like I can only safely say that I have lived abroad in Nijmegen when I have thoroughly explored the city, and its surroundings. I want to be aware in what part of the country I actually live, instead of only spending my time in the city centre and from there hopping on the train to the next city trip.

Did you know that just outside of Nijmegen you can enjoy beautiful countryside? Especially in the last weeks of the semester, when I am caught up in writing papers and preparing for exams, I do not feel ‘productive’ in its most genuine sense. Of course I am doing a lot of things, but for me, ‘work’ also means doing something with my hands, when I can feel and see the product. I felt the need to escape this study bubble and feel grounded again, so last week I gladly accepted Radboud International office’s offer to visit a local cheese farm at the edge of the Overasseltse and Hatertse Vennen. Surprisingly, it is only a ten-minute bike ride from where I live! Only there, while petting the cows, learning all about the cheese making process and trying the actual cheese made from milk of the cows watching me, I realised how detached from ‘real life’ I had felt over the last weeks. It was beautiful to see the farmers’ devotion to this craft! Over the weekend, I went back to the forest south of Nijmegen twice and was delighted to experience how healing it was for my senses.

What makes up my Erasmus experience are of course the friendships and the travels I have made, but also my life in this town : where I discover as many parts of Nijmegen as possible by wandering around aimlessly and stumbling on the most beautiful little streets or green terraces. And where I appreciate every bike ride and every grocery shopping because I know my time here is limited. This will be cherished memories to look back on.

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