Maya Maust- Blog Abroad
Blog #1
Hello, my name is Maya Maust. I am creating this blog for UNM’s Blog Abroad Scholarship to share my experiences of studying abroad. I hope this blog allows you to step into my shoes for a moment, as we tackle this new and exciting journey together. So far, I have been in Europe for almost 3 weeks. My boyfriend Caleb and I flew into Amsterdam on the 2nd of August. We spent a couple of days setting up our dorm, adjusting to the time difference, and figuring out what is around our neighborhood. On the 4th, we flew to Rome, then spent the following 2 weeks traveling back to Amsterdam by bus and train. We saw Rome, Venice, Munich, Prague, and Berlin. It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I highly recommend flying to your host country before classes start so you can take full advantage of the time to travel. My advice to someone who wants to travel before their classes start is to plan as much as you can. Things can sell out and get more expensive the longer you wait, so non-negotiable things like accommodation and train tickets should be figured out before you even start your trip. This makes it easier for you to enjoy every day and not have to worry about where you will stay or put your luggage. I would also recommend booking guided tours if you have limited time or are really eager to learn about certain things or places. We got guided tours for the Colosseum and Munich, and we agreed that those were 2 of our favorite days. Guided tours are not significantly more expensive than basic entry into many places, but they provide you with more information and allow you to ask questions. They also let you skip big lines, which can be so worth it! We kept costs low by staying in hostels or cheap accommodations and eating out at places that were not very fancy. I know that you tend to give up some comfort to save money, but it was worth it to me because it kept us within budget. I would say the best part of hostels is that they encourage you to go out. They are not a comfy hotel room that invites you to stay in bed all day; they are a place to rest, wash up, and put your things. It reminds you to go out and fully take in wherever you may be. They also aren’t too expensive, which frees up more of your budget to spend on experiences. My biggest struggle on this trip was constantly being in motion. There was so much to see and do, and getting on trains every other day can be hard. I always felt like I didn’t get to see enough of any one place, and if I were to do it again, I would allot more time in each destination, rather than trying to rush a full cultural immersion into just a day or two. I also found myself missing my loved ones and familiar spaces during those moments of stillness. Sitting on a train for 6-8 hours leaves lots of time to think about how easy it is to be home. Phone calls and texts do not replace the feeling of being with those you love, but it is the trade you have to make sometimes in the search for personal growth. I was reminding myself every day that there is discovery in the unknown, and it is okay. In harder moments, it helped me to think ahead, imagining how exciting it would be to reunite with my people and get to catch up with one another. I feel that this tour of Europe gave me a perspective into the expansive beauty and wonder of this world. It’s incredibly easy to find comfort in familiarity, but the world is so much bigger than your bubble. I was in a state of constant awe as we saw glimpses of other realities, and it made me all the more curious to dive deeper. I wanted to learn their histories, cultures, and languages. I think traveling is such an amazing way to spark curiosity, which opens the door to discourse and understanding. Traveling around was a great way to start my time abroad because it reinforced my attitude to dive into the things I do not yet know headfirst. I want to ensure I am not being held back by nerves and really let myself fully experience this opportunity. We got back to Amsterdam on the 16th, and since then we have been further working on setting up the things we need for life in the Netherlands, making the dorm feel more cozy, and attending a couple of welcome events. The big thing we've done to prepare for living in Amsterdam is getting bikes. People warned me about how big bike culture is here about 100 times, and it still wasn’t enough. The Dutch bike with such speed and confidence so trying to navigate can be intimidating. As I look at Google Maps, I am swerving and slow, while these folks are passing me with inches of space between us. It feels like learning to drive, it’s like I’ve been transported back to being 15 years old, sitting behind the wheel with my mom gripping the safety handle for dear life. Making the dorm feel like a home away from home is a careful balance of wanting to feel like the space is yours, while also not spending money on lots of things you can’t take with you in 6 months. We have been lucky to find some things for our room left in the lobby of our building, and have been able to save some money on organizational things that way. Besides that, we have been checking out local thrift stores, but there hasn’t been anything that catches our eye. It feels good to have a set space for the next semester, and I am both excited and a little nervous. Classes at my host university start on September 1st, so I will probably try to do some day trips around Amsterdam to fill the time. I am excited for classes to start, which will help me meet more people and get a nice routine going. I do not yet know where my classes are, so I will head down to the university and try to figure that out this weekend. Thank you to UNM for the opportunity to study abroad and for the support through this scholarship. I look forward to my time here and sharing glimpses of my experience with you all through this blog. Sincerely, Maya Maya's Europe Travel Itinerary Traveling to Europe Before Classes Start
August 2025
Back in Amsterdam!
Blog #2
Hi all! Since I last posted on this blog, my classes at my host university have started, I visited Paris, took a day trip to Rotterdam and Zaanse Schans, had Caleb's Mom visit Amsterdam, and met some fellow international students in my building. Classes at VU Amsterdam differ from UNM in a few ways, and I'm not sure if I have fully adjusted yet. Grades for your classes are only based on a few assignments, yet there is weekly work to do that accounts for very little of your final grade. This has left me feeling like I'm doing lots of busywork, but I'm sure this work will help when it comes time for finals. The finals here are worth anywhere from 50-70% of my total grade, and this is definitely jarring. Besides the grading and coursework, classes are only 2 months long, so my courses are pretty accelerated. During September and October, I am taking 2 classes, then in November and December, I will work on 2 completely different classes. I still have lots of free time to explore the city, given I only have class twice a week. My two days of classes are very long, but I think I prefer this type of schedule, especially while abroad. One of my absolute favorite things about being in Europe is how easy travel is. This past month, my boyfriend and I went on a weekend trip to Paris, and also went on a couple of day trips around the Netherlands. In Paris, we went to the summit of the Eiffel Tower, explored the Louve, and saw the Palace of Versailles. It was an absolutely amazing trip, and getting to see all of these places with such history and presence with your own eyes is incredible. Rotterdam was full of amazing architecture and food. We went to the Euromast and got to see lots of the city that way. Unfortunately, it was a pretty rainy day, so we did not do many things outside, but I still feel like I got to enjoy a fair amount of what Rotterdam had to offer. Lastly, we went to Zaanse Schans, and that was one of my favorite days spent in the Netherlands thus far. Zaanse Schans is a smaller, picturesque, windmill town. There were tons of animals and small shops. All of the buildings were quaint, and there were loads of greenery all around. Amsterdam is a big city, so entering a more slow-paced, rural area was a great change of scenery. My boyfriend's mom came to visit us with her 2 friends about a week ago. It was wonderful to see them and get to go around the city with them. We went to museums, went to Paris with them, and had lots of great food and conversation. Having these friendly, familiar faces in this new city was very exciting. I could tell it meant a great deal to my boyfriend to have his mom here, and it was so fun to get to share this unique experience with her. Having her visit made me get really excited to see my own mom, who will be visiting the beginning of October. Being apart from my family is definitely one of the hardest parts of being abroad, but I know they are rooting for me and want me to seize this opportunity as much as I can. The last big thing we have done in the past month was get together with other international students in our building. The RAs have been hosting events that allow us to get together, and it's a lot of fun to get to know all these people. We have met people from all over the world at these events, and it is one of my favorite things about being here. One of the major reasons I wanted to go abroad was to understand and immerse myself in different cultures, and seeing this melting pot of people in the same shoes as myself is so wonderful. It's nice to know people are going through the same motions of life with you, and it helps to feel a sense of community here. There is a weekly pool event at a pool bar about 5 minutes from our place, and I think it's going to become part of our weekly routine. Students can have a table all night for 5 euros, and although I'm not great at pool, I do think it's fun to just hangout and talk. I'm really excited about these Monday pool nights, and think it's lucky we have a place to all get together so close to home! Thank you for taking an interest in my journey, and I will work to make sure I have an exciting month full of experiences to share with you next time! With gratitude, Maya Maust Maya's Pictures from September! September 2025
Blog #3
Hello! October was overall a great month, and I am excited to share all I got up to. I went to Milan, Antwerp, and Rotterdam. My Mom came to visit Amsterdam, and I finished my finals for the first couple of classes here at Vrije Universiteit. Milan was absolutely incredible! My cousin and her husband hosted Caleb and me for a long weekend and showed us around. We went to the Duomo, saw Lake Como, and visited the Alps that are shared between Italy and Switzerland. We also had the best food; the Italians do not mess around when it comes to meals. We tried local meats, cheeses, and dishes such as Ossobuco. My favorite part was without a doubt the Alps; it was great to get outdoors and take in all of the mountain's beauty. I love to hike and be outside, and I have definitely been missing how easy it is to get outdoors in New Mexico. The cities in Europe are also overwhelmingly larger than Albuquerque, so these huge buildings sometimes feel endless. Antwerp and Rotterdam were both daytrips we went on while my Mom was in town, and they were some of the last days of no rain here. Antwerp has a great mix of old and new architectural styles and statues. They also have great chocolate and a lively Chinatown. Rotterdam has a lot of modern architecture. Rotterdam has surfers who have set up in their ditches throughout the city and a huge food market, which are the two main attractions I felt most drawn to. I would compare it to Amsterdam without the bustling nightlife and fewer people, although it is still one of the bigger cities in the Netherlands. Having my Mom in town was great, and her leaving began the hardest week I have had out here. While she was here, we got to catch up, and I got to show her around the city. I loved sharing this experience with my Mom, and her company was so nice. Once she left, the lack of her presence was incredibly loud, and I spent the rest of that day quite sad. After that, finals started the very next day. I was absolutely unprepared for the Dutch way of schooling, and I felt so discouraged after taking both of my tests. Finals were as high as 70 percent of my final grade, and there was no study guide or mock exam to prepare with. I went in studying my notes from the lectures, yet the questions felt like they had little connection to the large parts of what I focused my studies on. I am still waiting for my final grades for both classes, yet I do not expect to do well. Typically, I get good grades and am confident in my academics, but here that is feeling really challenged. As this next semester starts, I am going to work on studying more frequently and taking more notes in class. Halloween was right after finals, and everyone had the same attitude of wanting to let loose after a long week. That attitude lent itself to an incredibly fun weekend of going out and staying out late. Amsterdam feels safe and has an incredibly active nightlife, so there is no shortage of places to go or things to do, especially on Halloweekend. Caleb and I have made some friends in our building that we went out with both nights. We are so glad to have some people in our building closer to our age, since it seems a majority of the residents are PHD or Master's students. Besides that, I’ve been getting more and more into a routine that feels like a good mix of student and visitor. I have been going to school more frequently with my new classes, which is getting me awake and asleep on a more consistent schedule. Since I’m going to school more, that also means I’ve been getting more exercise. It is almost 8 miles of biking round-trip. We’ve been going to a student night at our neighborhood pool bar every Monday night and have been going to central Amsterdam at least once or twice a week. Although I’m not getting good at pool, I’d say I’m getting less bad. Now that I can focus less on my poor performance, I feel like the conversation with my neighbors has gotten better. October Recap
October in Amsterdam
