Back home in Maastricht after 40 years abroad
April 2, 2011 11 Comments
Or the story of an endearing friendship between a 76 year old world traveller from Limburg and a Romanian student in Maastricht.
A Texan in Maastricht
March 28, 2011 3 Comments
Before she arrived in Maastricht as a study-abroad student a few months ago, Audrey Cary had never set foot in any other country than her native United States. What has the experience taught her about herself and the world?
My highlights of TEFAF 2011
March 27, 2011 1 Comment
Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin shares her personal highlights of this year’s edition of Maastricht’s Arts and Antique Fair TEFAF.
World students in Maastricht
March 23, 2011 7 Comments
Attracted by Maastrichts convenient geographic location at the heart of Europe, and its university’s outspoken ambition to be an international academic institute, Dutch, German and Belgian students, as well as a large number of other foreign students arrive each year to study in Maastricht. For the cosmopolitan group among them, Maastricht only represents a temporary stopover on their global journey. Katalina Präkelt explains why.
10 “unhealthy” Dutch foods that are actually good for you
March 2, 2011 1 Comment
Can the Dutch offer guilt-free nibbles to get through the week? British expat and nutritionist Mandy Dunlop shares her top 10 “noteworthy noshes that not only will satisfy your taste buds but sneak in generous amounts of some very important nutrients.”
Cricket – The game I love the most
February 22, 2011 2 Comments
“The game of cricket is in the blood of every Indian,” says Madan Raj. “When I got my visa for the Netherlands, the first thought running on my mind was this,” Is it possible to play cricket in Maastricht??”, “If possible, where?””
Education without borders: distance learning
February 13, 2011 2 Comments
How can expatriates improve their education while living and working in the Netherlands? A testimonial by Claudia Costa.
Health hazards
January 29, 2011 Leave a Comment
Singaporean expat Musliha Ajmain Janssen gives a testimonial of her experience with Dutch doctors and the Dutch health care system.
Zoekjaar: license to work
January 20, 2011 7 Comments
Frieda Gultom is an Indonesian graduate from Maastricht University currently living in the Netherlands on a one-year zoekjaar permit. Her dream is to find a job in the field of media, preferably in the Maastricht region. Will she succeed?
Dear Maastricht: A Love Letter
January 13, 2011 15 Comments
US citizen Becky Castle Miller only spent a few days in Maastricht last September but immediately “fell head over heels in love with the city.” For the past three months, she and her husband have been scheming about ways to get back. Becky shares her feelings in a love letter to Maastricht.
Internationals get together in Maastricht
December 20, 2010 Leave a Comment
On Thursday December 16th 2010 the International Service Desk of the Maastricht Region, Brainport Development NV and the Maastricht University Knowledge Centre for International Staff organised a very much appreciated get together for the international community.
Officially a Limburger
December 20, 2010 Leave a Comment
Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin has a new business card that simply reads: Limburger.
Life in-between: an expat in North Limburg
December 6, 2010 Leave a Comment
Two years ago, Claudia Costa exchanged her Italian home town of Milan for a small village in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and now commutes to work every day in North Limburg. “Although both Venlo and Roermond boast many nice restaurants and cafés, what is definitely missing is a greater offer of cultural activities and events aimed at expatriates, similar to those which liven up the provincial capital of Maastricht,” she says.
American author presents bilingual children’s book in Maastricht
December 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
Book presentation of “The Adventures of Yin & Yang: Snoepje and the Pizza Box” on Sunday, November 21st at Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, by American author Susan Hermse Schaefer and Dutch Minister of Immigration and former mayor of Maastricht Gerd Leers.
My first expat Thanksgiving: A how-to in holiday meals abroad from an American in Aachen
December 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
“Heard the one about the four Germans, three Americans, two Mexicans, a Frenchman and a Colombian? Then you haven’t heard about my Thanksgiving celebration this year,” writes Luisa Maria Badaracco, a US expat living in Aachen.
X Magazine for Xpats
October 31, 2010 Leave a Comment
X is a new guide for expats living in the Southeast Netherlands. A review by Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin.
Learning Dutch in terra incognita
October 20, 2010 4 Comments
Sarina Legge moved to the Netherlands three months ago from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and shares her story of her first week at Arcus College in Heerlen learning the Dutch language.
How to write about your life abroad
October 5, 2010 2 Comments
Expat, author and writers’ mentor, Jo Parfitt, tells you how.
Street Views: What are your plans for the summer?
July 7, 2010 Leave a Comment
How are people in Maastricht going to spend their summer? Crossroads writer Sina Spohr investigates.
CouchSurfing: An unusual travel trend
June 29, 2010 Leave a Comment
It might sound like a new kind of sport, but CouchSurfing is actually a global online network of travellers who have offered or are seeking couches (or beds, a floor or whatever space is available) on which to sleep. This service includes everything from sleeping place to sharing shower and kitchen to guide assistance. And everything for free. A report by Veronika Krupova.
From whom the suds flow
May 30, 2010 Leave a Comment
Canadian expat Patrick Granton meets “the nicest man in Maastricht” and finds out why this region is “the best in the world for making beer.”
Building bridges between the expatriate and local communities
May 1, 2010 Leave a Comment
A pilot initiative inspired by the Native Speakers Project is currently seeking English-speaking volunteers in Maastricht interested in giving English conversation classes in local schools.
A homecoming
March 6, 2010 6 Comments
After spending 13 years in the US, Ben Willems is now coming back home to his native Netherlands with his American wife and 2 year old son. What are the reasons behind this decision?
When does it become home?
January 19, 2010 3 Comments
When the time came for Catalina Goanta to return to Bucharest, Romania, after gaining her Masters in Law at Maastricht University, she realised that she actually didn’t want to leave Maastricht.
2010 Resolution No 1: not to mix friends
December 24, 2009 3 Comments
British expat Michael Wells-Greco is acutely aware of the toll living outside the same country dial code can have on friendships and family relationships and makes a firm resolution for 2010.
Hanukkah: The freedom to celebrate
December 10, 2009 3 Comments
US expat Susan Schaefer will this year celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with some friends in Maastricht: “We will light the Menorah candelabra together, sing songs, share poems and stories, and of course, food and wine.”
We, the People of Europe: let’s tear down more Walls
November 10, 2009 1 Comment
Inspired by the celebrations commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Michael Wells-Greco reflects on what it means to be a citizen of the European Union today.
Cures for the homesickness blues
November 9, 2009 Leave a Comment
“Nobody handed me a handbook on how to deal with what happens after the excitement and novelty wears off,” writes Filipino expat Erika Rivera. “Nobody told me about the gravity of being away from home.” Erika now shares some of her strategies in “surviving homesickness”.
Feeling like a stranger in my own country
October 27, 2009 12 Comments
What does it feel like for non-Limburgers to live in Maastricht? “Limburg is very different from where I come from in the east of the Netherlands,” says Dutch student Jasmijn van der Ploeg.
Maastricht Region Expats: The good, the bad and the ugly
October 21, 2009 2 Comments
“There is a leadership vacuum to initiate a strategic, creative problem-solving engine designed solely to address the well-documented lack of services, spirit and support for the Maastricht region’s expat community,” writes US expat Susan Schaefer.
