Naturally the UT campus differs from those which Brigitte had experienced in France, starting with the organization of buildings. Here at the UT, the building where she works, WB (short for Werktuigbouwkunde), comprises laboratories, classrooms, offices, and even a cafeteria, rather than compartmentalizing each function in separate buildings. This in turn promotes closer contact between professors and students by offering multiple locations to meet, greet, and eat. Such personal rapports are less common in the French universities with which Brigitte is familiar. She also notes how accessible the entire campus is for cyclists and pedestrians because of the extensive infrastructure of paths that lace the UT.
Are there differences between France and The Netherlands, between the French and the Dutch? Of course -- how could there not be? But it's always fun to see what other people notice. For Brigitte, a major distinction between the two countries is the presence of coffee shops here in Holland. 'La Hollande c'est les coffee shops!' she insists, and adds that even her mother agrees. Perhaps the existence of coffee shops lends itself to the less stressed atmosphere among Dutch people that Brigitte also perceives.
One other physical difference between the two peoples is their size. The French are rather diminutive compared to their Dutch neighbors. What perplexes Brigitte the most about this fact is that Dutch door frames do not seem to have been adapted to accommodate their increasingly taller inhabitants. Let's hope the directors of the UT Master Plan take note of Brigitte's observation.
Finally, as an aio who has lived in Enschede for a few years, Brigitte has some advice to offer incoming foreign aios. She suggests that new students seek living arrangements and social situations near Dutch aios, which obliges them to integrate more quickly and more seamlessly into the Twente community. And, above all, try to learn Dutch as soon as possible!
Brigitte Fumex
Place of origin: Chalon sur Saone, France.
Best part about living in The Netherlands: The chance to learn a new language.
Worst part about living in The Netherlands: The rain.
Favorite book: "It" by Stephen King.
Favorite group: The Rolling Stones; Serge Gainsbourg.
Favorite movie: The Matrix.
Favorite dish: Wild boar with red wine sauce.
Favorite place to be: Bora Bora.
Favorite sight in The Netherlands: Utrecht.
Favorite member of the Dutch Royal Family: Queen Beatrix.
Brigitte Fumex
