Introduction Days

Rainbow over Leiden

During the "Introduction Days," or orientation to Leiden University, we stayed pretty busy. They separated us into groups based on discipline, in which we were led around by mentors who go to school in Leiden full-time. The days consisted of a lot of walking around Leiden during the day to see where all of the campus buildings are and learning more about the town and university. Apparently 10% of Leiden University is international students. Everybody in my group was really nice, and they kept us really busy. One of my new friends Kate, who is from England, told me that when she thinks of America she thinks of what she sees on TV... like Jersey Shore. Great.

It has been very funny hearing everyone's questions about the US. A lot of the people I've met have never been, and they ask questions like, "Is high school really like what they show in the movies?" There is another girl in my group from the US, but we could not be more different. She is from Wisconsin, and I think we answer questions about our country very differently.

People from home who went abroad to study before me (more specifically, KEVIN) said that people would think my Silly Bandz were lame. I can now officially inform you that they are the newest sensation among my group members, and they loved me so much for sharing.

The university organized a lot of events for the international students during orientation and for the upcoming weeks. It is really strange that students here actively participate in these, but it probably has a lot to do with the fact that the events are things like cocktail parties and pub crawls.

I've included some pictures of where I'm staying and university buildings, and will hopefully have more to share soon.