Wows within Student Success
(WoWSS!)

Spring 2007 Edition

DUTCH TREAT: A Semester in the Netherlands ______________________
Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle,
Associate Vice Provost for Student Success

As many of you know, I am spending the spring semester in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.  My husband Bill, a KU Professor of American Studies, is the John Adams Distinguished Fulbright Chair in American History at Radboud University Nijmegen. Our time here has been amazing, not only for what we are learning about the Netherlands and other European countries, but for what we are learning about ourselves.

Nijmegen is a city of approximately 160,000 located in the southern part of the country, about an hour-and-a half from Amsterdam.  Radboud University has about 16,000 students on a mostly modern campus (several older buildings were destroyed in World War II, as was part of the city center, mostly by errant U.S. bombs.)  Last weekend we were finally able to see the Anne Frank House and found it profoundly moving.  It goes without saying that World War II and the Holocaust still shape European memory and politics today, including the challenge of immigration and inclusion of Islamic culture.  (I highly recommend Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Baruma—a very thoughtful book on this issue.)

Beyond the difficult issues of war and immigration, we have experienced traditional Dutch culture.  Last month we visited Keukenhof Gardens, the annual display of thousands of tulips.  The variety is astounding and we purchased some bulbs that will be sent to us next October (no excuse now not to plant them).  Windmills are everywhere, and many of them are still working, primarily to grind flour. At a Nijmegen windmill built in 1760, I purchased some special pancake flour that makes the best “pannenkoek” I’ve ever eaten.

We enjoy our narrow, three-story house (climbing the stairs is almost like going up a ladder) on a "lively" street--we are right in the center of the city and can walk most places. We don’t have a car, and we’ve enjoyed using the excellent Dutch train system.  The ubiquitous use of bicycles is phenomenal—we’ve seen everything from 90-year old grandmothers to women with newborns. We are fortunate that almost everyone speaks English and that movies are in English with Dutch subtitles.  We stay in touch through the internet and email.  We even listened to Jayhawk basketball game on the web, despite some whacky time differences.  That last loss may have been a little less painful listening, and not watching!

Bill is teaching recent American history, African-American history, and his famous 60s class to mostly master’s level graduate students, and some undergraduates.  He’s enjoying his students very much—they are very respectful and extremely interested in American history.  As many of you know, student services are much more limited on European campuses.  Just a few hundred students live on campus, but they do provide good services for international students.  There is a new recreation center, but no school-sponsored athletic teams.

Bill was invited by U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Roland Arnall to lecture at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague to a group of Dutch Muslims on the Civil Rights movement, probably the most interesting day we have had so far.  We also met Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, at the Dutch-American Friendship Day, celebrating 225 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries last month. We have visited a visit a number of wonderful Dutch cities, including Arnhem, Leiden, Utrecht, and of course, Amsterdam.

Other trips have included London, England, where we were very pleased to meet with UCC Director David Gaston’s International Careers Learning Community group—an impressive program that you should discuss with David!  We also went to Bruges, Belgium (known for its chocolate and beer); Rome and Sorrento, Italy; and Salzburg and Hallstatt, Austria.  Hallstatt is a tiny village about 30 miles from Salzburg that perches on a shelf between the Alps and a lovely lake.  Endless photos available on request.

I have paused to reflect on a few lessons learned in our time here:

• Slow down.  Americans are fast about almost everything.  We are learning to take our time and savor a meal, a chair in the sun in the market square, the landscape passing by (since we are on a train, not driving a car), and watching spring unfold.  Even when our schedules are busy, we can find time to reflect, breathe, and experience the joys of life.
  
  
• Take another view.  We do read the Herald-Tribune, and watch CNN to stay in touch, but even English-language media has a European focus.  Our knowledge of events outside of Europe—particularly in the Middle East and Africa is expanding every day.  The view of American foreign policy here is almost universally negative, primarily because of the Iraq war, but we have not sensed personal animosity because of this.  Bill thinks that the majority of his Dutch students are more knowledgeable about and interested in U.S. politics than most of his American students.
  
  
• Feel uncomfortable and learn from it.  There is a romanticized notion about foreign travel, especially to Europe.  While we have loved our time here, it has not always been easy.  Living in a country where you don’t speak the language, don’t know a soul,  don’t have a car, live in a strange house in a strange neighborhood, and can’t even watch the Jayhawks play basketball, has been challenging—every day!  I think we have a tendency, especially people of my advanced age, to settle in and seek comfort as the primary value.  It may be safe, but you won’t learn much.  Find ways to shake things up, wherever you are, and do something out of the ordinary today!

I look forward to seeing everyone when I return to campus on July 2.  I’ll be doing an orientation session the next day, so I’d better be over my jet lag!  My special thanks goes out to Marlesa Roney, Ann Eversole, and my colleagues for giving me the opportunity for this adventure.  Until then, be well, slow down, and shake things up!

May 10, 2007

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