Maud's Guide to Surviving Middelburg

It's great to see our blogs get cross-posted to the Roosevelt Academy Facebook page! This means they can reach a lot more people. However, the main purpose of this blog is to give prospective students an idea of what it is like to study at RA. With them in mind, I have compiled a list of ten of important places in Middelburg. Many of these I mentioned before in my blogs.

Eleanor, Franklin & Theodore

Rather than Building #1, #2 and #3, our university buildings were named after various Roosevelts. The funky names were undoubtedly implemented to cause hilarious situations when giving directions to non-RAers. I don't think I'll ever forget "to reach the IT helpdesk, one must enter Eleanor from the rear".

Arguably, our best building is Eleanor. This is where people assemble during the day in coffee and lunch breaks to discuss class or other important matters—all in English, of course. At night, productivity reigns supreme for those of us who study best in public spaces with a handful of kindred souls. Eleanor also has Wi-Fi!

Crostini

Four-hour class sessions on Wednesday would not be the same without Crostini, a tiny Italian store where everyone goes for its delicious sandwiches. (The Filet USA is particularly good.) Added advantage: RA students get a 10% discount.

In the sun on the wooden bench in front of Crostini, with the humming sound of a needle floating by from the tattoo parlor across the street… this is where you get to feel far away from the RA bustle for one blissful moment.

De Drukkerij

A huge bookstore with a café at its center, de Drukkerij gets cool points for its decent English books section, its toasties, and its free Wi-Fi. Last but not least, we can buy our textbooks here with discount.

Ko D'oooooooor

Ko D'oooooooor, popular among students, is a small coffee place with an art gallery attached. It serves great coffee and is a little more study-friendly than de Drukkerij. I love both, though, so it will always remain a struggle to decide where to settle down with my laptop and study books.

Hit me or the kind lady behind the counter up for the internet password!

Barrel

After last month's public letter of apology I have little left to say about our very own student bar, except: go there and drink the Brugse Zot beer they're proud to currently have on tap.

Rooie Oortjes

It's Friday, 8.45. You're in class. The person next to you has hazy red eyes and smells distinctly of cigarette smoke and various kinds of alcohol. You wince sympathetically when they explain, "So I ended up in the Oortjes last night…"

The Rooie Oortjes is where party-goers flock together after closing time of all other places. Expect to meet a lot of intoxicated people here. I can never help but wonder how often said intoxicated people fall down the stairs that lead to the toilets.

Seventy-Seven

Out of the many bars Middelburg has to offer, a lot of RA students have adopted the Seventy-Seven as their pub of choice. I personally cannot be positive enough about the Sev. Between its great atmosphere and the bartenders' awesome taste in music, I have never even felt the need to give any of the other pubs a shot. (Rooie Oortjes doesn't count!)

A Domani

Unlike the other places on this list, A Domani doesn't really have places to sit. It makes up for this disadvantage by selling amazing ice cream and, more importantly, coffee. If you hurry, you can make it to A Domani in your break and return victorious with a large cappuccino. Even better, if you do this ten times and don't forget to collect stamps on your card, you get one for free!

My name is Maud and I am a second-year student of Linguistics & Literary Studies. These are a few of my favorite things: books, sneakers, loud music, and coffee.