Muhammad Hassan Khan

The pressure of doing justice explaining the best experience of my life in a short blog is immense but I’ll give it a try because that is exactly what led to all this, a try.
Looking at my undergraduate experience getting hampered by the COVID situation in the country, I decided to give it my all to explore other options. Having inter-mixed with people first on a provincial level and then on a national level, it was time for me to broaden my horizons further and have international exposure, and this exchange semester ticked all the boxes for me.

The passionate traveler in me always had Europe in mind and it could not wish for anything better than having an opportunity to represent my country solely in a country like The Netherlands and in a university like Tilburg University. The whole period turned out to be the highlight of my undergraduate experience. Getting to meet people from all around the world and across different continents acted as an eye-opener for all that the world has to offer. I actually got to “live” that culture with my international fellows and that is an experience which is heads and shoulders above the experience of looking at things from outside as a simple traveler. Learning about all the different cultures really strengthened my social skills, cross-cultural competency, and taught me so much about empathy. Learning from teachers of such high caliber in a university with such a high ranking was a privilege and gave me the exposure to different methods of teaching and studying. I was grateful for the opportunity to change the perceptions people held about Pakistan and the Muslim world in general. This for me is the role of an exchange student and based on my fellows’ testimonies, I feel like I returned having made my impact by bridging the cross-cultural gaps and presenting the true image of my country.

The biggest advantage of having Netherlands as my host country was being able to travel. Visiting more than 15 beautiful European countries, sometimes solo and most of the times with fellow exchange students of the same age was something that I will cherish all my life. Life within Netherlands was no less enjoyable than traveling outside. With bicycles being the most common mode of transport, just a mere visit to the superstore or the university campus established inside a forest with the fresh air gently hitting your face and your Spotify playlist making you feel the need to absorb it all even more is something that would stay with me forever.  I was fortunate to be surrounded by some amazing people who made it all exponentially more enjoyable. From experimenting with our beginner level cooking skills in the same kitchen to then visiting the city center together on our bikes, from having serious group study sessions to then having crazy parties together, from talking about our cultures to teaching each other about our languages, from our karaoke’s to our group games, from our moments of sharing sorrows to then celebrating our happiness together, I can go on and on talking about some of the best moments of my life which I will carry in my box memories for the rest of my life.

But for the students out there, I would say, go for it. Living alone, traveling alone, and navigating a completely different world on your own will be a challenge - but it will be a challenge worth taking, and you will return with memories you will cherish for a lifetime.