Giovanni Díaz-Infante Posadas, Grade 11
UWC Maastricht
One would expect that the facilities of a school that has over 1000 students at any given time would be large enough to allow every student to explore the campus in search of their own spot. Yeah, that one place that becomes yours in a borrowed campus, that place that witnesses you at your best and worst, that place that you go to when you seek the comfort you left almost a year ago. Unfortunately, such a place is hard to find at UWC Maastricht.
Staying true to its Dutchness, the island (as we call it) economizes its space in the most practical way possible, leaving little room for the islanders to explore. But don’t get me wrong, that does not mean that I haven’t discovered great places on campus in which I’ve made great memories. We have the tipi in the Primary playground, the fortress built in room 39D-02 or the music wing; nevertheless, my spot is located beyond the moat that encircles the island. In fact, it is located at the end of that very same moat, on the shore farthest away from campus.
I discovered that place during my first weeks in Maastricht, after a busy school day when all I wanted was a quiet place where I could talk calmly with my friend Veronica. Since we were still getting to know the area and we didn’t want to walk too far, we decided we’d go to the park on the other side of the moat. I’d been to that place before, and I hadn’t found it particularly special, but I liked that it had a paved road that covers the whole place and takes you around the moat and the school, perfect for a ‘walk and talk.’
We started our ‘walk and talk’ and crossed the park from end to end through the paved road twice, but after that, Veronica asked if we could find somewhere to sit. I knew there was only one bench in the park, and we had seen a couple sitting on it when we walked by, so we started from the path looking for a log to sit on. That’s when we found my spot.
Just a few meters away, we found a clearing enclosed by some tall bushes, where a fallen tree just a couple of centimeters away from the water provided the perfect seat to appreciate the immensity of the moat. I love that place because it’s extremely peaceful; you feel lost in the wilderness. The bushes protect you from the cold wind, the trees from the blinding sunlight, the calmness of the water creates a perfect mirror, and you have an unobstructed view of the Dutch sky. Veronica and I talked for hours, and we even missed our dinner, but we saw a beautiful sunset and enjoyed a calmness that we had not been able to find on the island.
From that moment onwards, that became the spot I would visit whenever I needed to distance myself from the UWC madness, whenever I wanted some privacy, whenever I wanted to think or whenever I wanted to share a special moment with a friend. I saw the place change as my first year went by, and that place witnessed me laughing with Veronica from time to time, saying goodbye to my best friend after he told me he would have to leave the school, reflecting on my first semester all by myself, getting dating advice from my second year, and celebrating the news of what we thought would only be two weeks of lockdown.
Since the Netherlands implemented the lockdown, I haven’t been able to return to my spot, but as the summer break reaches its end, I count the days until I can return to Maastricht and show my firsties the beauty that lies beyond the island.
Staying true to its Dutchness, the island (as we call it) economizes its space in the most practical way possible, leaving little room for the islanders to explore. But don’t get me wrong, that does not mean that I haven’t discovered great places on campus in which I’ve made great memories. We have the tipi in the Primary playground, the fortress built in room 39D-02 or the music wing; nevertheless, my spot is located beyond the moat that encircles the island. In fact, it is located at the end of that very same moat, on the shore farthest away from campus.
I discovered that place during my first weeks in Maastricht, after a busy school day when all I wanted was a quiet place where I could talk calmly with my friend Veronica. Since we were still getting to know the area and we didn’t want to walk too far, we decided we’d go to the park on the other side of the moat. I’d been to that place before, and I hadn’t found it particularly special, but I liked that it had a paved road that covers the whole place and takes you around the moat and the school, perfect for a ‘walk and talk.’
We started our ‘walk and talk’ and crossed the park from end to end through the paved road twice, but after that, Veronica asked if we could find somewhere to sit. I knew there was only one bench in the park, and we had seen a couple sitting on it when we walked by, so we started from the path looking for a log to sit on. That’s when we found my spot.
Just a few meters away, we found a clearing enclosed by some tall bushes, where a fallen tree just a couple of centimeters away from the water provided the perfect seat to appreciate the immensity of the moat. I love that place because it’s extremely peaceful; you feel lost in the wilderness. The bushes protect you from the cold wind, the trees from the blinding sunlight, the calmness of the water creates a perfect mirror, and you have an unobstructed view of the Dutch sky. Veronica and I talked for hours, and we even missed our dinner, but we saw a beautiful sunset and enjoyed a calmness that we had not been able to find on the island.
From that moment onwards, that became the spot I would visit whenever I needed to distance myself from the UWC madness, whenever I wanted some privacy, whenever I wanted to think or whenever I wanted to share a special moment with a friend. I saw the place change as my first year went by, and that place witnessed me laughing with Veronica from time to time, saying goodbye to my best friend after he told me he would have to leave the school, reflecting on my first semester all by myself, getting dating advice from my second year, and celebrating the news of what we thought would only be two weeks of lockdown.
Since the Netherlands implemented the lockdown, I haven’t been able to return to my spot, but as the summer break reaches its end, I count the days until I can return to Maastricht and show my firsties the beauty that lies beyond the island.
www.unitedworldwide.co