It’s amazing: having been enrolled as a student in Wageningen for more years than I care to specify, I’ve finally turned into a good student. Well, a student with a plan at least. And that can get you a long way, in my experience. It is week 1 of my thesis, and on day 1 I set off by bike for the Forum library, where I intend to take up residence for the next six months.
I crank up my thesis engine, but I soon get distracted. My desk by the window has a view of the bicycle racks where all the freshly scrubbed – and tired-looking – students are hobbling in. I instantly change into a people-watching windowsill cat.
I instantly change into a people-watching windowsill cat
All the varieties of WUR folk pass by. First-years with soil drills, people walking barefoot, internationals on bikes that are too small for them, a handful of familiar faces that I see everywhere I go… In my first break I take a walk around the campus and come across more amazing WUR things. An outdoor class under the trees, a long procession of first-years queuing up for a white lab coat, a stand full of greenhouse plants outside in the sun, two people getting very cosy on a lounger under the canopy on the occupied Gaza bridge, and another 10 people I vaguely know and see everywhere.
Some time last year I decided I was sick of the sight of WUR
Some time last year I decided I was sick of the sight of WUR – I was done with it and I wanted to finish my degree as fast as possible. That’s partly because I’ve been hanging around here for so long that I’ve become some kind of student grandma, with all the wisdom (and nonsense) I’ve accrued over the years. I mean, on day 2 of my thesis, someone asked me if I was in for a game of bowls. If that isn’t a sign that I secretly belong in an old people’s home, I don’t know what is.
And yet, and yet… I still find the lively campus with all its WUR-like activities a pleasant sight, which can already make me nostalgic. It’s a unique sight: there’s a place for everyone and I feel at home here. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay a bit longer. And for the next six months, this spot in the library is mine.
Ilja Bouwknegt (25) is a master’s student in Forest and Nature Conservation. Ilja is interested in the relationship between humans and nature and prefers to try every hobby at least once. Currently, that is crochet, but writing remains the undisputed favourite.
