Belgium Summer School:
"A
Journey hard to put in words"
by Mr.
Rajendra Singh Bisht
Department of Rural
Management (2016-2018)
Introduction
I was
anxiously waiting outside the XISS' staff room for my turn. There was a gamut
of thoughts and possible questions in the brain. I was trying to figure out the
probable questions and their best possible answers. The people around me didn't
help my anxiety, they were too tensed and were busy asking each other
questions. Finally, my name was shouted and I entered the room. Once I was
inside the room, I held to my calmness and evaded any kind of panic thoughts. I
answered to the all the questions of my interview board. Sensing a good chance
of making through the interviews, I walked out of interview room. After the
remaining interviews, finally the result was declared and yes, I triumphed in
it. My journey had just begun.
For
several years, XISS selects students for a Summer School programme, organised
by the University of Antwerp in Belgium. And the above interview experience was
a part of its selection methodology. This year it was three of us who made it
through this system: Me, Ankita and Eleza. Every year these summer schools have
themes where students of different countries across the globe participate. This
year's theme was Europe: Diversity and
Migration.
For me,
this journey had an entirely different meaning. For an Army ward who comes from
a small village in the northern Himalayan state of Uttrakhand, I was always
fascinated by the valour and charm of Indian Army and apparently, a trip to a
foreign land was never planned or something I aspired. This trip had so many
first timers for me. First flights, Airport, international flight, first to
Europe and moreover first time I would be exposed to talents from multiple
countries. The journey began from Ranchi on 24 June 2017. I boarded my first
flight. The excitement was brewing inside me. We were to travel by Air India,
entity which is going through so much uncertainty. I was certain and convinced my colleagues,
who were accompanying me that I would take the window seat. Like any other
typical window seat seeker, I was curious to visualize the outside scenes.
Thereafter
on 25th June, we all boarded our first international flight. As I stepped into
this gigantic carrier, I was amazed by its interior. For years I have heard
about Boeing, but to be physically inside it, it was something special. I could
not sleep in the entire journey. I kept navigating into the tablet placed in
front me. I could see the movies, TV series and other trivial information like
altitude, temperature and flight route kept me busy for 8 hours in the air.
From Munich, we boarded our next flight and finally, we landed in our
destination country i.e. Brussels. From Brussels, we boarded a Bus and reached
to Antwerp. For me, the Bus ride was just a kick start in the journey. Unlike
our Indian Buses, these were surprisingly vacant and real fast. In the way, I
saw typical western housings and countryside farms. I was ecstatic and kept
wondering about the remainder of the journey.
In one
hour we reached Antwerp. After a bit of struggle and excruciating long walk
around the labyrinth of streets, we finally managed to locate our accommodation
hostel. And after some refreshment, we decided to take a walk around in the
nearby streets. Since we were already tired with the travel and afternoon walk
we decided to check in to our rooms. Outside it was already 8 o'clock in the evening,
but the sun was still shinning bright as the sun sets late at around 10 pm. On
the next day, our guide Sarah escorted us to campus and in the way she
introduced us to the gorgeous architecture during the walk. She also suggested
us to discover certain places during our stay. Interestingly Sarah kept us busy
and we couldn't realise that we have entered in the campus.
Summer School: Campus Life
The
campus was housed in a beautiful ancestral architectural marvel. But our
classes were in the new building. As I stepped in the class, all eyes fell on
me and my fellow mates. We met coordinators, students and some faculties. Then
began an intriguing sessions of lectures. In the beginning, our coordinator Mr.
Wannes (that is the only part of his name I could remember) asked us to
introduce ourselves. I came to know that we were 16 students from 10 different
countries (Wow! That is something that gets me crazy). He then introduced us to
the programme and its curriculum. He informed the class about the relevance of
the current theme "Europe: Diversity and Migration". The summer
school provides participants with concrete insights, information and tools
based on theoretical perspectives, empirical case studies and field visits. In
doing so it reveals the interrelations between the micro-, meso- and
macro-level processes concerned allowing for fine-grained and in-depth
understandings of the complex relationships between migration and integration
processes.
The
course had a rich blend of lectures with many practical exposures across the
city and to the other Institutions, which shared a migration history. At the
end, the course demanded us to present a report based on our choice of topic,
which was intimated prior to the beginning of the course. In the sessions that
followed for the rest of the course had some thought provoking lessons for me.
All the sessions were highly interactive and intriguing. Every time a new term
was being discussed in the class. Students were freely interacting with
faculties. I too had my share of questions. Mostly they were in relations of
the European crisis on refugee or pertinent to India in relevance to the main
theme. Every day had a different sub theme for lectures: Education, law,
migration theories, city experiences, history etc. This gave us the holistic
idea of the problem. The faculties assigned to teach these subjects were
experts in their fields.
Social Programmes
To keep
the minds fresh and to maximise interaction, fun and interesting social
activities were organised during evenings and weekends so we can make the most
of our stay in Antwerp. These programmes not only had the opportunity to get to
know our classmates and professors in a more informal way but in some cases, we
were also able to get in touch with students attending other summer schools at
Antwerp Summer University.
Multiple
tours were organised to give us the background of migration in the city of
Antwerp and on a whole in Belgium. In the first Saturday, a visit was organised
to former coal mine of Blegny and countryside. Together we discovered the
fascinating episode of Belgian history that illustrated the context of the
period in which many migrants came to Belgium. This UNESCO site lies deep under
the hilly terrain of Liege province and gave us insights on how coal mining
shaped Wallonia's industrial past. In the afternoon we will visit the beautiful
countryside. On 4th July, a small quiz was organised by the hostel. Unlike our
stressful quizzes in classes or auditoriums, this was pure fun. We got to know this
typical Belgian habit (they love quizzing) while competing with students from
other summer schools. This interactive game took us on a tour around the globe
whilst testing our knowledge of several continents, countries and cultures.
We also
visited European Parliament in Brussels. It was a really enriching experience
to see the political hub of Europe. A big gigantic building was housing the
centre of European politics. There were so many flags on high rise buildings.
Almost every country in the world had its presence over there. We were taken on
a guided tour to the insides of European Parliament. It was a really
astonishing experience to know the functionality of parliament. On the second
last day, of course, we were taken to a guided tour of Red Star Line Museum.
Earlier a big passenger ship company, it has now been transformed into a
historical museum, dedicated entirely to migration and its related stories.
City Exposure
To
understand and relate the academic interactions, the university had organised
few walks around the cityscape. We all were exposed to different streets of
Antwerp which had significance with respect to migration and diversity. We were
taken on a tour to visit spaces across the cities where the immigrant
population were residing. Our guide explained us the current situations and
predicaments of these people. Our professor who accompanied us on another day
explained the social dynamics of immigrant communities. These societies were
generally located away from the markets in a compact locality. There were a lot
of shops of different communities selling their native country's commodities. I
saw some Indian shops.
Discovering Other Cities
Apart
from the summer school, I tried to discover other parts of the city with new
friends and my fellow mates. We visited shops across the city. Some of us
bought things for themselves and their dear ones back home. I was saving my
money for electronic gadgets and souvenirs. We also made plans to visit other
famous places. We visited Amsterdam in Netherlands. As expected the place was a
soothing beauty. Its architecture and ambience were mesmerizing. The
temperature reminded me of my native village but rest everything was something
I had only seen in movies of Karan Johar's or by Hollywood directors. We
visited many parks and museums like Van Gough, Rijsk and also saw a Heineken
Brewery. But the stand out part of the journey was the boat ride. It was serene
and I saw many boat houses. These boat houses were concept homes to counter sea
level rise since Netherlands is already suffering from the rise of water level.
At the
second last day, we visited Brugge. For Indians Brugge is really important
because our superstar Amir Khan's blockbuster movie PK was filmed. Unlike Amsterdam,
Brugge is more natural and has unique building architecture. With the help of
maps, we visited multiple museums and churches. At the end, we went for a small
boat ride. During the boat ride, I saw how romantic this place was and why so
many couples flocked it.
Conclusion
For me,
this journey has got imprinted in my memories. I will always cherish this
summer school. The two weeks had everything for me: learning, interactions,
participations and rich exposure. It is really difficult to put every emotion
into words. Certainly, this experience helped me to develop mentally and
understand the things on a wider scale. I am thankful to XISS for providing me
with such an opportunity to explore another world. It is something that I'll
carry forever.
Compiled by: Mr. Timmavajjula Venkata Shashank (Team Obscura)
