XISS - Belgium Summer School

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)