Two students took a long journey to Southern Holland last semester only to find they did not know as much about their own country as they thought they did.

Maureen Tulley, a junior family and consumer science major, and Amanda Schrock, a junior management major, went to Maastricht, Holland through Eastern’s study abroad program and found other countries know more about America’s history than Americans do.

Interacting with people in Holland was easy because they know so much about the American culture, Tulley said.

“You get to know the United States better by being away,” Tulley said.

In Holland, Americans never need to speak Dutch because everyone speaks English. It is even easier for them to understand English than a poor translation of Dutch, Tulley said.

Tulley and Schrock both agreed that the most rewarding part of their experience was really learning about people from other cultures. Americans are not as different from Mexicans or Polish or any other culture than they think they are, Schrock said.

“It proved that we are all really the same,” Tulley said.

After the students got past some basic cultural issues, what they found was that they all have the same concerns about finding jobs or not knowing what they wanted to do with their lives, Tulley said.

“What you learn about people is a lot more than what you would learn in a class,” Schrock said.

In Holland, Tulley and Schrock lived in a dormitory with all international students and attended one class per day for 3 1/2 weeks at a time. Class lasts for three hours a day, Monday through Thursday.

At first, Tulley and Schrock did not like the idea of one class at a time for several hours, but now they like that system better than the one at Eastern.

The reason the class system used in Holland is better is that it is easier to get to know the people in your classes and even your professors, Tulley said. After class is over, everyone will eat lunch together, including the professors.

In the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies, not only the students, but also the teachers are from all over the world. This adds to the diverse atmosphere and learning experience in Holland, Tulley said.

One difference in the way that college-aged students are treated in Holland than in the United States is they have more freedom.

There are not as many rules in Holland, but it does not seem like there is as much crime either, Schrock said. The drinking age is 16, and pretty much the only rules in the dorms were to not burn them down, she said.

It seems like the people have more trust and respect for each other in Holland, Schrock said. You do not see as many police officers around, but you do not see people getting into fights either.

From the experience, Tulley and Schrock were able to learn more about themselves and their country than they ever thought.

“It is a good way to understand yourself as well as other people,” Schrock said.

Going abroad for a semester broadens students’ outlook on the world and puts their education in a global context, said Bill Kirk, a study abroad adviser.

“Students say this literally changes their life. It changes their perception of themselves,” Kirk said.