Hello! My name is Sinead Walsh and I study Sustainable Entrepreneurship at Campus Fryslan, Leeuwarden..but I  live in Groningen. I’m going to show you what a typical day looks like for me including my commute to and from Leeuwarden. Obviously, what I do each day tends to vary a bit but I’ll give you a general idea of what it’s like to be a commuting Masters's student.

8:00 am: Wake up & Brekkie

On days I have university I usually need to get up at around 8 am to get ready for the day to come. After a cup of tea while getting dressed I go downstairs to make some brekkie for myself (either make porridge or fried eggs on bread). Once I’m full, I clean up, brush my teeth and leave to go to the station around 9:30 am. 

9:42 am: Train

My train to Leeuwarden leaves at 9:42 am each morning. I prefer to take the sneltrein (the fast train) because it gets me there quicker and doesn’t stop at loads of random places along the way. I usually meet some of my friends on the train and we chat a bit or else go through the assigned reading that we will be discussing during class later in the morning. Once I arrive, at around 10:20 am, I walk to the Beurs. The Beurs, is the building in which I study and where Campus Fryslan in Leeuwarden, is located. It’s a bit like the Frisian version of the Academie Building in Groningen. [See picture] The Beurs is only about a 5 to 7-minute walk from Leeuwarden’s main train station. 

10:45am - 3:15pm: Classes

Each day my classes start at 10:45 am and I have classes three days a week. The morning class is usually a lecture and in the afternoon is a tutorial/seminar. During class, we discuss the articles that we have been assigned for the week, in many different ways. Sometimes we have to pick our favourite phrase or discuss a particular question in smaller groups and later as a class. The thing I like most about my class is that the lecturer creates a space for open discussion of the topics in the paper [and often some other points not in the paper]. I love that my degree has students from all different backgrounds which gives you another point of view and makes you think about things in a way that you may not have before. The most important thing throughout this degree [so far!] is critical thinking to be able to criticize the article that is in front of you and not just take things at face value. They’re trying to teach us how to recreate the systems we have, into new sustainable ones - that’s what I’ve gathered at least!

3:15pm - 6:30pm: Study, Study, Study 

After class, the first thing I like to do is go for a little walk around Leeuwarden to clear my head after a day of being inside and concentrating. I usually stay around the Beurs for a bit to study and go through some readings for the days to come. The study landscape that we have is very nice and is completely new as Campus Fryslan has just moved into this building a few weeks ago. Often I need to meet with classmates to work on upcoming assignments, group work, homework, etc. I leave the Beurs to go back to the train station at around 6:30 pm and catch the 6:44 pm train to Groningen. Even though the station isn’t far from the Beurs, I like to be early because it can often be busy with all the other commuters. 

7:20pm - Midnight

I usually end up back in Groningen around 7:20 pm and once I get home, I have some chill time for myself after a very long day. I like to cook something nice in the evenings, either by myself or with my roomies. One of my favourite things to make these days is soup which is so comforting to eat in this cold weather.ide from that, though,  it’s super cheap and good for you.

How does your typical day compare with mine? Busier? Less busy? Have I got it super easy compared to you? Come and tell us about it!