As a senior at Fairfield University, Olivia Crispo wanted her semester abroad to feel a little unexpected. While many of her classmates chose large, popular programs, Olivia set her sights on something more unique: a small university city in the southern Netherlands.

“I spent my semester abroad in Maastricht,” she says. “I chose this location because it was a special program through my school where only two people go each semester, and it’s at an actual university. I had a lot of friends going to Florence, but I wanted to try something different.”

At Maastricht University, Olivia continued her focus in Finance and Business Analytics. “My classes included Financial and Managerial Accounting, Portfolio Management, Knowledge Management, and Strategic and Technological Management,” she explains.

What Olivia loved most was the local feel of Maastricht. It wasn’t a typical study-abroad hub packed with tourists—it was a place where she could fully settle in.

“Maastricht is a smaller city compared to places people tend to study, so it was cool feeling like there was a close community there,” she says. Renting a bike for the semester helped her feel like a true resident, and with few other Americans in the program, she forged friendships with German students. “I learned so much about European culture from them with an insider perspective, instead of having a touristy experience.”

Olivia took full advantage of her time abroad, traveling to Paris, Florence, Budapest, Vienna, Barcelona, Munich, London, Luxembourg, Brussels, Zurich, and Amsterdam.

Budapest surprised her with its beauty and history. “It was one of my favorite trips,” she says, sharing details about the city’s split into Buda and Pest and historical buildings still marked with bullet holes.

In Munich, she and her German friends went to Oktoberfest. “We wore the dirndls and went to the ‘better’ beer tents,” she laughs. “The Germans take the tent hierarchy very seriously.” The carnival-style booths and rides even reminded her a bit of the Topsfield Fair.

Zurich provided a completely different experience. “We went on a gondola up a mountain the day after it snowed, and the view was so pretty it seemed unreal,” she says. Later, they wandered through Christmas markets lit up for the season—an atmosphere she won’t forget.

Not every adjustment was easy. Her dorm kitchen lacked an oven and freezer, making cooking tricky. Some groceries spoiled quicker than she expected, and more than once, everyday items froze in the fridge. She also had to navigate language differences—Dutch proved especially tough.

Still, she adapted quickly. The experience helped her become more self-reliant and comfortable navigating a culture different from her own.

Olivia encourages other students to take the leap, even if they’re heading somewhere new on their own.

“People who go abroad want new experiences and to meet new people, so it’s not as cliquey as school can be,” she says. And while spontaneity led to some fun memories, she recommends planning ahead when possible, especially that first big trip.

After four months of discovery, Olivia returned with deeper confidence, lifelong friendships, and a broadened sense of home. Her time in Maastricht gave her exactly what she hoped for: independence, adventure, and connections that span the globe.