It’s easy to mistake junior Johan Krom for an amateur globetrotter.
Krom lived in Oxford, England for nine years, Brussels, Belgium for half a year and Aachen, Germany, for another nine. He attended secondary school in the Netherlands, has been to Japan and now finds himself here in Geneseo.
Krom is an international student from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands; he is majoring in human geography and planning. Krom said he chose to come to Geneseo because both Geneseo and Groningen have a “very active student exchange program.” Additionally, an exchange program in America offered Krom a perspective he had never before considered; other exchange programs were in countries that Krom said were “just around the corner” from him.
“I wanted to see the internal differences of countries considered western.” Krom said. “Why is Europe unique compared to Japan or the U.S.?” Additionally, he wanted to be free of what he called a slightly negative European bias toward America and experience this country for what it really is.
“My friends joked that I was going to return as some kind of obese, Republican, religious zealot,” he said with a laugh. What Krom actually discovered was a pleasant surprise for him.
“I was shocked at how students here can be such good friends regardless of their political or religious orientation,” he said, adding that at Groningen, social circles are sometimes formed based on those factors. Krom speculated that this was “possibly because people here don’t discuss these kinds of issues as often and with the same intensity as we do in the Netherlands.”
Krom also saw disparities in how American and European college students are educated. “At Groningen, there is much more emphasis on lecture. Professors stand and talk at you for the whole class, maybe asking a question here or there ,” he said. “At Geneseo, I was refreshed [with] the importance of discussion, working together and two-way feedback [between] students and professors. It’s something that I would like to see more of back home.” He added jokingly, “It would at the very least keep me awake.”
Though he is here for just one semester, Krom has done all he can to get a taste of the student life. Though busy with schoolwork and trips, he has become involved with the Fencing Club, Geneseo Medieval Club, Outing Club and Geography Club. On top of that, Krom recently went on a trip with Model United Nations to Washington, D.C. and he hosts a radio show on WGSU Monday mornings.
“In the Netherlands, student life is based on the surrounding city, because we don’t have campuses like typical American colleges,” Krom said, adding that while colleges in the Netherlands have student-run clubs and groups, they aren’t as centrally organized as they are here.
Krom said that he intends to keep traveling in the future. “I love being abroad. Being around different languages, different people; I really enjoy it.” And even though he hasn’t been here long, he said that he will definitely remember his time in GenIt’s easy to mistake junior Johan Krom for an amateur globetrotter.
Krom lived in Oxford, England for nine years, Brussels, Belgium for half a year and Aachen, Germany, for another nine. He also attended secondary school and college in the Netherlands, has been to Japan and now finds himself here in Geneseo.
Krom is an international student from the University of Groningen, where he majors in human geography and planning. Krom said he chose to come to Geneseo because both Geneseo and Groningen have a “very active student exchange program.” Additionally, an exchange program in America offered him a perspective he had never seen before. Other programs were in countries that Krom said were “just around the corner” from him.
“I wanted to see the internal differences of countries considered ‘Western.’” Krom said. “Why is Europe unique compared to Japan or the U.S.?” Additionally, he wanted to be free from the slightly negative European bias toward America and experience it for what it really is.
“My friends joked that I was going to return as some kind of obese, republican, religious zealot,” he said with a laugh. What Krom actually discovered was a pleasant surprise for him.
“I was shocked at how students here can be such good friends regardless of their political or religious orientation,” he said, adding that sometimes at Groningen social circles are formed based on those factors. Krom speculated that this was “possibly because people here don’t discuss these kinds of issues as often and with the same intensity as we do in the Netherlands."
Krom also saw disparities in how American college students are educated. “At Groningen, there is much more emphasis on lecture. Professors stand and talk at you for the whole class, maybe asking a question here or there … At Geneseo,” he said, “I was refreshed [with] the importance of discussion, working together and two-way feedback [between] students and professors. It’s something that I would like to see more of back home.” He added jokingly, “It would at the very least keep me awake.”
Despite his single semester exchange, Krom has done all he can to get a taste of the student life. Though busy with schoolwork and trips, he has participated in the Fencing Club, Medieval Club, Outing Club and Geography Club. On top of that, he recently went on a trip with Model United Nations to Washington, D.C. and hosts a radio show on WGSU on Monday mornings.
“In the Netherlands, student life is based on the surrounding city, because we don’t have campuses like typical American colleges,” Krom said, adding that while colleges in the Netherlands have student-run clubs and groups, they aren’t as centrally organized as they are here.
Krom said that he intends to keep traveling in the future. “I love being abroad. Being around different languages, different people; I really enjoy it.” And even though he hasn’t been here long, he said he will definitely remember his time in Geneseo.