Visiting KU Leuven and Hosting Leuven in Illinois: Strengthening Transatlantic Relationships

By Jessica Mrase

CEURO participants visit Brussels.
Jessica is fourth from the right, in the beige trench coat.

When the CEURO project was in its early stages, I had already fully committed to it. Nothing had been set, and we weren’t sure of any details, but I knew that somehow, I would be a part of it. I believed in the project, the course, and the trips abroad. It was something original and being part of that would be an honor. Returning to Leuven was something I had always thought of doing, but never knew if it would happen. With the CEURO course, I was able to travel back to Leuven and revisit the city that captured my heart two years before when I had studied there for a semester in my undergrad. I had a grand plan of sleeping the entire way across the Atlantic so that I would be ready to hit the ground running as soon as we landed, and that was very much the case. I wanted to serve the others in my group as a guide and show them all the wonderful parts of Leuven. Showing them the beautiful architecture, where I had had class, and of course the chocolate, were all highlights from the first day in Belgium.

But, this trip was more than just revisiting Leuven for me. I was excited to meet the students we had only interacted with virtually in class. Here, we were able to meet them in person and be in class together, have meals, and go on excursions. We learned about each other’s life stories, where we came from, and also our interests, what we are researching, and where we hope to end up in our careers.

However, with all of the wonderful memories made abroad, nothing can compare to the week that the students from KU Leuven came to Illinois. We welcomed the Leuven students to typical Illinois spring weather: snow, rain, and sunshine. It was as if a week had barely passed between us. During this week we invested more time in our conversations. Somehow, being in the US struck more political conversations between the Europeans and Americans, but all in the spirit of curiosity. On both ends, we admired the differences between cultures and ways of life and took pieces of each with us. At our potluck, we all had the opportunity to thank one another for sharing this incredible experience.

CEURO participants in Champaign, IL

The relationships made in Europe only became stronger in the US. This pilot project was made possible by the dedicated staff at both KU Leuven and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Without their hard work in making this course possible, we would not have experienced the government and culture of each other’s homes in the way that we did in these few short weeks.