Professor Paul Schulten prefers Michigan’s snowy winter weather to his
own maritime climate in the Netherlands.

The weather is one of the many things the visiting professor is
experiencing while living in America.

Schulten left his home in the Netherlands, also known as Holland, to
come to the United States to be a part of university life at CMU, where
he teaches two courses: HST 238: Ancient Greece and Rome as and HST
597A: Ancient Humor.

“Both students and faculty benefit from visiting professors,
especially when they are from other countries as professor Schulten
is,” said history department chairperson Tim Hall. “They bring fresh
ideas about how to approach teaching and learning, since there are
important differences in the way the curriculum is organized from
college to college and especially from country to country.”

When it comes to the differences between university life here and in
Holland, Schulten said there are more similarities than differences.

The major difference, however, is adjusting to a longer class period
length and a semester schedule, verses the shorter classes and quarter
schedule used at his home university, Erasmus University in Rotterdam,
the Netherlands.

Schulten said he’s impressed by CMU’s large campus, ample space and
facilities. He said he is especially amazed by the university’s sports
programs and facilities.

Unlike schools in the United States, which strongly emphasize sports
and school-sponsored teams, schools in the Netherlands have no
connection with sports teams. A student who plays sports plays on a
club team, not on a school team.

Schulten has attended CMU’s women’s gymnastics meets, in addition to
some men’s basketball games.

“I like the dancing, the music, the show they made around it,” he
said. “That’s very American.”

He said one thing he noticed is the need for an outdoor skating rink
in Mount Pleasant. Cities in the Netherlands have artificial rinks and
he said he skates often.

Because climate changes in the Netherlands during the past 10 years
have caused the winters to have less snow and severe winter weather,
Shulten said he really enjoys the weather in mid-Michigan.

“I love it when it’s sunny, cold and snowy,” he said. “I know I’m
the exception here, but I love it.”

Schulten also said he has noticed differences between students. He
said he finds it’s easy to make connections and contacts with both
students and faculty and said socializing is not a problem in the
United States.

“Sometimes people in Europe say the openness is superficial,”
Schulten said.

Schulten’s one-semester term will end in May, but he said before he
leaves he would like to visit the Upper Peninsula and the coastlines of
northern Michigan. In previous years, he has visited New York,
California, Texas and Montana on holidays or to attend conferences.

“I’ve seen a lot of the States, but here I live in it,” he said. “So
far it’s been very rewarding.”

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