Well, I made it safely to Maastricht; it’s been an adventure already. The plane ride on United was actually really nice. I watched 2 movies, had 2 nice meals, a “sunrise cocktail,” and slept about 4 hours on the plane. And I’m so glad I paid for Economy Plus, which = lots of legroom. The plane ride to Chicago was 40 minutes, and then it was only 7 hours and 45 minutes to Brussels.
The train ride from Brussels to Maastricht was enjoyable (even considering the jet lag). I saw a fair amount of Brussels and Liege, and I’d definitely like to visit both. They definitely do not help you with your bags on/off the train here, and most places just have steep stairs…the escalator(s?) at the Brussels-Nord train station only went up. I already feel a lot stronger from carrying my 50 lbs. of luggage!
When I got to my apartment, the neighbor with the key wasn’t home. So I knocked on another neighbor’s door, and she turns out to be a professor at the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University where I’ll be studying. She let me sit for a while and gave me some tea. Then she let me store my luggage while I went to get some things from the store. What a nice lady!
It’s quaint and beautiful here. Everything is really tiny, but that’s part of the city’s charm…I like it already.
Today I’m going to check in at the university, get some groceries, and figure out how to get around here!
sarahinmaastricht 
I agree that the author is an ecellent writer, even if I may be a little biased! Can’t wait to hear more from Sarah in Maastricht.