As a child I was... rather serious. I always wanted to sit at the grown-up table, was vey alert, and always felt a great sense of responsibility for everything. My parents say I was already like that as a baby, I almost never played with toys. The funny thing is, my brother, who is two years younger than me, is very relaxed, likes to have fun. That went well together. Any time I wanted to stay safely tucked up at home, he would drag me outside to do something fun. Take me out of my comfort zone. We’ve always been great friends, never argued – even our parents thought that was strange. I don’t see him as much now, because he’s studying in Barcelona. I miss him. Thankfully, we speak on the phone often and make the most of the times we do meet up.
I feel British. Not really, although my parents are from the United Kingdom and I have a very strong English accent. But when I visit family there, it always feels like a holiday, not like home. I would never want to live there, especially after Brexit. Honestly, I feel more Luxembourgish, as I was born and raised there – my parents met there and have lived there ever since. It’s a very international place, over half the population is foreign. Lots of people leave again eventually. I also grew up with the idea that I would live in another country later.
“When I started playing polo, there were only eight players in the whole country”
It has always been my dream to... be a professional polo player. I’ve been playing since I was eight years old. A friend of my dad’s took me to the only polo club in Luxembourg at the time. There were only eight players in the whole country. I’d always been quite bad at sports, but I was good at this from the start. I loved the speed of the horses and got addicted to the game. After secondary school, I left for Argentina – the place for polo – as a semi-professional player. I had a five-year deal with a sponsor – you need several horses, which is really expensive – and started university at the same time. That didn’t work. Polo takes a lot of time and discipline, you can spend up to 10-12 hours a day training, looking after your horses, mucking out the stables. I soon fell behind in my studies. After a year, I quit. It was the end of my dream of being a professional player, but in a good way. Needing to win a match feels very different to wanting to win a match. Now, I only play polo when I visit my parents, but I hope to pick it up again later, as a hobby.
Favourite band? Arctic Monkeys. They’re from the same part of England where my mum grew up. The accent, the words they use, it’s so familiar. And I love rock, I was raised on rock. Our parents often took us to gigs. And there was always music playing, at home, in the car, we even shared headphones on walks. It’s a habit that stuck with me, I still listen to music all the time.
“I did get a few odd looks when I said I'd like to be a boardmember of the Latino Society”
I like to surround myself with Latinos. The people at the polo club in Luxembourg, where I used to spend all my time, were almost exclusively Argentinian. I started speaking Spanish too, it’s become my second language. I even started feeling a bit Argentinian. That’s why, when I came to Maastricht, I joined the society for Latin-American students, the Latino Society, formerly Mi Casa Tu Casa. I like getting to know more Latinos and working on my Spanish. When I said I’d like to take on a role on the board, I did get a few odd looks. ‘Aren’t you British?’ But I think it’s very important that people are introduced to other cultures. Maastricht is very international, but you do see that students stick to their own nationality bubbles, their own countrymen. That’s why we also organise events in English, everyone is welcome here.
City or nature? I’m a real city person. When I left Argentina, I knew straightaway that I wanted to come to Maastricht. My girlfriend, who I’ve known since secondary school, was already at university here, and I had visited her a few times. It’s feels unique here. Very relaxed, safe, open, international. Not too many distractions but still enough to do. I just think it’s a little too flat here, and yes, Dutch people are very surprised when I say that. But I love hiking along steep paths. We regularly head to the Ardennes to do that now, I see it as a break from city life.
“My girlfriend and I are both very passionate. Sometimes that clashes, but is does help us understand each other”
My partner’s best characteristic. My girlfriend is very caring and involved, which I really appreciate. If you share something with her, she takes it very seriously, she’ll never just tell you to ‘get over it’. She’s very passionate in everything she does. I’m the same. Sure, sometimes that clashes, but is does help us understand each other in how we think and why we do the things we do.
In ten years... I hope we’ll be living in Argentina. That’s my dream, and thankfully, my girlfriend likes the idea too. Maybe I’ll work for the EU, something in international relations with South America. I love both continents, and that way I can help both of them with my ideas. I don’t really care if I earn a lot of money either. The most important thing is to be happy. I think they understand that much better in South America than here.