Photo Guy Ackermans My bike is broken! This is almost the worst thing that can happen to a Dutch student. Despite all the trouble, I resolve to repair my bicycle myself. From the shed of my parents’ house, I retrieve my old toolbox, once given to me by my grandfather when I still thought I would become Bob the Builder.
I travel to Wageningen with this toolbox full of memories of unfinished projects. On the train, when I look up from my book, I see a man across from me who gives me a love-struck look. I smile back uncomfortably, as he is already the third one today. There seems to be some kind of primal attraction between humans and tools. I think one is so strongly attracted to tools because it separates man from animal.
Moments later, I am sitting in the lecture room with a toolbox between my legs and a saw sticking out of my backpack like a tennis racket. Again, the box and I attract attention. A fellow student asks, ‘What on earth are you going to do with that box? It’s not practical education, is it?’ When I mention that my bike is broken, another makes the creative remark: ‘He must need that saw because his tandem doesn’t fit in the bike shed.’ We burst into laughter.
That afternoon, I arrive at my student house. I throw my coat over the coat rack and roll up my sleeves. It is a lovely sunny day. I sit down on a bench, turn the bike upside down and, with an inner calm, spread my tools neatly beside me. Very quietly, I begin to identify the problem and make several hypotheses about possible causes. It is really no different from drafting a scientific investigation.
After a few experiments, I get the hang of it. It takes me little effort to fix the problem. Carefully I screw all the nuts and bolts back into place. It works again!
Philip Timmers (19) is a first-year bachelor’s student in International Development Studies. He likes gardening and is always up for some fun. He enjoys reading in nature on warm summer days.
