Hoi! Ik ben in Amsterdam

(Hi! I’m in Amsterdam)

It’s taken me a while to get this posted because my laptop is currently in a shop, one of a few issues I’ve run into so far, but no one wants to read a blog about someone complaining. So to begin again, I honestly can’t believe I’ve already been in the Netherlands for more than 2 weeks. Orientation is long over, and we are truly into this semester abroad. Over this time I’ve moved rooms twice, gotten hit by a bike (no injuries, she just called me stupid afterwards, gotta love that Dutch honestly), gone to a few museums, been to 2 other cities in the Netherlands, figured out a bunch of logistics, spent far too much money on cheese and stroopwafel, and gotten soaked many times. Somewhere in there I’ve had to cook, do schoolwork and sleep too. Meanwhile, I’ve collected a list of things here that are very different from my life in the US /Colby:

For one, the weather here is very different from the snowstorms back in Maine. It’s significantly warmer (45-55°), but it often doesn’t feel like it because of the crazy winds and random rain storms. I hadn’t realize how much my happiness was connected to waking up to sunshine, but thankfully there have been some sporadic beautiful days. I badly timed my bike to school today to be during the one hour of the day that it wasn’t sunny. Instead it was hailing and pouring rain. As I’m writing this in my soaked jeans, I’ve realized that a pair of rain pants wouldn’t be a bad investment.

Green view on the way to Rotterdam

 

As expected, the bike culture here is a bit of a shock too. If I leave during rush hour (~8 or ~5), there will be about 15 bikes at every red stop light and scooters as well. There are kids, students, and adults in suits, heels, etc. all biking to work or school. To fit all these people, the bike lanes are large, well-defined and have their own stoplights! Bikes even have dedicated parking garages at large metro stations as well. I was talking to a dutch student last week who told me that cars are discouraged here and that barely any students have anything besides a bike. It helps that the largest uphill I’ve encountered was to cross a bridge and there is easily available public transportation as well.

 

I’ve used the metro a fair amount of times and it is a whole different world from Boston’s T (where I’m from); easy to read signs, accurate arrival times and so clean. Also no random vendors, street performers or homeless people to be seen (it pays to have a generous welfare system). I’ve even seen someone vaccuming the floor of the metro. Like in the picture below, the stations all have themes too. The trams and trains are also fairly simple with google maps and can all be taken with one card that we can load whenever we want. You can even get money back if you forgot to check in or check out, no questions asked!

I could keep rambling for a while about the drinking culture, grocery stores, coffeeshops (hint: they don’t sell coffee), architecture, language, academic culture etc, but I’ll have to leave that for next time.

Now I’ll speak a bit on how I’ve been adjusting to all this change. I knew that coming here was taking a huge step out of my comfort zone, but I think I’ve adjusted surprisingly well given how routine my life is at Colby. I’ve only felt truly overwhelmed when things have gone wrong (laptop issues, room placement issues, train delay, bank account problems etc.), but having a friend here to lean on has helped an extreme amount, that much I can say. One thing that has been weighing on me is that I can already tell the constant trips and visitors every weekend will become exhausting. At the same time, it’s hard to not plan tons of adventures to squeeze out as many memories from these few months as possible. I don’t want to regret not doing something, but I also have to think about my sanity and my bank account. There’s so much to consider and so many possibilities. It’s hard to find a balance where I’m not completely wrung out and also don’t feel guilty staying in and relaxing. I just have to accept that I can’t do everything I want to do. I know this time is gonna go super fast, so I’m trying to appreciate every moment that I do have.

Anyways, I’ve got a class to get to, so, tot ziens!