Luisa Coakley

Amsterdam is known for its many wonderful museums of art and culture. There are many located all around the city that I regularly visit and explore. My favorite is the Van Gogh museum. It is a multilevel museum that follows the story of not only Van Gogh’s progression as an artist, but it also follows his personal relationships and declining mental health.  Another favorite is the Rijksmuseum that owns many paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt.

I recently visited a famous museum in Amsterdam called the TropenMuseum. The TropenMuseum is a beautiful 20th century building that first opened in 1926. On their website, it explains that the mission of this Museum is to showcase the story of humans from all over the world specifically Dutch colonies. It focuses on how emotions, storytelling, love, celebrating, and fighting are central to all humans. those aspects unite us all no matter where we come from. These ideas were present in the TropenMuseum from the powerful exhibits that this museum had. The first exhibit I looked at was about a photographer who spent a lot of time in Papa New Guinea, a Dutch colony, and decided to donate some western t-shirts to some of the civilians there. The people who received the t-shirts then ripped calculated holes and tears in the clothing. They also braided and weaved the strands around to create a unique look. The photographer then took striking pictures of the Papuans wearing their t-shirts. This exhibit was fascinating because it was a clear example of the way different cultures express themselves. The Papuans took these simple unextraordinary t-shirts and made them into expressive art that they wear.

The second exhibit that we looked at was of the Surinamese people. The Surinamese were taken as slaves by the Dutch settlers and they worked on plantations. At the TropenMuseum we were shown a room in which many angisas (an angisa is a headscarf the women slaves were forced to wear) were hung on the ceiling. The women eventually started using the angisa as messages as to when they would plan to escape. They would write messages on the scarves and pass them along to fellow slaves. The scarves were then eventually used as a fashion statement in modern times after slavery was abolished. The head scarves that are hung in the TropenMuseum are beautifully decorated and symbolize the strength and resilience of the Surinamese people.

After we visited the Museum we went to the Surinamese street market nearby where we tasted authentic Surinamese food. It was truly some of the best food I have had in Amsterdam since being there. It was a pretty eye opening day because i’ve been living in this city for a few months but had no idea of the rich culture of the Surinamese people. I hadn’t even known the market was there so it was interesting to me that I can keep discovering wonderful parts of Amsterdam.

I have begun to think of my housing, Hotel Jansen as a home. It has been the life source of my happiness here in Amsterdam and I feel that without this community my time here would be incredibly different. First of all, I wake up usually to the smell of fresh baked bread drifting through my window which, if you have never experienced this, is probably the best way to wake up. In my own single I then usually read for a bit and make breakfast in the communal kitchen. Each floor has a kitchen that is shared and I am extremely lucky to consider my floor mates close friends of mine at this stage of my experience. The hotel Jansen kids come from all over the world and some of my fifth floor friends are from places including Poland, Brazil, Singapore, Chile, and Japan. This has been extremely fascinating because overtime I walk into the kitchen there are foods and fragrances that I have never experienced and everyone is kind enough to share with each other. Many nights we all end up cooking one meal and eating together. This part of my life here is my favorite time because with music playing, people talking and laughing, and good food sizzling on the stove, everyone can enjoy themselves even if people don’t even speak the same language. These seem to be universal pleasures that can be shared easier than I could have imagined even when language is taken away. It provides a space for me where I can have my own time in my room or walk over three steps to my neighbors room and hang out.

The location of Jansen has been another hidden gem. It is located next to a large body of water and a beautiful nature preserve where people sail, walk, run, bike, swim, and kayak. Many days if the sun finally comes out, which has been less often than not lately as the rainy season has set in, I will quickly hop on my bike and make the five minute journey to my favorite dock. On this dock I have had some relaxing times reading some wonderful books. One of my favorite things to do is to read because it is a large stress reliever and very entertaining obviously. That is why here, it has been a perfect outlet if i’m missing my Colby home with all of my friends. This has been a extremely wonderful discovery because the first few weeks here I did experience homesickness yet I didn’t have anything that would make me feel better. That heavy feeling would then follow me around the rest of the day. Now when I feel this way me and some Jansen friends will go to this dock and just listen to music and read.

Speaking of Hotel Jansen friends I am happily surprised to find that I have made some very close  friends here. I found that only after a few weeks here I felt extremely comfortable with three of the people that I met here and they have made this experience rich so far. I realized that you can be in the most beautiful city but if you’re not sharing it with friends it doesn’t guarantee you a good time. That is why i’m so grateful to have met these people because they allow me to explore and experience Amsterdam at a new level. Overall Hotel Jansen has provided me with everything I need to make this time here memorable.

The first few weeks here have been wonderful and impactful. It has been humbling as a student from the US to learn that there is a community such as Amsterdam, so different than any i’ve been a part of in the US, that I can thrive in and even call home.

Many Dutch people generally do not seem to like Americans at first impression. For example, a few weeks ago, I went to a restaurant with some friends and was talking with a dutch student from my school. We were getting along fine, until he asked where I was from, to which I replied the US. He immediately grimaced and shook his head. This was the first experience I have had that made me feel ashamed to be from the US. This feeling continued after more experiences like this. Another example, was when me and some friends went to a comedy show and Americans were used as the butt of multiple jokes. It continued to make me feel slightly embarrassed to be from the US. This all changed when I brought these examples up to my Dutch professor, Myrte Jansen. She explained that although the Dutch people do not generally have a great opinion of the US as a whole because generally people from Amsterdam don’t like any tourist and she thinks that as a whole we can be perceived as arrogant. She continued to say that many individuals she has gotten to know from the US have been great. I realized this statement was similar to how I felt about the dutch people I have met. When I first got there, I thought every native was cold and standoffish. This impression continued to grow for a while when I would get teased harshly from local dutch kids I met or people from my housing. This caused me to feel like an outsider and a nuisance to Dutch people. This all changed one day when one of the students that was joking with me, told me I take things to seriously. She then broke into a very genuine smile and told me that a sarcastic sense of humor is something the Dutch are known for and I shouldn’t take it personally. After this I started joking with her and the other kids back in a similar manner. I was surprised to learn they didn’t take it in a rude way as I would have and they clearly enjoyed it. Since then, I was floored to find out how much I love spending time with local Dutch people. It is clear now that I was the one who was interpreting everything wrong. At Colby, we had looked at a picture of an iceberg that showed interpretations were a part of the iceberg below the sea level and this was my first experience that demonstrated this perfectly.

So far I have had more “Iceberg” moments like this. For example, sometimes people here do not say please and I took that once again as rudeness until Myrte explained to my dutch class that it is implied in certain situations. It is also common to never get married here and I assumed this meant there were less relationships. This was complete wrong of me because many people will still have partners and children they just never marry. All of these instances of me assuming things incorrectly have made me question how open I really am. I hoped going into this I would have kept more of an open mind yet I made some snap judgements I am not proud of. I am going to remind myself of this lower half of the iceberg that is unknown to me before I make any opinions. Going abroad is a huge privilege and i’m grateful to see that it is already effecting my life and character for the better.