After many long hours on planes and in airports, we finally landed in the Netherlands Airport, Schiphol, which we will be learning more later in the week on a site visit there. As soon as we hit the ground there were many differences I noticed between Dutch and American culture. When I looked out the window of the plane, I already noticed a lot more open land and grassy areas. Once entering the city, there were a lot of public transportation options, but even more bikes! Cycling is deeply rooted in their culture and it is prominently seen by just walking down the street. It is a main form of transportation along with lots of walking.
Upon arrival at the hostel, we learned many tools we will need in the upcoming weeks such as simple Dutch phrases and basic guidelines. This will allow us to fit into the culture better and understand the areas we will be learning more about. After that, we did a short walking tour before lunch in the park. While walking, we stopped to learn about some local restaurants and stores. This information will help allow us to be able to navigate the city by ourselves and immerse ourselves in the culture. There were many places that were unique to Amsterdam that I am excited to visit as the weeks go on. When grabbing food, we immersed ourselves in Dutch culture by eating sustainably and picnicking in the park like a true local. It was nice to have a slow and calming lunch, which is very different from the fast paced lunches in America.
After checking into the hostel and resting up after our long flights, we went to a group welcome dinner at Bar Botanique. This allowed us to all get to know each other even more and talk about our exciting weeks ahead. One of my favorite parts about today was simply walking into a new culture that I have never experienced before and seeing all we have learned about Dutch culture in real life. Never having experienced another country’s culture before, it was very cool to finally be able to start exploring new places. I look forward to many more exciting days like this ahead!