Today started with a visit to the flee market in Amsterdam. The market was extremely large, with so many different people selling their old things. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, like a supersized garage sale. There were t-shirts, jeans, suits, leather pants, chinaware, model cars, cameras, and more. Almost anything you could think of you could find being sold secondhand here. I bought 3 shirts but was tempted to buy much more. I could have spent much more than 2 hours and 30 euros at this market. The biggest takeaway I got from the market is that buying secondhand is a fantastic way to get a great product for an even better price. Most of the clothes were in great condition, just in need of being ironed, yet only cost a fraction of the price they would have cost brand new. Some were even well-known and expensive brands that would typically never be available at such low prices. I wish there were secondhand markets of this scale in the USA but the culture of buying used items seems to be bigger here. When I get back home, I want to try to buy more clothes used and from thrift shops and even buy electronics secondhand. Not only will this save me money but will also benefit the environment by preventing new products from being produced and saving old ones from being thrown away.

After the market, we had lunch with Pitt alumni. Before I talk about the conversations I had with the alumni, I want to talk about the food. I really enjoyed the type of snacks that were brought out during our time there. Again, I am a huge fan of the fries with mayonnaise and am not sure why that has not caught on in the states. I also enjoyed the bitterballen which is a dish I am not even going to try to explain. There also was a dish, pictured below, that was somewhat spicy meat in a fried shell that I really enjoyed.

The first person I talked to was a Pitt alumni who works at ASML, a company that builds the machines used to manufacture microchips. This was extremely interesting to me as I hope to be involved in the design and manufacture of microchips in my future job. He talked about how he traveled to Taiwan for 4 years because the supply chain for chips is very reliant on the largest chipmaker, TSMC, housed in Taiwan. He said he loved being in the country and felt like people there were just more friendly than anywhere he had visited before. This strengthened my desire to travel to Taiwan, as it seems like an interesting place to visit as well as an important player in the microchip market. I also would like to look more into the company he works for and consider applying to co-op with them. The one downside of his job is that he says, while all business correspondence is conducted in English, many of the employees’ conversations with each other is in Dutch. This would make it hard to get to know fellow employees or discuss ideas with coworkers so that is something I have to consider when looking for a job in the future.

The next person I talked to focused more on the cultural aspect of living in The Netherlands. He helped reel in some of my over-enthusiasm with the culture I had experienced here. He discussed how many people believe the Dutch are highly accepting when it is more accurate to say they are tolerant. He said that the Dutch tolerate many different types of people but that does not mean they are very supportive to these different groups. He discussed how, especially outside the cities, the Dutch population is resistant to change, especially ones that seem to threaten the dominance of the native culture. He says that many complain about how English is becoming more prominent in Amsterdam and are upset that their country is becoming more diverse as this is a change from what it used to be. In this way, he explained how America is very special in its relatively high tolerance for change. Many European countries have people with roots back to the very beginning of the country and dislike the increasing diversity and changes that feel like they are threatening the origins of the country. He also discussed how some of the Dutch feel superior to the rest of the world and like they know everything. As an example, he gave his experience in advising Tony’s Chocaloney on how to proceed with their business in America. He advised that they start small, see what works, and then expand that strategy across America. Instead, the company felt like they knew what they were doing and did not need to start small with their entrance in America as their approach, they believed, would work. This overconfidence proved to be harmful as Tony’s Chocaloney is still a very small player in the US and not nearly to the scale they had hoped to be. Part of the issue is also that the average consumer in the US is not as concerned about the ethics of the product they are buying as people are here in The Netherlands. I wish people cared more about where a product came from than just its price and name brand in the US because I think that is something really cool about The Netherlands. I think it is important to take what he said with a grain of salt, as it is only one opinion, but it makes me realize that there is no perfect country. I am much happier with the political climate and laws here in The Netherlands but it is important for me to understand that they also have their fair share of problems too.

One more thing I want to note: I absolutely love the architecture in this city. The featured image of this post is a row of buildings I thought looked exceptionally cool. I love the abundance of glass and the decks on their buildings.

Finally, the word of the day today is marktplaats which means marketplace. This is because I really loved the flee market and thought it was a super neat aspect of Dutch culture.