Today began with the opportunity to try out life as students at another university for a couple hours. Our very own pathfinder equivalent provided us with a brief tour of the university where we learned a bit about their course options and life on campus. VU is home to 31,000 students in total, 6000 of whom are from countries other than the Netherlands. Overall, the university is composed of students from more than 120 nations and thus provides a diverse experience to those who attend.

For lunch we had the opportunity to eat in VU’s dining hall. As we ate, we noticed and discussed how it differed quite a bit from Pitt in both the quality of food and the way in which it was served. Several food stalls were scattered about the dining hall. From these options I selected a fresh poke bowl from the center most station. Unlike Pitt, VU does not utilize a buffet style of dining, but rather has employees serving each student according to what they select. I imagine this structure serves to reduce food waste and also lessen the amount which people actually eat, resulting in an overall healthier community. We found a long communal table and enjoyed our lunches as we pointed out some of these comparisons between dining back at Pitt versus here in Amsterdam. Just as we finished up eating, dozens of students began flooding in for lunch, providing a clearer image of just how busy the campus is. Interestingly, though, the campus closes at 4pm, while at Pitt students often work in university buildings late into the night. This too plays into the work-life balance culture that we have heard so much about in the Netherlands. 

We moved on from the university and got a bit of perspective on the work part of this balance with a visit to Schiphol Airport. Here we toured the facilities of KLM Airlines, the same company for which Karel, the man we met on our very first day in Amsterdam, worked. This visit was particularly interesting in that we experienced a thorough behind the scenes tour which included an employee lounge, an inspection hanger and plane walk through, and an engine testing room. Seeing the plane up close provided an impressive perspective of how massive they are in actuality and how much power they require to function at such efficient levels. Throughout the visit our tour guide and VP at KLM made comments of his surprise that so many prospective engineers who are female were present. Given the historically male-dominated nature of engineering and related fields, it is my hope that our continually growing presence helps to invoke less of a shock and an increased understanding of the benefit of having a diversified workforce in every field. 

Our planned events did not conclude until 10pm this evening, so everyone was admittedly a bit worn out by the time our last program wrapped up. We enjoyed a delicious and fresh dinner of garden salad, vegetable couscous, and a tomato-based Moroccan stew before sitting in on a community podcast centered around themes of sustainability. This particular edition focused on designing cities for all in a way that places an emphasis on the power of artistic communication and moves away from capitalistic ideology and the unjust sharing of common goods. Unfortunately, the speakers, in my opinion, failed to address viable solutions for rectifying prevalent issues related to their themes of economics, art, and the environment. Although the panelists certainly could not be expected to solve all the world’s problems in their two hour time span, they could have done a better job of addressing realistic solutions for those students like myself in the audience who are looking to make meaningful change in our current lives and future careers. A true highlight of the podcast, though, was the guest artist, Jefferson Manson, whose beautiful voice and skillful songwriting broke the tension between segments of in-depth political conversation. Overall, today covered a bit of everything from academic and occupational life to cultural and political spheres, and ultimately ended with a yummy little ice cream cone and city stroll with newfound friends.