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Hello and welcome back to Oosterdam Day 9! As I write this blogpost, we’re en route to have our last meal of the day. It’s a therapeutic experience—watching the lights go by as we ascend to higher ground. Thinking about everything that we’ve seen thus far as the country whizzes by a little too fast. It’s only just hitting me now, that our two-week escapade is coming to an end in four days. Gone in an ogenblik: a blink of an eye. That’s why I’m trying to savor the moments in between when we’re not running to catch the tram or actively warring with our umbrellas.

This is going to be a long one; brace yourself.

Today’s schedule was absolutely packed. We started off with a tour at the University of Amsterdam, in which we walked through the “main” building in the heart of campus (much like the Cathedral of Learning or the William Pitt Union) and the engineering building (Benedum equivalent). The tuition, we found out, was around seven times cheaper than what most of us are paying in the States, but the campus was significantly smaller. It was actually a small loop of maybe five or six buildings; Pitt’s campus is easily fifteen, twenty times the size. 

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The engineering building was absolutely beautiful, though. I’ve mentioned before how spectacular the architecture is here, but the engineering building is something else. I’ve spent my fair share of time in Benedum slaving away over a block of wood or a couple of wires, and though I’ve made lots of good memories in G34 I do have a thing or two to say about the learning environment. Pittsburgh is a city that offers little space, and when we (as a society) run out of ways to move in two dimensions, we choose to build up. Benedum is twelve floors as a result, with a basement and a sub-basement as well. Every floor is packed with classrooms, conference rooms and study spaces, which can be a little claustrophobic sometimes. But here’s the catch. A study conducted in 2015 (take this with a grain of salt…) suggested that high ceilings spur creativity—so do open spaces. It’s why I bias towards study lounges with a lot of legroom; I feel more inspired to create when the ceiling is skyward. “The possibilities are endless”—that sort of thing. The engineering building at the University of Amsterdam is gargantuan (haha funny word doesn’t really fit here but it’s funny and it means big so I’m going to use it). It’s this spacious glass rectangle with a bunch of other fun little rectangles inside of it. That’s the only way I can think to describe it—think bismuth, with its compartmentalized crystal clusters. There are two theaters on every floor that double as lecture halls, reserved for special performances. Balconies connect classrooms from one side of the structure to the other, with study areas and faculty offices sandwiched in between. Lights dot the undersides of walkways and learning spaces, slowly making their way towards the (glass) ceiling. Simply being in the space inspires productivity. It’s amazing. 

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We were allowed one and a half hours to explore, so I got something to eat at the dining hall with Jackeray (Jack, a recurring character in the grand sitcom of my life) before continuing on my merry way. Everything at the dining hall was insanely cheap, which was a welcome break from the $20 burgers we’d been having. I decided to building hop, seeing as I didn’t have much time, and dragged Jack through as many corridors and classrooms as I could find. Every nook and cranny. Not a stone left unturned. At one point I found a PIANO in a stadium-style lecture hall, which I was VERY EXCITED ABOUT. I paused the tour for a few minutes to play a song for Jack, which I’m sure he loved. That was the most important part of the self-guided tour. The buildings on campus are really nice, it’s just, there aren’t enough of them. I guess if there were more they wouldn’t be as well-built. Quality over quantity seems to be the policy here.

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After that we were pretty much done, so we hopped on a bus and headed towards the Schiphol Airport for an insider look at what happens during aircraft maintenance. The entire experience was quite lengthy, but very much worth it. We went inside an aircraft hangar, where a KLM airplane was being repaired. Maintenance is many things, but this aircraft was having its engine replaced. Because planes go for an average of 300 million USD, it’s not exactly worth buying a new aircraft every time a plane needs repairs. A new engine can last a plane around ten years; bits and pieces of the plane can be swapped out over time until the plane needs to be scrapped. Even then, every part is put to use. Either repurposed or recycled. It wasn’t until today that I realized just how impressive these machines were. Knowing now just how much thought and care goes into every aircraft, I feel a lot safer traveling in them. I’ll be thinking about it on my way home as well. We visited the hangar and a few other sites, with another notable location being the test cell for airplane engines that come for maintenance. We spoke with a few engineers there, who detailed the two-hour long process of taking precise measurements to measure the power, pressure, temperature, etc. of the engine being tested to make sure it was up to standard. It was really interesting—definitely a good day to be an engineer.

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The last thing we did today was visit a cultural center for a Moroccan dinner, after which we attended a podcast on saving the planet. The dinner was lovely, light, but lovely, and the podcast was, well. I certainly have my thoughts on it, and I know the other kids do too. Let’s just say it was interesting. Let’s also say it was 90 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. 

I hit a nearby fast food joint with a friend for some additional sustenance once we got back and now I’m in  my hotel bed finishing this blog post. It was quite the eventful day, probably one of my favorites here so far. Of course, I’m looking forward to what tomorrow brings, and I hope you are, too. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow.