Monday, May 15th

Although today was quite cloudy, our group continued on our journey to VU and The Schiphol Airport. First we went to the University where we had a guided tour of the campus. We learned about how this university was very unique in the way that it is the only school in the area that has the campus feel. Many of the other universities have their buildings spread out throughout the city. I also found it interesting that here in the Netherlands they call a major/school a faculty. The university is very large with 31,000 students and 6,000 of those students are international. The cost of tuition here is a lot cheaper than it is in the states which is attractive for those who are coming internationally. These students receive great education all while getting the experiences of being abroad. There was an incredible building on campus with great architecture and opportunities for the students. Many if not most of the classes are taught in English which is a great factor for international students. After the visit we had some time to explore around and try some of the on campus food. It made me feel right at home and like I was back at college! We then began our journey to the Airport and man this sure was a journey. We went to the wrong bus stop originally which was a little bit far from where we needed to be… whoops. This is quite typical for our group, so now it’s just funny at this point :)) These mishaps always make for a great learning experience.

Our next stop was the airport where we got a personal tour of the KLM airline hangers and engine testing room. This is something that typically would not interest me but I actually had an amazing visit and learned a lot. We got to go inside one of KLM’s largest aircraft that was being tested, fixed, and updated. Here we got to see the difference between the classes on an airplane and get an idea of where your money goes when someone buys an airplane ticket.  We also got an inside look of the engine and just how detailed it is. This is the most important, most expensive, and the part of the plane that gets replaced most frequently. There is so much that goes into the engine and with this it costs a lot of money. One way KLM saves money and improves sustainability is by doing most of the repairing and creation of new parts in house. For example, if wire bundles were to break/ no longer function KLM has a crew that will create new wires right there in the hangar. Say they had an outside company create it for them it would be very expensive because they would need to be transported by plane. This is one more flight biting fuel which is not sustainable. It was great to hear that airlines take every step into making sure their plane passes all code and is safe to fly. There are no shortcuts in the aviation industry which are expensive but extremely necessary. Now every time I board a flight I will have inside knowledge of the whole process!

We finished the evening with dining and a sustainability talk after. The dinner was located at a place that invites corporations and serve ethnic food. This talk was quite the talk I might say… The contents were quite questionable and had no direction. All they talked about was hope when hope is not a plan. It’s good to hear what they have to say but there needs to be a path. Off to Utrecht tomorrow to see the home of Sophia!