Today was our last day in Amsterdam; we leave for the airport bright and early tomorrow morning, which I’m sure will be just delightful. It was a wonderful two weeks spent with some really great people that I wouldn’t have met if not for this program. But of course, all good things must come to an end, so here’s how my last day went…

A few of us went out this morning to get brunch at this cute spot called Bagels Cafe. I’m not sure if it was the ambience, us being sentimental about our last brunch together or just me being extremely hungry, but that chicken avocado bagel and chai latte were out of this world. This was only the start to our sweet day. 

The day got even sweeter when we received a presentation by Joke Aerts, the “Inspire to Actress” or Open Chain Lead at Tony’s Chocolonely (which by the way, I’ve been pronouncing wrong this whole time; I thought it was Tony’s Chocoloney because the rhyme made more sense in my head). What makes Tony’s interesting is their unique business model. They utilize an open supply chain where the cocoa for their chocolate is traceable; they’re completely transparent about exactly where they source their cocoa. There are three sections of traceability: operational, environmental, and social. For operational traceability, they essentially just physically track their cocoa beans as they move throughout the supply chain and end up in manufacturing. They make sure that their suppliers for these beans are cocoa farmers, not a third party vendor that doesn’t know where their beans came from. In terms of social traceability, they are committed to ensuring that child labor was not exploited to acquire their cocoa, which is unfortunately far too common an occurrence in the chocolate industry. Finally, for environmental traceability, they ensure that the cocoa they use doesn’t come from places of mass deforestation like Cote d’Ivoire, which now has only about 1% of their natural forest still intact. In a nutshell, Tony’s Chocolonely is committed to sustainability involving greater universal living standards and a healthier environment, which should come as no surprise given that they are a Dutch company and we all know by now that the Dutch take sustainability seriously. I wish I saw more of this emphasis in businesses in the US as well.

After hearing all about the powerful mission of Tony’s, it came time for us to actually get some chocolate for ourselves to take home and share with our families…or not. We took a visit as a group to the Tony’s Chocolonely Superstore, which was heaven for all the chocolate lovers out there. Despite the name, the store itself wasn’t actually that big AND today was a public holiday, Ascension Day, so there were a lot of people off of work and ready to shop. Apparently Tony’s is a stop for a lot of people, so I grabbed a few bars and rushed out of there because the Dutch may be perfectly okay with being in each others’ personal space, but I am not so much. 

We were then taken to the area near the restaurant for our farewell dinner, but we had some time before our reservation, so me and a couple of friends had an impromptu coffee date at an adorable cafe across the street called Coffee and Coconuts. It was a little overpriced, but the drinks were good and we were really paying for being able to exist in the aesthetic space, so no harm done.

After the cafe, we made our way to dinner at a place called Desa, which serves authentic Indonesian food. It was absolutely delicious. The textures, the flavors, everything was perfect. It was my first time trying Indonesian cuisine, but I would highly recommend it. The restaurant had a very homey vibe too with the owner being the sweetest lady and the decorations made it feel like someone’s grandma’s house. 

Since it was our last day, I couldn’t just end it with dinner. There was absolutely no way I was about to leave Amsterdam without trying one of the famous stroopwafels from Van Wonderen, so Kali and I went off to do that on our own. When we got there, the line was long, as expected, but we remained patient and were rewarded with our scrumptious stroopwafels. I got the crunchy hazelnut and I was a huge fan. A sweet end to a sweet day.

I’m exhausted but in the best possible way because I feel so accomplished with what I’ve learned and achieved in just these short two weeks. Every day felt like we were hustling, but it was productive and I think I really got to fully immerse myself in the culture and life here. I saw more of The Netherlands than I ever thought I could in two weeks and every second has been so rewarding. I’m leaving with my heart and stomach full (of good food) and I couldn’t be more grateful. Doei, Amsterdam! Hope to see you again soon.