I can’t believe that today was already our last full day in Amsterdam! With a morning and evening activity, today was quite a long–but fun–day!
We started with a 10:30am tour of the Anne Frank museum, in which we had the incredible opportunity to explore a near-replica of Anne Frank’s family’s hiding place during the Holocaust. This museum visit was a very personal experience; I really appreciated the quiet atmosphere in the museum so that I could have the space to gather my thoughts and feelings while walking through each exhibition. I was very impressed that the Franks’ hiding place was able to last almost until the end of the war and also that it was so well-constructed. Compared to the miniscule shacks we viewed during yesterday’s Zaanse Schans visit, the Franks’ hiding spot seemed to have enough room to at least provide every member with a comfortable sleeping situation. I really appreciate that this museum exists as it helps me put into perspective the immense hardships faced during the Holocaust.
Once we finished the Anne Frank museum tour, we had some free time for the next few hours until our dinner with Pitt alumni at 6:30pm. As per a request from my mom, I went back to Cacao & Spice–Salome’s shop from the chocolate tasting session earlier in our program–to buy the California Reaper spicy chocolate. To my pleasant surprise, Salome remembered us and offered us more free chocolate samples! She also gave us a local Surinamese recommendation; we had a wonderful lunch from Tokoman, a local Surinamese takeout restaurant! I ordered a vegan wokbox with rice, tofu, potatoes, and spicy beans and would rate my order a solid 9/10! We then walked around and got boba from the local biu!tea; my original milk tea with oat milk was not as good as the ones I usually have back in the States, but I still enjoyed it!
We walked around with our boba for some time and eventually sat by a canal-side in the city. There, we were met with many interesting birds who kept us entertained! We then decided to visit the KattenKabinet, or Cat Cabinet, which is a local cat museum. We were able to get the student discount for having Pitt IDs (entrance tickets were quite pricey; I think that my visit was only worth-it due to the student discount). We explored art in the forms of paintings, drawings, posters, sculptures, and more, which all included cats in some way. We also saw three real kittens!
We then decided to explore the streets some more and walk around the local market. After some time, we took the metro back to our hotel to get ready for our formal Alumni dinner in the evening. At the dinner, which took place at the Pacific bar, I had the gratifying opportunity to network with the five professionals who were present and who had all obtained a degree from Pitt. I am very thankful for this opportunity as I was able to connect with professionals in-person and through LinkedIn! Some of the professionals were so interesting and fun to talk with; I ended up staying at the bar with Brian and Dr. Dukes until very late, just talking with the remaining professionals and other two students! Almost an hour after the rest of the students left, we took the “scenic route” back to the hotel (two trams instead of one) and finally arrived back at the hotel once most restaurants were closed. I ordered dinner using the hotel’s delivery service, and ate my food well after midnight!
Overall, albeit not super packed, today was both physically and mentally exhausting. I will always carry the memories that I made today with me beyond college. I am excited to visit Nouryon tomorrow!
