Day Thirteen, our final day in the Netherlands, began at 7:15 AM. I got about five hours of sleep to start the day but didn’t feel particularly tired. We took a wet morning walk to Rotterdam Centraal to catch the tram out to the Floating Farm. At the Floating Farm, we got an overview of…
Tag: Ciaran O’Brien
Day Twelve: Bombs & Cities
Our second to last “real” day of activities, Day Twelve, began at around 8:15 AM. We first congregated in the lobby of the hotel as usual, before moving out to the tram station outside. While the last two weeks have been rather hot, it had finally begun to rain beginning yesterday. Anticipating cooler weather for…
Day Eleven: Defense
Day Eleven began at an early 7:15 AM, but I was thankfully able to get to bed early the previous night and woke up with only a small headache. Someone then offered me a Tylenol, which made me feel a lot better. I was able to squeeze in another 90-minute nap on the bus ride…
Day Ten: Aerospace
Day Ten began at 7:45 AM, and I unfortunately only got about six hours of sleep. I’ve been finding it hard to get a reasonable sleep in the rooms because of how quickly it heats up. I often wake up drenched in sweat, and the open window are doing nothing to cool the room. The…
Day Nine: Floods
Day Nine began at 12:00 PM, which let everyone catch up on sleep and is a first for this program so far! I absolutely took advantage of this late start and got some needed rest. Even after waking up, most of us used the one-hour bus ride to the Watersnoodmusem in Ouwerkerk to squeeze in…
Day Seven: Cheese & Windmills
After spending our final night in Amsterdam, it was time to pack our things and eat one last delicious hotel breakfast. We hopped on the bus at around 10:00 AM, and first headed northwest to Zaanse Schans. At Zaanse Schans, we were given a brief tour and lesson on how cheese was made at Henri…
Day Five: Chemicals
Unlike Day Four, Day Five began at a reasonable 6:30 AM with a delicious hotel breakfast. I mistakenly thought that the bus was departing at 7:30 AM, and therefore arrived at the hotel lobby an hour early. Once boarding the bus, the class took a collective 1-hour nap on the way to visit the Nouryon…
Day Four: Flowers & Bikes
Like Day One in Pittsburgh, Day Four began at an early 5:00 AM. Our first activity for the day was located southwest of Amsterdam in the city of Aalsmeer, where we had the opportunity to explore the inside of the Royal FloraHolland flower auction facility. This would establish the theme for the day: flowers. After…
Day Three: Canals
After a refreshing seven-hour sleep, Day Three started at around 7:00 AM with a hotel breakfast. We then once again returned to Amsterdam Centraal Station, where we boarded a boat docked at the mouth of the Amstel River (directly infront of Amsterdam Centraal Station). We were then taken on an in-depth historical tour of Amsterdam…
Day Two: Arrival
After Day One consisted of flying for an entire day from Pittsburgh Airport to Boston Logan Airport, and then from Boston Logan Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, we finally arrived in Amsterdam. Day Two began at approximately 6:00 in the morning, with our arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol. While on the flight from BOS to AMS,…
All About Me – Ciaran O’Brien
Hey all! My name is Ciaran O’Brien, and despite sounding very Irish, I am actually a half-Japanese half-British student from North Jersey. A little background about myself is that I was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to New York when I was a baby. After graduating from Pascack Valley High School, I am currently…