One Month Anniversary!

My second week of class brought much excitement with the start of my lecture series, "Social Justice and Development in the Global South."  We are exploring social justice and the marginalization of people in the global south, specifically in coastal regions.  We have a different lecturer each class, which keeps us fully engaged and is a great way of enhancing our understanding of international relations on a variety of local scales, given the varying backgrounds of the speakers.  I have never taken a course in international development but am loving every minute of it; the readings are all thought-provoking and, especially since we are looking at coastal regions, I have definitely been able to apply my knowledge of environmental justice to the course.  Last week, Professor Joyeeta Gupta spoke about the difficulty defining justice and challenges in granting "natural" rights to all people.  She was an incredible speaker and her talent as an environmental lawyer shone through; she played the devil's advocate to most of our arguments to portray difficulties with universal definitions of justice.  We constantly returned to the difference between rights and needs, which helped reveal why governments are reluctant to specify rights: this identification comes with a sense of urgency in granting said "rights" to all citizens, and violating rights is more problematic and "unjust" than violating needs.

The course is open access, which means that anyone can essentially participate in the course (except for our forum posts).  In fact, there are currently several students in India who are taking this course via live recording of the lectures.  You can check out the lecture archives and even watch them on the course site: http://www.ids-uva.nl/archives/Static/about

Last week I also got to spend some time with a dear friend from Brandeis who is also studying abroad here.  I met Marisa by Waterlooplein, a fantastic outdoor market near my neighborhood and the old Jewish district.  We cycled to my place and made a delicious stir fry for dinner.  We caught up, shared stories, and marveled at the fact we were actually together...in Amsterdam!  She's living with a host family not far from me, so I can't wait to spend some time exploring with her.  Although making new friends is imperative while I'm here, it's so nice to have a familiar face around :)

In many ways, the start of studying abroad parallels freshman-year orientation at college: you start off likely excited but filled with nervous energy and uncertainty for what your experience will bring; most people don't know anyone at the beginning either; there are lots of introductions and small conversations to get to know one another; you really have to put yourself out there and push through the awkwardness/mild discomfort with getting to know new people to eventually develop more meaningful relationships.  Luckily, I had an incredibly smooth orientation and have definitely continued with positive social experiences.  I've found a great balance between hanging out with friends and being social on nights and weekends, and also taking time to be independent and reflect on my own.  I have discovered that, more than in the past, I am needing time by myself to "reboot" and I have found that my alone-time to decompress is crucial to making it through my day happily.  Fortunately, though, I don't feel like I've limited myself by taking time to be alone, and my friends here have generally been really understanding when I want to stay in or go off on my own.  It's strange to feel as socially comfortable with people I have known for such a short period of time, but I'm not complaining!

Kyle and Hannah, two of my close friends here, were hanging out in my room last week and we decided to indulge ourselves in planning a trip to Greece!  It's not a cheap trip and it would obviously be best to spend more than a weekend there, but such is the nature of being a student based in one city, and we are so lucky to be able to go at all.  Traveling is super exciting, but it's also so so so important to keep myself grounded where I'm actually living.  I have a bunch of unbelievable trips planned in the coming months, but also many weekends to be in Amsterdam.  As I spend more time exploring this city and better acquainting myself with different neighborhoods, I am coming to truly love being a resident of the Netherlands.  (Speaking of which, I got my Dutch residency card, so I'm officially a resident until late December...wooo!!)  From the awesome Dutch students I've met to the sweet as ever Dutch folk in cafes and small shops, to the food and second-hand markets, to the crazy bicyclists and gorgeous backdrop to my whole experience, everything has just fit into place so well.  These years when my primary job is to learn and explore are a true blessing.  Being on a campus is wonderful, but it's also refreshing to break out of the small-school bubble for a while.  I had a moment of total euphoria the other night when I was riding my bicycle over a bridge along the Amstel canal...despite the occasional homesickness and questioning of how to best prioritize my time while here, I am so incredibly grateful to be on this journey, constantly adventuring and continuously provoked to push myself.  Yesterday, in my lecture, the visiting professor addressed our class in a way that showed her consideration of the class's diversity; there was no assumption of homogeneous socio-political backgrounds among the students.  Studying with students from all around the world, especially in an open-access course, creates this feeling that I'm a student in a global classroom.

Tomorrow (September 22) marks my one-month anniversary studying in Amsterdam.  (It's also Josh's birthday!!)  I can't tell if the time has flown by or if it feels like I've been here for forever but, regardless, I'm a happy camper.

What's not to love here? 

Here's what the neighborhood looked like in the 1800s...not much has changed!

Delicious warm treat at the Pancake Bakery.  There is an endless supply of tasty tasty food here.  The Dutch love to give you small treats with hot beverages--there's a stroopwafel (caramel cookie) in my glass!

Dutch words of the day (I missed one last week!):     

groen = green (Mijn fiets is groen = My bike is green)

geitenkaas = goat cheese (Geitenkaas is mijn favoriete voedse! = Goat cheese is my favorite food!)   

Dutch word/phrase bucket:

fiestpad = bike path
keo = cow
koffie = coffee
regendruppels = raindrops
goedenacht = goodnight