A Few Things

Language barrier: While nearly everyone speaks English in Amsterdam, I still find the language barrier frustrating. I am perpetually the rude American and I will never be able to blend in. I am trying to pick up some phrases but words, for example, like alstublieft (please) are just impossible. I never realized how much even the small pleasantries in the bus or in the grocery shape your day.

Stroopwafels: Stroopwafels are dangerous. They may look innocent enough but one bite of their caramel deliciousness will get you hooked for life. I only wonder how many bags of them I can bring back with me. Stroopwafels are basically two thin waffles with caramel in the middle. Delicious.

Stereotypes: Apparently the Dutch are frugal, blunt/harsh, hardy, efficient, blond, and rude. Also you shouldn’t try to be friends with a Dutch person while you are here because it is impossible or so we were told during orientation. I know that they had good intentions when telling us about the coldness/blunt/rudeness of the Dutch so that we wouldn’t be shocked but I am not entirely sure that perpetuating the stereotypes about the Dutch is that great either.

America: Okay, I will admit it. I like being American. It seems like a lot of Americans are here because they don’t like the policies or the attitude of the U.S. To me, however, learning from other places and returning to create change at home, seems much more productive than running away forever.

EU Law: Our classes are through the University of Amsterdam’s International School for Humanities and Social Sciences. This means that the classes are in English but anyone, international and Dutch students, can register. So I went to my Introduction (introduction being the key word) to EU Law. It was terrifying. First of all, the teacher shouted the lecture and spoke “english.” For example, it took me about 15 minutes to figure out that she was saying World Trade Organization. It was also like a real law school class meaning that she would just ask a question at random of a student and not stop asking until the student got one right. On the first day of class she asked questions like “Who is on the European Council? What is its function?” Silly me, I had no idea I should have read all of the Treaty on the EU (Nice) before coming to class. The thing was, however, that most students in the class seemed to have a vague notion of the answer because they were mostly European and this is their third year of the study of law. My favorite student was the woman who asked and answered a million questions. I later found out that she is already a lawyer but is going to school so she can practice here. It was a very traumatic class. I have had two other classes and they seem way better. So I think I will be taking Law and Legal Practice in Comparative and International Perspective, Regulating Cultural and Religious Diversity in the Netherlands, and Public International Law. I would also like to note that I think a little more than 1/6 of the students in Regulating…are from Macalester. As it turns out, I think that Macalester is kind of a way of thinking and being.


I use to idolize Europe in away but, in the end of the day, in reality, it is a place like anywhere else. I can’t really describe it, and maybe it is because I went to a place so similar to the U.S., but I am largely unimpressed with Amsterdam. I guess it probably has something to do with the fact that Amsterdam really doesn’t have an iconic monument per say. It is a city you live in and take in. But then again, maybe, it is just the reality of a place and the fact that people live there, that takes away the glamour and mystic. I like Amsterdam very much but, up to this point, it has yet to draw me in. Maybe a place, like England for me, is better in its idealistic form because it could never be quite as picturesque as I imagine it to be. Maybe it would be better.

Another thing that I find interesting is the place of “Anne Frank guilt” or just the lasting effects of WWII and even colonialism on the Netherlands. I have begun to read articles about the place of this in even current politics today and it is really fascinating.

Another observation that I have made is that most stores seem to sell, and houses seem to have, very modern furniture. I find the mixture of, at times, 17th century homes, with 21st design really interesting.

Also, what is the deal with sugar cubes? What prompts the prevalence of sugar cubes and the lack, thereof, in the U.S.?

The first really shocking moment: During our first night here, on the way back on the tram from dinner, at one stop I looked up into the window of the house in front of us. What I saw was two old ladies having what seemed like a pleasant, ordinary conversation. What was on the behind them was what shock me. There were two huge pornographic pictures of the wall of people in, um, very compromising positions. The juxtaposition of, for example, your grandma having tea or something, with such dirty pictures, was shocking.

Today we biked to the Van Gogh Museum. Afterward we took a mini-stroll through the park by the Museum. It was in the 60s and there were people everywhere – walking with their babies, playing soccer, ice skating, and even protesting. It was very pleasant. Afterwards, we got Dutch pancakes which are awfully a lot like crepes but with gouda on them. Now I have been doing homework rather unsuccessfully.

I read an article from Newsweek today about attempts to get rid of the red light district. They should try telling that to the British men here.

That’s all I have to say for today.