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Study Abroad in Amsterdam
  • Elena Eberwine

Study Abroad in Amsterdam

A 47-day adventure by Elena Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 7, 2022
    Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    O’ Hare SCARES

    June 7, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Well, this may be the scariest flight experience I’ve dealt with yet. Even though I called and checked this morning, our baggage situation yet again changed. Lots and lots of waiting in very long lines. Thankful that my dad waited it out with us! We did some more waiting at the gate and spent our time rescheduling our connection flight. Cheers to the beginning of our travel day! After 6+ hours, our flight has officially been canceled and we are going to hope for the best for tomorrow (the same time flight). Now to hope for the best from our hotel vouchers!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler
    1

    night one in the windy city

    June 7, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Well, after a full day of sitting at the airport and being just extremely confused, myself and Avrey along with Violet and Talia (new friends who will be in Amsterdam with us) have settled down in the airport hotel. Room service is our dinner and Friends is our entertainment for the night! We still have no answers on our flight, but are supposed to find out tomorrow. Maybe we should have taken up the drunk guys on their casino offer because it’s going to be a long night of figuring out what is going on. Goodnight Chi-Town!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    british airways to the rescue!

    June 8, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    24 hours later, we are back through security! Such a relief. At 8:30 this morning we decided we needed to get over to the airport. We arrived to the airport at 9:30 with no Aer Lingus representatives in sight. I decided to call (a few others as well). By the grace of God, our call was answered after being on hold for around 30-40 min (the others who called when I did had their calls abruptly ended). Avrey and I sat on the call and ended up figuring out a new flight, seat selection, baggage, and COVID requirements. Our new flight was transferred to British Airways. Our baggage information, still incorrect from Aer Lingus, was unfortunately incorrect for BA as well. At about 12:30, Aer Lingus reps arrived. The line was absolutely insane but we were at the front. At first they acted like they could help us… then sent us away with a “I can’t do anything just go to British Airways”. We waited for British Airways who arrived at 1, they got us all checked in and when we came to the bag issue we just said “we paid for 4 bags” and she looked to her manager and her manager said “sounds good, just override what the system says”. We made it through security and are now awaiting to board the largest aircraft I have ever seen. Sad to not be traveling with Violet and Talia to Dublin, but could not be more relieved to feel truly taken care of. Big girl moment for Aves and I. I’m proud of us!!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    Home Sweet Home

    June 9, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I see London, I see France, but where are Elena’s underpants??

    Well to top off the worst traveling experience ever. I had to leave the airport with just 1 of my 2 bags because it is currently missing. UGH. Definitely one of those “never thought it would happen to me moments”. Oh well, I have faith it’ll turn up in the next 6 weeks. Probably next week I’ll start to be more worried. Right now I’m just thankful to be out of an airport and stationary. Trying to game plan how I’m going to live off of what I happened to pack in my smaller suitcase… unfortunately I am left with a single pair of underwear (which i just hand washed in the sink) but other than that I should be alright.

    Good news is this room is VERY nice and I’m excited to live here! I’ll update this post with pictures once I get everything sorted out!    Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler
    11

    “welcome to the neighborhood girls”

    June 9, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I settled into the most beautiful living space ever and am seriously so in love with living at the Student Experience Minervahaven! Avrey and I both were pretty hungry after our insane 48 hour travel situation and decided to walk around and find some food. We ended up at Karaat which could not be cuter. The dinner was a bit nicer than we were going for, but VERY good. Plus after our meals of airport snacks, I think we needed it!! The neighborhood is pretty new and very updated. The pros are that everything is so nice and it’s not super crowded at all, the cons are that we are limited with what is within walking distance. Honestly though there’s shopping, theaters, bars, and more so once we are able to get to the grocery and have food at our apartments we will be set.Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    flight 1 recap + a jog in Heathrow

    June 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    well well well after a series of unfortunate events we finally got a little blessing. The seats we happened to get booked (free of charge), were “World Traveller Plus”. Meaning we got free drinks, 2 meals, extra leg room, and lots of fun freebies. AND originally avrey and I were a row apart, but the person next to her never came! On top of all that, British Airways follows British drinking age laws… cheers! Such a good flight overall!! Buttttt… we did have a delayed departure and therefore RAN to our next gate which was boarding as we exited the plane. While it was the same “terminal”, it was a 2 stop train ride, multiple level change, and customs/ security away. But we made it! Quick stop in London I guess!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    Windmills, Borrels, and Friends

    June 10, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Well could not have asked for a better day after the crazy that it took to get here. We started the morning at IES student center, it was the first time in the city too… it’s even better than I could’ve imagined!! The center is where I will have my classes and am able to just hang out. It’s so homey and right in the heart of Amsterdam! There the other late arrivals and I got a rundown of everything we missed and they grabbed us some casual quick breakfast which consisted of the best croissant I’ve ever had in my life… yk casual. From there we went straight to the Central Station and met the other IES students. Then to Zaanse Schans! So so SO picturesque and quaint and truly Holland. The windmills which are still used and active, the breeze carrying over the smell of fresh chocolate from the cocoa factory across the canal, and of course the sheep, cows, and chickens that roam the area just made it all feel so real! From there, Violet, Avrey, and I made friends with Eloise, Lily, Avery, and Hunter and decided to go to a Borrel for some drinks! Thankful that day 1 we found an awesome group of people! We rode the bus back to the grocery, grabbed some food ( for 35 euros may I note), and walked back to our apartment. The cherry on top of this day is coming back to my luggage which was found and shipped to my apartment!! Still a little jet-lagged and need some time to truly move in now that all of my stuff is here, but again could not have asked for a better 1st day.Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    need. unhealthy. food. NOW.

    June 10, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    truly everything has been so enjoyable and although it’s only been a few days, I love it here!!! Oddly enough the hardest part of the adjustment has been meal times. Because of jet lag and adjusting to the super long days here ( sunrise @ 5 am and sunset at 10 pm) , I’ve been getting hungry at the most odd times and mostly really late like 10/11 pm. I love living in a Dutch little neighborhood area, but we are far from the tourist hot spots so there’s no familiar food place, everything is new. Which is great but when you get to the point of just needing food, it’s not fun googling “restaurants near me” and having to scroll through all of the restaurants, just to find one we like, to then see if it’s walking distance and open. One night avrey and I seriously just decided to start walking and hope for the best. Came across a pizza place and were like “great this is perfect”. We ordered a margarita pizza… got a cheese pizza though? And 2 sprites… which btw all of the soda here is typically “no sugar”. The pizza was actually perfect size for us to split, but it was like a pizza inspired thin crisp hahaha. And we washed it down with no sugar sprite… I think I’m going to lose weight here… and not because I’m trying to!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    4 am bedtimes

    June 11, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Friday night I accidentally went to bed at 4am (worked out at 3am though thanks to the 24/7 gym!) and then woke up Saturday to avrey knocking on my door telling me it was 2:30 pm! Oops! Jet lag got me I guess… late start to the day but ave vi and I went into the city to find the ies center and grab some coffee and food. We honestly did get lost in the city, but it was seriously so fun and BEAUTIFUL. Once we decided we were just hungry and ready to eat we started to focus haha. We REALLY just wanted to find a place that had both- iced coffee and food. Iced coffee alone is just really tough to find here, but when you do find it, it’s VERY good. So we ended up cutting our loses and eating some Chinese in Chinatown and then went for boba tea with espresso after. Love that tipping isn’t really a thing here, but hate that free water isn’t 😭 On our way back we stopped at a few stores- picked up some shampoo and conditioner from a shop in Amsterdam Centraal and got off the bus a stop early to run into Albert Heijn (the grocery store) to get a few things I forgot about. We walked back and started to get ready for the evening! A big group of people in my program all made plans to go to a club. It opened at 10 so at about 10 we caught a bus and took the metro to Coco’s!! Coco’s was very fun and we met people from Germany, UK, and even ran into some fellow Americans. Details of the night are blurry hahha but it was fun to get to know the people in my program!!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    all the time in the world!

    June 12, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Woke up at like noon in a ROUGH state. Sunday scaries! Had a really slow start to my morning but got showered and texted ave and vi to see if they wanted to grab food. There’s a place near by called “Anne and Max” and I looked up the times and they were open! So we headed there… well they looked closed and I think that’s what the sign in Dutch on the window said too. We kept walking and tried a place we had passed a few times called “Bagels and Beans”. So far the menu descriptions have been in English in all the places we’ve gone, but this menu is COMPLETELY Dutch and not many pictures or recognizable words. So thank you google translate technology for letting me just take a picture of the menu and translating it for me! I got the paddoburger which was a mushroom burger with Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lettuce, and truffle mayo on a sesame seed bagel. It was very good!! I also got iced coffee (YAY!) which they blend up like a frappe, but it’s so smooth and frothy and not crunchy icey if that makes sense. The rest of the day I just did whatever! The windows in our rooms are so huge and open up fully and I love just having them open!! Plus AC is not common here so it’s nice to just have a bit of air flow! I stretched, learned a sideline, and went to the gym too! Then ave vi and I met up with hunter for a bit and then ordered a papa johns garden party pizza… never knew I liked sweet corn on my pizza until today! Again, it’s smaller portions but it was perfect size to split for us! Turned on some Dutch TV for a bit and heading to bed since tmrw is the 1st day of classes!!Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    new normals

    June 13, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I LOVE my classes so far. My first class is my “sex and science: Dutch medicine and intersexuality” course. Just as expected, its SO interesting and so eye-opening as well. Our classes are in, natural sunlit rooms, windows open, circle desk set up. It feels like book club or an open academic discussion. The classes are 3 hours long, but we are given breaks. There’s a kitchen with tea and coffee that’s free for us to use as well. These first few days, I’m feeling anxious to get into a routine and feeling anxious to just get going and “experiencing”. After my first day of class, a few friends and I went and did some shopping which was just a short walk away. The city still feels so big to me, but it’s definitely beneficial having classes right in de wallen. After school and shopping, I was mentally drained and honestly feeling a little overwhelmed. So I ran around where I am living. It’s so odd to have sights of pigeons and seagulls all in the same run. The area I live in is very “up and coming” so it has notes of industrial vibes but a 5 min walk away and you are in the heart of houthavens. A park, lots of families with lots of children, groceries, small shops, active people. It’s all SO clean and public transportation is so nice. The days here are so long and I love being able to exhaust all the daylight. “Hot girl walks” are a daily thing :)Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    daily life- classes day 2

    June 14, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It’s only the second day of classes. The class I had today was “gender and sexuality in the context of Amsterdam”. That class very much foreshadowed how the rest of my evening would go. Starting my morning in the city was so refreshing. Amsterdam on weekday mornings is definitely “locals” time. Busy busy bike lanes and laid back foot traffic. all of the cafes and restaurants baking their bread for the day. All of the coffeeshops already getting baked for the day. After class I came back and went to Anne and Max for some coffee and food with friends. Portions are small here so a double coffee order is a must. I’m not a big hot coffee gal, but cold coffee is tough to find and be satisfied with. I’m learning to love an oat milk cappuccino. Grocery shopping is becoming a daily thing. Thankful for fresh food with very limited preservatives… but WOW is it hard to keep up when my food only lasts a few days! I was much better with this shopping trip and ended up getting things that I’m more likely to enjoy. We then had an IES borrel, 1st round on them (beer wine or cider) So of course we all got the largest cider we could. Snacks were good, but I’m not sure yet that I’m a “bitterballen” girl! After that drink we all ordered another round, and then avrey, violet, eloise and I decided to continue our evening and go check out the red light district which was a few streets over.Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    red light district- TW// sex

    June 14, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    after some liquid courage we decided it was only right for us to explore the red light district. I mean we have to do it at some point… what are we waiting on? So we start out stroll, even though it’s later in the evening, it’s still not really late enough for the true window girls to be out but there’s definitely some there! We went into the erotic museum, which weirdly enough was a great intro into the red light district. It was all just art about sex which is a little easier to digest than just sex alone. Unfortunately they did not take museumkaart’s and no student discounts. So we PAID to see the historical erotic art. After that, we went next door and read the sign of “live sex show”. The ticket was 50€ but included 2 drinks. Before we could even logically think about it we all just said “oh my gosh let’s do it”. We ended up getting 3 drinks thanks to the drink tickets found on the bathroom floor. Watched the show and decided that we will never go back, but glad to say I’ve done it!! One time is enough for those types of things!! Welcome to Amsterdam xxxRead more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    Delft Blue and White

    June 17, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We visited the city of Delft in the Netherlands. So so cute and village-like. I painted my own porcelain tile which I was really proud of!! I wouldn’t consider myself a very creative or artistically talented person so when I do something artsy I’m automatically proud!!! It was a SUPER warm day, but we strolled around and learned about the history of delft (slightly dark history), and had a yummy lunch right near the center square, ice cream, and stopped to get raisin bread at the city’s 1st bakery. Everything in this city is a little photo op and much slower paced than Amsterdam (as expected).Read more

  • Elena EberwineStudy Abroad in AmsterdamTraveler

    last day blues

    July 22, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    welll… I’ve been dreading this day since before I even left. I hate to say that it’s actually worse than I expected. I knew I would love it and I knew I would make unforgettable memories and gain so much independence. I didn’t however expect to build so many friendships here. Friendships that’s I’m REALLY sad to leave. The IES center staff, the professors, and especially the friends I’ve made here. On a brighter note, I feel SO proud of myself. I know my potential and I’m really proud that I met and exceeded my potential and growth here. This entire experience has been so rich and precious that I wish I could jar all my euphoric feelings up and remember those feelings forever!! Taking my last stroll with avrey through the city today, I felt SO jealous of the tourists who just arrived to Amsterdam. I’m definitely leaving a piece of my heart here in the Netherlands and can’t help but think about when I’m coming back. Until next time Amsterdam. Thank you for being so good to me! 🇳🇱❤️Read more

    Trip end
    July 23, 2022
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