A Day in Amsterdam

Hey everybody! We have a little more than a month left here in Amsterdam, which is crazy to think about. This semester has been amazing, and I thought this would be a good time to do a day in the life post! 

I started my day by doing some readings for my Behavior and the Brain: Addiction class since we had a lecture later. All of the housing options have great places to study, but where I live has a cafe/restaurant in the lobby where you can relax, hang out with friends, or do work. It’s a great place to do some homework since it doesn’t have the stressful environment of the library, but it’s a low-distraction place.

I made a sandwich for lunch before going into Centraal. King’s Day is this Saturday (4/26), and it’s a rule that you have to wear orange. My friends and I decided we were going to DIY our outfits, and I bought a pair of white jeans that I planned on embroidering. However, I severely underestimated how much orange thread I was going to need, so I headed to a craft store to buy more. Luckily, it was right by Westerkerk and the Anne Frank house, which was where we were meeting for the IES Abroad Book Lovers Tour. 

There were about ten of us who all loved to read, and our first stop was the Homomonument. It’s right outside the Westerkerk and commemorates those who were persecuted because of their sexual orientation. The quote inscribed which translates to “such an endless desire for friendship,” was written by Jacob Israel de Haan, a Dutch Jewish poet. He lived from the late 1800s to the early 1900s and his life was very intense but the monument represents the Netherlands, and specifically Amsterdam's commitment to queer history.

The next stop was the Ambassade Hotel, where many authors stay while on book tours in Amsterdam. Apparently, they have a signed copy of a book from every author who has ever stayed there, and you can see some of them in the cafe on the ground floor. We did not go inside, but it is definitely on the list of places my friends and I want to go to. And of course, no Amsterdam book experience is complete without visiting Spui, a street in Amsterdam that has several English book stores. It’s a great area with a bunch of cafes, restaurants, bars, and of course, book stores. If you’re looking for a specific book, you’ll most likely find it in Spui. 

Our last stop was the OBA Oosterdok. OBA is the public library in Amsterdam, and they have multiple locations throughout the city, but Oosterdok is located right by Centraal Station and IES Abroad Amsterdam. It’s massive and is always busy with a rooftop terrace and cafe to see the entire city from. The view is gorgeous and is definitely worth going to at least once in your time in Amsterdam. We had coffee, tea, and hot chocolate before we all went our separate ways.

I sadly had to leave early because I had a lecture. So I rode by bike through the city to Vrije Universiteit, which is located in Zuid (South). The VU is very different from my home university, with over 30,000 students, while Brandeis has 3,500. So the student population is almost 10x bigger. This pretty much ensures that there is always a line of people for the elevator to get up the15 15-story building. Luckily for me, my lecture was on the second floor, so I took the stairs to the giant lecture hall. 

I ended the day working on my King’s Day pants and meeting up with my friends. It was pretty much a typical day in Amsterdam: doing homework, exploring the city, and going to class. I hope you have some idea of what studying abroad is like and enjoyed this post. I hope you all have a great end to the semester!