After two days of being back in Pittsburgh, I’m really starting to miss the Netherlands. I miss walking through the city and seeing beautiful aquamarine canals lined with historic homes and cute cafes with every turn. I miss the level of quiet that can only be achieved by replacing cars with bicycles. I miss hearing people talk in a dozen different languages every day. But, more than anything, I really miss the students I traveled with – all 23 of them.
I was only in the Netherlands for 2 weeks. However, every day was so jam-packed that it felt much longer. We spent the first week in Amsterdam and the second in Rotterdam. These two cities were vastly different at first glance: Amsterdam’s city center is hundreds of years old and a large tourist attraction while Rotterdam is still being rebuilt from massive bombing during World War 2 and is therefore a modern city. As I got to know both cities better, I started to see the similarities between them and the rest of Holland. Both cities were melting pots with over 50% of their population having been born in countries other than the Netherlands. In both cities, every resident has a bike and tends to use it more than their car (in fact, there are more bicycles in the Netherlands than there are people).
Every street in Amsterdam’s city center looked something like the image above. The facades of all of the buildings are national monuments and cannot be changed.
The photograph above shows Rotterdam, which is much more modern than most other cities in the Netherlands. Rotterdam was once the largest port in the world. Today, it is still the largest port in Europe.
During my time in the Netherlands, I went on about 15 site visits (both cultural and business) with my group. We visited a wide variety of businesses: from a small chocolate shop in Amsterdam to a huge chemical manufacturer to the world’s largest distributor of flowers to the first ever floating farm and many more. During each of these company visits, our faculty had us focus on two major ideas: concept to customer and sustainability. We thought about how each company fit into its product’s supply chain and whether it was more on the conceptual or the finished product end – or somewhere in the middle. For example, the chocolate shop was very much on the finished product end. It was a retailer of chocolates made all over the world. In the supply chain of chocolate, their job is to bring lots of kinds of chocolates together and promote them to the customer. On the other hand, the chemical company we visited, Nouryon, was closer to the concept end. This company produces chemicals that are sold to other businesses and used in their final products. So, at each of our site visits, we were all challenged to consider where we envision ourselves being in a supply chain in the future. I’m still not entirely sure what role I want to play, but, after this study abroad experience, I have a better idea of what my options are.
Also at our site visits, we learned about how the companies operate sustainably and successfully. The Dutch really prioritize sustainability, so every company that we visited was able to outline specific measures they have taken to lessen their carbon footprint and the waste they create. One company that was particularly sustainable was the Floating Farm. This business really started as an experiment just 5 years ago, but it has been successful enough that they now hope to expand. This dairy farm is floating because it is designed to withstand flooding, a common issue in the Netherlands. Additionally, all of their raw materials are sourced from within the city of Rotterdam. They feed their cows using beer stock from local breweries and grass from Rotterdam’s largest soccer club, and the resulting milk is sold to consumers and businesses in the Rotterdam area. This circular farming practice reduces transportation costs (both monetary and environmental) significantly compared to large dairy corporations. It was really cool to see how this business and the others we visited are so focused on sustainability while also making profits, and I definitely hope to use the sustainable mindset and some of the ideas I saw in the Netherlands throughout my academic and professional careers.
This is the Floating Farm, designed to operate successfully in the event of a flood. It also receives all of its electricity from the solar panels they placed just beside the farm.
In addition to gaining academic knowledge, I feel that I was able to grow professionally as a result of the company visits I attended. I had the opportunity to meet with a bunch of Dutch professionals from a variety of industries and talk to them in small groups and one-on-one. I got to ask questions and learn more about their careers and lives abroad. Consequently, I now feel more comfortable talking to professionals whom I do not already know.
Of course, I learned a lot about the Netherlands while I was abroad, too! We went to numerous museums: the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank Huis, the Our Lord in the Attic museum, the Watersnoodmuseum, and the Zuiderzeemuseum. I learned a lot about Dutch history and culture at these museums, but I also learned a lot about the Dutch just from living there. For example, I learned that they ride bikes everywhere and eat sandwiches every day for lunch (and I mean every day). They don’t give out free refills, and they usually charge for water. Some of the Dutch love Americans, and some have a terrible stereotypical image of us. I hope that I was able to change at least one person’s perspective on Americans! In all seriousness, I noticed a lot of cultural differences: some good (windmills being everywhere) and some bad (everyone smokes).
Finally, this program helped me grow personally because it pushed me out of my comfort zone. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to do Plus3 for a couple of reasons. I was really worried about traveling without my family by my side, and I did not know any of the other students in the program very well. Now, I am really glad that I decided to do this program. I made a lot of really close friends very quickly on this trip. Spending two weeks with a person really forces you to get to know each other, and I honestly feel like I know all 23 of my classmates very well now! Also, this trip helped me realize that I am capable of traveling without my parents. By going to the Netherlands, I forced myself to navigate foreign cities, and I am really glad that I did. I feel that this trip changed me for the better.
I am incredibly grateful for this experience for so many reasons. It helped me grow in multiple different ways. It gave me a lot of amazing memories, and it brought me some amazing new friends. Dank je wel for reading!
