Studying abroad is easy to measure by the places you go and the things you learn. You remember the museums, the train rides, the cities you visit, the essays you write, and the readings you finish. But looking back on my time in the Netherlands, I think the part that will stay with me most has very little to do with where we went. It has everything to do with the people I met along the way.
From Strangers to “Amsterdames”
Before coming to Amsterdam, I wondered what our group would be like. You can meet people on the first day of a study abroad program and immediately get along, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become close. There is always that little uncertainty of wondering who you’ll still be talking to once the program ends. Somehow, though, the distance between us disappeared almost immediately.
Back in Pittsburgh, my academic life can feel very compartmentalized. I go to class, take notes, I go to work, finish my assignments, and move on to whatever comes next. Here, there was almost no separation between the classroom and the rest of our lives. We were learning together and then immediately experiencing something new together. We could spend the morning discussing 17th-century anatomical specimens at Museum Vrolik and then spend the afternoon laughing over lunch or figuring out where we were supposed to catch our train. We visited Leiden and Den Haag together, wandered through museums, got lost in cities, and learned how to navigate a country that was completely new to us. I think that constant shared experience is what brought us together.
There was also something uniquely bonding about being somewhere unfamiliar. We were all figuring things out at the same time – new transportation systems, different cultural norms, unfamiliar cities, and sometimes pretty heavy academic conversations. We were able to be curious together, but we were also able to be vulnerable together. Somewhere along the way, a group of girls who didn’t know each other ended up having all these incredible memories in such a short amount of time.
And now, looking at our group chat “Amsterdames”, it’s almost funny how quickly it happened. We went from introducing ourselves to talking every day, making plans for our weekends, and eventually making promises that we have to hang out when we’re back at Pitt. We started counting down the weeks until we’d see each other again in Oakland.
Mentorship Beyond the Classroom
Our professors, Dr. Jeff Aziz and Dr. Uma Satyavolu Rau, were another huge part of what made this experience feel so different from a traditional semester. Our conversations continued outside of lectures and assignments. We talked about Rembrandt while walking through Amsterdam, discussed readings over lunch, and explored museums and cities together. The academic material never felt completely separate from the experience itself.
But what made our relationships with Jeff and Uma meaningful wasn’t just how much they taught us. It was how much they cared about us. They put so much thought and energy into making this program meaningful. They treated us like students, but also like people. They created an environment where we could ask questions, be ourselves, and feel supported even when we were far from home.
We will remember the museums, the train rides, the cities, the readings, and the ridiculous amount of walking. But we’ll also remember the people who made us feel safe, supported, and seen while we were experiencing all of it. That is a kind of mentorship that extends far beyond a syllabus.
Finding Community Outside Our Cohort
Our community wasn’t limited to our program, either. Some of my favorite moments came from the small interactions I had with people outside of it like the hotel receptionists, museum staff, curators, and people we encountered simply while moving through the city. Living somewhere, even temporarily, gives you a different perspective than visiting as a tourist. You start paying attention to the little things: how people communicate, how they interact with strangers, and what they seem to value in everyday life.
One of the sweetest reminders that community can come from the most unexpected places happened during our final week in Amsterdam. A group of students from UC Santa Cruz arrived for their own study abroad program just as ours was coming to an end. We didn’t have much time together, but we started communicating through messages we left for each other on our whiteboards. What started as a few little notes quickly turned into actual conversations, and before long, we were making plans to hang out after our classes.
It was funny to think that we had spent weeks building our own little community, only to meet another group right when we were getting ready to leave. We ended up spending time together outside of class, talking about our different study abroad experiences and exploring Amsterdam together. Even in our last week, when we were already thinking about going home, Amsterdam still managed to introduce us to new people.
What Belonging Taught Me
One of the most interesting things about this program was seeing how quickly a sense of belonging could develop. We didn’t need years of shared history to become close. We needed shared experiences, a common purpose, space to be ourselves, and people who were willing to communicate openly. That feels especially significant to me because this experience was temporary. We knew from the beginning that there was an end date. And yet, knowing that something would end didn’t make the relationships any less meaningful. If anything, it made us more intentional about appreciating them while we had them.
Leaving Amsterdam, I’m taking home much more than six credits or a deeper understanding of medical humanities. I’m leaving with friendships I hope will last far beyond this summer, professors who have become mentors, and a new understanding of what it means to build community somewhere completely unfamiliar.
Amsterdam taught me a lot about medicine, history, art, and culture. But perhaps the most important thing it taught me is that sometimes the people you meet along the way become the most important part of the journey.
