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| The view from MacDonald's window in Amsterdam. |
Summer in Europe--Entry 1
Photographs and text by R. Jon MacDonald
Related Links:
Background
Information
The
European Summer School
Oberlin-in-Europe Euro Summer
School
Before Classes Begin--We flew into Amsterdam on June 11 and managed to find our hostel. To our surprise, it was in the heart of the Red Light District. After we got over the initial thrill of being beckoned to by half-naked ladies behind glass windows (trust me, it’s not all that exciting), we were able to let loose and start having a great time doing what the locals do best--anything they want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. By the end of the first day, I decided to make the most of the trip and immerse myself in local culture.
During the four days I spent in Amsterdam, my eyes were opened to the world. (I had never been out of the U.S. before this program.) Sure, I did the usual tourist activities--touring the Heineken Brewery, visiting the Van Gogh and Rijks museums and canal gazing, but it was hanging out at the bar below our hostel that provided the most interesting experiences of the trip. The Dutch people love to practice their English, which meant there was always a conversation to be had with someone new.
Following a tip from some fellow student travelers, we took a train to Brussels, in Belgium. They were right--Brussels turned out to be a great city. After some lengthy searching--and lugging the women’s luggage around--we managed to find a hostel. The French-speaking owner immediately took us in after Hayley, the group's French/German major and savior, told him about our dilemma. We found a beautiful square located near the center of the city, and a local festival--complete with an orchestra and vendors selling pastry and beer. We sat down to watch the locals and it started raining, but no one left and the orchestra didn’t stop, so we decided to stay. That's when it hit me--I was sitting in the middle of the rain in one of the most beautiful places I had ever been, listening to an orchestra, and watching the locals dance to the music of James Brown. I was having the experience of a lifetime.
A few days later we met up with the rest of the group (headed up by Professor Cleeton) at the airport in Brussels. Meeting the rest of the group was great; there were six students from Oberlin, two from Kenyon and one from Denison. We took a bus to Maastricht, a small city in the southern tip of Holland, where we would begin classes.
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| The Oberlin-in-Europe group. |
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