Biking in Amsterdam

Being in Amsterdam was amazing, but what made it even better was the program itself. The IES center staff was wonderful, and was always there to help if we needed it. They helped us rent bikes during the first few days in the city, which to me, was an essential part of the experience. I loved my bike, and biking helped foster a relationship between me and the other girls in the program, especially my roommate. My roommate did not know how to ride a bike, so for the first two weeks, she and I took my bike out into the pathways around the apartment complex that we lived in, and I helped her learn. Now she can always say that she learned how to ride a bike in Amsterdam. Biking was also an essential part of the classroom experience to me. I took two classes in the program, a literature course and an art history course. Both instructors brought us to places around the city (or occasionally, around the country) about once a week. Whenever we were going to somewhere in the city for class, a group of my friends and I would bike there, occasionally with the instructors. It brought us closer together and closer to the city itself.