A Spring in Amsterdam

When I arrived in Amsterdam for my semester abroad, that was the first time I had ever been outside of the United States. I did not go into this program with any friends from my home university, so I was pretty nervous and overwhelmed the first couple days. I also was missing the second half of my swimming season back at home, so I knew that would be difficult to come to terms with as well. Within the first week of my time in the Netherlands however, I went to four museums, joined a Dutch swim team, and met students from around the world. Throughout the course of the semester, I learned how to adapt to my new surroundings and made many new friends. I was able to travel to Germany, Belgium, France, and Poland. I am a European History major, so all of that was very exciting for me. I learned to view the world through a different perspective and had many valuable conversations that challenged my previous perceptions. I gained so much from my time abroad and I am very grateful for my experience.