A Few Unreal Moments
Written on Sept. 11, 2022
Where were you when you found out Queen Elizabeth II died?
I was sitting in a lecture hall listening to a chaotic, three hour presentation about Dutch culture from two drunk women and a quirky professor dressed in an orange suit. They were all trying to share one lapel microphone at the same time and explain parts of their culture to the room of exchange students. My friend sitting beside me got a text from her mom saying that the Queen of England had passed away. We immediately started fact checking online.
When we realized it was true, we weren’t sure how to process it. At that moment in the lecture hall, we were the only ones who knew the Queen had passed. Unaware of the news, the lecturers told us we would be getting free samples of delicious Dutch snacks. They first gave us Dutch licorice and some other candy. However, this was a set up — these were the most vile things I had ever tasted. They even recorded our reactions to the salty and sour sweets. We were still focused on the Queen, so trying to switch focus to this felt ridiculous. After passing out other snacks such as stroopwaffles and ginger bread, they gave us “Dutch drinks,” AKA, Heinekin beer. When they were teaching us how the Dutch do drink cheers, my other friend beside me said, “Long live the Queen,” and we all lost it. The whole evening felt surreal. Needless to say, I will always remember where I was when I learned about the Queen’s death.
Besides the previous insane chain of events, I did learn a few things about Dutch culture:
There are 22 million bicycles in the Netherlands and they have the world’s highest bicycle density.
The windmills and dikes across the country are used for drainage to pump water out of the lowlands. If these flood control measures ever stopped, the majority of the Netherlands would be underwater within 12 hours because over half of the country is under sea level.
The Netherlands consumes the most coffee in Europe at an average of 8.3 kg per capita, which comes to about 4 cups of coffee a day. That is double the consumption of the US.
The Dutch are incredibly straightforward. Their blunt communication style may come as a shock to many because it comes across as rude or arrogant. However, their directness comes from their values of truthfulness and having the right to say what you want.
The tallest people in the world live in the Netherlands. The average height for men is 6ft and for women it’s 5ft 7in.
The Dutch invented gin (Jenever) and it is the national drink of Holland.
Holland is not just another word for the Netherlands. Holland is the combination of 2 out of the 12 provinces, Nord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (North and South Holland). Since most tourists visit locations within these 2 regions, they ignore the other 10 and just refer to the entire country as Holland.
The Start of my Program
My education this semester started a bit differently than it did for others. Instead of going to a classroom, listening to a lecture, and being assigned homework, the Visual Storytelling minor began with a field trip. I took a train to The Hague and met my professors and classmates at a hostel. There are 26 of us in the program and but only a handful of students are Dutch. We spent our first day in The Hague getting to know each other and walking around the city with our cameras. Our professors gave us a relaxed “assignment” to capture the character of The Hague in a diptych — a pair of associated images used to offset one another. I chose to photograph the two areas of The Hague that I visited. One area was within the city and full of locals while the other was at the beach and full of tourists.
My program is run by two professors who work very well together. Frank de Ruiter is a professional photographer with an extensive background in documentary and portrait photography, while Micha Struyck is an art director who focuses on branding, marketing, and editorial photography. I am beyond grateful to have two qualified professionals with different points of view to help all of us with the visual storytelling thought process.
Out of the 26 students on this trip, the majority of them don’t have experience with photography. Everyone in this program comes from diverse backgrounds and many of them are studying communication, marketing, or fashion. This meant that most didn’t know how to use their cameras while trying to complete the assignment. Still, I had fun getting to know everyone while getting ice cream, walking along the pier, going to the beach, and exploring the city center. Everyone I talked to was excited to be there and I think it will be pleasant working with them throughout the semester.
On the second day, we visited the Fotomuseum Den Haag to see the exhibition Parents. This gallery was filled with beautiful photographs that all revolved around photographers’ relationships with their parents. I loved how this exhibition demonstrated how photographers can have varied approaches about the same subject.
While I was in this museum, I started analyzing multiple photographs with one of my professors. We ended up talking for almost an hour about our backgrounds in photography, his teaching style, what I wanted to get out of the program, and being a professional photographer in today’s oversaturated market. He told me that I may have the most experience out of everyone in the program and that if I wanted to help teach other students about camera settings in class, I could. He also asked me to let him know if I ever felt like the future classes weren’t challenging enough so he could work with me to find more for me to do. For many, this wouldn’t be good news because that means more work. However, my goal is to work on creating a solid portfolio while I’m here to launch the beginning of my career. For me, the assignments are not about grades, they are an opportunity to push myself. I’m incredibly thankful that my professor is willing to work with me and help make this program beneficial.
Weekend markets
On Saturday, I went with a few friends to IJ-Hallen — the biggest flea market in Europe. This massive market had lots of random items and clothing in an area north of the city center covered in mural and graffiti art. I was tempted to buy a film camera because of how many camera stands there were, but I ended up only leaving with a cute sweater. Afterward, we met a few other friends at the Albert Cuypmarkt in De Pijp. This street market had plenty of food options, flowers, produce, artwork, and souvenirs. We were quickly sold and were already planning a trip to come back another time. We got to try poffertjes, a classic Dutch food, which are mini pancakes covered in powdered sugar. They may just be pancakes, but we were in heaven. My friends and I also tried treats from other vendors like gyros, smoothies, and Turkish flatbreads. After many hours of walking, we decided to sit in the grass of a nearby park to end this lovely outing. I’m so lucky to spend my weekends like this in such a beautiful and lively city. My new reality here hasn’t sunk in quite yet, but I do recognize how significant this time in my life is.
