Making The Most of November
Written for Nov. 13 - Nov. 27, 2022
Back to Amsterdam
As I took an 8 hour Flixbus back to Amsterdam from Paris, I thought I was simply tired from my long week. By the time I arrived at my apartment, I was completely sick and I spent the next two straight days in bed with a horrible cold. The rest of my week was mostly spent recovering from my sickness, but I did attend the first classes for the second period of my Visual Storytelling program. During this second period, we are shifting focus from photography and branding to film and advertising. I will be creating a short fiction film with a small group and an advertising campaign with another group based on the rebranding project I did before. I will also have separate classes to analyze films, practice film skills, create a short documentary, and use graphic design to create advertisements. Needless to say, this period is going to be more intense than the first.
What makes things extra complicated is that I return to Arizona at the end of December right after Christmas but my program here in Amsterdam continues until late January. Therefore, I will have to finish my Amsterdam studies online while simultaneously starting my spring semester in Arizona. Hopefully, I can take on more of the work in the group projects early on in the process so then I can do less of the work while traveling, moving, and starting the next semester back home.
IDFA
Towards the end of my sick week, I decided to go see a film documentary because I wanted to catch the end of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) before it ended that weekend. The film I saw was at the EYE Film Museum so I got there early to see some of the museum and enjoy a snack in their beautiful restaurant overlooking Amsterdam’s waterfront IJ before I went in. The documentary Inside My Heart by Saskia Boddeke was about a professional theater group for actors with disabilities. I enjoyed watching how the filmmaker decided to blend footage from rehearsals, interviews, and performances together to portray the confusion some of the actors feel between what is reality and what is fiction.
A Cold Weekend
After my hip hop class — which I still adore attending — I went with my friends Viola and Acelya to the Tropenmuseum which is not too far from our university buildings. I had been wanting to visit this museum because there is a World Press Photo special exhibition about African photojournalism currently on display there. I strayed away from my friends and spent most of the time in this exhibition. Once the museum closed, Viola and I went to Wagamamas, an Asian food chain restaurant that a friend introduced me to in London. Fun fact: I always get horribly sick when I eat any kind of Asian food in the US, but I can eat it just fine in Europe.
On Sunday, I was finally starting to feel better, but it was below freezing temperatures all day. I joined Viola and Acelya again to go to the IJ Hallen market in the NDSM part of Amsterdam. I went to this biggest flea market in Europe with a few friends back in September, but this time it was mostly inside a large warehouse. Despite the cold, we spent a few hours digging through the gems at each booth and had fun exploring the labyrinth of aisles.
New Professors
Going into the second period of our semester, we have a few new professors who we met this week. These new professors are here to teach advertising concepts where we create a large advertising campaign, film storytelling where we analyze films, and film projects where we work with groups to create a short film. They each have quite unique personalities and teaching styles that are much different than what we are used to from the first period.
My First Christmas Market
Since the end of our time abroad is quickly approaching, my friends and I have decided to start meeting up during the week to have fun rather than only on weekends. This week, Lucas, Silje, Açeyla and I piled into an Uber and arrived at Kasteel De Haar just outside the city of Utrecht. Silje had heard about a Christmas market being held outside of the castle. We first did a walk-through tour inside the medieval castle. This was extra fun with Lucas because he loves all things history and wanted to know everything about the place. After exploring the castle, we walked through a maze of market stalls full of Christmas decor, food, and gifts. We bought hot chocolate, mulled wine, and kibbeling — a typical Dutch street food that consists of deep-fried fish pieces. Christmas music played throughout the market and there was even a live folk band around the food stands. There was an instance when we stood together near a fire, eating our kibbeling and listening to the band, where we all collectively agreed this was a truly special moment. This event brought me so much joy because I adore Christmas and this was the most Christmassy event I had ever been to. After catching an Uber back to our apartment building, Silje, Açeyla, and I watched The Holiday together to keep the Christmas spirit going.
Anne Frank House
After living in Amsterdam for over three months, I finally visited one of the most famous locations in the city: the Anne Frank House. I met my friends Viola and Açelya there and met Viola’s friend, Georgie, from Australia. We walked through the tour and listened to the free audio guides as we walked into each room. It was a strange experience to be in such a historic location that showcases one of the many tragic stories of the second world war while also doubling as a known tourist attraction. I had never entirely learned about Anne Frank’s full story, so I was appreciative of the emotional educational experience. It was surreal to be able to connect some of the events of WWII to the areas in Amsterdam that I now know well.
European Thanksgiving
I haven’t struggled a ton with homesickness, but when Thanksgiving came around, I was quite sad I was not with my family. The food we eat on Thanksgiving in the US is not available here in the Netherlands either, so I felt very far away from home. My American friends, Luc and Lucas, asked in a group chat if we wanted to try having dinner together because they were also feeling bummed about missing the American holiday. We each planned to bring or make something close enough to traditional Thanksgiving food. I invited the third NAU student in Amsterdam, Sarah, to join us for dinner as well since she is in my program and my classes. We had a few people from other countries like Germany, England, and Norway join us as well because they were curious about this foreign holiday. I made mac and cheese from scratch since it doesn’t exist here but was always at my family Thanksgiving. Before I left for this friendsgiving, I made sure to facetime my mom and sisters who were all together doing the same things they do every year while also waiting for my dad to come home from work. We had two rotisserie chickens, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread rolls, and wine for our dinner attempt. We went around the table and stated what we were thankful for and compared cultural traditions as we ate. Even though I wasn’t having a Thanksgiving I’m used to, I was grateful for this special experience with my friends from abroad.
