Lillian Wu, CGIS Peer Advisor: Can you introduce yourself, please?
Emily Wilkins: My name is Emily Wilkins, I’m majoring in Program in the Environment (PITE), I use she/her pronouns. I went last winter to Amsterdam through the Social Sciences in the Netherlands program.
LW: What made you interested in studying abroad versus doing another semester at U-M?
EW: I never thought that I wouldn’t study abroad. I grew up in a family that really valued travel and trying new things. I didn’t know, necessarily, if I’d study abroad in the summer versus in the semester, but I knew I wanted that unique exchange experience.
LW: How did you get interested in the program in Amsterdam?
EW: I was looking for an authentic European city experience, and for an option that would count for my major. I narrowed it down to Amsterdam and Barcelona, and the more research I did, the more I thought I’d identify with the Dutch way of living. Cycling everywhere, being independent, living in an environmentally friendly city.
LW: What was a typical day in your life like over there? What was your day to day schedule?
EW: I would wake up and cycle 7 miles to my university. I’d have one class, walk to the grocery store and grab something for lunch, go to my next class. Then I’d spend all afternoon biking around, maybe going to a museum and studying in a cafe for a little bit. I’d go to the park if the weather was nice. Around dinner time, I’d cycle the 7 miles home.
LW: Are there any local activities you’d recommend?
EW: My advice is to enjoy the parks. Find a terrace in a park, sit there and people watch. I liked journaling as well. It does rain a lot, so if the outdoors are out of commission, there are some very nice museums. I recommend the Wereld Museum, which is a decolonial museum. There are street art museums in the north, too.
LW: How was the academic experience different than at U-M?
EW: I took Business & Sustainability in the Netherlands, Social Policy, Dutch Public Health, and Intro to Dutch. My classes were split between program specific classes taught by CIEE faculty and classes through the University of Amsterdam. The CIEE classes felt a lot like highschool, being with 20 other other Americans and having a lot of assignments to do. The university classes were organized as lecture and discussion, but felt different from at Michigan because they were more theoretical.
LW: What was the housing like?
EW: Housing was provided, which was good because Amsterdam has a housing crisis. I lived in a kind of student hotel, where I had my own room and bathroom and a shared kitchen. There was a common area, laundry room, study areas, cafe, pool table. Everything was quite nice except for the distance from my campus. But there were 4 or 5 housing locations, all different from each other. My housing provided a free bike on the first day, though.
LW: Did you know anyone in the program before going?
EW: No. There were around 20 to 25 Michigan students, out of 100 total in the program, so we made up a big percentage.
LW: Is there a story or an anecdote that you’d like to share that still sticks with you?
EW: Yes, there are two! Around Amsterdam, you’ll see bikes everywhere. But mostly around the center of the city, you’ll also see these decorated bikes with flowers and colors—they’re art pieces and no one really knows how they got there. I started learning about this mystery bike man who would make them. One day, I was sitting by the canal, journaling, and an older man came and sat next to me. We started speaking in Dutch. I was trying to be polite and to learn the language. I learned that he’s not Dutch, but from Florida, and then I learned that he’s the one who’s been making these art pieces. I’ve been observing his bikes around the city during the whole semester, and now, two weeks before I leave, I met the artist who made them! We ended up talking for 30, 40 minutes about all kinds of things. That chance encounter and really nice conversation really sticks with me.
My second story is that I started learning Dutch on my own time when I was abroad, because I wanted to be immersed even more than I was in my language class at university. I became good friends with a local, and we’d hang out once a week or so. In the last week of my program, he asked how my Dutch was going. I was like, oh, I don’t know, it’s only been three months. But he was very patient, and we ended up having my first real conversation in Dutch. I surprised myself by knowing more of the language than I had expected. It was out of my comfort zone, but he was really accommodating by using simpler vocabulary, and we spoke for a really long time. It motivated me to continue learning, and I’m still learning Dutch today.
LW: What are you most proud of doing while you were?
EW: I’m proud of getting over the fear of messing up my Dutch when speaking and using it whenever I could: if I was ordering something at a cafe, or choosing the Dutch audio guide at a museum, knowing I wouldn’t understand the majority of it. Getting over the fear of pronouncing things wrong or not being understood by locals was a big jump. There’s no point in waiting until the last week.
LW: If you’re willing to share, do you feel that there's any part of your identity that shaped your experience abroad?
EW: I ended up connecting with different international students abroad; the majority of my friends that I made were from different countries. A lot of people had perceptions of Americans. But I came with a mixed background—Spanish is my first language—so I had that identity, already knowing how to navigate multiple countries and different beliefs. I think my mixed cultural background helped me connect with more people. I was secure in that, and I think I saw myself in other people, too.
LW: What was the biggest challenge you faced while abroad?
EW: I think biking 14 miles every day took some getting used to, but after a few weeks, I did. I think the biggest challenge was in the first month with meeting people. I didn’t quickly form a group of friends and stick with them the whole time. I kept going to international student events, though, and reached out to people, and over time, I had some very good friendships. It was a mental struggle at first, especially having left friends behind at Michigan who I was really, really close with.
LW: Were there any strategies that helped you manage that homesick feeling?
EW: I was calling my family regularly, but now and then, I’d feel a moment of homesickness. Having my first birthday without them was tough. I also would miss random things about the US, like specific restaurants, my mom’s food, backyard barbecues. Staying in touch with my family definitely helped, figuring out the 9 hour time difference; we’d call a couple of times a week, in the evening for me and the morning for them.
LW: What do you think you'll remember most about your experience in 20 years?
EW: I think the way that I took control of my situation, being independent and maximizing every day I had there. I think that sense of agency, planning my day with classes and then deciding to, for example, just bike west and see where I end up.
LW: Was there anything else that you wanted to add about your experience in mind?
EW: I liked traveling on the weekends. I really liked the ease of travel to different parts of the country; the Netherlands has a really good public transportation system, as well as good bike lanes. Being able to take a bus or a train or a flight to so many other countries, too, was another reason why I chose Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a hub to many places. The ease of travel to different parts of the country, good bike lanes and public transportation. Both within and to other countries. Another reason why I chose Amsterdam, it’s a travel hub.
Have questions for Emily? Reach out to her at emkwilks@umich.edu. Explore all CGIS programs here!
