amsterdam diaries: part 1

as I'm writing this, I've already decided to take a leave of absence from school to pursue more creative goals. my decision to leave in the middle of my semester abroad wasn't motivated by any negative experience in amsterdam. in fact, the time i've had here has been amazing so far. 

eating vegan in the netherlands isn't nearly as difficult as i'd anticipated. many meat and dairy substitutes i've had here have tasted even better than their american counterparts. for example, i always struggle to find dairy-free cheese that i like in america. surprisingly, the dutch have a bunch of vegan cheese options that are (in my opinion) even more delicious than daiya. 

another amazing thing about living in the netherlands: dutch people LOVE fries. they're also super into dipping sauces. the standard mustard-mayo sauce that usually comes dolloped on a paper cone full of fries is not vegan, but most french fry shops have at least five different sauce options, including barbeque, curry, peanut, and ketchup, which will always be my #1 bae. 

i'm lucky to live in a suite with some badass women! here's a pic of bridgette and marissa cradling our baby keg. heineken has monopolized the dutch beer industry to the extent that our college abroad program actually took us on a tour of the heineken brewery and bought us each three free drinks... apparently europeans love drinking a lot. 

during the tour, i was disappointed by the way heineken capitalized on animal labor. we were brought to a stable, where horses raised to distribute heineken through the city were kept in cramped closets, and only let out occasionally when needed for labor. the tour guide began to describe the "cultural importance" and "tradition" of using this outdated delivery method, which felt extremely othering to me. At this point, i was ready to boycott heineken and immediately walked out of the exhibit. 

i got my first tattoo in amsterdam! it's an orchid. there are over a thousand different species of orchids. they are incredibly diverse, but they can easily be reduced to another "exotic" flower, which is how i feel sometimes being mixed race. orchids also flourish well in a lot of wild areas, but are difficult to maintain in captivity. to me, this represents the freedom i want to embody in taking the steps to pursue my dreams.

xo,

hannah