England & Netherlands : Janiessa Grady (Food in Amsterdam)

Food in Amsterdam 

By the time I arrived in Amsterdam, I was already slightly accustomed to the process of entering and learning to live in a foreign city. However, One barrier I had to learn to get over almost immediately was the language. In the Netherlands, everyone speaks Dutch and English, but the primary form of language was generally Dutch. Most people are very friendly about offering English to you upon asking. However, I did have instances where I had to figure out how to effectively communicate with someone else since we did not speak a common language.

Again, the Dutch food was something I had to adjust to. The seasonings were something I had to get used to as I grew up in a Southeast Asian household. One thing that did surprise me about Amsterdam though was the strong Southeast Asian population there. Due to that, I would often find myself eating lunch or dinner at family-owned Asian restaurants. The familiar tastes and formalities of these restaurants helped me remedy the homesickness I was feeling during this time. Anjali, Shruthi, Isabella, and I loved the food in Amsterdam! There were always so many options to choose from. We did, however, have a favorite restaurant to eat at. It was Fiaschetteria. A tiny shoebox sized restaurant right off one of the main streets in Amsterdam. The restaurant is family owned, and the pasta was always amazing. I always got the truffle pasta, and everytime I ate it was a euphoric experience. The servers were always so kind, and fun to talk to so we easily found ourselves back there. After dinner, we would get gelato at a chocolaterie shop just around the corner. The gelato was the cherry on top of a phenomenal dinner. My time in Amsterdam was wonderful, but the food I was able to have there made it so much more wonderful!

 

Janiessa Grady

Major: Global Health

Hometown: Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin

Program: CIEE Summer Comparative Public Health Systems [London + Amsterdam]

One professional goal I have for this program is being able to expand my perspective of public health. Through this program, I will be able to examine the different approaches to public health in two different countries. Being able to visit two countries all under one program is so cool! This aspect of the program really stood out to me, and I’m excited for the unique opportunities I will have because of it.