Arrival
I touched down in Amsterdam and hit the ground running. After a quick train ride to The Hague, I bought a bus card and made my way to meet my landlady and roommates. Upon arriving, one of my roommates gave me a very in-depth orientation which even involved walking me down to the grocery store. My guide was so in-depth that he began to insist on walking me down to the next grocery store; however, sadly for my guide (not as sadly for me who was still trying to get my bearings) I had to make my next appointment and buy a local bike. I had identified a bike on The Netherlands equivalent to Craigslist (Marktplaats), and, after a short bus ride and brief inspection, I became the proud over of a vouwfiets (Dutch for folding bike). Riding the bike back, I saw The Hague in a completely different way. The dedicated bike lanes, the beautiful canals showing your reflection as you pass, and the old Dutch buildings lining your path – the city is best seen on a bike in the sunny, admittedly chilly (50 degrees Fahrenheit), weather.
The next morning I began my internship. Everyone in the office was very welcoming and passionate about their work. After brief introductions, I was given my first task: learn. In preparation for my longer summer project to come, they wanted me to spend the first week becoming well versed in the material I would be writing about. This meant reading the primers that their office produced on constitutional development and the pros and cons of different systems. After I finished the primers, I was assigned several constitutions to read and analyze for their parliamentary system of government (as opposed to the American Presidential system). After a whole semester of US Constitutional Law, it was both refreshing and fascinating to read constitutions with a different structure, and to analyze the ways that this structure changes the way the system functions and handles issues.
Because there is so much daylight in the Netherlands this time of year, I still had plenty of time to explore after work. Over the course of the week, I explored the shopping center to find a sim card, visited the beach, toured a few parks, and made plans to see much more. I am excited to see what I will learn and discover next week.