Before heading overseas to the Netherlands this summer, I was extremely nervous because I had never done anything like this before. My fears grew when I learned that while in the Netherlands, we would be biking to and from class three days a week. As embarrassing as this is to admit, I had never learned to ride a bike growing up. So I immediately became fearful of this aspect of the trip and strongly considered pulling out. But I practiced a few times before going on the trip, and I thought how hard could it be? Once arriving in the Netherlands and spending a whole 10 hours at the airport, I was extremely drained. Then we arrive to the hotel, and everyone wanted to bike to go get some dinner. (Check out the Hotel!) So I looked at my bike, and may I add that I’m only 5’3, and this bike was the size of someone who is 6’0. I immediately start to freak out, because I can’t even hop on my bike, let alone ride it. But thankfully, I had some really nice people in my group who would help me on my bike, when I would fall off – which was a lot.

Riding the bikes back and forth from class turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip. The scenery was amazing, beautiful lakes, cute little houses, and even some goats, were just a few of the things we saw along the way.The college we attended class at was really nice, although, we felt a little under-dressed while in class compared to the Dutch students. We had some student teachers who were also Dutch, which was really nice. They showed us around the town we stayed in which was called Den Bosch. Once a week we would go on a field trip, which included many interesting places such as The Peace Palace, Red Light District, a Rehabilitation Center, and a Center for Troubled Youth. At the Troubled Youth Center we got to play a game of soccer against some of the boys. It was so embarrassing because these kids were about 9 to 13 year old and they kicked our butts. They eventually had to go easy on use, because we were struggling. Another interesting spot we visited was the Red Light District. We were able to talk to one of the heads of the business and learn more about the windows and the girls involved in prostitution. You found out that the environment they work in is extremely clean and that everyone is respectful and treats everyone well, which was a surprise to me because going into visiting this area I had an assumption that it was a dirty environment and that the girls were treated like objects.

During the class periods, we heard from guest speakers who were from all over the world. One speaker talked about the Colombian drug trade, which was awesome, and one speaker talked about the gang life in the Netherlands, which is almost non-existent. Another extremely interesting fact we learned about the Netherlands through a guest speaker is that the murder rate is extremely low, which is shocking to most considering their liberal laws.

During the weekends we went to Amsterdam and Valencia, Spain. Getting some time to travel was one of the best parts, because we were truly on our own to explore other parts of the country; it is really freeing. Overall this class was extremely interesting, one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken in my life and you get four days to travel each week, who could ask for more? If you are a Crime, Law, and Justice major and are looking to go abroad then this class is for you! Check out the program on the Global Programs website. Although it is short, only four weeks, it gives you a great balance of learning and traveling. I accomplished so many things through this trip and learned so much about myself, it will truly be an experience I will never forget.