SIT Study Abroad: Netherlands: Perspectives on Sexuality

Studying Abroad changes your mind and open your eyes. You will learn a lot and interact with different people around the world In different settings. You get to travel the world and experience things you never seen before. Studying in Netherlands made me grow as a person and taught me a lot. Studying Abroad is a great experience.

I went into the program not knowing what to expect and I came out with experiences that will shape my life forever. In this program I was pushed to view my American sexual education in a different light when comparing it to the education in the Netherlands. From an exhibit about sex in the Amsterdam Children's Museum to the sexual education that begins in kindergarten, I fell in love with the open attitudes people have about sex. We had amazing speakers in the classroom who were all so knowledgable in their field. But really the best part of the trip for me was the people I went with. The group leaders were so good about making sure we safe and having fun. And the other students were some of the most open minded and inclusive people you could ever meet. By the end of the three weeks I felt like I had created a family with them. I will never forget the late night talks with my roommates about everything from gay hookup culture to police brutality. Before lessons in the morning those early to the office would have coffee together and talk about activism and queer* culture and sexual education. That is the kind of environment that this program fosters. This program was full of learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

I throughly enjoyed my time in the Netherlands. Not only was the group of students on the program incredibly accepting, kind, and inclusive, but the activities set up for us were engaging and educational. Some of my favorite excursions included the tour of the Red Light District and the boat tour of the canals. The program allowed all of the students lots of freedom to explore Amsterdam and spend time in the main part of the city which gave all of the students lots of independence. Though we had the opportunity to be independent, there was also a lot of time spent in the group taking classes and going on trips which allowed us to all become very close. One thing that I would change is the location of the home-stays; I was pretty far from the main part of the city and had to commute for at least 80 minutes everyday.