A day in Amsterdam with me!

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Cvetanka Rizvanovic

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Cvetanka Rizvanovic

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hallo <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> The University of Utah <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Amsterdam, Netherlands <i>Program provider:</i> University of Utah Exchange Program <i>Major/minor:</i> Elementary Education / Human Development and Family Studies <i>Demographics:</i> Caucasian/White, First-Generation American, First-Generation College Student, Bosnian with a Refugee Background <i>Future career aspirations:</i> I am currently working to obtain my Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with future plans to earn my Master's degree in education to serve in an administrative position. I strive to adopt a pedagogy that focuses on embracing cultural diversity and in doing so, work towards resolving educational inequities while strengthening community and family connections in all aspects of education. Within my career, I will address the intersections of environmental justice and quality of education as I believe it is of the utmost importance that every child receives an excellent education regardless of their socioeconomic status and positionality. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> 1. Familiarize myself with different teaching styles and view the art of education from a multicultural lens. 2. Work on identifying and dismantling my own biases, learn how to implement Anti-Bias education. 3. Gain a better understanding of how Amsterdam and international history have influenced the Netherlands ' successful education model as one of the best in the world.

With exams over with and the weekend coming to a close, I thought it was a perfect time to explore even more of the city! I took the metro to the De Pijp station near the city center and wandered in an effort to take some pictures and hopefully run into a lovely cafe. Considering the events that followed, I truly believe that my Bosnian roots served as a magnet for me because the last place I expected to run into was any Bosnian shop (there isn’t an abundance of Bosnian diaspora in Amsterdam that I have noticed), and of all places for my body to lead me to, I ended up at the most adorable Balkan cafe. As I was strolling past, the sign they had up caught my eye, and the ‘Zlatna Dzezva’ coffee outside of the door lured me in where I was able to speak to the employees there in Bosnian, order my food, and enjoy my afternoon in a place that felt like home.

Having my coffee and ajvar sandwich was one of the best parts of my stay in the Netherlands so far. Having a space that is so welcoming definitely has helped with the culture shock I have experienced since moving here. A lot of the foods in the Netherlands are different from those in the states, mostly because everything is in Dutch 🤣, but because the flavors are more bold than I’m used to or there are just not the same kinds of snacks I usually eat. I have found this to be exciting because I now have several new favorite snacks, but also because I’ve branched out in regard to my cooking skills and have learned to cook meals more independently while I have been here. Some of my new favorite recipes to make are crepes and a chicken arrabbiata pasta.