MSUD CJC Study Abroad

The following is what Gabriel did on our final scheduled day (aside from the free day) on March 25:

Today I woke up and felt pretty upset that it was our last morning in the Netherlands together as a group. I don’t want to be home right now and wish this trip was longer. We started the day at the Dutch House of Representatives, which was honestly a pretty cool experience. Learning how their system works compared to the U.S. was really interesting especially seeing it in action. We were able to sit in on a proceeding, and I thought it was interesting that only a few people were there during the proceeding. The idea of a parliamentary democracy felt a lot more tangible after that. After that, we rode on the bus to Eurojust, which ended up being one of the most interesting parts of the day. The way Europe handles cross-border and organized crime is built so heavily on trust and cooperation, and that stood out the most. It’s kind of wild to think about how many moving parts there are when multiple countries are involved, but they’ve built this system that helps connect everything whether it’s sharing evidence, coordinating investigations, or just making sure everyone is on the same page despite different laws and procedures. It made it clear how important relationships are in law enforcement on a global level. Once everything wrapped up, it really hit that the academic part of the trip was done. Back at the hotel, my friends and I gathered in the lobby, taking pictures as a group since so many people are splitting up to travel before heading home, it felt like a quiet goodbye in a way. A group of us ended the night with dinner and somehow had some of the best Korean food ever, which felt like the perfect way to close things out. I think this was the best study abroad trip out of the 3 that I have been on and I hope there is some way i can come back to another one even after I graduate.

On our final scheduled day (aside from the free day) on March 25, here is what Amairany did:

Today was a great day, we started at the Dutch House of Representatives and it was an amazing tour and we got to see senators I would say debating about something which I thought it was pretty cool, we also learn some history of the house of representatives and we saw a painting that was made by two brothers Dann & Koen Van Velsen and it had the rights of the constitution like freedom of expression, and always say what you think at loud, and the freedom to vote, to equality which I thought it was pretty nice. After that we went to the Eurojust and we had a presentation and I thought it was an amazing experience I personally did not know about this agency and the work that they do it’s amazing, they are in charge of maintaining crime control around Europe and also maintain the political relations between the countries, they help to investigate crimes and sometimes countries would ask about what they should do even if they don’t do what Eurojust says regardless they actually can just say that they thick in the most non-boast opinion. After this we went back to the hotel and we hang out with some of the Dutch students and we had a great afternoon together, we were having a great time together just talking about their school and our school and at the end we went to get some ice cream they were super nice and we actually got to bond more with them and now we got friends for life. Overall the day was pretty nice and the company was even better it is amazing how fast we can make mew friendships and can last for years just by a little moment together that is one of my biggest take away from today.

The following is what Kayla did at Oranjehotel and Prison Gate:

Today we visited the Oranjehotel. We started off with a short lecture about the history of the Oranjehotel and then we watched a video of those who were imprisoned and listened to their stories. We then walked around visiting different cells learning more about prisoner’s experiences while incarcerated. It was a very interesting and meaningful experience even just seeing the cells where many people were held. After the Oranjehotel we went to the beach where everyone got lunch. Gianna and I did some souvenir shopping and got mcdonald’s before meeting back up with everyone and then splitting up again. Some people headed to the International Criminal Court while others went to the Prison Gate. I went to the prison gate where we looked at torcher devices and more. Some parts we interactive for example you could put a shackle with a heavy block chained to it to understand what many prisoners have to grab around during their incarceration. I also got to see a guillotine for the first time which was really cool and we took a selfie next to it at the end. After we all went our separate ways, Gianna and I headed to get some dollars exchanged into euros because we are going to Paris tomorrow and we’re going to be doing a lot of shopping! After that we headed back to the hotel and took a nice long nap and chilled at the hotel do the rest of the day. We ordered some burgers from a local restaurant and we’ve been watching Rick and Morty since. As much as I’ve loved being in the Netherlands i’m excited to go home and see my cat, family, and friends.