International Learning-Amsterdam 2016. College of Education, University of Louisville: Jordyn Underwood

Salutations from Amsterdam! It has been eight days since we have arrived in Europe, and they have certainly been packed with a whirlwind of adventure. This is actually my first time in Europe and I am taking full advantage of all the opportunities being presented. So far we have visited the windmills of Holland, took a tour through the Anne Frank House, seen fine art at the Rijk Museum, viewed downtown Amsterdam on a walking tour, and explored many other landmarks of Amsterdam. We have recently begun our shifts as volunteers at the European Athletic Championships.

Today was my second day volunteering in the European Athletic Championships at AV Atos. This is where children participated in four sports: long jump, javelin, and shot-put. My role during these events was to be the korrier (courier). Initially, I was nervous because it was very different than what everyone else in our group was assigned, but I soon found out I had the easiest job. As the korrier it became my duty to collect the scorecard from each head jury, which is the lead volunteer at each event, after each events session. As simple as the jobs sounds, there were many issues pertaining to the scorecards. For example, after the first session I was missing five score cards which eventually turned into a hunt for those missing scorecards. Since I only collect the scorecards, there is a lot of time to walk around and check out the events and the children participating in them. I also have been able to mingle and speak to people from different places, such as the Czech Republic, Germany and Holland.

Amsterdam Area, often written as Amsterdam ArenA, was built to replace Amsterdam’s football club known as the Ajax’s previous venue. The construction for this building occurred between 1993 and 1996. The arena first opened on August 14, 1996. Amsterdam Arena is notable due to it being the first football stadium with a retractable roof in all of Europe. This arena is not only home to Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, but this arena is also the location for many concerts and is a part of shopping and entertainment areas (“Amsterdam ArenA”, n.d.).