The ISA JournalFlying to Amsterdam During a Global Tech Crisis

I’d argue that every single student remembers what they were doing on March 13, 2020: the day that started our “extended spring break” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For me, the talks of school being canceled started around 1 p.m. that day. At 2 p.m., while writing an in-class essay in English, the announcement came on the big screen that school would be indefinitely canceled for the next two weeks. As we walked out that door, I didn’t realize it would have been me saying bye to many of my friends for so long, but I remember that day’s events so vividly because of the uncertainty, worry, and almost eeriness that floated through the air.

That same feeling happened the Friday before my journey to Amsterdam started. As I got to the Kansas City Airport gate to make my way from my college town to my hometown, I recall the surprise when I saw the airport busy. It was 4 a.m. and, in my year of traveling, I’ve never seen a rush, let alone at the dawn of the morning.

After reaching my gate, I watched as the departure time kept getting pushed back, and in a sleep-deprived daze, I scrolled TikTok, reading about the flight cancellations throughout the country and the issues happening globally. The familiar sense of eeriness set in, and I watched as passengers made their way to the front desk to question when our flight would leave.

Eventually, I watched as our flight got delayed, delayed, and then canceled, and stood in a 30-minute line to talk our my options with the airline representative. Should I reschedule onto another flight that day, or would there be risks of that getting canceled as well? I’ve never had any major flight issues, so this was something to get through itself.

I eventually took a train back to Chicago and flew to Amsterdam the next day. I was already nervous about traveling abroad—the first time I’ve gone so far by myself, let alone the rough start that I experienced. It was an evening flight, and as much as I tried to sleep, I couldn’t.

I watched The Maze Runner, skimmed through the ending scenes of Avengers: Endgame (I just love the ending battle and can continuously rewatch it), and rewatched one of my favorite movies, About Time. This movie always forces me to reflect on the finite time we have in life and to live life to the fullest.

(Side note, but I LOVE the crispness of airplane drinks. A Coke Zero 35,000 feet in the air hits different; contrastingly, I hate airplane food, but will eat it nonetheless.)

Before I knew it, I landed in Amsterdam, the local time being about 8:30 a.m., and I was running on essentially no sleep. A recipe for disaster.

The first few days in Amsterdam were the perfect mix of a whirlwind and a fever dream. While I struggled with adjusting to the sleep cycle, I couldn’t help marvel at the beauty in the streets, accompanied by the ding ding of the bicyclers rushing to their next destination.

In my first day itself, ISA took us to lunch for some famous Dutch pancakes (pictured), and on a canal tour. While the smooth boat rocking was lulling my sleep-deprived self to slumber, the guide explained the seemingly never-ending history of the buildings.

As I found my way back to the hostel that night, I was nervous. Nervous for what the next few weeks would hold and for the people that I’d meet. Nervous for classes and the workload. Nervous for being in a new country alone for the first time.

But I wasn’t alone, and I learned that more and more in the coming days…

Joel Setya is a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and an ISA Featured Blogger. He is studying with ISA in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.