“Gezelligheid,” says AaLeiyah Clifford about her time in the Netherlands.

“We don’t have a translation for it in English,” Clifford says of the Dutch noun. “The English translation would be ‘cozy’. But it’s supposed to represent good vibes, basically. It could mean being with your friends and everybody having a good time, or baking cookies with your grandma. It’s probably the coolest concept that I don’t know how to describe.”

Clifford, 21, lived in Amsterdam not long ago as a student. Now a City College student, she is not a stranger to living away from home or to living a life most West Coast children do not experience: attending boarding school.

Clifford grew up in East Sacramento, but at age 13, she was offered the option to attend either St. Francis Catholic High School or a boarding school. Clifford chose the less traditional route and decided to attend a boarding school on the East Coast.

After leaving boarding school pamphlets throughout her house and securing a scholarship, she and her parents decided on the Tilton School, a college prep high school in Tilton, New Hampshire.

Clifford’s experiences at boarding school were varied. During summers, she says she worked at Camp Dudley, an all-boys YMCA summer camp in Westport, New York. Camp Dudley is the oldest continually running boys camp in the country. Clifford would stay there for about eight weeks, coming early to help set up the camp and staying late to help clean up.

Clifford’s first position at the camp was as the camp babysitter, taking care of the counselors’ and staff’s children. Now, she works as a part of the athletic staff, calling on her experience in basketball and soccer.

“It’s so much fun and the kids are awesome,” says Clifford. “It’s the best working environment I could ask for.”

After high school, Clifford decided to take a year off—known as a gap year, a time taken from education to do something of purpose—and worked as a nanny for children with special needs.

College in Connecticut followed, but was cut short.
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“I left college in Connecticut because I wanted a bigger experience,” Clifford says.

She thought about going to teach in Thailand, but she found a program she was interested in at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, picking international relations as her major. She applied to the program and was one of 100 people accepted out of 800 who applied to the program, and only one of two Americans who were accepted.

Clifford says she bought a ticket to Amsterdam, with not many plans set in place. When she arrived, she had no place to live. She found an apartment with a 60-year-old Indian man who worked for the Dutch government and a 28-year-old Dutch woman.

One of the many things she says she was fascinated by while living in Amsterdam is how American culture is so popular. Her economics professor only used examples from the United States. Over drinks, a friend carried on in a discussion about Republicans and Democrats and referenced the New Deal, approved by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The most popular and talked-about shows were “Breaking Bad” and “Suits”. American television shows didn’t even have subtitles.

Another thing that fascinated Clifford was the progressive nature of the Netherlands. It was the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage. The country preaches tolerance and the people are accepting of other cultures.

Clifford had one thing to say on her time spent in Amsterdam.

“Definitely go abroad. Do it. It completely changes your perspective,” says Clifford. “And it’ll make you miss American fast food.”

Editor’s Note: This story was written by guest writer Veronika Kovalchuk ([email protected])