Amsterdam Updates and Countdown...!

The summer is flying by and we are soon to be in Amsterdam! A couple of important reminders and updates (there's lots of information here, so please read carefully):

1. Emergency Contact Information. We'll need two emergency contacts (name, relation, and phone). Please send by next week if possible.

2. Clifford and Julie's contact information in Amsterdam:
*Clifford: 06 151 441 43 *Julie: 06 201 602 44

Clifford is there now and will be coming back to Seattle for a week, then back in Amsterdam on July 25. I will arrive on July 26. We will have keys for you and can set you up in your room on the morning of July 27. We'll be waiting for you!

Flight tineraries for the larger group are here (thanks to Sunil):

3. Getting to UvA Summer Institute, Prins Hendrikkade 189: Prins Hendrikkade 189-B is close to Central Station (Railway) and the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum). Below you will find directions for reaching the ISHSS office either by foot, bus or taxi. You can find detailed directions and map here.

Getting from the airport to Central Station is pretty straightforward. You just buy a ticket (~4 euros) from the kiosk or machine once you land and take the 20 minute ride directly to Central Station. Once you are at Central Station, you can walk (15 minutes or so), taxi, or take a bus located outside the station. Taxi's should not be more than 12 euros (if that much).

Main Office contact:
Summer Institute
International School for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Courier and Visiting address
Prins Hendrikkade 189-B
1011 TD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
+31 20 525.3776
fax +31 20 525.3778
Email: SummerInstitute-ishss@uva.nl
http://www.ishss.uva.nl/Summer.html

4. Housing Details. Housing looks good and similar to last year, most students will have shared kitchen and bath (x2 students) and sounds like all students will have a private bedroom. More information about our site (Prins Hendrikkade 189) can be found here. ***PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE A ROOMMATE PREFERENCE (kitchen/bath share)***

5. Other Housing details. Your room will include:
* bed including mattress :)
* table or desk and chair
* wardrobe or clothes horse
* bookcase or bookshelves
* curtains or venetian blinds
* ceiling lamp, table lamp and bedlamp
* Students also receive bedclothes (pillow, duvet & sheets).

They do not provide:
- Towels

- Stereo equipment /television sets (There is an active cable connection in most* rooms and/or communal kitchens).

- Standard kitchen equipment (pots, pans, cutlery, etc.). However, there is usually some available. We recommend you do not bring too much from home but to wait and see what is already present in your kitchen. You can always by some cheap utensils in Amsterdam. (last year there was plenty of kitchen items in the rooms).

IMPORTANT: You will need to bring an ethernet cable (RJ-45) if you want to use internet in your rooms. You can also buy one once you are there, they are not hard to find and relatively inexpensive ($20 or so).

6. What else to bring (and other useful tips):
*a light gortex jacket is really handy in Amsterdam
*don't bring much cash, and no need to bring Euros with you. ATMS are plentiful and the easiest way to withdraw euros from your account.
*Pack light! You can get anything you might need in Amsterdam. Here are some good links from the Rick Steves site here and here.

Finally, please let us know if you have any questions at this point. I know that Clifford is putting you in touch with some great contacts for your research so we should be off to an excellent start. See you all soon!

Julie and Clifford