Travel has an extraordinary power to give us new perspectives, and on a Boundless trip to Amsterdam, author Sally Kohn experienced just that. Heading into the Dutch capital with 24 hours’ notice and a preconceived notion of tolerance, bikes, and cheese, Sally found new perspectives that totally shifted her views. Read more about her transformative travel moment here: https://rebrand.ly/bqf3wbk
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———
CONNECT WITH AFAR
Afar.com is a digital and print magazine that publishes travel tips, guides, news, and stories: https://www.afar.com
Subscribe to Travel Tales, a podcast by AFAR: https://www.afar.com/traveltales
Get updates on the latest articles, travel news, and more from AFAR by signing up for the AFAR newsletter: https://afar.com/newsletters
Follow AFAR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfarMedia
Follow AFAR on Twitter: https://twitter.com/afarmedia
Follow AFAR on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afarmedia
Follow AFAR on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/afarmedia
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TravelTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:08 When I landed in Amsterdam, I knew it was famous for two things, bicycles and
00:12 cheese.
00:12 I also knew that the city was famous for being tolerant.
00:15 Yet on my first day there, I had a date with a liberal lady who bashed Muslims and
00:20 I realized that Amsterdam wasn't that simple.
00:23 And so between plenty of bike rides and
00:25 gouda tastings, I visited the nation's slavery memorial.
00:28 I learned about an enduring and really racist holiday tradition.
00:32 And I arranged to meet with Tofik Dibi,
00:34 one of the country's leading Muslim political figures.
00:36 Tolerance is the Netherlands' main export, but it's an illusion.
00:40 Before September 11th, he said, I wasn't seen as Muslim, you know?
00:43 But since then, I feel it's all I'm seen as.
00:45 Toward the end of my trip, I noticed on the one hand, the gay couples kissing and
00:48 the legalized prostitution.
00:50 But on the other hand, the fact that everybody was white and
00:52 not as open-minded as they seemed.
00:54 I'd come to think of tolerance as this linear progression.
00:56 But Amsterdam turned that all around.
00:58 It wasn't enlightened or close-minded, but
01:00 it occupied multiple points on a circle at the same time, like a wheel of cheese.
01:05 Or maybe spokes on a bike, constantly turning.
01:07 [MUSIC]