Katie Scurato

On the second day, we started by having a buffet in the hotel. There was a nice selection of deli meats and cheeses, various bread slices and croissants, assorted spreads such as jams and peanut butter, sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, and chocolate sprinkles. We then went to a Jersey dairy farm where they had jersey cows there. They were fed a grass diet, though they need more than that to get vitamins and minerals so they are fed a mixture of salt, compact herbs, and seaweed. The cheese the farm makes goes to special shops then goes to higher end restaurants, so they are not sold in supermarkets. The cheese wheels are held together by ghee, not wool glue, and they are stored at a 90% humidity at 16 C. They have four types of cheese at different ages: pril (3 months), ryp (8 months), olde (1 year), and pracht (1.5 years). We were able to try all four types of cheese and I noticed that the older the cheese got, there was more of a crunch due to the protein, it was not salt. I liked all of the cheeses because I am a huge cheese fan but my favorite cheese was the youngest one, pril, because it was the creamiest one (which is the the type of cheese texture I like the best). The farm was kind enough to let us buy their cheese which they vacuumed sealed so the cheese could be preserved and get through customs. I bought the pril because it was my favorite and I wanted to share some with my family. We went to have lunch at a cafe where they had different sorts of bread, deli cheeses and meats, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, and sorted jams, sprinkles and butters. This was similar to our breakfast. I asked Rosanne about the sprinkles and she said that they like to put sprinkles on top of their bread. After lunch we went to Scholtens Farm which was a potato farm. They use a solid fertilizer rather than a spray. I learned that when there is a black spot on a french fry that means when the potato is cold the starch converts to sugar and when its warm the sugar converts back to starch, but if it doesn’t convert back then the sugar burns when the potato gets fried. I will never look at a fry with a black spot on it the same way now! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day so stayed tuned for that post!

Finally, after learning about the Netherlands for a whole semester, I am on my way to the airport! I have never went through the process of going through an airport by myself. I’ve either been with my family or my school. I felt very overwhelmed and the airport was very crowded! I was glad that I went to the airport early. After all that, I went to the terminal where there was the other Rutgers students, the chaperones, and the Delaware Valley students. My professor handed me a folder with a map of the Netherlands, the itinerary, and information about Rutgers and DelVal. I was very excited to read about the places we were going to go to on each day throughout the trip. The flight took off around 5 pm and we would land about 7 am! I knew I would have to get some sleep on the flight so I would not be tired throughout Tuesday aka the first day in the Netherlands. After watching one movie, eating, and sleeping, I finally arrived! I cannot wait to see all the places I will go to in the Netherlands! Stay tuned for my upcoming posts about the farms and sites I will be seeing and all of the memories I will be making. 

Hello and welcome to my blog page! My name is Katie Scurato and I am a rising senior majoring in Dietetics and minoring in Biological Sciences. I am so excited to be spending a week in the Netherlands! I have only been to Europe once so I cannot wait to go back to this continent. I am thankful for this opportunity for this SEBS Scholarship because now that I am writing about my adventures, I will be able to remember more of my trip and you can follow along on my journey too, as if you were there with me!

As I am writing this post, I cannot help but to get even more excited about this program because this feels surreal to me. I love to travel, so I wanted to go to another country during my college experience. Everyone I know who has went to another country during their college experience has always recommended going. And now I am one of those people who has this wonderful opportunity to go explore another country and its culture.

I have always had a huge interest in both leadership and agriculture, so with my program of Practical Leadership Applications in Agriculture Science I am able to experience both of these passions of mine thought this program. My peers and I have been learning about the culture, government, and environment about the Netherlands throughout this Spring Semester. I cannot wait to take what I have been learning about in a classroom and actually be experiencing that in the country itself. On this leadership side of this program, throughout the trip, everyone will be having a role; whether that is making sure everyone is on the bus, or debriefing at night to discuss what went on throughout the day, or having to introduce a speaker. I am a bit nervous about public speaking but I know my skills will only get better by practicing them. On the agriculture side of this program, my group and I will be exploring farms and flower auctions and a rooftop garden! I keep reading the itinerary about all the cool places we will be going to and I cannot wait to write about my experiences for you to read so you can get more insight about the Netherlands. Stay tune for my upcoming posts about my journey!