MISTI Blogs

Doing MISTI Netherlands this summer is my first time setting foot in Europe. To a large extent, it also feels like a personal “side quest”: a chance to step outside my comfort zone, explore a new country and the world around me, and reconnect with parts of myself that often get lost in the busyness of MIT life during the semester. 

Bridging Technology and the Humanities

At the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History) in The Hague, I’ve found a space where my interests in data science and the arts come together. The RKD hosts some of the largest databases of artists, images, archives, and collections in Europe. My colleagues describe their work as being “art detectives,” piecing together messy historical records that are often incomplete and damaged to reconstruct hidden stories and recover forgotten lives and contexts. And it’s true! As a data science intern, I’ve joined this team of “detectives,” analyzing patterns and trends and developing solutions to address gaps and inconsistencies in the databases. Each day feels like a new discovery, and it’s made me realize how data can be a living thread connecting us to the past.

In categorizing, processing, and analyzing these data, I’ve found myself reflecting more deeply on labels, expectations, and the invisible “bars” we set for ourselves. As a Chinese international student at MIT, and now as an MIT student working in a Dutch institution, I’ve become more aware of the Eurocentric lens through which we often see the world, and with that, the biases we unconsciously carry. Being one of the only two Asians at the RKD has been a unique and meaningful experience. I’m grateful for the thoughtful conversations I’ve had with my colleagues and for the chance to share parts of my own identity, from explaining the Dragon Boat Festival (which happened to fall on the day I arrived in the Netherlands) to sharing my love for ice skating and audiobooks. At the same time, I’ve loved hearing from my colleagues, trying tompouce and kibbeling for the first time, and exploring the endless varieties of cheese (you really can’t go wrong with any of them!). Chatting about the shared unpredictability of the weather in The Hague and Boston has also become a fun topic to discuss every week. These cultural exchanges have felt like little bridges between worlds, helping me learn so much about the Netherlands while also bringing me closer to my new friends and colleagues.

Weekend Exploration & Sidequests 

Outside of work, my weekends have become extensions of my learning and cultural immersion. I didn’t know the Netherlands had over 600 museums until I arrived! As a museum lover, being here truly feels like paradise. Thanks to my supervisor, who kindly lent me an ICOM (International Council of Museums) card (yay free access!), I’ve been incredibly fortunate to visit over 20 museums in June alone. The Hague is the perfect home base too; trains to cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam all take under an hour. Even just sitting on the train and watching the scenery roll by feels like a journey in itself. 

After working at the RKD, I now see exhibitions through a different lens: not just as displays, but as curated narratives shaped by decisions about what to include, how to label, and what to emphasize. This new lens has made each museum visit feel like a conversation between past and present.

My favorite so far has been the Van Gogh Museum. Before visiting, I didn’t know much about Van Gogh’s love for Japanese prints. From the exhibition, I traced the timeline of his life and discovered unexpected connections that reminded me how deeply intertwined the world has always been. One painting, Almond Blossom, which is at the very end of the exhibition path, resonated with me deeply. Van Gogh painted it just months before his death as a gift to celebrate new life and to express his love for nature and the solace he found in it. The delicate blossoms reminded me of the cycles of life — blooms and falls, beginnings and endings, over and over again. Through his work, I felt a shared search for peace and connection that transcends time and culture.

Visiting museums has deepened my appreciation for history and global interconnectedness in ways I didn’t expect. Standing in front of rows of intricate plates at Royal Delft, I marveled at how Chinese porcelain shaped the Delftware industry and the prosperous trade networks of the 17th and 18th centuries. These influences didn’t happen through big, dramatic moments, but through patterns passed down, glaze techniques refined, and styles that slowly evolved over centuries. It reminded me that cultural exchange isn’t always loud or flashy. Sometimes, it’s quiet and detailed like a conversation carried across time and space. 

Looking Forward

This marks the halfway point of my MISTI Netherlands journey, and I’m so glad to have finally adjusted and fallen in love with sunsets at 10 pm! When I was in kindergarten, I dreamed of working in a museum someday because I thought they were some of the coolest places in the world. I loved the quiet, the stories, and the way time somehow seemed to pause inside. This summer, I feel like I’m living that dream in a way I never imagined possible. But that childhood dream has evolved. It’s no longer just about being in the space; it’s about shaping the stories that get told, questioning whose voices are heard, and finding where I fit into that narrative. I’m starting to see that my love for museums wasn’t only about the exhibitions themselves, but about the feeling of possibility they offered—as spaces where curiosity, learning, wonder, and so much more could all exist together. There’s so much more ahead: more archives and databases to analyze, more museums to visit, more stories to uncover, more memories to make… and maybe, along the way, a little more of myself to find.