MISTI Blogs

This summer, I’ve been living in many “in betweens.” In between languages, cultures, and places; in between working and sidequesting. During the semester, my days were usually packed with classes, clubs, urops… many commitments where being constantly on the go was the norm. Now, I find myself somewhere between the busy, structured life I’ve known and the slower, more open pace I’ve discovered here in the Netherlands. With this rare opportunity, I’ve learned to slow down and really live in the moment. 

At the RKD, somewhere in between coding scripts, running my code through the database, and updating records, I’ve started to see how my technical skills can serve something much bigger: cultural preservation. I recently spoke with colleagues whose research focuses on contemporary artists. One challenge they face when digitizing artist profiles into the artists database is that many artists today don’t fit neatly into traditional binary gender categories, yet the database was originally built with that assumption in place. In a way, the database itself is “in between:” holding centuries-old records while adapting to fit the present to include more holistic information. Being part of these infrastructural and fundamental changes to how some of the fields are set up is super exciting! It’s also made me realize that data work, especially in digital art history, is never just about information but about how the information is presented and how the stories are told. 

Just as the RKD’s databases exist in the “in betweens”, I’ve also felt this in my travels. On the three-hour train ride to Belgium, I’m literally between worlds as I watch the scenery shift from Dutch cities to rolling fields to Brussels. These train rides have become spaces for reflection where I think about the week behind me and the adventures ahead.

Another weekend, I visited Copenhagen to meet up with my friends who are doing MISTI-Denmark. We explored the SMK (Statens Museum for Kunst) and the Danish Architecture Center together, and I noticed how different countries frame their national art histories both through the works themselves and through the museum spaces that hold them. At the SMK, the layout felt very airy and open, and contemporary design elements appeared even in the setup and presentation of older works. In contrast, Dutch museums feel more traditional and intimate where galleries usually emphasize historical context and display artworks in chronological order. These differences in architecture, exhibition style, and even the way visitors move through the space made me more conscious of how cultural narratives are shaped and how much context matters in every place.

These weekend trips have added so much more to my summer!

Learning to Live in the In Between

When I think about my MISTI-Netherlands experience this summer, I see how much of it has been shaped by the “in between.” At the halfway point of my MIT career, about to enter my junior year, my experience this summer has opened doors to possibilities I never knew existed or considered. At every decision point, I now find myself asking: Is this truly what I want, or just what I thought I should want? Having the privilege to pause and ask those questions and learning to find the balance has been so incredibly invaluable.

Being an international student means making home wherever I go. It also means embracing imperfections — in myself, in my work, in the systems I’m part of, and in the worlds I’m in. Home, I’m realizing, is becoming less about a fixed, familiar place and more about my perspectives and mindsets and all the experiences I gain wherever I am.

Through this summer, I’ve come to see all the “in betweens” not as uncertainties, but as possibilities. It’s where old structures adapt and improve, where new connections form and thrive, and where we discover who we are when we’re not trying to fit perfectly into a label or category. It’s the people I’ve met along the way, the unexpected conversations, and the lessons I’ve learned that I’ll carry with me long after this summer ends. Maybe, after all, the in between is exactly where I’m meant to be.