Days 36-39

So this week has been, once again, chock-full of studious learnings and other groovy-ness. Wednesday was a class day where I got to go to the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Dam Square for my Color class. We all followed our insane little Dutch professor, Marienne, like ducklings following the mama duck, on bikes on-by-one to the church/museum, where we studied stained-glass windows. Quite interesting for a bit, but not for four hours straight- that's stain glass overkill.
In my Dutch policy class we had a former prostitute come speak to our class. She refers to herself as a sex worker, and she was specifically an escort. We learned all about the different forms of prostitution/sex work in the Netherlands, which was quite fascinating. The woman specifically said that we were not allowed to mention her name, for discretion.

Nothing else too riveting happened class-wise this week. Since I don't have any groovy stories, I thought I'd share some FUN FACTS about Amsterdam, and some little quirks I've noticed since being here for over a month. I can't believe I've been living in this beautiful city for so long, yet also for such a short amount of time. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever, and others it feels like I just got here.

FUN FACT: Everyone who rides bikes follows the bike traffic signals. They even have cool bike traffic lights.An example of bike traffic light, just for the bikers (fietsers) and bike lanes (fietspad).

FUN FACT: there are a lot of trams in Amsterdam. There are even more tram track lines, which are coincidentally the exact same width as a bike tire. You have to bike perpendicular to these darned lines, or else your bike will get stuck in the tracks and then BAM. you fall off your bike. Not so fun, and the Dutch people will make fun of you for it. Sort of have learned from personal experience...

FUN FACT: With every cup of coffee or tea that you order at any café or restaurant, you get a complimentary cookie on the side. Sometimes you'll get a nougat thing (quite yummy), or even a quarter-sized chocolate chip cookie. The best times are when you get a stroopwafel- YUM

FUN FACT: people with disabilities can share the "road" aka bike road, with the bikers. Instead of their motorized scooter things going between 3 and 5 mph, these bad boys out in good ol' Amsterdam go between 15 and 30 mph- pretty freaking fast! So they just cruise along and always are passing me. It makes me feel like a fool on my bike. oh well. I've even seen older people on them, presumably grandmothers or grandfathers, with little children- up to four of them- sitting on the scooter with grandpa while he whizzes down the street.

FUN FACT: On certain staircases they have little ramps for your bike so you can walk your bike down the stairs more easily. The Dutch think of everything.

FUN FACT: The Dutch eat their Doritos with salsa.

FUN FACT: they have cars that can literally fit in the bike lanes. Mainly for senior citizens. But they make Smart Cars look massive. THAT small.

FUN FACT: when the Dutch greet each other, it's typically with three kisses on the cheeks. One on the left cheek, then right cheek, then left cheek again.

FUN FACT: when people want to pass each other on bikes, or warn some stupid pedestrian to get out of the bike lane, people don't yell and scream. They just simply ring the bells on their bikes.


If I think of any more groovy FUN FACTS, I'll be sure to let you know.

Well, I must be off. It's another gorgeous (aka NOT rainy) day in A-Dam. Must go enjoy it!!

Tot ziens!

Days 29-35: Kaas, Glorious Kaas!

So this week has been quite busy, and I just haven't gotten around to writing more in the blog. I called this past week "Madrid Recovery Week". I will give a summary of what happened this week and weekend- some big stuff! (I apologize for this blog post being a. very long, and b. full of some very random information):

Last Monday (September 20) my Dutch Policy class and I went to the Regenboog, which is a center for drug addicts. The Dutch handle drug addicts much differently than Americans. For one thing, addicts are considered victims here, not criminals. Drug dealers can be put in jail for MAXIMUM ten years, no more. People even in possession of hard drugs can go to jail for much longer in America. As victims here, many drug addicts (ones that are addicted to heroin and crack cocaine mainly) are encouraged to attend a rehabilitation center, but NOT required. Drug addiction issues in the Netherlands are handled by the Ministry of Health, not the Ministry of Justice (like in the USA), making drug addiction a strictly health-related issue. The Regenboog is a center for hard-core drug addicts (people that have been addicted for 15 years or more usually) to get food, to work on arts and crafts (to sell to make a profit), to exchange their dirty clothes for clean ones, and (wait for it) to do drugs IN the facility. I was honestly shocked to hear that the centers have specific rooms for the addicts to shoot up heroin, or to smoke crack cocaine. A crazy notion, right? The reason that the Dutch allow this is to prevent nuisance. They have what they call the "Nuisance Theory". This means that many things, like coffeeshops and the Regenboog, were established to get rid of drug dealers on the streets, people smoking weed in public or being rowdy in public, and to lessen the number of homeless drug addicts on the streets, among other things. So, the Regenboog was set up so drug addicts would get off the streets and do their drugs in a secluded, private location, away from the other Dutch citizens and children. Another fascinating notion about how the Dutch handle drugs and addicts in the Netherlands is that addicts are not forced to quit. They don't assume that everyone who goes through rehab will "magically" kick their habit. That is an unrealistic idea. Instead, at the Regenboog they supply clean needles and even actual drugs (mainly heroin or methadone, a substitute for heroin) to the drug addicts. The Dutch theory is: they aren't going to quit now after being addicted for 20-something years. Why not give them a warm place to do their drugs and to get off the streets? Solution: Regenboog! This whole idea would be impossible and preposterous in the United States, but it seems to reduce the disturbance and nuisance on the streets of Amsterdam.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I met a lovely man at the café on Thursday where I am always working. I don't know his name yet but I will make sure to ask him next time I see him. But he is probably in his mid to late twenties, and a waiter at the café. I was doing some of my Dutch Language homework, and he has frequently seen me doing that homework and insists that I only order food from him in Dutch. Quite a funny guy. But he asked me about my studies back at home and when I mentioned that I was a theater major, he got quite excited and kept asking me multiple questions each time he walked past my table about what kind of theater I was studying, what else I did with theater back home, etc etc. I soon found out that he is an actor in Amsterdam! He has done mostly acting but is also interested in directing and other things. It was fun to meet a fellow theater lover in Europe!

This weekend I also had the opportunity to spend some time at Vondel Park. I got to go on Wednesday and Friday- both fantastically gorgeous days. We just basked in the sunshine all afternoon and did nothing. Both glorious days.



Now Saturday (yesterday, September 25. Also Molly's 23rd birthday- yippee!) was quite an eventful day. I went with my fellow CIEE homies to Gouda (yes, like the cheese) and Delft, which are both about an hour-ish south-west of Amsterdam. At Gouda we went to a quaint little cheese farm (Kaas=cheese, fyi) and saw how this one family prepared, made, and sold their delicious Gouda cheese. I picked up a few small wheels of it- original, mustard, and tomato/olive/garlic infused. YUMMY! It was absolutely delicious cheese. It was such a beautiful place with SO MUCH delicious cheese!! There was also this other Dutch family on the tour with us, and they had a little two or three old girl named Debbie. She kept exclaiming "Kaas maken!" which roughly translates to "make cheese!" in Dutch and was running around playing with all of the big kids while the owner was showing us a Dutch video of how cheese was made. I felt bad that none of us girls were paying attention to the video because we were all so enthralled with the Dutch shnoo Debbie.

Debbie herself. She even held her arms out for me to hold her on our cheese tour. Big day for me.

CHEESE GROMMIT, CHEEEESEEEE
Oh hi there!

Beautiful Dutch countryside. Never wanted to leave.
(See facebook for more photos)

We also went to Delft, where they make the blue-painted porcelain things. I wanted to buy some souvenirs for people but the real Royal Delft stuff is so damn expensive. Oh well. We saw how they make it, who makes it (we peeked into the windows of a few of the artists) and we got to see so much of it. It is all delicately painted on. People have to train for at least a year to become a basic artist at Royal Delft. To become a master, you must have trained for AT LEAST ten years- So crazy!
Some Royal Delft plates.


We all then went on a grooy tour around the city of Delft, where Williem van Oranje (lit. William of Orange) lived and was assasinated. Williem van Oranje is a national hero in the Netherlands. Their national anthem is all about him! Cool guy. We scootered around on these bike/razor scooter hybrids. Really fun to ride, but I felt like a major tourist. Oh well. We saw the Nieuwe Kerk (ie New Church) that was quite tall compared to the short-ish buildings in Amsterdam.
Technically supposed to stand on them. I don't think he got the memo.
One of the canals in Delft.
De Nieuwe Kerk

I had never been outside of Amsterdam before this, and it was so refreshing to see other sides of the country. I was so relieved to return back to A-Dam, but it was great to explore other parts of this magnificent country.

Well, now I am off to do some laundry and cleaning. hurray!

Funny words:
slapeloosheid=insomnia (one of the required words to learn for my health/illness unit in Dutch language...such a random illness)
elleboog=elbow
doodmoe=dead tired

Tot ziens!

Days 26-28-España!

This weekend was spent in the beautiful city of Madrid in Spain. Forty hours of sightseeing and adventures throughout the Spanish ciudad. The weather was absolutely gorgeous- sunny and high seventies by day, cool yet not frigid at night. A nice change from the freezing rain in Amsterdam. We spent our first day (Friday) wandering through the beautiful Parque del Retiro and nibbling on bocadillos (mini sandwiches) while watching boats go by in the park. After a refreshing siesta (something I've truly missed about living in Spain), we all grabbed a late-night meal which consisted of bull tail meatballs. As strange as they sound, they weren't bad. Except when Liz bit into a piece of tail bone on her first bite. Not so appetizing. The rest of the night was at this club called Kapital, where we got to drink champagne in a VIP room because of a friend's friend's connections with club promoters. I felt so swanky and sophisticated!
Saturday was fully dedicated to exploring museums and other tourist attractions, such as the Plaza Mayor, the Palace, and the Prado and Reina Sofia art museums. I have already had the privilege of going to these magnificent locations on my GFS excursion to España with Señora Hurley. It was such a cool sense of deja vu to see it all again! The artwork at the Prado was incredible, with works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. The work at the Sofia Reina was also cool, full of the modern art, from the greats like Picasso and Dali to miscellaneous artists with inspiring, groovy, and sometimes just strange pieces.
On our walk after the museum tours we met a delightful older Australian couple who were trekking around Europe just for the heck of it. They told us (nonchalantly, of course) that they had their layover in Dubai. Very cool if you ask me. Just a sweet couple. It's always nice to meet new people who are just nice to talk to, even for just a few moments.
We had an early mornings on both Friday, when we left for Spain, and Sunday, when we came back to Amsterdam. However, while Friday was relaxing and fairly stress-free, our trek back to Amsterdam was quite an adventure, to say the least. We had to leave for the airport by 5:30 am, so we decided that it was the logical to stay up all night and then leave straight for the airport. It sounded like a smart idea at the time, but it was a truly regrettable decision Sunday morning. Exhausted, hungry, and reeking of the club, we trudged to the airport and had an epic 8 hour journey home. Alas, after a 20 minute taxi drive to the airport, a 1.5 hour wait for the plane (all of us taking power naps on the seats), a 3 hour plane ride, a 25 minute bus ride, and a 1.5 hour train ride (not including other waiting times), we made it home. It was a crazy forty-hour adventure in Madrid and I loved every minute of it.
Throughout the entire trip, none of us could stop comparing Madrid to Amsterdam. We also couldn't stop discussing how much we missed our city. Not to say that Madrid isn't a beautiful and fun city. I guess this weekend trip further reminded me that I made the right choice to study in Amsterdam, and not anywhere else in the world.



Rest in peace Uncle Patrick. You will be greatly missed. 9/16/10

Days 22- 25

This week has been quite hectic and full of classes and other fun stuff. Monday I had my first ever Dutch language course. It is the beginner level, so I thought it would be fairly easy, but NO. I get to class and our professor, Rachel (pronounced Rah-Shell) starts jabbering away in Dutch, and only Dutch. That's right, no English whatsoever. Sort of intimidating, since I only understood about 5% of what she said during the 3 hours of class. But Rachel is a sweet teacher and is extremely helpful. She constantly tells us to stop her when we are puzzled, which I do about every 8 minutes. Today (I have the class Mondays and Thursdays) it was better because she slowed down a bit with the rapid Dutch! I am the only American student in a class of about twenty students. There are kids from Germany, Bulgaria, China, Estonia, Turkey, and other places in this class. It is nice because we are all international students whose primary language is not Dutch, so we can all help each other out. The German kids are quite good at Dutch since German and Dutch are quite similar. I'm constantly bugging those kids to help me. There is this one Chinese kid named Shi Xin (I think) who sat next to me today and he wouldn't stop muttering to himself, in Dutch, English AND Chinese! He's a goofy kid, but it got to be a bit much after 3 hours of it. I am looking forward to learning more Dutch though!

On tuesday some kids and myself found a delicious hamburger joint close to my dorm called Burgermeester. I've tried a few burgers here and none of them can compare to the ones in the U.S.A. But this place was delicious!! They even had groovy spinach burgers with goat cheese for the vegetarians. I just got the original but boy was it yummy!delicious, American-sized cheeseburger. It was especially delicious and warm because it was so darn cold and rainy outside. It was worth it to drive in the pouring rain to get a good burger.

The outside of one of the University buildings.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I got to go to an ancient history museum with my Colour and Culture class. We saw lots of Egyptian runes and Greek statues. A cool way to spend my Wednesday morning. That afternoon, a few of us went to a cool café called Hill Street Blues after Dutch Policy. If you sat downstairs there are these coveted seats right by the canal. Well, not by the canal but actually on it. It was a great way to unwind after a long day of classes.

The view from my chair. I could have literally stepped out of my chair and walked/jumped directly into the canal. That would've been gross though...

I wish I had more exciting things to write about now. Luckily, I am going to Madrid this weekend for a little vacation! I am so excited. It will be warm and sunny (hopefully) weather, as opposed to the frigid rain and wind here in A-Dam. I can also speak Spanish there, which I am much better at than Dutch. I will write all about it after the weekend.

I miss: everyone at home and in L.A.
I love: sunny days.

Days 18-21

This weekend has been so peaceful and relaxing, and honestly it has all run into one big blur. I am trying to think about what exactly I did on each day and it is difficult to remember! I guess that's why I need to write in this blog more often.
On Thursday Liz and I went on an epic quest to Spui to find books for our Color and Culture class, only to discover that our professor, a lovable space-case, hadn't ordered the books yet that we have a reading due on Wednesday! So, that was stellar. Luckily we managed to find the colored pencils we need for the class (yes, this class requires us to color.)
*Fun side note: My Color and Culture professor was excited when she heard my last name. Apparently it means "color" in German. Kind of cool, huh?
But, it was crappy weather outside, so a few of us decided to relax and watch Austin Powers movies. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Friday was spent at our favorite hang-out, the café down the street. A bunch of us were sitting outside drinking tea and doing our homework. It would appear to be a normal afternoon until a mini parade came storming down the street. There were so many little Dutch children! Some in costumes, others riding unicycles, and even more giving out bags of potatoes to the patrons at the café. There was even a horse-drawn carriage and a Chinese dragon! I don't have the slightest clue was the parade was about, but it was fun nonetheless.The marching band.

Chinese Dragon. Notice that one of the men who is the legs of the dragon had to abandon his dragon-like duties to tend to a little child. so cute.
girls on unicycles handing out bags of potatoes.to top it all off, the horse-drawn wagon chock-full of shnoos.

The rest of Friday, after the work was done, was spent wandering around our neighborhood and admiring the beauty of the canals.




Me, Liz and Oritt attempting to take a photo with the canal in the background.
Fail.


beautiful view of one of the many canals.


Funny cat sitting on the windowsill.


Someone had a good night on the canal last night.


Bliss.

It has been a great four days, going out at night- exploring fun places at night, such as Rembrandtplein and Prinsengracht, and hanging out with cool people. I also met a random English man named....Tex. I had to ask him to repeat his name about fifty times. In my 21 years alive on this big ol' planet we call Earth, I have never a. heard of anyone actually named Tex (only in the movies, but that doesn't really count), and b. never heard of an ENGLISH man actually being named Tex. Another strange but wonderful encounter in A-Dam.

I wish I had more riveting things to write about, but hopefully more exciting adventures are to come in the near future. Tonight is my last night of the weekend before I have classes this week. One exciting thing: I start my Dutch language class tomorrow. I am quite excited yet also a bit nervous. Luckily everyone in the class is a non-native Dutch speaker, so it will be a nice way to learn the language. I've heard that the classes at the INTT (Instituut voor Nederlands als Tweede Taal, aka the Institute for Dutch as a Second Language) can be quite intense and with lots of work, so I'm hoping that that rumor is false.

I have been so lucky to talk to so many people from home over the last week or so. It has been so nice to hear from everyone back in Baltimore and Los Angeles, and everywhere else of course. It has also made me a wee bit homesick for the people. That combined with constantly hearing American music have made me quite nostalgic. For example, while some of us were watching Arrested Development one night, they played the song "The Final Countdown". It made me miss New Play Festival and everyone in it! There are so many more instances of songs making me homesick, but it would take way too long to write every single one down.

Doi!
[bye! (pronounced Doo-EE)]

Day 17

Shalom shalom!

It is a beautiful (well, rainy and gross, so maybe not so beautiful!) day in ol' Amsterdam. I've had a full day of classes these last few days. Today was quite calm and stress free; last night was not so calm. I was told my Gender, Migration & Development class was in one building, only to find that another class was in there at the same time, and that my class was on the other side of town! So, after I had gotten to the first building 30 minutes early in case I got lost (which I usually do), I had to take a tram down to the other end of the city, near the zoo, to get to my actual class! Luckily I wasn't the only one, so four of us were basically 45 minutes late to this first class. Not a great first introduction. However, it was a smooth-free ride home!

We then went to get dinner at this cool restaurant where they have a fish tank under the floor! Koi fishies were just swimming around underneath our feet as we ate delicious food. The best part was our waitress. She was so nice - much nicer than other waiters here- and gave us lots of free tap water! You may laugh, but one major problem we've all discovered here is that the Dutch are so reluctant to give out free water to people. They expect you to either a. order another drink to get the complimentary water from the sink; b. won't serve you water at the clubs, where people probably need it most; or c. will say "Oh we only have mineral water for 3 euros." Even though it is required by law that people give us water, the Dutch will even write on their menus, " Sorry, we don't serve tap water here". It's such a strange concept! In the USA, it is expected that with a meal out, you will get a glass of water. There are people whose main job at a café or restaurant is to refill the waters. And here you have to literally beg the waiters to give you water. So strange.

In my Dutch Social Policy class today, Bonny taught us about the Dutch Political parties and their views. Bonny talked about the xenophobia of some of the parties against the Muslim people in Holland, as well as the differences between about 20 different political parties, including some that represent the elderly and one group for animal rights. It's a big difference than from the few that we have in the States. He also mentioned Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and I knew all about her because Molly recommended her book to me back in January. One funny thing that Bonny discussed was what he called an "American situation". This is what the Dutch call situations that are blown way out of proportion and are full of drama and always in the news, whether they happen in America or not. It was funny, but also quite interesting to think more about.

The roommate and I made dinner again tonight: QUESADILLAS!!! We found salsa, tortillas, and all the other great ingredients to make some scrumptious quesadillas with sauteed veggies. YUM! It was such a great success to make decent mexican cuisine, especially after our debacle with the lack of Mexican food here. Another funny thing: The Dutch don't call salsa "Salsa". They call it "Taco sauce". But I'm not complaining because we found salsa in this silly European city!
**I apologize for the constant write about food. I realize that's all I mainly write about in this blog. I also apologize in advance for referring to, or writing about food, throughout my entire trip in Amsterdam.

Tonight is the start of my 4-day weekend (that's right, you heard me correctly), in which I will be relaxing, doing reading for my classes, and possibly exploring some cool museum or Vondelpark (the largest park in the city). Will write more about it this weekend!

I want to say congratulations to all of my friends at Occidental who auditioned and who got cast in the fall plays. Congratulations! I'm so proud and I wish I could see the performances.

I miss: theater
I love: rainy afternoons

funny words of the day:
cucumber: komkommer
there are at least 3 words for canal: gracht, kanaal, singel


Tot ziens!

Days 14-16

So, it's official. I am a student at the University of Amsterdam, taking classes like a regular ol' Dutch student. Cool, huh? Since Monday morning, I have had two classes, Contemporary Dutch Social Policy and Introduction to Sharia, Islamic Law & Morality. Dutch Social Policy was with this wonderfully fabulous Dutch man named Bonny Wassing (yes, Bonny is apparently a boy's name in Dutch, interesting. Made me think of Mom!) who matches his shirts with his socks. No joke, he had on a pale blue paisley shirt with matching pale blue socks, neat jeans and stylish leather shoes. I gotta say, the Dutch know how to dress well. In this class we'll be discussing Dutch social issues: prostitution, drugs, immigration, housing issues, euthanasia & abortion, etc etc. It was a slow first day but I know that I will learn a lot. Plus we will be going on cool field trips to squatter's houses and we get to meet and talk to transgendered Dutch people, so it will be a very enriching class. The second class, Islamic Law, seems that it will be a fascinating class. My professor is Maurice Blessing, who studies Islam and the Middle East. He is also a journalist. According to him, we will be looking at Islamic law from many different perspectives and the entire history of it. It sounds absolutely fascinating. I have been hearing so many horror stories about how different Dutch professors are to American ones, and I was worried that this would make classes much more difficult. However, I can see that they won't be as different as I had previously imagined. A much more comforting thought. A classmate, Tuppy (yes, that is her name) and I were thinking of fun nick names for Maurice, and have decided that M-Dizzle or something ghetto-fabulous like that would be appropriate. I think we will have to wait to try out that cool nickname until we are closer with the professor- it may just be strange and quite frankly, inappropriate.

One thing that I am loving about Amsterdam so far is getting to meet so many cool and different people. Along with these new professors and various other class mates, I have had the good fortune of meeting two other interesting, yet completely different, characters. The first is Neeraj. (pronounced neer-Ahj. I think that's right... I just don't know how to spell it!) He is a delightful Englishman who works at the café that I drink coffee and read my book at frequently, as in pretty much every day. I had assumed that he was Dutch, since he speaks the language fluently. But it is so refreshing to have another native English speaker around! He resembles Stanley Tucci-bald, kind face, quite humorous, distinguishable spectacles- except with tanner skin. He and I will chat in the morning, and he even gave me a free coffee this morning! A very kind person.
The other character was this groovy dude from Minneapolis. A few of my friends and I were enjoying coffee and french fries when he joined our table and started chatting with us. His name is Tyler, and he has been in Amsterdam for the past three weeks competing in Magic the Gathering competitions. Yes, you heard me correctly. Magic the Gathering. Apparently it's a card game that is full of wizards and Lord of the Rings-type stuff. Well, this guy Tyler competes professionally. No big deal or anything. So he just sits and talks to us about his time in Amsterdam, his mad skillzz with Magic the Gathering, and how his bike got stolen a few days ago. He was also feeling quite....groovy. Under the influence of something psychedelic or something. But, he was hilarious nevertheless. We saw him a few minutes later wandering aimlessly outside of the bar. Tyler was a very different sort of character, but a funny and good person to meet either way. Oh, how I love the people here!

Currently, on this lovely Tuesday afternoon, it is pouring rain. It will continue to rain constantly for the next few days. Excellent. But I will be spending my time bundled up in the comfort of my own room until my class tonight at 6:00pm- Gender, Migration, and Development.

Another random thought: there are literally no real Mexican restaurants in Amsterdam. You may think this is silly to think, because well DUH there are no Mexican places because this is Europe, not Los Angeles. But, the city has Argentinean, Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, Japanese, and Italian food, but not Mexican! Liza and I found this one place, La Margarita, and were so excited to eat Mexican food when we saw the menu. One burrito, an average flour tortilla stuffed with beans, rice, and other yummy toppings, cost SEVENTEEN Euros! An absolutely ludicrous price!!! So sadly we did not eat those obscenely overpriced burritos. One negative thing about Amsterdam so far.

So,

I miss: Mexican food.
I love: people.

Days 12 - 13

This is my last weekend without any schoolwork, the kickoff to my academic semester starting at the University of Amsterdam. Friday was a lazy day, consisting of lunch at the next-door café and relaxing at the nearby brouwerij (brewery). I then was invited for dinner and drinks at the flat of a few Brits, Paris + Jessie, along with other kids I met on thursday, Frankie from Aussie, Clemont from France, etc etc. It was a relaxing evening in a quaint flat by Amstel station, followed by dancing at a local bar/club place. It wasn't quiet enough to be a bar, yet less chaotic than a club. I.e a perfect location for me. They played 70's disco music and everyone, young and old, was bustin' a move on the dance floor. One Dutch man was probably around 75 years old and just jammin', doing intricate footwork that 20-year-old break dancers could envy. I aspire to groove just like him when I am older. It was a fun yet non-stressful evening out in Amsterdam.
Our super duper groovy new best friend.

Today I literally slept until two, grabbed a koffie verkeerd (café latte) and read outside, then wandered through the fleamarket stands in Waterlooplein. They had many beautiful antiques, along with rasta gear, miscellaneous clothing, bike equipment, etc etc. There were also so many dogs that I wanted to pet! But, I didn't want to be that creepy American who was chasing dogs, so I restrained myself. Sad day. I have been wondering how difficult it would be to bring a dog home from Amsterdam to the United States- if I hypothetically got one here. Thoughts?
We also have this cat who lives in Prins Hendrikkade whose name I do not know. I've been told his/her name changes every year, depending on what the new residents decide to call him. However, he reminds me of a hybrid between Grey Kitty (otherwise known at Satan) and Black Kitty back in Baltimore. He is black like Black Kitty, but feisty/terrifying/kind of cute like Satan. He is the kind of cat that will only pay attention to you if you have snacks. I just have love for this stupid cat, so sadly it does not pay attention to me. Oh well.

funny words of the day:

pinda= peanut
kaas= cheese
pindakaas=peanut butter, literally: peanut cheese.

On that lovely note, I am off to make din din with the roomie and then perhaps hit the town! Ciao!

Day 11

Today was the LAST day of orientation stuff- YAHOO! Luckily we didn't start the fun and educational activities until after lunch, so we all got to sleep in quite late :)
The day started off with this insane Mexican/Harvard grad lady who led us in these stupid bonding games. She was like a motivational speaker on drugs, no joke. She kept exclaiming about "Pearls of Wisdom" or whatever, so the kids sitting around me and I decided to change her name to Pearl, which was quite fitting. I got to bond with some other American students not from CIEE, mainly bonding over how dumb and pointless these "games" were. It was entertaining nevertheless. We then had to participate in a silly scavenger hunt around the city to find certain university buildings. It was pretty pointless but I got to meet some other fun people. One girl, Evelyn (something like that, not the same Evelyn as before!) was super bossy and condescending. Since she claims she is Dutch (well, her parents both are Dutch, so maybe she's right about that) she assumed that she was the most qualified to lead our scavenger hunt group around the city. She kept getting lost and whenever any of us suggested that we were going the wrong way, she would get all huffy and exclaim "well do YOU want to lead the way??" while thrusting the map at us. and then when I ordered a coffee at a cafe in Dutch, she sneered in a dumb, condescending manner " oooooh are you practicing your Dutch?" As you may all know, I don't get angry or pissed at people very often. However, this was one time when I just wanted to smack this girl or kick her in the shins. That obnoxious. But the rest of us bonded over her bitchy behavior, so it wasn't so terrible. I also met some lovely girls from Australia and England- Frankie, Thea, and Paris- so it was cool to meet people from places other than the USA! It was a fairly short but enjoyable day in the city. I finally learned where all of my classes are and saw the places, so hopefully I won't be lost on the first day of classes- another bonus.

Tonight I am off to make more din din with the roomie, then perhaps enjoying a night out on the town? We shall see.

I have decided to post random funny Dutch words that I hear/see on the streets in everyday life. There are especially funny phrases/words in the grocery stores
Here are a few for today:

rijst=rice
wafel=waffle
rijstwafel= rice waffle (literally), aka rice cakes
fiets=bike
party sticks = pickle spears


Dag! (bye!)

Days 8-10

Greetings from the Land of Amstel!
(I'm not sure that is a legitimate nickname for A-Dam, but it works)

These last three days have been a bit of a blur. The weather has improved tremendously this week which has been so delightful. It has been rainy, windy and chilly here for the majority of the time. But this week it has been sunny, only cloudy and drizzling for a bit, and over 65 degrees!
On Monday we just had normal orientation stuff and then had a bike tour with our CIEE ladies around the city. I also had my Dutch language placement test which was SO difficult! We all had to read a huge story in Dutch (very complicated Dutch in fact) and then attempt to answer questions about it, along with writing a full page detailing about a vacation....or something like that, I couldn't even understand the prompt! But, after I took my test and talked with one of the Dutch test evaluator people (In Dutch, mind you) and I could understand a good majority of what he was saying. I eventually was placed into the Beginner level. Absolute Beginner is the most rudimentary level, then Beginner is after that, then Pre-intermediate, etc etc, until Advanced. So I am happy with the level I placed into. I will get to improve my Dutch but I won't be completely overwhelmed with the course work! Another girl who took the placement test with me, Danielle, and I then rushed over to enjoy yummy Indonesian food down the street with our CIEE group. Even better: I didn't get lost ONCE this day! It felt good to somewhat know where I was in the city. Overall= a successful Monday.

On Tuesday, i.e. yesterday, we got to meet one of our professors, Bonny Wassing. He is a delightful Dutch man who will teach the Dutch Social Policy class that I am taking. He seems like a pretty cool teacher. Our CIEE ladies also talked with us all about the differences between American and Dutch classes and the learning environment. It honestly scared me and is making me anxious for classes to start! I just hope I don't fail any classes. They only have maybe one or two assignments that consist of the ENTIRE grade for the ENTIRE semester!! My anxiety lessened after a few of us took a walk around the canals and sat in the grass in the sun, looking at the baby swans and the beautiful city. We also visited a quaint brewery right near an old windmill. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable place to sit and drink a yummy Dutch brew.
My roommate Liza and I finally cooked for the first time in our kitchen! We made pasta and salad. It was our first roomie-bonding time, and I think we are going to get along quite well this semester.


Today, Wednesday, Annabel (very tall Dutch lady, total sweetheart though) took us on a mini bike tour of our neighborhood, Prins Hendrikkade to show us different grocery stores and markets. Our entire group then took a ferry up to the Northern side of Amsterdam to lunch in a greenhouse-turned- restaurant. We then explored this theater/music/art warehouse, where tons of different Dutch artists come to work and other music festivals and concerts are held at this unusual location.

Every day I am reminded again and again how lucky I am to be in this magnificent city for an entire semester. Each day that passes in Amsterdam reminds me that I made the right choice by coming here. I could've chosen to go anywhere else in the world, but I chose this city. I honestly wasn't sure if I made the right choice before arriving, but now I know that this is the place for me.
One of the girls, Oritt, and I were discussing the different lifestyle here. For example, people of all ages, races, and social classes travel by bicycle. Old people, young people, rich people, poor people, you name it! Life moves a bit slower here- everyone is more relaxed, not rushing to get to the office, spending more time with their families, and just enjoying life. It is a nice change of pace compared to the fast life on the East coast or in Los Angeles.


On a separate note, here are some FUN FACTS about Amsterdam:

-Number of bicycles in Amsterdam: 550,000
-Number of cars in Amsterdam: 215,600
-50% of Amsterdam residents about the age of 12 ride their bikes daily
-cyclists are involved in 1/3 of all the Amsterdam traffic accidents
(taken from Cycling Safely brochure)


Tot ziens! (see ya!)