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!