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 KerkI 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!
That's so interesting about the Regenboog...it's true that nothing like that would EVER fly in the US, but it's not such a crazy, out-there idea to me.
ReplyDeleteYaaaaaaaaay Kaaaaaaaaasssssssss!!!!! I can't help myself...I'm eating a piece of mozzarella kaas as we speak. :)) Pictures are gorgeous. Miss you! Wish I was there!
xx
Sienna