So, since I left off with the Anne Frank House on Friday, I never even mentioned what I did for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday night I went with a big bunch of kids to Panama, one of the many nightclubs in the city. This past weekend was the Amsterdam Dance Event, where there were so many DJ's playing at tons of different groovy locations in the Dam. We were supposed to see Kaskade (who didn't show up, epic fail.) But the other amazing and hip Djs were Martin Solveig, Bassjackers, La Faille, Sidney Samson, and Dada LiFe. So much good music, so many great people to be with. I also have developed a new love for techno/electronic music. Just sayin'.
Sunday through Tuesday were basically uneventful, just doing work and other mundane things. I did go to the Dappermarkt again to pick up some yummy food. I also went to the carnival in Dam square on Monday night. All of Dam Square was taken over by a massive ferris wheel and other cool but super-fast and spinny rides. So I opted not to go on those.
*FUN FACT: while rides usually last for no more than five minutes (typically) in America, a normal fast spinning upside-down crazy ride can last for over seven minutes. Too much time being spun around for me- noooo thank you.
I also got to hang out in Plantage Muidergracht (one of the other dorm buildings) where they have their own tv WITH CABLE!! Usually I'm not a huge TV afficionado, nor am I completely obsessed with it. But, it was sort of relaxing to just flip through the channels (most of them were in Dutch), and to just hang out. The simple things in life.
But, this is where things get ultra-hip: Right now, as I am writing this to you, I am in Leeds, England with the fantastic Camilla Rix and her posh friends in her house. I arrived into the quaint Leeds Airport Wednesay morning, after a long and amusing flight next to Richard from Leeds. Richard from Leeds appeared to be about mid/late forties, British (obviously) and flying home from Bucharest, Romania (layover in Amsterdam) where he will be working in a few months. We chatted about the maps in the back of the SkyMall magazine, us swapping stories about our travels, asking about where we would travel if we had a million dollars, etc etc. It was only an hour plane ride, but it still reinforced my thought that all people are just wonderful. I love people, meeting, seeing, talking, watching, and laughing with them. When we all left the plane, we shook hands and we parted ways. I wanted to say 'Tot ziens' to him, which means 'until me meet again.'
So I landed in Leeds and was picked up by Camilla and her friend. I also was given a glorious tour of the University of Leeds campus (she lives about five minutes from it.) Their Uni (as the Brits call it) was beautiful, and had such a college-campus feel, unlike at Universiteit van Amsterdam. We then relaxed and meandered, while I also got to meet a lot of her cool friends, who have all been so friendly to me. After siestas and showers, a big group of people went out to dinner for another one of their friend's birthdays, where they had delicious fajitas and yummy Brazilian mojito-type drinks. Such a delcious meal with uber posh Brits. After we went to one of the on-campus clubs, where there were a bunch of other students just going out for their Wednesday night. Even though all of the kids kept saying how lame and not- crowded it was, I still thought it was pretty packed! Maybe that's just because I'm used to Oxy events, where no one attends... but it was a lovely night overall.
Right now I am sitting at Camilla's desk while she is doing a work seminar-thing in Harrogate. In a little bit I will be joining Camilla with her friends Nicky and Holly, maybe more, in Harrogate, where apparently it is more of the English rural countryside. We also get to go to Betty's Tea Room, where they serve traditional finger sandwiches and little cups of tea- so dainty, so English.
Well, I must be off, so I will keep you updated on the rest of my English adventure.
Cheerio!
FUN FACT: quid is the English slang for 'bucks', ie. twenty quid=twenty pounds
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Days 54-62
Hallo hallo!
These past two weeks have been jam-packed and stress-inducing with tests, projects, presentations, icky weather, cold-ness, sick-ness, etc etc etc. I have been quite stressed and sometimes homesick here due to illness and so much work, and have not been functioning properly (example A: as I was just writing this bit, my friend spilled her tea, and five minutes after I just knocked over a candle and got melted wax all over the floor. excellent.) But it has also been full of exciting adventures in Europe.
Note: this entry will be very long, rambling, and including topics and events that are quite random. You have been warned.
Last weekend, Saturday through Sunday (october 16/17) the whole CIEE gang boarded a bus and trekked down to Ghent, a beautiful city in Belgium. We first had lunch at a little restaurant that could barely fit twenty people, let alone forty plus college students and other miscellaneous adults/children in our posse. We originally thought we were just going to get bread and cheese (which would have been a very sad lunch for us...) we also got soup, so crisis averted.
our sad lunch pre-soup.
We then took a lovely tour of an old castle in Ghent, which was around since the Medieval times. It was chock-full of secret passageways, old weapons (including swords that were over 2 meters long, old muskets, etc) wells, torture chambers, guillotines, windy staircases, and stunning views of the city from the top.
View from the top.
We then had ample free time to wander the city, eat food, soak up the Ghent lifestyle.
*FUN FACT: The Dutch speak Dutch. The Belgians speak Flemish. Flemish is a dialect of Dutch, so comparing the two languages is like comparing English spoken in America and English spoken in England- same language, different accent/dialect.
We also walked around and went through this cool back alley full of awesome graffiti.
That night we went out to dinner to this lovely restaurant called Amadeus where they had an assortment of delicious food. I ordered their "All you can eat" ribs. And when I say all you can eat, I MEAN all you can eat. Literally, the minute it looked like one of us was remotely close to finishing a rack, BAM a waiter would slap another rack on top of your plate. I never thought there would be any "all you can eat" options available other than in the USA. interesting... We all then, as one big CIEE gang, went out to a little bar in the sleepy city of Ghent, and danced the night away.
Sunday we trekked up to Brugge/Bruges/Brugges (however you spell it, not quite sure myself!) and had a quasi-dull tour with a tour guide. We were told that we were going on a chocolate tour, but sadly we only went to a chocolate store for like ten minutes. Pretty disappointing, but at this place (and at almost all of the chocolate shops in Brugge) they had the most savory, rich, melt-in-your-mouth chocolates. I even tried one that was wasabi flavored- strange but actually quite good!
NOM NOM NOM
We also went on a cool tour of a brewery, where we got to taste malt (tasted like nothing), and learned how it was brewed. We then got yummy samples of it- such good quality. Much better than any drinks at college back in the States!
On our bus ride back to good ol' Amsterdam, we watched the Dutch film "Alles is Liefde", translated into "All is love". It is the Dutch equivalent to "Love Actually", and it takes place around Sinterklaas, not Christmas. Sinterklaas is on December 5 (I will explain more about this glorious and yet slightly controversial holiday as the date gets closer), and it was a cool movie- I recommend that everyone watches it. It definitely doesn't compare to the original, but it is a close second.
On the topic of Sinterklaas, there are already tons of Sinterklaas / Christmas decorations up all around the city! It is nuts that they are already starting to decorate for December 5. It also makes me extremely happy because I looooooooove Christmas and the whole holiday season. So I get to celebrate Sinterklaas here and then as soon as I get home I have Christmas- yahoo!
The rest of last week was fairly uneventful, aside from being sick (ew), having a stupid Dutch test (which was much more difficult than I had thought, was quite disappointing to study so much and then practically fail. Awesome.) But on Wednesday I got to do three groovy things.
1. I got to go to the Dappermarkt, which is another outdoor market with basically everything, but it was a ten-minute walk from my dorm. So convenient, right? I got an amazing assortment of olives, bread, and the best feta I've had from a nearby Turkish market. The food just keeps getting better and better here...
2. On the topic of food, I also was invited to one of my CIEE ladie's houses- Annabel's- for a home-cooked meal. While I was late and mis-managed my time to get there, I made the twenty minute train ride, the 10 minute walk to the bus stop, the fifteen minute bus ride to the random stop in the yuppy-ish area outside of Haarlem (where Annabel lives) to be met by Annabel, with bike in tow. She graciously dinked me (where I sit side-saddle on the back of the bike and hold on for dear life) down the paved road, down the narrow little dirt road, over the quaint bridge and creek, and through the luscious fields to her rustic country house. It was like an old farm house in the more rural areas of Maryland. Annabel made me and four other kids- Zach, Patti, Katie, and Mandy- a traditional Dutch meal, with a leek pie (yum), carrots and potatoes mashed together, paired with applesauce (scrumptious), sausages, and a yummy pudding thing called 'fla" which was SO good. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal and to enjoy it with some chill people in a beautiful and more rural place in the Netherlands.
3. When I got home from this adventure, I also skyped with the one and only Erika Nacim for a little bit while she was studying in the library. She also was so kind to show me around via laptop to see everyone else who was studying. So I got to see Alyssa, Calvin, Alberto, Alex, Ashley, and SO many other people !! It was so nice to see Oxy again- I really miss everyone there so much.
Speaking of Oxy reunions, on Friday (Oct 22) Lauren Cooley and her lovely boyfriend Tyler were in Amsterdam for the weekend, so I got to go to the Anne Frank house with them. I also got to reunite with a bunch of other Oxy girls in the process as well! So much reuniting- it was a great feeling. The Anne Frank House was absolutely incredible and so moving. While we had to wait for a good thirty minutes to get inside, it was completely worth it. I had been to the house in high school, when the GFS hockey team all went to Amsterdam during Euro-Tour. I had forgotten how moving and emotional the place was. I will never do this place justice by describing it, but it is just the house where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Nazi Occupation in World War II. Many parts of the house look the same from when Anne herself was living there- magazine clippings on the wall, pictures, etc. They also had quotes from her diary all around the museum, which were just incredible. All I can say is, if you are ever in Amsterdam, you HAVE to come here. No question about it. One quote that was from Otto Frank, Anne's father, really touched me and made me think. It was "Om een toekomst op te bouwen, moet je het verleden kennen" (1967). It means "to build the future, you must know the past." One of Otto Frank's main reasons for starting the Anne Frank House was to bring awareness of not only the Holocaust and the Nazis, but also to inspire young people to understand the past. It was meant for a gathering place for young people to learn and to work together to make the world a better place.
These past two weeks have been jam-packed and stress-inducing with tests, projects, presentations, icky weather, cold-ness, sick-ness, etc etc etc. I have been quite stressed and sometimes homesick here due to illness and so much work, and have not been functioning properly (example A: as I was just writing this bit, my friend spilled her tea, and five minutes after I just knocked over a candle and got melted wax all over the floor. excellent.) But it has also been full of exciting adventures in Europe.
Note: this entry will be very long, rambling, and including topics and events that are quite random. You have been warned.
Last weekend, Saturday through Sunday (october 16/17) the whole CIEE gang boarded a bus and trekked down to Ghent, a beautiful city in Belgium. We first had lunch at a little restaurant that could barely fit twenty people, let alone forty plus college students and other miscellaneous adults/children in our posse. We originally thought we were just going to get bread and cheese (which would have been a very sad lunch for us...) we also got soup, so crisis averted.
our sad lunch pre-soup.
We then took a lovely tour of an old castle in Ghent, which was around since the Medieval times. It was chock-full of secret passageways, old weapons (including swords that were over 2 meters long, old muskets, etc) wells, torture chambers, guillotines, windy staircases, and stunning views of the city from the top.
View from the top.We then had ample free time to wander the city, eat food, soak up the Ghent lifestyle.
*FUN FACT: The Dutch speak Dutch. The Belgians speak Flemish. Flemish is a dialect of Dutch, so comparing the two languages is like comparing English spoken in America and English spoken in England- same language, different accent/dialect.
We also walked around and went through this cool back alley full of awesome graffiti.
That night we went out to dinner to this lovely restaurant called Amadeus where they had an assortment of delicious food. I ordered their "All you can eat" ribs. And when I say all you can eat, I MEAN all you can eat. Literally, the minute it looked like one of us was remotely close to finishing a rack, BAM a waiter would slap another rack on top of your plate. I never thought there would be any "all you can eat" options available other than in the USA. interesting... We all then, as one big CIEE gang, went out to a little bar in the sleepy city of Ghent, and danced the night away.Sunday we trekked up to Brugge/Bruges/Brugges (however you spell it, not quite sure myself!) and had a quasi-dull tour with a tour guide. We were told that we were going on a chocolate tour, but sadly we only went to a chocolate store for like ten minutes. Pretty disappointing, but at this place (and at almost all of the chocolate shops in Brugge) they had the most savory, rich, melt-in-your-mouth chocolates. I even tried one that was wasabi flavored- strange but actually quite good!
NOM NOM NOMWe also went on a cool tour of a brewery, where we got to taste malt (tasted like nothing), and learned how it was brewed. We then got yummy samples of it- such good quality. Much better than any drinks at college back in the States!
On our bus ride back to good ol' Amsterdam, we watched the Dutch film "Alles is Liefde", translated into "All is love". It is the Dutch equivalent to "Love Actually", and it takes place around Sinterklaas, not Christmas. Sinterklaas is on December 5 (I will explain more about this glorious and yet slightly controversial holiday as the date gets closer), and it was a cool movie- I recommend that everyone watches it. It definitely doesn't compare to the original, but it is a close second.
On the topic of Sinterklaas, there are already tons of Sinterklaas / Christmas decorations up all around the city! It is nuts that they are already starting to decorate for December 5. It also makes me extremely happy because I looooooooove Christmas and the whole holiday season. So I get to celebrate Sinterklaas here and then as soon as I get home I have Christmas- yahoo!
The rest of last week was fairly uneventful, aside from being sick (ew), having a stupid Dutch test (which was much more difficult than I had thought, was quite disappointing to study so much and then practically fail. Awesome.) But on Wednesday I got to do three groovy things.
1. I got to go to the Dappermarkt, which is another outdoor market with basically everything, but it was a ten-minute walk from my dorm. So convenient, right? I got an amazing assortment of olives, bread, and the best feta I've had from a nearby Turkish market. The food just keeps getting better and better here...
2. On the topic of food, I also was invited to one of my CIEE ladie's houses- Annabel's- for a home-cooked meal. While I was late and mis-managed my time to get there, I made the twenty minute train ride, the 10 minute walk to the bus stop, the fifteen minute bus ride to the random stop in the yuppy-ish area outside of Haarlem (where Annabel lives) to be met by Annabel, with bike in tow. She graciously dinked me (where I sit side-saddle on the back of the bike and hold on for dear life) down the paved road, down the narrow little dirt road, over the quaint bridge and creek, and through the luscious fields to her rustic country house. It was like an old farm house in the more rural areas of Maryland. Annabel made me and four other kids- Zach, Patti, Katie, and Mandy- a traditional Dutch meal, with a leek pie (yum), carrots and potatoes mashed together, paired with applesauce (scrumptious), sausages, and a yummy pudding thing called 'fla" which was SO good. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal and to enjoy it with some chill people in a beautiful and more rural place in the Netherlands.
3. When I got home from this adventure, I also skyped with the one and only Erika Nacim for a little bit while she was studying in the library. She also was so kind to show me around via laptop to see everyone else who was studying. So I got to see Alyssa, Calvin, Alberto, Alex, Ashley, and SO many other people !! It was so nice to see Oxy again- I really miss everyone there so much.
Speaking of Oxy reunions, on Friday (Oct 22) Lauren Cooley and her lovely boyfriend Tyler were in Amsterdam for the weekend, so I got to go to the Anne Frank house with them. I also got to reunite with a bunch of other Oxy girls in the process as well! So much reuniting- it was a great feeling. The Anne Frank House was absolutely incredible and so moving. While we had to wait for a good thirty minutes to get inside, it was completely worth it. I had been to the house in high school, when the GFS hockey team all went to Amsterdam during Euro-Tour. I had forgotten how moving and emotional the place was. I will never do this place justice by describing it, but it is just the house where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Nazi Occupation in World War II. Many parts of the house look the same from when Anne herself was living there- magazine clippings on the wall, pictures, etc. They also had quotes from her diary all around the museum, which were just incredible. All I can say is, if you are ever in Amsterdam, you HAVE to come here. No question about it. One quote that was from Otto Frank, Anne's father, really touched me and made me think. It was "Om een toekomst op te bouwen, moet je het verleden kennen" (1967). It means "to build the future, you must know the past." One of Otto Frank's main reasons for starting the Anne Frank House was to bring awareness of not only the Holocaust and the Nazis, but also to inspire young people to understand the past. It was meant for a gathering place for young people to learn and to work together to make the world a better place.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Days 47-53
This past weekend has been lovely, exciting, and relaxing all at once. It started off Thursday night after my Dutch language class when I got to skype with Zoe and LT! A great way to start my weekend. Thursday and Friday nights consisted of frolicking through Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein, meeting new people, dancing, and other miscellaneous merriment. Friday afternoon a bunch of us went down to the more southern part of the city (about 20-ish minutes away) to the Albery Cuypmarkt. It is like a huge outdoor flea market, except that it is at least two blocks worth of different stands with clothing, bike supplies, food, produce, bedding, shoes, and anything else you could possibly imagine.
A view of Albert Cuypstraat.
At Albert Cuypmarkt they also have a home-made stroopwafel stand. So, naturally, we each got some. so yummy!
It was fun walking around, looking at all of the different stands of absolutely anything and everything. We then walked toward Museumplein, where the Van Gogh, Stedlijk, Rijks, and other museums are.
FUN FACT: many of the streets in this area are named after artists (eg. Johannes Vermeerstraat).
We happened to walk past the American Embassy there as well. We knew that it was the American Embassy because it was the only building around that was surrounded by security guards, cameras, and huge gates. A real welcoming place. This was the first time that any of us had seen an area so restricted. Very few other areas in Amsterdam were like this.
so out of place. Makes Americans look like idiots here. yet again.
On Saturday Becca and I frolicked through the Eastern side of the city, toward Plantage Muidergracht and the Artis Zoo. Right outside of Prins Hendrikkade (where I live) there was a big rowing competition going on. Becca and I meandered over there, where they had live music and so many different people in different rowing colors. We then continued to wander the streets and we eventually made it to Oosterpark. It is a small park, but it was very beautiful. We saw so many blue herons and other lovely creatures. Unfortunately, we went around 6:00pm, so it was still light out but it seemed as though the homeless people and sketchies had come out as well. There were hoards of homeless men (some presumably druggies) just lounging on the grass, most of the time minding their own business. It was such a gorgeous day- the perfect sort of day to go exploring.
Sunday and Monday were fairly uneventful, full of homework, classes, more homework, etc etc. However, YESTERDAY (tuesday) was quite exciting. I got to go to the qualifying match for the European Cup 2012- Netherlands vs. Sweden. It was SUCH a cool experience! It was a group of about fifteen or twenty of us from the program all decked out in orange, surrounded by thousands more decked out in orange. All day on Tuesday all you could see were people on the streets wearing their team colors- blue and yellow for Sweden; Orange, red, white, and blue for Netherlands. The metro station was packed with crazed and rambunctious soccer fans. Even though we had the highest seats up in the stadium, we had an awesome view of the field. The Dutch annihilated the Swedes, 4-1, with some amazing goals by the Dutch (and one nice one from Sweden...) It was such a fun night. The only professional sports games I've been to were baseball, so this was such a new thing for me.
Funny Dutch words:
Snoepen (pronounced SNOOP-en)=to eat sweets
koffie verkeerd = café latte, literally: false/wrong coffee
voetballen=to football (ie play football/soccer)
A view of Albert Cuypstraat.At Albert Cuypmarkt they also have a home-made stroopwafel stand. So, naturally, we each got some. so yummy!
It was fun walking around, looking at all of the different stands of absolutely anything and everything. We then walked toward Museumplein, where the Van Gogh, Stedlijk, Rijks, and other museums are.FUN FACT: many of the streets in this area are named after artists (eg. Johannes Vermeerstraat).
We happened to walk past the American Embassy there as well. We knew that it was the American Embassy because it was the only building around that was surrounded by security guards, cameras, and huge gates. A real welcoming place. This was the first time that any of us had seen an area so restricted. Very few other areas in Amsterdam were like this.
so out of place. Makes Americans look like idiots here. yet again.On Saturday Becca and I frolicked through the Eastern side of the city, toward Plantage Muidergracht and the Artis Zoo. Right outside of Prins Hendrikkade (where I live) there was a big rowing competition going on. Becca and I meandered over there, where they had live music and so many different people in different rowing colors. We then continued to wander the streets and we eventually made it to Oosterpark. It is a small park, but it was very beautiful. We saw so many blue herons and other lovely creatures. Unfortunately, we went around 6:00pm, so it was still light out but it seemed as though the homeless people and sketchies had come out as well. There were hoards of homeless men (some presumably druggies) just lounging on the grass, most of the time minding their own business. It was such a gorgeous day- the perfect sort of day to go exploring.
Sunday and Monday were fairly uneventful, full of homework, classes, more homework, etc etc. However, YESTERDAY (tuesday) was quite exciting. I got to go to the qualifying match for the European Cup 2012- Netherlands vs. Sweden. It was SUCH a cool experience! It was a group of about fifteen or twenty of us from the program all decked out in orange, surrounded by thousands more decked out in orange. All day on Tuesday all you could see were people on the streets wearing their team colors- blue and yellow for Sweden; Orange, red, white, and blue for Netherlands. The metro station was packed with crazed and rambunctious soccer fans. Even though we had the highest seats up in the stadium, we had an awesome view of the field. The Dutch annihilated the Swedes, 4-1, with some amazing goals by the Dutch (and one nice one from Sweden...) It was such a fun night. The only professional sports games I've been to were baseball, so this was such a new thing for me.
Funny Dutch words:
Snoepen (pronounced SNOOP-en)=to eat sweets
koffie verkeerd = café latte, literally: false/wrong coffee
voetballen=to football (ie play football/soccer)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Days 44-46
(while I may have already discussed days from the weekend in the previous post, I forgot to mention these little delightful adventures. Just thought I'd include them, so bear with me.)
On Saturday, after a lovely day of doing homework and cleaning, I went to the Nemo for a little bit with Liza, Becca, and Drew. The Nemo is located right near my dorm building, and it is a science museum. They also have a huge roof that you can sit on and get nibbles from as well. It was a bit cold and cloudy, but the view was enjoyable anyway. It was a nice break from doing work.
The Nemo, walking up the stairs.
Our view from Nemo roof. I can see my building from here! (look to the left of the Nemo sign, it's that first white/tan building to the left. I live right behind that building in a courtyard.)
So on Sunday night, a few of us decided to have a little scavenger hunt around the Jordaan, a neighborhood of Amsterdam that's close-ish to my home. We made it more of an alphabet scavenger hunt, where we wandered the streets around the canals and found things that started with each letter of the alphabet, like C for "Cat sitting in the window", or something silly like that. We just wandered about and got a bit lost, but the canals were all lit up with Christmas lights. The weather was around 65/70 degrees out that night, so it was not cold at all- absolutely magical Dutch weather. It was just beautiful looking at them and the light reflections off the water.
WARNING: if reading/thinking/discussing prostitution makes you uncomfortable, I advise you to just skip the next few paragraphs.
On Monday I went with my Dutch Social Policy class to the PIC, or the Prostitution Information Center in the Red Light District. The organization was started by former prostitute Mariska Majoor, and it is an organization that provides information to the general public about prostitution. It was a very informative morning there. We actually got to go on a tour and walk inside of one of the red-light windows where some of the prostitutes work. The room was probably the size of my dorm room here, maybe a bit bigger, although all of the windows throughout the city vary in size. They came with a bed, a sink, a locker to store your belongings while you work, and a chair to sit in. They also are equipped with a plethora of mirrors and a panic button next to the bed. This panic button is to be used in emergencies, if the prostitute working is in a dangerous situation with a client. When the button is pressed, a loud alarm will go off, so the other prostitutes and the landlord, maybe even the police, will be notified and will come to the rescue. It is a very smart addition to the windows to ensure the safety of the sex workers/prostitutes.
Mariska, a lovely Dutch woman and was so kind to show us around the Red Light district, told us about her life as a prostitute. She started as a prostitute when she was sixteen, and then started the PIC about seventeen years ago. When Liza asked Mariska how or why she became a prostitute, her reply was not what I was expecting. She told us why: She wanted a dog. She had moved out on her own when she was fourteen, and she became a prostitute to make money to buy a dog. Liza then asked if she got her dog, and Mariska replied "of course! That very same day I started as a prostitute!" It was quite a funny response. It is pretty interesting to think that a sixteen year old girl made enough money working as a prostitute for one day to buy a nice, pure-bred German Shepherd puppy. Even more interesting to think that she chose this occupation. Whenever prostitution was discussed back home, it seemed that everyone implied that only people in sticky financial or personal situations were somehow forced into prostitution. While there are still numerous cases of sex exploitation and human trafficking in the United States and the Netherlands, it is cool to see and to hear the reasons why many women became prostitutes, and that they purposely chose that profession. There are also women that are older than 18-25 years old that are in prostitution. According to Bonny and Mariska, the oldest prostitute that either is still alive or just passed away was 88 years old and STILL WORKING. A crazy thing to think about, but pretty cool also. Everyone needs to give and receive love, right?
http://www.pic-amsterdam.com/
Another sort of groovy thing that they have in the Netherlands is the FleksZorg, which provides the elderly, disabled, and handicapped living in the Netherlands with free/inexpensive sex workers to satisfy their....needs. The Dutch government pays for it, and many of the disabled clients will hire the same woman twice (there are about seventy different sex workers working for FleksZorg currently) and develop a relationship with her. This situation is not only about sex- it is about companionship for the disabled as well. It is shocking to hear that the government will do this for the disabled so easily. But it is also wonderful to see that the Dutch government is taking care of the needs of all people in the Netherlands, not just the rich and healthy ones. It also makes me think that we could NEVER have a system like this in the United States.
On Wednesday morning I went with my Colour and Culture class to Utrecht (About a 30 minute train ride south-east from Amsterdam) to see a few art museums. Utrecht is a beautiful city, with a population of about 300,000 people. It is also the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Since I had class at 1:00pm that afternoon, I could only go to the first museum, which was the Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht. We saw a bunch of contemporary Aboriginal art that came from the Aboriginal tribes in Australia. There were some very cool and beautiful works of art. The city of Utrecht was also beautiful, with many canals, gorgeous architecture, and a quiet, calm atmosphere. Since Liz and I had class at 1, we left early by ourselves and did some exploring around Utrecht before we had to catch the train to Amsterdam. It was quite delightful.
My insane but lovely professor Marietta (I think I called her Marianne previously, my bad.)
Utrecht Centraal Station.
A piece of contemporary Aboriginal art.
Cool/famous cathedral in Utrecht.
When we finally made it back to class back in A-Dam, we just had presentations given about prostitution, signaling the end of our prostitution unit in our class. At the end of class, the fabulous Bonny Wassing gave us an extra homework assignment for our LGBT unit in this class: go to a gay bar and write about your experiences with it. two words: SO EXCITED!! There are known to be a plethora of fun and groovy gay bars in the city. One of my good friends here is gay, so we are all going to go out to a gay club hopefully this weekend or next weekend to fulfill our homework requirement. All I have to say is that this is probably one of the most fun homework assignments I've ever had.
The rest of Wednesday was very relaxing. It was sort of rainy and icky weather, so we stayed in and watched movies. We then made pancakes for dinner- yummy! We also saw the most gorgeous sunset here.
Funny words for today:
komkommer=cucumber
ananas=pineapple
aantrekkelijk=attractice (an-trek-kuh-like)
de ziekenwagen=ambulance, literally: sick car
kunst=art
FUN FACT: they apparently have a Dutch version of the movie "Love Actually", called "Alles is Liefde" (translation: All is Love). According to my Portuguese buddy André from my Dutch class, this version is better than the real Love Actually. Do I believe him? I'm not sure. Do I want to believe him? noooo way.
I also want to give out a HUUUUUUUGE congratulations to all of my friends that have figured out where they are studying abroad in the spring! I'm so happy and proud of all of you. I know that each of you will have the most amazing life adventures.
Well, since today is my last day of classes before the weekend (YAHOO!), today I will just be doing my Dutch homework before my class 6:30-9:30pm, then freedom! I hope you all have a magical weekend.
Doi!
ps. here is a picture of Kobus, our dorm kitty.
meow.
On Saturday, after a lovely day of doing homework and cleaning, I went to the Nemo for a little bit with Liza, Becca, and Drew. The Nemo is located right near my dorm building, and it is a science museum. They also have a huge roof that you can sit on and get nibbles from as well. It was a bit cold and cloudy, but the view was enjoyable anyway. It was a nice break from doing work.
The Nemo, walking up the stairs.
Our view from Nemo roof. I can see my building from here! (look to the left of the Nemo sign, it's that first white/tan building to the left. I live right behind that building in a courtyard.)So on Sunday night, a few of us decided to have a little scavenger hunt around the Jordaan, a neighborhood of Amsterdam that's close-ish to my home. We made it more of an alphabet scavenger hunt, where we wandered the streets around the canals and found things that started with each letter of the alphabet, like C for "Cat sitting in the window", or something silly like that. We just wandered about and got a bit lost, but the canals were all lit up with Christmas lights. The weather was around 65/70 degrees out that night, so it was not cold at all- absolutely magical Dutch weather. It was just beautiful looking at them and the light reflections off the water.
WARNING: if reading/thinking/discussing prostitution makes you uncomfortable, I advise you to just skip the next few paragraphs.
On Monday I went with my Dutch Social Policy class to the PIC, or the Prostitution Information Center in the Red Light District. The organization was started by former prostitute Mariska Majoor, and it is an organization that provides information to the general public about prostitution. It was a very informative morning there. We actually got to go on a tour and walk inside of one of the red-light windows where some of the prostitutes work. The room was probably the size of my dorm room here, maybe a bit bigger, although all of the windows throughout the city vary in size. They came with a bed, a sink, a locker to store your belongings while you work, and a chair to sit in. They also are equipped with a plethora of mirrors and a panic button next to the bed. This panic button is to be used in emergencies, if the prostitute working is in a dangerous situation with a client. When the button is pressed, a loud alarm will go off, so the other prostitutes and the landlord, maybe even the police, will be notified and will come to the rescue. It is a very smart addition to the windows to ensure the safety of the sex workers/prostitutes.
Mariska, a lovely Dutch woman and was so kind to show us around the Red Light district, told us about her life as a prostitute. She started as a prostitute when she was sixteen, and then started the PIC about seventeen years ago. When Liza asked Mariska how or why she became a prostitute, her reply was not what I was expecting. She told us why: She wanted a dog. She had moved out on her own when she was fourteen, and she became a prostitute to make money to buy a dog. Liza then asked if she got her dog, and Mariska replied "of course! That very same day I started as a prostitute!" It was quite a funny response. It is pretty interesting to think that a sixteen year old girl made enough money working as a prostitute for one day to buy a nice, pure-bred German Shepherd puppy. Even more interesting to think that she chose this occupation. Whenever prostitution was discussed back home, it seemed that everyone implied that only people in sticky financial or personal situations were somehow forced into prostitution. While there are still numerous cases of sex exploitation and human trafficking in the United States and the Netherlands, it is cool to see and to hear the reasons why many women became prostitutes, and that they purposely chose that profession. There are also women that are older than 18-25 years old that are in prostitution. According to Bonny and Mariska, the oldest prostitute that either is still alive or just passed away was 88 years old and STILL WORKING. A crazy thing to think about, but pretty cool also. Everyone needs to give and receive love, right?
http://www.pic-amsterdam.com/
Another sort of groovy thing that they have in the Netherlands is the FleksZorg, which provides the elderly, disabled, and handicapped living in the Netherlands with free/inexpensive sex workers to satisfy their....needs. The Dutch government pays for it, and many of the disabled clients will hire the same woman twice (there are about seventy different sex workers working for FleksZorg currently) and develop a relationship with her. This situation is not only about sex- it is about companionship for the disabled as well. It is shocking to hear that the government will do this for the disabled so easily. But it is also wonderful to see that the Dutch government is taking care of the needs of all people in the Netherlands, not just the rich and healthy ones. It also makes me think that we could NEVER have a system like this in the United States.
On Wednesday morning I went with my Colour and Culture class to Utrecht (About a 30 minute train ride south-east from Amsterdam) to see a few art museums. Utrecht is a beautiful city, with a population of about 300,000 people. It is also the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Since I had class at 1:00pm that afternoon, I could only go to the first museum, which was the Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht. We saw a bunch of contemporary Aboriginal art that came from the Aboriginal tribes in Australia. There were some very cool and beautiful works of art. The city of Utrecht was also beautiful, with many canals, gorgeous architecture, and a quiet, calm atmosphere. Since Liz and I had class at 1, we left early by ourselves and did some exploring around Utrecht before we had to catch the train to Amsterdam. It was quite delightful.
My insane but lovely professor Marietta (I think I called her Marianne previously, my bad.)
Utrecht Centraal Station.
A piece of contemporary Aboriginal art.
Cool/famous cathedral in Utrecht.When we finally made it back to class back in A-Dam, we just had presentations given about prostitution, signaling the end of our prostitution unit in our class. At the end of class, the fabulous Bonny Wassing gave us an extra homework assignment for our LGBT unit in this class: go to a gay bar and write about your experiences with it. two words: SO EXCITED!! There are known to be a plethora of fun and groovy gay bars in the city. One of my good friends here is gay, so we are all going to go out to a gay club hopefully this weekend or next weekend to fulfill our homework requirement. All I have to say is that this is probably one of the most fun homework assignments I've ever had.
The rest of Wednesday was very relaxing. It was sort of rainy and icky weather, so we stayed in and watched movies. We then made pancakes for dinner- yummy! We also saw the most gorgeous sunset here.
Funny words for today:
komkommer=cucumber
ananas=pineapple
aantrekkelijk=attractice (an-trek-kuh-like)
de ziekenwagen=ambulance, literally: sick car
kunst=art
FUN FACT: they apparently have a Dutch version of the movie "Love Actually", called "Alles is Liefde" (translation: All is Love). According to my Portuguese buddy André from my Dutch class, this version is better than the real Love Actually. Do I believe him? I'm not sure. Do I want to believe him? noooo way.
I also want to give out a HUUUUUUUGE congratulations to all of my friends that have figured out where they are studying abroad in the spring! I'm so happy and proud of all of you. I know that each of you will have the most amazing life adventures.
Well, since today is my last day of classes before the weekend (YAHOO!), today I will just be doing my Dutch homework before my class 6:30-9:30pm, then freedom! I hope you all have a magical weekend.
Doi!
ps. here is a picture of Kobus, our dorm kitty.
meow.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Days 40-43
So this past weekend has been wonderful since it started thursday night. I have been lucky enough to chat with not one but FOUR of my lovely friends from Oxy- Serita, Christina, Erika, and Tristan- this weekend, along with my momma and sister! So great to finally see people's faces and to talk to them! Even better was seeing the creatures from B-more on the screen- Cookie grumbling, Jack being adorable, etc etc.
This past weekend has also been a tumultuous time for many of the squatters in the city. As of this past Friday (October 1) squatting in Amsterdam has been banned. So people cannot occupy abandoned houses to reside in any longer. Since there are around 20,000 squatters in the city currently, this news was not good news for these A-Dam squatters. There have been riots and protests going on Friday and Saturday, although I was not around any of those areas when the riots were occuring. Although apparently part of the riots were near Prinsengracht, where many people from CIEE reside, so they saw tons of policemen with bullet-proof shields and everything. Apparently it was quite chaotic, although I happened to miss all of it. According to the news and other people I've talked to, there was even some police brutality and some people were injured. Who knows if there will be more riots because of the ban on squatting.
Here is a YouTube link of some of the footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiI1C_XoHk
This weekend has also been chock-full of lovely events as well, the majority quite relaxing and enjoyable, just in the company of some very cool kids in an even cooler city. We got to see what Dutch men do for a bachelor party here. I don't know if they go to the strip clubs or do that silly stuff here, but what I do know, and what I've seen, is much different. On Saturday afternoon we saw a big group of rowdy Dutch men walking past in the Red Light District, one of which was dressed up in the most bizarre get-up. He was wearing a duck bill, fake blonde hair extensions, suspenders, and a brightly colored floral dress, while his mates were all in their normal attire. They then found rubber dildos and then duck-taped one to his one hand, and the other i think the his stomach. It was very amusing to watch through a glass window while we were eating lunch, and we kept egging the non-groom-to-be on with thumb's ups and everything. I think they appreciated our enthusiasm for this man's upcoming nuptials. Just one of the many glorious situations that can be found in Amsterdam.
All I can say is, there's never a dull moment here.
FUN FACT: if a pedestrian is walking in a bike lane, or on the street, and gets hit by a biker, it's automatically the pedestrian's fault.
**note: while I thought this rule (not sure how official it is) was preposterous before I started riding my bike. Now I completely agree with it because many pedestrians (many of them tourists) can be quite idiotic and walk right into a biker on the bike path. It sounds terrible, but I always get mad at the stupid pedestrians. They can be quite a nuisance whilst biking.
FUN FACT: Europeans and all other foreigners think that it is so strange that they have the metric system and tell the temperature in Celsius, while we Americans use our own measurement system (which baffles them, by the way) and we measure the temperature in Fahrenheit. A very noticeable cultural difference, I think.
FUN FACT: Nutella jars can be turned into excellent cups and dining ware. For the amount of Nutella that all of us eat here (which is quite a hefty amount) we just can rinse out our cups and voila! we have cups!
This past weekend has also been a tumultuous time for many of the squatters in the city. As of this past Friday (October 1) squatting in Amsterdam has been banned. So people cannot occupy abandoned houses to reside in any longer. Since there are around 20,000 squatters in the city currently, this news was not good news for these A-Dam squatters. There have been riots and protests going on Friday and Saturday, although I was not around any of those areas when the riots were occuring. Although apparently part of the riots were near Prinsengracht, where many people from CIEE reside, so they saw tons of policemen with bullet-proof shields and everything. Apparently it was quite chaotic, although I happened to miss all of it. According to the news and other people I've talked to, there was even some police brutality and some people were injured. Who knows if there will be more riots because of the ban on squatting.
Here is a YouTube link of some of the footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiI1C_XoHk
This weekend has also been chock-full of lovely events as well, the majority quite relaxing and enjoyable, just in the company of some very cool kids in an even cooler city. We got to see what Dutch men do for a bachelor party here. I don't know if they go to the strip clubs or do that silly stuff here, but what I do know, and what I've seen, is much different. On Saturday afternoon we saw a big group of rowdy Dutch men walking past in the Red Light District, one of which was dressed up in the most bizarre get-up. He was wearing a duck bill, fake blonde hair extensions, suspenders, and a brightly colored floral dress, while his mates were all in their normal attire. They then found rubber dildos and then duck-taped one to his one hand, and the other i think the his stomach. It was very amusing to watch through a glass window while we were eating lunch, and we kept egging the non-groom-to-be on with thumb's ups and everything. I think they appreciated our enthusiasm for this man's upcoming nuptials. Just one of the many glorious situations that can be found in Amsterdam.
All I can say is, there's never a dull moment here.
FUN FACT: if a pedestrian is walking in a bike lane, or on the street, and gets hit by a biker, it's automatically the pedestrian's fault.
**note: while I thought this rule (not sure how official it is) was preposterous before I started riding my bike. Now I completely agree with it because many pedestrians (many of them tourists) can be quite idiotic and walk right into a biker on the bike path. It sounds terrible, but I always get mad at the stupid pedestrians. They can be quite a nuisance whilst biking.
FUN FACT: Europeans and all other foreigners think that it is so strange that they have the metric system and tell the temperature in Celsius, while we Americans use our own measurement system (which baffles them, by the way) and we measure the temperature in Fahrenheit. A very noticeable cultural difference, I think.
FUN FACT: Nutella jars can be turned into excellent cups and dining ware. For the amount of Nutella that all of us eat here (which is quite a hefty amount) we just can rinse out our cups and voila! we have cups!
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