This week has (unfortunately) been jam-packed with final classes, papers, tests, studying, writing papers, etc etc etc. But it has also been crammed with some pretty fun activities! This is my last week of classes before finals next week- eek! I hope I do okay. I have three tests (Islamic law, Colour and Culture, and Dutch Language), not to mention two 10+ page papers due (Colour and Culture and Dutch Social Policy) so the majority of my time this week has been spent doing work work work.
Let me give you a re-cap on what cool things have happened this week in the Dam:
Monday, since good ol' Bonny decided to cancel Dutch class, Liz and I ventured into the Oost (East) and went to the Tropenmuseum. It is connected with the Royal Tropical Institute, which focuses on Middle Eastern and African studies. We had to go for our Colour and Culture class to the Rood (Red) exhibit, where they had about two hundred different items, from ancient Chinese robes to paintings by Anish Kapoor to a hand-knitted Ferrari, all in red. It was actually a very cool exhibition.
Monday night, after Dutch class, I biked as fast as I possibly could to make it to the CIEE office, where Sinterklaas was expected to arrive! If you were a little Dutch shnoo you could have easily told us that Sinterklaas goes back to Spain by steamboat on December 5, but apparently he made an exception for us uber-eager Americans. Sadly no Zwarte Pieters came to our little shindig, but I think the Dutch (ie our program) think that we are either freaked out by them (which some of us are) or find them offensive, or whatnot. But the fabulous, fly, and always fresh Bonny Wassing was our Sinterklaas, which we couldn't have been happier about. When Sinterklaas sat down, he had his big book of who was naughty or nice. He began by drilling individual people, from calling out new couples within our program, exposing their secrets, which was absolutely hilarious but probably really embarrassing for those who got called out. He also called out a friend's friend Sean, for having been on a TV show, and then made him sit on Sint's lap, as seen below.
Sint lookin' mad fly. Note his shiny ruby ring on his left hand. 
Poor Sean with Sinterklaas.Sinterklaas then called ME out for knowing Dutch! I am in a higher level class then most of the kids on my program. They are learning the absolute basics while I am in pre-Intermediate at the INTT. So Sinterklaas made me name five different modes of transportation in Dutch, which luckily was fresh on my mind because that was just what we were learning in class that day in my Dutch class. So, if I am correct, the ones I named were: vliegtuig (plane), taxi (...), auto (car), trein (train), and fiets (bike)! I was quite proud of myself.
Sinterklaas is supposed to be a funny, sort of "roasting" type of occasion, as shown by many of the poems that people wrote for their "Secret Santas/Sints". We were assigned to secretly have someone, and then on Monday we all brought them their gifts. Some of the poems were hilarious, others were really cute, and some just ROASTED the other person. Those were the absolute funniest- I wish I could remember some lines from the more intelligent limericks (I'm SUPER lame at writing poems). But I got the BEST poem from my friend Drew, who apparently knows me quite well.
I also got a cool sinterklaas folder filled with sint/zwarte piet chocolate. yumyumYUM!Gifts such as stroopwafels, funny drinking straws, candy, more candy, lighters, and even some nudey lady playing cards were exchanged.
Overall it was a lovely way to celebrate some of the holidays.
Another funny thing about this week is that the weather has been SO strange. One minute its snowing, the next it was hailing, and then right after that it will be sunny! Thursday morning was one of those times where I saw snow first, then hail, then rain, then sun, then more hail.
my snowy bike!
that is hail covering the sidewalk outside of Orloff.It didn't matter that much to me, since the majority of my time was spent inside doing my work (ick) but it was still pretty crazy to see the weather being so ADD.
FUN FACT: the Dutch have two words for shopping: winkelen and shoppen. Winkelen means when you browse through boutiques, stop for coffee, and make a day of it. Shoppen is more of the equivalent to a big shopping trip to Target or after Black Friday, with tons and tons of shopping bags.
FUN FACT: Rood Staan means to be overdrawn from your bank account. It literally means "To be red". It refers to the red text on the bank statement when you are in big trouble.
I am getting pretty bummed because I only have eight more days here- the equivalent length of Hannukah. I don't think I'll ever be fully ready to leave Amsterdam. But I was talking to this cool guy James who is from Brooklyn but works at a local café in the Dam. He came here about ten years ago (!!!) and was only planning on staying for a month. But then that expanded to be ten years, and he hasn't been back to the USA since. He is fluent in Dutch, has a job permit, and is truly living the Amsterdam dream. It is my not-so-secret dream to live here after college, maybe for a month, or maybe for the rest of my life. That is probably the primary reason why I've been so adamant about studying Dutch here. I think it's helped, if only a little. But it will give me a head-start when (not if, when) I come back here and work or live or even just visit. So while I know I have to start saying goodbye to this unbelievable place, I can't seem to grasp the idea that I'm leaving for good.
Tomorrow (Vrijdag) I get to go see Cirque de Solei- Totem. I cannot WAIT!
funny Dutch words:
koopjesjager=bargain hunter
vliegtuig=airplane
Dag!
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