Pass the Peanuts!

For those of you who don't already know..here's the link to the new blog!

http://passthepeanuts.blogspot.com/

For Those of You Who Enjoyed Reading...

...I am considering creating a new, more permanent blog. I enjoyed keeping this far more than I thought I would, so I feel that I should just keep rolling with it. While I have not fully decided, it will probably be some sort of commentary on politics and pop culture. Since this idea isn't fully formed suggestions are of course welcome. (Yes Isaac, this is largely directed at you if you are still reading).

Keep checking back here - I will post a link to the new blog if/when it is created!

And So It Ends...

Well folks, my semester in Amsterdam has drawn to a close. I am now back in the US, having flown home on the 5th of June. I'm not completely done, as I still have some work to turn in via email, but I am back home in NJ. (Besides, I'm sure those of you reading are really not all that interested in my ramblings on immigration and homonationalism). As such, this is going to be my last real post on this blog - hope you all enjoyed reading it! (I will post once more with pictures from my last trip to the pancake bakery once I find my camera cable).

I feel like I should be writing something incredibly witty and insightful here about my experiences, but for that I am drawing a bit of a blank. While I did enjoy living in a foreign country for a semester, I believe that any revelations that I had were more to do with my personal development and independence than with any expanding of my view of the world. I suppose that makes sense - I lived in England as a kid, and my dad is currently living in London again, so living in Europe was not something entirely new to me.

Still, I have already noticed some things that I will miss/am missing about the Netherlands. First and formost? Strong coffee. Before I went over in January I used to enjoy the Dunkin Donuts beans my mom used to use at home. Now that just tastes watery and weak to me. This is going to be a problem, as I tend to drink a good deal of coffee.

Another thing I'll miss is the variety of sweet dairy products. I have already posted about my love of vla and kwark so I will not repeat myself, but I will be seriously trying to find a recipe for vla at the very least...one can hope, right?

I have definitely appreciated the Dutch's tendency to be very blunt, especially after living in Los Angeles for the last few years. I always talk about missing the NYC attitude...but the Dutch are even more direct. It is usually awesome, though I will admit I was less than pleased with how some topics in my classes were handled without any sensitivity. (Showing Geert Wilders' political film "FITNA" which includes slow motion footage of 9/11 requires at least a warning before showing it to a bunch of American students, especially when the group contains students from the area, who knew people who didn't survive. No, I am not referring to only me). The flip side of this experience is that I have become more blunt myself, and less tolerant of evasive answers. It should be interesting to see how that works out for me back in Los Angeles.

Other things I will miss
Stroopwafles

Pancake Bakery/Dutch Pancakes
Kilimanjaro (Ethiopian restaurant that was AWESOME)
Good public transit
Smog-free air
Green space that is readily accessible
Hoegaarden Rose (The first beer I have ever liked)
Real whipped cream being served everywhere with hot chocolate
Being able to walk pretty much everywhere easily

Being able to walk home at night and feel safe

Hearing at least 2-3 languages spoken everyday, and not finding it unusual

Fries served with mayo, usually in a paper cone (especially from Burger Bar)

Going to artsy movies with Jantien

Gay bars that make killer cocktails

The feeling of superiority of being able to laugh at the tourists who don't know to not walk in the bike path

The concept of gezellig

So long Amsterdam, and thanks for the fish.

(Actually, not really. I never did try the herring, nor did I have any desire to do so. Maybe someday when I visit again).

Because I Haven't Talked About Food in a While..

...I found a new flavor of vla I am in love with! It must have been brought out as a summer sweet - apple and pear. It seems to be blanke vla with apple and pear pieces in it...which suits me just fine, because I'm not a huge fan of the artificial taste of some of the flavored vla.

I seriously am going to have to figure out how to make vla when I go home...which is in six days. Ah! More on that to come at a later time, right now I need to go back to writing papers :(

(I will include a picture of said vla later when I need a study break)

Parisian Mickey

A few weekends ago I caught a plane and headed to Disney Paris for the weekend with my Mother. "But Jacquie," I hear you say, "You are in Europe, and you spend a valuable travel weekend going to what is essentially an American attraction?" Yes, I did, and while I know many of you might be cringing at that, I had an excuse. Back when I was ten, my sister graduated from college (we are twelve years apart), and as a graduation present, my mother took her to Disney Paris. The trip had special meaning to my sister, as her thesis for her International Business major was on Disney Paris, and all the problems that the Disney corporation faced opening its first part outside of the United States. As it was a special present for Nicole, I was not brought on the trip (and I think I was in school). My ten year old self was NOT happy - I mean, how do you do to Disney, and not take the actual child in the family?

Disney Paris is MUCH smaller than Disney World, or even Disneyland - there are only two parks, and the second park is still under construction, making it rather small at this point. Unlike Disney World, Disney Paris is definitely designed to be done in a weekend, not a week+. Still, it has a lovely atmosphere, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, even though I would not recommend Americans flying over to Europe specifically to go to Euro Disney.

Major Differences from the American Parks (At least, the ones that interest me!)

1) Sleeping Beauty's Castle

I may be wrong on this one, but I seem to remember that the castle at the American parks is associated with Cinderella. In constructing the castle, Disney had to be careful since Europeans are used to castles - I'm not entirely sure what this means, as the final result still looks fantastical to me, but I'll take my sister's word on it. You can also go upstairs in the castle, and walk through a display telling the story of Sleeping Beauty. There is not a restaurant in the Castle like in Orlando.




2) Alice's Curious Labyrinth

I LOVE labyrinths. This was a pretty small attraction in the back corner of Fantasyland, but I had a blast running around it. The maze essentially has two parts - Cheshire Cat (statues of various characters, small doors, etc) and Queen of Hearts (card soldiers and the Queen of Hearts, leading to her small castle which you can go up in). This was pretty much my favorite thing that is not at other Disney Parks.








3) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril

Basically a souped up version of a wild mouse coaster, this was unique in that it had a loop. Sort of similar to the Race to Extinction ride at Animal Kingdom in Orlando.



4) Skull Rock etc.

There was a period of time on the last day that I ended up wandering the park alone. Besides getting harassed by the cast member standing at the entrance to the Swiss Family Robbinson Treehouse (He seriously wouldn't let me by for about 5 mins, I have a feeling he'd have a blast working Knotts Scary Farm), I spent a long time just wandering in and out of the caves connected with Skull Rock. I don't remember something like this at the other parks, though I could be wrong. If I am right, I'm not surprised - the network of semi damp caves is just a pile of lawsuits waiting to happen in the U.S. I loved it. I can also see where its nice to have something that might appeal more to boys/tomboys than all the princessesy stuff.

Outside of the complex

Inside Skull Rock!

5) It's A Small World

This was basically what I expected...except for the American room! It was fun to see what Europeans apparently think of our culture. Cowboys/Indians, Hollywood dancing girls, football...always fun.

...look, tulips!

6) Crush's Coaster

Definitely a ride that should be brought to the States! Located in the smaller of the two parks at Disney Paris, this is sort of a cross between Space Mountain and a wild mouse coaster. The train is two cars that seat 4 people facing away from each other, and each car spins freely as the train goes through a dark coaster. The coaster is pretty tame, if it wasn't for the spinning cars - that makes it pretty fun (though unlike space mountain, it doesn't go upside down). There was no fastpass, and because the cars are so small and don't load super fast, there was a pretty long line..but I'm ok waiting at least once for anything that is Finding Nemo themed!

Other Comments

Compared to the American Disney parks, there are very few nice sit down restaurants in the parks. Now if by myself that wouldn't bother me, but when with my mom we obviously are not going to just eat counter service for every meal (Or any meal, if you know my mom). Mom said that when she and Nicole came to Disney Paris after it first opened, there was maybe 1 sit down restaurant in the entire park. That seems to be getting better, though most of the nicer restaurants are in the hotels...and they weren't necessarily open the weekend we were there. Also sort of irritating was that every bar/restaurant in the park had the exact same drink menu. This worked fine for me, but apparently their wines by the glass were not very good.

Overall, Disney Paris is much more understated than its American counterparts. Their version of Downtown Disney is literally just one street with maybe three restaurants and a few stores. Still, it is a pleasant park, and just about the perfect size to accomplish in a weekend.

View from the back balcony of Sleeping Beauty's Castle!

Tulips Galore!

I am about to leave my room to start heading for the airport to spend my weekend with my mother at Disney Paris, but I have just enough time to post up some of my beautiful pictures from my trip to Keukenhof! As part of an ISN (International Student Network) trip, Laura and I went to Keukenhof yesterday to tour the fabulous flower garderns. Open only eight weeks of the year, Keukenhof is about as sterotypically Dutch as you can get, complete with thousands of tulips and a windmill. Unfortunately it was bit cold and overcast, but we were still able to walk the majority of the gardens in the time we had without being too uncomfortable! Here are some of my favorite pictures that I took - I may add more once Laura posts hers, as she took some funny ones of us!



Me, if I were a Shetland pony!

Trash Day is Long Overdue...But Enough Streakers, Thanks

I know, I know, I haven't updated in a month, I am SO sorry. I promise I'll post a bunch of updates soon to catch everyone up!

In the meantime...Amsterdam stinks. Yes, right now I am speaking literally. The garbage workers have been on strike for about a week now (I think, my concept of time is not awesome), and as such, the garbage is just piled everywhere. Dumpsters are surrounded by a few feet radius of trash bags. Trash cans have little piles of trash under/around them because they are so full that they are just overflowing. So...Amsterdam literally smells in parts. The main touristy areas are the worst, there's just litter EVERYWHERE. If I remember I'll take a picture tomorrow and update this post.

As for the streaker...well, I was over on the square on Spui by the Aetheneum, and there were a bunch of guys dressed in ridiculous outfits, with one running around naked waving a neon green flag in the air. I would have said it was a frat stunt, but they don't really have frats here as we think of them in the US, so I don't really know. Also, they really weren't very smart - with Ascension making today a national holiday, the square was pretty quiet with most of the businesses closed...making the streaker's presence only visible to a few tourists.

Not that I am saying that I -want- to see more streakers (because I certainly don't, thank you kindly), but I always see the awkward ones that never really took streaking 101. You know, the class that points out that the point of streaking is to be seen by people? Streaking on a religious holiday when there is no one around is almost as sad as the time a streaker at a college I was visiting ran past my tour group...with us being the only people on campus as it was spring break. Fail streakers, fail.

Fun Dutch Facts

I have a bunch of things I want to post about, but I'm about to head to London for Easter to visit my family. SO for today, I will leave you with a handful of fun Dutch facts my Dutch teacher shared with us in class the other day. Some I knew, some I didn't...and here are my favorites!

1) The Rijksmuseum was designed to represent a church and "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt formed the 'altar piece.'

2) Manhattan, among others governed by Peter Stuyvesant around 1650, was purchased by the Dutch West Indita Company for the equivalent of 25 euros.

3) When you arrive at Schiphol Airport, you are four and a half meters below sea level.

4) The Dutch swapped New York, formerly called New Amsterdam, for Suriname in 1667 in a trade with the Brittish.

5) For more than 200 years, from 1639 to 1868, the Dutch were the only westerners in the world allowed to trade with the Japanese.

6) Sri Lanka was a Dutch colony from 1656 until 1802. Therefore, Dutch has contributed substantially to its official language Singhalese.

7) The last German emperor Wilhelm II found asylum in a castle near Utrecht in 1920. The castle used to be the home of the grandmother of Audrey Hepburn.

8) When queen Beatrix turned 65 she received a state pension just like everyone else, despite the fact that she is worth $300 million.

9)If requested, a sex worker will be provided for a physically and mentally disabled person, paid by the state.

10) The Dutch company Philips invented the CD player in 1979.

11) Out of the 16 Dutch Nobel Prize Winners, 10 received the prize for their research in physics and chemistry.

12) The first dikes were built around the year 1100 by monks.

13) The original color of a carrot is not orange. The Dutch artificially manipulated the carrot around 1600 into orange to match it to the national color.

14) In 1679, the Dutch scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek found for the first time bacteria and spermatozoa with his own made microscope.

15) According to Dutch scientist Simon Stevin, Adam and Eve spoke Dutch in Paradise, and Dutch would be the most logical language in the world. Therefore he wrote most of his work - late 1500s- in Dutch. This is the main reason why in Dutch most scientific words are Dutch not Latin.

16) In the beginning of the 1630s, tulips were more expensive than gold and cause a tulip mania. It collapsed as they didn't know yet the different colors and stripes were caused by a viral disease.

Finally on Drugs

Ok, this is not quite as exciting or taboo as it sounds. As many of you knew from talking to me, I've basically been sick on and off since I've gotten here. It is such a reverse of how I am normally am, as back in the US i have a superhuman immune system; usually I'll only get sick once or twice a semester, though if I'm sick I'm very sick. Since being in the Netherlands I've been getting sick for two days, fine for four, sick for three, fine for six, and so on.

I went to the university doctor about a month ago for a specific time I was sick, but she told me that I should just rest and drink tons of fluids. She did give me a tiny prescription of some kind for a couple of days, but told me to wait to fill it and see how I was. Since I thought I got better, I never filled it. I was also pretty intimidated by the receptionist, as she wasn't the most friendly towards me when I wasn't in the university system (no idea why), and I needed to pay out of pocket as they don't take my health insurance.

Fast forward a month. After having to skip both Dutch and Dutch Social Policy on Monday as I was in bed with a fever, I decided enough was enough and went back to the doctor. Different receptionist was much friendlier, and the doctor I saw had a better command of English, so that was helpful. She also gave me drugs- An actual course of antibiotics, which is rare in the Netherlands, since they are much more homeopathic based. Woo! Maybe this will spell the end of me being perpetually sick?

Day Trip to Den Haag

Look! Its a post that is NOT about food! You should all be proud.

Since Rachel (other girl from Oxy in my program) and I both do not have class on Fridays, we decided to get on a train and go to the Hague for the day. The Dutch public transport system is awesome, so this was really not a big deal at all, trains run there at least every half hour if not more. I am SO jealous of the Dutch public transport system when compared to Los Angeles.

We ran around the city happily for the day, covering a lot of ground and having a blast. The main attractions/sights we visited:

1. The Queen's Palace

I wasn't that excited by this, as it was fairly understated on the outside, as is usual for the Dutch. More attention grabbing was the pair of evil seagulls that harassed us as we tried to eat our sandwiches on a bench across from the palace. Still, it was neat to see.

2. The International Court of Justice/Peace Palace

It took us a while to find the building, but I was glad when we finally did. While we were not able to go inside (you have to reserve a tour in advance, and we also didn't have our passports on us for identification). Still, the building was beautiful, and it was just fun to stand outside and look at.

3. Museum of Communications

Rachel and I stumbled up this on the way to the Peace Palace. Thanks to our museumkaart (thanks CIEE!) we were able to get into the museum for free. Everything was in Dutch, so we clearly missed some things, but the museum was basically an exhibit on the different ways we communicate. The most exciting areas for me was the section showcasing the different phones used in Hollywood movies (including Clueless!), and the children's section, which was this huge interactive board game/play area. Seriously, if I were a Dutch 10 year old this would have been the best museum ever! There was even an R2D2 phone in the futuristic section, which made me VERY happy

4. The Mauritshuis

Probably the coolest part of our visit. The Mauritshuis is an art gallery which showcases Dutch painters, including Rembrandt and Vermeer. Rachel was SO excited to go see The Girl with the Pearl Earing, and even though I'm not a huge art history person, I'll admit it was pretty awesome. It helped that you recieved a free audio tour with your admission (again, free thanks to the museumkaart!), which helped make me look at the paintings and not just wander restlessly. The Mauritshuis itself was a beautiful place for an art gallery, feeling like a stately old mansion with character rather than a sterile museum.

You Know You're in a Drinking Culture When...

1) There is a "borrel" (party) almost every night of the week, and everyone goes regardless of whether or not they have a 9am class. (This means that I end up being super lame, because I just can't handle a 3 hour class when hungover/tired, or when my body keeps getting sick). Borrels are not just student run, but are also put on by the university as a way to mingle with students/professors.

2) Your Beginning Dutch Professor spends time in class explaining the types of beer glasses you can ask for, and not to ask specifically for Heineken (because if its not on tap it will be 2x the price), and that using the diminutive biertje is only polite, and has no relationship with how big your beer will actually be.

3) It is normal for students to try to ride their bikes home drunk (or high).

4) You are more likely to get stopped by the police for not having bike lights than you are for biking drunk.

5) Adults go to and actually enjoy karaoke. Why? Because it's pretty hilarious when you're drunk. Only after drinking a few beers does singing Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me" sound like a good idea.

6) They only sell non-alcoholic beer at football (soccer games), in order to control the aggressive soccer hooligans. The also have breathalyzers at the gates for big games, ie Rotterdam vs. Amsterdam (but not U.S. vs. Netherlands).

7) Finding beer sold in a bar for less than two euros is a big deal, regardless of how big that beer might actually be.

8) Your study abroad program gives you two drinks at every official event/dinner, despite being an American program with American students.

NOTE: Some of these are true of Dutch culture, some of international student culture, and some of both. It's hard to tell, since the international student population is fairly isolated from the dutch student population. The only Dutch student I have regular contact with is Jantien, one of my ISN orientation leaders.

Dutch Desserts

Alright, so by now you must have realized that my life revolves around food. This should probably be attributed to my Italian heritage, and going to my Grandmother's house for giant Italian buffets. (Interestingly, she wasn't actually Italian - that was my grandfather, who passed a decade before I was born. Still, she knew how to cook all the Italian staples...her sauce recipe is famous in our family). Since the Dutch eat to live, not live to eat, this becomes a bit of a problem - hutspot (mashed carrot and potato) just is not that exciting to me.

While their standard diet might be a bit bland compared to what I'm used to, the Dutch have some AWESOME sweet food, which almost makes up for all the mashed potatoes. I have already talked plenty about Dutch pancakes, but here are some other awesome examples.

1. StroopWafels

These are the quintessential dutch cookie/candy/snack. Consisting of two thin waffle/crackerlike discs with caramel syrup pressed in between, these were basically the first "Dutch" food I had. Rachel, the other girl here from Oxy, always has a bag of them with her - wonderful since I steal them all the time. (To be fair, its an even trade - she makes sure I eat during the day, I make sure she doesn't walk into traffic and get run over by a bike).

2. Kwark

The best way to describe Kwark is a cross between yogurt, and cheesecake. It is basically a thick, sweet, creamy yogurt. You can get it in many flavors - so far I've tried apple/cinnamon, lemon, and vanilla bean. (Vanilla bean was by far my favorite, it tasted rather decadent). The picture below is my favorite brand so far, but my albert hijn doesn't carry it - I have to walk down the street to the Spar to get it. Not a huge deal, but I just have to remember to do so, since I can't be bothered usually to go to two grocery stores in one trip.

3. Vla

My favorite of all the Dutch sweet food I've tried. A light custard, its comes in a juice/milk carton, and you have to pour/shake it out (a lot of yogurt products come this way here). Again, it comes in many flavors, but I vastly just prefer plain (blanke) vla. A dutch friend first introduced me to vla by giving me blanke vla, and handing me a shaker of cinnamon to mix in with it. Yum! I am definitely addicted to it, to the point of me wanting to figure out how to make it so I can still have it when I go back to the States - it can't be that hard, right? Right!!?!

Is This Grade Ok With You?

In the last two weeks I have had to do my two big presentations for my UvA classes. For both of them, I had to present some of the weeks readings, provide connections to current events, and lead discussion and/or class activities.

For my sexuality class I got to work with a partner, which was actually really fun for a change - usually I'm not thrilled about group presentations because I want to control everything, but my partner was this awesome grad student from Spain who was super smart, so it was really. Though, he and I both talk too much.

My presentation for Religious and Cultural Diversity I was on my own though, and I have to say, that presentation was one of the most stressful presentations I have ever given, since I had to talk about somewhat dense political theory, and be sure it made sense to the rest of my class that thinks linearly, not in my weird looping logic.

(For those of you who were in the American Presidency seminar, I now sort of get what Heldman was trying to accomplish with our presentations. We were just so far from that its funny, but then again, we also only had 10min).

I got the grades for both of my presentations this week, and it was very odd. After Sexuality on Tuesday, Silke (my prof) walked up to me and said that she had been thinking about my grade for the presentation, and was wondering if I thought an 8.5 was ok? (it translates to an A/A-). She was basically asking what I thought my grade should be. I was a bit confused by this, and just said yes of course. A similar conversation took place for my other presentation, with the prof asking me if I thought my grade was about right for the class standard (he was subbing, my normal professor had a stroke and is out for a month).

When I texted my dutch orientation leader later I found out that this a pretty standard Dutch practice. Apparently, here professors are less interested in a hierarchical interaction with their students, and treat them more as equals. They also sincerely want your feedback on the class, and your feedback on how well you think you are doing. This is pretty strange to me, since I feel like talking about what grade you deserve feels a bit like grade grubbing, but apparently that is not the case here. It's somewhat refreshing in a way, but at the same time quite unnerving, as it is definitely not what I am used to.

Jacquie vs. Dutch Pancakes Part II

So, you know since there was a part one that a part two had to follow.

On the advice of a dutch friend, I decided to be ambitious one morning and attempt to make Dutch pancakes - after all, I had the mix, how hard could it be?

I should stop a moment and remind all of my readers that this semester is the first time I have ever really cooked without a microwave. I regularly have to look up how to do basic things, including but not limited to cooking broccoli, making grilled cheese, and all ways to prepare an egg (I'm still trying to get the burnt-on egg white out of my pan after trying to poach eggs this morning, cause I'm tired of cooking with oil all the time).

Still, I was feeling confident, and figured it couldn't be -all- that hard....

Pancake 1: Far too thick. As I've mentioned in my previous post, Dutch pancakes are supposed to be pretty thin. My first attempt was honestly closer to an American pancake...which was odd considering the mix is pretty different. This one also got a bit broken up from when I flipped it over (using a plate, not actually flipping), and I accidentally let an edge get folded under

Pancake 2: Too oily. I got it to be thinner, but somehow ended up with FAR too much butter, which made me want to pat the pancake down like I would pizza...if only I actually had paper towels.

Pancake 3: I thought this one would be the winner...but nope. It was thin to be sure, and not oily...but I didn't compensate by reducing the time, so it ended up becoming a bit crunch-cracker-like in parts.

Pancake 4: Never happened...I gave up that day, then forgot I had a little mix left until it went rancid. Fail.

Throughout my attempt to make pancakes, I also managed to:

• Drop a pancake on the floor (not telling which one!)
• Burn my hand on the pan
• Get butter in my hair
• Fling a knife with butter on it against my chest because I burned my hand (second time)

All in all...the pancakes won. Again. (If you remember, I could not conquer the pancakes at the pancake bakery, finding myself bursting before finishing their sugary goodness).

Current Score: Jacquie: 0, Dutch Pancakes: 2

Jacquie vs. Dutch Pancakes Part I

For those of you who don't know what dutch pancakes are, you are really missing out. They are actually a lot closer to crepe than what Americans view as pancakes, and in my opinion, are much yummier.

When Andrea was visiting me last week from England (aka, going to watch tennis in Rotterdam), she and I went to the Pancake Bakery. Needless to say, Andrea had picked well. The place was quite small, so when we got there we had to wait outside a few minutes before we could even get a table. (There wasn't really room to wait insides even, just a little foyer where we could pretend not to be cold). Luckily we were seated pretty quickly, but being right next to the door we could see that there were people waiting throughout our entire meal. We didn't even go at a prime food time - maybe 1pm on a Friday? We sat at the table in the bottom right corner.

There were WAY too many pancakes to choose from, both savory and sweet. Andrea and I both ended up getting one with banana, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup, though I do definitetly want to go back and try the savory ones some time. The pancakes were HUGE! I wish I had had my camera with me (sorry Dayna!), because they were definitely picture worthy. (You'll have to settle for the one I stole off the pancake bakery website). Neither of us were even able to finish our pancakes, though I'll brag a little and say that I finished more...though I was in sugar overload the rest of the day...always a good thing for me, but maybe not so much for everyone around me!

How I Fail at Really Simple Tasks: The Dutch Edition

For those of you who know me pretty well, I imagine you have figured out by now that sometimes, really simple tasks completely confound me, strange when I have little problems with complicated tasks. Here in Amsterdam this has largely involved me getting lost, or at least, ending up weird places on public transport. I'll update this list as I come up with more amusing tales.

1) Failing to Open the Laundry Room Door: Yep...its pretty much what it sounds like. We have some sort of weird keypad on the door you have to punch a code into. I have the code, and can turn the knob...but for some reason the lock still doesn't open. Yes this means I have been doing a lot of handwash.

UPDATE: Apparently I had to turn the lock the other direction. Thanks Andrea...

2) Completely Missing my Bus Stop and Riding to the Very End of the Line: Try to go over to Jantien's for dinner on Monday (one of my ISN orientation leaders), I got a little turned around. Which wouldn't really be that sad...except as I was sitting on the bus, I saw another group member walk by and thought "oh look, there's Bence." You would think I would work out that I should have gotten off when the bus went straight, and he walked right. Not entirely sure where I ended up, but I had to get off the bus, wait for the driver to get coffee, and then get back on again. Everyone at dinner got a kick out of this.

3) Washing Dishes in Sinks Meant for Tall People: At the same dinner, I was trying to wash the dishes to help out. I ended up needing to use the little step stool just to stand at the sink, because it was awkwardly too tall.

4) Not Realizing I Have a Breaker Box in My Room: My bathroom light is burned out, it's completely dark... (one week passes)...wait, what is this box on the wall? Hey look, one switch is flipped down...let there be light!

5) Not Knowing How to Cook: This is again, exactly what it sounds like. I managed to make a somewhat real dinner last night though...only 2 weeks since I moved in to my room.

6) Waiting at the Wrong Night Bus Stop for An Hour: Since the night bus comes every half hour,you'd think I would have realized sooner...but no. I ended up waiting for that bus for total of an hour and half in the cold.

7) Walking in A Giant Loop Looking for Ikea: Andrea and I went to Ikea Tuesday night, and when we got off the metro we should have turned right and not left...so we walked a huge loop through a financial district, that didn't have real sidewalks on all the roads. Again, not fun when cold. Probably took us about an hour to find Ikea...sad since if we had turned the right direction, we would have seen it immediately.

8) Grocery Shopping: Since I don't know how to cook, I don't know what to buy when buying food. This is stressful enough when in English. Try doing it when everything is in Dutch.

9) Not Knowing How to Wash/Cut a Head of Lettuce: Again, from helping at Jantien's. We buy all our lettuce at home pre-washed, and in bags. Denice handed me a head of lettuce and said "cut this"....and I had to just give her a blank stare. But I know now! On a similar note, I had to google how to make grilled cheese. Doesn't help when you apparently bought diet cheese (again, grocery shopping is stressful).

To be continued...

10) Getting Lost..Again: Yep, I already have more to add. I got hopelessly lost today, trying to walk from the university doctor to my class. What should have been only a 15min walk ended up being almost an hour. It was cold. It was not fun.

My Return...and a Few Words on Academics

Hello blog readers! If you haven't stopped checking this out of despair that I would update, never fear, I am back! I took a short hiatus due to being busy with getting settled, and then promptly dropped out of the world for about a week as my dog got very ill and had to put down (while I was in class no less). But, I've taken some time to myself to process, and I return to you, if not as good as new, at least as spastic as usual.

I'm abandoning my attempts to chronicle in logical fashion my time here. Beyond the fact that I have just too much to catch you all up on, my brain just doesn't work in that logical, linear fashion. So, you'll be getting random cultural tidbits as they interest me. I have settled into my container, am going to classes, and have not yet frozen to death (though, maybe thats just because I'm being a wimp and taking public transportation everywhere and NOT biking).

Classes so far are going pretty well, though I have a TON of reading. Never thought I'd say that after taking a Boesche class, but jeez. Also, my classes through CIEE are MUCH easier that my University of Amsterdam classes (here on out referred to as UvA).

Beginning Dutch (CIEE): Just like any other basic level language class, where the professor has a sadistic love of randomly calling on you to read even if you don't have any clue how to say the word in front of you. I mean, come on...I'm still learning how to pronounce Stavangerweg (my dorm). Don't even ask me to pronounce my bus stop, Spaarndamanstraat.

Dutch Social Policy (CIEE): Basically what it sounds like, a class on all of the liberal social policies typically associated with the Netherlands. Probably my most laid back class, but still a significant amount of reading/writing. Pretty interesting overall, though I think I need to respect speaking space and talk less.

Sexuality from a Cross-Cultural Perspective (UvA): This looks like it will have significant overlap with my Queer of Color Critique class from this past semester. I'm a bit disappointed that the vast majority of the students are American, but I guess that can't be helped. Still, the discussion is good, but I feel like I am on a different level with the theoretical knowledge. That's not to say that the class is going to be easy mind you, its just odd feeling comfortable after jumping off the deep end last semester.

Regulation Religious and Cultural Diversity in the Netherlands (UvA): So far my favorite class...but also going to be my hardest class for sure. It is a political science class, which maybe means I can count it towards my major, but I have no idea if i'll be able to pull an A. (The conversion of grades may be not super beneficial). The way this professor leads discussion is..different, though I'm not sure how to explain that. I am looking at things from a different angle which is fun. I'm not sure I appreciate him saying "this week's presentation will be hard, you should do that one!" but we will see what happens.

Well, that's all for now. Good night folks!

In My Room At Last

After three very, very, long days, I am finally in my room. I will post later more detail about orientation, but right now I am just so wiped out that I don't have the energy to give a full report.

In the meantime, my room is decent. I have a single with my own bathroom and kitchen (aka, an electric stove, and a non-functional microwave). The interesting part of that, is that I am living in a shipping container. Yep, I said it. A shipping container. My dorm, Stavangerweg (don't ask me to pronounce it, I can't), is made up of shipping containers stacked on top of each other. My "dorm" consists of blocks of these shipping containers, stacked three tall. Luckily I'm on the first floor, so I didn't have to lug my suitcases up stairs. My room is probably three times the size of my single in haines, which is pretty nice, but the downside is that my dorm (so far at least) doesn't appear to be super social, so it feels a bit isolating. Also, most of the Americans on my program are living in other dorms, with only ten of us here...which eventually shouldn't be a huge deal since this international student housing, but right now until I meet other people it feels a bit isolating.

Stavangerweg is also pretty far from the rest of the dorms, though I'll admit far is relative in Amsterdam. Situated to the north-west of Amsterdam, the houthavens dorms are located on the water, of what turns into the North Sea. Supposedly we have our own pub, that has 1 euro beer on Wednesdays, but I can't even think about leaving my room right now. More on orientation, beer, and my first terrifying bike ride next time!

The First Excursion

After finally getting a few hours of sleep last night, my parents and I set off to find a place to eat lunch, and walk around for a while, doing a little bit of shopping.

As such, here are really my first impressions of Amsterdam. We walked from our hotel to Dam Square, which among other things, felt like a macabre version of Covent Garden. The square was much more open than Covent Garden, but there were a bunch of creepy mimes...creepier than usual, because they were all scary looking, holding scythes or wearing scary masks. (Though there was one that looked like a blue Incan warrior). I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but I am sort of scared of mimes, after one tried to hit my friends and I when I was 10 with one of his props. (Long story). There is clearly some cultural thing I'm missing here.

We spent some time wandering in the de Biienkorf department store, which was rather similar in layout and architecture to John Lewis in London, so that was a little unnerving. I did have my first experience with Dutch coffee, in that it is not as watered down as American coffee. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. Adding to my list of things to do: drink lots more coffee (knowing me, this really shouldn't be a problem).

I am also quite amazed by the variety of food that I've come across already. Just in our travels today, we walked by Thai, Chinese, Argentinean, American (New York pizza!), Mexican, Italian, Spanish, and of course, Dutch. Since we didn't walk all that far, I was impressed.

My parents and I ended up getting dinner with a friend of mine from high school, who happens to be in Amsterdam for a few days for her study abroad program, along with her roommate. We ate at a dutch restaurant that was very good, but I suspect a tourist trap, as the menus were written in five different languages. Still, trying to eat somewhere where the menus were all in dutch would just stress my mother out, so I suppose it all worked out in the end.

This will most likely be my last post for a few days - orientation starts tomorrow, and I'll be in a hostel for 2 nights until I am allowed in to my dorm. Wish me luck!

What Time Zone Am I in Now?

Well, it is 5:44am in Amsterdam, and I've managed to sleep maybe 3 hours tonight. Of course, this is largely my own fault - upon getting to the hotel this morning around 9am, I promptly crashed and slept until 5:30pm. This is what happens when I don't sleep very much two nights in a row, fly a red eye on which I can't sleep, and spend time in three cities in just as many days. (Los Angeles/Kinnelon/Amsterdam) Still, jet lag is never a fun thing.

But to backtrack: for those of you who don't already know, I am studying abroad in Amsterdam this semester. My orientation starts at noon on Monday, but my parents insisted on flying out with me a few days early to "get me settled." Considering that I don't even get to move into my dorm until Wednesday, I'm not really sure how this works, but I'm not going to question it.

Since I slept pretty much all of yesterday, I don't have many exciting revelations yet...except that apparently taxis here can drive in the tram lane if they have a special license. Consider it a sort of super car pool lane. It was a little unsettling, I have to admit, if only because my Mother was sitting next to me worried that we were going to get run over by a tram.

As I have nothing else fun to impart, here are my (current) goals for my semester;

1) Try to use dutch as much as possible (as I learn it), and don't simply speak English. (Entirely possible since a large portion of the population speaks English). This could be amusing, since I can't even begin to try to pronounce my dorm address.

2) Rent/buy a bike, and actually use it to get around. While I have an aversion to bikes (and am terrified of the idea of biking in traffic), it will save me a lot of money not having to use public transportation. Also, it really is one of the most practical options.

3) Stay dry/warm.