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).

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!