Week One

It's been a whole week since I arrived in Amsterdam! I can't believe it, it feels like it's been two or three weeks. I've met so many new people from so many different places, and heard so many languages. I'm trying to learn a few phrases in Spanish, French, and of course Dutch.

My roommate is Jen from Sydney, Australia. We have a cute place right on Prinsengracht, a short walk from Anne Frank's house. We each have our own bedroom with a teeny tiny kitchen, and we share a shower and toilet. I know it's going to be really cold this winter because there's a heater in the shower!

Last week was crazy busy with orientation, so here's a few pictures to sum up my experiences:

Clockwise from left: David from South Africa, me, Xuso from Spain, Kang Tse from Taiwan, Eduardo from Spain, Evelien, and Peter from Germany.

Patates frites (fries with mayo)

Artis Zoo in Amsterdam.

Peter's birthday party

I still have yet to buy a bike. I've walked all over the city and have blisters on my feet to prove it. Apparently tomorrow at the flea market, there will be plenty of cheap bikes for students to purchase.

Speaking of markets, the city is swimming in them. On Saturday, Evelien and I went down to a small market nearby to buy some groceries. It was incredible, it was small and packed with people. The vendors sold flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, breads, meats, fish, and pannekoek (Dutch pancakes). I bought some fresh arugula, cherry tomatoes, and Greek yogurt. I forgot that the vendors choose the produce for you, but fortunately I did not pick anything up before realizing I wasn't supposed to touch the fruits.

Hopefully Evelien, Sara (her roommate), and I will travel to Delft this week. It's a town about an hour southwest of Amsterdam, where Evelien's cousin lives. I can't wait to get my class schedule, so I can plan more trips around Europe!

Amsterdam!

Hallo from Amsterdam! My first night here was crazy fun. I spent the night in Evelien's room because the housing office was closed when I arrived. She's rooming with a girl named Sara, who is from Spain. Sara's friend Eduardo arrived at the airport at the same I did, so Evelien picked us both up. When we finally arrived to our apartment, Sara was preparing dinner. Somehow dinner for a few turned into dinner for 7! We walked to Albert Heijn, the local grocery store, and picked up a crate of beer. Not a 24 pack, a crate. Peter (from Germany) cooked dinner, opened a beer bottle by placing two beer bottles close together and kicking the bottoms with his feet, taught us how to open beer with a lighter, and brought down some Jagermeister straight from Germany.

Peter made a wall of our empty beer bottles.

Then I introduced the Europeans to East Bay rap, such as Ghost Ride the Whip and Thizzle Dance. Sara and Eduardo taught us how to salsa, and we danced late into the night.

Eduardo and I woke up early to head to orientation, but we got lost and ended up being an hour late. I only stayed at orientation for a few hours before leaving early to get my key and bedding from the housing office. Evelien and I ended up getting lost on the way there as well, then walked across the city once more to return home. God I was tired of walking around the city! But I'm glad I skipped out on the first day of orientation, apparently it was just guest speakers, "intercultural workshops,"and getting-to-know-you games. Why is it that no matter how old you are, you're always forced into those stupid games? But tomorrow we have a city walk, museum tour, boat trip, and karaoke! We all know what happened last time I got up to sing karaoke...