SO. My internet isn’t working at the moment, so this entry will be posted after the fact. After a very posh overnight ferry ride, one sprinter commuter train ride, and then another sort of commuter train across the country, Justin, Alex, and I arrive in Amsterdam. We found the hostel after walking nearly twice as far as we needed to. It wasn’t that big of a deal because the hostel was actually about a three-minute walk from central station. It did feel a lot longer when we were carrying all of our god-forsaken luggage. We slept for a couple of hours in our hostel, the FLYING PIG. It happens to be a self-proclaimed “party hostel,” but the only real evidence of this that I found was the smoking room. They didn’t always keep the door closed, so sitting in the loungy bar area where they played really good music was a little unpleasant at first.
For the first hostel I’ve ever been to, it was not disgusting. I didn’t really use the bathroom except to brush my teeth. The experience was probably better because we had a four person room with it’s own bathroom. I think I saw the fourth person awake for a total of five minutes.
We met Ian at central station after he flew in, and wandered around the city center for a bit. Stopping into a brown bar, I was sort of but not quite surprised by the fact that the smoking ban that went into effect this year has done little to eliminate smoking, especially in a bar that is named after the old brown wallpaper (brown as in from tobacco smoke stains). I got a delicious coffee. Then we met up with Giulia, another one of the people from Oxy. We got 6 Euro noodles which were warm and yummy!
Apparently, even though the flying pig is a party hostel, only guests are allowed in, so we couldn’t hang out with Giulia there. We went to the first bar we found. It was a Scottish bar (?). We played scrabble and met a fabulously gay man named Paul. He took us on an adventure of signing and gay bar bingo. It was a fantastic first night in Amsterdam. Then we were tired and out of euros ( I only had 35 on my first day that I exchanged at home), so at like 11:00, we went back to the hostel to go to bed.
We went down to breakfast (included in the room) at 8:30 in order to get a jump on move-in program starting, exciting day, and most of the other people at breakfast that early were going on our program. We had a group to figure out how to get to the housing company, which was nice. Once we got off the bus with seven people and probably at least half a ton of luggage, we were greeted by the nicest people in the world, the employees of De Key housing. They poured you coffee, they carried your luggage, they even had free massages (it was an amazing massage, but in the end it tricked my body into thinking that the carrying and the pulling and the walking and the other things that make my body hurt were over). Alanna, one of the girls from the hostel was assigned the dorm right down the street from me, and our street happened to be sort of around the corner from the housing office, so we walked together. It was a battle, that did not end when I got to my front doorstep. My room assignment is D1. This means that I had to heave all of the luggage that I’ve been cursing for weeks now up a bunch of flights of dangerously narrow stairs. Then I saw my huge room with a sort of canal view. I unpacked, showered, and felt much better.
After the welcome program and the canal boat cruise which featured drink coupons, I got a ride on the back of Emily, a girl who is in Amsterdam for the full academic year,’s bike back to Plantage Muidergracht. Then a huge group of people walked to the Albert Heijn, which is the local grocery chain. I bough a bunch of stuff because I wanted to feel like I would not starve to death, even though I think a lot of meals are provided during orientation.
An interesting thing that I noticed is that my total came to something and 81 cents. The change listed on the receipt was rounded to give me 20 cents. I was pleased with this, because the 1-cent euro coin is useless, but I thought it was interesting that it was institutionalized that way.
Now I’m back at my room, which is so blah feeling, but I found out that other than the two girls from CIEE living on my floor, there is a Spanish architecture student, and some girl that spent time in Australia but that is from California. I have met neither of these girls, but there is still one empty room. It is the room right next to mine. I’m glad for now, because who doesn’t want a silent roommate? Also, when the two other girls are back, the place should be much cleaner because the people staying over the break were sloppy guys. That made me feel better about how dingy the place is.
I’m such a wimp because it’s only 9:30, and I’m already tired. I think I’m going to read something and go to bed.
Sara getting en-bubbled at NEMO, a children's science center that was too cool.
Sara getting en-bubbled at NEMO, a children's science center that was too cool.
Justin, holding a lightning bolt of fury at the coolest playground (since Kid's World?).
Sara and Giulia climbing in the coolest, and possibly least safe, playground ever.
random skating rink inside an old gas works building. I would shoot a scene in a movie there, if, you know I directed movies....
Sara walking around a partially frozen bird pond at the gas works park (westergasfabriek, it's a culture park!)
A market in den Haag (the hague for all you english speakers)
a random statue in den haag with a scarf on.
the view from the train going from the ferry station to Rotterdam. I now know that snow is not at all like frost.
Same train ride.
Alex is way more sophisticated and learned than Justin and me.
