zondag 30 augustus 2009
"Final Party"
I would like to report that I was the life of the party last night. Okay, not really, and I did leave at 12.30 am, practically as it really "started" but I did help start the party. 2 of my hallmates (one from Portugal and one from Israel) and I were the first 3 on the dance floor and we remained the first 3 for...mm...about 15 minutes? 20 minutes? Well, it was a while, and the crowd grew verrrrrry slowly (it felt like). Really, it wasn't slowly, it was just in incremental stages, but there were long pauses between each. By midnight it was stuffed. We totally started it. Just saying. Also, I think I may be a good influence because my friend from Israel said this is the first time she's ever danced without having anything to drink. ha! Look at that. For seriousness. Anyway, she said it was as much fun as she'd had dancing (or more?) and I think that's because when you know you can do it, and you know you can do it solely as you--not "enhanced" nor "buzzed" but purely as yourself in your own mind--you recognise your own power. When you find you can be uninhibited all by yourself and have a good time...that just makes the good time so much better.
zaterdag 29 augustus 2009
Bodies
For the record, I'll try to briefly clarify my feelings I referenced when mentioning the Red Light District. I have to go soon, so it might not come out perfectly, but:
It's incredible and strange to me (and, also, rather disgusting--as in, when I look at the "purchasers") that people are viewing bodies, yes in the Marxian sense, as commodities. But it's so much more than that. It's about body / soul dynamics.
There are full-length windows with female bodies dressed up as if they're in Victoria's Secret windows, with red velvet all around them and floor lighting. They're like moving mannequins, and old men oggle by with rented bikes, going slowly. It's revolting.
I just can't seem to get my head around it--do they not understand that souls are attached to those bodies? That bodies are the vessels for personality? You can't separate the body from the person who gives it life. The soul may be separated from the body, but the body's purpose is to harbour soul--the soul gives it expression, acts as the cause behind the symptom of the body. The idea that someone could desire another's body, exclusively, seems heinous in a sacrispiritual way. The idea that a whole segment of the population could be taught that this is acceptable is unbelievable.
My friend who got coffee with me, and I, were discussing this, and I couldn't help but sputter about my disbelief in the way other humans...view other humans. And she said, wisely, that of course, it's all about the gaining they may do. These purchasers are paying for the ability to gain from this avenue that is given so much social and cultural significance, and of course it requires the losing of some other party (namely, the party with the body in question). I refer to it as "taking" and "using", but she was able to see, in a maybe less-biased way, the motivation behind such actions. Of course in the end it's never about the person inhabiting the body. It's not even really about the body, in the sense that the body itself has any say in what's happening--no one cares about the body in the sense that it has thoughts and feelings and wisdom of its own. It's about the Conquistador, and if your body is the avenue that's best used to gain elevation, so be it, in prostitution.
There's so much more to say, and I had a great way of describing this earlier, and I liked it better than "commodification" or "objectification" but when I remember, I'll post it.
love,
miranda.
EDIT (20 Sept. 2009): So, here are two attempts at the quick phrases I'm feeling:
1) desiring the body for the services it can provide
2) separating the body from the person
It's incredible and strange to me (and, also, rather disgusting--as in, when I look at the "purchasers") that people are viewing bodies, yes in the Marxian sense, as commodities. But it's so much more than that. It's about body / soul dynamics.
There are full-length windows with female bodies dressed up as if they're in Victoria's Secret windows, with red velvet all around them and floor lighting. They're like moving mannequins, and old men oggle by with rented bikes, going slowly. It's revolting.
I just can't seem to get my head around it--do they not understand that souls are attached to those bodies? That bodies are the vessels for personality? You can't separate the body from the person who gives it life. The soul may be separated from the body, but the body's purpose is to harbour soul--the soul gives it expression, acts as the cause behind the symptom of the body. The idea that someone could desire another's body, exclusively, seems heinous in a sacrispiritual way. The idea that a whole segment of the population could be taught that this is acceptable is unbelievable.
My friend who got coffee with me, and I, were discussing this, and I couldn't help but sputter about my disbelief in the way other humans...view other humans. And she said, wisely, that of course, it's all about the gaining they may do. These purchasers are paying for the ability to gain from this avenue that is given so much social and cultural significance, and of course it requires the losing of some other party (namely, the party with the body in question). I refer to it as "taking" and "using", but she was able to see, in a maybe less-biased way, the motivation behind such actions. Of course in the end it's never about the person inhabiting the body. It's not even really about the body, in the sense that the body itself has any say in what's happening--no one cares about the body in the sense that it has thoughts and feelings and wisdom of its own. It's about the Conquistador, and if your body is the avenue that's best used to gain elevation, so be it, in prostitution.
There's so much more to say, and I had a great way of describing this earlier, and I liked it better than "commodification" or "objectification" but when I remember, I'll post it.
love,
miranda.
EDIT (20 Sept. 2009): So, here are two attempts at the quick phrases I'm feeling:
1) desiring the body for the services it can provide
2) separating the body from the person
Quiz
Do you know what I strongly dislike (would say "hate")?
Cigarette smoke. If you guessed cigarette smoke, then you are correct.
And by strongly dislike I mean very very very strongly despise.
Cigarette smoke. If you guessed cigarette smoke, then you are correct.
And by strongly dislike I mean very very very strongly despise.
5th Day Update
So! This is going to be a compilation of events from Day 2 - Day 5, of which I am now nearing the end. Classes start next Monday; I'm currently enrolled in 5 classes (one of which I must drop):
Beginning Dutch, M 4-6pm, Th 6-8pm
Europe in the Global Political Economy, Tu 2-4.45pm
European Union Law, an Intro, W 3.15-15pm, Th 3-5pm
Russia & European Integration, M 6-8.45pm
Nationalism & its Revival in Europe, W 9am-noon
Excited!
The second day: a few other kids get in, we have an orientation, and then take a cruise through the canals! They provided pizza dinner, including an entire vegan one for me :) It's a little weird being substance free here--I guess it's no surprise, but I don't think any other kids are. Some don't do pot, at least, but it's still strange. Today I saw the Red Light district and I just can't help thinking about the new ways I'm understanding bodies--I've been thinking about it a lot this summer, and how we hype the body and pretend everything's about bodies, when it's not. How we fixate on bodies, and why? Bodies are immaterial. Bodies are not substantive; they are a casing and a means to physical existence in certain worlds. They are nothing on their own. They are transient and temporal; they mean nothing about the soul and do not travel with the soul from experience to experience--and how incredible it is that no one else seems to get that. They haven't been taught yet. It's never too late to learn. Anyway, then to the evening club that the Housing Corporation, De Key (d'kaye--as in, aye aye, captain) sponsors. A little weird. I knew I wouldn't like clubbing, but at least I can say now I've been once. I force some of my shier friends to dance with me, and they look like they have a good time for that brief period. I propose we leave, and they agree, so we wander for an hour. At 9pm local, we're back at the club to meet up with our CIEE group, which takes us to the Dutch film organised by the International Student Network (ISN) here. It's supposed to be a light-hearted romantic comedy, but it's a black-humour film that ends up being about euthanasia, the drug culture, and the gays in Amsterdam. And Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. Intense! Midnight it's to sleep for me.
Also, an Israeli hallmate moves into my hall. I think we're going to be friends.
Third day! 9:30am we all (all CIEE kids) have to meet up to go to the Practical Orientation, where we learn about bikes and phones and safety and all sorts of things. We meet our RAs and caretakers (maintenance directors?), all of whom are genuine, funny, and nice (or seem so), and then they bring me a special vegan lunch and the other kids have theirs too. I like how I always have my special meals served right to me...happened on the airplane, too! It's like being royalty, haha!
Then, like 1pm / 1:30pm (can't believe this was all in one day), we begin a walking tour of the city, going to many University buildings and other practical spots, concluding in a trip to the CIEE office for European phones (which we have to buy pay-as-you-go minutes for), and then an ENDLESS search for bikes. The companies they reserved bikes with didn't have enough for short people (which left 9 people bikeless), so we went walking for 2 hr. to find more used bikes...Good way to see the city, but also sort of convinced me that if I could do that, I didn't really NEED a bike. (I've changed my mind since). Which I sort of already thought anyway. Oh well. I alternate between very scared (always send love!) and pretty excited. Two minutes ago I was REALLY excited. Now I'm remembering how to be scared again. It's true that we emotionally poison ourselves.
Tonight I skipped an International Student Network event to go to a "borrel"--basically an event in Europe where people go to a bar and socially hang out. Of course it's awkward being substance-free here. I didn't skip because of that, but because I want to go to sleep early tonight. I feel weird though because I promised a group of friends and we don't have cell phone numbers to call and say why we're not going :( Oh well!
Fourth day was yesterday, the 28th. I missed sending Mrs. Hill her birthday greeting until a day later because I'm so screwed up with time and dates and days of the week here. It'll get better when the semester starts. 10.15 we all meet to start an Academic walking tour & orientation. I iron out some details about where and when classes meet (this university is REALLY disorganised....like other gigantic universities). I don't remember what happened because I just kept thinking: please let me sleep, please let me sleep... My body's been doing this really weird thing that's actually normal for my body, which is having an AWESOME alarm clock. My body shuts me down at 10, wakes me up at 8/9, and also wakes me up when I need to get up to get someplace. Also, our rooms are equipped with nasty intercom systems so people can "buzz" you. Sounds like a fire alarm going off and it scares the crap out of me, every time.
Another awesome like indie activisty homeless/foodless-helper (knows Food Not Bombs, for instance) kid pointed out the University has bottles of Kombucha in its dining facilities. Exactly what I need! I was so excited, and obviously got some.
We buy some textbooks and are done by 3pm. A new close friend of mine and I wander for an hour to find pillows, get a little lost, find ourselves, I try out some Dutch and am responded to in English (duh), and then we find a small coffee house (NOT coffee shop--they actually serve coffee here) and sit for 2 hours, watching a T-intersection of the canals. So lovely. We talk about gender, sexuality, queers, driving cars, about talking, &c. I think she and I are going to be really close, because I feel really comfortable with her. For the record, most of the kids on this program I feel comfortable with; they're really wonderful, wonderful, wonderful kids. Plus, full of FGSS students. Ridiculous.
For the record, wandering until you're lost is the best way to figure out where you are in the city. It forces you to take initiative, take control, and really make a map in your head. They all say it's true--but it turns out, it really is true!
For dinner, we all cook together (well, about 6 or so of us cook in my building) and then nearly all 33 CIEEers feast! It's a wonderful meal, and it's cooked like meals should be--with good friends, good conversation, and with appetisers so everyone (including the chefs) don't starve. That was un-fabulous syntax. The amazing Romanian grad student joins us. Then, excellent conversation lasting hours afterward. Then I decide to skip Karaoke, because it's going to be late and I NEED some sleep finally! Just as I decide, claps of thunder are heard and--almost instantly!--a torrential downpour and thunderstorm commence. They are some of the most beautiful sounds. So, I loved last night, but some of my poor friends had to walk home through it. I will say in my defence: I offered an umbrella, which was turned down.
TODAY! (finally): 10.15am we meet, get on a bus & use our "strippenkaart" (bus tickets) and travel out of town to nearby fishing villages. The first one is traditional and has housing codes requiring the historical houses be kept in their original condition (YES!) and our tour guides wear traditional outfits. It pours, and it's beautiful. God I love the rain. It's called Marken, and I want to live there one day. Even though no non-Dutch person has lived there thus far (supposedly). Then to Volendam, I think. It was touristy. Eh. I prefer Marken. Back by 4pm, wander some more, back home, and then I hang out for hours with my hallmates! I LOVE them, and the Israeli girl and I are finally hanging out after I ditched her twice. We're all going (from my hall) to the International Student "final" party. I don't like parties, but I figure I'll stay a half hour to an hour or so. See if I like it. Hang out with the kids.
I finally called some of the CIEEers "kids" today and they laughed at me. Another friend said she felt like I was her mom, in a friendly sense (I was ecstatic--you know me). To several more, I admitted (finally) that I frequently feel like an Old Crone, and then I had to explain the Maiden / Mother / Crone theory (Triple Goddess?). I do feel like an Old Crone frequently, and it's confusing to people because I'm supposed to be in the Maiden stage. HA.
Actually had a great gender discussion with a friend walking home--how lovely that these things happen when you least expect them!
Anyway, that's my update so far :) Hope you've enjoyed!
Much Love,
Miranda
Beginning Dutch, M 4-6pm, Th 6-8pm
Europe in the Global Political Economy, Tu 2-4.45pm
European Union Law, an Intro, W 3.15-15pm, Th 3-5pm
Russia & European Integration, M 6-8.45pm
Nationalism & its Revival in Europe, W 9am-noon
Excited!
The second day: a few other kids get in, we have an orientation, and then take a cruise through the canals! They provided pizza dinner, including an entire vegan one for me :) It's a little weird being substance free here--I guess it's no surprise, but I don't think any other kids are. Some don't do pot, at least, but it's still strange. Today I saw the Red Light district and I just can't help thinking about the new ways I'm understanding bodies--I've been thinking about it a lot this summer, and how we hype the body and pretend everything's about bodies, when it's not. How we fixate on bodies, and why? Bodies are immaterial. Bodies are not substantive; they are a casing and a means to physical existence in certain worlds. They are nothing on their own. They are transient and temporal; they mean nothing about the soul and do not travel with the soul from experience to experience--and how incredible it is that no one else seems to get that. They haven't been taught yet. It's never too late to learn. Anyway, then to the evening club that the Housing Corporation, De Key (d'kaye--as in, aye aye, captain) sponsors. A little weird. I knew I wouldn't like clubbing, but at least I can say now I've been once. I force some of my shier friends to dance with me, and they look like they have a good time for that brief period. I propose we leave, and they agree, so we wander for an hour. At 9pm local, we're back at the club to meet up with our CIEE group, which takes us to the Dutch film organised by the International Student Network (ISN) here. It's supposed to be a light-hearted romantic comedy, but it's a black-humour film that ends up being about euthanasia, the drug culture, and the gays in Amsterdam. And Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. Intense! Midnight it's to sleep for me.
Also, an Israeli hallmate moves into my hall. I think we're going to be friends.
Third day! 9:30am we all (all CIEE kids) have to meet up to go to the Practical Orientation, where we learn about bikes and phones and safety and all sorts of things. We meet our RAs and caretakers (maintenance directors?), all of whom are genuine, funny, and nice (or seem so), and then they bring me a special vegan lunch and the other kids have theirs too. I like how I always have my special meals served right to me...happened on the airplane, too! It's like being royalty, haha!
Then, like 1pm / 1:30pm (can't believe this was all in one day), we begin a walking tour of the city, going to many University buildings and other practical spots, concluding in a trip to the CIEE office for European phones (which we have to buy pay-as-you-go minutes for), and then an ENDLESS search for bikes. The companies they reserved bikes with didn't have enough for short people (which left 9 people bikeless), so we went walking for 2 hr. to find more used bikes...Good way to see the city, but also sort of convinced me that if I could do that, I didn't really NEED a bike. (I've changed my mind since). Which I sort of already thought anyway. Oh well. I alternate between very scared (always send love!) and pretty excited. Two minutes ago I was REALLY excited. Now I'm remembering how to be scared again. It's true that we emotionally poison ourselves.
Tonight I skipped an International Student Network event to go to a "borrel"--basically an event in Europe where people go to a bar and socially hang out. Of course it's awkward being substance-free here. I didn't skip because of that, but because I want to go to sleep early tonight. I feel weird though because I promised a group of friends and we don't have cell phone numbers to call and say why we're not going :( Oh well!
Fourth day was yesterday, the 28th. I missed sending Mrs. Hill her birthday greeting until a day later because I'm so screwed up with time and dates and days of the week here. It'll get better when the semester starts. 10.15 we all meet to start an Academic walking tour & orientation. I iron out some details about where and when classes meet (this university is REALLY disorganised....like other gigantic universities). I don't remember what happened because I just kept thinking: please let me sleep, please let me sleep... My body's been doing this really weird thing that's actually normal for my body, which is having an AWESOME alarm clock. My body shuts me down at 10, wakes me up at 8/9, and also wakes me up when I need to get up to get someplace. Also, our rooms are equipped with nasty intercom systems so people can "buzz" you. Sounds like a fire alarm going off and it scares the crap out of me, every time.
Another awesome like indie activisty homeless/foodless-helper (knows Food Not Bombs, for instance) kid pointed out the University has bottles of Kombucha in its dining facilities. Exactly what I need! I was so excited, and obviously got some.
We buy some textbooks and are done by 3pm. A new close friend of mine and I wander for an hour to find pillows, get a little lost, find ourselves, I try out some Dutch and am responded to in English (duh), and then we find a small coffee house (NOT coffee shop--they actually serve coffee here) and sit for 2 hours, watching a T-intersection of the canals. So lovely. We talk about gender, sexuality, queers, driving cars, about talking, &c. I think she and I are going to be really close, because I feel really comfortable with her. For the record, most of the kids on this program I feel comfortable with; they're really wonderful, wonderful, wonderful kids. Plus, full of FGSS students. Ridiculous.
For the record, wandering until you're lost is the best way to figure out where you are in the city. It forces you to take initiative, take control, and really make a map in your head. They all say it's true--but it turns out, it really is true!
For dinner, we all cook together (well, about 6 or so of us cook in my building) and then nearly all 33 CIEEers feast! It's a wonderful meal, and it's cooked like meals should be--with good friends, good conversation, and with appetisers so everyone (including the chefs) don't starve. That was un-fabulous syntax. The amazing Romanian grad student joins us. Then, excellent conversation lasting hours afterward. Then I decide to skip Karaoke, because it's going to be late and I NEED some sleep finally! Just as I decide, claps of thunder are heard and--almost instantly!--a torrential downpour and thunderstorm commence. They are some of the most beautiful sounds. So, I loved last night, but some of my poor friends had to walk home through it. I will say in my defence: I offered an umbrella, which was turned down.
TODAY! (finally): 10.15am we meet, get on a bus & use our "strippenkaart" (bus tickets) and travel out of town to nearby fishing villages. The first one is traditional and has housing codes requiring the historical houses be kept in their original condition (YES!) and our tour guides wear traditional outfits. It pours, and it's beautiful. God I love the rain. It's called Marken, and I want to live there one day. Even though no non-Dutch person has lived there thus far (supposedly). Then to Volendam, I think. It was touristy. Eh. I prefer Marken. Back by 4pm, wander some more, back home, and then I hang out for hours with my hallmates! I LOVE them, and the Israeli girl and I are finally hanging out after I ditched her twice. We're all going (from my hall) to the International Student "final" party. I don't like parties, but I figure I'll stay a half hour to an hour or so. See if I like it. Hang out with the kids.
I finally called some of the CIEEers "kids" today and they laughed at me. Another friend said she felt like I was her mom, in a friendly sense (I was ecstatic--you know me). To several more, I admitted (finally) that I frequently feel like an Old Crone, and then I had to explain the Maiden / Mother / Crone theory (Triple Goddess?). I do feel like an Old Crone frequently, and it's confusing to people because I'm supposed to be in the Maiden stage. HA.
Actually had a great gender discussion with a friend walking home--how lovely that these things happen when you least expect them!
Anyway, that's my update so far :) Hope you've enjoyed!
Much Love,
Miranda
woensdag 26 augustus 2009
First Day
So, it's about 3:30pm your time (9:30pm my time) as I'm beginning to write this post--WOW I'm tired. So, here's the story:
Well, first, the reason I didn't write right away was because the Internet access is secured here and I only lately found out the password; also, I naturally had to sleep for 2 hours once unloading and making my bed (with Ikea linens!!! I can't wait until you can see my room :) ), and then the whole group of kids in our study abroad group (all Americans) went out to dinner, as the study abroad Coordinators had arranged.
I have made friends who want to go grocery shopping with me, so that's nice :)
So, my flight to Philly was TINY. One stewardess, 18 rows, 3 seats (1 on the left and 2 on the right). The only overhead storage was on the right and it was a funky triangle shape. I couldn't fit my backpack underneath my seat, since there was hardly room for my feet, so I got the stewardess to kick it under some chairs on the right, where there was more space.
At Philly, after some confusion with my exiting the airport (it's gigantic) and also getting my boarding pass for my next flight so I could come back through security, my grandparents met me and took me to lunch. My grandfather arranged for a shuttle to drive us to the terminal I needed, and my grandmother seemed really reluctant to let me go. I saw them for a good 2 hours and it was very very very nice :)
My flight to Amsterdam only lasted 7 hours (not even; it's 7 including taxi time to the airport from the landing)--at least an hour less than expected! One stewardess spoke Dutch and translated everything into both Dutch & English. They speak FAST and slur everything together. Makes me appreciate Spanish, which is easy by comparison. It was hard to sleep on the flight; they played the new Star Trek movie (which I missed some of because I wanted to sleep sometimes, but I mostly watched the whole thing without sound, because I never plugged my headphones in...) and then some comedy show and then some advertisements and it was just....it felt too hectic to really sleep. The couple next to me was very nice and I sort of wanted them to adopt me for the rest of the flight-then-baggage situations because I was scared.
My vegan meal came at 6pm; they gave it to me without me asking (yay!) before they served anyone else. Here is why I liked the meal:
We land in Amsterdam and I collect my bags by 8am local time, and CIEE has told us to meet at the "Central Meeting Point" by where the trains meet. Turns out, the Schiphol Airport (which was rated the #1 airport in Europe) actually has a designated place called the Meeting Point, and it's listed on all the signs. It's this big old checkered red & white structure where people can sit and wait (looks like a Lego fortress, kinda), and it includes a HUGE video screen where it displays text messages of people trying to find other people! You send your message addressed to your friend's name to the Schiphol texting number, and it appears. Cool, huh? A whole bunch of CIEE kids gather there, figure out we're all together, then wait for the Airport Pickup to arrive. The Coordinators, Renee and Hannah, are REALLY nice and lead us to our own special bus which takes us to the housing corporation office. We sign our pre-paid leases, receive our Ikea linens in a box, get our keys, and then we're off. The bus drops each of us off really near our "dorms." (My box's handle broke, like everyone else's.....so it was REALLY hard walking while trying to carry a broken box and 2 suitcases). So another kid helped me, then I shoved all my crap through the dorm doorway, closed the door, and took everything up THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS to my hall 1 at a time. I'll be fit by the end of this, especially when you add the bicycling in.
The dorms are AWESOME. Mine overlooks the canal, and my room has a sliding glass door that I can open to look out or catch the breeze. It acts like a window, though, because it has metal preventing you from falling outside, and the windows don't open; so it's like a big full-length window. The sight is beautiful. The dorm is like this: you walk in the door, there are mailboxes, and then there are the 1st-level halls. The first-level rooms all walk out into the back patio of the dorm, which you can access from the lobby, which is right next to the canal. They even have small gardens by their doors. Each hall on each floor has its own lock, so each hall (of 6 people) operates effectively as an apartment unit. Then you each have access to your own door. Plus mailboxes, so I have 4 keys. Anyway, each hall has its own lounge (with TV), 3 rooms of single showers, 3 rooms of single bathrooms (tiny but still, it's nice), and a kitchen that's already equipped with everything from past participants. On the first floor, there is a lounge with a beanbag chair and a hammock.
My room includes:
Sad side of the story: TSA violated my new suitcase and left a little notice telling me they'd done so. I don't know if it's because of them or not, but now it has two small snag-holes in it near the zippers.
At noon local time / 1pm we are all settled in our respective rooms. I put all my stuff away, &c., then crash. I wake up 2 hours later at 5pm DESPERATELY wanting to sleep more, but I have no alarm clock (and my cell phone clock won't work because there's no reception, so it doesn't know the time) and I only have a half hour before the group leaves for dinner. I change and brush my teeth, &c. Dinner is at an Indonesian restaurant, and there's a vegetarian/pescatarian (veggie who eats fish) who sits near me, and another 2 friends of mine who are totally vegetarian except for they eat chicken (but not fish), and we accidentally all sit together. It's a big group, and we're all having a very good time except we're SO tired. The Coordinators walk us all back and we're in our dorms by 8pm or so.
OH! And just before I wrote this post, I had left my door open, and a girl from China who lives on my hall knocks on my door, and we introduce ourselves & get to talking, and then 3 other hallmates and a graduate student from Romania studying Communications who lives a floor above us all come in and we spend about an hour all talking together, and it's really nice. I really like the girl from Romania especially, and the girl from China. 2 of the kids are from Portugal, and 1 is from Spain (I think. He told me and then I got confused, but then he started talking about flying from Spain to Amsterdam in 2.5 hours, so I guess that's where he's from). I had travelled the most: 14 hours total. The girl from China was only 12 hours. We all decided to cook dinner together sometime, and to be friends. The kid from Spain is frustrated with himself for not speaking better English, but I hope that means I can learn better Spanish! I've already been recycling some phrases here...crazy! Never would have expected that.
Also, I'm eating the vegan brownies my mom gave me right now :) Turns out: the reason all my bags was so heavy was medicines + all that food!!! (10 Builders bars, 2.5 cookies, the brownies) + my non-prescription meds (cough meds, Pepto Bismal, &c.) + so many vitamins. Most of those will be gone on the return trip; they take up two shelves in my room! That's how much it amounts to.
Tomorrow I need to take out €300 to pay for a phone and bike and buying essentials like tissues & something else I realised I need that I can't remember now...so maybe I don't need it... Apparently you spend twice as much your first two months as the last two, when it drops, because in the beginning you're building up on essentials and cooking supplies, &c. Hopefully that means I'll be all squared away by the end and not have much I'll need to buy.
Also I've learned the Mac keyboard shortcut for the Euro symbol. It is alt(option) + shift + 2. Voila! The pound is like alt(option) + 4 or something like that.
Anyway, so that's my day in Amsterdam! It's now 10:20pm my time (4:20pm yours), so this has been ridiculously long...
Love,
Miranda
Well, first, the reason I didn't write right away was because the Internet access is secured here and I only lately found out the password; also, I naturally had to sleep for 2 hours once unloading and making my bed (with Ikea linens!!! I can't wait until you can see my room :) ), and then the whole group of kids in our study abroad group (all Americans) went out to dinner, as the study abroad Coordinators had arranged.
I have made friends who want to go grocery shopping with me, so that's nice :)
So, my flight to Philly was TINY. One stewardess, 18 rows, 3 seats (1 on the left and 2 on the right). The only overhead storage was on the right and it was a funky triangle shape. I couldn't fit my backpack underneath my seat, since there was hardly room for my feet, so I got the stewardess to kick it under some chairs on the right, where there was more space.
Notice the 3 seats in a row.
At Philly, after some confusion with my exiting the airport (it's gigantic) and also getting my boarding pass for my next flight so I could come back through security, my grandparents met me and took me to lunch. My grandfather arranged for a shuttle to drive us to the terminal I needed, and my grandmother seemed really reluctant to let me go. I saw them for a good 2 hours and it was very very very nice :)
My flight to Amsterdam only lasted 7 hours (not even; it's 7 including taxi time to the airport from the landing)--at least an hour less than expected! One stewardess spoke Dutch and translated everything into both Dutch & English. They speak FAST and slur everything together. Makes me appreciate Spanish, which is easy by comparison. It was hard to sleep on the flight; they played the new Star Trek movie (which I missed some of because I wanted to sleep sometimes, but I mostly watched the whole thing without sound, because I never plugged my headphones in...) and then some comedy show and then some advertisements and it was just....it felt too hectic to really sleep. The couple next to me was very nice and I sort of wanted them to adopt me for the rest of the flight-then-baggage situations because I was scared.
My vegan meal came at 6pm; they gave it to me without me asking (yay!) before they served anyone else. Here is why I liked the meal:
- They actually had a genuine vegan option. 5 years ago I had to be creative and get the Indian vegetarian meal. I got some spinach dish. It was good. But it's exciting that, 5 years later, vegan meals are an option they give.
- It was balanced and healthy. The airline meals now include a small side-salad and a small (rye?) roll.
- It was NOT mashed mush! Entree: rice with peas, carrots, asparagus (yes!), and maybe something else. Included a lemon to spritz on top, which I did. Really good tasting, too.
- It included a GENUINE vegan dessert! consisting of chilled tender fruit (melon & cantaloupe & pineapple), with coconut sprinkled all over top. So good, and really somehow touching that they gave me a vegan dessert rather than just skipping that part, when everyone else got a nonvegan brownie. So I was really happy :)
- BEST PART: when I heard them going around asking people what they wanted for their meal, the two options were a chicken dish and a (vegetarian) pasta dish. Which is SO exciting for 2 reasons!!!: a) SO eco-friendly to not be serving mammals, b) one of their standard options is now VEGETARIAN!!!! What is that! That's AMAZING! Look at how much progress has come!
We land in Amsterdam and I collect my bags by 8am local time, and CIEE has told us to meet at the "Central Meeting Point" by where the trains meet. Turns out, the Schiphol Airport (which was rated the #1 airport in Europe) actually has a designated place called the Meeting Point, and it's listed on all the signs. It's this big old checkered red & white structure where people can sit and wait (looks like a Lego fortress, kinda), and it includes a HUGE video screen where it displays text messages of people trying to find other people! You send your message addressed to your friend's name to the Schiphol texting number, and it appears. Cool, huh? A whole bunch of CIEE kids gather there, figure out we're all together, then wait for the Airport Pickup to arrive. The Coordinators, Renee and Hannah, are REALLY nice and lead us to our own special bus which takes us to the housing corporation office. We sign our pre-paid leases, receive our Ikea linens in a box, get our keys, and then we're off. The bus drops each of us off really near our "dorms." (My box's handle broke, like everyone else's.....so it was REALLY hard walking while trying to carry a broken box and 2 suitcases). So another kid helped me, then I shoved all my crap through the dorm doorway, closed the door, and took everything up THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS to my hall 1 at a time. I'll be fit by the end of this, especially when you add the bicycling in.
The dorms are AWESOME. Mine overlooks the canal, and my room has a sliding glass door that I can open to look out or catch the breeze. It acts like a window, though, because it has metal preventing you from falling outside, and the windows don't open; so it's like a big full-length window. The sight is beautiful. The dorm is like this: you walk in the door, there are mailboxes, and then there are the 1st-level halls. The first-level rooms all walk out into the back patio of the dorm, which you can access from the lobby, which is right next to the canal. They even have small gardens by their doors. Each hall on each floor has its own lock, so each hall (of 6 people) operates effectively as an apartment unit. Then you each have access to your own door. Plus mailboxes, so I have 4 keys. Anyway, each hall has its own lounge (with TV), 3 rooms of single showers, 3 rooms of single bathrooms (tiny but still, it's nice), and a kitchen that's already equipped with everything from past participants. On the first floor, there is a lounge with a beanbag chair and a hammock.
My room includes:
- curtains
- bedside lamp
- desk lamp
- trash bin
- AWESOME bookshelves (like Ikea ish & black; it's 5 storeys)
- lots and lots and LOTS of coathangers (shouldn't have brought any, then...oops)
- 2 wooden chairs
- bed & mattress
- desk
- wardrobe with shelf space (shelves in the closet?) (it's big and NICE!)
- a phone???
- and two TINY TINY TINY sets of drawers (one is a "chest of drawers" with 3 small ones, and one is a "bedside table" with 1 small drawer. Plus it looks kinda like a really short chair).
My room!
View from my window.
Sad side of the story: TSA violated my new suitcase and left a little notice telling me they'd done so. I don't know if it's because of them or not, but now it has two small snag-holes in it near the zippers.
At noon local time / 1pm we are all settled in our respective rooms. I put all my stuff away, &c., then crash. I wake up 2 hours later at 5pm DESPERATELY wanting to sleep more, but I have no alarm clock (and my cell phone clock won't work because there's no reception, so it doesn't know the time) and I only have a half hour before the group leaves for dinner. I change and brush my teeth, &c. Dinner is at an Indonesian restaurant, and there's a vegetarian/pescatarian (veggie who eats fish) who sits near me, and another 2 friends of mine who are totally vegetarian except for they eat chicken (but not fish), and we accidentally all sit together. It's a big group, and we're all having a very good time except we're SO tired. The Coordinators walk us all back and we're in our dorms by 8pm or so.
OH! And just before I wrote this post, I had left my door open, and a girl from China who lives on my hall knocks on my door, and we introduce ourselves & get to talking, and then 3 other hallmates and a graduate student from Romania studying Communications who lives a floor above us all come in and we spend about an hour all talking together, and it's really nice. I really like the girl from Romania especially, and the girl from China. 2 of the kids are from Portugal, and 1 is from Spain (I think. He told me and then I got confused, but then he started talking about flying from Spain to Amsterdam in 2.5 hours, so I guess that's where he's from). I had travelled the most: 14 hours total. The girl from China was only 12 hours. We all decided to cook dinner together sometime, and to be friends. The kid from Spain is frustrated with himself for not speaking better English, but I hope that means I can learn better Spanish! I've already been recycling some phrases here...crazy! Never would have expected that.
Also, I'm eating the vegan brownies my mom gave me right now :) Turns out: the reason all my bags was so heavy was medicines + all that food!!! (10 Builders bars, 2.5 cookies, the brownies) + my non-prescription meds (cough meds, Pepto Bismal, &c.) + so many vitamins. Most of those will be gone on the return trip; they take up two shelves in my room! That's how much it amounts to.
Tomorrow I need to take out €300 to pay for a phone and bike and buying essentials like tissues & something else I realised I need that I can't remember now...so maybe I don't need it... Apparently you spend twice as much your first two months as the last two, when it drops, because in the beginning you're building up on essentials and cooking supplies, &c. Hopefully that means I'll be all squared away by the end and not have much I'll need to buy.
Also I've learned the Mac keyboard shortcut for the Euro symbol. It is alt(option) + shift + 2. Voila! The pound is like alt(option) + 4 or something like that.
Anyway, so that's my day in Amsterdam! It's now 10:20pm my time (4:20pm yours), so this has been ridiculously long...
Love,
Miranda
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