I returned from Paris Tuesday and it was such a long trip and I was exhausted from being on so many planes. I got back to the "ghetto" as they call Bijlmer. And passed out. Later on I met Mal's close friend there Alexandra or Al and she goes to Chico and grew up in Redding which was soo bizarre when I found out considering my entire mom's side lives there and my parents grew up there too. It was pretty hectic around the dorms because everyone was moving out and going home, very emotional too for all of them.
The next day was America's independence day and for the second year in a row of course I wasn't in America...which if anyone knows me well enough I don't mind, I like it this way. :) The fourth started out later and I went into the city to meet up with Al and her roommate Elly who is German and literally the sweetest person ever. I hung out with them before going back to the dorms to do a little bbq'n for the night before we , again, went back into the city to go out. It was so cute watching all the foreigners BBQ and be American for the day. The we're being more patriotic than the Americans which was silly. The nightlife in Amsterdam is always alive too. Every night people are out and about at bars and clubs and what not. It's so interesting to see a different side of cultures here, so much different than London even or NYC. Plus it was nice to go out with a different group of people, everyone was foreign and from somewhere different. All these people got so close to each other studying abroad for 6 months it's amazing. I really really wish I were able to studying for a semester or even a year but thanks to swim and polo I can't :(. But at least I was able to get the opportunity to go abroad. Anyway after a fun night out, the next day was nice too. I walked around with Al in the city and we stumbled upon the outdoor market and had my first hot stroopwafel. SO DELICIOUS. It's a thin Waffel sandwich thing with caramel in the middle and it's warm and delicious. Obviously I have to bring back packs haha. And I tried frites that are fresh and also very delicious. They are homemade and in a lil pack so it's easy to eat with any sauce on top. After we did all that fun stuff we eventually went back to the dorms to to see everyone else that was leaving Amsterdam. It was very relaxed but of course everyone was super sad.
Friday everyone had to move out and Mal had to get all her stuff out and bring it to her boyfriends. This was the part of the trip that started getting interesting. We were all supposed to go to London but I decided on a financial scale it wouldn't be the best idea for me. So I told them I didn't want to go but they went anyway. I really wanted to see Amsterdam since that was the reason I came to europe and I only saw the city one day out of the entire time I had been there. So I thought it was a pretty good decision. Unfortunately something's got confusing and I was homeless for a second which sucked but every the g was figured out just fine.
Friday night was very interesting too. Everyone was moved out of the dorms and some people were in their own places. For dinner Al and I made a huge delicious salad and later went out on the town. We met up with another Californian Liz who goes to CSUSM and plays lacross. We went to a basically all Dutch bar and it had like no tourists what so ever so of course people assumed I was Dutch and were talking to me in Dutch. So that was fun. At one point I decided to be bold because everyone was talking to different people and I went up to a group of Dutch people and told them I needed friends. Everyone here is so genuinely nice it's awesome. I met some really cool people that night and it was so so much fun.
Saturday I wandered around by myself to see the museums. I used Al's museum card to get in for free which saved me soooo much money. I went into the Van Gogh museum which was amazing to see all of his late work and more recent stuff before he died. After that I wandered to the dutch museum that has a really long complicated name so I can't write it. It's home to all the early Dutch works of art, even the east Indian trading company memorabilia and Rembrandt's artwork as well. It was such a nice day out too so I walked all the way to Anne Frank's house which was kind of a long walk but I didn't mind. It was good :) the Anne Frank house was super intense to see. And learn about where they hid from the Nazi's and all that. They really made the museum very well. After that was over it was dinner time and I went to a place called wok to walk and it soo good and fresh. They make it right in front of you however you like it. I walked back to where I was staying and had a nice lil dinner on the balcony while Al and Elly were at a BBQ. Later when they got back we headed into the centre to meet up with friends and hung out at a place called coco's which is a lil Australian bar that Al knows the bartenders which is niiice. Getting home was interesting...we potentially got lost but found our way home thanks to some very nice people.
Sunday was such a lazy day since it was pouring allll day long. But once it stopped Al took me to the red light district which is very very different. I still can't believe that in that area prostitution is legal. It's so sad to see those girls standing in the windows looking for customers. I was intrigued by the whole thing. Later we had to meet up with the dude that sold Al her bike because it was broken. That was a whole different experience on its own. People buy bikes from junkies who just steal bikes and sell them for a profit. Very sketch. But he basically dragged us around the city and that was when we put our dumb American hats on and had a, well interesting night. Luckily we're still alive. But now that that was done with we ended our lovely day.
Today is another by myself day too. I really don't mind the alone time because I get to finish up this blog and relax and see the city on my own. Especially since I also needed to get all my Dutch souvenirs too!! Which I did. :) maybe something exciting will happen tonight that I can report too!
This experience so far has definitely been out of the ordinary tourist experience and I love it. I've gotten to see everything and when I mean everything I also mean I got to meet new people, see things that normal tourist definitely would not have. There have been some bumpy times but I've pushed through and made the best of a bad situation. I'm so excited to go back to New York and start my new chapter and finally move into my new apartment and work off this trip :) AND FINALLY SEE MY ROOMMATE who I haven't seen in 2 months. I love traveling but maybe I need to stay up for a little while :)
Till then :)
Xoxo
I love you dearest. Be safe. Love, Dad
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