Hey everybody, hard to believe this may be my last post from Paris, this semester absolutely flew by. It's been a while since my last one, so I will try to give a recount of everything that has been going on, although it is all start to run together. Last week I hung out with Xavier on Wednesday, we just hung out and watched some South Park, which I miss so much, haha. Thursday we had the end of year party for Sweet Briar, which was really great. It was very nice, yummy food and some live music performed by the students (and a little trumpet from one of the professors), as well as a Secret Santa-I got a cute little French recipe book, which was perfect-I will have to cook something over break. It was a really fun party, although I must admit it was pretty sad at the same time, knowing that it was almost over. Afterwards, a group of us went out to a bar, and ended up staying there for a really long time. It was so much fun, we all had quite a few drinks and just had a good time being together and silly. Friday I did a tour of the Opera that Sweet Briar had organized, which was interesting, and then that night met up with a bunch of friends to celebrate Abby's 21st birthday. We went to this cool Irish pub, where I tried Absynthe for the first time (ick...not a fan of liccorice taste), and then we went and got a glass of wine before calling it a night. Another fun night, we even did some dancing as the bar kind of morphed into a club as the night went on. Saturday, I spent most of the day working on my cinema essay, and then walked down the Champs Elysees at night to see all the decorations. I then met up with Xavier, who took me to this little bar that had some bizarre but cool live music, and where some of his friends were. After the band finished the two of us and his friend Baptiste (who I had met before) headed out to find another bar, ending up over by Montparnasse at a place that again had some live music for a bit. It was cool, we talked to a couple Egyptians who were working in Paris, and then we left and walked around for awhile. Sunday it was back to work, as today (monday) I had both my final cinema paper do, and my Atelier exam. They both went well, I think, so that's good, so now I'm trying to get my paper done for tomorrow, ack. It's coming along though, all should be well, and tonight Kristin and I are going back to our old bar, Bar Cristal, to de-stress a bit and catch up. The big news is that I was officially accepted into the Spain program today, YAYYY, so now I don't have to worry about that anymore, phew. So yes, life right now is pretty hectic as I try to get all this work done, and my days are sadly slipping away. I'm so excited though to be home for Christmas, it will be so great to see everybody!! Love you all, and will be home soon,
Brit
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
STRASBOURG and Paris loveliness
Salut!
Just finished up a busy weekend, and am settling back into work mode for the week, ick. I've been up to a lot, so here we go! Thursday night was great, I went to the Frightened Rabbit/Department of Eagles concert. Xavier was really late, since he was held up at work, but luckily for himn Frightened Rabbit was really late and he ended up getting there right on time. It was such a great concert-for Frightened Rabbit we stood right by the stage-soooo great. While I was waiting for Xavier I even saw the band come in, and they walked right by me!!! haha, but anyways, they were great, as always, and then Department of Eagles was really chill-really amazing, beautiful music, with just these two brothers doing it all. We had a great time at the concert, and Xavier really liked it-yay! I had been a bit worried it wouldn't be his thing. Anyways, afterwards we were both hungry, and once Xavier heard I still hadn't had escargots in France he was determined to find me some. We ended up at this really great restaurant not too far from where the concert was. It was so nice, Xavier got us some wine, and I got to try escargots for the first time-which was delicious! The dinner was amazing, and it was really nice to hang out with Xavier. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 4:45 Friday morning to head to the train station for Strasbourg, ick, and almost did make my train because I had problems printing my tickets. In any case, Kristin and I made it to Strasbourg,getting in at around 8:30am! It was a fun trip, we basically just wandered around looking at the many christmas markets, and enjoying the various treats they had to offer. We even went ice skating on a little rink, which was nice-we will have to go ice skating at home-I miss it! So yes, I nice little trip, not a whole lot to do in Strasbourg, which was actually kind of nice as we were both looking for a bit of a getaway from work. We got back Saturday at around 6:30, and I headed home to unpack and get some dinner. Xavier had called me earlier and we were planning to go out, but unfortunately he had to cancel as one of his friends needed help (apparently his friend was moving), so instead I stayed in and finally got some work done, and finally had a chill night (all my friends were either traveling or working anyway, so I didn't even feel like a loser :). Sunday, Xavier called, and I ended up going to this Airplane place south of Paris. He took me on his motorcycle, and one of his friends came along too. His friend was really nice, although talked really quietly which made understanding him a bit challenging, haha. We went over on motorcycles, which was really cool, I love riding on the motorcycle! Unfortunately, because of the foggy weather it turns out the planes weren't flying, but there was a cool museum we checked out. Basically it consisted of a bunch of old planes in this big warehouse, and one of the workers there came over and gave us a tour. It was really cool to see all these old, awesome planes, and since Xavier and his friend are both really into motorcycles they found all the mechanics particularly interesting. It was dark by the time we left, and Xavier took me home so I could get my stuff and head over to the Dandy Warhols concert. I was late, but managed to find my friend Jen in the crowd; it was a really awesome concert!!! Actually, it was pretty crazy-we were right by the front, standing,and the fans were getting really into it-it practically became a mosh pit, ack. So yeah, that was a bit intense, and since it was so crazy and crowded it was getting rediucluously hot. Two or three people actually passed out and had to be carried out! After that they handed out some water bottles and such, but I left the concert feeling pretty exhausted and dehydrated. It was all good though, the Dandy Warhols were so great live, so much energy. So yes, that was my weekend. I did manage to get some work done Saturday and Sunday, so should be okay in terms of school work, although i'm running out of time! Today I had my cinema class, and the professor got really mad as only three of us (myself included) had watched the movie we were supposed to discuss. He basically gave a long, frustrated speech, and then put on the movie for the rest of the class to see, telling the three of us who had seen it to come with him to a cafe. I went, with two other guys from the class, and we got drinks at a cafe by the school. It was actually pretty nice, the professor's German, a really nice guy, and it turns out one of the boys was American-studying abroad from Middlebury! So yeah, it was nice, and we headed back before class ended and he gave us our midterms-I got an A!!! yayyy. Good day for Brittany, now I just have to really get some work done...wish me luck, much love,
Brittany
Just finished up a busy weekend, and am settling back into work mode for the week, ick. I've been up to a lot, so here we go! Thursday night was great, I went to the Frightened Rabbit/Department of Eagles concert. Xavier was really late, since he was held up at work, but luckily for himn Frightened Rabbit was really late and he ended up getting there right on time. It was such a great concert-for Frightened Rabbit we stood right by the stage-soooo great. While I was waiting for Xavier I even saw the band come in, and they walked right by me!!! haha, but anyways, they were great, as always, and then Department of Eagles was really chill-really amazing, beautiful music, with just these two brothers doing it all. We had a great time at the concert, and Xavier really liked it-yay! I had been a bit worried it wouldn't be his thing. Anyways, afterwards we were both hungry, and once Xavier heard I still hadn't had escargots in France he was determined to find me some. We ended up at this really great restaurant not too far from where the concert was. It was so nice, Xavier got us some wine, and I got to try escargots for the first time-which was delicious! The dinner was amazing, and it was really nice to hang out with Xavier. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 4:45 Friday morning to head to the train station for Strasbourg, ick, and almost did make my train because I had problems printing my tickets. In any case, Kristin and I made it to Strasbourg,getting in at around 8:30am! It was a fun trip, we basically just wandered around looking at the many christmas markets, and enjoying the various treats they had to offer. We even went ice skating on a little rink, which was nice-we will have to go ice skating at home-I miss it! So yes, I nice little trip, not a whole lot to do in Strasbourg, which was actually kind of nice as we were both looking for a bit of a getaway from work. We got back Saturday at around 6:30, and I headed home to unpack and get some dinner. Xavier had called me earlier and we were planning to go out, but unfortunately he had to cancel as one of his friends needed help (apparently his friend was moving), so instead I stayed in and finally got some work done, and finally had a chill night (all my friends were either traveling or working anyway, so I didn't even feel like a loser :). Sunday, Xavier called, and I ended up going to this Airplane place south of Paris. He took me on his motorcycle, and one of his friends came along too. His friend was really nice, although talked really quietly which made understanding him a bit challenging, haha. We went over on motorcycles, which was really cool, I love riding on the motorcycle! Unfortunately, because of the foggy weather it turns out the planes weren't flying, but there was a cool museum we checked out. Basically it consisted of a bunch of old planes in this big warehouse, and one of the workers there came over and gave us a tour. It was really cool to see all these old, awesome planes, and since Xavier and his friend are both really into motorcycles they found all the mechanics particularly interesting. It was dark by the time we left, and Xavier took me home so I could get my stuff and head over to the Dandy Warhols concert. I was late, but managed to find my friend Jen in the crowd; it was a really awesome concert!!! Actually, it was pretty crazy-we were right by the front, standing,and the fans were getting really into it-it practically became a mosh pit, ack. So yeah, that was a bit intense, and since it was so crazy and crowded it was getting rediucluously hot. Two or three people actually passed out and had to be carried out! After that they handed out some water bottles and such, but I left the concert feeling pretty exhausted and dehydrated. It was all good though, the Dandy Warhols were so great live, so much energy. So yes, that was my weekend. I did manage to get some work done Saturday and Sunday, so should be okay in terms of school work, although i'm running out of time! Today I had my cinema class, and the professor got really mad as only three of us (myself included) had watched the movie we were supposed to discuss. He basically gave a long, frustrated speech, and then put on the movie for the rest of the class to see, telling the three of us who had seen it to come with him to a cafe. I went, with two other guys from the class, and we got drinks at a cafe by the school. It was actually pretty nice, the professor's German, a really nice guy, and it turns out one of the boys was American-studying abroad from Middlebury! So yeah, it was nice, and we headed back before class ended and he gave us our midterms-I got an A!!! yayyy. Good day for Brittany, now I just have to really get some work done...wish me luck, much love,
Brittany
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Stress galore, mais Paris je t'aime toujours
Hey everybody!
So just to give an update, all is well, and I'm working my butt off, or at least trying to. This week I was dealing with all the application stuff, I now have everything in, except my transcript (which kenyon said they sent off Nov.19) still hasn't arrived, and my teacher for the language proficiency report filled out the wrong thing, so she has another page she needs to fill out. I emailed her and asked her to do it, and she said she would "try", and I have heard nothing since, arghhh. I so hope she gets it done, then my application will finally be complete. I talked to the University of Kansas lady, though, and she's like the nicest person in the world-so patient and helpful. She made it sound like it was all going to work out, and kept saying how she was so happy that I was applying. So yeah, hopefully it will all work out, I will have a big party once I finally find out if I get in :). Other than that, I've been waiting on professors to give me approval for my final papers and such, so I spent the first few days this week just being frustrated, waiting around for email responses. I just checked my e-mail though and got approval, so I can really start to get stuff done, which will greatly reduce my stress level. My days this week were basically just filled with me going to various libraries in Paris, doing research and whatnot, ick, but it's all good. Tuesday I went to Kristin's for a bit with Olivia and we watched some Harry Potter in french, always fun, haha.
Last night was actually a really sad night at my house, though. My host mom has been working a LOT lately, and is also pretty sick-she can't even sleep she's coughing so much. So basically last night she had a little breakdown, and I could hear her crying :(. she called her son and was talking to him, while i sat in my room akwardly not really knowing what to do. Once she got off the phone though I went and asked if she was okay, which she said she was, and I told her if she ever needed help or anything she could always ask me. She thanked me, tearfully, and said I was adorable, and then I felt akward again and went back to my room. Like a minute later she came back in crying, and I got up and we just hugged for a while, she's having such a hard time-I felt so bad...I think it made her feel a little better though...This morning she left early for work and doesn't get back til late, so I went and bought her some pretty flowers, and left her a little note, hopefully that will lift her spirits a bit. But yes, so my host mom isn't doing so good, I really like her and just feel so bad for her-she's so sick and is working way too much; fortunately her kids live close by, so with my and their help hopefully she'll get her spirits back up soon.
On a lighter note, I'm going to Strasbourg (France) tomorrow with Kristin! Our train leaves at like 6 in the morning, which is gonna be intense, and then we are spending the night there, and leaving Saturday evening. It will be so nice to go do something fun after this stressful couple of days; it's supposed to be such a beautiful city, and I can't wait to see the Christmas Market and the beautiful cathedral. I'm so excited! Also, tonight I'm going to another concert, this time with Xavier. It's Frightened Rabbit again, opening for Department of Eagles-should be really great, two alt/indie bands, and I haven't seen Xavier in a while so it will be nice to catch up. So yea, life is good here, just working hard with really fun and exciting stuff mixed in a bit sporadically. I will post again and tell you about my weekend, love you all!
Brit
So just to give an update, all is well, and I'm working my butt off, or at least trying to. This week I was dealing with all the application stuff, I now have everything in, except my transcript (which kenyon said they sent off Nov.19) still hasn't arrived, and my teacher for the language proficiency report filled out the wrong thing, so she has another page she needs to fill out. I emailed her and asked her to do it, and she said she would "try", and I have heard nothing since, arghhh. I so hope she gets it done, then my application will finally be complete. I talked to the University of Kansas lady, though, and she's like the nicest person in the world-so patient and helpful. She made it sound like it was all going to work out, and kept saying how she was so happy that I was applying. So yeah, hopefully it will all work out, I will have a big party once I finally find out if I get in :). Other than that, I've been waiting on professors to give me approval for my final papers and such, so I spent the first few days this week just being frustrated, waiting around for email responses. I just checked my e-mail though and got approval, so I can really start to get stuff done, which will greatly reduce my stress level. My days this week were basically just filled with me going to various libraries in Paris, doing research and whatnot, ick, but it's all good. Tuesday I went to Kristin's for a bit with Olivia and we watched some Harry Potter in french, always fun, haha.
Last night was actually a really sad night at my house, though. My host mom has been working a LOT lately, and is also pretty sick-she can't even sleep she's coughing so much. So basically last night she had a little breakdown, and I could hear her crying :(. she called her son and was talking to him, while i sat in my room akwardly not really knowing what to do. Once she got off the phone though I went and asked if she was okay, which she said she was, and I told her if she ever needed help or anything she could always ask me. She thanked me, tearfully, and said I was adorable, and then I felt akward again and went back to my room. Like a minute later she came back in crying, and I got up and we just hugged for a while, she's having such a hard time-I felt so bad...I think it made her feel a little better though...This morning she left early for work and doesn't get back til late, so I went and bought her some pretty flowers, and left her a little note, hopefully that will lift her spirits a bit. But yes, so my host mom isn't doing so good, I really like her and just feel so bad for her-she's so sick and is working way too much; fortunately her kids live close by, so with my and their help hopefully she'll get her spirits back up soon.
On a lighter note, I'm going to Strasbourg (France) tomorrow with Kristin! Our train leaves at like 6 in the morning, which is gonna be intense, and then we are spending the night there, and leaving Saturday evening. It will be so nice to go do something fun after this stressful couple of days; it's supposed to be such a beautiful city, and I can't wait to see the Christmas Market and the beautiful cathedral. I'm so excited! Also, tonight I'm going to another concert, this time with Xavier. It's Frightened Rabbit again, opening for Department of Eagles-should be really great, two alt/indie bands, and I haven't seen Xavier in a while so it will be nice to catch up. So yea, life is good here, just working hard with really fun and exciting stuff mixed in a bit sporadically. I will post again and tell you about my weekend, love you all!
Brit
Monday, December 1, 2008
AMSTERDAM
Hey everybody,
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel like Thanksgiving without you guys, not to mention all the marvelous food we have. Thai food really just wasn’t the same…Anyways, I had a good weekend in Amsterdam, but as usual am happy to be back in Paris. Wednesday, my 3-hour art history class was cancelled because the professor was sick, so I actually ended up going on a motorcycle ride with Xavier!!! It was really, really cool, although by the end of it I was really sore and tired from clinging on for dear life, haha. We went on a pretty long ride, out to the west of Paris, which reminded me a bit of Ohio, very odd. Xavier really knows what he’s doing on a motorcycle, so it wasn’t too scary after I got over the initial terror, haha. I also met up with Kristin that night to steal her wifi and catch up a bit, and then Thursday Alex and I were off to Amsterdam, leaving directly after our Atelier class. We made it through the airport with no trouble, and had plenty of time, a rare feat! We got in to Amsterdam at around 8:30, and set out to find our hostel, taking a train to Central Station, and then a tram to our hostel. It was very easy, and gave us a beautiful view of the city at night, so gorgeous, especially with all the Christmas lights they had set up. Alex and I then checked in and then hung out waiting for Heather; the hostel was actually very nice, and even had a nice cheap bar at the bottom floor, with a cool lounge with lots of comfy couches. We relaxed there for a bit, and then Heather got in, yay. By this time we were all very hungry, and ready to go out to celebrate Alex’s 20th birthday! So off we went; it turns out our hostel was in a really great location, right near a main area with lots of restaurants, shops, and the like. We found a nice thai food place, Alex’s birthday choice, not Turkey but still very delicious. Then it was off to do some exploring, and we stopped in at the Bulldog, which was actually the first Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, and has since multiplied. We spent quite a while there, before heading back to the dorm to talk a bit more, and get to bed-it was getting late. Friday, we got up for the free breakfast, and then headed out to do some more exploring. We went over to the Anne Frank House, which was really moving; they even let you go up the stairs to the top, where she and her family hid, so you get to really see the conditions they were forced to undergo in hiding. They also had her original diary, and other remnants of the time spent in Amsterdam. Very interesting, although we were a bit disturbed by the café they had set up on the level underneath…a bit inappropriate. Then it was off to wander around a bit, and we made our way over to the Heineken brewery and did the Heineken experience. It was fun, the highlight being the a little ride where “you are the beer”, very amusing. We of course also got to do some tasting, always fun, and there were some amusing interactive stuff they had set up. After that, it was getting to be around dinner time, so we wandered a bit more and then found a great Indian restaurant, delicious. Afterwards, it was about time for Ryan to be getting in from London, so we decided to make our way over to his hostel-which is in fact a Christian hostel located in the Red Light District (he of course went for the cheapest hostel he could find…oh Ryan). So, we got our first look at the Red Light District of Amsterdam, which was….interesting, haha. It was pretty unbelievable, there’s this pretty canal running right down the district, and then on either side it’s just lined with sex shops/shows, and prostitutes posing in the windows of all these old houses. Definitely an experience; we ended up stopping in at a tattoo parlor, where Alex was going to get her second tattoo, although it ended up being too expensive. We did however get to talk to a nice guy from New York, a soldier in fact, and his Canadian friend who was getting a tattoo of the world on his arm, and did his best to convince us to get some as well. Don’t worry, I was very responsible and didn’t get anything, I’m not a tattoo kinda girl . Afterwards we left and walked around a bit more, turning down the many offers for ecstasy/cocaine/whatever and sex shows, and we decided to go into Ryan’s hostel and see if he had checked in (as by this point I had not heard from him, and it was getting late). It was a nice hostel, especially if prayer groups and Jesus are your thing, and oh so hilarious as literally next door there was a whorehouse. They were very helpful, and I left Ryan a note telling me we had gone home for the night, and to give me a call. We then made the long trek back to our hostel, stopping in at a coffeehouse for a bit on the way. Definitely an interesting night, the juxtaposition of beautiful, old houses and canals, not to mention memorials like the Anne Frank House, and then drugs and prostitutes was just so weird.
The next day, we decided to get the “I amsterdam” card, which costs like 33 euro but then gives you access to all sorts of museums, transportation, discounts at restaurants, and other free stuff. I checked my email before leaving, as we still hadn’t heard from Ryan, and discovered that he had missed his flight because he had forgotten his passport-oh Ryan. So we went off without him and explored one of the central areas of Amsterdam, including its oldest church. We also went to a beautiful department store and got our free shopping bag with our nifty amsterdam card, very cool. We walked around a lot, and eventually went to the Pancake Bakery, where we had a discount, and which we had heard was the best place to go for some pancakes. It was soooo good, and perfect as we got a chance to warm up (it was pretty much freezing the whole weekend). After that, we made our way back to Ryan’s hostel, and consequently the Red light district again, and he finally arrived. His flight had been delayed, of course, but it was good to see him. We had a free canal cruise included with the iamsterdam card, so we hung out a bit and then headed out to do that. It was nice and warm, and we got to a chance to see the city via the pretty canals, very nice. The tour ended right by our hostel, so we headed back there and hung out by the bar a bit before dinner. For dinner we met up with one of Ryan’s friends from his program, named Rob, and then went back to the yummy Thai place from before. It was a great dinner, nice to be surrounded by some of my best friends, and afterwards we all went out and walked around the city, stopping in at a coffeeshop and eventually a bar. Then we called it a night, as for one thing Ryan had to be back to his hostel before 2am, haha.
The next morning we got up early, as our iamsterdam cards expired at 11, and we headed over to the Reiksmuseum. The museum is undergoing some massive renovations until like 2010, so only part of it was open, housing all the highlights. The museum itself was gorgeous, and looked like it would be really big when open. I was happy to learn that “For the love of God”, by Damien Hurst, was being exhibited, which I have seen in magazinges and such. It’s this caste of a human skull, covered in diamonds, and with real human teeth. It was sooo cool, in it’s own dark room, and light strategically placed to highlight the diamonds. Apparently the name originates from his mother’s reaction to his idea to make this skull, haha. Afterwards, we went over to the Van Gogh museum, stopping in fron of the “I am amsterdam” lettering for the necessary photos. The museum was great, it was nice to actually recognize a lot of the paintings . After the museums, we decided to do some shopping, and grabbed some lunch. At this point, Ryan was of course MIA, so we just kind of walked around and checked out the touristy shops, and Alex found herself a pair of boots (which she had been wanting for a long time). We moseyed over in the general direction of Ryan’s hostel, and finally got in touch with him quite a while later. He was having major troubles with this cell phone, sigh. In any case, we all met up and walked around a bit, stopping in at a coffeeshop to hang out and warm up. We were all pretty tired at this point, and had run out of things to explore, so we just kind of wandered around a bit more and then went back to the hostel to relax for a bit before it was time for us girls to head to the airport. We collected our baggage, and then it was goodbye to Amsterdam, and Alex and I headed back to Paris. I got home at around midnight last night, exhausted, and upset as I lost my favorite necklace during the day (the flowery one from Provence)…must have fallen off…I was pretty bummed. But in any case, got home safe and sound, and then slept in late this morning.
So that brings me to today, where I spent the day at Sweet Briar, first with class, and then on my computer trying to make sure this application is coming together. The deadline is today; I found another professor to do my language proficiency report, as it had been two weeks and my best spanish teacher still hadn’t responded. Unfortunately, the one I got is actually traveling right now, so has to search for a fax machine, ackkkk. I’m just hoping hoping hoping that she finds one and sends it in, otherwise I’m pretty much screwed. Meanwhile, my french professor forgot about the recommendation she was supposed to do for today, and only just did it and faxed it off, so I need to make sure they received it…Argh, I just want this whole process to be over, I’m going to be so upset if something goes wrong and I can’t go to Spain!!! Anyways, tonight I’m going to go over to Kristin’s house and use her wifi to check in on all this stuff, wish me luck! Other than that, I’ve got a huge amount of work to get done, so am stressing out about all that, sigh. Again, wish me luck, this next week or two are gonna be rough. Alrighty then, off I go, love you all,
Brit
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel like Thanksgiving without you guys, not to mention all the marvelous food we have. Thai food really just wasn’t the same…Anyways, I had a good weekend in Amsterdam, but as usual am happy to be back in Paris. Wednesday, my 3-hour art history class was cancelled because the professor was sick, so I actually ended up going on a motorcycle ride with Xavier!!! It was really, really cool, although by the end of it I was really sore and tired from clinging on for dear life, haha. We went on a pretty long ride, out to the west of Paris, which reminded me a bit of Ohio, very odd. Xavier really knows what he’s doing on a motorcycle, so it wasn’t too scary after I got over the initial terror, haha. I also met up with Kristin that night to steal her wifi and catch up a bit, and then Thursday Alex and I were off to Amsterdam, leaving directly after our Atelier class. We made it through the airport with no trouble, and had plenty of time, a rare feat! We got in to Amsterdam at around 8:30, and set out to find our hostel, taking a train to Central Station, and then a tram to our hostel. It was very easy, and gave us a beautiful view of the city at night, so gorgeous, especially with all the Christmas lights they had set up. Alex and I then checked in and then hung out waiting for Heather; the hostel was actually very nice, and even had a nice cheap bar at the bottom floor, with a cool lounge with lots of comfy couches. We relaxed there for a bit, and then Heather got in, yay. By this time we were all very hungry, and ready to go out to celebrate Alex’s 20th birthday! So off we went; it turns out our hostel was in a really great location, right near a main area with lots of restaurants, shops, and the like. We found a nice thai food place, Alex’s birthday choice, not Turkey but still very delicious. Then it was off to do some exploring, and we stopped in at the Bulldog, which was actually the first Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, and has since multiplied. We spent quite a while there, before heading back to the dorm to talk a bit more, and get to bed-it was getting late. Friday, we got up for the free breakfast, and then headed out to do some more exploring. We went over to the Anne Frank House, which was really moving; they even let you go up the stairs to the top, where she and her family hid, so you get to really see the conditions they were forced to undergo in hiding. They also had her original diary, and other remnants of the time spent in Amsterdam. Very interesting, although we were a bit disturbed by the café they had set up on the level underneath…a bit inappropriate. Then it was off to wander around a bit, and we made our way over to the Heineken brewery and did the Heineken experience. It was fun, the highlight being the a little ride where “you are the beer”, very amusing. We of course also got to do some tasting, always fun, and there were some amusing interactive stuff they had set up. After that, it was getting to be around dinner time, so we wandered a bit more and then found a great Indian restaurant, delicious. Afterwards, it was about time for Ryan to be getting in from London, so we decided to make our way over to his hostel-which is in fact a Christian hostel located in the Red Light District (he of course went for the cheapest hostel he could find…oh Ryan). So, we got our first look at the Red Light District of Amsterdam, which was….interesting, haha. It was pretty unbelievable, there’s this pretty canal running right down the district, and then on either side it’s just lined with sex shops/shows, and prostitutes posing in the windows of all these old houses. Definitely an experience; we ended up stopping in at a tattoo parlor, where Alex was going to get her second tattoo, although it ended up being too expensive. We did however get to talk to a nice guy from New York, a soldier in fact, and his Canadian friend who was getting a tattoo of the world on his arm, and did his best to convince us to get some as well. Don’t worry, I was very responsible and didn’t get anything, I’m not a tattoo kinda girl . Afterwards we left and walked around a bit more, turning down the many offers for ecstasy/cocaine/whatever and sex shows, and we decided to go into Ryan’s hostel and see if he had checked in (as by this point I had not heard from him, and it was getting late). It was a nice hostel, especially if prayer groups and Jesus are your thing, and oh so hilarious as literally next door there was a whorehouse. They were very helpful, and I left Ryan a note telling me we had gone home for the night, and to give me a call. We then made the long trek back to our hostel, stopping in at a coffeehouse for a bit on the way. Definitely an interesting night, the juxtaposition of beautiful, old houses and canals, not to mention memorials like the Anne Frank House, and then drugs and prostitutes was just so weird.
The next day, we decided to get the “I amsterdam” card, which costs like 33 euro but then gives you access to all sorts of museums, transportation, discounts at restaurants, and other free stuff. I checked my email before leaving, as we still hadn’t heard from Ryan, and discovered that he had missed his flight because he had forgotten his passport-oh Ryan. So we went off without him and explored one of the central areas of Amsterdam, including its oldest church. We also went to a beautiful department store and got our free shopping bag with our nifty amsterdam card, very cool. We walked around a lot, and eventually went to the Pancake Bakery, where we had a discount, and which we had heard was the best place to go for some pancakes. It was soooo good, and perfect as we got a chance to warm up (it was pretty much freezing the whole weekend). After that, we made our way back to Ryan’s hostel, and consequently the Red light district again, and he finally arrived. His flight had been delayed, of course, but it was good to see him. We had a free canal cruise included with the iamsterdam card, so we hung out a bit and then headed out to do that. It was nice and warm, and we got to a chance to see the city via the pretty canals, very nice. The tour ended right by our hostel, so we headed back there and hung out by the bar a bit before dinner. For dinner we met up with one of Ryan’s friends from his program, named Rob, and then went back to the yummy Thai place from before. It was a great dinner, nice to be surrounded by some of my best friends, and afterwards we all went out and walked around the city, stopping in at a coffeeshop and eventually a bar. Then we called it a night, as for one thing Ryan had to be back to his hostel before 2am, haha.
The next morning we got up early, as our iamsterdam cards expired at 11, and we headed over to the Reiksmuseum. The museum is undergoing some massive renovations until like 2010, so only part of it was open, housing all the highlights. The museum itself was gorgeous, and looked like it would be really big when open. I was happy to learn that “For the love of God”, by Damien Hurst, was being exhibited, which I have seen in magazinges and such. It’s this caste of a human skull, covered in diamonds, and with real human teeth. It was sooo cool, in it’s own dark room, and light strategically placed to highlight the diamonds. Apparently the name originates from his mother’s reaction to his idea to make this skull, haha. Afterwards, we went over to the Van Gogh museum, stopping in fron of the “I am amsterdam” lettering for the necessary photos. The museum was great, it was nice to actually recognize a lot of the paintings . After the museums, we decided to do some shopping, and grabbed some lunch. At this point, Ryan was of course MIA, so we just kind of walked around and checked out the touristy shops, and Alex found herself a pair of boots (which she had been wanting for a long time). We moseyed over in the general direction of Ryan’s hostel, and finally got in touch with him quite a while later. He was having major troubles with this cell phone, sigh. In any case, we all met up and walked around a bit, stopping in at a coffeeshop to hang out and warm up. We were all pretty tired at this point, and had run out of things to explore, so we just kind of wandered around a bit more and then went back to the hostel to relax for a bit before it was time for us girls to head to the airport. We collected our baggage, and then it was goodbye to Amsterdam, and Alex and I headed back to Paris. I got home at around midnight last night, exhausted, and upset as I lost my favorite necklace during the day (the flowery one from Provence)…must have fallen off…I was pretty bummed. But in any case, got home safe and sound, and then slept in late this morning.
So that brings me to today, where I spent the day at Sweet Briar, first with class, and then on my computer trying to make sure this application is coming together. The deadline is today; I found another professor to do my language proficiency report, as it had been two weeks and my best spanish teacher still hadn’t responded. Unfortunately, the one I got is actually traveling right now, so has to search for a fax machine, ackkkk. I’m just hoping hoping hoping that she finds one and sends it in, otherwise I’m pretty much screwed. Meanwhile, my french professor forgot about the recommendation she was supposed to do for today, and only just did it and faxed it off, so I need to make sure they received it…Argh, I just want this whole process to be over, I’m going to be so upset if something goes wrong and I can’t go to Spain!!! Anyways, tonight I’m going to go over to Kristin’s house and use her wifi to check in on all this stuff, wish me luck! Other than that, I’ve got a huge amount of work to get done, so am stressing out about all that, sigh. Again, wish me luck, this next week or two are gonna be rough. Alrighty then, off I go, love you all,
Brit
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