Its been awhile since my last update... let me fill you in.
My classes are way harder than expected. I'm taking a class called Intro to Public International Law. Emphasis on the Intro. ... except that there are four 3rd year Columbia Law students in my class and a handful of other law students. It's super intense. I have two friends in the class in the same position as me and we throw each other WTF glances all through class. How are we supposed to be fluent in law jargon? The feedback for my first assignment, a case brief, was "valiant attempt." Oy vey. My other classes are manageable - Dutch is hilarious, European Integration is boring, and Complexities of Prostitution is... interesting.
I'm settling in and starting to find "my places" in the city. I'm beginning to enjoy being in such a dynamic place... there's so much here. My second weekend, Hannah Rosenfeld and Rebecca Adelson (roommate from college) visited.
It was great seeing them, especially since I hadn't seen Rebecca in nine months (I could've had a baby and she wouldn't have even known!). We had a lot of fun and covered all the touristy bases - Went to Anne Frank, Rijst Museum, and Van Gogh, and ate pancakes, cheese, waffels, and frites. My favorite part of the weekend was when Rebecca and I spent a few hours in the red-light district watching groups of boys (they always go in groups, never alone) try to convince one another to see prostitutes. The red-light district is the best place for social interaction/ group psychology/sociology observation, really. At one point we stopped to talk to a big group of 20ish year old English boys trying to raise 50 euro so their reluctant friend could see a prostitute. What a great conversation to be part of...
The next big event was my bike fall. I was riding through Amsterdam's main square really fast to catch up with someone when my front wheel slipped into a tram. Before I knew it, I was diving face-first into concrete. Very scary. Very painful. I want to start wearing a helmet even though people will make fun of me.
The next weekend I took a day-trip to Utrecht, a smaller town, with some friends. It was nice to be in a slower-paced environment. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Organ Museum (music organs, not body). It was the creepiest museum I've been in. There was all this random music playing in the background while creepy children ran around giggling, possessed by the colorful organs.
Last weekend was great. Thursday night when I went to a ballet - it was a great performance in a beautiful theater. Friday night, two friends and I went to the Portuguese synagogue for services. Afterwards we were invited to dinner at one of the Rabbi's houses. It was nice to be in a home and to be fed real dinner. The Rabbi is half Chinese and half Surinamese (with ancestry from Portugal) and grew up in Suriname, and his wife is half African American and half white and grew up in Israel. Obviously, their children are beautiful. They told us all about Jewish life in Amsterdam and want to connect us with some Jewish students here. There was also a guest at dinner from Seattle who knew a few people from Birmingham! I love Jewish geography.
On Saturday I went with some people to Carnival in Maastricht, a town three hours (by train) south of Amsterdam. Carnival was the most absurd scene ever. People were intense about costumes, every one was drunk, and there were small children in the bars at midnight. The streets were flooded with massive dance parties and there were huge speakers everywhere blasting traditional Dutch music put to funky beats. It was crazy to watch the town transform from Saturday morning - a quaint town with old churches and beautiful architecture, to a Saturday night - a massive rave. By midnight, the streets were covered in broken glass and puke. Question - why would all of the bars/outdoor beer stands serve drinks in glasses rather than plastic cups? Hundreds and hundreds of glasses must have been broken that weekend. I feel like Carnival is a mix between Halloween and Mardi Gras minus the boobs and scandalous costumes. We stuck around Maastricht until Sunday night and then returned home.
This weekend I will be going with my program on a trip to Groenigin, in North Holland. It should be fun.
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