Tomorrow is the last day of my introduction here in Amsterdam. It has been a whirlwind experience but a great one at that. My intro group consists of 14 other people and myself. I will name them and their countries so I can talk about them in the future without needing further explanation. There are two girls from Belgium (the Flemish speaking areas) named Nathalie and Marilyn. A french guy named Richard, a Brazilian girl named Juliana, a German girl named Eva, a British girl named Abbie, a spanish guy (Speaks Catalan) named Pol, a Turkish girl named Ceren, a girl from Singapore named Bevelin, two Canadian girls named Jen and Cathy, our two Dutch "coaches" Jasmijn and Marte who come from Gouda (yes, where the cheese is from), one other American named Lix and myself.
We all get along very well and we have been having a great time together. It is very interesting how we all interact together being from so many different cultures and countries. We all have great fun together. I suspect we will continue to meet up occasionally during the semester to go clubbing or just sit at a nice bar (Amsterdam has so many) and just enjoy a nice cold beer.
So far we have done some typical get to know you activities that we do in the US but we also have participated in some typical Dutch "get to know you activities." Last night we attended two borrels which are informal drinks at a bar. One was put on by the housing corporation De Key that provides most of us exchange students with a room. I was held at the club Odeon and there was an open bar that was taken full advantage of. The second one we went to immediately after the first was at the Heffer which is where the International Student Network - Amsterdam (ISN) typically has their weekly borrels. It was crowded at first but eventually became more comfortable. The borrels are held every Tuesday so I am sure you will hear more about them in the future. Several of us went to another bar for an hour or so before deciding to hit the hay. I caught the night bus (for the first time) from centraal station to my apartment without any problems.
This morning we went on a walking tour through the city. This was awesome. I suggest anyone traveling to Amsterdam (A'dam) to take one of these free walking tours that start at the famous Dam Square.
Next we had some dutch pannenkoeken (pancakes) with bacon in them. After this we went on a tour of the Amsterdam Historisch Museum. This is a great museum housed in a former orphanage that was in operation from the 1500's until 1975. I greatly enjoyed this museum and I plan on returning when I have more time to spend wandering and learning.
Tomorrow we are playing sports and in the evening will be the final party at Odeon.
Sunday I will be traveling back to Nijmegen relatively early in the morning and then hitching a ride with Gemma to the birthday celebration of Lieselot's grandfather in Venray.
Last but not least some pictures.
Marte (Dutch), Me, Jen (Canadian), Cathy (Canadian), and Liz (American)
The Dutch "coaches" dancing on the bar at De Heffer.
Walking at night along a canal on our way to a borrel. I know it's blurry but I like the "mood" of the picture.
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