So from Saturday-Wednesday, I was in Amsterdam with 7 wonderful people.
Saturday: Arrived late, explored the area around our hostel, called it a night
Sunday:
-Explored the town a bit
-Went to the Van Gogh Museum..so so great
-Went to a comedy show...which compared themselves to Second City.. I wouldn't go that far, but it was still funny at times
-Had a great Italian dinner
-Wandered around a bit and enjoyed the scenes
Monday:
-Saw the Anne Frank House.. very moving, incredible to see in person..
-Wandered around a shopping district known as the "Nine Streets"
-Took it easy during the day because at night we...
-Went to the Red Light District .. that was quite the experience. I was a bit overwhelmed, but it was honestly interesting to see..pretty different than anything I have ever seen before
Anne Frank House
Tuesday:
-Went to a few floating markets (flower market, vintage market)
-Wandered around a bit
-Ate delicious waffles
-Went to another museum
-Had a great Greek dinner with lots of laughs
-Saw a great soul/jazz/blues/crazy band
Wednesday:
-Went out to breakfast where I lost part of my tooth!!!!
Kind of a really funny story: So in fourth grade, I dove into the shallow end at the Kenwood Swim Club (not a good idea..) and chipped off part of my front tooth. No big deal, I had it fixed up and all was great for about 10 years until.... I bit into a delicious toasted everything bagel with cream cheese, swallowed the bite, and something did not feel quite right... I suddenly realized I had no front tooth anymore! Apparently I bit into the bagel at just the right angle which cracked off the fake tooth piece, which I then ate..
-Made it to the airport, flew back to Barcelona...toothless..
Today after a final presentation (really great to present without a front tooth), I headed to a Spanish dentist.. I walked in without an appointment (the student affairs director of my student told me just to show up) and he patched up my tooth! I no longer have a snaggle tooth..thank goodness!
You're allowed to laugh.. it's quite funny
All in all, I REALLY loved Amsterdam. It's such a beautiful place...the canals are so picturesque, with such cute little townhouses/apartments lining them. The food was so good..pancakes, waffles, and any food from any country you could ever want. The people were so nice and friendly as well (everyone except the bikers..watch out, they'll run you over!!). I could not have asked for a better 7 people to be with. I give Amsterdam two thumbs up.
Amsterdam marked the end of my adventures outside of Barcelona.. I cannot believe in one week from TOMORROW I will be back in the United States. I'm at a point where, it's not that I really want to leave or that I'm not having a great time, it's just going to be very nice to be home and I'm excited about that. I'm looking forward to being with the family, my comfy bed, my dog Marley (not Tai Tai), seeing friends, working at Benchmark, and having some peace and quiet away from a big bustling city. There is so much I will miss about Barcelona though, but I still have a week left so I am going to enjoy it to the fullest!
Today marked my last day of classes for the semester! Tomorrow, I had my Spanish final followed by a class fiesta. I'm quite sad that class is over, I really loved it. My professora was so incredible and the students in the class were so great.. Next Tuesday I have my three other exams (Med. Environment, Med. Oceanography, and Sustainability) and then I am DONE! I fly back to JFK on Friday..where I will then spend the weekend in Connecticut with my mom's side of the family there, and head back to the Nati on Sunday.
Time to go study! Hope all is well with you.
