I arrived here in Amsterdam on January 30th. My welcome to Amsterdam was accompanied by one of my checked bags being lost. Not what I really wanted after getting off a seven hour flight. I went to report it as lost, and was told that it was in Amsterdam. They told me to stick around for 15 more minutes, and that it would be on the belt. I was sort of hoping that it was missing, because then it would be delivered to my apartment for me. Wishful thinking. It arrived, and thus I cleared customs with all my luggage in tow. I easily found the ticket machines, and bought a ticket to Amsterdam's Centraal Station.
I was a bit discombobulated when I exited the station, and had a bit of trouble finding the street I needed to get to my hotel. In the process of this all I trip a took a head dive into the pavement. Not what I needed. A group of women came over to help me. One of them, a Turkish university student here in Amsterdam, was nice enough to help me with my bags and help me find my hotel. As a result I ended up with a nice gash across my forehead. I didn't break my glasses, but I did scratch some of the paint off the top of them. When I arrived at the hotel I was told my room wouldn't be ready for another hour and a half, so I should go get myself some lunch. I returned to Centraal Station to the Albert Heijn (owns Giant grocery stores in the US), and purchased an apple tart and a tirimisu. I returned to the hotel with my goodies in tow. When I arrived back I was told that my room was ready. The hotel is located in a series of old Amsterdam houses, and thus have these crazy narrow and steep staircases. It made getting my bags upstairs quite a challenge. Once in my room I ate my lunch, which was followed by a nap. After my nap I found an internet cafe where I could use Skype to call home, and then I started an excursion around the area of my hotel. I ended up in Dam Square (one of the biggest tourist areas in the city). I have learned it must be avoided at all costs on the weekends. 
For my first meal in Amsterdam I had the traditional pancake meal. I had a pancake with chicken, onions, and cheese. It was yummy, and I am looking forward to going back again. After dinner I made my way back to the hotel stopping to take some pictures of the canals. They really are gorgeous, and at night they are lit up with lights.
There are some canals that aren't that pretty, but the one's in the old part of the city are gorgeous. I am looking forward to taking a river cruise in the spring to get some amazing photos.The next morning I moved into my apartment. I went back to Centraal Station to wait for Brianna. After an hour she still hadn't shown, so I decided to make my way to the apartment myself. The taxi cost me 15 Euro, which was sort of ridiculous for a 5-7 minute ride, but apparently Amsterdam is known for having ridiculous taxi costs. I spent the day moving in, but I am still not quite there. Later in the afternoon we began orientation. About 5 minutes before we left Brianna arrived. It turned out that she missed one of her connections, and thus was rerouted through Frankfurt, Germany. We had introductions, and then we were fed. It was all over by 8 o'clock. Most of the people were incredibly jet lagged, but I was doing fine as I had had one day to adjust.
The next two days were filled with orientation events. Friday we spent most of the day in a classroom learning about the educational system and Dutch Culture. The conclusion of Friday was a canal cruise, which was nice, but difficult to get pictures as the boat was entirely glassed in. Saturday was a two parter. The first part was talking with Dutch people about stereotypes, foods, traditions, and stuff like. The second part of the day we were thrown out into the city for a scavenger hunt. We had to find different monuments and take photos with the group in them. My group came in third, and as a prize we got famous Dutch chocolates. I will probably pick some up with me to take to Haley and Louise's.
Sunday we were suppose to go to the beach, but the weather wasn't the greatest, so the trip has been postponed. Brianna, Alex (another girl on my floor), and I spent the day getting necessities. We went to Hema (located on the main shopping street in Amsterdam) to get some necessities. Until this point Brianna and I both didn't have bath towels. Hema is like a Target, but doesn't have the necessities you'd think it ought to have. Upon returning from Hema we went to Albert Heijn to get groceries. I am finding the food here very difficult. Everything is in Dutch, which can be frustrating at times. I only have a stove, so that makes getting nutrician rather difficult. I lost around 5 pounds the first week because I wasn't eating properly. This has now been remedied, because I am working with chicken and have translated the deli meats. I really enjoy prosciutto and cheese sandwiches and chicken, onion, and spinach stir-fry with soy sauce. I am looking forward to visiting Haley, because I will be able to have pizza and pasta galore.
The past week has been sort of blah. I had my academic appointment on Monday, which went well. On Tuesday I had my first class, Regulating Religious and Cultural Diversity in the Netherlands. I am liking the class so far, and this afternoon will be dedicated to reading for that class. Wednesday wasn't the best day for me. I had an anxiety attack or two because of everything that was going on. I had to register for my residency permit, and that caused me to be late by half an hour to my class, Experiencing Differences. When I finally found the class I waited outside for a few minutes, as it sounded like a Dutch class. The professor who was speaking has a thick accent and speaks wicked fast, which made it difficult to understand him. I was practically in tears through the entire class. I was luckily able to get into the seminar group with the other professor, who is such a sweetie. She actually recognized me a few days later. My final class of the week was on Thursday morning, Social Trends, Social Problems, and Social Policies in the Netherlands. It is going to be a great class. We are going to look at all these different social trends in the Netherlands, such as abortion, marriage, the legalization of marijuana, etc. After class I went with Alex and Brianna to get our bikes. As I always have bad luck, I was not able to get a bike. Adults in the Netherlands tend to me much taller than my 5'0 feet., so all the bikes were too big. I ended up buying a children's bike for 90 Euro later that afternoon. It's yellow and red. When I get around to it I will put pictures up. On Friday I went on a buildings tour of UvA. I found this tour to be more beneficially than my first one as I was now better acquainted with the city. Afterwards I went on a visit to the Lord In Our Attic Museum, which is an old house with a chapel inside. During a period of time in the Netherlands Catholics were forbidden from practicing, so people set up chapels in their homes. This is the only one remaining. Saturday I went and explored the American Book Center and biked home on an out of the way route, so to see more of the city. I spent yesterday doing laundry and reading, and again reading is planned for today.
I have talked with Haley and Louise several times this past week, which has been a nice change. I am planning on going to Italy on March 13th. I will take the night train, and then I will come back Monday night. My plans for going to Montpellier are to go from March 27 until March 31. Louise will be coming to visit at some point, too!
And now to finally touch upon the subject of this post... I received an e-mail this morning informing me about Madeleine Albright coming to speak at UvA. As I am not back in the States to be witnessing the events of this years election, I thought this would be a great way to stay in touch with it, but also she is a member of Hillary's campaign team, and that makes me happy. I will let you know what happens with that.
Well, I guess this will be all for right now. I will try to update soon.
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