5. In Which I DID Get To Hear Madeleine Albright Speak

Amsterdam really has not been what I expected. I am not sorry that I came, but it hasn't lived up to my expectations. I built it up to be this amazing fantasy, and it has let me down. The same thing happened to me at Wooster. I am making the best of the situation, though. I will survive, I always do.

Tuesday was a busy day for me. In the morning I went to the train station, and I bought my train tickets to Milan to visit Haley. I am going in just under 3 weeks. I am very excited, as the last time I physically saw Haley was when I took her to the airport last May. I am taking the night train. I leave Amsterdam at around 5 o'clock on a Thursday night, and I arrive in Milan at 7:45 AM on Friday morning. From Milan I take a two hour train south to Bologna. I am still looking at which train would be best, though. I will either be leaving Milan at 8:10 AM or 9:10. I am thinking I will wait until I am in Milan to purchase the tickets, because I don't want to miss the 8:10 in case my train getting to Milan is late. I will be staying through Monday evening. I am just so excited to catch up with Haley. Two weeks after I visit Haley, I go to see Louise, but I still have to book that ticket.

The highlight of Tuesday was racing across the city on my bike in 10 minutes to hear Madeleine Albright speak. Yes, that is right, I got a ticket to hear Madeleine Albright speak! It was fantastic! My favorite lines from the program were, "I always say that I was born sometime between the invention of the Blackberry and the discovery of fire," and "The best and only advice is really that you do have to work hard, and frankly you have to work twice as hard as men. There is no room for mediocre women, there seems to be plenty of room for mediocre men." There was also a point during the program where they polled the audience on who they would vote for. I think Obama support in the audience just beat out Hillary. I find it hilarious, as the majority of the audience wouldn't be eligible to vote in the U.S. You can view the show here. Click on "Bekijk Item" to start the video. I would advise that you watch the video. There was a book signing afterwards, but I only had €15 on me, so I couldn't get the book. I am hoping I will have another chance to hear her speak back in the States.

My Thursday class this week was cancelled. So on Thursday morning I went to Spui (pronounced "spow"). Spui is the literary circle of the city. It is filled with bookstores. On Fridays there is a book flea market in the square. I went to Selexyz. Selexyz owns the university bookstore in another part of the city. I ended up having to return one of my textbooks, but they wouldn't give me my cash back, so I have a git card with about €21 on it. I ended up ordering a book I need to read over spring break in Experiencing Differences. I will get a letter in the mail when it comes in. Afterwards I rode towards the Red Light District. On the other side of the Red Light District (near Nieuwmarkt) there is a little bakery. I have rode past it several times before, but never actually stopped. So, on Thursday I went there to get a sandwich for lunch. I ended up getting a goat cheese, lettuce, and sunflower seed sandwich. It was amazing, and to make it even better, it only cost €2.25. At two I met Jessica, a girl from my Regulating Religious and Cultural Diversity class to visit the Our Lord In The Attic museum. It is preserved house church from the 1600s. It is definitely a hidden gem in this city, and many people walk right past it without ever visiting. You are able to see what an actual Amsterdam house from the 1600s looked like, as well as see how the church is constructed in the house. I will include some photos. I am getting together with Jessica tomorrow afternoon to complete the Powerpoint. Tomorrow morning I am going to a Dutch brunch, a dorm activity.














Yesterday, I had a good day. Despite it raining (really the first time that I have experienced rain while being here), I made good use of my free Friday. I spent the early part of the afternoon at the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum holds a lot of classic paintings, such as paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer. The Van Gogh museum is in the same area, so I do plan to make it back. I got incredibly lost on my way back to ISHSS, but eventually found my way. It took me close to an hour. I stopped by the bakery to pick up a sandwich for lunch. Yesterday I got a mozarella, tomato, and pesto sandwich. IES set up an activity for us to go skating on Friday afternoon. Only four of us showed, so Brock, Drew, Devon, and I went with Margarethe to Jaap Edenbaan. At Jaap Edenbaan they have both an indoor and outdoor skating rink. The outdoor ring is actually a speed skating ring. It was raining, so we opted for inside. We all got hockey skates, and it turned out to be a lot of fun, even though my skates were too big. The skates were also incredibly uncomfortable, as they were composed of ski boot type material. Skating really made me miss my brand new hockey skates. I am thinking I may have to actually pay to go skating at Babson when I get home. The outdoor rink closes March 16, so I am going to try to make it back before it closes, as I really want to try speed skating. The Red Sox socks that my mom gave me before I left came in handy. After we finished skating, we went and had hot chocolate. I enjoyed it. It was very creamy. Mmmmm!

Friday night I stayed in and had Tandori Chicken and Basmati Rice for dinner. It was nowhere as good as Masala Art, but at least it was something. I am so sick of most of the food, as my diet is rather repetitive here. I am thinking of trying a noodle bar tonight. Around 11 I went out for a bike ride, and I made a huge look through the city. I witnessed my first bike getting pulled over for a random inspection of breaks, lights, etc. I really hope that doesn't happen to me. I am sort of paranoid about it.

Tonight my plan is to go see Copelia, the ballet. I danced as one of the dolls in part of it in my senior recital at Needham Dance Theatre, so I really want to go see it. They sell student tickets for €10 up to two hours before the show. Tonight's show starts at 8:15, so I am going to go over at 6:15 and see if I can get a ticket. I then plan on going to a noodle bar for dinner before the show starts. I do miss dancing, but I don't miss the competitiveness of it, so I don't mind just watching. So, we will see if that turns out that I get to see it.

I was planning on going to Cologne, Germany next weekend, but the train ticket prices are double what they were a few days ago. Instead I may go ice skating at Jaap Edenbaan. Margarethe told me about a skating club at UvA, so I may look into joining. It would be a fun way to get out and meet some people. Unfortunately, there website is entirely in Dutch. Alright, I think I am going to be off, but I will post again soon.