Up, Down, Midtown.doc

I've been all around the city these past few days. It has been great to continue exploring but the weather hasn't been too cooperative. Now, I know complaining about rain is not going to be a popular comment back home (you're dealing with much worst weather than I am) but the rain has been pretty constant.

Uptown: On Friday night, the Amsterdam home students invited us to a dance performance featuring one of the MAIPR students. It was a good thirty minute walk from my apartment but I successfully navigated my way to the really funky looking theatre space. From the main street it was down an alley and into a warehouse type building. It felt like the kind of performance spaces clustered in the Queen West area in Toronto. In the makeshift lobby you could order a variety of drinks before the performance - it seems to me that Europeans like to pair alcohol and live performance together more than we do in North America. While you can purchase a drink at intermission back home, here they sell drinks before, during, and after the show. 

The show was really entertaining. It was a modern dance piece that responded to a video clip screened before the dancers took to the main playing space. The dancers themselves were extremely talented - they had a lot of training and it showed. The girl from our program has been a dancer for over ten years (she's from Russia originally). At times the show was a little too self-indulgent, and a bit long for my liking, but it was playful and experimental which I appreciated. I have a feeling a lot of the theatre I'll be seeing Amsterdam will have this type of alternative and organic feeling - much different from what I saw in the UK.

Midtown: I'm calling the area where I live Midtown. It's just a bit south of the centre area. I've realized that Amsterdam really isn't that large of a city (in comparison to Toronto and London where I've spent some time). Saturday night I hosted a jam at my place. I realized how much I missed hosting parties - Hincks and I did it often. I bought the bree cheese, stocked up on wine (three bottles for nine euros, no problem), and threw on some good tunes. The pad's first jam was a great success. 

The three of us from Warwick welcomed the two students who had already arrived in the city. The girls from Finland, who are soon to be accompanied by two more Fin Home students, are loads of fun. Zhenya (like Evgenia) is from Russia and did her undergrad in Comparative Linguistics and Hetta is from Finland and is theatre based. We were quick to exchange experiences about Warwick and Finland and chat about the potentials that Amsterdam offers. After we cracked the second bottle of wine, the girls from Finland had no trouble commandeering my itunes library - I was more than happy to allow them full range. After a few hours chilling, chatting, and getting to know one another we hit the town...

Downtown: I took the crew to my favorite bar in the city...OK, the only bar in the city I really know. It was the one Steve, Em, and I had a great time at two weeks previous. It's called De Buurvrouw which translates to The Neighbour. The travel guide I have lists it as "the favorite stop of inveterate nightowls after other clubs have closed." It definitely lives up to its description - it's small, it feels non-touristy and alternative, and goes late into the night. It was a winning recommendation with the MAIPR crew. By early into the morning the place had filled up and the girls had no apprehensions about dancing to the choice beats. It was a laaaate night but a great introduction to mobility in Amsterdam. 

Skypetown: I've been really lucky this past week to begin reconnecting with friends and family over skype after holiday absences. I had great chats with my parents and Aunt and Uncle about the state of the weather in Canada, which I hear is abysmal. I was able to connect with Shac who was doing some choreo work in her basement (she's teaching engineers to dance in a musical!), Jess who was hard at work planning the next show at the school where she teaches, Murphy on his cell phone who popped out of an event to catch up (I feel privileged), Meg who I happened to catch at the perfect time taking a boring drive, and Hincks and I procrastinated away for an hour and a half yesterday. So much chatting!

As much as I like not having school work, I'm SO not use to the free time. I think this means I should probably dive into the course readings which I have access to in anticipation for the start of lectures. Something tells me this is a lame move. Finances (due to a first/last month's rent payment) have kept me from any ambitious travel before the start of school, but a few day trips might still be in the cards.

Doc's Prescription for the Day: An historic inauguration to watch tomorrow afternoon. If it's the speech I think it'll be, then we're in for a moving, dynamic, and necessary call for a new turn in American politics. You should drop everything and watch.