Firstly, I haven't heard any new information regarding my accommodation - the housing office is extremely lax. I marched in there yesterday to demand ANSWERS as to what was going on...and they pacified me with a smile and a cup of tea. How can you be mad when the Dutch people are so pleasant? They assured me that by Friday I'd receive an email telling me whether I'd be staying in this room or moving two floors down in and around January 26. My decision has been to completely unpack and then if I have to move, just do it strategically so that every item can just be transported to its exact location two floors down. Thus, I am completely settled into the room.
There are two Amsterdam home students suppose to be on their way to Warwick for mobility but have been held back due to visa issues. It completely sucks for them, but great for us since they've been amazing guides to the city. We met with them two days ago and they gave us a tour of the university buildings and an 'in' about how to maximize our Amsterdam experience: a three month museum card, discount theatre tickets, the best places to get a coffee, and even a thorough tour through the red-light district. One of the buildings we study in is technically in the red-light district. I'm sure I won't get to say that again.
They took us to a super trendy cafe called Geels & Co. It's close to school and has some amazing types of tea and coffee. The best part, however, was the homemade scones which come with fresh cream and jars of jam to spread liberally over the pastry. Apparently people come from far and wide to take home their jams - we dined on lemon curd and pineapple spice. Needless to say, they were delicious. From there we were taken to another area of the city which I hadn't visited before. It had a lot of the theatres and places to buy tickets. Since Amsterdam is one of the more popular cities in mainland Europe, it gets a lot of really great touring productions. It sounds like I'll be able to see some incredible theatre this term. I also learned that you could get a month pass to the cinema for 17 Euros (as many movies as you like). Since I've been movie deprived the past few months, it's a tempting offer - I've seen hardly any GG and soon to be Oscar films.
Yesterday, Bec and I checked out the city's largest outdoor market called Albert-Cuypmarkt. The fruit, vegetable, meat, fish, and clothing stalls span nearly two miles! While we were only there to browse, I plan to make it a weekly visit to cut down on food costs. The fruit and veg is fresh and much cheaper than that in the supermarket. I saw a stand advertising three avocados for 99 cents! We walked for a good three hours through various parts of the city. I'm continually amazed at the variety of stores and shops here - in our travels we must have walked by eight bakeries, six cheese shops, a couple of butchers, and at least fifty restaurants and cafes. It's similar in big centres like London and Paris where it seems that all these specialty shops and restaurants can survive even though there are so many of them. My guess is that the annual influx of tourists must be what sustains them.
I've come to understand a lot about The Netherlands in this past week and I'm sure it will accumulate as the term goes on. Some of the more interesting items I've learned:
i) Holland is actually a region inside The Netherlands and thus, an incorrect term when referring to the whole country. People don't like it when you call the country Holland.
ii) I've been told that the Dutch are a reserved people. Although they are very warm, they generally keep to themselves and are very quiet about their private lives.
iii) The 'g' and the 'ch' are pronounced like the 'ch' sound in 'loch' - I imagine this to be a flemmy type of 'kh' sound. I'll have to find out how it's really suppose to sound. I think I'll avoid trying to order a mug of Grolsch in the meantime.
iv) It's rude to leave a table during a meal, even if you have to go to the bathroom. I wonder if bladders will be tested sometime in the term.
v) There are corner stalls selling raw herring which you are suppose to eat by raising its tail over your head and devouring it upwards. There is also the less messy option of having it on a bun. I haven't indulged yet, but I'll get back to you.
Today I'm headed to TMobile to try and obtain a Netherlands phone number. Luckily, I don't think this will cost too much as pay-as-you-go plans are all the rage here in Europe. Tomorrow evening we're going to see one of our fellow classmates, a resident Dutch girl who will going to Warwick on mobility, perform in a dance piece.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: This website has been extremely helpful in learning about Dutch traditions and culture. If you plan to visit, or would find pleasure in picturing me bumble through these activities, I encourage you to take a look:
How to Survive Holland
(Not calling it Holland would be the first step!)
Also, for interest's sake, check out Obama's new ride.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Houseguests Hit the Amdam.doc
While it may seem like a bit of a hectic scenario to host friends two days after you've just arrived, the visit from Emily and Steve was a most fitting way to get oriented to my new surroundings. They touched down in Amsterdam on Wednesday and we walked back to my apartment from the train station in twenty-five minutes. After hearing of their wonderful adventures in Spain, and my time spent jumping around the UK, we all recharged our batteries that afternoon for the three days ahead. One of the perks of my location is the grocery store located directly in the building. That evening we bought a bunch of supplies and christened my kitchen with a delicious stir-fry. You may not know it, but Steve is quite a good chef - Emily and I played the role of sous-chefs. That evening we stayed up chatting with two bottles of wine before being overcoming with sleep.
The next morning we had some Tim Hortons 'cowboy coffee' (just boiled on the stove) with spinach omelets. That day we decided to walk around the beautiful city - it was still quite cold here but the sun was brightly shining. Our first stop was the Anne Frank Museum which Emily had visited on a previous trip to Amsterdam with her family. It is a very powerful exhibit, the strength of which comes from the subtlety of the presentation and the tasteful way in which the house has been preserved. None of the furniture from the original house is kept on display, at the request of Otto Frank, and this allows for visitors to picture the conditions in the annex rather than view the setup from beyond a velvet rope. As well, the information about Anne and the family is presented without too much outside intervention which I appreciated. Walking up the narrow staircases and through the trap bookcase really brought home the severity of the conditions in Europe during WWII. It was one of the most memorable exhibits I've seen in Europe.
From there we continued to plot our way through the city. We visited the Waterlooplein outdoor market which is one of the city's oldest flea markets. There were rows of stalls offering vintage clothing, shoes, food, and, of course, lots of bicycle paraphenelia. Emily's quest of the day was buying a pair of gloves for the chilly weather. We stopped at every shop and tourist outlet but all she could find were pairs for 5 Euros (much too expensive). With no luck at the outdoor market, H&M proved to be the cheapest option where Steve and Em found a two pack pair of gloves for 5 Euros. Success all around. The final stop before returning home for dinner was a massive record store called Concerto where Emily and I listened to tracks on headphones and Steve took a browse of the record offerings. He was able to find two records worth shelling out for.
That night we repeated the dinner option from the night before and made yet another stir fry (this time with teryaki sauce). The plan for that evening was to begin with a bottle of wine and then head out. Upon departure we decided that a map wasn't necessary since we had a pretty decent handle on where we were going - hubris on our part. After walking for twenty minutes we realized we were quite off-track from the place we wanted to be, and without a map, were left guessing which might be the right way. We turned a corner near the 'Dam' area of town and found ourselves right smack in the middle of the Red Light District. A happy accident. We had planned to make a proper visit to the area the next evening but figured since we had wandered upon it, we should explore a bit. It is quite a sight and definitely worth taking a look just to say you've seen the area. I found it hard to know how to behave walking down the street - do you look inside all the windows so you get the full experience or do you avoid making eye contact for fear of an interaction? I think our small "interested but not involved" walk of the area was the best way to experience - we felt removed enough from what was going on to observe.
We exited the RL district and found ourselves closer to the area we thought the bar might be on. We were wrong. We finally gave up and resolved to walk back in the direction of home when the street we were looking for seemed to appear out of nowhere. Who says you need a map to get around in a foreign city? The bar we went to was really funky and alternative - it felt like we were in a place you'd see in a movie. There was a really eclectic crowd, they played a lot of David Bowie, people were sitting on the pool tables because the space was packed, and the general feel was really laid-back. We left the bar around 3am and hiked it all the way back to the Sarphati apartment.
The next morning was yet more cowboy coffee and spinach omelets. It proved to be great energy food for our walks around the city. I took the crew through a route I had planned out from the city guide. In our early journeys we were stopped at a canal while the bridge went up for a boat - this was done extremely efficiently and without much fuss (very impressive). We walked by the massive Zoo which is the oldest in Europe; it's actually only five minutes from my place. From there we visited the Hollansche Schouwburg which use to be a large theatre in the city. During WWII it was used as an intake facility for the Nazis and now it is a memorial commemorating victims of the Holocaust. It too was a powerful exhibit. The list of family names of Jews killed during the Holocaust was particularly striking. After the museum, we did a roundabout and walked past the Heineken Brewery (who wanted a steep 15 Euros for admission), the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the House of Bols (a famous bartending museum), and found ourselves in Vondelpark. The walk was a good two hours but we were able to see a lot of the city's landmarks. The museums are definitely something I'll be visiting in the next few months.
That evening we decided to avoid heading to a bar and instead spent our money on dinner. We went to a really stellar Chinese restaurant in Chinatown where we split four dishes. We actually weren't sure which restaurant to go to (since there were so many) but we had two separate people on the street tell us about Dim Kay. It was the Final Supper of the Holiday adventure crew. After dinner we returned back to the apartment and chatted about our travels over a glass of wine. Throughout the night, the Stroopwafels (the Dutch cookies) were continually begging to be eaten. The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before Emily and Steve made their way back to the train station.
It was a great visit. Exploring the city with friends proved to be the best way to start feeling comfortable in the foreign city: I have a much firmer grasp on the geography of the neighbourhoods, am aware of just how to avoid the bike paths, and have been introduced to some aspects of the nightlife here. That being said, it was incredibly hard to see them go. Not only have Emily and I spent the last month traveling together (sans nine days a part around New Years), but having both her and Steve in my apartment reminded me of the jams back home in Kingston and Toronto. The music, the conversation, the jokes, and the chilling all reminded me of countless nights spent at Westview, the 1.9.1., 2.9.5., 8 Vine, and Isabella. Without a doubt, Christmas was the time I missed my family the most. Seeing Emily and Steve leave Amsterdam was the time I've missed my friends the most since leaving in September. I hope I'm able to guide some of you wonderful people around Amsterdam if you come to visit (two friends have already told us of flight details ;). In the meantime, I have the city of canals and bikes to explore over the next few weeks - I'm lucky to be living in such a wonderful place.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I don't know if you can pickup Stroopwafels from the local Dominion (in fact, I'm sure you can't) but they are devilishly delicious treat that the three of us had to resist after every meal.
The next morning we had some Tim Hortons 'cowboy coffee' (just boiled on the stove) with spinach omelets. That day we decided to walk around the beautiful city - it was still quite cold here but the sun was brightly shining. Our first stop was the Anne Frank Museum which Emily had visited on a previous trip to Amsterdam with her family. It is a very powerful exhibit, the strength of which comes from the subtlety of the presentation and the tasteful way in which the house has been preserved. None of the furniture from the original house is kept on display, at the request of Otto Frank, and this allows for visitors to picture the conditions in the annex rather than view the setup from beyond a velvet rope. As well, the information about Anne and the family is presented without too much outside intervention which I appreciated. Walking up the narrow staircases and through the trap bookcase really brought home the severity of the conditions in Europe during WWII. It was one of the most memorable exhibits I've seen in Europe.
From there we continued to plot our way through the city. We visited the Waterlooplein outdoor market which is one of the city's oldest flea markets. There were rows of stalls offering vintage clothing, shoes, food, and, of course, lots of bicycle paraphenelia. Emily's quest of the day was buying a pair of gloves for the chilly weather. We stopped at every shop and tourist outlet but all she could find were pairs for 5 Euros (much too expensive). With no luck at the outdoor market, H&M proved to be the cheapest option where Steve and Em found a two pack pair of gloves for 5 Euros. Success all around. The final stop before returning home for dinner was a massive record store called Concerto where Emily and I listened to tracks on headphones and Steve took a browse of the record offerings. He was able to find two records worth shelling out for.
That night we repeated the dinner option from the night before and made yet another stir fry (this time with teryaki sauce). The plan for that evening was to begin with a bottle of wine and then head out. Upon departure we decided that a map wasn't necessary since we had a pretty decent handle on where we were going - hubris on our part. After walking for twenty minutes we realized we were quite off-track from the place we wanted to be, and without a map, were left guessing which might be the right way. We turned a corner near the 'Dam' area of town and found ourselves right smack in the middle of the Red Light District. A happy accident. We had planned to make a proper visit to the area the next evening but figured since we had wandered upon it, we should explore a bit. It is quite a sight and definitely worth taking a look just to say you've seen the area. I found it hard to know how to behave walking down the street - do you look inside all the windows so you get the full experience or do you avoid making eye contact for fear of an interaction? I think our small "interested but not involved" walk of the area was the best way to experience - we felt removed enough from what was going on to observe.
We exited the RL district and found ourselves closer to the area we thought the bar might be on. We were wrong. We finally gave up and resolved to walk back in the direction of home when the street we were looking for seemed to appear out of nowhere. Who says you need a map to get around in a foreign city? The bar we went to was really funky and alternative - it felt like we were in a place you'd see in a movie. There was a really eclectic crowd, they played a lot of David Bowie, people were sitting on the pool tables because the space was packed, and the general feel was really laid-back. We left the bar around 3am and hiked it all the way back to the Sarphati apartment.
The next morning was yet more cowboy coffee and spinach omelets. It proved to be great energy food for our walks around the city. I took the crew through a route I had planned out from the city guide. In our early journeys we were stopped at a canal while the bridge went up for a boat - this was done extremely efficiently and without much fuss (very impressive). We walked by the massive Zoo which is the oldest in Europe; it's actually only five minutes from my place. From there we visited the Hollansche Schouwburg which use to be a large theatre in the city. During WWII it was used as an intake facility for the Nazis and now it is a memorial commemorating victims of the Holocaust. It too was a powerful exhibit. The list of family names of Jews killed during the Holocaust was particularly striking. After the museum, we did a roundabout and walked past the Heineken Brewery (who wanted a steep 15 Euros for admission), the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the House of Bols (a famous bartending museum), and found ourselves in Vondelpark. The walk was a good two hours but we were able to see a lot of the city's landmarks. The museums are definitely something I'll be visiting in the next few months.
That evening we decided to avoid heading to a bar and instead spent our money on dinner. We went to a really stellar Chinese restaurant in Chinatown where we split four dishes. We actually weren't sure which restaurant to go to (since there were so many) but we had two separate people on the street tell us about Dim Kay. It was the Final Supper of the Holiday adventure crew. After dinner we returned back to the apartment and chatted about our travels over a glass of wine. Throughout the night, the Stroopwafels (the Dutch cookies) were continually begging to be eaten. The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before Emily and Steve made their way back to the train station.
It was a great visit. Exploring the city with friends proved to be the best way to start feeling comfortable in the foreign city: I have a much firmer grasp on the geography of the neighbourhoods, am aware of just how to avoid the bike paths, and have been introduced to some aspects of the nightlife here. That being said, it was incredibly hard to see them go. Not only have Emily and I spent the last month traveling together (sans nine days a part around New Years), but having both her and Steve in my apartment reminded me of the jams back home in Kingston and Toronto. The music, the conversation, the jokes, and the chilling all reminded me of countless nights spent at Westview, the 1.9.1., 2.9.5., 8 Vine, and Isabella. Without a doubt, Christmas was the time I missed my family the most. Seeing Emily and Steve leave Amsterdam was the time I've missed my friends the most since leaving in September. I hope I'm able to guide some of you wonderful people around Amsterdam if you come to visit (two friends have already told us of flight details ;). In the meantime, I have the city of canals and bikes to explore over the next few weeks - I'm lucky to be living in such a wonderful place.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I don't know if you can pickup Stroopwafels from the local Dominion (in fact, I'm sure you can't) but they are devilishly delicious treat that the three of us had to resist after every meal.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Netherlanding: Arrival in Amdam.doc
This marks the 50th blog post. How fitting for this new chapter of Amsterdam experiences. Thanks for following along thus far!
I realized I left readers on a cliffhanger last post - on the verge of a ferry trip to my new home in the Netherlands. Then nothing for six whole days. You must have reloaded daily looking for the first report from the new world. Since touching down in the Netherlands, I've been overloaded with things to do and, of course, was completely occupied with my first houseguests only two days after arriving. Sadly, the guests have left, but this means that I can catch up with all of you.
Bec and I took a coach bus from London to Harwich (another silence W) where we caught the ferry from the coast of England to the Hook of Holland. I couldn't imagine a better way to travel. Bec raised the ferry suggestion in order to avoid strict luggage restrictions on planes. When we arrived at Harwich, we got a glimpse of the ship - it was massive! The boat took off at quarter to midnight and arrived at 8:00am in the Netherlands. Onboard was duty free, a cinema, casino facilities, and two restaurants. The major perk of the journey was getting a cabin to sleep in while traveling. We celebrated the mobility move with a bottle of champagne and some scones I had picked up in Wales that morning. We went to bed around 1:00am and woke up docked in the country we are to call home for the next six months.
From the Hook of Holland, we eventually found our way to Amsterdam after connecting with two trains. It was definitely a bit of a challenge to make out the schedules in Dutch, and having to lug our bags around from platform to platform was cumbersome, but we had a relatively successful trip into the city. The scenery from the train was beautiful - the Netherlands is quite flat so you can see out over vast stretches of land. Once at the central station we had two hours to kill before we could go pick up our keys from the Housing Office. We ordered a couple of coffees in the station and read through our city guide books. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to walk to the office (a good 25 minute hike) rather than figure out the bus and tram schedules. Amsterdam is having one of the coldest winters in the last decade (a doable -5 is the lowest it has been) so it was a chilly walk. The saving grace was the gorgeous sun than shone down and framed our first look at the beautiful system of canals that stretch throughout the city. I was glad we walked - it was a challenge with all of our bags, but we were able to start exploring the city.
We arrived at the Housing Office, feeling like we had climbed a mountain, and waited in line to sign our leases and get further instructions. It just so happened that I met another Canadian at the office (the passport is always a dead giveaway) who is studying an MA in Devs. She is from Vancouver and staying in Bec's building so we made one new friend within the first three hours of arriving. After signing away first and last month's rent, we were given our keys and a welcome package. From there, Bec and I split ways (we're not in the same residence building) and made the final leg of the journey to our pads. Thankfully, mine was only a ten minute walk from the housing office and easy to find.
To say that arrival was a disaster would be an understatement. I finally made my way to the modern trendy building (it was built in 2002) and loaded my three heavy bags into the elevator. I got out on the second floor, turned my key into the lock, and burst into my new place. It was furnished...with someone else's stuff...everywhere. There was a laptop on the desk and fresh food on the counters. I must have wandered into the wrong room, I thought. I checked the three documents that listed my room details and they all indicated this was the right place (or it should have been). The anger and frustration started to set in. I was wearing two coats, I was luggage laden, and I just wanted to drop my things and settle in. After unsuccessfully trying six different ways to interpret Dutch phone numbers and get in touch with the Residence Assistants, I gave up and waited for another student to enter the building. The first one I encountered, twenty minutes later, was able to point me to the R.A. rooms.
Thank god for the R.A.s. Tom and Myra, the first two dutch people I met, proved to be most helpful. They offered me tea while they telephoned the head office to see what had happened. Apparently, the office thought the tenant in the room they had assigned me would be leaving on January 4, even though his contract goes until the 26. No one got around to checking if this was so before handing me the keys (extremely efficient). By that time, the office was closing in half an hour so it wasn't worth heading back. Tom and Myra set me up in the vacant room of a girl who had just left for good. The first two hours after they left I was steaming mad at the housing office, really unhappy, and generally very homesick. It only took a quick shower, a jaunt to the grocery store downstairs, and a look out at the skyline from the big picture window before I mellowed out and realized I had arrived to live in Amsterdam. I was able to shake off the initial frustrations and appreciate the potential of the city outside my window.
The housing corporation has been less than impressive with giving me a final decision. What I asked for is to stay in the room Tom and Myra gave me, since I'm nice and comfortable here, with a cleaning of the room sometime in the coming week. They agreed that this was possible, and started to put the wheels in motion towards making it final (a deal with the tenant who is suppose to occupy this room on Jan 26). Aside from how uncertain this sounds, I've been here for five nights now with no interruption so I'm pretty happy. The worst case scenario would be that I move into the room I was originally suppose to have in two weeks time (this would be a few short elevator rides downstairs and the rooms are the exact same). No big deal. Aside from the room issues, the building is fantastic. It is in the city centre, is a twenty-five minute walk to the train station, has a supermarket and wine shop downstairs on the main level, and feels like a trendy little loft of my own. I feel really comfortable here.
On the morning that Emily and Steve arrived, only a day and a half after I had gotten here, the three of us here early (Bec, Courtney, and I) went to the International Centre at Uva for an orientation meeting. Note: when you are reading this post out loud to friends in the room it is pronounced 'ouva' instead of 'U.V.A'. I received my forth school email address and got to work setting up a Dutch bank account (it's my second off-shore account). We also received a tour of the theatre facilities which are housed in a really cool building near the centre of the city. There was actually renovation being done?! Where does a theatre department get money for renovations?! On right, Europe. We also met the department secretary Henrietta (the Uva version of Lee, Lou, and Lindzey). The university has been more than thorough in guiding us through the bureaucratic hoops and I am now well on my way to getting totally settled. That afternoon...I jubilantly greeted Emily and Steve at the Amsterdam Central Station for the final leg of the holiday journeys - the subject of tomorrow's post.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: A Dutch phrase book. Not only has it been essential for interpreting signs, but they packed so much information into one small pocketbook. Most interesting words so far:
dank u: thank you (an interesting mix of German and English)
broodrooster: toaster (bread roaster?)
stroopwafels: syrup waffles (a glorious cookie treat we ate all week)
alstublieft: please (...can I have a stroopwafel?)
pot jan drie dubbeltjes (I've been told...a polite dutch swear word on par with darn or crap)
I realized I left readers on a cliffhanger last post - on the verge of a ferry trip to my new home in the Netherlands. Then nothing for six whole days. You must have reloaded daily looking for the first report from the new world. Since touching down in the Netherlands, I've been overloaded with things to do and, of course, was completely occupied with my first houseguests only two days after arriving. Sadly, the guests have left, but this means that I can catch up with all of you.
Bec and I took a coach bus from London to Harwich (another silence W) where we caught the ferry from the coast of England to the Hook of Holland. I couldn't imagine a better way to travel. Bec raised the ferry suggestion in order to avoid strict luggage restrictions on planes. When we arrived at Harwich, we got a glimpse of the ship - it was massive! The boat took off at quarter to midnight and arrived at 8:00am in the Netherlands. Onboard was duty free, a cinema, casino facilities, and two restaurants. The major perk of the journey was getting a cabin to sleep in while traveling. We celebrated the mobility move with a bottle of champagne and some scones I had picked up in Wales that morning. We went to bed around 1:00am and woke up docked in the country we are to call home for the next six months.
From the Hook of Holland, we eventually found our way to Amsterdam after connecting with two trains. It was definitely a bit of a challenge to make out the schedules in Dutch, and having to lug our bags around from platform to platform was cumbersome, but we had a relatively successful trip into the city. The scenery from the train was beautiful - the Netherlands is quite flat so you can see out over vast stretches of land. Once at the central station we had two hours to kill before we could go pick up our keys from the Housing Office. We ordered a couple of coffees in the station and read through our city guide books. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to walk to the office (a good 25 minute hike) rather than figure out the bus and tram schedules. Amsterdam is having one of the coldest winters in the last decade (a doable -5 is the lowest it has been) so it was a chilly walk. The saving grace was the gorgeous sun than shone down and framed our first look at the beautiful system of canals that stretch throughout the city. I was glad we walked - it was a challenge with all of our bags, but we were able to start exploring the city.
We arrived at the Housing Office, feeling like we had climbed a mountain, and waited in line to sign our leases and get further instructions. It just so happened that I met another Canadian at the office (the passport is always a dead giveaway) who is studying an MA in Devs. She is from Vancouver and staying in Bec's building so we made one new friend within the first three hours of arriving. After signing away first and last month's rent, we were given our keys and a welcome package. From there, Bec and I split ways (we're not in the same residence building) and made the final leg of the journey to our pads. Thankfully, mine was only a ten minute walk from the housing office and easy to find.
To say that arrival was a disaster would be an understatement. I finally made my way to the modern trendy building (it was built in 2002) and loaded my three heavy bags into the elevator. I got out on the second floor, turned my key into the lock, and burst into my new place. It was furnished...with someone else's stuff...everywhere. There was a laptop on the desk and fresh food on the counters. I must have wandered into the wrong room, I thought. I checked the three documents that listed my room details and they all indicated this was the right place (or it should have been). The anger and frustration started to set in. I was wearing two coats, I was luggage laden, and I just wanted to drop my things and settle in. After unsuccessfully trying six different ways to interpret Dutch phone numbers and get in touch with the Residence Assistants, I gave up and waited for another student to enter the building. The first one I encountered, twenty minutes later, was able to point me to the R.A. rooms.
Thank god for the R.A.s. Tom and Myra, the first two dutch people I met, proved to be most helpful. They offered me tea while they telephoned the head office to see what had happened. Apparently, the office thought the tenant in the room they had assigned me would be leaving on January 4, even though his contract goes until the 26. No one got around to checking if this was so before handing me the keys (extremely efficient). By that time, the office was closing in half an hour so it wasn't worth heading back. Tom and Myra set me up in the vacant room of a girl who had just left for good. The first two hours after they left I was steaming mad at the housing office, really unhappy, and generally very homesick. It only took a quick shower, a jaunt to the grocery store downstairs, and a look out at the skyline from the big picture window before I mellowed out and realized I had arrived to live in Amsterdam. I was able to shake off the initial frustrations and appreciate the potential of the city outside my window.
The housing corporation has been less than impressive with giving me a final decision. What I asked for is to stay in the room Tom and Myra gave me, since I'm nice and comfortable here, with a cleaning of the room sometime in the coming week. They agreed that this was possible, and started to put the wheels in motion towards making it final (a deal with the tenant who is suppose to occupy this room on Jan 26). Aside from how uncertain this sounds, I've been here for five nights now with no interruption so I'm pretty happy. The worst case scenario would be that I move into the room I was originally suppose to have in two weeks time (this would be a few short elevator rides downstairs and the rooms are the exact same). No big deal. Aside from the room issues, the building is fantastic. It is in the city centre, is a twenty-five minute walk to the train station, has a supermarket and wine shop downstairs on the main level, and feels like a trendy little loft of my own. I feel really comfortable here.
On the morning that Emily and Steve arrived, only a day and a half after I had gotten here, the three of us here early (Bec, Courtney, and I) went to the International Centre at Uva for an orientation meeting. Note: when you are reading this post out loud to friends in the room it is pronounced 'ouva' instead of 'U.V.A'. I received my forth school email address and got to work setting up a Dutch bank account (it's my second off-shore account). We also received a tour of the theatre facilities which are housed in a really cool building near the centre of the city. There was actually renovation being done?! Where does a theatre department get money for renovations?! On right, Europe. We also met the department secretary Henrietta (the Uva version of Lee, Lou, and Lindzey). The university has been more than thorough in guiding us through the bureaucratic hoops and I am now well on my way to getting totally settled. That afternoon...I jubilantly greeted Emily and Steve at the Amsterdam Central Station for the final leg of the holiday journeys - the subject of tomorrow's post.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: A Dutch phrase book. Not only has it been essential for interpreting signs, but they packed so much information into one small pocketbook. Most interesting words so far:
dank u: thank you (an interesting mix of German and English)
broodrooster: toaster (bread roaster?)
stroopwafels: syrup waffles (a glorious cookie treat we ate all week)
alstublieft: please (...can I have a stroopwafel?)
pot jan drie dubbeltjes (I've been told...a polite dutch swear word on par with darn or crap)
Sunday, January 04, 2009
A Whale of a Time in Cardiff.doc
I had two days to burn between leaving Edinburgh and moving to Amsterdam so a few weeks ago I decided to book myself into Wales for two nights. I could really have spent the time anywhere in the UK, but I figured why not hit up the Welsh portion of the Kingdom before moving to Holland.
I had a really relaxing time. The place I was staying was a four-minute walk from the train station and looked out on the Millennium Stadium where Cardiff plays its rugby matches. The stadium is massive, brand new, and has already hosted the likes of Madonna and Robbie Williams. The River Backpacker’s Hostel was the absolute nicest hostel I’ve stayed at thus far – the house was renovated just a year ago, it had free wireless for my laptop, a diverse breakfast, and the house is managed by a bro and sis team who you see around every day; it was very homey. The Mom of the two owners even comes in on Saturday and Sunday mornings and insists on doing the dishes for ‘the kids’. I insisted right back that I could do my own, and she called me a very polite Canadian young man. Guilty as charged?
I got to the hostel late Friday night and basically dropped my bags, had a tea, surfed the net, and then called it a night. Saturday morning and afternoon was spent exploring the city. Cardiff has undergone something of a transformation over the past few decades into one of the larger financial hubs in the UK and the city centre is a reflection of the prosperity that has come to the city. I first went into the downtown shopping district and was able to avoid the urge for a Primark adventure. From there I shelled out seven quid to visit Cardiff Castle – it was built in the 15th Century and renovated into more of a Medieval Castle in the 18th Century.
The grounds of the castle are beautiful and were particularly stunning on the sunny Saturday morning. The two features of the site are the guided tour of the residence, decorated with much opulence by a Scottish lord in the 18th, and the “keep” that was part of the original castle design. The “keep” stands at the centre of the grounds and is surrounded by a moat to keep invaders out. As you climb the steep one hundred steps to the top, you are privy to a wonderful view of the Cardiff downtown area. While I didn’t manage to get to the Warwick castle this past term (oops!), the Cardiff Castle satisfies my castle quota for some time. Definitely worth a look if you find yourself in Cardiff.
From there I went on a half hour walk to Cardiff Bay where the city has a really vibrant harbour and barge system. The area is somewhat of a cultural centre with a massive arts complex, the Rahl Daul Piazza, a high-end craft store, and a few interactive museums and exhibits. I walked around the harbour as the sun was beginning to set and snapped some really cool photos. If I’m ever in a city that offers some sort of coastal land, I’m always prone to head down to the water. I think it has something to do with a love of being close to the sea, but also the knowledge that the water I’m looking at links, over thousands of KM, with Canada on the other side.
After exploring the two premiere spots in Cardiff, I popped into an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet during happy hour. I ate them out of house and home for only 7.99! The Welsh people were really welcoming, but unfortunately I missed out on hearing any of their own language being spoken during my jaunts (I assume it’s more popular in the rural areas). It was interesting to see all the official signs displayed in both English and Gaelic – it reminded me of our own Canadian system.
As much as I would have liked to explore the Cardiff nightlife, I spent Saturday night in the hostel dining room for a solid six hours working on the essay I have due on January 9. I managed to tack on four pages that completes the first draft. It may be five pages over the word limit, but I’m optimistic about what the final product will look like.
Before bed I chatted with the only other Canadian at the hostel, a med student from Winnipeg who was traveling the UK for three weeks. He had recently arrived and was eager to hear about where I had been in the Kingdom since he had an open rail pass. He altered his trip plans after I insisted on some of the highlights of the spots I had been. After recounting my journey, I realized I had been to a lot of places in the UK over the past three months: London (a gaggle of times), Coventry, Leamington, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, Edinburgh, and now, Cardiff. While there were a few spots I didn’t get to (Ireland, Glasgow, Swansea, Brighton, and Dover to name a few) I always have the summer to make the list a bit more complete. As I say goodbye to the island for the next half a year, I’m happy to have been able to explore some of the major spots. If I can only be so lucky to do the same when I reach mainland Europe I’ll be an extremely happy traveler.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A ferry ride! I’ve only taken a handful in my time (the one to Wolfe Island being the most memorable) but tonight will be an eight hour overnight trip to Holland. Will be skyping from Amdam in no time!
I had a really relaxing time. The place I was staying was a four-minute walk from the train station and looked out on the Millennium Stadium where Cardiff plays its rugby matches. The stadium is massive, brand new, and has already hosted the likes of Madonna and Robbie Williams. The River Backpacker’s Hostel was the absolute nicest hostel I’ve stayed at thus far – the house was renovated just a year ago, it had free wireless for my laptop, a diverse breakfast, and the house is managed by a bro and sis team who you see around every day; it was very homey. The Mom of the two owners even comes in on Saturday and Sunday mornings and insists on doing the dishes for ‘the kids’. I insisted right back that I could do my own, and she called me a very polite Canadian young man. Guilty as charged?
I got to the hostel late Friday night and basically dropped my bags, had a tea, surfed the net, and then called it a night. Saturday morning and afternoon was spent exploring the city. Cardiff has undergone something of a transformation over the past few decades into one of the larger financial hubs in the UK and the city centre is a reflection of the prosperity that has come to the city. I first went into the downtown shopping district and was able to avoid the urge for a Primark adventure. From there I shelled out seven quid to visit Cardiff Castle – it was built in the 15th Century and renovated into more of a Medieval Castle in the 18th Century.
The grounds of the castle are beautiful and were particularly stunning on the sunny Saturday morning. The two features of the site are the guided tour of the residence, decorated with much opulence by a Scottish lord in the 18th, and the “keep” that was part of the original castle design. The “keep” stands at the centre of the grounds and is surrounded by a moat to keep invaders out. As you climb the steep one hundred steps to the top, you are privy to a wonderful view of the Cardiff downtown area. While I didn’t manage to get to the Warwick castle this past term (oops!), the Cardiff Castle satisfies my castle quota for some time. Definitely worth a look if you find yourself in Cardiff.
From there I went on a half hour walk to Cardiff Bay where the city has a really vibrant harbour and barge system. The area is somewhat of a cultural centre with a massive arts complex, the Rahl Daul Piazza, a high-end craft store, and a few interactive museums and exhibits. I walked around the harbour as the sun was beginning to set and snapped some really cool photos. If I’m ever in a city that offers some sort of coastal land, I’m always prone to head down to the water. I think it has something to do with a love of being close to the sea, but also the knowledge that the water I’m looking at links, over thousands of KM, with Canada on the other side.
After exploring the two premiere spots in Cardiff, I popped into an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet during happy hour. I ate them out of house and home for only 7.99! The Welsh people were really welcoming, but unfortunately I missed out on hearing any of their own language being spoken during my jaunts (I assume it’s more popular in the rural areas). It was interesting to see all the official signs displayed in both English and Gaelic – it reminded me of our own Canadian system.
As much as I would have liked to explore the Cardiff nightlife, I spent Saturday night in the hostel dining room for a solid six hours working on the essay I have due on January 9. I managed to tack on four pages that completes the first draft. It may be five pages over the word limit, but I’m optimistic about what the final product will look like.
Before bed I chatted with the only other Canadian at the hostel, a med student from Winnipeg who was traveling the UK for three weeks. He had recently arrived and was eager to hear about where I had been in the Kingdom since he had an open rail pass. He altered his trip plans after I insisted on some of the highlights of the spots I had been. After recounting my journey, I realized I had been to a lot of places in the UK over the past three months: London (a gaggle of times), Coventry, Leamington, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, Edinburgh, and now, Cardiff. While there were a few spots I didn’t get to (Ireland, Glasgow, Swansea, Brighton, and Dover to name a few) I always have the summer to make the list a bit more complete. As I say goodbye to the island for the next half a year, I’m happy to have been able to explore some of the major spots. If I can only be so lucky to do the same when I reach mainland Europe I’ll be an extremely happy traveler.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A ferry ride! I’ve only taken a handful in my time (the one to Wolfe Island being the most memorable) but tonight will be an eight hour overnight trip to Holland. Will be skyping from Amdam in no time!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Hogmanay: Lookin’ Fine in 2009!.doc
Happy New Year everyone!
I’ve experienced five more hours of 2009 than the majority of you. In my expert opinion I think it’s going to be a great year! I was in Edinburgh for the past two nights revisiting the country of my paternal ancestors and it was an absolute blast.
I packed up my room at the quiet confines of Heronbank and returned my keys while the sun was still coming up at 7:50am in the morning – seeing my life over here boiled down into one suitcase and two bags is always sobering. I had a big day of travel ahead and, as always, maneuvering the three bags is never an easy task (bus from campus to the Spa, the Spa to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Edinburgh). The five-hour train ride to Scotland took quite a scenic route. It traveled along the Eastern coast of England – lots of open pastures, beautiful coastal areas, and sheep…lots of sheep. I completed a variety of activities on the lengthy train ride which included writing two pages of my essay, reading 100 pages of the Cormac McCarthy novel I’m reading, uploading Parisian photos to my computer, and trying to count the variety of accents on the train (I could make out about five different dialects).
To give some back-story for those of you know don’t know Talia and Alex…I met Tal in my second year working at Walkhome. She didn’t work at the service but was always visiting us like a curious little cat. Luckily for me, she ended up spending the summer in Kingston and we became great friends as the years went on. Her boyfriend Alex is from England but goes to school at the University of Edinburgh. He spent a year on exchange at Queen’s last year and they’ve been together ever since. They invited me to join them in Edinburgh for Hogmanay and I couldn’t pass up the offer to party in one of the most happening New Year's spots in the world.
The city was practically buzzing with excitement – the trains were packed with revelers making the trek, there was music and games being played, and the streets were plastered with no parking signs. I hoofed it to Alex’s uni flat and was greeted by two friends it felt like I hadn’t seen in ages! We spent a good hour catching up. Talia is the current president of the AMS at Queen’s and I had endless questions about how her year was going. After an obligatory spot at the wine shop, we ran into a group of Alex and Talia’s friends who we would spend the next two days with. There was a whole crew of British students, from Edinburgh and English universities, who had all done exchange at Queen’s the year previous that had descended on Etown for Hogmanay. It felt really great to be surrounded by other people who knew what life at Queen’s is like. They were a great group to be able to hang with.
After the wine shop, we sketched out a rough map of the evening (working backwards from midnight!) and made our way to Alex’s friend’s flat for a game of monopoly (random, yes, but loads of fun). After merging our properties and money, Alex and I were poised for community domination, but were thrown for a curveball when the two other merged teams created an ultimate merger and the game was all for not. Monopoly seems a lot more fun when you’re able to sip on a few glasses of wine. We moved on to more “productive games” (a bit of a reminder of NYE 2008) and then walked around the corner for a curry dinner. From there we jumped briefly into another party where the finger food of choice was prunes wrapped in bacon (eek!) and where no one really knew the host rather just knew members in attendance extremely tangentially. We kicked out of there pretty quickly and made our way to Meadow Park for the countdown.
From Meadow Park you can see the fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and we joined the other Queen’s exchange students in counting down and celebrating as the clock struck 12:00am (+ 1 second). As with every NYE, the extreme revelry and wishing of “Happy New Year!” carried long into the night. It was such an odd feeling knowing that I was a good five hours ahead of Canada and in fact in a different calendar year than those just getting ready to go out at 7:00pm. We walked and wandered around the park, soaked in the surrounding atmosphere, and headed back to Alex’s for a game of trivial pursuit that descended quite quickly into madness. I headed to bed around 2:00am, a full three hours before everyone at home was toasting the New Year. It was an extremely eclectic night, but I think that’s the hallmark of a successful NYE – especially when you’re spending it with great people.
The three of us slept in until noon the following day (talk about seizing 2009!) and then headed over to one of the gang’s house for a HUGE breakfast. It was as traditional as you can get with fried tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as some Blood Pudding. There were at least fifteen of us packed into the tiny flat but it was an incredibly social way to spend New Years Day – it felt like a big ol’ breakfast at the Brass without the Mmmmuffins or the sometimes sketchy service. After breakfast, we decided to get out and go for a walk to the “crags”. Talia and I didn’t know what a “crag” was but postulated that it was some form of jutting rock/cliff structure possibly near water and probably formed by glacial intervention. We had no idea. We were almost bang-on with our thoughts as the crags did look like big steep cliffs. We walked and walked uphill - Arthur’s seat is located right beside the crags but with the sun starting to go down early we didn’t want to be at the top of the extremely high hill in the pitch dark.
The view from the top of the crags was stunning. You could see out over most of Edinburgh and since it was near dusk and pretty foggy it looked like the landscape from a Dickens novel. We made our way down the other side and thought we’d reward ourselves with a refreshing pint. Alex suggested The Brass Monkey - a pub with a "bed room" that patrons sit in and drink their pints. I was skeptical. It turned out to be the coolest room I’ve ever seen in a pub. The bed structure is the size of six pool tables and has special holders for your drink. People lounge on the bed and chat – definitely like something out of the ‘60s. It was hard to justify getting up from the comfortable setup.
For dinner we had some fish and chips and spent the first part of the night in lounging around and watching a horrendously awful movie which in itself is sometimes fun. Later on we joined the gang for a few late night games and two bottles of wine and then called it a night. The two-day party felt like I was back in the comforts of Ktown among like-minded people – I couldn’t have asked for a better New Year’s trip. Talia, Alex, and I had an absolute blast the whole time. I’m lucky to have such warm and welcoming friends.
Today I’ve travelled through three countries – Scotland to England to Wales. I’m booked into a hostel for two nights in Cardiff (since I’m technically homeless) and on Sunday will make the long day’s journey into night that will take me to my new home in the Netherlands. It’s just starting to sink in now that I’ll be living for a half a year in one of the coolest cities in the world. I’m beyond excited.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A toast of scotch to a healthy and successful year for all who may wander into my little spot in the blogosphere.
I packed up my room at the quiet confines of Heronbank and returned my keys while the sun was still coming up at 7:50am in the morning – seeing my life over here boiled down into one suitcase and two bags is always sobering. I had a big day of travel ahead and, as always, maneuvering the three bags is never an easy task (bus from campus to the Spa, the Spa to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Edinburgh). The five-hour train ride to Scotland took quite a scenic route. It traveled along the Eastern coast of England – lots of open pastures, beautiful coastal areas, and sheep…lots of sheep. I completed a variety of activities on the lengthy train ride which included writing two pages of my essay, reading 100 pages of the Cormac McCarthy novel I’m reading, uploading Parisian photos to my computer, and trying to count the variety of accents on the train (I could make out about five different dialects).
To give some back-story for those of you know don’t know Talia and Alex…I met Tal in my second year working at Walkhome. She didn’t work at the service but was always visiting us like a curious little cat. Luckily for me, she ended up spending the summer in Kingston and we became great friends as the years went on. Her boyfriend Alex is from England but goes to school at the University of Edinburgh. He spent a year on exchange at Queen’s last year and they’ve been together ever since. They invited me to join them in Edinburgh for Hogmanay and I couldn’t pass up the offer to party in one of the most happening New Year's spots in the world.
The city was practically buzzing with excitement – the trains were packed with revelers making the trek, there was music and games being played, and the streets were plastered with no parking signs. I hoofed it to Alex’s uni flat and was greeted by two friends it felt like I hadn’t seen in ages! We spent a good hour catching up. Talia is the current president of the AMS at Queen’s and I had endless questions about how her year was going. After an obligatory spot at the wine shop, we ran into a group of Alex and Talia’s friends who we would spend the next two days with. There was a whole crew of British students, from Edinburgh and English universities, who had all done exchange at Queen’s the year previous that had descended on Etown for Hogmanay. It felt really great to be surrounded by other people who knew what life at Queen’s is like. They were a great group to be able to hang with.
After the wine shop, we sketched out a rough map of the evening (working backwards from midnight!) and made our way to Alex’s friend’s flat for a game of monopoly (random, yes, but loads of fun). After merging our properties and money, Alex and I were poised for community domination, but were thrown for a curveball when the two other merged teams created an ultimate merger and the game was all for not. Monopoly seems a lot more fun when you’re able to sip on a few glasses of wine. We moved on to more “productive games” (a bit of a reminder of NYE 2008) and then walked around the corner for a curry dinner. From there we jumped briefly into another party where the finger food of choice was prunes wrapped in bacon (eek!) and where no one really knew the host rather just knew members in attendance extremely tangentially. We kicked out of there pretty quickly and made our way to Meadow Park for the countdown.
From Meadow Park you can see the fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and we joined the other Queen’s exchange students in counting down and celebrating as the clock struck 12:00am (+ 1 second). As with every NYE, the extreme revelry and wishing of “Happy New Year!” carried long into the night. It was such an odd feeling knowing that I was a good five hours ahead of Canada and in fact in a different calendar year than those just getting ready to go out at 7:00pm. We walked and wandered around the park, soaked in the surrounding atmosphere, and headed back to Alex’s for a game of trivial pursuit that descended quite quickly into madness. I headed to bed around 2:00am, a full three hours before everyone at home was toasting the New Year. It was an extremely eclectic night, but I think that’s the hallmark of a successful NYE – especially when you’re spending it with great people.
The three of us slept in until noon the following day (talk about seizing 2009!) and then headed over to one of the gang’s house for a HUGE breakfast. It was as traditional as you can get with fried tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as some Blood Pudding. There were at least fifteen of us packed into the tiny flat but it was an incredibly social way to spend New Years Day – it felt like a big ol’ breakfast at the Brass without the Mmmmuffins or the sometimes sketchy service. After breakfast, we decided to get out and go for a walk to the “crags”. Talia and I didn’t know what a “crag” was but postulated that it was some form of jutting rock/cliff structure possibly near water and probably formed by glacial intervention. We had no idea. We were almost bang-on with our thoughts as the crags did look like big steep cliffs. We walked and walked uphill - Arthur’s seat is located right beside the crags but with the sun starting to go down early we didn’t want to be at the top of the extremely high hill in the pitch dark.
The view from the top of the crags was stunning. You could see out over most of Edinburgh and since it was near dusk and pretty foggy it looked like the landscape from a Dickens novel. We made our way down the other side and thought we’d reward ourselves with a refreshing pint. Alex suggested The Brass Monkey - a pub with a "bed room" that patrons sit in and drink their pints. I was skeptical. It turned out to be the coolest room I’ve ever seen in a pub. The bed structure is the size of six pool tables and has special holders for your drink. People lounge on the bed and chat – definitely like something out of the ‘60s. It was hard to justify getting up from the comfortable setup.
For dinner we had some fish and chips and spent the first part of the night in lounging around and watching a horrendously awful movie which in itself is sometimes fun. Later on we joined the gang for a few late night games and two bottles of wine and then called it a night. The two-day party felt like I was back in the comforts of Ktown among like-minded people – I couldn’t have asked for a better New Year’s trip. Talia, Alex, and I had an absolute blast the whole time. I’m lucky to have such warm and welcoming friends.
Today I’ve travelled through three countries – Scotland to England to Wales. I’m booked into a hostel for two nights in Cardiff (since I’m technically homeless) and on Sunday will make the long day’s journey into night that will take me to my new home in the Netherlands. It’s just starting to sink in now that I’ll be living for a half a year in one of the coolest cities in the world. I’m beyond excited.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A toast of scotch to a healthy and successful year for all who may wander into my little spot in the blogosphere.
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