Haarlem (of the Dutch Variety) and Spanish Weekend

So instead of going to Berlin, I spent a day in Haarlem, which is a town/city right outside of Amsterdam. It's a worthy destination! Quaint and charming, bustling with markets and bicycles (as anywhere in the Netherlands), Haarlem is a far cry from its NYC counterpart. I was walking through one of the outdoor markets when I sat down on an antique bench to soak up some sun. Just then I turned, realizing the stream of Dutch I heard was being directed at me. The man from whom the words came had bulbous nose, a hearing aid, and clutched his cane even when sitting. When he realized I didn't speak Dutch, he switched to English and regaled me on the state of various American social policies (i.e. "40 million Americans have no insurance!") and his family. Apparently his wife very much liked her visit to NY and his daughter lives in Melbourne. His last words to me were, "If you get married, you can stay here," as he thrust his body onto his cane to lifted himself off the bench. His wife passed by, she seemed somewhat younger and more spritely, but I'm sure he was a charmer back in the day.

The rest of the weekend I spent with the Spanish (you can check Facebook for identification, the names give it away). We went to Pata Negra, a "Spanish, Spanish restaurant" my friends informed me when they realized that everyone who worked there was actually a native of their homeland, much to their surprise. We had a pitcher of Sangria (somewhat different and more expensive than at Pio Pio's, but I still relished it) and a couple of typical Spanish dishes (the Spanish put their seal of approval on the meal-->worthwhile!). Later that night we went to Melkweg ("Milky Way") where we spent most of our time in the reggaeton section. There was a Dutch boy from the South who caught my eye (also on Facebook) and the only reason I mention him (if you couldn't tell, I've been avoiduing those topics in most of my posts) is b/c he reminded me of home, lol. He was putting on the whole arrogant, laidback attitude and I have to say I was into it, delivering my bitch routine to his jackass act.
At one point I said, "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

To which he responded, "Yeah, but I'm sweet after sex,"

"Hmmm," I said, "well I want someone sweet before and after."
It was pretty entertaining and a memorable soundbite. (Nothing happened, he asked to go home with me, I told him to go home to the South).

In short, great weekend!

End of Mama's Visit/Joyce's Arrival

By the weekend I had convinced my mother out of going to Belgium (I have no idea why she was so set on it to begin with) and so we continued to explore Amsterdam. I managed to avoid most of the places which I had the sneaking suspicion she wouldn't appreciate seeing, though we did stop by the Red Light District (she was more amused than I thought she would be!). She really enjoyed the city (of course, who wouldn't?!) and I'm really glad to have had the opportunity to see her and show her where I live. The stress of the situation mounted on Tuesday when: a) I had class all day; b) a hair appointment; and c) Joyce's arrival to Amsterdam. Everything more or less fell into place (albeit not without some tension). By the night I needed some relief so I took Joyce to the Borrel. Considering the frequency with which I attend Borrel, I didn't expect how excited I would be to go this last time--I was more stressed than I thought! I introduced Joyce to everyone, throwing her into conversations (and people) with the kind of grace I'm known for when introducing people (It's an aristocratic quality really). The next day I had work which forced me to send Joyce off on her own and leave my mom to her own devices on her last (half) day in Amsterdam. When I was finished work I changed into a dress my mother would deem last-day-in-Amsterdam-worthy and jetted over to see her before she left. Our goodbyes were sweet and capped off the experience well. Right afterwards I meet with Joyce and we spent the rest of the day going between various locations and running into people (which expressed another pleasant quality of Amsterdam's size and character). I don't think I was as a good a tour guide to Joyce as I could've been, but I did my best! It was the first time I spoke to someone in person about school and life (from home) in months!

The weekend of the 17th (which would've been the day Joyce left) I was supposed to go to Berlin, but I didn't (tickets sold out) and I think it was for the best. Could you imagine hopping on a bus and crusading around a city after two weeks of touring, walking, and sightseeing??

Guess Who's Coming (and paying) for Dinner

I'm writing this from a communal computer in the back of the lobby of the Pulitizer Hotel where my mother (and by invitation, moi) is staying. Fueled by guilt by my blogger neglience (and the fear of being charged), I write with speed.

Wednesday at 6:00 AM I awake to a phone call from my father who asks if I've met my mother yet, realizing the time, I come to the conclusion that I missed my alarm which would've sent me on my way to meeting her upon her arrival to Amsterdam. I set off on my bike instead to her hotel, the sun taking as slow a start as I have. I arrive almost at the same time as she does, haphazarding locking bike as she gets out of her cab to greet me as I hand her tulips. That day the weather proved to be temperamental and unpleasant, my mother's yellow umbrella appearing more handy than just cute. We went to the Anne Frank House (which I enjoyed more than I thought I would), took a boat tour and went to two musuems (the Van Gogh and the Rijks).

The next day was the former day's guilt-ridden counterpart, compensating for the troublesome weather with an almost overzealous stream of sunlight. My mother, though almost always a fan of outdoor seating, opted for a shaded half-indoor table. Events: walk around Spui, Rembrantplein, more boat tour (can't even remember)

Anyway (I'm totally speeding through this shit now) we also went to the Keukenhoff (garden with tulips and shit, an hour away from the city). It's exactly what you'd expect and a dash of international overload. We've gone out to cafes and restaurants for every meal and snack (WONDERFUL) and have only had a few spats (more or less).

Will provide more later!

Football!

Yesterday we had a planned CIEE excursion to see Holland play versus Macedonia (quite an undertaking for one of the best ranked teams, let me tell you). The weather has been AMAZING lately and so we took it upon ourselves to get decked out in orange while drinking outside. I was minimal in my orange enthusiasm, but I did don a Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes-type design on my cheek and kept to the team colors. There were mobs of orange when we were on the train and on our way to the stadium--and we're talking about a match against Macedonia! When we got to the arena, there was a bit of a sticky situation. Apparently the tickets our program purchased were counterfeit which was really strange b/c they were bought in person at the ticket merchant. As a result we missed a bit of the first half (and the first two goals that Holland scored). But we got in and everything was fine! Holland ended up winning 4-0 and I had my first live European football experience! It's so much more fast-paced than any other sport and you really have to pay attention to keep up. Also, the players get into fights and scuffles quite a bit (which is a lot fun, gets you all riled up). I had a lot of fun, but I was so tired (I had worked all day). I highly recommend coming to watch a game if you're going to be in Europe for a little while!

As far as today is concerned, the weather was amazing--under the sun it was actually hot! I have only one class on Thursdays (from 4-6) but our teacher was MIA so the few of us that stuck around a bit longer than the rest left to go to a cafe. As we were sitting down, our teacher walked by! Apparently he had forgotten to change the time on this particular watch (we moved ahead by an hour last week) and was late by an hour. In the end, he wound up sitting and drinking with us, so I would qualify it as a lesson.