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??