further explorations of Amsterdam.

Time is flying by. And seeing as it's been two weeks since the last post, that's becoming even more obvious.

So what have I been doing?

Reading, reading, and more reading. Literally all I do for homework now is read, including the whole of Robinson Crusoe this past week. Amist everything else, I do go to class and study, sort of like normal school. 

Adventuring into the city, visiting a rock wall, scouring markets, exploring the library, and more.

Biking all over!

Learning the ins and outs of the logistical and practical issues of living in a new country.

Hanging out with and getting to know mainly people from our Calvin group (which is absolutely fantastic) and a few outside of it! 

Along with a myriad of other things of course.

And if you're interested in a few more details, hopefully the following will suffice as I list some highlights:

FRIDAY the 8th: First trip to the Waterlooplein Markt. And we found a legitimate Coffee House (as we've called it, seeing as a "Coffee Shop" is a place for buying and smoking marijuana and a "Cafe" has coffee but also meals and a bar), which was extremely exciting. Especially since we were promised 4 cups of koffie a day and that has yet to happen; it's been hard enough to find a cup of non-instant koffie. Aaand we explored the main public "bibliotheek" (library) with its many cool, strange chairs.

MONDAY the 11th: Took our first bike ride into the city to Mountain Network Rock Climbing. It's significant that this is the first bike ride into the city as we were yet unfamiliar and google maps was slightly misleading, but we made it and in good time all things considered! You've gotta start somewhere, and now we've got it down a bit better. But boy, was I glad to climb again for the first time in 2+ weeks. I felt starved after climbing everyday in January at Calvin.



And this was a wall completely different than anywhere else I had ever been to - it was high, unique, and the only safety precautions on the part of the wall were signs which were to us unreadable as they were in Dutch.

FRIDAY the 15th:  

More city exploration! 

I'm getting to see so much of Amsterdam, and yet, there's still so much to see; it's perfect for my incessant curiosity. 

SATURDAY the 16th: Here begins our first Calvin group excursion! We began the day touring the Anne Frank Huis. This experience of the Holocaust helped me to better understand that those who died were real people, with real lives, real thoughts, real places they slept, real food they ate. And it's easy to connect with Anne Frank as we know so much more through her diary, but as I looked at the book listing the 103,000 people from the Netherlands who died, I realized that each person had a story. What practical effect this has on my life, I have yet to decipher. We then went to the oldest building in Amsterdam, called the Oude Kerk ('Old Church'). My biggest impression: it was frigid. Quite literally - the stone grave floor, gigantic windows, and wood roof ensured this in the physical sense. But I also became more aware of the general separation people have from church, their coldness toward church. While we were on the tour of the church, it was hard to miss an "exhibit" of modern art going on inside of the church, which had nothing to do with the church itself. Along with this, our tour guide "enlightened" us that Calvin came up with "this thing called predestination" (an ironic tidbit to tell a group of kids from CALVIN College) and that Peter actually hated Paul and thought he was a spy (which he had found by doing some "research" prompted by looking at the stained glass). The point is, the atmosphere and people here are not "churched" - either in that they went to church or even know much at all about Christianity in general. As a separate example, after saying I was planning to do something "after church on Sunday", I was asked whether I was just using that as a time reference or if (incredulously) I actually went to church. At times it can be frustrating, but overall I think it's refreshing and enlightening to be smacked in the face with the difference. After wandering around a bit more, seeing the Dam Square (the home of the Palace and largest open area in the City Centre), tasting many delicious cheeses, walking through a few markets, and finishing with a fresh, hot 8-inch diameter stroopwafel and cherry-dark chocolate waffel, I was ready for a quiet evening date with Robinson Crusoe.

SUNDAY the 17th: After church (Yes! I actually went - not just a time reference), our group headed out on bikes caravan style to the Muiderslot Castle. We joined the throngs of children pretending to be princesses and knights and explored the castle.

Then, a group of us hung back in the tiny town of Muiden and ate some pannekoeken (Dutch plate-sized pancakes). The bike ride home was a bit eventful due to some bike malfunctions in the group, making what should have been an hour trip 2.5 hours. But hey, I like biking and it was quite fun!  

So there's some of the excitement of my life here to this point (see Facebook for more pictures). Stay tuned - tomorrow I leave with four friends for Milan and Berlin, all in one long weekend! And sometime soon I'll have to give you a crash course of all the Dutch culture I'm learning, but I think I've given you enough to read in one post.

Take care!

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. NUMBERS 6:24-26