Amsterdam!

Went on my first trip to Amsterdam, I doubt it will be my last. Highlight of the trip was the Anne Frank House. That was amazing. It was an Erasmus Student Network trip so I went with a lot of other international students, it was nice to not get lost!

Before I left I took a picture of the double decker bike racks at the Groningen train station, it is such a cool idea. It took me a minute to figure out how to work them, but it was pretty easy after I figured it out (at first I thought I had to literally lift my bike over my head....that would not have worked out). Apparently there is space for 10,000 bikes...that is so awesome, it is basically a bicycle parking garage. Check out this video: http://wn.com/Groningen_Railway_Station_Cycle_Parking

Once in Amsterdam, we started with a canal tour by boat, cheesy but necessary.

It was a nice tour. However, after being in Groningen for 3 weeks already I guess I wasn't "wowed" by the canals and architecture--Amsterdam and Groningen look very similar (except Groningen is cleaner, nicer, and less seedy....).

After that I went to the Anne Frank House. I don't have any photos of that, but it was an amazing experience. In middle school I remember we spent so much time learning about the Holocaust, but it is totally different to be in a country where it actually happened. Being in the house was very sad, but what struck me the most about the trip was a register they had listing the 100,000+ Dutch Jews who had been killed. I looked over one of the pages and there were a lot of people listed who were from Groningen...it is very striking to think that I might be living on a street where Holocaust victims used to live.

Moving on from the heavy stuff....we got lunch at a pancake restaurant. I'm used to thinking of pancakes as breakfast food but I had a mushroom pancake for lunch...it was really good!

After that we walked around a bit and went to a street market. Unfortunately I have to say that I was maybe a little disappointed by Amsterdam. Groningen is such a beautiful, pleasant, and clean city that by comparison Amsterdam seemed dirty. It was obvious that the tourist parts cater to the people who are there to smoke pot, with coffeeshops every ten feet. I am very happy that I am studying in Groningen and not Amsterdam...all the beauty of canals, bikes, and Dutch architecture with less of the seedy side of things. However, it was a fun trip, and I was only there for one day. Maybe on a future trip I will like it better. On to more pictures!

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The Rijksmuseum, I think I want to go here next time.

 Random streets and canals...

Sweet houseboat....

And me!

One other interesting thing that happened was an intense conversation with some student from Canada about educational costs. It was strange for me to hear people saying that $10,000 dollars was too much money for a bachelor's degree...what! I'm practically jealous! I always thought it was cheesy when people said you learn about yourself and your country by studying abroad, but it is SO. TRUE. I've never had the opportunity to see the US "objectively" before and it has really been enlightening...also a bit frustrating at times. I never realized how "uptight" the US is (even New York!) is until I came here, that has been one of the most striking and educational things I've gotten from this experience so far.

Moar picturez.

Backyard of the student house.

Student house.

My bike!

Melinda Jr.

My room is starting to look less like a prison cell!

Across the street from student house.

My 'hood.

I took this picture while riding my bike, muah!

Random street.

Herestraat.

Bikes on the Vismarkt.

Vismarkt (Fish Market).

Martini Tower

Grote Markt (Great Market)

Grote Markt.

My first week!

Well, I arrived at my student house on Tuesday night after about 16 loooong hours of traveling...it was super tiring, but in a way kind of fun because there were so many of us traveling together (6 from NYC, 9 by the time we got to Amsterdam). That first night is a kind of delirious, jet lagged blur, but the train ride (2.5 hours) from Amsterdam to Groningen was pretty cool. My first impression of the Netherlands that  it is completely flat, like a 0 degree angle across the entire country. Also, very very wet and gray. Wasn't the happiest first impression, I guess.

However, I immediately thought Groningen was AWESOME. I have never been anywhere like this in my entire life, it is so cool looking! I was worried before leaving that I would be disappointed that the US and the Netherlands weren't that different...that has not been a problem!

We didn't have anything scheduled for the first day, so we wandered around the city exploring, (that day was freezing, we thought after 20 F degree weather in NY, 40 F here couldn't possibly be cold?). On Thursday we had our university introduction, which was nice, in the giant Academiegebouw (Academy Building). Friday was the Social Sciences department orientation, pretty standard stuff. I like that the university is big enough to have multiple libraries and things like that...not something I am used to at Geneseo. Everyone was very friendly, looking forward to my classes. Although it was weird to be given alcoholic drinks at a school function. 0_o Apparently this is normal outside the US....

We all joined this thing called the Erasmus Student Network which is a big European organization for international students. They organize events for us (renting out bars, organizing trips, etc) and it has been really excellent! Thursday we met our introduction week group and went to our hosts house for dinner (the Dutch can make mushed up vegetables taste good). After that we went into the city center for a pub crawl, it is nice to go to a college that actually has a night life! (love you Geneseo, but...).

Saturday I got my bike--I really like it, it is in great shape and it wasn't too expensive, I got lucky with it (fingers crossed that nothing breaks...). Sunday we spent the day at ACLO which is the sports center here. Sunday night was GREAT--we actually watched Superbowl in a Dutch bar which was so much fun! But of course it didn't end until 5AM time here.....

Basically I have been having a great time here! Classes start next Monday, I think I am registered for all of them but it is a bit confusing...? I tried to go to the store yesterday to buy shampoo and stuff and that took for ever because I couldn't read the labels ;(. I really need to learn more Dutch, I am working on it... I am registered for a day trip to Amsterdam in two weeks, I know I will be visiting the Anne Frank Museum but  I am not sure what else is planned, looking forward to it.

Some observations about the Netherlands:
- Stairs and ladders are the same thing. 
- There are no fat Dutch people. They are all skinny and 6 feet tall. Even the girls are 6 feet tall....
- There are four main food groups: bread, cheese, sausage, and beer (which doesn't seem to make sense with all the skinniness?).
- Stores close really early and everything is closed on Sunday (except the bars of course). This is compared to America, where even Geneseo with a population less than 10k has two 24/7 stores....
- Everything they sell in the store is much smaller, and I think people must shop nearly everyday because they come in, buy five things, and leave? 

I have more observations of course but they are escaping me at the moment...on to the pictures!

 Airport madness.

The canal! (Yes...this is actually real! Not a postcard!! And I get to live here for while! =D)

Me looking mysteriously morose.












Dutch snack food...?












 My room...beautiful gigantic windows! It is in an old elementary school building, it is quite nice for a dorm!

 Interesting Dutch architecture..? My "room" is a little loft with not enough room to stand up...and a ladder...but it is actually not as annoying as I expected!













My little loft. Very....cozy?

The kitchen...and my roomie in the background!

Cool stained glass in the building. It is a little nicer than a Geneseo dorm!















More pictures soon!