Amsterdam Top 10

So I have been here for twenty-four days now. And I have been sick for eleven of them with an illness I think it best to describe as "hopefully-not=bronchitis." With more than a third of my time here spent in bad health (and another third in bad weather), I have found myself dwelling on the negative aspects of my current home. And so, I am making this list to remind myself of all the splendid characteristics of Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general.

10. Stroopwaffles Perhaps you haven't really understood my prior posts concerning this phenomenon. Basically a stroopwaffle is a cookie. Because it might end up taking over the entire post, I cannot explain further. But if anyone ever says to you, "Hey, fella/lady! Do you want one of my delicious stroopwaffles?" You should absolutely say yes. Unless you are a diabetic.

9. English I really don't need to know Dutch to get around here. And even though I sometimes PERCEIVE hostility about it, everyone is mostly quite nice about speaking English. Additionally, my English language skills can sometimes make me a temporary celebrity on my hall. Mostly when someone can't figure out how to say something. But sometimes I get to proofread!

8.Gouda Characteristically, this list is a little food oriented already. The cheese here really is just so good. Which is great because it's the main component of at least one meal a day. And in response to inquiries about the "high protein" diet of Dutch people as reported in the New York Times, this is the source.

7.Height I have always been among the taller women I know. And it's mostly fine. I have really put my height issues to rest (I bought heels this summer!). But it's really, really nice to be in a place where everyone is around the same height as me. The mirrors always show my face instead of my boobs. Sleeves are long enough. I bet when I try to buy shoes they'll have lots in my size! In one literal sense, I finally fit in.

6.Parks I am basically an urban dweller. I spent five weeks in Vermont this summer and nearly drove myself into severe depression. One thing that really makes cities livable, however, is large, well-placed parks (take note, Philadelphia). And man, the parks here? Fantastic! Across the street from my abode there's a giant lake. It's so big it takes two hours to walk around. And people have sailboats on it. And they go fishing. Although my flatmates are not sold on the idea of late night illegal swimming (and technically, I promised my mom I would stop doing that after the whole arrest/trial debacle), it's great for walks. And there are other parks too! Lots of them! Science says they make the air cleaner.

5. My Room So this one is a little funny, because my living arrangements are one of the worst parts of my time here. But when you get over the fact that it is forty-five minutes (bike or tram) to classes everyday, that there is positively NOTHING interesting about the area and that it is in the ugliest building in the entire city, my room is really wonderful. It has a huge window and it's own bathroom and I have a nice picture of Samuel Beckett on the wall. It's homey. The perfect thing to come back to at night.

4.Bodies Not to dwell on my admiration of Dutch physicality too much, but, women here really do have much more realistic body images. Sure, girls still talk about weight gain and dieting (but mostly the ones from other places in Europe) and Pepsi Lite is the only soda that sells out in the machine at school, but on the whole, it's a very reasonable ideal. Most of the Dutch women I have met have sort of athletic builds, including the trademark muscular thighs (biking everywhere will do that to you). But they really aren't that skinny. It's nice.

3.Location So, strictly speaking, I haven't passed the city limits since arriving. But I could! It would take only a few short hours (sometimes less on a plane) to go to Germany or Scandinavia or Britain or Belgium or France or even Luxemburg! The possibilities! And all of them much more interesting than Canada (sorry in advance to any websurfing Canadians).

2.Internationalism, pt. 2 So far, I have made friendly acquaintances (friends are hard for me), with people from 20 countries! Holland, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Columbia, Romania, Poland, Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania, Australia, Greece, China (AND Hong Kong!), France, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Britain and Italy. And I bet I forgot at least one! Oh! Ireland! Wow.

1.Change To be honest, I have been in New York longer than any place since high school. And in some ways that's exciting. And really, I am very excited to go back. I even say "go home." But it's also nice to be doing something completely different and a totally new place for a while. Because I don't think I'll ever have a chance like this again. It's corny, but I honestly think about that everyday.