Weekend, Extortion, etc.

And so, my second weekend in Amsterdam has come to a close. Nothing of particular interest to report about its events. I had dinner with some friends on Friday where I was questioned (somewhat tediously) about use in the States of the crude (and juvenile) hand gesture for "the shocker." It's encouraging to know what aspects of American culture make it accross the sea (my hat is off to you, collegehumor.com). Beyond that, my weekend was fairly uneventful. I did some nice biking (I am practicing keeping my feet on the peddals as much as possible) and got some homework done. Below you can see a snapshot from the weekend (me with Samuel Beckett).



Now I am preparing to "register with the foreign police." This is a requirement for opening a bankaccount in Amsterdam as a foreigner. A bank account is a requirement of paying rent in Amsterdam (essentially). Although I am not shy of opening bank accounts (briefly in the fall of 2004, I had 4!), the registration process is really thinly veiled extortion. Not only do I have to prove my residence and registration with a University, I also have to pay 433 euros.... IN CASH! The fee is different, depending on your country of origin. It seems to be less for people I have spoken to from Hong Kong and Turkey (within the EU you needn't register). So tomorrow I am going to hand in all of this paper work, along with an envelope full of bills. Which basically sounds like a bribe to me.