Karaoke Thursday evening was my first time properly doing karaoke in the Netherlands. There was one activity called "bier cantus" (beer singing) during the orientation week, but that was really more of a sing-along with television screens projecting the words. So on Thursday, we went to a place that bills itself as a "the only karaoke bar in Amsterdam" after dinner. It was run by two Cantonese women and dominated mostly by groups of Dutch students. This karaoke bar was not doing anything right. Most egregiously, the DJ was incredibly rude to one of my friends, prompting us to leave before Son of a Preacher Man and the Macarena* had a chance to be brought to their full glory. Additionally they allowed the same (godawful) Dutch pop song to be sung twice in ten minutes and only had the Nikki French disco remix of Total Eclipse of the Heart available. It was popular nonetheless and my second song was met with what I like to think of as silent respect by the onlooking drunk Dutch students. I can say with confidence that 90% of the room had never heard MacArthur Park before (god help them). Marta emailed me this photo with the subject line "Pop-star Rose Costello in Amsterdam Performance! A new talent has born.."
*It should be noted that this selection was made by Federico and Marta who were choosing the only "Spanish language" songs in the catalogue. The lyrics to La Bamba appeared with phonetic spellings for a Dutch reader, which was pretty hilarious.
The Zuider Zee For those who aren't attuned to the intricate Dutch translation process, Zuider Zee means Southern Sea (isn't Dutch adorable?). On Friday I had the opportunity to visit this lovely region which is only about a half hour from Amsterdam. I went with Federico and Walter (who goes to NYU also, though we only met here. It would be a funny coincidence if I knew anyone at NYU). Our first stop was Marken. We were relying on a Rough Guide for our information on tour stops and mostly picked Marken for it's intriguing description: "Despite its proximity to Amsterdam, its biggest problem was the genetic defects caused by close and constant intermarrying." ("Damn, they really put the rough in Rough Guide on that one. We looked around, saw the pretty houses (they're a bright green color with white trim) and I began my new photo project of documenting the awful lawn ornaments used by Dutch people. I have honestly never seen more garden gnomes in my life. But all the while we were looking for people with genetic defects. Disappointed we returned to the bus stop where we finally spotted one at the bus stop. I would include a photo, but it's on Walter's camera.
Our second and last stop (it really starts getting dark at four-thirty here) was Edam, home of the famous cheese. Edam is basically a postcard. It is incredibly quaint and picturesque. The canals, bridges, houses, etc. were all very enjoyable, but the highlight of this stop was definitely the cheese warehouse. We sampled about fifteen different cheeses and they were so delicious. Federico and I bought a fantastic creamy bleu and a delicious traditional Edam style cheese with garlic and herbs. Edam differs from Gouda, the other famous Dutch cheese, in that the rounds are typically smaller because the farmers in Edam were not as rich as those in Gouda (and consequently didn't have as many cows and thus didn't have as much milk). Edam cheese is also only 40% fat wheras Gouda is 48%. Again, this is because of the richness of farmers. I know these are the details that keep you all coming back for more, so I couldn't let you down. We returned exhausted at six pm to a pitch dark Amsterdam and prepared for more fun adventures the coming day.
Belgium Saturday was the first time I left the Netherlands since arriving almost three months ago. I went with six friends (yes, it is difficult to travel and make decisions with so many people). It took us a while to get on the train (train tickets are much more complicated than they ought to be...), but when we did our final destination was Bruges or Brugge. You might never have heard of this city before because I certainly hadn't, but let me tell you, it's a must if you're in Belgium. In English it's Bruges (rhymes with bruise) and in Dutch it's Brugge (for some reason Brew-ha). The city is apparently a tourist trap and was very crowded eventhough it was cold and wet. But it is full of medieval architecture and cathedrals and cobblestones and chocolates. We mostly just walked around, but we saw some really cool things including a Michelangelo statue in the Church of Our Lady (I literally went to six churches in one day). Perhaps inconcruously, the highlight of the trip was the bar we went to on Saturday night which was a sort of secret entrance piano bar with a Cuban santaria theme. it was so cool. The place was full of strange art and the mojitos were really cheap. And the piano player was.... well, completely unbelievable. Not in his skill necessarily, but more in his style. Picture an older Belgian man in an ugly tie and ill-fitting jeans playing and singing I Will Survive. Priceless. I took a video but I have to add sound and stuff so it'll come up later. For now I will leave you with this picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe to give you an idea of the style of the place.
So I'll probably post more photos soon, but I gotta run now. I am going to see the Holland vs. England soccer game tonight. I'm excited. Real live hoodlums!
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