Sorry guys, this is a long one. But bear with me, I have tons to tell you about!
So we (me and Matt) left Sevilla por autobus a Madrid at 6pm on Thursday night. It took 6 hours to get to the bus station in Madrid aka 12:30. Then we had to get to the airport from the bus station. We somehow magically figured out the metro system at 1 in the morning. We magically arrived at the aeropuerto aka 1:30. Then we wandered around the airport a bit to try and find a bathroom and cafe. We did, and spent like 2 hours there eating until 3:30. Then we went through security (the fastest security ever - literally no one else) and attempted to sleep in the airport until our flight. Then we got on our flight at 6 am. Yeah that's right, 6 am. Then after a 2 hour flight we got to Amsterdam, somehow figured out the bus system, and got to our hostel safely at 10ish. That is a solid 16 hours of traveling. Exhausting to say the least.
FRIDAY - When we got to our Van Gogh hostel, which is a block from the Van Gogh museum, we couldn't check in until 2pm so we found our friend Ian and wandered the city. We went to this coffee shop (like real coffee, I'll explain the different types later) where I spilled hot chocolate EVERYWHERE and all over my clothes. The people who worked there were so rude and didn't help me at all. The customer service in all of Europe is just not the same as in America. Then we met up with our other friends who came in on another flight. Yes, I was with guys the whole weekend. Totally bro'ed it up haha. We FINALLY checked into our hostel and siesta'd a bit. I think after that we went to go eat dinner in a store that was Italian and Argentinian food. Confusing? Yes. I had pizza that was a little disappointing since I've been craving good pizza HARD CORE for weeks. Later, we went out.
******** WARNING: THIS IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR YOUNGER READERS OR ANYONE WHO WOULD RATHER HAVE ME SUGAR COAT MY EXPERIENCES IN AMSTERDAM BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO LO SIENTO *******
The boys decided that they wanted to go to the Red Light district in Amsterdam to get the full Amsterdam experience. I obviously knew what the Red Light district was, but I don't think I fully understood what I was getting myself into. Plus, I wanted to go with them to watch out for them since they were going to try some "new" things. So, we started to head over there and just so you know it was only like 11pm. Not late at all. We got there and I was in complete shock. There were almost (like seriously, almost) naked girls in the windows and tons of people walking around looking at them. Both guys and girls were stopping by these windows and staring at them, laughing and pointing at them like they were animals. I was so disgusted and my heart broke for those girls. Especially after having recently learned about the 27 million slaves that exist in the world today, I realized that a good amount of them were probably not there by choice. Later, my cousin Naomi who lives in Amsterdam told me that about 60% of them are trafficked into Amsterdam and the rest come there from poor countries thinking this is their only way to make a good living. They don't entirely understand the full extent of their jobs and do become like slaves to the brothel owners. Anyways, I was staring at these women and wanted to cry. I think I got really quiet and I could tell the guys could see I was really uncomfortable. It really wasn't the fact that there were naked women all along the streets (I mean that IS uncomfortable) but it was really more the fact that I knew I was feet away from women whose lives are dependent upon selling themselves and they, nor I, could do almost nothing about it. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't say much to the boys because I didn't want to be a downer but I didn't exactly show any excitement for being there either. And I don't blame them for not being upset like me because it is very easy to not see beneath the fun and entertainment aspect of it. I don't think that many people stop to think about what is actually going on. It's so commercialized now. We've all become so numb to it.
PS. I'm not trying to be dramatic or exaggerate this entire situation. If you want to learn more about slavery in the world today, here's a great website you should check out: https://www.freetheslaves.net/SSLPage.aspx And here is a website more specifically about sex slavery in Amsterdam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_the_Netherlands (I know it's from Wikipedia but it seems to be pretty accurate) Thankfully, there are things being done to slowly eradicate the sex trafficking in the Red Light District - less streets with windows, less windows, and less hours the women are allowed to be in them. Also, it is SUCH a small world. Naomi, my cousin, is working with an organization that is great and that I heard about through Passion 2012. She is working with a girl who spoke at Passion. How crazy is that?!?! It is an amazing organization called Not for Sale. Check it out! http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
After we walked along the streets we found a coffee shop for some people (not me). Now, let me explain what a coffee shop in Amsterdam is. It is NOT a normal coffee shop. Seriously, if you ever visit Amsterdam and do not do drugs, DO NOT go into one of these shops. You will feel really awkward and uncomfortable. A coffee shop in Amsterdam is where you can buy weed and edibles with marijuana in it. You can literally just walk into a coffee shop, as if you were actually buying coffee, ask for some pot, or a brownie or something and buy it right there. Easy as that. BTW, I'm totally not judging people who smoke, I'm just trying to non-biasedly describe Amsterdam. Smoking is just not for me.
This is one of the first coffee shops in Amsterdam and is still very famous.
Anyways, we went into this coffee shop and I was immediately hit with smoke. Needless to say, I smelled like pot for the rest of the night. No, I did not try or smoke anything. And just to clarify, it is legal there to smoke. Some other people I was with bought a pot brownie to try for the first time. Apparently it was really good and they couldn't really taste anything. Then we were tired so we went back to our hostel and went to bed. They didn't get high or anything because edibles take longer to kick in because they have to digest and stuff. They didn't wait long enough, or its possible that they got ripped off since you're supposed to taste at least something in the brownies. Let's just say I was glad to go back to the hostel and be naive and innocent once again.
SATURDAY - Such a great day! I met up with my long lost cousin Naomi who lives in Amsterdam as a missionary. We got some lunch at this cute little cafe. I got some chicken sandwich with honey in it. I really don't know what it was but it was good. Naomi got french toast and we shared. Yummmmm. Then we hopped on a train to go to a nearby town called Haarlem, which is what Harlem in NYC is named after. It was so cool! We walked around the town and went to the market.
Beautiful church and market
We ate these wonderful flat waffle things with caramel in the middle. Called stroopwafels I believe.
After walking around we went to a house where a family helped hide Jews during WWII, kinda like the Anne Frank house. It was really interesting and cool to hear another story like that. Then we headed back to Amsterdam. It was a wonderful day full of catching up and wandering around a new city :)
Later that night my room mate, Courtney, and her friend came to Amsterdam so we met up with them and went out that night. MUCH better than the night before and lots of fun! Although some people had a weeee bit more fun and explored a place called Shutter Island hehehehe ;)
SUNDAY - Sunday was super chill and very touristy. We started our day off at the Anne Frank house. I had been there the last time that I was in Amsterdam and I really remember enjoying it. However, when I got there, it all seemed new to me. I don't know why, but it was nice that it was a new experience. The rest of the day we explored the city some more and went to the I AMsterdam landmark to take lots of pictures. Here's my favorite:
Don't they look awesome? Like a dutch S-Club 7!
We got dinner at a Mexican restaurant because we had all been cravingggg Mexican food. But it wasn't that great and it was super expensive. BTW, EVERYTHING in Amsterdam is expensive. UGH.
That night we stayed in and hung out with our awesome room mate, Henry! I HAVE to tell you about Henry. He is like the typical person you want to meet when you stay in a hostel. He is SO COOL. He is from Australia and has already graduated college, but decided he wanted to study abroad in Milan, Italy. So he is! He was traveling alone though for the weekend in Amsterdam. He used to play in the AFL - Australian Football League. If you don't know what that is, here's an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-PFRrJQtew Yeah, intense. So he made tons of money doing that. He said a rookie player makes like 60,000 euros a year. CRAZYYYYYY. He also has a job lined up to start next March, so he has a whole year of free time until then. Entonces, after he's done studying in Milan, he is going to go to South America and surf along the coast. Ya know, no biggie. So yeah, Henry was basically awesome. He taught us how to say phrases with an Australian accent and I think I've perfected it. He was definitely one of my favorite parts of Amsterdam. Definitely something unexpected. We're hoping he comes to visit us in Sevilla!
MONDAY - We started our last day in Amsterdam off at the Van Gogh museum! I was SO excited to go to the museum because I absolutely love love love Van Gogh. I went the last time I was in Amsterdam, but like with most of the other things, I don't remember it too well. I didn't take any pictures while I was in there, but we spent a good two or three hours walking through the museum. It was so cool to see all of Van Gogh's work in person, and a lot of art from other artists that inspired him. At one point, it explained how Van Gogh started painting. He used to work with his brother who was an art dealer, so he knew a lot about art. One day, he just decided to become an artist. With little training and without knowing he had any talent, he just decided to do something new and taught himself. I think that is so cool and definitely says something important. I wish I could just pick up painting and be that good!
After the Van Gogh museum, we wanted to go to this optical illusions museum, but we couldn't find it. So once again, we just walked around. Then I got some coffee with Naomi again to say goodbye. It was so sad to leave Amsterdam after getting to know her better, but I definitely enjoyed my time with her and hope to see her soon! The rest of the night was spent eating much better pizza, walking through a park and just hanging out with the guys.
Amsterdam is such a beautiful city! I'm obsessed with the canals.
TUESDAY - Traveling. Lots and lots of traveling to make it back to our wonderful home of Sevilla. But really guys, so much traveling. Busses, metros, trains, planes, and automobiles. Then sleep.
OH MY GOODNESS, if you just read this entire thing, you deserve an award or something. You're my new best friend. I hope you weren't too taken aback by my more honest blog post. It wasn't scary (Mom and Dad) and I felt safe the entire time. Especially with the boys. I would just suggest staying away from certain areas of the city because truthfully, they're not that great and definitely not representative of the dutch culture. Looking back on the weekend, it seems like we didn't do much. But I felt like we really got to know the city pretty well - both the good and the bad. I really did have a great time with the boys - they were great travel buddies! And I loved seeing my sweet cousin. Dank u, Amsterdam for a great weekend!
Sara(h)
No comments:
Post a Comment