Delft and the zoo

I just realized it's been two weeks since I last posted...time really is flying here. It doesn't help that I've got exams and papers coming up, which is leaving me somewhat stressed out, BUT still enjoying Amsterdam. I am very much looking forward to next block when I will only have two classes, and still no class on Fridays, which will give me plenty of time to travel, visit museums, etc. I have done a few unique things since my last post though, which I will detail....now.

1. Day trip to Delft. Our program brought us on a day trip to Delft, which is an old city about an hour's drive outside of Amsterdam. It was fairly small, but very pretty. The first thing we did when we were there was take a "kickbike" tour of the city. A kickbike is a cross between a bike and a Razor scooter - they were all bright yellow and we looked incredibly touristy kicking around the city in those in groups of 20, but it was still a fun way to get around, and quite a decent workout! The city is pretty rich in history, since William of Orange used to live there, and it is also the traditional burial place for members of the royal family. We also visited the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) which is called such because it is about 100 years newer than the Old Church, but is still about 500 years old. We got to climb all the way to the top, which was nice, because the view was pretty, but also terrifying, since I have a severe fear of falling to my death. There was no covering up top, just a waist high wall between you and long and terrifying descent to the concrete sidewalks 300 or so feet below you. As long as I stood with my back against the church though I was (mostly) ok, and only attracted mild stares from people when I inched along walkway whilst clinging to the church wall and laughing nervously. Afterward we had some free time so I walked around the market that they were having that day and got an espresso and sat on the plain and people watched :)

Nieuwe Kerk - we went all the way to the top!!

 

 A pretty view during the kickbike tour

 

 Definitely not hyperventilating. 

 

 So high up...

 

 So very, very high up...

 

The kickbikes!

 

I try to take artsy pictures of coffee.

2. The zoo. It was absolutely gorgeous weather out last Thursday, so a couple of friends and I decided to go to Artis Zoo, which is only a block away from where I live. It was warm (and by warm I mean like 60 degrees), so naturally, I decided to wear shorts. Most of the locals and tourists were still walking around bundled up in jackets and scarves, so I got some weird looks (my shorts were also bright yellow, which probably didn't help) but I didn't really care, since I was so sun deprived and excited about the coming of spring. The zoo was very nice, and it's only 3 euros to get in for students, so I will definitely be going back! We didn't realize how big it was because it's so close to the city, but we were walking around for about an hour and a half and still didn't get a chance to see everything! Also my camera died before I got any pictures of the red panda, so I apologize for my lack of panda-ness, but here are a few animals:

 

SHORTS. and monkeys.

 

Llamas

 

My namesake, the codfish (in Dutch - kabeljauw, proper spelling in Portuguese - bacalhau) 

 

A gorilla

 

A sea lion

Quarter of the way through my Amsterdam experience! Wait, what?

It's hard to believe that I've been in Amsterdam for one whole month now. If feels both like I've been here for a year and like I just got here last week all at the same time. Things are still going well though! I hope I don't jinx anything by writing this, but the weather has been quite decent - chilly (but what can you expect from Amsterdam in March), but with much less rain than I had mentally prepared myself for coming over here. I don't have any major events to talk about since my last post, so I'll just talk about bits and pieces of random things that I've glossed over in previous posts.

1) My Dutch class. I'm enrolled in a pretty intense Dutch class - the course is only 6 weeks long and we meet Mondays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 21:30 (6:30-9:30 PM - along with Celsius I've converted to military time. I also write my dates backwards now. Today is 1/3/2012.) I had to take a placement test and tested into the advanced level because of my prior knowledge of Dutch/Flemish. When the first class started and we were going around just speaking and introducing ourselves I was feeling pretty confident, like "Yeah, I can totally ace this class!" And then we did a grammar exercise. Now my grammar is usually pretty good, but definitely not perfect. Just speaking though it's easier to get away with small mistakes, and some grammar elements only come out in writing, so I never learned those at all. When it came to doing grammar exercises out of a book though and having them corrected in front of a class, well, that's just a whole 'nother story. Not that I'll let it faze me! Learning and practicing Dutch was one of my primary reasons for coming here, and though I know I'll be overwhelmed at times, I'm excited to improve and then use my skills around the city and with the local people I meet. Even though it's three hours, the class goes by quickly, there's always so much to do. It also helps that my teacher is nice and keeps the class interesting and varied.

2) Bikes. I know in one of my previous posts I said I'd talk about biking at a later time and now I've got room for it! The prevalence of bikes here in Amsterdam is insane, but it's a really great system. Not having a bike here or having a car instead would both be incredibly inconvenient. I knew I'd be getting a bike when I came over here but I was a bit nervous, because I was picturing the American biking system. If I'm biking around town in the US I can only bike on the sidewalk (where pedestrians hate me and I am at constant risk of running into trash cans, telephone poles, etc.) or on the street (where cars hate me and I fear for my life). Here though there is ALWAYS a bike path that is completely separate from both the sidewalk and the street. Every once in a while it will combine with the road but then there's still plenty of room for cars and bikes to ride side by side. Parking here looks like it'd be even worse than in Clifton, and the government makes it tough to own a car what with taxes and all. The easiest way to spot a tourist is if somebody is walking on the bike path like it's a sidewalk. The first rule of Amsterdam is: You do not walk on the bike path. Locals do not care if you are in the way, they will ring their bell and continue at normal speed and you have to get out of the way or you will get run over. Since I'm living here for four months I consider myself an honorary local so I can do this now too :)

3) Food. If I could pick two foods to describe the Dutch diet it would be bread and cheese, and not necessarily at the same time. For example in one of my classes I saw someone who I knew to be a native Dutchman pull out a bag of what appeared to be hamburger buns. I was waiting for him to pull out another bag with toppings (you know, because he didn't want his bread to get soggy before he ate his sandwich, which is perfectly logical) but no. He just pulled out a hamburger bun and started eating it. Now don't get me wrong I love bread, a lot. But unless it's a baguette or something, I like my bread to have something on it. It doesn't have to be much, just some Nutella or a slice of prosciutto. I haven't had too much other food shock though, since carbs and cheese are two things that I thoroughly enjoy so for the most part the Dutch diet and I get along just fine.

And now since that was a lot of text here come some pictures!

 

The view from my room again, minus ice and plus swans!

One of my friends and I visited the NEMO Science Center over the weekend. Technically it's a children's museum, but that didn't stop us from having a good time! 

The science center was near a pier

 

I was able to get my nerd on here.

 Panoramic view of the city