THe weekend

Aside from music letdowns, it was a pretty good weekend if unproductive. I already talked about Friday night, so then Saturday morning, we trekked 10 km south to Kinderdijk. It is quite the Dutch place, very much a tourist destination, it is the largest concentration of old windmills in the country. Besides, tulips, it is panoramas of this place people most associate with Holland, and rightly so as it is located in Zuid-Holland. So we all met at Intl House at 10;30am and biked down towards Krimpen Aan De Lek where I had found a ferry to Kinderdijk. Unfortunately, we made a wrong turn and ended up at the ferry port for Krimpen Aan de Issel. I found that we could take this ferry to Ridderkerk and transfer to the Kinderdijk one. It started pouring just as we got onto the ferry but thankfully this proved to be the only serious rain all day. Once we got off the ferry, all 13 of us rode over to the windmills. It's really just one big long path with windmills. Cool to see but that's it. There is one you can go inside for 3 euro, I'm a chump. After that, because it was cold we all settled to a small cafe. Then it was the route back, took the ferry to Ridderkerk, and went along the south side of the Maas. At this point it was after 3:00 and some people were tired and had to study for an exam on Monday so once at Red Bridge, Willemsbrug, the group parted ways, so I took some people to go find the Rotterdam Ska-Jazz Foundation concert in some park outside. Went down the street I thought it was on and there was nothing, I don't even remember hearing music. I was disheartened and we went up and down the block and still nothing. Then we gave up, and started heading home, until we started talking about all the coffee shops in the vicinity and decided sporadically to go to one in Beurs. Got there and smoked one J and then headed home around 5. Then at night it was to be 80s/90s night at Off Corso club. But before there would be party and Jello shots at International house. So I went over there around 10:30 and the jello shots were more like sweet slushies. It was a good time there, lots of people, then around 12, we all shipped out into town, it was raining but oh well. Got inside after paying the 12.50 cover, and beers that night were 2.50. I dont understand this place, it is the 2nd time I have been and they freaking serve beer in glasses. Why the fuck would you do that in a club? No one ever returns the glasses to the counter because theyre dancing and then you have to battle through all those people so it ends up being just leaving the glass on the ground and then they break and shatter and there's broken glass on the dance floor and those people come around and clean it up. And not until after 3am do they serve beer in PLASTIC cups. By serving in glasses it is not like they are conserving because the glasses fucking break to pieces! Anyway, the music was alright, a lot more 80s than 90s and not as much hip hop as I'd have liked. It was much more fun than when they play whatever the fuck they want. Girls were okay, once again you can't hear shit in there, and this short French girl who was with these 2 Asian girls who were with this Portuguese guy Luis who hangs in our group kept looking at me, so I gave it a shot, but she was really shy, not stepping back or anything, and I couldn't understand what she aid her name to be,I thought she said Neeneenee, so when she said it I tried to make sounds that sounded like what she just said and I hoped she would just assume I said the right thing but she was meticulous I asked her to spell it but it was long and I still couldn't get it, oh well. Stayed until about 4am, when some went to get drinks, the dynamics of our group shape shifted and these girls who had been below the platform were now next to us, and effortlessly I was suddenly dancing right beside them, so I decided not to be a stick in the mud and talk and their names were Esther and Tamara. I thought I was at a USY dance all over again. Tamara was visiting from Switzerland and Esther goes to Erasmus. I was going to ask her to dance when someone pulled me away to go get drinks so I tried to find them in the same place after we got back but to no avail. Then today I did much of nothing, and then went to see KRS-One in Amsterdam. I have only been to one real hip hip concert before, that was Aesop Rock at the Middle East and compared to how rock concerts are  usually much more structured with the band's set and an encore, and more serious, this was quite a combo between b-boy fest, freestyle showdown, interactive exhibition. I got there right on time at 10:15 and he went through til about 12 midnight, brought in a guy named Supernaturaal who did this time machine thing where he rapped like other rappers Slick Rick, Busta Rhymes, and Biggie, I didn't realize how well respected he is that he was even mentioned on a Big Pun track for his ability to freestyle. The train to Amsterdam is about an hour and can be long without an Ipod so I gotta get my Itunes working. Ok, its 4:30 am and I gotta sleep so I'm done for tonight. PEACE. mud.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderdijk

Holland wins

The Netherlands and rain are a fucking bitch, and God sucks too. I don't have much to write but I'm fuming. I was so excited to skank and go to a show, I found a little one in The Hague for 5 Euro, I figured out how to get there, I was going to take my bike on the train, and everything. I was even ready at 8:30, but I needed to fill my chipcard so I went to Kralingse Zoom and did that and left at 8:45. I had brought my raincoat just in case. As I biked through the campus on the way to the station it started misting, I was like okay God what the fuck, can it ever NOT rain, it was so nice, the sky was even clear. Then I got past Burgemeester Oudlaan and it started raining more so I stopped to put on my raincoat. Not more than 5 minutes later down Oostzeedijk, it was like a full-on monsoon. I had not experienced anything so torrential in this city, sheets of rain in the wind, it was impossible not to get wet. I hadn't even made it that far yet. I had this plan all worked out and here was the effects of the weather working against me, a 20 min ride to the train station and then I'd have to bike to the venue from The Hague train station. These were both local bands and neither was particularly amazing. Secondhand Superheroes reminded me of a Dutch version of Mustard Plug, straight out of 1998. So I found a shelter for refuge from the hurricane to see if it would die down, I waited about 10 minutes of hoping it would go away and this lady then needed to turn into the driveway so I was out of luck I tried it one more time but it was miserable, my jeans were soaked, I was cold, and I had stepped in a big puddle so my feet were soaked. I determined it was not worth it to battle the elements just to get to some small ska concert 30 minutes away by train, I gave up and went home, reluctantly but for the better. And that's the story of how the weather defeated me one Friday night. Then I came back to the computer to find a message from the Brits seeking to go out for drinks, but even they decided it was 'pissing down' so it's off to Windmill land tomorrow! And KRS-One on Sunday and Sublime in a couple weeks!

A Thunderstorm in Rotterdam

Dark at 7pm/19:00? It's thundering and lightning! yay! and my bike is back. it's not great but I can learn to deal with it. More and more stressing about traveling, but the epiphany finally came today. You see, I really only have 3 full months here, as I arrive in late August, and finish in mid-December. I cannot believe it is already September 24, it is the LAST weekend of September already. Don't even know how I lose concentration. find myself flipping through facebook. So today I got my bike back, went at about 4, they replaced a brake pad and the wheel so now I can sell the bike for more than I bought it! I decided to ride over to Delfshaven neighborhood today and was there til about 6, it is one of the few areas of Rotterdam not affected by the bombings of WWII, very old and quaint, the canal area is reminiscent of Amsterdam. I took a lot of pictures, it was a grey day today though. Then I rode a few more streets over to see how much was like it by the bridges and all I encountered was a Turkish and Moroccan ghetto and people had scowls on their faces, not directed at me, but just in general walking down the street. They call this city Eurabia rightfully so. Rotterdam is close to not even being a Dutch city there are so many international people here, so many Muslims. There was a bridge over the River Schie that lifts up occasionally for vessels to pass and it was quite extraordinary from across the street I positioned my camera to take a picture of the bridge in its lifted position. At the same time, there was someone, some Turkish teen, crossing the street walking away from the bridge. I guess he thought he was in my viewing area and with an agitated look on his face said something to me in some language I do not know. I ignored him. But seriously, come on. Delfshaven and surrounding area is not friendly-seeming. I do though very much like the canal area. And the old Pilgrims Church that is there too, it is a very quaint area along the stretch. In the year 1620, English religious dissenters (Puritans) set sail from this very church in Delfshaven after having spent a number of years living in Leiden in escape of persecution in England. Leaving on the ship the Speedwell they journeyed to England to meet up with more Pilgrims, the boat was deemed unfit so they switched to the Mayflower, left England, and landed in Plymouth Massachusetts, met the Indians, and invented Thanksgiving. You don't realize that Holland had a hand in the earliest American settlers. That's kind of cool that I live right now about 3 miles from the 'birthplace' of America, the original point of departure for the Pilgrims, who created the 2nd permanent settlement in the New World. I knew there was something that had to be drawing about this city/country. Then the ride home of course I forgot my grocery list so I had to go home to get it and it started pouring so I surrendered to the #7 tram, did a big complete shopping. After 7 on weekdays is not a bad time to go food-shopping at Albert Heijn, store was relatively calm compared to like 5pm on a weekend or weekday afternoons. Well, that's about it, heading to Den Haag tomorrow for a ska concert, stupid transit closes at 12 so I need to bring my bike on the train.

Fuck God Irritating Day

First I had to wake up at 9am because of a group meeting at 10am. That was all fine, and we met until about 1, had some disagreements but basically achieved what we had wanted. Then everyone was discussing the God forsaking market research assignment and that blasted chart that makes no God damn sense, and I found out half the tests we ran were wrong! YES! I just want that shit to be over with, I hate doubt. Then I went to the T-building at 2:30 because we said we would review our results, but of course no one was there, so then I grabbed my bike and went to Philipsen Tweewielers to get my bike fixed. For a week or 2 now, I have had reason to believe the rear wheel is off-line and the brake is worn, and I don't understand why the belt does not go smoothly on speeds1,2, 6, and 7. First bike place the lady checks and it says oh you need to come tomorrow because the repair guy is not here. I ask what time and she says oh 9:30 so I ask until when and she says 5:30 and I'm like and you mean tomorrow and she's like yep. So strike 1 of the day, I figure if they don't want my business I'll go to Megabike. Head down to Oostplein and go to the repair shop, there's one guy ahead of me and he says something about loose pedals so the guy gives him a wrench. Then it's my turn and I explain the issue and it tests it out to hear the grating noise and says sorry Im really busy now you have to come back so I ask should I make an appointment and he says just come back like Saturday or Monday morning. So at that point I am peeved because this is turning into a crappy  waste of a day. I used to like riding this bike but now I can't stand it. I figure well at least let me get a new watch battery so I go down to Beurs and what the fuck, Media Markt is closed for inventory on TODAY of all days. Fuck me. That really cemented it so I tried to take a detour through Kralingen on the way back if I came across a small bike store but no dice so I just went home.   >:O

So I left off...

With Amsterdam, damn I should really try to make these posts more often, it's hard to write when you have a shit ton on your mind. This week was a busy one, but a quick one. Monday I had absolutely no will to do anything just sat around basically until class at 3, then went to work on the group market research assignment from 6-9, then I went home. Tuesday we worked on it again, but before that I picked up my pincode for my ING bank card and went food shopping. There was also the official Welcome for international students, the bachelor students, the masters and the exchange. Turns out there are other exchange program, we just don't mingle with them because they are in other schools, like the School Of Economics. The Official Welcome Program was a bunch of speakers talking cliches and one of the least funny comedians I have ever seen. It was a guy named Greg Shapiro, an actor/comedian from Chicago who came to the Netherlands in 1994 and never went back. His show is called "How To Be Orange." They said it was going to be a standup comedian so I expected some guy wearing a flannel shirt walking up to a microphone stand, removing it while greeting the audience somewhat awkwardly, situating some sort of stool and taking a gulp of water. But instead this guy had a powerpoint slide show and was dressed in a suit and stood behind a podium; not great affect. They had a procession reminiscent of a graduation, the professors dressed in garb and robes and they even had a guy dressed to look like the Erasmus statue by the Student Service building (I got a picture with him, woo!!). Then after that was to be a 'Dutch buffet' in the Sports building lobby. They gave everyone a voucher and tokens for 2 drinks from soda to beer. Everything at the buffet seemed to have something to do with mashed potatoes and that's not hard to believe considering kroketen and patat are 2 of the most popular street foods in this country ( that is, knish-like cylinder and french fries). There were also pancakes outside and some sort of pea soup. All in all, ok, but bierbals can burn your tongue if youre not careful! I was not planning to go to B.E.D. that night because of market research class at 9am on Wednesday, but ever-party-ready Igor convinced me to come for a bit. I got there about 11pm so it was already after Happy Hour was over, found the group in the back, and as usual good music was spinning but they make the songs too short. Stuck around til 2, as HIMYM, Nothin Good Happens After 2 AM. Got home on my bike around 2am. The next morning on Wednesday class was at 9, I figured I'd done this before where I am home before 3, but that morning I just couldn't get myself out of bed, I needed a full sleep. Plus we were meeting for the Consumer Behavior research assignment at 1:15. So I went for that in the G building conveniently right next to mine. But as is my custom I didn't leave enough time to get there and ended up walking to the wrong side of the building. Once we reserved a meeting room (minimum 3 people and you must hand over your ID card...legit!) we got down to business shooting the shit about what about Cristiano Ronaldo we wanted to test. It was a circuitous route, where someone would say something and someone else would request explanation or elaboration and it then confused the original proposer. Finally we settled on a demographic and some questions and decided to meet the following morning at 10:30 to get our subjects in the dining halls in C, H, and L buildings. We were sticking pretty well to the plan of brainstorm on Sept 15 and act on Sept 16. Then later Wednesday was the Pancake Boat! This is what I went to the rotterdam Bibliotheek for to get a RotterdamPas. It is a 12.50 Euro pass that allows for all sorts of perks to tourist-y things in the city. You can swim once for free at Tropisauna Club, you can go up the Euromast tower, and you can eat on the Pancake boat for free. It is basically a ferry boat you go and sit inside at a table, it looks like Cracker Barrel on a boat, and you go up to the Pancake buffet when they call your table number.  Everyone asked me in the ensuing days 'how was it??' and the best description I come up with is 'disgustingly good,' emphasis on the disgusting. They say that we Americans like to slobber our food. I don't know who in the world ever came up with the idea of having a pancake bowl and a buffet featuring everything from sprinkles to mints to chocolate to jelly to sliced fruit to cheese to salami to ham to sugar. How the fuck are you supposed to decide what to put on it? Let's not forget you can choose from 3 different pancake bowls, 1 with bacon in it, 1 with apples, and 1 plain, just buttermilk dough. So being the regular indecisive type that I am, I take pretty much everything, careful not to mix them together, in sample portions. It was pretty disgusting after all and of course my actions got me the typical 'now THAT's an American pancake!' After the boat docked again I had to run back to my room to get my bag because we were meeting to do the SPSS assignment for Market Research. We stayed until 9pm again, and were basically done with the tests. Then some of my friends down in the south side (over the river) had invited me  for hookah but here it is known as shisha or nargila because there are no Indians but rather Moroccans and Turkish. I biked down Boulevard Maas and crossed Erasmus Bridge, it was crazy windy that day, I kept doubting whether I should go, but then figured since it was a breeze of a ride back from the Pancake boat, that the ride back would be okay. So I was met at the end of the bridge in Zuid Rotterdam and we biked to African Inn and around the corner went to the Turkish restaurant and ordered not 1, but 2 hookahs for just 3 people! 2 flavors, apple and cherry, very good overall. They had a soccer game on a tv, and it was like a big Turkish cafeteria. Shot the shit, had some tea, and went to the apartment to see what living on the south side was like, also had brie on a stroopwaffel, interesting but I dont think for me. Then it was time to go, long ride back at like 11, I was given a shortcut to the Red Bridge which is a bit less steep than Erasmus Bridge. Next day Thursday the group met to enact our testing of asking people what they associate with Cristiano Ronaldo. The first person I talk to knew of him, and said something about some recent game and was shocked I did not know about it. I hear this guy's name and think of the guy Brazilian guy Ronaldo from the days I used to receive SI For Kids in the mail! We were done with that pretty early like 1:00, and then later in the day was the STAR party at Club Vie (no white dress code this time). I still had to buy a ticket so I went to the STAR office to find they had sold out of physical tickets and that were 'about twenty' left online, so I ran back to my room to buy one online and thankfully it was still available for 8.50 Euro, no free invitations this time like ESN does :(   There were also 2 parties prior to the club. Astri was having a birthday party with Indonesian food so I could not pass that up, and Dianna was hosting a BYO pre-drinks. I resolved to bike to Dianna's, grab the tram 25 up to Het Noord and pop in for some Indonesian food for an hour, and then headed to Dianna's near Weena and I grabbed a 6 of Heineken at the open-late AlbertHeijn on the way. Pretty fun until it was decided we should all get going. Some did not have tickets but decided they would try to get in anyway. We hopped on our bikes and headed down to Club Vie, which thankfully is not a far ride back to the campus just down Maas Boulevard. Night was good, we danced upstairs for a bit, until someone reported it was more fun downstairs where there was hip hop rather than House music. Don't remember anything notable from the night other than Maxime telling me I should go talk to a girl dancing, so I was as concise as possible and asked hey whats your name, do you want to dance and she gestured to her friend and said something I couldn't hear so I said ok and walked away. I honestly dont know its done, I know I'm deaf but some people do it. And Alex saying you just grind up on girls, I have never heard of that being effective. The next day Friday was to be a long one, got to sleep in, had class at 12, then to the labs at 3, but Dorothee was really tired and only stayed until 3:45, then I slaved away at figuring out what test on SPSS to run for the last test. Finally at 5pm I gave up because I needed to go home, eat a big meal before Yom Kippur fast and get dressed to leave by 7. I decided to go to the Chabad Kehilla synagogue for Kol Nidrei and that required taking the 21 tram to Centraal Station. As is customary to wear white, I donned my nice new slim fit 6 Euro white shirt from Primark, and some cons, because you know it's not acceptable to wear leather, so it's an excuse to wear sneakers to Temple! Service was ok, couldn't follow along half the time because there was almost no congregation chanting. I walked in, and was greeted at the door by the guy manning the security tv's and system (yes they have to buzz you in to the synagogue here) and said gmar chatimah tovah to a few people and hung up my coat. As soon as I had walked to the north side of the station it started raining of course but thankfully I had brought my umbrella! We were all whisked into the sanctuary, I got a tallis and a machzor and chatted small talk to a few people, met a couple Brazilians, and an old Orthodox guy from Chile who somehow knew I was from New Jersey and decided to introduce me to someone else from New Jersey. His name is Steven and it really amazes me what some people wear to synagogue even on the most holy day of the year. He said so you're from near Elizabeth, which community? I say Cranford and he says he is from Linden and then we chat shortly about how the Conservative temple in Linden merged with Cranford in 1998, and I said how the merger of Clark and Cranford is imminent in the future due to dwindling populations and being less than 2 miles away from each other. He said he came to study in Leiden and never left. Then the service started, I was sitting next to Shir from Israel and some weird old guy wearing Adidas flip flops, the seats were too small. Rabbi Vorst made a sermon that I didn't understand because it was in Dutch, he is a captivating speaker though, habitually turning his head after 3-4 second from L to R to L to R. There were more people on Kol Nidrei then on Erev Rosh Hashana. probably about 60 this time, most of the men's seating was filled and some of the women's are too, not a lot though. After the service, I talked to some people got my coat and was talking to Alex from Brazil who works for a fuel trading company after spending 2 years in Switzerland. I said I needed to catch a tram but instead I got a ride home, asked if I needed a ride in the morning but I'd be going to the liberal congregation. Had begun the fast, and the next day decided to ride my bike to the synagogue because taking the tram would take too long plus I wanted to sleep in so I woke up at 8:45, left before 9:30 (when you fast, you don't have to do much more than get dressed) and was there by 9:50, service started at 10. Inside I sat down, there weren't too many people there, and one of the ladies introduced me to another American. We talked throughout the service, she graduated GW in 2007, and worked in Colombia for 2 years and now works at some non-profit leadership development group in the Netherlands, said she has been here for over a year and does not know any Dutch. Finally the service was done by 2:30/2:45. Stuck around a little and talked to some people and then left to head to Albert Heijn to buy the lox, bagels, and cream cheese I would bring for the Break-Fast later. Got home around 4, and realized I had to leave within an hour to catch the Metro and then the Tram to get there by 6:45 for Neilah. I really do miss TBEMC dramatic high holiday services with the choir going ''hmm hmm aa aahh" in the denouement. The LJG Rotterdam services were quite nondescript, not much high holiday tunes, a 5-person choir for a few prayers. and when the shofar came it was a small one, and not very long, it just ended the holiday. Oh well, then off in the car to Melanie's house for break-fast, not before seeded tangerines in the car courtesy of Ruthie. Had thought about trying to make it to Lukasz's birthday party since he lives not far from the synagogue, but Melanie lives almost in the countryside outside of Rotterdam plus we were talking all around the table for quite a while that we needed to rush to make the last metro of the night. I got home around 1am, and called it a night. Sunday was a lazy day, did some chores and work, and today class at 3 was the only big thing. My bike I noticed the rear brake is worn and the wheel wobbles. It rides fine but it's so annoying. And if you ride on gear 1, 2, 6, or 7 the gear belt grates. Wanted to bring it in to get fixed today but naturally it's not open on Sundays or Mondays and with a 10am group meeting tomorrow I don't know if I'll have time even. Gotta get to bed, don't wait til the end of the week to write a blog, you'll; end up with shit like this, just write it when you know it and feel it. PEACE.

De Dam

I must be one of the most freestyle bloggers out there. I don't follow a structure, I just type, this is definitely more like a log and journal. I'm not writing for anyone, hell I don't even share this blog (yet?). So Saturday the 9th anniversary of September 11. I went to sleep at 1:30 the night before finally and was planning to wake up at like 6:30 or whatever just to have time but that plan never works and I slept until about 7:30 so I had about a half-hour to figure out what I wanted to take. We had agreed to meet at the Central station around 8:30 so lethargically pulling out of the street onto Burgemeester Oudlaan at 8:15 I remembered what day it was and briefly flashed back to OAS on that Tuesday morning and being told what happened. It's the JFK Assasination Day of Generation Y. Goddamn mosquitoes, why the windows here have no screens is beyond my understanding. I've had a fair share of bees and mosquitoes and the windows don't even open that wide. Got to Central Station about 8:45, and we all filled our tickets, but we had to wait because one person had to go back to his apt to get his keys. He said he would meet us there so we got on a train about 9:15 and were in Amsterdam by 10:30. Once again I forgot to 'check-in' with my OV Chipkaart so I prayed to God there wouldnt be a conductor, and thankfully no one checked tickets before Rotterdam so a 14 Euro trip I got for free. Take that, Dutch public transit! So we got our I AMsterdam cards for 38 Euro for unlimited tram and free admission to sights and discounts at other places. First we went to OudeKerk, the old St. Nicholas Church across the Amsterdam Centraal station. Magnificent architecture, but as with most large, older churches, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Then we went back outside and started to walk around the vicinity down towards Warboestraat and down by some of the canals, just a great city, as soon as you arrive you get that feeling it's a special place to be. We made it down to a square where a mobile stage was being set up for music later and we took pictures on bridges and in doorways. Then we headed over to take our FREE canal cruise. It seemed like it might be interesting, like a preview of what to see around the city, but it is no secret that the best way to see Amsterdam is simply by walking around. The canals are cool but after a while it's just houseboat after houseboat and bridges. We were in the back to be outside and there was no explanations but I assume they wouldn't have enhanced the trip that much. After the canal trip it was about an hour so we went to have lunch at an Argentine steakhouse. Thanks to I AMsterdam, we had a discounted 3-course meal, and we each had a plate of chicken wings to start off as appetizers and  most of us then ordered biftec as our main course. I was definitely gypped, it was like they gave me 1 minute steak whereas other plates had pretty much prime ribs. In Amsterdam, everything is really old, so everything is really small, and stairs are at like a 70 degree angle it seems sometimes, this is how it was when I went to the toilet on the 2...3...4th floor of the restaurant, just floor after floor of places to drink eat and sit! Food was good but it was already about 3pm by the time we finished. At this point, most of the tourist sites close at 5, yes even on Saturday kind of strange considering it's not Sunday. So we decided to go to the Historical museum and were there until about 4:30pm. It was cool but a bit underwhelming, it took you through time eras by room to highlight the progress of the city of Amsterdam and some general Nederlandse history. There were lots of cool artifacts, like swords and anvils, and lots of paintings of people at big tables. There was also an area dedicated to synagogues history and featured a kiddush glass, a yad, and mahzorim with each holiday titled on its spine. I thought I was rushing through things but everyone else was way ahead of me. It was free admission thanks to I AMsterdam so no having to 'get your money's worth.' Then we hopped the tram over to Heineken Brewery, and it was well worth it. I AMsterdam allowed 25% off discounts so 15 Euro became 11.25 Euro, inclusive of 2 beers at the end. The first part was kind of boring, just the history of the company and entrepreneurship, and awards and boasting about the secret "A-type yeast" but once in the actual brew room it was good. First there were the big vats where they cook and sorted things, and before that was an explanation of the brewing process and how hops, yeast, barley, and water go to create beer. In the brewroom, there was a guy serving samples of wort, which is barley + water, it is bittersweet, with a little of a strange aftertaste, it is the beginning stage of the beer. Then they have you walk through a passageway where you can see a stable with horses ( I guess breweries really pride themselves on their horses, who doesn't remember a Budweiser commercial on the Super Bowl where the horses weren't in it), then was a virtual reality ride like in a theme park. About 20 people go inside a small theater and stand on elevated platforms, a movie begins about what it is like to be beer being brewed. And there are external effects, like the floor shaking and jerking, water spritzing on you, UV lights to emulate heat, and fans for wind. It was a very unique, original media experience. After that, there's some interesting exhibits including chaise lounges where you can watch Heineken commercials throughout the years. I actually had no idea that Amstel was bought by Heineken all the way back in 1968! Then came the taste test, a bartender guide gave all small glasses and we looked through it, smelled it, and finally tasted it, but don't sip the head or you'll take all the hops out. Heineken is an okay beer, better than Coors and Keystone but not Sam or Blue Moon, it is only 5% ABV anyway. Then off to the Red Light District and canal area, met up with some of our people at the National Monument, and walked into the old city again. That stage from earlier now had live music and a good sized crowd, we stopped to watch. At first I thought they were one of those crappy experimental bands, but soon enough I heard the  familiar upstroke and it turned out they to be a reggae band, but not Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear reggae but more white-boy, California reggae like Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, and Pepper. It was okay, I bought their CD for 2 Euro. There were some funny people in the crowd dancing, namely a woman who looked like a Gypsy, and an old man in a Hawaiian shirt. Then we set off to have dinner, we concluded on a Mexican place because once again I AMsterdam afforded us 25% off coupons!  We had patatas bravas, I ordered Enchiladas, and the server suggested an order of Nachos, but he ended up bringing us 3 plates for just 7 people at 7 Euro per plate, HA! I also had a bottle of water (they don't do tap here, they have it but they figure if you want to drink something, you can pay for it), and a Corona. I always forget the word Enchiladas and I dont know why because it is my favourite Mexican food (forget burritos and tacos!), and I always say Empanadas but it's totally different! The girls had gone to the Central station to meet the Australians who had just come in, and it was now about 9:30pm so the group I was with was tired from the day so they headed to the trains back to Rotterdam. I on the other hand still wanted to experience the Red Light District. There a million museums around from Marijuana museum to torture to Sex museum. So we make our way down to De Wallen and with the red lights. My camera had died in the Brewery so I kept it off just long enough to get off 2 pictures of the alleyways, will have to go back again. We walked around the area for quite a while, just observing, being beckoned by winks, fingers, and kisses, some good-looking some plain trash, on side streets and main thoroughfares, I wonder if there is some sort of hierarchy based on the real estate. Some windows had audiences, others were empty, some curtains were closed ( Ooh!!) and some doors were open and some people had just come out, it was truly quite a riot and a spectacle. Once we walked past a door and a young woman walked out and said something like 'good luck! Ciao!' it seemed she was talking to the prostitute about the country they came from. Then we made it to a cafe, a place called Greenhouse Effect, at the suggestion of a friend, and it was a good place. I wanted to go to one just to say I tried it, because where else in the world do you go to a coffee shop and sit at a table and smoke marijuana. Since none of us were knowledgeable with rolling papers, we ordered a pre-rolled one for 3 Euro and shared it, it was good but with a bit too much tobacco, good feelings after that one. Then we decided to be adventurous and roll our own so we bought their smallest amount which is like 3/4 gram for 10 Euro, a few buds, and after trying to figure out how to make the pieces smaller we asked the girl behind the counter for help. A cigarette was used for the tobacco inside and they gave us a grinder (how silly we are to forget of course ! ) and finally it was rolled and we smoked that one and it seemed like the right balance of bud and tobacco was inserted but it turned out to have a reversing effect as I felt back to normal rather than more buzzed after we finished this one, it was good taste though. Then at about 1:00 I said I wanted to head back and we all walked over to the Central Station and caught a 1:45 back to Rotterdam, got to my bike around 3 and was back home by 3:30... Amsterdam is a good city. It is like what Rotterdam would look like if it had not been bombed in 1940.

Heidy Ho!

I dont even know what these blog titles mean, I say the first thing that comes to my head. Right now Im watching Jersey shore on SIdereel.com so its more like audio.  Today I woke up at 11:50am and I was like there's no way I'm rushing to Consumer Behavior class for 3 hours  without eating and getting ready so since there are breaks I took off the first hour and took it easy had a complete breakfast printed the slides and all. Don't stay out til 4am when you have class, even if it's at noon the next day. So I went to class and then afterwards went back and got my stuff to take to T-building and I get a refund of 250 Euro, yay! In my new Dutch bank account at ING! Speaking of that, I wanted to figure out how to use ChipKnip and my account so I grab the #7 and head to Goudsesingel and finally by the time I am served they say oh youre supposed to go to the ING bank at Avenue Concordia, and they close in ...5 minutes. So that was a waste and on the #7 back home, I get a call that some people go to hookah so I'm more than down. I get some fries because I'm starving and I go home. I go to my kitchennete and the light over the stove blows out, great. Then I find my fridge is not cold, and the light is off. I plug it into the other outlet and it whaddya know works. There's only 2 plugs down there so now I'm basically without hot water in my sink, not that there is much to begin with as everytime I wash dishes it runs out after 3 minutes. Now my idea is to go to MediaMarkt to buy an extension cord (running over the sink? not sure it's a good idea :P )   It sucks when you have no will to write, you just try to occupy your attention with everything else, I'm not even really sure how that works. So  thankfully now my fridge works though I still have not heard from anyone after I sent emails to the facilities department for the building, probably because it is still the weekend.  Lets not forget I also have had a busted desk lamp light and ceiling light since I moved in over 3 weeks ago. So I get on my bike and ride down Oostedzjdijk and meet them at Foka. Then we make our way down into the neighborhood to the hookah place but it turns out there is no such place. I ask an old Moslem woman in a bakkerij if she speaks English and she sighs, and responds 'ney' so I ask a pizzeria and they say there is a hookah place in Centrum. We decide to go back to Napoleon and settle for drinks there. I had a trippel and the only food they still had available after 8pm, some strange chicken and rice dish with too much of some Asian sauce, it reminded me a bit of the lamb platters you get at the 46th st food stand in Manhattan. After 1 drink, we relocated to Locus Publico, famed for its hundreds of beers available and extra-knowledgeable bartenders. I was pressured to get a Budweiser, but I did not cave and I still have not had any KFC, Pizza Hut, BK, or Micky D's since I have been here! (I did have Subway though :P )  After a few rounds of drinks there, we called it a night around 11 in order to have enough sleep to get to Central Station before 9am the next morning to go to AMSTERDAM!!! More in the next post...

Europe sucks

At the end of the night, I ask a Russian/Israeli kid in my building who is talking about afterparties that go on until 10 in the morning sometimes in Moscow, 'is it the drinking or the dancing they can't get enough of?' And he answers it is the dancing. How is there that much rhythm in people's bodies? In the US, people go out at 10, and theyre out of there by 2, or even earlier if getting lucky that night. And how is there that much rhythm  for freaking house music? That shit  is so predictable: boom boom boom....*weird unsequenced interlude sounds gradually getting louder until the beat comes back and SLAMS down* and then back to boom boom boom. EVERY song is the same repetitive drone, there's no words, just noise. What is the appeal here?  I can deal with a reggaeton or dancehall (isn't that better? at least there is variation!) mix but house is just plain boring, and that's all they played tonight, save for a small downstairs room. I don't even want to write this entry, I keep procrastinating, it's not interesting. I'm listening to house music right now and it is irritating me, and pushy waiters, ah! All house music is is the disco of the modern day except there's no tangible talent involved. I still don't get what is so great about clubs. I go and I dance but I only have minimal 'fun' I just find it a waste of time and boring. It's difficult to drink because you have to wait at the bar for ages until someone gives you the time of day, then you're busting moves while holding a glass full of liquid the splashes around, then there are people moving this way and that. Let's couple that with it's loud as hell and you can't hear a thing when people talk so  you can't even have a conversation. I dance in the big group for the first couple hours and I just feel like an idiot though I sure not to let it show. I'm not sure whether any of the girls are into me, I try to search with eye contact but I don't get much read so I figure it's safer not to try, esp because I only known everyone a few weeks. I'll walk through the crowd next time instead of staying in the same area for hours on end. So finally, I talk to one girl in the group and she say she getting tired of the techno and says they play R&B downstairs so I suggest we go there, and we do, and we dance on and off, but she has her own moves which she seemed to like to do but it was fun. I wasn't sure if I should try for anything, I don't know, then we went upstairs it was after 3am at this point. We danced a bit more and I gave her my phone number. My priorities are screwed up. Why am I worried about phone numbers? I'm here for less than 4 months. Ech, God guide me please, I am a lost soul. Put me in a bar, I am a creature of tongues, not rhythm. Then these girls I saw earlier in the night were dancing O so I decide to try to make it over there and I exchange names with 2 of them and talk a bit with 1 but it's so loud. I'm listening to reggaeton now. Finally I say I have to levae and I have no idea what she said so I decide 'can I give you my number?' and shesays something I certainly cant hear so after a little I'm like forget it and I still don't know what she says. Ech it's that time of night where my eyes don't stay open... til next time...
Sorry needed to include the fact that I am 22 years old and I would always rather a bar with some friends and with a good live band  then the club. Why does it always take people til their mid to late 20s to figure it out? Maybe I'm just an old duffer... Here's to LIVE music!

L'shanah tovah tikateivun!

A sweet and good new year to all! 5771 here we are! Though it is still 5770 in the States as I write this. Today I had class #2 of Market Research class, weird to think there's only 5 more left! Tomorrow we have to start the assignement on SPSS, which I have actually used before (YEAH! Psych 51a with DiZio and Psych 52a with Angela!). Thankfully this isn't quite as involved, and also Econometrics, applications and intro, with Fournier last year has helped me perceive the tests and significances again. It's amazing how time flies, I'm approaching my 4th weekend already in this country. Arrived on a horrid August 20, and now it is September 9. I don't know a whole lot of Dutch but I get by, I have my electronics (thanks be to God!) except my old Ipod :(   but tonight I leave my umbrella at Rabbi Vorst's house. No wonder he said don't let this be your last visit! He was plotting all along, those sly Lubavitchers. Erev Rosh Hashanah was nice. I had a relaxing day, I shaved off my red chin patch, and ov9292 told me to take the 7 to Centraal station and walk 10-15 mins to the synagogue. Made the 7 at 6:11 and got to Centraal about 6:30, plenty of time I thought to walk, wasn't sure exactly how to go as I had only biked there once before. And as soon as I get out the tram, my GPS died. I tried to navigate by memory and asked a couple how to get to the street but they did not know it. i only knew north side of the tracks so they directed me back to the station to go underneath but I figure at that time I had just wasted walking so much so I sucked it up and hailed a taxi which turned out to be the whole 1 km away which cost me 8 Euro. But the tram card reader was broken so that trip was free. I got to the shul about 6:55, and they buzzed me in. i said Shana tovah to the first guy inside, got a kippah, and went to hang up my coat. A tall, slender, hat-donning fellow approached me and after exchanging the holiday greetings, said something in Dutch to me, so I promptly responded 'Ik niets spreekt Nederlands' (I don't speak Dutch) and then he asked me what do I speak? English? german? I say finally English and he is satisfied. Then just loitering in the lobby until everyone is beckoned to the sanctuary. There were less than 30 people, maybe about 10 Lubavitch, between kids and men. It was a bit daunting at first. IT was a large sanctuary, probably at least 100 could fit, no women. The service was quick and a bit hurried, not too difficult to follow along. But I have always enjoyed the everyone singing together and in this shul there is not a lot of it. The people at the Liberal congregation said it is an Orthodox shul but that the members (other than the Chabadniks) are not really Orthodox, it is just the style and tradition they prefer. People didn't really talk much, there was no sermon, it was just praying. And then just like that the service was over, everyone shook everyone else's hand and Shana Tovah. And I asked to meet Rabbi Vorst but apparently there are 2 of them ,father and son. I met Vorst the younger. And he said just follow the crowd back to his place for the dinner. I met an American named Josh who happened to be visiting for the week, he is in an Architecture program at University Of Texas and they happened to be in Rotterdam on Rosh Hashana so he sought out the synagogue, he is Persian, from los angeles, no surprise. Then we all went to the Vorst house which is actually attached to the synagogue, and went inside, once again, just men and some old women, actually Rabbi Vorst's mother, mother-in-law, and wife, and his 4 or 5 sons, the eldest of which is celebrating his Bar Mitzvah this Rosh Hashanah. So he recited an Amar, and there were soooo many courses of the meal. I thought after the salmon and a few salads  that was it, then there was the pea soup, the chicken, more salad, the kugel, and some tzimmes, and something else I forget. Nice to have a home-cooked meal, about 15-20 of us in all. There was also Shoni the Yemeni-Israeli dentist at the clinic in South Rotterdam, and Shir, the Israeli law-master student at Erasmus and Elad, the IBA student at Erasmus and some other guy who reminded me of every Jewish dad in Marlboro and Scotch Plains. The Israelis kept speaking Hebrew amongst each other and it got annoying at times not knowing fully what they were saying because they speak quickly. I picked up some basics but not enough to be involved in the conversation, ech. And Rabbi Vorst's mother sat next to me, she was small and soft-spoken but a very energetic lady. Originally from what she called Russia, she does not speak Russian, probably somewhere near modern-day Uzbekistan, she has lived in Paris, New York, and Holland, first in Amsteleeven. Then she and Rabbi Elder Vorst came to Rotterdam 46 years ago in 1964 when there were basically no Jews here. They were sent as Chabad to open at outreach center. They inhabited an old, fledgling community and somewhat revived it. It is an interesting Chabad center, not a Chabad house, they have their own grand shul with mechitza and all but on a high holiday not a large turnout, I don't know. Rabbi Younger Vorst's parents were in town from London, they are also Chabad, one of their sons is Chabad in Freehold, used to be in Marlboro in New jersey, also have family in Toronto, Albany and Manhattan. It's like a big web. And in Budapest they call up people with Jewish-sounding last names to find out if they're Jewish and go to jewish businessmen to help them wrap tefillin, so involved! I made a good choice to go here  for Erev Rosh Hashanah, a bit too jewish for me though. I shall return to the Liberal Congregation for Yom Kippur. Not sure where I will spend Kol Nidrei, probably just go back to the Chabad place for a Shabbat. So tomorrow night is Club Vie and I need to go Prijmark and buy a white shirt because of the dress code, blaahhhh. It will be fun even though I still don't like clubbing much. You move around to a beat and look stupid and you can't hear anyone it's so loud. Give me a bar or lounge any day. Anyway, I'm just about running out of steam to type so this will be enough, gut yontif!

Been a couple days

Don't know why I have such an aversion to going through my papers. I go to class, that's ok, I wake up, but my room stays in its constant state: *sigh.* Anyway, good news is my redecorating is actually in process. I bought the couch from the downstairs guy from South Carolina. It is black, from IKEA, and I don't always trust second-hand possessions so I put a white sheet over it. Moved the rolling drawer set over to my bed. My idea is to have it as a night table but I haven't quite defined everything yet. The small square table is akin to a coffee table I angled the green armchair so it's like I have a small living room in the corner, just moved the desk over a bit. So a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom, not bad.
I wasn't too sure about going out tonight because I have class at 9am tomorrow and there is another club night on Thursday. Fridays I have class at 12 so that's a bit more doable Thursdays night. So I went to BED last week and it happens every week so eh. Instead me a few people went to see Dinner For Schmucks. I must say it was a pleasant surprise, didn't have high hopes for it since Steve Carell is usually stupid but Paul Rudd makes it good. Didn't even notice the Dutch subtitles through most of it, had a falafel for dinner. I went to order popcorn for the movie and the girl asks if I want sweet or salt, so I ask if I can get butter and she says they don't do it. ( !!!!! ) What movie theaters don't have butter to put on your popcorn?!? It is a choice to eat unhealthy, a right as humans. I know this is Europe and everyone is 'healthy' but come on, salted popcorn with no butter: BOO. I finally learned how to say How are you the right way. It is 'hoo KHAAT het'  ( Hoe gaat het spelled out ). After times and times of people making strange faces at me because I accent in the wrong place or don't pronounce the g right, I got it, I think.
So today I finally got around to doing laundry. Of course I live on the 1 floor in the building without a laundry room :P  so it's up 1 floor and there is 1 washer and 1 dryer in the room. It's great that it is free (unlike Brandeis $1 per load) AND there's some sort of communal detergent collection so I'm paying nothing to wash my clothes. The washer is mighty small and all the directions are in Dutch. I bring my pocket translator but that is not very effective either as the words appear to be several complex conjunctions. Finally I figured out enough (based on the duration of the cycle) how to do my usual cold water rinse. I've never been one to do separate colors and whites. What's the point? Always wash in cold water because this way when you dry, nothing can shrink. So I take my keys out to open the door to the hall and I notice my rear bike lock key is bent. Not sure how it got that way so I bend it back and it snaps off, Im thinking well this is just great, although it is better than the key getting stuck in the lock. So anyway I have a bike that can't be ridden. I surf google to find out what kinds of locksmiths there are around here and I discover there is a difference between a locksmith and a keysmith. Locksmiths tend to be remote without physical commercial locations where you can go and get keys made. A slotenmaker is a locksmith whereas a sleutelmaker is a keysmith. I found a sleutelmaker near Centraal station, took the 7 tram to Pomperburg and walked over, asked if he could make a new key out of my snapped-in-half bike lock key and he whipped it right up, cost me 9 Euro but it's better than having a bike that can't move. It's always something new... Class at 9, Market Research, eh, off to bed....

Read it and decide yourself

Ech, I don't even want to write anything tonight, I'm just too mentally exhausted. Fuckin throat cough i've had since mid-week is more like having hiccups or about to throw up every time. And beer sucks, I don't know why I wear clothes when I go out, they love to immerse themselves in beer. Last Tuesday at B.E.D. I'm having a good time dancing in a group of people and all of a sudden I'm showered in liquid I thought maybe it was the DJ booth spraying water into the crowd because it was hot but then I smell my shirt and feel my head getting sticky, so I'm fuming at this point I look around because I'm ready to bodycheck someone and more but strangely I see no one in my vicinity who seemed likely to have thrown beer into the air. Not to mention this happened twice that night. It's akin to a nice sleep and being woken up by someone slapping your face, very crude and irritating and when I'm caught by surprise like that I get pissed. So I went to the bathroom and splashed some water in my face to calm myself down. Went back to the dancefloor and just enjoyed the night for what it was worth. lot of people good crowd, had 9am class the next day so I wouldnt be staying forever.. So just dancing in a circle I dont really remember who was around just remember that it was a bit boring and I had been kicking myself for not going to talk to these girls at the table by the bar but then 2 girls came in and started talking to the UPenn kids, I tried to make myself seen on their sides so I wouldnt be awkwardly behind them and I introduce myself to the blonde one and she's pretty nice so we continue to talk and we're dancing so I hold out my hand but it's not a bite and we dance but she doesn't seem that into it however she doesn't seem to pull away either. As I'm always doubtinng myself in these situations it was semi-awkward and since I didn't want to waste it too much I said I needed to go see some people the other side of the bar and asked her for her number, which she gave me. At this point, it was actually my cue for myself to head out, so I made my way through the crowd and stopped by a small group as a girl looked at me and smiled so I wasnt going to pass this up either so we talk and she is from Canada and I say New York and she launches into this oration how she loves Broadway so much so Im like oh thats nice and name a few shows Ive seen in the past few years and she must have been on cloud 9 talking to someone who can regularly see a Broadway show then before it gets too long, I ask her for her number and enthusiastically she pulls the phone out of my hand and types in her number, so beer all over me but 2 phone numbers to end the night before 9am class, not bad I thought. Not wanting to put myself a in a hole, I wait and since I get 300 free texts each month with my new prepaid plan, I decide to text both towards the end of day 2, so around late afternoon on Thursday after meeting Tuesday. WIthin an hour, the blonde chick texts me back and we talked back and forth throughout Friday until the evening when I couldnt reply for a couple hours and since the text I sent I haven't gotten anything from her, her parents were in town for the weekend so maybe she was distracted I dont know, there was nothing that would lead me to believe she'd just stop talking and as such I was *this close* to trying to make something out of it rather than texts, and the girl from Canada didn't even hear back from. This is when I read online of a new method involving giving YOUR number to the girl. This is an extension of my discussion of Dutch girls and 'not giving out their numbers' like the girl on the tram, and the 2 girls in the bar last weekend. (though the 2nd bar girl said she'd find me on facebook, and she did! It was probably because I did the 3-cheek-kiss thing that Dutch people do. I just told her my name and a few days later I get a friend request from someone's name I dont recognize, so we've been writing back and forth every day/couple of days. Not sure what can come of it as she studies in Amsterdam and I'm here in Rotterdam, only until December.) Anyway, the Dutch girls I found kept saying 'oh I don't give out my number.' And I thought it was some form of neo-feminism because of the sought-after gender egalitarianism in Dutch society, like "God forbid you ask me for MY number. That might be how you Americans do it but here is different." So the new plan I still have to try out is 'can I leave you my number?' This way a girl does not have to feel compromised giving her private contact info to someone she has just met, and she is now in control of the situation, and she can still get in conatact with you if she wants, and you don't have to play the waiting game to see if someone responds or answers your first call/check. Only thing is I don't know if it's received weirdly, someone pushing their number on you. Whats the worst that could happen? 'sorry no?' SO anyway that experiment must still wait. But tonight, tonight.. Bima sent out a message on facebook to go see fireworks and it was active conversation all night long. SOme people from Zuid, some from center city, and then F-building/Intl house people agreed to meet at 8:30 to head over to the river. About 6 of us came on bikes so the remaining handful took the tram, we got there, found Suzanne, and walked up and down the promenade for about an hour, got beers, waffles that seemed to be like cold funnel cake, and talked, while a band played on a boat whose sound was project through speakers on the shores but it may as well have been recorded already. Then we relocated to the Erasmus bridge for the fireworks display which at first was quite unassuming and quiet, but eventually built into a very strong and impressive display. Afterwards we were all at a loss of what to do and we were about 30-strong, so we decided to go to a place called The Jungle just to drink and talk and relax. From talking to a lot of people it seems most did not go out on Friday. All I know is that I didn't hear anything and I didn't ask anyone so I guess everyone had the same idea. After The Jungle, some people went home and then I got my bike and we went over to Stadhuis, were going to go to an Underground Club for 6 Euro/person but it was decided against and we walked around the block and were denied from the 'already-full' Cafe Splein, so then everyone (at this point now down to like 8 people) settled on Off Corso. This is THE place I have been hearing from people is the place to go. A big room that is a bit like an arena or old movie theater, it was ok but I was not impressed. I'm usually skeptical about clubbing but try to keep an open mind but it hasn't seemed to work out lately. And if Off Corso is the best Rotterdam has to offer in clubbing.... everyone seemed to have some sort of prejudice against bars like 'oh its JUSt a bar.' I wanted to say who cares, it's calmer, you can hear people and there's still drinks, and most usually music too. I can safely say I am already sick of clubbing in Rotterdam, I won't generalize to all Of Europe because I have to yet know. Between Hollywood, the bar/club with F-building kids, and Off Corso, I've seen enough. De Witte Aap was the most genuine time I had, it had music but dancing not required and very bustling bar, much more my speed. At Off Corso tonight, they give everyone beers in glasses (how fucking stupid could they be?!?!) and natually no one wants to return them so they end up on the floor broken so everywhere there is broken glass. Not to mention someone knocked Julio's arm while dancing and his drink went spilling in my face. Another 'wake up' moment. Funny I say that as now I get tired and doze off. I need to get to a concert for realzzz.  Or travel. I may be 22, but I don't need a club to have fun.

 Why do people do it? Spend money to go in and get judged and spend more money for a dollar.I cant do this anymore stay awake. good night! Goedenact!

Number 2

Ah, so what did I do today? As usual, I've been setting my alarm later and later and managed today to wake up around 11 for my class at 12. It was Consumer Behavior today, a lot of stuff about perception and information processing, pretty much about how to manipulate people to want to buy things, like at bars if you use a taller glass, people will think they're drinking more when in actuality they're usually not, and then to feel satisfied they'll buy more, 'tis just one example. My room is still a mess after last Friday. It was actually somewhat neat before we left for the Integration Trip and then my absentmindedness led to its demise by Friday. I don't know how I do things like this. First day in Europe, I leave my freakin' brand-new Ipod on the airplane, then I leave my brand-new camera at the hostel (didn't even realize/remember packing it!), and then on the way across my room after turning off the stove light in the kitchen, I turned on the torch light option on my phone, tripped and dropped it and the battery came out so I turned it back on and suddenly it asks for PIN code and I get it wrong 3 times  and then it asks for PUK code so I'm like what the hell is that? I try a bunch of combinations until it says 5 times left so I look it up on Google and it says that my SimCard will lock forever if I dont do the write PUK code, so I don't want to get a brand new number. And naturally the only thing NOT in the phone box in the drawer in the moving night table is the info card of the SimCard with the phone number and PUK code. So once again I am phone-less, so I ride down to T-Mobile in the rain the next morning, wait in their service queue upstairs, and find out a number they called no one was going up for so I made believe it was mine, screw that I'm not sitting around obeying rules, and I have EVERYTHING from my account I can think of. My current credit amounts, my name, my phone number, my PIN code, my email and PW login online. And the guy is like sorry I cann't give you it, but if you sign up for T-Mobile Special it asks you for your address and that's how I'll be able to verify it. Fuckin Prepaid bullshit. And now my latest squander is my OLD ipod, which I think was broken in the Detroit trip in the car when you listen it only comes out one ear in a headphones. But I was looking to get a new Ipod anyway. 30 GB doesn't cut it, it gets annoying to decide which 7000 songs you want to carry around when you have between 20000-30000 on the computer. Not to mention Itunes 9 being a pain in the ass. The 2 most common programms these days, Itunes and Skype, refuse to open on my computer and subsequently freeze the system. Bullshit Dell.  Now I'm just running around in circles here, I'll talk about my almost-first-experience with manual transmission another time and my crazy trip to retrieve the camera I somehow unknowingly left at the hostel on the Integration Trip because my subconscious memory came to the surface Thank G-d. Sheesh, this weekend I'll have a cleaning. It's like I know what I want to do, and how to do it, but the actually doing is a challenge. I bought a fairly new IKEA couch for 50 Euro. no way I'm sitting on that thing before I put a sheet over it, classic college life. And every day I'm like oh let's do laundry and it just sits there. The thing with the couch sheet is that I don't want a fitted sheet for it I want one of those regular bed sheets and I use one for my bed right now but I decided first it needs to be washed before I put it on the couch, so the couch continues to sit dormant until then. They replaced my Venetian Blinds with these horrible earth-green curtains. Thankfully I'm not in a place where anyone can see in my windows so it hasn't bothered me that much. I'm telling myself I need to go to sleep, but there's just so much to write and recount about. Oh yeah, one last thing... at the Integration Trip, the schedule had said, Thursday night: International Cabaret! The only briefing we had got about it was that 'if there is room in your bag' to pack anything prepartory. I was hoping it would be like a talent show because I haven't performed any of my rhymes live in a while, I mean after writing verse 1 and the chorus to the Daniel Burros song while in Israel in 2005, I hadn't written a thing since right after a certain transition in my life in July 2009 sitting in Black River Park in Morris County, hell I wrote it into the Drafts of my phone text messages, and a bit more has come out since then, including a really long rant of nothing I can explain while on the plane with the Brandeis basketball teams back from Atlanta to Boston in February. But indeed it was not a talent show but just a 'show everyone what makes your country unique' show so me and the 7 Wharton kids, joined by the 2 Brits, demonstrated a pathetic few rounds of Beer Pong followed by an inexplicably random rendition of the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song (short version)...go figure, U! S! A!.. U! S! A! ... Good night!

The Inaugural

Here I sit and write my first blog post ever, woo! I wish I could just dictate and something would type for me. Your thoughts go much faster than your fingers can move. It's almost like writing poetry or something, you want to think of what is good to write. Are you writing and trying to impress an audience or is just an outlet for yourself? Anyway, I sit amongst a filth that is my room in the Netherlands. Last week, it was clean before I left for the Integration Trip, but as soon as I got back last Friday it's been a mess ever since again. This is mostly due to my absentmindedness and forgetting shit like my old Ipod. My dishes from dinner still sit on the table, I don't know why I have this aversion to getting things done, I continue to say in my head, 'yea it'll get done,' and it does. So let's not forget that my first day in Mainland Europe (Spain doesn't count as Mainland because the Pyrenees serve as a geographical boundary of sorts IMO), it consisted of lugging 2 huge rolling suitcases on trains and in an airport. Everything seemed fine at first, you know, sure the plane was delayed a couple hours, but I was due in originally at 8:15 AM, I was not in a rush, just get there when I get there. Well, 8:15 turned into 10:30 and it was probably around 11:30 by the time I caught a train from Schiphol Airport. BTW, for you non-Dutch, it's not 'shiffel' and it's not 'skeerpole,' it's simply 'skipple.' I was en route to Rotterdam Centraal on the right train and everything. And then at Den Haag station the trains stopped, the loudspeaker said something about delays and people started to get off the train. First I should mention that shit is built in this country like the people, tall and narrow. You get on the train alright the doors are wide, but I wanted to get down below to the seats, but there is a damn plastic restaurant kitchen-type door in the way that is maybe 3 feet wide. I grabbed and heaved my bags through those doors. And then of course there's nowhere to put anything  without it taking up massive space in the aisle. So I stack them on the seats. I'm like 'ah finally I can just relax for 40 minutes.' Well G-d didn't seem to have it in my plan that day for what I wanted. Now we are at Den Haag and I learn that everyone is going nuts and there are basically no trains adhering to the schedule. It turned out there had been an 'accident' on the tracks between Den Haag and Rotterdam, which, according to this DJ booker guy I met on one train, means another suicide, and apparently they are not rare. Of course, this happens on my first day when I have more stuff with me than I can handle and keeps falling down and bumping in to people and I'm sweating and shit. I made sure to know exactly how to travel the trains when I got here so as soon as I got out of the baggage claim I went to buy an OV Chipkaart. For those of you from Boston, it is similar to a CharlieCard. You refill it and use it. But the only difference is that you use it not only for the T, you use it for rail, bus, tram, and Metro (subway). It was 8 Euro, but it is the future of Dutch travel apparently. The Dutch with all their socialism get to choose free rides during the weekdays and 40% discounted rides on the weekend or free on the weekend and discounted during the week, as if free healthcare wasn't enough. Meanwhile, a trip on the tram to the supermarket  is almost 1.20 Euro for a trip that is less than 2 km (1.2 miles). One thing that is good is that you are charged for how far you go, not like in NYC where you can get on at World Trade Center and ride all the way uptown for $2.25 as would be the same price if you go from Union Square to 34th Street. But the thing is they have these check-in/out points, and on that first day in Holland, I had completely forgotten to check out because I was very confused by the now misscheduled trains, and it turns out they invoke a fine of 4 Euro when you forget to check out so the first time I go to 'top up' (yes this is English, it is akin to 'upload') my card, I find it has a value of -4 Euro, damn system. As if this first day wasn't confusing enough was the fact I was supposed to meet my 'buddy' (a Dutch student who is put into contact with a handful of international kids to serve as a reference contact) to show me around Rotterdam at 2pm, but without a cell phone I had no way of letting her know I couldn't make it. And then at Den Haag I realize my new Ipod is missing, the one I spent $250 on. I stupidly left it in the pouch in the seat in the airplane. I debated between going to the university and then just going back to the airport another day, but I thought time was money and with all this confusion and no trains going past Den Haag I'd go back to Schiphol, yes with all the crap I was dragging around, and try my luck. Well there was some sort of traffic in Leiden, so the train I was on decided to reroute itself to Amsterdam Centraal. This was after 3 times of going to the wrong platform at Den Haag because the stupid conductors kept telling me not to listen to the signs. So now I'm at Amsterdam Centraal, but then this lady from Spain needed to make a plane so she asked if they could stop at a sooner station to transfer to a train for Schiphol. (Can you imagine someone on the NJ Transit Midtown Direct, 1st stop destination Summit,a sking the conductors, 'uh can we stop at Brick Church please?') Ah, it's good to hear some good music. Listening to the Mad Caddies now, REFLECTIONS, let go, let go, child! They're coming here to the Netherlands. They cann't make it further east in 3+ years in the states than Pittsburgh but they can go to Europe; west coast schmucks. So I finally make it on a train to Schiphol and it's like close to 3 by the time I get upstairs in the airport. I get one of those carts I hear so much about that are free contrary on Newark Airport (!!) and I find the Continental Airlines desk, and whaddya know, it's closed!! Then I ask a lady in my bewilderment and few Dutch phrases I know: "Spreekt U Engels??" Yes she does! and then it seems like I cant speak English because I've had such a long day already, finally she says go downstairs to security and go back into the baggage claim and find AirServis or something. So I find security and the guy looks at my passport, and he's black, I don't know if that's relevant and he says 'you ever been to Texas?' and I'm like no and he's trying to be funny like 'well everyTHANG is bigger down thurr' and then he says where I'm going in Netherlands I say Rotterdam and he's like 'ooo lots of chickies there, be sure to buy some condoms!' I thought that wasn't such a bad sign of where I was to go. So then I make it to AirServis and I'm like well I left my Ipod on the plane, and he's like well it's a good thing everyone is so secure these days, they do a sweep after every flight to make sure no one left any bombs int he plane or anything, and it's a good thing they don't fly away. He calls up some guy with the description I gave and then he puts the phone down and says 'is it with a case? I don't know the word in English.' 'Rubber?!?!?' I say and he says yes thats it. I am now entering bliss as the Ipod I left on the airplane is now being acknowledged, so he says ok, go up to the Continental desk and meet the guy there in 15 mins, he will have your Ipod. Those were amazing words, it is awesome to get your things back that you lose. They could have sold it, and it was a good thing no one else on the airplane had left an Ipod that day and that the guys in my row were not pilfers. I thought I had checked the whole pocket but I guess not. So finally at 3:15 I get my Ipod and I'm starving so I go get some salad thing from To Go by Albert Heijn and I leave my cart in front of an administrative office door and the lady of course is trying to get out while I'm on line so I run over and repeatedly say "bedroefd! bedroefd!" except because I suck at pronunciation, I was saying "bedro-eft! bedro-eft!" Not only was I not saying the word right, it's not even the right word to use for 'sorry.' My stupid $10 pocket translator says 'sorry' = 'bedroefd.' But it took an authentic Dutch person to tell