Another Great Place to Live

     Life in the Netherlands has been really nice. The people are very friendly, which was much different than my experience in Switalia (Italian Switzerland). Don’t get me wrong, the Italians and the Swiss are both pretty friendly, but they were very particular and less accepting towards different views. However, everything comes at a cost, as nobody is perfect. Because the Dutch are so open-minded, they tend to be very honest. They will tell you exactly how they think or feel, even if it is an insulting comment. I was speaking to a pretty girl in Leiden (who knows why?) that said, “I hate Amer” and stopped herself when she realized what she was saying. She corrected herself and said she doesn’t hate Americans, she only ‘dislikes them’. I asked her why and her response is that we Americans just tell people what they want to hear even if it’s not the truth. I responded, “Hmm, so you think that’s true about all 270-300 million people that live there?” I dug a little deeper, and learned that her father was American, and that they didn’t have a good relationship. Other than her, everyone else has been pretty accepting and friendly.

     My dormitory is very accommodating. All 14 of us live in the building with another 100 or so full-time students. My room, pictured above, has all of the necessities. Behind me is my little kitchenette, with two stove plates, a small refrigerator, a sink, and a couple cabinets. There is also a comfortable chair with a lamp for reading, and a small bathroom that resembles one in a cabin of a cruise ship (very small, and all solid plastic). If you look closely you will see that my bed was originally a bunkbed. After a few mornings of climbing down the little ladder, and not wanting to get out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or get water, I decided to take down the mattress and place it on the floor where my desk was. This was one of the best moves I think I have made here. The dormitory is situated on one of the largest canals in Leiden, with a nearby windmill and drawbridge. 

     Above is a picture of the canal I live on, with my dorm being the building on the left side. If you click on the image, you can see the drawbridge and windmill, which are pictured up close below. The windmill is pretty historic. It has been rebuilt on the same ground, but Rembrandt’s mother used the windmill that was there before to mix up his paint. Sometimes a few friends and I would go sit on the steps on a nice afternoon, taking in the views and trying to appreciate where we were... sure is tough to be happy there.

     Classes have been going very well. My Statistics class is surprisingly fun, as my Dutch teacher is quite engaging and loves to make comparisons between the Dutch and American people. When teaching us hypothesis testing he often likes to make references to the fact that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world, claiming that the average Dutch male is equal to or greater than 185 cm (6’1”). In Marketing, it’s very exciting to be taking a course in the Amsterdam World Trade Center and to be able to go out for dinner and drinks in Amsterdam afterwards.

     This is a picture with a random street musician I found while wandering around Amsterdam. I wanted a picture of him, so I placed a Euro or two in his guitar case, got my picture, then he insisted on me getting in the picture with him. He was pretty talented. If you look closely, he has a tambourine on his left foot to keep a beat. Amsterdam is a pretty wild place, but the most exciting thing is the fact that there is something to do for everyone there. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but, just like every other place I have been, I find myself falling in love with the Netherlands, as well.