The plane flight was VERY long. I didn't sleep much because I was too excited.
When I arrived in Amsterdam it was 11pm here. I took at train to the city center and meet with Peter, my Couch Surfing (CS) host. CS is an online social network that connects travelers to people in a country that are willing to open their homes and provide a free bed. Peter teaches a Sociology class at the University of Amsterdam, so we have a lot of common intellectual interests. We have read many of the same articles and both enjoy discussing issues of culture and politics.
After dropping my things off at Peter's flat, he left to do errands and I walked the city. This is my favorite thing to do once I first get to a city because I like to get a sense of the city as a whole. I walked around the canals and through the flower market. I was very tired, so I took a nap in the park right in front of the Van Gough museum. There are small art galleries all over the city. I ran into one that was holding a small opening event. It was full of clumps of posh-looking people drinking free cocktails. I walked in and mingled for a while pretending that I was an art student from New York who came to Amsterdam to study photography. Everyone believed me.
Ian is from the Philippines, but is also half Dutch. He owns his own remodeling business. He is very involved with humanitarian aide projects and has even started his own NGO (although it is not currently operating). He was very interested to hear about what I am doing in Africa and we talked very excitedly about traveling and the places we've been and where we want to go.
The four of us went to a local club that had free admission. It had kind of typical Euro dance music, which Peter really liked. Later, Ian and I went to another club that he wanted to show me and Peter and Garaly decided to go home.
The club was a little further towards city center and played a very eclectic mix of music. The people were just as eclectic. A few gothic-looking some more hard rock some a bit hippyish. Everyone was super relaxed and Ian and I danced for about 2 hours straight. While we were upstairs we spotted a Dutch girl on the lower level that was fantastically ridiculous looking. She was wearing a high-waisted pock-a-dot skirt and a black cowboy hat and she was moving frenetically around the dance floor. We agreed that she was the coolest person there. Naturally, we became BFFs. I ran down and started dancing with her and after a few minutes she wouldn't let me leave. She told me we were soul mates. haha. We probably are.
Ian and I slipped out and walked through Vondel park. It had an almost magical feel at night. We sat under a tree for a while listening to the birds and talking.
The next day we went to a small coffee shop for breakfast and Peter's friend picked us up in his little red speed boat. He drove it all through the canals and between him, Ian, and Peter they gave me pretty well-informed tour of the city. After, Ian let me borrow his bike and we saw parts of the city now reachable via canal. Finally, we got tired and fell asleep in a little park.
I walked around the city some more alone and met up with Peter for Greek food. We decided not to go out that night because we were so beat from the night before.
The next day Ian drove me to the airport and picked up the baggage I had stored there, so that I don't have to pay for a locker anymore. From there, I took a train to Utrecht. I didn't know exactly what to do there so I walked around for a while and ran into two brothers from Greece who were on a lunch break from work and offered to show me around. It is a very quiet and beautiful city. After a few hours I got back on the train and headed to the airport in Eindhoven and the to Dublin.
I arrived in Dublin at around 8pm and met the next person I was going to couch surf with, Dan. Dan is an American from D.C. doing a study abroad at Trinity College. The campus is exactly in the center of the city as a historic place in itself. I can't think of a more perfect place to stay. Dan's father happened to be in town and took Dan, Ryan (Dan's roommate), and I out to dinner and dessert. Later, we went to a pub and met up with a few of their friends.
One of them named Peirce was very interesting and we ended up talking most of the night. He is a film student originally from Switzerland but he went to boarding school and has a very convincing American accent. He graduates in a month and is planning on moving to LA to start a career as a cinematographer. He knows a lot about American politics and I was excited to talk about the election with someone. He also has really interesting taste in music and we listened to his CDs for a while.
Today, I walked the whole city and saw the Dublin castle and the cathedrals and walked through the parks. I also went to the library here at Trinity where they have the book of Kells. There is a hall of the library that is full of antique books. They even have old club records from when Edmund Burke started his Historical Society here.
Right now I am waiting for the boys in dorm to get ready. We are going to go listen to some traditional Irish music tonight. I leave Dublin for Edinburgh tomorrow. Geoff will be picking me up from the airport. I am so excited!
