The rest of the...
First Month in Amsterdam
Well, I've wrapped up my Research Methods class, and tomorrow start in on the "real work" at 10am. Although we had class three days a week for six hours, I still found plenty of time to explore. For instance, several festivals happen here each week, and I've been to a few. You would think that with so many canals the Dutch would have a hard time finding a place to have parties... but no! They just set up huge floating stages on the canals!
Usually they have a stage for people to stand on, but then you can also bring your boat to spectate. Here we have the police (foreground) telling some lost tourists (in the paddle-boat) that the "road is closed." You'll notice, in the background, that someone really smart has brought their couch on their boat, for more comfortable viewing.
As a result of this ingenious plan, all of the people you see here... and the stage... are standing only inches above the canal waters. You don't notice this at all when you're standing on the float, but when you sit on the edge of the canal with your feet on the float, you notice that it moves up and down quite a bit. Nonetheless, the jazz festival was great fun.
Speaking of having fun outside, Maggie and I decided to go to the beach! Well, almost. We went to a free, outdoor movie screening. There was sand under our feet and we sat in beach chairs, but it was COLD. I never thought I would need two sweaters, a down coat, a scarf, gloves, and a hat on an August night.
As you can see, this was a very popular event, despite the frigid weather. Plus, they stopped the movie in the middle for intermission - pizza, drinks, and the bathroom. It seemed like a Dutch thing to do.
Speaking of Dutch things...
This place sells... well... shirts, and cappuccino.
In this rather bad picture, you can see that the piano tuner at this expensive piano shop is tuning with a large glass of white wine.
This is the coolest juice I've ever seen... ''CoolBest: We keep it cool, you get the best!" Note also that the variety is "HAPPY Pomegranate."
Ah yes, and then back home. See the little pink and orange rug hanging out one of the windows? That's where I live!