It's been too long!

Amsterdam, tourists

 EVERYWHERE.

Laverne and her beautiful kids, Kimmy and Victor.

The Ruhr area, 

steelmill.

Benji Hughes! And the cool bassist.

The government "eco" building, 

Germany.

So sorry dear fans, I know you have greatly missed my witty repartie! Well, maybe not. But I'm back and ready to attack. Let me catch you up on a few things...

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before we (Krystle, Ahinara, and I) headed to Amsterdam to hang out with Krystle's family friend Laverne, who has 2 super cute toddlers with a man named Arnold. They live in a cute area near the center, in an amazing house from the late 1700's that they are redoing. After a brief walk around the city, in which I once again fell in love with Dutch life, lights over canals, and candles in windows, we headed back to Laverne's house for a "cooking club" with traditional mexican food. Guac, some sort of pork baked in banana leaves, homemade tortillas, chicken mole, FLAN, and of course....hand squeezed margaritas!!! 

It was an amazing experience....2 from the Caribbean, 1 from Spain, 2 Dutch men, 2 Americans, and 1 Mexican woman who has lived in Amsterdam for 11 years. Her name is Blanca, and she has one of the most amazing spirits of anyone I've ever met. Like a mother, best friend, sister, and saint combined in one human. Who can speak perfect english, spanish, and dutch. I don't know what it was, but she just had this air about her that you couldn't help but notice, and it was so infectious. I hope I can leave that kind of impression on someone someday...

Sunday we were pooped and it was pouring rain, so we stayed in and cuddled under blankets while watching and eating Chocolat. Johnny Depp on a rainy day can never be wrong :) It was nothing fantastic, but I think it is one of those days that I'll remember forever...maybe being in an actually house, surrounded by good people, good food, and good vibes, or just a chance to get away from school and be really carefree.

Monday morning we had to be at the Central Station super early to head to the "Ruhr" region of Germany for our regional economy class. I was ready for it to be terrible, but we had a bus drive us around to see these old steel mills that have been renovated. One is a museum that you can tour, which was stunningly gorgeous in the rain. They use old pieces as playground equipment, installed a giant slide, and even teach rock climbing. They also have an amphitheater for big shows, and a giant old gas storage tank used to teach people to scuba dive....pretty crazy! The other one was on a much bigger plot of land, also as a museum but with a pool during the summer, and ice skating during the winter. Some of the buildings were designed by Bauhaus, and it is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. We also saw some cool eco buildings that use only solar power and steam from the ground for power. Its like bio dome....with apartments, a gym, a library, classrooms, etc. Its a government building for "teaching" apparently. Anywho, they're trying to revive all these areas and I think they did a fantastic job.

Then on Thursday, Meryl and I randomly tagged along with Guri and Ditte for a girl's trip to Amsterdam to see  a concert at Melkweg, and it was one of the BEST I've been to. The opener, Benji Hughes, is probably a little bit insane, but thats why I liked him. He has a huge beer belly, ripped clothes, a beard like ZZ Top, and a voice like an angel! I think he was much better live than his recorded music, but he was so versatile, if I closed my eyes I could picture him singing a million different songs. Anyway, he opened for Jenny Lewis, who is most famous for singing with Rilo Kiley. She was definitely channeling Janis Joplin, but she has an amazing voice, and her band was right on with everything. She is dating one of the guys, Jonathan Rice, who was actually in the movie Walk the Line, and his music is also pretty fantastic. It was so cool to be in a foreign place, with a crazy language, but everyone came together because they like her music, and it didn't feel like I was so far away from home. 

I had a very, very lazy weekend involving lots of laying in bed and watching movies instead of doing homework, and I definitely think I was a little depressed. Not by anything in particular, but no motivation to do anything or talk to anyone, and I don't know why. But Saturday I had coffee with some girlfriends, and then we headed to our Dutch classmate Emiel's house for a "cocktail party" which was one of the best nights of my life! I met a lot of new people, and had some good conversations and got some dancing in. Just what I needed :) They like to party late though, so my friend Adelija and I didn't leave until 6am! But once in a while is completely normal in my opinion!

Lazy days again on Sunday and Monday, and we are on break this week so there is not much to do, and a lot of people are out of town, exploring the world. Meryl and I met up with 2 of the Danish guys, Mads and Jesper, at the Irish pub, Mick O'Connels. Cheap beer, fun music. And people kept riding by dressed as pirates, and then a group of people dressed as carrots. Weird... We decided to head out and when the Cafe Belgie, that has over 200 beers from everywhere in the world...heaven, you could say. It's very popular and usually really crowded, but because of the break it was sort of empty, and we ended up leaving and heading to the Nieuwde (most likely spelled wrong...), a big square in the center. But it was also empty! We just kept riding along, and ended up at this really cozy small bar, and continued the good conversations. I learned some new Danish phrases to prepare myself for next semester, and then when this big old man who had a smashed face like a bulldog came over and started 'politely' insulted the intelligence of both Americans and the Danish, we knew it was time to go. Plus, it was almost 4am. I think I have officially achieved nocturnal owl status. Thanks mom! :)

Last but not least, I'm off to MADRID tomorrow to stay with Leah for the weekend!!!! I can't wait. It just started raining here again, and I'm hoping Spain will be better. I'm so excited, and will report will all the details when I get back.

Smooches!

PS....Im sending in my absentee ballot request tomorrow, so wish me luck that I will have time to vote for the big O-meister!!

PPS...Happy birthday again, Brother bear!! Love you :D