Day 2 - Amsterdam

We had a great day today. We made our way to Keukenhof, a place where they grow flowers, mainly tulips. There is a sort of theme part that shows all of these flowers, it was rather amazing. I didn’t know exactly what to expect and I had high hopes. It greatly exceeded my expectations and I’m very happy I went. While Jackie did some recording, I was taking pictures, lots of them. They turned out pretty good too. The only weird thing that came out was the red, and I hope it’s not because I have my camera set on “Landscape” mode. I had fresh strawberries with whipped cream, and an authentic brautworst, it was pretty good, although the bun was a bit small and it would have taken two buns to fit the thing. Luckily, the guy cut in half and Jackie and I each had a half. We ended up staying for about 3 hours, 1 of which was used to doze off under a monstrous tree on velvety soft grass; it was serene. I could have slept for hours, it was Alice’s Wonderland for sure.

I still can’t believe that I’m here, it still hasn’t registered. I guess more than anything I feel like I’m just on a short vacation and things are going be back to normal soon. This is not the case however, and it only about to get worse. Although our living conditions will be mildly okay, that of the Ugandans will not be, nor will their hygiene, among other things. We have seen Amsterdam and have deemed it a rat hole, as far as the inner-city goes of course. Is it fun? Absolutely. Would I want to stay long, most definitely not. It’s a place you come to for no more than a week, visit all of the cool parks, museums, and shops and then get the hell out. It’s a sleazy slime bag of a place, one full of perversion and drugs. While the people are nice an willing to help, it’s not the best environment. As I write, I have a tiny bit of a headache. I’m not sure if that from all of the nicotine and weed I breathed in today, or my lack of caffein; lets hope for the latter.

We moved hostels today. We only stayed in the first one, Bob’s Youth Hostel, for the first night as the other nights were booked and have since moved to Meetingpoint Youth Hostel. It seems to be cleaner and more well kept. The price is about 2.50 but no breakfast. Regardless, it’s a bit cheaper. Luckily I’ve had WiFi in both buildings, something I didn’t count on but was hopeful of. It has aloud me to communicate with my family which is so great.

Today was a pretty funny day, full of laughs at the flower park. We came back to town and walk around a little bit. I did a little bit of shopping after my grandpa told me to spend some money and get some souvenirs, and also to try and send something to the girls. I bought a couple of post cards at the flower park, I’ll get those sent of tomorrow, they should enjoy that.

Ashley got in to town today and has been staying with a guy named Ian; the “I” says like it’s pronounced. He came over later in the evening after she had arrived, he was pretty cool. Ashley is participating in something called couch surfing. A program where people volunteer space in their home for people to come and stay, random people. For Ashley is has turned out to be a great experience, as this isn’t her first time doing it. We went out and found a thing called a “Squat,” an abandoned building turned bar. When the building is abandoned and no one takes it over for a year, people are legally aloud to go in and claim the property and turn it into whatever they want. The drinks are cheaper at squats. Ian bought us a drink. I had vodka...haha, just kidding. I had a Coke as did Ashley. Jackie stuck with water because they didn’t have “light” also known as “diet.” Ian proceeded to have a beer. It was a different atmosphere that a regular bar. You could call it a ghetto bar, yes, with ghetto people inside. People otherwise rejected in public seens (from my observations.)

We went to Burger King for a late dinner. I had two burgers (kids), a med fry, and a small 10 oz shake thing. It case me 6.50 euros, also known as EXPENSIVE in USD. Oh man, I’m so done spending money here, it makes me sick. Our dollar is just horrible.

I’m not sitting on my bed typing in my journal. We are on the fourth floor of Meetingpoint Youth Hostel. I’m on the top bunk of bed #11 and I’m looking out the window down to the streets of Amsterdam. It’s quite a seen. It has settled down a lot, but there is still commotion and will continue to be for a couple of hours I’m sure.