Are you getting somewhere, or did you get lost in Amsterdam?

el 18 de noviembre del 2008

So this weekend I went to Amsterdam to meet up with Jenn and much of the German IEP crew to celebrate Jenn's Birthday and to have an all around IEP Reunion type gathering. So my story goes like this:

Thursday. I'm supposed to be studying all day for my exam on Tuesday but I'm way too excited about the weekend that is close at hand. I leave Santander via Bus to Bilbao to catch my plane. Problem #1: My flight is at 7:30 am, but the only bus I could find that would get me there before then (my other option being arriving in Bilbao at 7:30 itself) was the 10pm bus. So I got into the Bilbao bus terminal promptly at 11:30pm. Problem #2: Public transportation has already shut down. I've been to Bilbao before and sort of know where I'm going, but can't walk all the way to the airport so I hop a taxi. Problem #3: The airport is fucking far away. 20 euro and 20 minutes later I arrive. Problem #4: The taxi driver warns me, and I ignore him out of blatant hope that he's wrong, that the airport, in fact, closes overnight and will be doing so in about an hour. My hopes of sleeping somewhere inside were crushed. My fears of sleeping outside on a bench in the cold were very much realized. Problem #5: The airport doesn't re-open until 5am. It's now 12:30am.

So after 3 hours of very cold, uncomfortable sleep I awake and stumble into the airport and get to my terminal in plenty of time. My flight gets delayed an hour due to fog in Frankfurt, but after that hings ran a little more smoothly. I made friends with some really cool Americans who also, as it turns out, were heading to Amsterdam for the weekend. Side note: They are studying in Bilbao as part of a third party travel group called ISA. For those of you who remember, this was the organization I went to Costa Rica with. I was excited. Anyways, so we fly into Frankfurt, catch our re-scheduled flights, and take off for Amsterdam. I sat next to one of the Americans, Allen, and we had a nice chat on the flight. We parted ways in the airport after some last name exchanging for later Facebook adventures and I began my search for Jenn. My search ended quite quickly when she strolled out of the bathroom next to my terminal. I guess she had also been looking for me.

So now we were together, and had a good 5 hours until the Germans arrived. What to do? ;) We decided that we would head downtown and enjoy some typical Amsterdam culture. Well, after trying to buy a map of downtown to use for the weekend, we were told we were not actually in Amsterdam, and needed to take the train. Note: Warwick::Providence as Schipol::Amsterdam. (Yea SAT's). Anyways, so we got downtown and afer grabbing a quick bite we started walking around. We accidentally (seriously) stumbled upon the Red Light District, and while there stopped at Cannibas College. They have website. Look it up. They don't sell drugs, that's illegal. It's nothing more than an information institute, and a good one at that. So with all of our new information we took off and spent the 2 hours we had to wait in a local coffee shop. Eventually we met the Germans at our hostel outside of town, and then returned to town to further enjoy the local scene. We hopped to one or two different places, but it was already rather late and we wanted to rest up for Saturday so we turned in.


Saturday we awoke rather early (9am-ish) showered, ate, and headed towards the Anne Frank house. The line was all sorts of long, and we decided that waiting would ruin the rest of the morning and afternoon so we opted to head straight to the Van Gogh Museum instead. It was far away, but we wanted to do some walking around and also wanted some lunch and make some stops along the way. So we did. It was delightful actually. Highlights include the Sex Museum and in general the architecture of Amsterdam. Note: Santander experienced a huge fire several years ago and as such the historic part of town was burned down. So I don't get to see that "typical" European architecture that you would normally expect. We finally arrived at the Van Gogh Museum after a couple hours of walking around, souvenir shopping, etc. The Museum itself was very nice indeed. Some of the art didn't really do much for me, but there were a couple pieces that I really enjoyed. We looked for prints in the gift shop, but the selection was limited. After we left the Museum, we all headed out to dinner at this nice little Italian place. It was really nice to sit down at dinner with all of those people again. REALLY nice. I am very thankful to Jenn for calling us together for this. I'm glad it was Amsterdam, but it could have been any city in Europe; I was just happy to see my friends again.

So after dinner we went out and enjoyed more of the local culture, including a nice leisurely walk in the Red Light District. We eventually mosied home and I said my goodbye's because I had an early flight and the Germans were all taking the train in the afternoon. So I departed, happy to have spent such a wonderful weekend with my buddies and having enjoyed Amsterdam thoroughly. I'd like to return, though, and see some of the museums that I couldn't make it too, and the parks as well. I might go back in the Spring when it's not as rainy and cold.

The flight home was easy. I was delighted to find an All Organic Café in the airport in Munich, and enjoyed myself a beer and a coffee. The rest of the trip home went smoothly. I hopped a bus from Bilbao to Santander, and got home around 8 or 9ish.

Overall: Damn good weekend, and I'm very glad I went. I can't wait for my next set of travel plans which seems to be not this weekend but the next one, when we'll be heading to Barcelona. I don't travel internationally again until the Holidays, but man I'll be all over the place: London (1 week), Prague (3-4 days including New Years), Vienna (2-3 days), and Italy (1 week).


I can't wait!

Tan pronto,
Andrew
Santander, ESP

No witty title this time. Sorry.

el 12 de noviembre de 2008

First note: new blog setup. There wasn't enough green in the other one. Seriously, that was my main motivation. I like the new one.

Moving on:

Since Halloween, several things have happened. In general: classes continue to go well. My social life has settled down a little bit, but for a couple of reasons. I got really wrapped up in some school work because, for once, I am actually interested in my subject matter. The class I am specifically referring to is International Social Law. My grade is based on two papers that I have to write, each on one topic chosen from a list of four. For the first paper, due one week from Wednesday actually, I elected to write about International Organizations. For those who keenly remember, this subject interests me very much. Between my work with Invisible Children and S4S and my considerations towards NGOs and the Peace Corps as post-graduation options, I was excited to investigate. I wasn't let down, and found the material to surprise me and change my opinion, attitudes, and overall thought process on what constitutes an international organization and what goes into it. In any case, I got into all the reading I was doing, but it's a lot of work and as such I've been working a lot to get it done.

In addition, I have an exam/second paper due next week as well, the day before the Law paper. This I was NOT excited about. Two papers and one exam in the same week means something isn't gong to get done. Well, luckily today Cory and I approached that professor and got an extension. The conversation went very much like this:
Cory: Professor, we were wondering if it might be possible to have an extension, because we're having difficulty with the language and trying to get everything done (etc etc)
Prof: Sure. Just hand it in after Christmas break.

Note: That's about 2 months from now. "Small" extension haha. So that helped ease my work load.

On to the other exciting thing about that extension: now I can fully enjoy and appreciate this upcoming weekend which will be spent in Amsterdam for Jenn's 21st. I'm wicked excited. I get to see a bunch of the IEP people from back home and in Amsterdam no less. It should be amazing.

Which brings me to another recent development: I've packed almost every weekend I possibly could with a trip to somewhere. I finalized my New Year's Eve/Following couple days plans, and besides that planned a couple other trips with some friends around Spain. The mere notion of knowing that I'm taking a trip really helps me get through those cabin fever bouts that I've had the past couple weeks. They came up often. Either tension with class, stress, a little bit of homesick... all of that comes from just sitting around every day in the apartment. It rained for the past two weeks as well, so I couldn't even really go outside. So the travel plans really help. Plus I'm finally getting to see Europe!!!

Another fun development is the job that I had (we'll get to that) downstairs in the cafe/bar. It's amazing. The bar is really small, really laid back, and the regulars and other employees are all really nice and also very laid back. To be honest, if I ever get to open my own cafe/bar that I've been pseudo-dreaming about, it would be very much like this one. The owner was really cool about me working there. They weren't even looking for people; I was just in there one day and went up to him and said "Hey, I'd like to work here. I've tended bar before. Call me if you could use me." And he did. I worked last week and it was really really fun. It's a great way to practice my Spanish and put a little bit of cash in my pocket. So anyways, the past tense is being used because I actually quit the job today. I went down and talked with the owner and told him it was just one too many things on my plate right now. He was really nice and wanted me to stay, and said we might be able to work something out for a schedule, even with all the dates I need off (the main reason for my quitting) and I truly considered it. However, I quickly brought to mind the past two semesters I had at URI. I drove myself crazy trying to do everything I possibly could at the same time. I wasn't going to let myself get into that position again, especially not when I could be enjoying myself in Europe. So as I was ready to take off he mentioned that if I wanted to host any parties there that I could, as long as it wasn't a million random Erasmus kids. I told him I had some ideas for some smaller parties and it would mostly be me and my friends. I'm excited to see if he's cool with it. Having a bar offer itself as your personal party-host for NO fee is a pretty sweet deal. So I hope that works out.

So anyways, I dropped a job, I'm doing lots of schoolwork, I'm getting psyched to do some traveling, and I'm on the winning side of the tail end of a cold. All in all, I'm still doing alright out here. Which is good. Also, Cory's mom sent us Flintstone vitamins.

For the win.

Hasta pronto,
Andrew
Santander, ESP

Halloween Part II

el 2 de noviembre de 2008

So facebook photos are in-accessible due to privacy settings. As such, upon request...





This was my Halloween Costume. Yep. There are lots more but I'd have to download them all and it will take me a while to search through them. Anyways, there ya go.

More soon,
Andrew
Santander, ESP

Halloween

el 1 del noviembre de 2008

So last night was amazing. After class got out at 2, we had lunch and then all rendezvoused at the bazaar-type store up the street to throw together some costumes. My original costume idea was to be Shaggy from Scooby Doo, but I was pretty sure nobody was going to get it. Also I would need a stuffed Scooby Doo for sure, and had no clue where to obtain one. In any case, I was going to roll with it. Well we get to the bazaar and start walking around looking for ideas. Cory and I pass through one of the clothing aisles and we happen to spot some flamenco dancer costumes. Female ones. For young girls. Well, luckily (luckily? interesting concept here...) they had one that was meant for an 18 year old girl. Well, the limits of this costume were about to be tested by a 21 year old boy. I was a little unsure about the costume at first, but quickly, with some help from the company present at the time, calmed my fears and started getting really into the costume. After I found the wig, beads, flowers, and Cory found me stockings I was ready to go. Cory found his costume, which was really impresive on his part in terms of imagination. He went as a sandwich sign, and had people sign his board all night. It was amazing in a lot of ways, but mostly when people we didn't know just walked up and signed the board.

So we headed home to prepare/create our costumes. My dress had to be cut in one or two spots at the waist in order to fit over my shoulders. My final costume involved an amply stuffed bra, wig, flowers, dress, stockings... and flip flops. They were the only black shoes I had haha. Cory put together his costume like a pro, and after a quick dinner everyone met at our place to head out.

The plan for the night was to meet all the Erasmus kids at the Celtic Tavern for a couple drinks before heading to Tempo for the real party. Well, we were the first ones to the party at the Celtic Tavern. By first, I mean the first ones from the Erasmus group. Which meant that the bar was full... just not full of anyone we knew, or anyone in costume, and I was in a dress. I felt exposed. After a couple beers and a shot of Jameson we felt much better. After a little while more Erasmus people showed up, some in costume, and some of the locals began showing up in costumes as well. We hung out there for a while and eventually headed to Tempo around 1ish (I think).

Side note: Celtic Tavern is my new favorite bar in Santander. This place is so amazing. The decorations last night were off the hook, there are always specials for the parties with gifts and such, and the people there are really cool. This is also the place that I met that professional photographer who I was chatting with. He's the guy who met and did the photo shoot for Bruce Springstein when he came to Spain.

Moving on, Tempo is where things got interesting. I remember dancing with lots and lots of random people. I remember lots of people touching my breasts. Sadly, I remember one dude slapping my ass. Yea. We were all pretty shitfaced. I also remember taking a million pictures with people I don't even know (and some with people I did know). My costume went over pretty well, haha. Cory's also went over really well, and we both won prizes in the costume competition. Sweet! Free t-shirt and drink, although at that point I really didn't need another drink. Oh well. But yea, it was really amazing. Cory and I both noted, though, how funny it is that we know for a fact that there will be hundreds** of photos of us on Facebook that we will never be able to see because we have no clue who these people are. May or may not be for the best, considering how I was dressed.

After we left Tempo, rather, after Tempo closed we all headed to the rain filled street to find some Doner Kebab before heading home. It was ridiculous. The people at that poor restaurant must either really love of absolutely hate 5:30am. So the night ended there. Cory and I made it home fine, Amanda called me about 5 minutes after I had drunkenly stumbled into bed to have me come buzz her in (forgot her keys) and then I passed the hell out.

What a night though. I remember George saying, at several points in the night, "I love our friends!" etc etc about our costumes and how crazy we all were. It made me feel really bittersweet about the whole thing. I wish my first inclination had been to think "Yea! We really are awesome, and I'm so lucky to have found this amazing people to spend my time abroad with" but that was my second though. My first thought was "Wow. I have to leave these people in a couple months." It was strange. I didn't jump into any depressing mood swings or anything, but I just thought "Wow. If I had these friends back in RI they'd be just like my friends there now: we would all be inseparable and do all we could to see each other often etc." But it's different here. It's different being an American. We would have to cross an ocean. The Europeans can hop on Ryan Air for 40euro round trip and spend a whole weekend with each other. Now, I'm not saying that this is going to stop me, or, for sure, that I won't stay in contact with these people. All I'm saying is that it is just really weird making such strong friendships with people who essentially live on the other side of the world. This does two things to me: the first I already mentioned, in that it makes me sad to think about leaving. But the second is that it makes me ever SO excited to stay in contact with these people when I leave. And even MORE excited, a year or two or three down the road, when we visit each other in our home countries. Or maybe even a rendezvous in Santander. Who knows!

Now I said this when I was in Costa Rica, that I couldn't wait to stay in touch and talk and visit etc. And to be honest, I've lost contact with everyone. Only about a week or two ago did I get another facebook message from my group of friends from the trip about what we were up to and how we were doing. Spain, I feel, is very much different. One year is so much more time to make a deeper friendship than I had in the 5 weeks I was in Costa Rica. Which makes me even more excited about the friendships already developing.

A couple quick notes:
-Purchased my plane tickets for Christmas in London and New Years in Prague. Wicked excited!!
-Purchased plane tickets for Jenn's birthday in Amsterdam in November. That weekend will be nuts.
-Remembered that I have two papers and an exam the week after that weekend in Amsterdam.
-...
-doh!

That's all for now. As always, I miss you all and hope that you are all doing well back home. I hope the leaves have turned the beautiful colors that I know they can.

Happy November.

Tan pronto,
Andrew
Santander, ESP


**Note: "hundreds" of pictures is a gross exaggeration. Well, maybe not. It is Facebook.