I AMsterdam

Just got back from my first weekend trip to Amsterdam! Mostly everyone in my program and the other program in Lux with Miami went there for the first weekend, so we were all traveling in huge heard through the train stations. We had to go through Brussels, which is confusion because there were so many of us trying figure it out and stay together. We arrived in Amsterdam and it was very hard to try and find out hostel, but many of the people there were helpful and spoke English. Our hostel was actually pretty nice, we all shared a room the 7 of us so we didn’t have to worry about our stuff getting stolen or being with weird people which was very nice. It was also very well located, because it was right near the train station, which had all the trams going from. It was very hectic though because there are three different parts to the street, there is the car section, the rail/tram section, bike section, and then sidewalk. It was confusing because they were constantly crossing over each other and the people on the bikes did not stop if you step in their section. Our first day we went to the Heineken Museum which was very well done, they had a lot of interactive sections where you could take pictures, put your name on a bottle, and even learned how to taste the different ingredients in the beer. Although we got on the wrong train heading back, we actually ended up being able to go to this huge music festival/protest sort of thing in the main park. They were playing techno and a bunch of young people were hanging out, it was a great spot to people watch and look at the different people of Netherlands, and their fashion. We also went on a walking tour. It was interesting because the guide took us through the red light district and explained how it all works legally and with the government, as well as the legalization of marijuana. Looking at it from a sociology major, must just be always in my mind now ha, It began to make more sense why Amsterdam is still able to thrive and does not have high rates for illegal drug use, stds, or crime, when things become so strongly restricted its only human nature to rebel and want to go against crime. If the government is able to regulate the use of weed and prostitution they are able to watch it more carefully without having the citizens trying to hide it, and that is when it becomes more dangerous.
My meals have been carbs and cheese basically, bread in the morning, bread, cheese and tomatoes for lunch, and pizza for dinner. The last day in Amsterdam we were able to go to a nice sit down restaurant in the park and I got a very good Caesar salad with salmon and a fried eye which was kind of weird, but good. I moved out of my old host house this morning and then after classes I will be moving into my new one, so I will keep you updated.