I can't sleep. Like always.
it is 3am in the Netherlands.
I tried.
So, I guess I will fill in on my last two days while I have time :)
As for Saturday night I never went clubbing. We went downstairs to hang out with Eva's friend Kylie from SF, and Diana from Santa Cruz, and Suzie from Ireland. This is a foreign exchange student housing for the Amsterdam Fashion Institute.
We were trying to stay up till 3am to watch Kylie's cousin get married on a webcam in Las Vegas. Very silly. haha Then, their R.A., Martin came by. He just returned from his trip to Groningen I believe. Had very cool stories to tell.
But Eva and Lucas still wanted to go to the club, so I stayed chillin with the girls.
No one lasted. So I went upstairs around 230am and tried to sleep.
But then, I will make this vague, I am woke up by sounds. Sounds I don't need to hear after having severe jet lag.
These go on for a good hour. At one point Lucas comes in from the hallway to grab something from his bag, I assume protection.
ughhhhhhhh talk about annoying. Anyway, finally they went to bed and then I fell back asleep.
Next morning, Eva never even says a word. I guess she assumed I was asleep. I let her keep that assumption.
So we woke up Sunday, just in time to catch the boat with Martin. His boat is named Penelope. We boated around Amsterdam for an hour or so. Very cool. So many canals, and he had lots of cool stories. Also, another student Laura, came with us. She's from Germany, but I forgot where.
We got back, made lunch, and rode our bikes to nieuwmarkt (a flea market for souvenir goodies). I didn't find anything, but I did see a really cool duo playing music. A woman singing and playing accordion and a man playing some random instrument that I couldn't name!!! drive me crazy!
So we biked again around, took pictures, went to the Bibliotheek (library) which is 7 floors. :D with a great view at the top. We got some food there in the cafe at the top floor. They kindly without a word or a smirk or anything, made me an amazing pizza with no cheese. mmmmmmm I love dutch people. and I took pictures.
Had a cafe, bad idea. After 8pm, coffee is no good.
But I didn't know that - yet. So we head out to this club, Korsakoff at Lijnbaansgracht.
On the way she took me through Red Light District. Very Strange to see tourist men goggling like a kid in a candy store, a legal candy store. haha like some women had a line outside their doors. Eva laughs and tells me, "Oh, they all want that one, i see".
I dont know, it's interesting. Apparently, she doesn't understand because they're all really pretty and it doesn't make sense to her why they are in there. "like they look like all models" she says. She makes a point. All I'm wondering is if they have lesbian prostitutes....bad Bob.
So we move on.
We find the Dam. There is a Faire happening in the center of the Dam, she says it comes like every few months. They're always around in Germany too apparently.
So we rode the really high swings ride. AMAZING VIEW of Amsterdam. Worth the 4.50 euro.
Then we finally make it to the Korsakoff club.
Not as cool as we expect. Free entry, but lots of goth kids. lol
So we went next door to this bar. Mela mao or something.Had a halfpint of tap beer, pretty gross. But Eva likes light beer...ick.
We return because Eva is sleepy.
So, of course we get back and I can't sleep.
Drink some tea. nothing.
So, I'm up writing blogs, uploading pictures into facebook. talking to Jesus, Sadie, anyone awake in America...it's 6am..I decide to lie down.
still no sleep. email people in Paris for a place to stay,.......
still awake as if I had drank a coffee a minute ago....
I'm swearing off coffee the rest of my trip. Bad Europe. haha
So its morning. Eva finally wakes up and we go to breakfast downstairs outside on the patio along the water. few other students are there because the R.A.'s had a breakfast party.
I chose to be polite over diet, this time.
I guess I'll save my morals of traveling for another blog.
They served pastries. the only ones I wouldn't eat were the one with meat inside them (inside? ew)
Lots of juice and tea. and now...I'm getting a cold.
a cold. A rotten, crummy, jet-lagged, no sleep, not eating enough, going on carnival rides really high up in the cold night air, eating goat cheese out of politeness and little bit starvation, oh hell no!, I'm in europe! - COLD!
No way to stop it. I tried. I took the emergenC, the 8 cloves of raw garlic. gypsy cold care tea with lemon and honey and fresh ginger x 10, hot steam, preceding lots of rest and gargling water, drinking water upon gallons of water and I'm still sick.
nooooooooooooooooo!
ok I'm done ranting.I'm on vacation. :)
So, we ate breakfast and I met this beautiful amazing girl named Regina Kiss.
:D
She is from Hungary and she plays the clarinet. She is 24 and is (almost) just as interested in music as I am! WHAT?! yes. I think we will be really good friends. She has invited me to come to Hungary anytime to stay with her Family. I showed her a whole lot of music and she showed me more. We spent 5 hours talking. YAY!
I also met an awesome girl named Lisa Klein from Vienna, Austria. She told me how boring her city is and how much she loves to be in Amsterdam. haha. Wow. Anyway...
This other guy from Canada was there too but I forgot his name due to my conversations with Regina.
Basically everyone started to leave after awhile. I think anyone who can stand talking to me for 5 hours just about music, is a keeper!
We talked about Hungarian music, old folk tunes, Liszt, Bartok, Márta Sebestyén (the composer of The English Patient), Kodály, Ligeti, and the Brahms' Hungarian Dances. She said her home wind ensemble had to play Hungarian Dance 5 every time they go somewhere, the crowd just begs for it. So she can;t hear it anymore because she's played it so many times. Especially in Italy. lol
well to move on, haha, only because i should. :)
Then I ate a Curry Sambosa and took a 4 hour nap. Woke up at 8pm and went to the common room to watch a Czech film with some other students. It was fantastic! I want to find this film and buy it immediately. Hilarious, but sad at the end. It follows 3 families in Czechoslovakia before the Russians invaded. up till that time and is dedicated to the people who stayed in Czech when their friends, families, lovers ran. (thats how the movie put it). I forgot the name, but I will find it. >>>It's called Pelíšky.
Then we go back upstairs, I'm still sick. we make soup. mmm nummy soup.
Lots of garlic, ginger, potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, noodles, veg broth, water, salt pepper, yellow bell pepper. :)
more steam. then sleep. all night!
I wake up Monday, basically yesterday, around 10, all groggy, still sick. go back to sleep till 1130am.
shower. email. found a couch to stay on in Paris for friday night. buy my train ticket 100Euro roundtrip. 4 hours. hell yea.
Heat up soup, more garlic this time. tea. water.
eat outside.
Then I'm feeling kind of better, but I still bundle up. It's pretty warm out, but I still wore my russian hat haha.
We biked to the Waterlooplein flea market area and it was closed. Still easter weekend. Over here, they celebrate it 3 days: Sat, sun, mon.
So, we walked around a bit took pictures. went to the grocery store for food, I got rice milk, bread, cashew butter (so cheap here!), lemon ginger tea, more honey, vegetables, curry sauce, etc.
Came back, dropped off groceries, relaxed and went back out to De Negen Straatjes. (the nine streets). Shopping. etc.
Mostly window shopping.
way too expensive. I was just looking for souvenirs. But I found a cute shirt and then some gifts for people when I return. Still am looking for Alex the Girl's glass pipe request. The one she had from France broke a year ago, so she asked me if I could grab her one.
My one shopping spree item: Jeans. ahhh I want european jeans. lol my favorite ones from Italia have stretched out, from all my constant, imbalanced weightloss. :(
Still havent found the right ones. I won't go over 30euro either.
It's proving difficult.
we biked through many areas, saw some Capoeira dancers and cute old dutch ladies sitting on a porch smoking cigarettes wearing sundresses with their legs open hahaha such a sight.
We head home. I lead the last 3 turns, to make sure iI could find the way back myself.
We made curry with jasmine rice. I had also, garlic toast, rice milk.
it was about 10pm. Music while Eva did some HW, and I just lazed about on the internets until I realized I couldn't sleep. and now I'm writing this blog. Which,
in the beginning started out in a much sadder place. So I'm glad that I took this turn instead of pouting through tossing and turning.
What I initially forgot to mention was what brought about my claim on silence.
I had a short dream, which the awakening from the dream brought upon the insomnia.
I dreamt that 2 men were before me barely holding the edge of a cliff and I could only save one.
1. maxi
2. my molester
Of course, I didn't really want to save both. (and by both I mean Jason) But the dream wasn't about thinking this through, the dream was fast. I reached out for Maxi's hand and he swatted me away. He stared me down. Stubbornly, he refused to be saved and fell to his death without a single sound. Just silence.
And I thought to myself, why am I leaving his scarf in Paris?
Do I need to rid myself of this last remaining material I have left of him to be done for good? or will more just seep in?
Will it really show that no matter what, posessions or not, I cannot, or have not let go.
and why would keeping an actual warm scarf mean anything, I could put it back in storage for another 9 months. but what again, of me finding it and searching for smells long since faded pulling me back into childish dreams.
Who know what will be done. We will see when I actually arrive in Paris.
Until more,
"La vérité vaut bien qu'on passe quelques années sans la trouver "
Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it. - Renard
C'est la vie!
Au revoir,
B the G
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