Amsterdam: Day 7

Day 7-

Wednesday night I believe I stayed up once again. I actually kept lying down thinking I would sleep, but to no avail.
What a zombie life I lead. :)
Well, I stayed up until 5:30 at least, then fell asleep and woke up at 9am for about 15 minutes and since Eva was heading to the Doctor instead of going to class, I went back to sleep so I could wait for her to return and make sure everything was alright.
She woke up with intense pain in her kidneys, and the night before had said her lower back was hurting. :/ so, she returned around 11 I suppose and the doctor told her it was a possible infection from the cystitis she had developed. She is now on the antiobiotic Amoxocyllin for 5-7 days. I took amoxacyllin once for my impetigo and it just made me drowsy. I switched to erythromycin and have only used that antibiotic since, when I rarely have any symptoms of returning impetigo.
(Impetigo is a skin infection normally found in infants, haha, but can develop in teens and in very rare cases, adults. I got it at 16 once on my chin and had to wear bandages, ah the good old days of high school. I remember how i got it too, but that's another story for another day..)

So, she basically was still having these intense cramping of her intestines, kidneys or something of the like, she wasn't quite sure. She lied in bed all day, hoping to get better. While I, lazily, did the same. I know, I know, I should've taken advantage of all the things still on my list, but I just realized how exhausted I was and reminded myself I was on vacation. I should sleep! or relax! Or whatever the hell I want to do!
So, I made a mock version of my brothers famous jamaican beans and rice. Not much you can do without those spices...but it worked. I added some guacamole and toast.
Elena, this other student here from Espana, was cooking with me as well. She made her own meatballs, this dish from Spain she was telling me. Which she put into a soup she told me the name, I forgot again.
I showed her some brazilian music, Julia Car and Axial and she loved it.
We talked a lot about music, and school, she's majoring in Architectural Design.
And her home of Spain, food, all kinds of things. I also got to get back to work on my spanish since it was easier for her. I forgot how much I remembered, and how better I am at spanish than any other language besides english. It just falls back out of my mouth like I never forgot sometimes.
Her parents came to visit her a few days ago and brought some food from Spain she had missed, which she shared with me.
First thing, this specialty in her home town they make a dried fish, kind of like a fish jerky. It was very very good. she laughed because no one ever likes it she lets try.
The second was another dried fish, but different kind and different part of the fish, plus it tasted like it had been dried then smoked. The first kind was better than the second. This way to make it traditionally was to put tomato slices on top and drizzle olive oil over. She did this so i could have the real experience. :) Did i say that I love people? lol

I can't wait to visit Spain.

but seems now, my new plans for summer is Kauai. I need to get to Kauai!
I have 3 weeks before summer school. 2 of those I want to spend alone on the hot beach, in a eco-commune, eating coconuts everyday and never care about the time passing. I could also do this in Melbourne, Australia where Leondro is. He did say I could visit sometime...I am looking into flights at the moment.

Summer 2009 Kauai or Australia?
Winter 2009/Spring 2010 Budapest, Hungary
Spring Break 2010 Maybe Paris, or south of France
Graduate in May
Summer 2010 - India, Bali, Athens, Spain, Turkey, South Africa ....much much more

Ok back to the current blog.
where was I? food. music. dried fish. check on Eva.
talk to Salvatore to brush up on my Italiano, which is getting much worse. I keep forgetting tenses. ...
Went to the Alberthijn grocery for dinner and snack stuff.
had to get more money out of the ATM. I hope it didn't charge me a fee..
I got some soja ijs (soy ice cream) chocolate, worlot sap (carrot juice), pretzels, mixed nuts, chocolate bars for people when I return, fish sticks for dinner for Eva and I (cheapest thing i could find, now I'm realizing not to buy whatever I feel like- the euro is killing my pocket!).
I keep looking in the bier aisles looking, looking, looking, deciding whether or not to get a beer. I feel like I am in a place where they probably have better beer and it's pretty cheap and i can, and..and..bah! It's strange.
Being straightedge for so long, it's hard to look at an alcohol section with sincere interest. It's funny to me. I still don't feel 21, let alone feel like a person who drinks, or know what to drink, or anything about drinking. It's still weird for me. but, I know Alex said I should party while I'm here and do all the tasting I can, but I just can't find the sheer desire. I imagine drinking, the taste, and only am filled with ickiness.
Maybe only built up mental habit.
Anyway, I didn't get one.

Came back and Eva was feeling a bit better. So we chatted for a bit. It's good to be here with her. I know I haven't blogged much in the way of social interaction and catching up with this person I have known for 7 years, but I will do my best to captivate what I have begun to find again.

We both have changed, but in such a way that we still can relate. Although, she doesn't work the same I do on some things, but the kindred stays. Maybe, it's only because of the initial bond, that no matter what we still see it as something still existing, although literally it doesn't, because we are not those people anymore.
I dont know. it makes me miss Genesis a lot and I wish she were here to bask in this reunion.
it would somehow complete this trinity. Like a tripod missing a leg. The magic won't completely happen until the pinnacle is standing at its ultimate summit.
one day. Eva says she is coming to the U.S. in the summer time. First, to visit her ex-boyfriend in New Jersey. and then to California for lots of friends and maybe her parents come too. They are off in Nepal right now. I love her parents. They are quite amazing. I want one day to have that.
So, soon enough I will get to house Eva in Cotati. haha. and san francisco, My brother would be more than happy to let her stay in the spare room. Oh! what glorious times ahead!
and then Genesis, Eva and I can finally reunite all 3 of us after 7 years!
we can even find more stories we have long forgotten about, but need each other to remember. Like Eva reminded me I met her sister once, but i couldn't remember until she told me the story.

We left the house around 18:30 to make it to the Dance and Art Academy's first-year students' final recitals. Free. About 12 performance/modern dance pieces. Really good for first-year students. Just shows how good you have to be just getting in. I took some video footage of some good dance parts. Also, pictures and videos of us riding our bikes home.

So, then we got back and I got to meet some other girls Anna (1) and Emma, also students here from Spain.
Then they left, and these other kids from another student housing showed up. Anna (2), and a girl and a guy, i forgot their names. Elena also joined Eva and I in the kitchen as we ate our "ghetto" meal, as they called. fish stick with fresh-made guacamole and rice and beans from earlier. Thee and coffee. mmmm haha
Nothing like a university student's eating life.
Then we all head out to the Desmet.

The Desmet is a (event space) for an independent Radio Station that has really only free performances. They don't promote themselves in Amsterdam ever at all in papers or anything, so it stays small venue and only certain crowds know about it. Mostly, university housing. So students get on the reservation list. But of course, Eva, says she's miss procrastinator so she never got on the list. But it's ok! she says. lol She always goes the night of, and gets in anyway, with a smile.
Although, if you're not on the list and there is enough room, you can get in for 1 euro.
There is a bar and a coat check and a stage space. Also, the desk where the Dj's are talking live on the air, etc. They always have new bands every week, and only open from 22:00 - 01:00. They also film all the performances for their online station. If only KSUN could be this cool.
Anyway, there is a favorite singer of Eva and Elena's "Nneka". She is originally from south africa, but grew up in Germany. She really was amazing singer and musician. Really good stuff. Then this electro punk band, Elle Bandito came on. They were ok. few songs were rad to rock out to, but i dont know, very strange stuff. All in English, but she spoke between songs only in Dutch. very weird. her dutch sounded crazy. I had no idea what she said the whole time.

During the set changed, we all come to this knowledge that Anna and I have the same size hands, fingers, and wrists. Amazing! No one ever has such small hands or wrists! So it was very very cool to see this and compare how identical our hands were. lol. I took pictures, you will all see very soon. It was incredible, if you have ever seen how tiny my wrist is, you will get this emphasis.

By then, it was midnight and we all had early mornings, So we left.
On the walk back, we talked about accents. Elena thinks I have a very interesting and comforting way of speaking. She said she listens to these other american girls staying in the housing and it's hard for her to pay attention because the tone and rhythmic sense in which they speak is boring, repetitive and exactly the same. They use 'like' too much and not talk about anything that seem important to hear, she says. Then she imitates my rhythm , it was so cute!. She said I use emphasis in good places, use my hands, have dramatic passion, and make it interesting for her to listen to me.. Her english is very good too, even though she doesn't think so.
Then I imitated all the american dialects I know for them, and Anna and Elena were cracking up, but only because I think they just thought I sounded funny. and Eva says they probably don't get it the way we do because they have never been to America. Either way, it was funny.
I packed for Paris and stayed up basically all night, never laying down because I didn't want to miss my train.
So, I left around 5:30 or something. Biked to Centraal Station and jumped on my train to Paris at 6am. I really only slept one hour on this train, otherwise watching as I traveled through Antwerpen, Bruxxeles, and some small towns in France before Paris.
I saw these horses that I swear resembled the exact representation of this horses we see in Beauty and The Beast the disney movie. So, french horses are so delicately adorable. like giant ponies. :) So cute. I also saw sheep, cows, ducks, no pigs though :( lol
I will finish my Paris blog next time.
Au revoir,

B the G