Quote of the day

"Congress was briefed,and what we did was fully authorized under the law. And the disclosure of this program is disgraceful. We're at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the United States of America, and for people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it, does great harm to the United States of America." - President Bush

This quote is so perfectly Orwellian it's almost funny.

I am going to miss Bushisms when he leaves the office. That's probably the only thing I'll miss.

Where are the tulips?

They've probably gone hiding under the marijuana bushes.

Anyway, this morning I woke up and was itching to go to the museum, so I did. The Rijksmuseum, supposedly the biigest in Amsterdam, is underconstruction. Nevertheless, what it lack in quantity it makes up in quality. Rembrandt's works are displayed among contemporaries such as Johannes Vermeer and Jan Lievens. Although I've seen one of Rembrandt's self-portrait at the Met, I was more amazed by his self-portraits when they are displayed in a series, starting at the age of 22. Then, he had a dreamy, almost innocent look in his eyes, with the features a little blurred. As he ages, his expression becomes more intense, and sometimes with passiveness and perhaps agony. I also saw a beautiful sculpture of cupid, with dainty wings, curly, intricately carved hair, and an index finger pointed to his supple lips to quiet down the observer, as he quietly draw an arrow out of the quiver. The inscription was a beautiful quote that I tried to remember but now forgot :( I do plan to go back there with a notebook and pen the next time!

Earlier on, while I was standing in line to get into the museum, I started chatting with this guy named Raj from the States. He's 50+ (but looked a lot younger) and we hit it off right from the start. We chatted about China, India, Tibetan buddhism, all the paintings that we later saw, aerosols (the particles in the air that you can't see), clean rooms (where you get rid of aerosols to produce pharmaceutical products in a more than sterile room)... blah blah blah. We talked about meeing up again this week.

Then I met up with my AIesec buddy, and had tea for two hours. It was great to be able to instantly connect with someone from another culture. The man I met today had said something v. true, that people always pay more attention to the differences between cultures, but there really is more similarities than differences. In my case, I've become good friends with a Belgian, a Dutch, and an American all in a week. I love travelling!

A mango lemon bath after a long week

feels like heaven.

While I was in the bath, Argentina scored the additional goal against Mexico. I wish Jorge was here.

So this week has been rather long and eventful, dangerous at times, but mostly very rewarding. I also probably gained a few muscles in my body for having biked about two hours almost every day. It is definitely good for your lungs after a couple of beers in a smoke-filled bar that sells 'very special brownies'.

Biggest revelation of all this week is that Amsterdam is at the pinnacle of development and social welfare, and it's Boorrringgg.

But I have been trying hard to find some fun - bars every night followed by a long bike ride home, visited \a\ coffeeshop (and no, I didn't smoke), went to the redlight district (but no gigolos for me), walked home from a train station and got lost among strange dutch names (try pronouncing this :groenewegplantsoen), partied with crazy aussies after they got into the final 16, saw Europeans juggle frisbees in a competition, etc.

This weekend my bar-buddy is gone, so I'm looking forward to a quiet, sober weekend probably in a museum.

First day in Amsterdam!

After a repeatedly extended wait, I am finally here in Amsterdam! I have not read much about Amsterdam in part because I'd like to discover things for myself. So an hour after I arrived in my apartment, I took a nap to recover from the sleepless flight during which I caught a cold, and got up, slightly giddy-headed, and biked to downtown to look for Ben and Noah, who happen to be visiting AMS this weekend. The bike was very rickety and old, and did not have a hand-brake. I didn't even bother looking at the map, as I had no clue where I lived, so I got out and asked people for directions. Surprisingly, the clearest directions came from a group of young boys smoking weed by the bridge near my house. One tried to sell me a Burger King card for 2.50. I biked away as fast as I can. An hour later, by some lucky twists of fate, and a couple of wrong turns, I met B & N just before they were about to leave.
We were in tourist-central. The Brazilian vs Australia game was going on, and people in Brazil's jerseys were everywhere. There was even a band playing to cheer on the crowd. When the game was finished, the mobsters blocked off a street off, and had a little parade right in the middle of it. Quite a spectacle, but I'm still not crazy about soccer.
I've met some wonderful people so far. My AIESEC buddy, a beautiful blonde Dutch girl who's taller and thinner than me, helped me drage my heavy suitcases through the train stations (students here don't drive, and I didn't hear of a reception van). When we couldn't find an escalater to take us to the platform, I wanted to give up and take a taxi, but she lifted one suitcase in each hand, and walked up the stairs!!! I was slightly embarrassed but mostly impressed, and had no choice but to follow suit. When I finally got to the top of the stairs after some serious heavy-weight lifting, she said to me, Dutch girls are strong. I couldn't even whine about it.
This is my second day already, I am so eager to begin it (and being jet-lagged, of course) that I got up at 6 in the morning. Everyone's still asleep... I think I might go back to bed as well :)