That afternoon, I had the opportunity to go to Mabo's girlfriend's (Michelle) classroom! Leendert drove me and we got to sit in the last 30 minutes of their day. Michelle teaches 12 year olds; in Holland, elementary school goes from age 4 (grade 1) to 12 (8th grade).It was really strange for me: there is only one teacher per grade, so there are only 50 students in the entire school! When we were there the kids were just doing free activities, but Michelle used me as a little English lesson for the kids. All Dutch children learn English and Dutch in elementary school. She had the kids ask me questions about America, but they had to ask in English. They asked really interesting questions-how do we learn math, how big is our school yard, are we served hot food? I answered the math question with something about homework and they all laughed-you don't get homework in Holland until high school. It was really cool to see and hear about the differences between Dutch and American schools. They are pretty similar in some ways, and very different in others!
Later in the day, Evelien took me to the "city center" of Almere. Almere is a new suburb of Amsterdam, very much like Short Pump. We went to the mall and walked around, but it was pretty cold and snowy, so we didn't stay long. We went back and I met Jan, who is 14 and in high school. They have one more son, Frans Willem, who lives at a college in Utrecht. We just hung out before dinner, and Evelien made a great fish dinner. After dinner, I went with Mabo and Leendert to one of Mabo's friend's house warming parties. It was really fun to meet their friends, and luckily they spoke pretty good English. It's always interesting saying that I'm from Virginia and no one having any idea where that is. Also it's interesting that everyone can speak English and their native language, while Americans can barely speak English. I was really glad I was able to have an opportunity to talk to actual Dutch people; usually when we've been traveling, we haven't been able to talk to the locals.
On Saturday, I slept in a little and then John and I went into Amsterdam. We took the train, and it was only about 20 minutes-very convenient! It was pretty cold and windy, but luckily the rain that was forecasted never came. We came into Amsterdam Centraal station, a very beautiful neo-Gothic building.
First, we walked towards the Anne Frank house to see how long the line was. Along the way, John pointed out important buildings and gave me little tidbits of information about each one. It was really nice to have someone who knew the city show me around. I really learned a lot about Amsterdam! On our way, I saw Dam Square, which is where the town hall is. The Netherlands has a queen, but she is resigning and her son is taking over control on April 30th. His coronation will take place in Dam Square.
Town Hall
The New Church (the Old Church is in the Red Light district)
The Anne Frank House line was super long, so we decided to head over to the Rijkmuseum (The Royal Museum), which has art by Rembrandt and Vermeer. I actually didn't know about many of the paintings there, but I've learned about those artists, so it was really interesting to see some of their other work. I had hoped to go to the Van Gogh Museum, but it's under construction until the end of April. Just outside the Rijkmuseum was the famous "I amsterdam" sign, so we stopped and I took a few pictures. On the way to and from the museum, we passed over Amsterdam's many canals. The canals were built during the Golden Age of the 17th century, and form almost a U around the Amsterdam Centraal. It is a really picturesque city, and I'm sure it would be much more beautiful with green trees leaning over the water ways.
So many bikes!
By this time I was getting pretty hungry, so we stopped in a pancake place and I got to try both kinds of Dutch pancakes. First I had a large apple pancake, covered in powdered sugar and syrup, which was delicious! Then I had poffertjes, which are little circular pancakes, also covered in sugar and syrup-they are much doughier, but equally delicious!
John told me that there was a little square right in the middle of the city that was very quiet and beautiful. He wasn't sure if we would be able to go, since it's a residential area and the residents weren't happy about tons of people always coming and going. It was open when we went, and it really was a cute little area. Just a small square with a church and row houses all around with Netherlands flags. It was pristine and calm, which felt very different from the city outside.
We walked back to the Anne Frank House, which had a considerably shorter line. The wait was still about 30 minutes, but it wasn't too bad; it was definitely worth it. The boys had told me that I was going to be depressed by the house, and they were definitely right. The "museum" is simple: after the 8 people living in the Secret Annex were arrested, all of the furniture was removed from the space. When the space was turned into a museum, Otto Frank wanted to keep the rooms bare. As you walk through the exhibit, there are snippets from Anne's diary on the wall, pictures of the inhabitants, and videos from those who survived. It is a very touching and emotional display. It is so easy to forget how poorly other people are treated, and this house was a reminder of the atrocities of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was so young and so full of life, and it is such a tragedy that she and so many other children had their lives cut short. The house made me appreciate my own life and the privileges I have as an American. I walked out feeling sad, but enlightened.
Although I enjoyed the Anne Frank House, I definitely needed a pick me up afterwards, which I got in the form of french fries with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is used more frequently on fries than ketchup, so I had to try it! I actually really liked it, but I don't think I could do it all the time.
On our way back to the Centraal station, we stopped and I took a few pictures by the canals. The view is pretty much the same over every bridge, but I still loved it! It was often strange, there were really crowded streets, but some were completely empty except for us.
We passed through the Red Light district on the way to the station, as well. It was very weird-on the main street by the canal, it looks like any other area, although with a few more coffee shops (places to buy weed, which is totally legal). Ironically, right in the middle of the district is the Old Church. It's on the side streets that you see most of the red lights and girls in windows. It was a really weird experience: girls are literally in their bras and underwear standing in a window looking at you. We didn't pass by too many places with girls in them, but it made me really uncomfortable. John said the government is trying to crack down on prostitution, but it's very hard since it's so ingrained in the culture. It was a really bizarre experience walking through the red light district with my uncle, but I'm glad I was able to see it!
We took the train back to Almere (the town they live in), and had another delicious dinner. There were big rugby matches on, so John, Leendert and I just watched them all night. It was really interesting to learn about a totally different sport. There are so many rules to rugby that don't seem to make sense, much like American sports. Now I can at least watch the sport and know what's going on!
My flight left at 10:15 on Sunday morning, so I just got up and John and Evelien drove me to the airport. My flight was really short again, and I arrived back in London in time for St. Patrick's day festivities! It was a really great weekend; I really appreciated the Strabucchi's hospitality and kindness. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures-next time!
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