snow and city of sin

Eva, Tony, one of Eva's friends, and I went into Amsterdam on Sunday to explore and do some of the "touristy" things there. We took a boat ride on the canals through Amsterdam, which was very cool, and probably my favorite part of the day. It was about an hour long, and we saw the Queen's Palace, some of the official government buildings, the governor's mansion, and all of the different canals with their different names and personalities. There was a canal with all of the rich business district area, and then there was a canal that had HUGE mansions on either side which were built during the roaring 20s era. All of the architecture was really different, and the buildings were so much older than anything in the US. The tour guide also said that because they have an overcrowding problem in Amsterdam, many people buy boats and live on the canals! It's like a floating condo...It was really really interesting to see, and I took lots of pictures (they are on facebook).
To give you an idea of my impression of the Netherlands (Holland), our boat tour was given in 4 languages - Dutch, German, French, and English, in that order. I think what has made the biggest impression on me from the past 2-3 days is how many other languages people speak. Minimum = 2: Dutch and English, but most students know some Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, etc. Eva, for example, speaks Dutch and English perfectly, and can speak basic Spanish and French, and she understands German and can speak enough to get by. I met another student last night whose parents are Iranian, so she speaks Kurdish, and can understand Farci, in addition to speaking English, Dutch, and Spanish. It's incredible to me, since in the US, students are lucky if they become fluent enough to say they speak ONE other language. Here, it's basically a requirement. I understand it's because Holland is such a small country and does business with many other countries, but man, it's still pretty crazy.
Alright, back to Amsterdam. We also visited the infamous Red Light District (I kid you not, and I'm ashamed to say it: I did not make the connection that it's called the Red Light district because there are red lights above the windows where you can hire a prostitute until about a half an hour after walking around the area). It was shocking, as I expected it to be. There were half-naked women standing in their lingerie in the windows, trying to attract attention; there were a half-dozen sex shops on each block; you could smell pot in the street. It was definitely different, but probably someplace you only visit once, and only for an hour or two, because it's very overwhelming. I think it was a little bit too much for me. One of the strangest things about it was not even the district, but Eva and her friend's attitude about it. Eva told me I couldn't "think about it too much" after telling me that some women choose to live like this and some women are kidnapped and drugged or threatened into becoming prostitutes. They also both told me that the women we saw "weren't as pretty as the whores we have in Den Haag" (their city, 25 min outside Amsterdam). I guess when it's always been there, it seems more normal to the citizens.
Yesterday I went to Spanish class with Eva, which was pretty hilarious since she's already taken 3 semesters of Spanish and I've never taken a class. I had listened to Nora's girlfriend speaking Spanish the first week of classes in Marseille, and I could understand some of what she was saying, so I thought that to be sufficient enough for me to attend this class. Uh, no, I was wrong. We went over the subjunctive tense, so I know how to conjugate most Spanish verbs in the subjunctive, and when you use subjunctive; however, I know hardly any verbs, and I can't conjugate them in present or past tense. Hmm...
Today I went to French class with Eva, and THAT I understood. They are studying the European Union and how it functions between countries, and also more of the communications and public relations side of the EU. It seems like a good field for students who already have such a wide background of languages and cultures.
So this afternoon I'm just doing some Arabic homework and relaxing. I think it will be good for me to get extra rest and just chill during this week. Eva keeps saying how she feels bad that she has work to do and has to go to class, but I honestly don't mind just resting and catching up on Arabic and sleep. I expect my classes to be a little bit harder in the next 2-3 weeks once I go back, since we'll be prepping for mid-terms in 3 1/2 weeks. Dave is coming to visit the week before mid-terms, which I'm very happy about, since most other people's significant other has their spring break DURING our midterms. At least I won't have to worry about tests while Dave's here, and I'm sure I can study more once he's left. He will be in France for almost a full week! :) I can't wait.