Reasons Why the Netherlands is “Special”

1. Small children color with chalk in the street…next to their hop-scotch drawings, and colorful stars is a Heineken beer bottle drawing…yay consumerism!

2. It is still bright outside at 22:30 (10:30 pm)…the sun does not completely set until 23:30 (11:30 pm) or so…I start thinking about going to bed around 3:00…

3. Dutch professors are a myth…like unicorns.

4. The country is covered in clouds for over half the year…yet seasonal-affective disorder appears to be rare.

5. They used to build short shutters on the windows to rooms where the women lived to prove that they were not having male visitors…yet prostitution is legal.

6. Although the country is drenched in rain, rain boots or umbrellas don’t seem to cross their minds…

7. They eat their French fries with mayonnaise.

8. One of the most popular menswear stores is called SissyBoy…

9. On another fashion note, there is a store here called “Inspired by Fashion”…uhm…yes?

10. They decided a swamp land would be the ideal area to build the most popular city in the country.

11. They have foldable bikes...so you can put your mode of transportation inside other modes of transportation…

12. They paint their trashcans.

13. Most houses keep their curtains open during the day, and their huge windows face right out onto the sidewalk (no front yards in the city)…but looking in is considered rude.

14. They like to stick words together and make things unreasonably…unreasonable…example: “randjongerenhangplekkenbeleidsambtenarensalarisbesprekingsafspraken” = the agreements for the negotiations concerning the salary of public servants who decide on the policy for areas where unemployed youth is allowed to hang out.

15. Paraphrase of a pamphlet in the Schipol airport:

Please remember that not all of the women you see in the Red Light District are really women. If something bad happens to you, please find a policeman and explain. Please do not be embarrassed- we have seen it all before. You couldn’t possibly shock us.

Yes...Things are different. Slightly strange, but at least the odd quirks here can make you laugh. The last two (or three?) days of my life have been dedicated to painting. I wake, I paint, I sleep...So far the piece has been done over three times...and now it is just a confused mess...oh well. It has kept me busy, although I should be busy with studying...yuck. Nothing new, nothing fun. I keep having very strange dreams, one absolutely wonderful, one super f'ed up...bah, oh well. This is the last week of classes EVER in this country! YAYAYAYAYAY! So...this is how my life will go:

Face in book. Face in pillow. Repeat.

Fingers crossed no face in cement. We'll see how it goes.

Love you all super duper much, and see you in...46 days!!!