Hi Amsterdam!

So I arrived yesterday in Amsterdam at 9:20am. I had slept over the Malpensa airport 11pm the night before my flight. There was actually no sleeping because I was on the floor the entire time. All the benches were already claimed. So I finished my book, The Emperor's Children, which I must say I didn't love...but at least it kept me preoccupied until 3am. I then started on a study guide for my International Business Management class to stay awake, but soon gave up. I was half asleep, half awake the rest of the night until my flight at 7:25am, it was terrible.

I took the train to Amsterdam Central, which was about 20 minutes away from the airport. Marge met me there (YAY!!!), and it was pouring. We went to Big Mike's to rent me a bike, and biked through the downpour to her dorm, 15 minutes away. When we got there, we got out of our wet clothing, and I napped until 5pm.

We end up going to the supermarket, and cooked dinner. And that's where our night began...

There's an electronic festival in Amsterdam right now, so all the big clubs are featuring djs. It's actually a lot of fun. I went out with Marge and her friends, and had some beers there and danced. We got back around 5am, and slept until 1pm.

Today we biked to downtown Amsterdam, and it was incredible. The ride itself was so cool. You feel like the city is so much more alive when you're on a bike rather than in a car. We biked to a "Smartshop," which sold paiote and mushrooms and all types of trippy stuff. Marge's friend Kevin picked some things up...I just gawked like a little child. I love that there are so few restrictions in Amsterdam, it's such a different culture to be able to legally smoke here.

We chained up our bikes and walked through the Red Light District. It was interesting...there were prostitutes in shop windows, and sex shops everywhere. There were also peep shows and sex theaters! (So much more than what we had seen on our drive back from Ohio Natties.) There was also a street that featured only African American women.

We went shopping, and walked along the canals. Apparently, there are more canals in Amsterdam than there are in Venice. In Venice though, there were no cars whatsoever. There are sooooo many bikes in Amsterdam. The streets are made with bikers in mind, with signals and paths for them. It's so cool, I love how supportive they are of bicycling around instead of driving.

We ended up in a coffee shop with an Indian theme. I had some hot chocolate, but they had such a large assortment of tea! It was a lot of fun. Now we're resting up to go out for the electronic festival again tonight.

And if you want to know more about Amsterdam, ask me. There are some more significant events, but I'd rather not write them.

day 1: 7; 9h
day 2: 1; ice