Notes from Amsterdam

I must thank Jake, Mariana, Phil, Stephanie, and George (who flew up from Dallas) for helping us get our shit together in Minneapolis. Then I have to thank my Mother, my Father, and Bill for helping Aso much in the Philly area. Nina and I would still be packing boxes if not for our friends and family. We love you.

Then when we got here, Herre, Onno, and our new neighbor and friend Danny were extremely kind and helpful. I'm touched by the kindness of our new friends.

But despite all that help, I'm still exhausted. There was just so much work to do. We dragged four huge duffel bags (that everyone from my Mother to Delft taxi drivers have been calling Body Bags) into lockers at Schiphol, on trains to Leiden, and then on to Delft.

We've walked all over the area looking for the Alien Police, trying to get a phone, bank accounts, and train cards (Voorheel urenkaarten), wondering why the hell we didn't buy some bicycles first. I still don't have one.

The only other people we've seen on our street without a bike were two French tourists. Nina was able to give them directions, though, (after only two days there) and she did it in French! How cool is that?

The apartment is a good place to start, as it is fully furnished, but the rent is high, and we're far from Delft's center (full of nice shops and cafes). A good place to start, however.

Sunday, we slept until 2:30. I don't think it was jet lag, I just think we were damn exhausted. But things are better now, and I have should have full 'Net access in no time.

I am writing this from The Cyber Cafe, Nieuwendijk 19, Amsterdam. The coffee (espresso) is great, the access is reasonable (Fast Mac at f9 an hour, or about $5) and I am loving life.

No hashish here, but there is a place for that, with Internet access, right down the street. Amsterdam is accomodating that way.

Speaking of which, I must say that the hookers here are just downright unattractive. That could be that I walked through there at 11:00 am on a Tuesday. I'll let you know if things change at other times of the day in a later update.

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Last Updated: 6 October 1998
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