Just stuff

So I have decided that a blog is needed to cover some stories and pictures which I failed to mention in the past. First thing first, last week we were formally welcomed to Zwolle by the wonderful city counsel or something. All the foreign exchange students were called together, and us Hatemites once again trekked across the bridge to a night gathering of extreme boredom, but in the end we got a card to receive a free drink at the local bar, thus putting soda within our purchasing range! The excitement was immense and the camera was present so I thought it would be advantageous to present to you all the 1,50 euro Heineken and the 1,30 euro cola (and I already took a drink of that beer by the way, it was full).
Another story which I had failed to mention in the past is that of our first travels to Amsterdam with Audrey, Bekah, Annie, and Bryan. We were still very uncomfortable on the trains as we had not yet mastered the art of mass transit (apparently we still haven’t) and when the train suddenly stopped we were relatively concerned. We quickly began scanning the train to explore the expressions of fellow travelers but they just continued their current book reading or random conversations without any tone of concern. We on the other hand began speaking our native tongue asking each other what the heck was going on, when the train would finally move again, and eventually how long we were going to have to sit here. Then, a group of young adults looked up from their magazines and books and asked us where we were from. Ahhhhh yes, we had forgotten that while these people were able to talk in their native tounge in complete undecipherable code to our ears they can competently understand the conversation of the stupid Americans. We proceeded to describe our state and all that jazz and then asked what was going on and they explained how someone was on the train tracks trying to commit suicide and they had to wait for the cops to remove the man. They also said it happens relatively frequently thus explaining the relative lack of concern on the other passengers. Many of you may believe that this young man was pulling our chain, but frankly I believe him. Not because he looked especially trustworthy, but merely because life gets better when you have crazy stories to go along with it!
And finally we have this little specimen which I discovered at the Rijksmuseum. It is in the traditional blue white combo making me immediately feel at home at my Grandma’s house, but the structure was a bit different. I have no clue what it was used for, but to me it appears that the Liberal laws of the Netherlands extend back many many years even so far as to allow them to create this group pipe, probably capable of using the local plant of choice, in traditional Dutch form. Once again, the true story probably eludes me, but until the truth approaches me with a better story I will choose to believe this one.