I find myself at about 830 (am?) in Amsterdam using their absurdly expensive internet connection.
An epic nap got me through 3/4's of my Detroit flight, all (!) of my 12 hour detroit layover, and most of my 8 hour flight to Amsterdam. The miracle of Tylenol PM...
Some good news: I found someone to live with for the second half of my summer - George Kasera (a fellow member of KEDAN) and his wife, who works for a children's organization in the Kibera slum.
Some bad news: thanks to a big city and an unreliable public transportation system, I will be waking up at 5am all summer to get to work.
Though it hasn't much to do with my trip (and because I have 10 minutes left on my internet), I would note:
-Amsterdam's airport is waaaaayyy more snazzy than America's. Its almost like its designed for people to be comfortable and happy rather than grumpy and disatisfied. wonder how much you can tell about a country (or city) by its airport?
- There are about ten good resteraunts in this airport, and i was feeling really guilty that i quickly snagged a milkshake from McDonalds, except about 10-15 people of different races and nationalities have come up to me (right in front of all of the other places, mind you) to ask where I got my mickie d's. it remains unclear to me whether global peace and harmony is worth it if it comes to be under golden arches (but thats probably just the berkeley hippie in me)
- In Amsterdam, they say for late passengers "passengers so and so, traveling to ... you are delaying flight 18311.. please report to flight immediately or your bags will be unloaded". I can't decide if this is unnecessary guilt tripping or a refreshing communitarian break from me-first America.
I also met one of the head fundraisers for Greenpeace (they fly coach - who knew?) on the plane, and she warned against attempting to make it into the city on short notice. so the best i got is that it looks very clean, organized, and orderly from a couple thousand meters above.
happy healthy and (with the help of mickie d's) fed and satisfied. Theres also a cute indian kid im getting to play with sitting next to me, so things are looking up.
(NOTE: CREEPY NATURE OF PHOTO WAS MANDATED BY UNCERTAINTY OF WHETHER PARENTS I WAS LARGELY UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH WOULD BE OK WITH ME PHOTOGRAPHING THEIR CHILD - MY FACE WAS NOT MEANT TO BE THERE)
sick post.
ReplyDeletehaha cute indian kid :) also, seeing you at the airport literally made my weekend complete.
ReplyDeletehaha cute indian kid :) also, seeing you at the airport literally made my weekend complete.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were going to Amsterdam or I would have recommended getting a six-pack of Gouda's Gilde Siroopwafelen! Very tasty. I hope you at least took advantage of the fact that the airport is also a great place to pick up a great pair of wooden clogs (esp. with tulips or windmills painted on them.)
ReplyDeletetalking to mom right now. she called to say that writing "sick post" is inappropriate and negative. she wants me to support your blog and not make derogatory comments. other comments that might fall into this category: "wicked post", "that post was Ill", "nasty post"
ReplyDelete---anway hope your in kenya safely and please update.
also,thanks for picking up a new pair of clogs for me. my last pair got termites.
Termites are nasty. And by that I don't mean sick.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Dylan, be forewarned: I understand that in certain parts of Africa including Kenya, they are an important food source and delicacy - panfried, with a little salt or chili and then washed down with a beer. HKG: you might give that recipe a try with the termites in your clogs.