Home Sweet Amsterdam- Part 2

Hallo!

A brief update from my last entry. After orientation was over the group moved to a new hostel in Amsterdam (yet another StayOkay). On our first night in Amsterdam we went on a walking tour and then went off on our own and proceeded to get very lost. The following day we met our home stay families and officially moved it! I was finally able to move out of the "silver monster" (the name I have lovingly given my suitcase) and into a real room! My host family is wonderful; Phil, the father, is an interior designer and Els, the mother, is a retired physican. They have two children, Thomas and Lottie. Thomas is eighteen and still lives at home; Lottie is 23 and has since moved out (I have taken over her room). My room is absolutely adorable. I have a giant window, tall ceilings, a lofted bed, constillations above my bed and plenty of storage.

The top two pictures above were taken from above in the loft area and the one below is of my bed inside the loft area.

I am so thrilled with the situation- I couldn't have asked for a better family. I'll have to dedicate an entry just to them, their four cats, and their chickens (that's right, I have pet chickens). :D

Some other exciting news! I finally received my cell phone and bike. My new cell number is 0644 749 880 but if you want to call from the States you must dial: 0031-644-749-880 (beware, calling is expensive!). My bike is very nice- I have yet to ride it. Riding your bike in Amsterdam feels like a life and death experience and because I don't really know how to get home I've been putting it off (the bike is currently locked up outside of my school). However, my host mom helped me map out a route at dinner tonight so tomorrow I'll have no excuse; I'll have to brave my way home! Nothing else new to report. I've included some older pictures from the cheese, clog, and windmill museum- enjoy!

A demonstration on how to make
a wooden clog Wooden clog examples

Windmills and a picture from the cheese factory is below!