Zero

I was standing at the tram stop the other day, and I looked up at the digital clock across the street. It said 8:59. Then it switched to the outside temperature, which was 0º C. I thought, "Oh. Hmm............WAIT WHAT?!?!?? THAT'S FREEZING!" I couldn't believe it. It didn't feel that cold. It wouldn't even be so cold if it wasn't for all the wind. But anyways, I saw snow fall from the sky for the first time in my life. It sort of looked like feathers, and when it falls on the tram windows you can watch it melt in a couple of seconds. Speaking of tram windows, I was staring at the scenery on my way to school, and I saw some birds standing on a lake. And I thought, "Oh. Hmm...........WAIT WHAT?!?!??!? ON THE LAKE?!?!!? This has to be some sort of new, holy species!" But then i realized that the lake had been frozen over. That made more sense to me. After that I wondered why the birds weren't frozen. I asked someone and she told me that ducks have a lot of fat to keep them from freezing. But what if the lake, like, froze around the ducks while they were sitting in it? That would be unfortunate... It feels cool to walk on frozen grass and snowy sidewalks. But don't walk on the ice, because that's really slippery.

Today I wanted some fries before I went home, so I bought some at the central station. The only problem was that I wasn't wearing gloves. So while I was eating them and waiting for the tram, my hands practically froze over, but they were really good fries, so I kept going. Oh well, it could be worse, I could be in Serbia, where the snow means death instead of cold hands and a pretty landscape. So I'm not letting it get to me very much. And I would choose snow over rain, because if you stand in the snow you don't get wet.

I realize that it must sound like I practically live on the public transportation system, but I don't, really. Well, it does feels like that sometimes. On the other hand, it also provides some amusing stories, as you might have noticed. And now I know which stops are the most popular, and I can tell if the next tram is going to be jam packed or completely empty before it arrives. When there's a glitch in the screens that say which halt is next, I know how to correct it in my head. And I can sort of "surf" - I don't have to hold on to the rails because I know the movements of the tram and I just shift my weight accordingly (don't worry, Mom, I still hold on, just to be sure), because sometimes there are these lurches that you can't expect, and people go flailing and yell, "WAAAAHH!" for about 3 seconds and then they stand up straight again and act like nothing happened.

And now I'm going to burst your bubble. For all y'all in my hometown Los Angeles - you are #2. Sorry to break it to you. When I ask people here if they would ever want to go to America, they almost always say, "Yeah, that would be nice. I would love to see New York."

"Do you think you would ever want to go to LA?"

"Maybe. I'd rather go to New York, though. LA would be my second choice."

I don't know why, but the West coast just isn't too appealing to the Dutch. Maybe it's too hot. Yeah. That's probably it.

Speaking of hot, I have found a new love: bakery stands. They are all over the place, and they have these great donut like delicacies that fill me with joy. Actually... a few people are starting to recognize me at the shopping mall because I am such a frequent customer. For example, the woman at the fish store always knows I want my two shrimp croquettes to-go. (Uhm... I eat healthy things too, by the way. Even thought it doesn't sound like that from my blog, I just like to try the yummy Dutch food, too).

I went to a concert in Amsterdam with my Italian friend. I didn't like it that much, but he had the time of his life so it was alright. Do you know the band called Foals? Well, it was their concert, and there were actually a lot of people there.

Today I almost laughed and cried out loud simultaneously in class, but I didn't want to seem like a psycho so I refrained and just smiled to myself instead. The reason was... well, we had nothing to do in class today so the teacher put on a movie. The movie was called, "Ik Ook Van Jou" (I love you too), and it was one of the movies I had rented while still in America to get a head start on my Dutch. But it was just so... WEIRD that I never got past the first 15 minutes. So when I realized which film it was, I just thought, "AHAHAHAHAHAHH I guess I'll be forced to watch it now!" We didn't finish it... but I was right - it is a really strange film. There is a lot of sex in it (remember what I said about censoring in the Netherlands? Yeah, that doesn't exist) and just strange in general. It was actually sort of hilarious. Plus, I could understand what they were saying this time. Although there wasn't a whole lot of talking.

Speaking of school, I went to detention yesterday. It was sort of ridiculous, really. I've never been to detention in America. The reason I had to go was that I came to school too late and I didn't have my "kaart" with me. Which is sort of like a blue card of shame. You have to show it to the office every time you're late, and they write down the time and date on it. The lady was like, "Look, if you show me your card before school gets out, I'll let you off the hook. Otherwise you'll have to go to the discipline hour." Now, you and I both know quite well that it would be impossible for me to go home during lunch to retrieve such a thing, given my distance from the school, so I settled for detention. Which really wasn't that bad. It was basically me sitting in the computer lab, copying 2 pages of a textbook word for word while someone kept an eye on me. What they didn't realize was that I didn't mind, because it forced me to learn more vocabulary words. Maybe I should be late more often... just kidding.

Speaking of Dutch, they have some very strange verbs here. Here are two examples of perfectly acceptable sentences:

"Can I call you back? My family is table-ing."

"I really shouldn't candy so much."

There you have it.

Ugh, I turned on my heater an hour and a half ago, but all that's coming out is cold air. Turning it off now. Now I'm going to take a shower, put away the dishes, listen to music, work on my college apps, and watch "When Harry met Sally". Just to keep you in the know, you know?

Tot ziens,

Emily

PS: Really random fact, but when Dutch people write the number 9, it looks like the letter g. "Can you write your phone number down for me?" "Oh, sure. It's 123-456-gog."