The Netherlands: Amsterdam

I can say with confidence that Amsterdam was definitely one of my top 3 European cities on my check-list and I feared I would not be able to go. That all changed when Chuckie Wide Stance (Charlie, for you simpletons) expressed a similar interest and Kevin (SLU) hopped on board. I have a knack for partying before weekend flights which ultimately results in some sort of disaster. This time it was cutting my flight way too close and having to pay for a cab to the airport... thanks for nothing, Cien, Orange, and Pacha. Most people think of weed when they hear the word Amsterdam... that or prostitutes, of course. Well, you're preconceived notions are spot on as the place was absolutely infested with the two. Upon arriving to our hostel we were greeted with an overwhelming stench of weed. "Don't worry", said the desk attendant on duty, "I just finished smoking my joint... Welcome to Amsterdam!" That night we had dinner at the Old Quarter which serves traditional Dutch food... which meant potato dishes... mmmmm.

After dinner we went the the Sexmuseum... why not? It was actually kinda weird... right when you walked through the door there was a mannequin man doing what was supposed to be a moan but sounded more like he was being stabbed with a trident through the heart. There were also strange chastity belts from the old ages, some black man with a 13 inch penis, and an exhibit on people who enjoy being peed on...? Just don't ask questions. Afterwards we visited the Red Light District which is exactly what you would imagine it to be... a lot of girls in red glass doors under red lights poking at the glass at men... wearing nothing but tiny little itty bikinis. I will say though, no homo, the girls (minus the fatties and trannies) are really attractive. Some of them have legit the nicest bodies I have ever seen... but, then again, it's their job to.

That night we returned the coffee shop in our hostel and had legit the best loaded nachos and brownies and ice cream I have ever eaten in my entire life... not a joke. It was heaven in my mouth. First impressions of Amsterdam in five words: weed, sex, friendly, bikes, canals.

On Friday morning we woke up early and went to the Anne Frank house, the house her and her family were hiding in when they were discovered by Dutch Nazi officials during the Holocaust. Having read the book it was a surreal experience to be able to stand in her room and see the details in person of what she described. I can't wait to see the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in a few weeks.

Anne Frank's Bookshelf

Afterwards we did a three hour walking tour of Amsterdam which, I know, sounds typical Jessie and nerdy but it was super informative and definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Amsterdam is a fascinating city and I learned so much about it. For instance, there are more than 10,000 heroin addicts in Amsterdam alone. The city itself is a huge contradiction. There are churches right next to the red light districts and coffee shops. We visited a restaurant that was once a public autopsy house which stood next to a square where prisoners would have their chest ripped open, their ribs spread apart, their heart taken out of their chest and thrown in their face, and ultimately they would be decapitated after watching the entire process. They would then place the head on poles looking out towards the sea to intimidate all the visitors.

Another interesting fact: during the winter of 1945 there was an untimely climate change and during a huge hunger scare temperatures dropped. Houses and trees were taken down and burned for warmth and supplies were limited due to Nazi control. People resorted to eating tulips and cats. If you look closely, all of the trees in the city are about the same height because they were all replanted at the same time. In addition, the street that Rembrandt lived on was redesigned by a group of college students during the LSG era in Amsterdam so this one street is vibrantly colorful and does not fit in with the architecture around the rest of the city.

Another fun fact: if you do not have a cat in your restaurant or hostel it is not considered a good hostel. This is because Amsterdam was built on swampland and has a mice problem. Places with cats do not have this issue. Another fun fact: smoking weed in Amsterdam is actually completely ILLEGAL. Cops, however, have chosen to overlook any selling or smoking of weed in their attempt to crack down on harder drugs (no pun intended).

Typical Coffee Shop

Another fun fact: When Napoleon's brother was in power in Amsterdam he put put a census to see who he was ruling. People in The Netherlands had never had last names before so they thought it was a joke. To get back at the new ruler they made their last names (translated) things like little-poo, suck-a-lot, and born naked. Well, the names stuck and many residents of Amsterdam have last names that are absolutely absurd. ALSO, most of the houses in Amsterdam are slanted because they are built on swamps. Lastly, 20,000-25,000 bikes are taken out of the canals of Amsterdam each year because drunk people pull pranks on their friends or enemies and throw them in the canals during the night.

After the tour we went to the I amsterdam famous sign for a little photo shoot and then to the Van Gogh Museum. I am not one for art but this museum was magical. There was musical accompaniment with the works and well, it was just a wonderful experience. To top off day 2 we went to a live sex show (sorry family members who are reading). YOLO- you only live once. I won't describe what I saw in that theatre but I will write some keywords and you can use your imagination: banana, candle, cigar, pole...

And lastly, fake boobies are GROSS. I had never seen them before... they look like aliens.

The last day was JAM PACKED ALSO! We went to the Nemo Science Museum in the morning which was interactive and really cool. However, in true Amsterdam style, there was a sex floor and puberty exhibit that showed kids how to french kiss and how to pop their pimples... oh, and who can forget the ejaculation video with the cartoon chick bouncing her boobs up and down. Like really, Amsterdam? This continues to baffle me.

We continued the day with a wonderful lunch and beer sampler in a windmill and then a tour to the Heineken Brewery. Some pictures below...

Heineken Brewery

Other weird things about Amsterdam: there is food in the vending machines, the world's first condom shop, etc. After a Thai dinner we met some Brits and shortly after Charlie got a drink thrown at his face by a fat hispanic prostitute who came out of her window. True Story. Lastly, when leaving the airport we saw this message scrolling on a screen: "Stupid people shouldn't breed. Survival of the fittest. Animals and men included". Typical Amsterdam departure message.

Córdoba y Granada, España

I apologize for I realize that I have not written in a while. I have been super busy with going-out, traveling, and enjoying the beautiful Madrid weather (tough life, I know). Two weekends ago the BC group traveled to the south of Spain to Córdoba and Granada. The night before we thought it would be a lovely idea to go to Joy until 4:00AM. Needless to say, the majority of us did not sleep at all and a good percentage were still inebriated when our alarms went off (myself not included, of course). When the alarms sounded, chaos ensued (I can speak for Covarubias). People had to pack other peoples bags because they couldn't get out of bed, while others inconveniently sat for a full breakfast unaware that we were most likely not making the bus. Words will never be able to accurately portray the scene that Friday morning as the 8 Covarubias Gringos hobbled down the sidewalk in a frenzy to find a taxi. I was feeding people salami (whose porcelin plate ultimately ended up in a bush) during the mad dash. Ultimately we made it to the terminal on time and I am pretty sure that within 5 minutes all of us had fallen asleep on the bus.

Our first stop was Córdoba for the day. We visited a beautiful mosque, walked around the town, and ate awesome tapas. I could have done without the guided tour because with 40 students it's kind of difficult to not only pay attention but also to hear. Córdoba was pretty but it boggles me how it was the center of the Islamic population during their occupancy. It seemed a little... unimpressionable?

El Grupo en Córdoba, España

Córdoba, España

The next stop on our journey where we remained for the rest of the trip was Granada. Granada is known to be one of the most beautiful cities in Madrid and it was easy to understand why. We arrived Friday night and shortly after went for tapas and sangria at Bella y la Bestia. I got to see Natalia both nights I was in Granada which was awesome. The tapas and drinks in Granada were so much cheaper and the city seems more quiet, especially up where Natalia lives. We didn't have a late night because we knew the next day would be super busy.

Saturday we visited La Alhambra, one of the most famous places in Spain. For those who do not know, the Alhambra is a castle/fortress built in the mid 14th century by the Moors. The details within the Alhambra are absolutely beautiful and we were lucky enough to have a sunny day! Walking around the Alhambra with my friends and enjoying the scenery was incredible. Later that day we went to the bath houses... a completely different type of experience than that in Morocco. These looked like they were in a 4 star hotel. The bath house was rented out just for the 40 of us, there were about 8 pools all with different temperatures, tea in a separate room, massages, and to top it all off, it was lit with candlelight. It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing.

Cova-Cis en la Alhambra 

ALHAMBRA!

That night after an exquisite Indian meal everyone went to an Irish bar and then to Cambodio, a club that overlooks the Alhambra as it's lit at night. The club was cool because there was the traditional salsa section and then the hip-hop modern section. There was also an outside patio where you could sit in front of the Alhambra. I got to spend more time with Natalia this night and I am so glad! It's strange to see old friends after such a long time but it's as if no time has passed with those that you care about the most. The Andalucia region of Spain was beautiful and completely different from Madrid. I am excited to hopefully spend some time after finals traveling around Spain more!

Granada, España

Morocco: Rabat, Chefchaouen (Days Three and Four)

Day three started with the same thin pancake crepes that we had been served every day since arriving in Morocco. We said goodbye to our host families and started the drive to Chefchaouen. Along the way we stopped at a giant outdoor Mosque that was unfinished from hundreds of years ago. I would provide you with more information on this awesome site but I can't due to the fact that my guide was a complete moron. Harsh, probably but when I asked her a question about this site she told me she couldn't provide me an answer because it wasn't provided on her notecard. Anyways, along the way we also stopped at a mountain village that reminded me so much of Miraflor, Nicaragua it was absurd. This mountain village was completely isolated and different from what we had seen in Rabat or other parts of Morocco. We learned about the cultural differences between the city and rural families and ate some more couscous. After lunch we went to the mountainside to see an amazingly beautiful view. Of course, my camera died just when we got to the top but the feeling of that quiet serenity was something that a picture would have failed to capture anyway.

I split from the group and walked off to sit on the mountain alone and just think. It was in that moment that I realized that my happiest times are always when I can hear nothing but the distant sounds of wind. My mind imagines the commotion in New York City or Hong Kong in that moment and I can't help but smile. It is no wonder that the village people told us that they had no desire to ever leave the mountain... a concept that seemed silly to me until I sat alone with my thoughts and the sound of silence.

Around 6PM we arrived in Chefchaouen, an amazing city filled with blue buildings, narrow cobblestone uneven streets, and friendly Moroccans. We were able to wander around for about three hours before dinner. Most of the group bought jewelry and other memorabilia from the outside markets. I didn't really feel the need to buy anything, for whatever reason, so just walked around and enjoyed the vibrant aqua scenery. A bunch of us got henna as well which, although was advertised to last 6 weeks, has already almost completely faded... THANK GOD. The henna looked much better under the candlelight but I got black ink instead of brown (rookie mistake). It looked like a blind toddler drew on me (in the picture it looks cool, I know).

After dinner the group got together and had a reflection about all we had learned since being in Morocco. While most commented on the poverty in the mountains or the culture shock I couldn't help but not feel the same reaction. Is it a good or bad thing that the sight of extreme poverty has become normalized for me? When they saw the bathrooms some girls refused to go in and I was thankful that there were no maggots crawling in the hole like there were in Nicaragua. I could only reflect upon how I had to constantly remind myself that I was no longer in South America. It was a constant struggle to keep in mind that I was in Morocco... in Africa. The comfort I feel when I am in those secluded areas makes me think that Peace Corps wouldn't be such a bad idea after college.

Morocco: Rabat (DAY TWO)

Poverty tourism at it's finest as the group is given a drive by tour of the slums in Salé (town right next to Rabat). These slums seemed practically identical to the ones I saw in Nicaragua a year ago... However, this time it made me think... Imagine having tour groups take pictures of you playing in your "backyard" as a child or of your mother cooking on her grill. While I am guilty of doing this as well, I would love to understand how they perceive us, the travelers behind the expensive lenses. We then visited a foundation called Hope for Salé where we discussed cultural differences and misconceptions with local students our age. Before my trip to Morocco I knew close to nothing about the country, let alone Muslim religion. Thus, it was not only informative but beyond fascinating to hear their opinions of 9/11, Bin Laden, and Bush.

Afterwards, we visited ancient Roman ruins. This gave me a lot of Machu Picchu nostalgia. It seems like everywhere I go and everything I do comes full circle as memories from South America fill my mind. Just yesterday friends and I went on the Teleférico in Madrid. After doing the same thing in Ecuador over a completely different landscape I realized just how different my two homes really are. Unfortunately, the tour guide in the Ruins spoke horrible English so I walked around and enjoyed the setting without understanding it's significance. For lunch we returned home and ate traditional Moroccan couscous.

Tebowing the Roman Ruins... obviously...

During the afternoon we paired up with local students and walked around Rabat. We learned so much about their every day lives, their perceptions of Americans before and after, and their faith. On our way back from a cafe a girl in our group was pickpocketed without realizing. Thankfully, one of the Moroccan boys with us saw it happen and snatched the camera back before the culprit could take off. When he returned the camera to her as we were all walking together through the busy Rabat marketplace, we were all confused and amazed. Another thing that was incredible to me is the fact that everyone we met in Morocco spoke at least 3 languages, most of them 4/5. Even more interesting is the fact that they spoke English fluently solely because of American television and music... they had never taken a class in their lives.

Couscous

Moroccan friends! Dude on the left is so excited.

When we returned home the group had a discussion with a Fulbright student living in Rabat and a Peace Corps volunteer based in the mountains. Both of these programs deeply interest me after college so it was interesting to hear their accounts, their highs and lows, and their lifestyle while abroad. The PCV told us a story about a woman having to go down a Moroccan hill while her baby was half way out so she could find a doctor and another about a woman who had 15 babies. I am not even sure what else to say about that.

HAMMAMS!!!!! The best part of the entire Moroccan Exchange program. In Morocco it is not common to have showers in your home. Rather, Moroccans of all ages flock to the public bath houses known as Hammans. Here men and women separate into little tiled rooms with buckets, soap that looks like buggers, and a scrubber. The best 50 dirham ($7) I have ever spent in my life went to the 40 year old 7-month pregnant Moroccan lady with inch long nipples who scrubbed me down, head-to-toe, and washed my hair. Yes, there we were, 6 Boston College ladies, topless in a public bathhouse in Rabat, Morocco. Nipples McGee instructed me to lay flat across the tiles and then proceeded to scrub my body so hard that strips of dead skin were falling off of me. She even pulled my undies down and scrubbed my tush and told me I was "sexy" (true story haha). I then turned over and the process continued, followed by a nice hair washing. I don't know which part of this experience was better, feeling her baby against my naked body or her colossal nipples while she scrubbed me down. Needless to say, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Morocco: Tangier, Asilah, Rabat (DAY ONE)

I doubt I will ever be able to say again that I hit four continents in less than two months. However, after departing South America for my short stint in New York... Europe was awaiting my arrival. I did not, however, think I would make it to Morocco, Africa within the first two weeks abroad! After a brutal overnight bus sans sleep we arrived at the southern tip of Spain where we were met by representatives of Morocco Exchange. We were greeted by Rachel, perhaps the worst trip leader in the history of exchange programs worldwide. I am not sure how to say it any nicer... she was simply a devastation... a disaster. We will touch upon that in the next post.

My first pleasant surprise occurred when we passed through customs in Africa and we walked through a metal detector that was not even on. While on the subject, I was also allowed to walk through the same metal detector upon departure with an open beer bottle in hand. Oh third world countries, how you never cease to amaze me. Within the first day I realized there were so many cultural differences that I have never experienced in any of my previous travels. For instance, if you are a woman you don't shake hands unless the man initiates, you NEVER show affection towards the opposite sex in public (but men walking hand in hand down the street is a completely normal display of heterosexual companionship). In fact, some Moroccans that we spoke with did not know that homosexuality existed in the universe until watching American films (that was insane to me). However, the method of poo wiping takes the case for the most absurd Moroccan custom. When Moroccans of middle or lower classes defecate, they wipe their bums with their bare hands... fact. I did not partake in this bathroom ritual, thankfully. Also, shoes on carpets are BIG no no. Because Muslims pray 5 times a day they like to keep their carpets clean. It is considered a huge form of disrespect to have any type of shoe on carpet. Morocco is generally a warm country, however, during the winter months the air outside is frigid... and Morocco doesn't believe in heat. Thus, I slept with 5/6 blankets every single night.

While in Tangier we visited a women's cooperative where local women can learn to read, write, sew, and use computers. We had lunch in the cooperative where four of us unlucky souls forgot the no vegetable policy and indulged in a salad... thankfully we were in the clear but thoughts of the double spouted fountain of fury that struck during Ecuador making its return, filled my anxious mind. Walking around the town was interesting because we are not allowed to take pictures of anyone (although I snuck a few) and they are all dressed in traditional Moroccan gear (the long cloaks with hoods that you would imagine the quintessential Moroccan citizen to wear).

Me and my friend, Charlie, in Tangier!

On our way from Tangier to Asilah we were lucky enough to ride camels on the beach! That experience gave me hope that perhaps one day I will enjoy riding horses as well, although the chances are unlikely. Asilah was, in my opinion, the most beautiful town we saw (although Chefchaouen comes in at a very close second). This coastal town is an art center and its walls are filled with colorful murals. One contained the names of those who have died in their attempt to swim from Morocco to Spain. Morocco is to Europe as Mexico is to the United States. Africans all over the continent flock to Morocco and attempt the treacherous swim to Spain in order to find better opportunities in Europe. All in all, the town was breathtaking and will probably remain one of the most quaint, beautiful towns I will ever visit.

 

Throwing up the deuces on dat camel.

The Walls of Asilah!

The Beach of Asilah!

Towards the end of the day we took a three hour bus ride to Rabat (the capital of Morocco). We all met our host families. I lived with Cathleen and Kelsey and our home was absolutely beautiful. It was the fourth home stay I have done in my life (Nicaragua, Quito, and Santa Barbara) and it was so completely different from any of the previous home stays not only because it was not in a Spanish speaking country but also because the hose was beautiful. I included a picture of my room below! We all ate dinner together, with our hands of course from a communal plate and went to bed!

The Palace

Switzerland: Interlaken and Geneva

Before coming to Europe I knew that the number one thing I wanted to do was Skydive and Ski the Swiss Alps. While the Eiffel Tower and Colosseum sound wonderful, I am definitely more interested in being outdoors doing activities. I figure I will sightsee when I am like 50. That being said, I was more than thrilled when I heard there was a group of students going to Switzerland this past weekend. I immediately booked my flight and trip with Bus2Alps which is a company that provides trips to study abroad students. We left on Thursday and got back Monday afternoon.

The flight into Geneva was extremely cheap and I sat with Carolynn and Christine. It was nice to catch up with Carolynn who I haven't seen in forever. The majority of the kids on our trip from Madrid go to SLU, another university, so it was nice to branch out from Complu. We got straight onto the bus in Geneva which was headed for Interlaken. I was exhausted from a full day of traveling so called it a night early.

The next day we all woke up and went skiing in the Swiss Alps!!!! This has been a dream of mine since I was probably 7. Skiing in the Alps was incredible... there are no marked trails like there are in the US and it's basically a free for all. The mountains that towered over us were beautiful and the terrain was challenging. However, it was difficult to keep track of everyone so by the end of the day the group of 10 of us was broken into about 4 groups who couldn't find each other. Jordan and I ended up skiing for about an hour or two through different ski villages and were completely lost. The mountain was called the Jungfrau Ski Region and had regions such as Eigergletscher, Zweilutschinen, and Schynige Platte. Maybe that will help you understand the frustration of trying to navigate the mountain. Overall the day was absolutely wonderful, for lunch I had some creamy pasta with applesauce which was creative and delicious, the conditions were unreal, and I am pretty sure I will never appreciate North Eastern American skiing again in my life.

That night a group of us went out to dinner for cheese fondue! The town of Interlaken is such a quintessential alpine town... it snowed almost every minute of our time there, there were enormous mountains hovering over the entire city, and the pace of life was relaxed and comfortable. The fondue was wonderful (we had ours with bacon) but the walk back to Balmers (our hostel) in the cold was brutal. While I absolutely loved Switzerland there are two main reasons I will never live there (1) the cold and (2) the prices. A whopper at McDonalds was 14 dollars. Not a joke.

The next day we visited a lake next to the town and then got ready for SKYDIVING!! I had been waiting for this moment for what seemed like FOREVER. I figured I will probably only go skydiving twice in my life so why not go over the Swiss Alps, which is regarded as the number one place in the world to jump out of a plane. The view was unreal... absolutely unreal. I wish there was a word stronger than unreal because literally... I could barely breathe not because I was scared but because of what I was seeing as I was falling from 12,000ft in the sky. Carolynn, Christine, Charlie and I all went together but took two separate planes. The plane ride, in my opinion, was scarier than the actual jump. When it was time for me to throw myself off the ledge my instructor was very calm and we just had fun with it. The air was so incredibly cold that my lips turned to rock and my nose definitely had mild frostbite. Hands down though, the coolest thing I have done in a very long time and something I will surely never forget!

The Lake!

Life is Good...

That night we all hung out in the hostel, home to Interlaken's hottest night club, Metro haha. Legit there were so many people in the basement of our hostel in Metro which was actually really nice considering where it was. We cooked dinner together and then played some drinking games the rest of the night. The next morning Charlie, Matt and I explored Interlaken a little more before getting on the bus back to Geneva. When we arrived, after losing Jordan at the airport, we booked a hostel for one night so we could leave our luggage there and searched for food. We found pizza that took about 90 minutes to make and played Make It or Break It in the mean time. It was absolutely hysterical. That night we all went to a huge pub in Geneva and watched the Super Bowl which started at 12:30AM. Needless to say, we stayed up the entire night and having the Giants beat the Pats was the perfect way to end our trip to Switzerland.... that was until our flight got delayed 7 hours and we all had to miss Monday classes... blessing in disguise? I think so.

Pre-Switzerland Reflection

So I have been in Madrid for less than a full week but I find myself packing already to head to Switzerland! We will be staying in Geneva tonight and then taking the train through the Swiss Alps to Interlaken tomorrow morning for the weekend. Apparently it is supposed to be like the extreme sports capital of Europe so I definitely plan on both skiing and skydiving while I am there! I am so nervous to skydive but doing so in the Swiss Alps has been on my bucket list for a while now.

Rather than rambling on about every minute detail of my trip thus far I figured I would pick out about 3 interesting things to write about (maybe not interesting to you but relevant to my time here):

1) Sol is my favorite part of Madrid so far. In the center of Sol there are hundreds of street performers... well, I am not sure I would call them performers. Minus the magician who successfully made a cigarette disappear in my cashmere Scottish scarf (scary moment), most of these "performers" are still life actors (Jesus, and a lot of shiny glittery people), characters such as Spongebob, Mario, Jack Sparrow, Overweight Spiderman (fact), etc, or some creepy other entertainment such as decapitated heads, tinsel bodied goat heads, etc. The list could go on and on but those in the last category "miscellaneous" are too difficult to describe in words. I will provide pictures soon!

2) I will easily begin to lose weight here soon, if I haven't already. This is a good thing after Quito, Ecuador where you would think I would have lost weight... but the opposite happened lol. Food here is a weird thing because they barely eat anything for breakfast, for lunch we are at the university or in the dorms and I usually eat salad and some vegetables or a side dish of some sort. Dinner is basically the same thing as lunch but is served at 9PM which I think is absurd, but hey, it's the culture here so I won't fight it. However, Americans like to snack, something that Spaniards don't understand. So, I have been snacking on my own on YOGURT. Yes, yogurt. Who am I? Anyone who knows me knows I can eat more than most full grown men. So, this will be interesting. Hopefully by the end of the trip I will still be alive.

3) Last night we went out for Kyle's 21st Birthday!!! It's been really great having Kyle here because we have been best friends since Freshman Year and it's awesome to have someone that close with you to share such an incredible experience with. We went out to Club Orange which isn't too far from the dorms so we were able to walk home. The club was a lot of fun, not too big and not too crowded so it was manageable. I had a lot of fun with all of the BC people and it was great too to talk to a lot of internationals from Brazil, Austria, Argentina, etc. However, there was this CREEPY CREEPY dude (well more than one.. but this one was the worst) who would not leave me alone. He wanted to dance, I didn't. He still wanted to dance, I still didn't. His solution: Grab my face and just go for it... thankfully my catlike reflexes inhibited any silliness to occur but for the rest of the night he kept whispering "mi amor", "mi bonita", etc in my ear and every time I scanned the dance floor his eyes were glued to me. I don't say this to give myself a big head, trust me, guys here will look at anyone that way.... just trying to reinforce how aggressive the men are here. I find it disrespectful and pathetic. But, at least he provided me with a good story.

I will write again after Switzerland because I am sure I will have SO MUCH to tell you all about!