I continue to find it absolutely shocking that FOX news airs complete bullshit -
http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/330471/7e3dccdb/foxnews_over_onze_coffeeshops.html
C'mon, FOX news... I know you're a politically right-wing, biased, shitty news station but at least have the decency to provide your nearly 90 million international viewers with correct information. Bill O'Reilly... fine. He's an idiot. But a corporation such as the Fox Entertainment Group should pay better attention to the crap piping into millions of households.
To provide clarity to this "Amsterdam is a mess" business.
Yes, in the recent past the CDA (Christian Democrat Appeal) that has held the majority of seats in Dutch parliment for quite a few years is beginning to make a push toward conservatism. Now, keep in mind... the CDA is less religious and less conservative that the Democratic Party in the United States. Even though they are the most conservative party in power... they would never use the word "God" in a speech and they deny using the bible for grounds on which to govern. Instead, they say they use the bible for "inspiration." But regardless... yes, they have recently been making a move toward conservatism. Which by the way, is mostly looked down upon by many Dutch citizens, particularly those living in large cities, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, etc.
What has changed? Well, on December 1st... shrooms were outlawed. Why? Because of numerous deadly accidents that have occured with tourists. (For example, a french girl ate mushrooms and drank alcohol and proceeded to jump off a bridge into the canal. Again - this was a tourist.) However, despite the fact that mushrooms were outlawed because of accidents with tourists... you can still buy them. The Dutch police aren't even cracking down and hand written signs are being posted on smartshops saying "We still have mushrooms left!" Why? Because for the most part... mushrooms don't cause a problem. And the Dutch police know it. How many deaths are related to drunk driving in America? And drunk driving on behalf of underage kids in America? Far, far more than the accidents and deaths that have been caused by mushrooms and I don't see alcohol being outlawed in the US anytime soon.
Secondly, throughout the past couple years a few of the red light district windows and brothels have been shut down to house fashion stores. New fashion designers are given a place in the red light district to rent for very cheap and the theory is within a year, they will be famous enough to open up their own shops the following year and new designer will replace their red light district spot. Guess what? It hasn't worked at all. No one goes in to the stores and the majority of Dutch citizens believe the whole fashion thing is foolish and ridiculous. Because it failed so miserably over the past year... it may not continue.
Thirdly, 43 coffeeshops in Amsterdam are intended to close by 2011, including some really famous, touristy shops. Why? Not because coffeeshops are run by drug lords but because the CDA decided any coffeeshops within a certain distance from high schools should not be able to function. This of course, is ridiculous. First of all... the coffeeshop business is supported by tourism, not Dutch high school students. In fact, the majority of Dutch people do not smoke weed and if they do... it's quite rare. About 99% of the Dutch people I have met do not smoke weed. Plus, even if the high school students wanted to smoke weed... its not like they couldn't walk another block or two to pick some up. Insane.
Anyway... I am assuming these are the 3 changes that Bill O'Reilly and his highly educated blonde bombshell newscasters are referring to. So, no, I'm sorry but Amsterdam isn't a "mess" and drug addicts nor criminals have anything to do with it. In fact, it's the "inspired" morality of the CDA itching to push Holland toward conservatism.
My opinion? It isn't going to work. This is going to be a phase that will soon turn around. Yes, in terms of laws, The Netherlands is one of the most liberal countries in the world. But unfortunately... socially they aren't the same. There is a huge conservative and Christian community living outside of the major cities and although their percentage is small, at least compared the religious population in the Netherlands, their influence is not invisible. But, the Dutch are known for their tolerance. "Gedogen." Not their acceptance. The Dutch people are extraordinarily passive and tolerant when it comes to these issues and I think that mentality will win over everything else. It has in the past.
Oh and one more thing... to quote one of those blonde girls -
"The Dutch have wonderfully naive ideas about teaching their children to have safe sex and smoke grass."
That MAY be the most ill-informed statement I have EVER heard. (Probably not... but it's at least in the top 10.) First of all, The Netherlands has a much lower teen pregnancy and abortion rate than America, among other countries. And American teenagers are proven to lose their virginity much sooner than Dutch teenagers. In fact... The Netherlands has the THE LOWEST teen pregnancy rate in the world. (5 in 1,000 teenage girls) as opposed to America which has THE HIGHEST teen pregnancy rate in the world (53 in 1,000 teenage girls). So yeah, I guess The Netherlands has got it wrong. I suppose their low teen pregnancy rate is a result of their "naive" ideas. Secondly... as I stated above, the majority of Dutch people, both young and old, don't smoke weed. Again, that industry is supported primarily by tourism. Much of which is American tourism, thank you very much.
To sum things up... I am not at all happy to be returning to my wonderful country of Bill O'Reilly and FOX news. I am genuinely concerned about how I will feel when I am not indoors and with my family, Christian or Dana... or someone I like. Venturing off into the great unknown of say, the wonderfully American Palisades center is not something I'm looking forward to.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
5 days and counting
So, as you can probably discern from the title... I am leaving Amsterdam in 5 days. It's a strange feeling. Mostly, I am excited to leave and see everyone at home. I'm not as sad about leaving Amsterdam because I know I'll be back. It's strange to know, though that when I do come back, close to no one I know will be here and I'll have to make an entirely new set of friends. But I guess I will deal with that when I have to.
These last 5 days are pretty weird. I have completed all my school work... but I still have two classes left and a bunch of logistical things to do. So when I'm not running around the city renewing my bike contract or signing my residence permit extension... I basically have nothing to do. Most everyone is still working on their papers and I end up sitting in my room feeling anxious and wanting to go home. Plus, my friend Sam already left and people are slowly leaving one by one... it's a strange feeling to still be here when other people are not.
I think I am going to take my friend Alex's extra bed in her room and attach it alongside mine so that I can have a big queen size bed. Not like I need a big bed... but who cares. Why not, right? Maybe it will convince Christian to come visit. Haha.
I think I am also going to buy a tapestry and maybe some Christmas-like lights and go crazy decorating. Just to give me something to do with all this time I'm wasting by sitting around like a lump. I can't decide whether or not I should go to IKEA to buy an extra comforter cover to match the one I already have and put it on my extra comforter... or whether I should just use someone else's that they bought here and having an odd two-toned bed. Ok, it's pathetic that I'm writing about this. Haha. But seriously... maybe I should go to IKEA tomorrow. Hmm.
Oh and I decided, over everything else, why I love the Netherlands so much more than America. America is governed by morality. The Netherlands is governed by practicality. Plain and simple - that's the main (huge) difference. The Netherlands is NOT as liberal as many people think it is. In fact, aside from Amsterdam, most of it ISN'T very liberal. There is a huge bible belt and lots of crazy, conservative Christians. But still, people don't govern with their religion or morality. In fact, that is incredibly looked down upon here. No politician (even from the CDA, the Christian Democratic Appeal whose politics are actually more liberal than much of the American democratic party) would use "God" in a speech or ever use religion as a reason to change a law. The CDA has held the most seats in Dutch parliament for years. They have the word "Christian" in their name and are still considered to be conservative for the Netherlands... but STILL somehow are more liberal than the American Democratic Party. Sure, they will openly say they use the Bible as "inspiration" but that's about as far as they go. Dutch people are shocked to learn that all of our presidents say "God bless America" and publicly announce their faith.
Anyway... to change the subject. At the beginning of the semester we wrote down goals that we hoped to accomplish by the time we leave. In fearing that I would be absolutely miserable here and want to go home, one of my goals was "Not wanting to go home at the end of the semester." Well... haha, I guess I accomplished that cause I'm staying the entire year. Who woulda known.
As excited as I am to go home for the holidays... I'm a bit nervous about returning to the US in general. Reverse culture shock = not fun. I think that's why I originally decided all I wanted to do was stay inside all month. Haha. But now I know I am going to have to go back to work at the Cheesecake factory, which means I have to constantly go to the Palisades mall, which to me, is the epitome of America. Ah. I don't really know how I am going to deal with it. Being ultra friendly to people, hearing English all around, seeing four thousand obese people... yikes. By the way... NO ONE and I really mean no one is fat here. I have literally not seen one fat Dutch person. They obviously got something right because not only are they thin, they are also incredibly tall and good looking.
Ok, I guess I will attempt to do something productive. Like check on my laundry.
I have also officially decided that tomorrow I will go to IKEA to buy a matching bed spread for the extra bed I'll be gaining. I have nothing else to do with my life... so I might as well.
These last 5 days are pretty weird. I have completed all my school work... but I still have two classes left and a bunch of logistical things to do. So when I'm not running around the city renewing my bike contract or signing my residence permit extension... I basically have nothing to do. Most everyone is still working on their papers and I end up sitting in my room feeling anxious and wanting to go home. Plus, my friend Sam already left and people are slowly leaving one by one... it's a strange feeling to still be here when other people are not.
I think I am going to take my friend Alex's extra bed in her room and attach it alongside mine so that I can have a big queen size bed. Not like I need a big bed... but who cares. Why not, right? Maybe it will convince Christian to come visit. Haha.
I think I am also going to buy a tapestry and maybe some Christmas-like lights and go crazy decorating. Just to give me something to do with all this time I'm wasting by sitting around like a lump. I can't decide whether or not I should go to IKEA to buy an extra comforter cover to match the one I already have and put it on my extra comforter... or whether I should just use someone else's that they bought here and having an odd two-toned bed. Ok, it's pathetic that I'm writing about this. Haha. But seriously... maybe I should go to IKEA tomorrow. Hmm.
Oh and I decided, over everything else, why I love the Netherlands so much more than America. America is governed by morality. The Netherlands is governed by practicality. Plain and simple - that's the main (huge) difference. The Netherlands is NOT as liberal as many people think it is. In fact, aside from Amsterdam, most of it ISN'T very liberal. There is a huge bible belt and lots of crazy, conservative Christians. But still, people don't govern with their religion or morality. In fact, that is incredibly looked down upon here. No politician (even from the CDA, the Christian Democratic Appeal whose politics are actually more liberal than much of the American democratic party) would use "God" in a speech or ever use religion as a reason to change a law. The CDA has held the most seats in Dutch parliament for years. They have the word "Christian" in their name and are still considered to be conservative for the Netherlands... but STILL somehow are more liberal than the American Democratic Party. Sure, they will openly say they use the Bible as "inspiration" but that's about as far as they go. Dutch people are shocked to learn that all of our presidents say "God bless America" and publicly announce their faith.
Anyway... to change the subject. At the beginning of the semester we wrote down goals that we hoped to accomplish by the time we leave. In fearing that I would be absolutely miserable here and want to go home, one of my goals was "Not wanting to go home at the end of the semester." Well... haha, I guess I accomplished that cause I'm staying the entire year. Who woulda known.
As excited as I am to go home for the holidays... I'm a bit nervous about returning to the US in general. Reverse culture shock = not fun. I think that's why I originally decided all I wanted to do was stay inside all month. Haha. But now I know I am going to have to go back to work at the Cheesecake factory, which means I have to constantly go to the Palisades mall, which to me, is the epitome of America. Ah. I don't really know how I am going to deal with it. Being ultra friendly to people, hearing English all around, seeing four thousand obese people... yikes. By the way... NO ONE and I really mean no one is fat here. I have literally not seen one fat Dutch person. They obviously got something right because not only are they thin, they are also incredibly tall and good looking.
Ok, I guess I will attempt to do something productive. Like check on my laundry.
I have also officially decided that tomorrow I will go to IKEA to buy a matching bed spread for the extra bed I'll be gaining. I have nothing else to do with my life... so I might as well.
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