Ma tean, et minu viimase aja sissekanded on olnud kriitilised ja jätnud ehk mulje, et ma ei suuda mõista, mis pommiauku ma sattunud olen. Tegelikult ei ole olukord muidugi üldse hull ja kui päris aus olla, siis ei ole ma siia tulekut veel kordagi kahetsenud. Jaa, ma tean, et ma võin tunduda ülikriitiline, rahulolematu või lihtsalt igavene vinguja, ent tegelikult olen ma vist lihtsalt sageli liialt otsekohene. Ma ei karda välja öelda, kui minu jaoks on midagi viltu (kuigi ma olen aru saanud, et kodurahu huvides tuleb vahel ka keelt hammaste taga hoida – juhul, kui tegemist on mõttetu pisiasjaga) ja samamoodi ei karda ma välja öelda seda, kui mulle midagi väga meeldib. Ma vähemalt loodan nii. Igatahes oleks hetkel ilmselt aus teha üks sissekanne teemal, kui tore Amsterdam tegelikult ikka on. Sest ma tõesti arvan seda (ja jätan täna pisiasjad kodurahu huvides kõrvale).Kui Amsterdamis parasjagu vihma ei saja ja tuul juukseid peast ei vii, on tegemist üliarmsa linnaga. Ta on piisavalt suur selleks, et siin saaks tunda suurlinnahõngu, ent samas piisavalt väike selleks, et kesklinnas jalgsi ringi liigelda. Mul on küll ratas, kuid ilusa ilma puhul eelistan ma sageli siiski jalutada. Kuulan oma iPodist muusikat, uudistan aknalaudadel magavaid kiisusid ja tunnen mõnu sellest, kuidas soojad sügispäikesekiired mind paitavad. Ning enne, kui arugi saan, olen Dam’il, Kalverstraatil, koolis või täpselt seal, kuhu mul parasjagu plaanis minna oli. Eriti tore on jalutada hommikuti, täpselt enne seda aega, kui turistid ärkavad ja tänavaile voolavad. Kitsad tänavad on siis veel tühjad, kuid kuna pagaritöökojad on juba oma tööd alustanud, täidab õhku imeline saialõhn (mis veidi hiljem asendatakse juba kanepilõhnaga). Ja kanalid, muidugi. Amsterdam ei oleks midagi ilma oma kanaliteta!
Koht, kus ma elan, on samuti üsna imeline. Meie maja just mitte nii palju, ent asukoht on suurepärane. See on kesklinnale piisavalt lähedal, et iga uitmõtte ajel sinna kiiresti pääseda, kuid samas piisavalt kaugel, et pääseda lõputust turistidevoolust. Seega, kui meil kell 10 tuleb mõte, et läheks linna ja teeks ühe dringi, tähendab see seda, et umbes 15 minutit hiljem istume me juba mõnes kesklinna baaris ja tellime endale Kriek’i. (Kriek on Belgia naisteõlu, punast värvi ja mingi marjamaitsega.)Ma olen olnud üsna kriitiline hollandlaste suhtes, ent see ei tähenda muidugi seda, et siin kõik ebaviisakad oleks. Lihtsalt, erandid jäävad alati eriti hästi silma. Loomulikult olen ma kohanud ka äärmiselt toredaid ja sõbralikke hollandlasi. Viimase paari nädala jooksul olen ma kohanud üldse metsikult suurel hulgal tohutult lahedaid inimesi ja ilmselt on see just see, mida ma siin elades kõige rohkem naudin. Kõik mu neli naabrit on eranditult äärmiselt toredad, samamoodi kõik need, kes minuga koos samal kursusel õppima hakkavad. Näiteks leidsin ma eile hommikul ärgates oma ukse eest šokolaadi kirjaga „Aitäh, et sa mu naaber oled!“. Päevad, mis niimoodi peale hakkavad, peavad lihtsalt suurepärased olema.
PS. Käisime täna hommikul ka ühel turul, mis asub Heinekeni tehase taga ja see turg läheb kindlasti sinna "mida ma Amsterdami juures armastan" nimekirja.
I know that my last posts have been really critical and have maybe left an impression that I am not quite sure in what a weird place I’ve ended up to. To be honest, my situation is not bad at all and
I haven’t regretted coming here not even for a second. Yes, I know that I might seem overly critical, discontented or just a horrible whiner, but in reality I guess I am often just too straightforward. I am not afraid to say it out when something is not working for me (but I’ve also learned to bite my tongue on certain occasions, if it’s only about a minor detail), but I’m also quite willing to share if I really like something. At least I hope that is the case!
So it would be quite fair if I would just share some things I like about Amsterdam as I really like the city a lot (and leave out the details that I don’t enjoy so much).
If it’s not raining in Amsterdam and the wind is not trying to blow all the hair off your head, it is pretty easy to realize that the city is just adorable. It is large enough to feel that „big city vibe“ and small enough to get everywhere in the centre on foot. I do have a bike, but when the weather is nice (and I don’t have to go too far), I really prefer to walk. I’ll listen to the music on my iPod, check out all the cute kitties that sleep on the windowsills and just enjoy the warm sun (if it’s shining at that moment). And before I know it, I’m already on Dam, Kalverstraat, at the university or any other place I was heading to. I really prefer to walk in the mornings, exactly before the time when the tourists wake up and „occupy“ the streets. All the narrow streets are still quite empty and you can smell a sweet bouquet of scents in the air as all the small bakeries have started to sell their products already. A bit later it is replaced by the smell of weed. And the canals, I just love them! Amsterdam wouldn’t be anything without them.
The place where I’m living is pretty amazing as well. Our building not so much, but the location is just great. It’s close to the city centre so that you can get there really fast, but it’s also far enough so that the tourists don’t usually find us. So, if we think at 10pm that it’s such a nice evening and that we should have a drink at the centre, then 15 minutes later we’re already sitting at a bar and ordering ourselves some Kriek (Belgian „ladies“ beer, that tastes like some berries).
I have been quite critical about the Dutch, but it doesn’t mean that everyone here is rude. It’s just always the case that the exceptions to the rule stand out well. Surely I have also met really nice and friendly Dutch people. But during the last two weeks I’ve met so many great people from all over the world and this must be the thing about Amsterdam I’m enjoying the most. All my four neighbours are without any exceptions really nice, as well as those people who I will start studying with on Monday. For example, yesterday when I woke up, I found a chocolate at my door with a note saying „Thank you for being my neighbour!“ Days that start like that just have to be great!
I know that my last posts have been really critical and have maybe left an impression that I am not quite sure in what a weird place I’ve ended up to. To be honest, my situation is not bad at all and
I haven’t regretted coming here not even for a second. Yes, I know that I might seem overly critical, discontented or just a horrible whiner, but in reality I guess I am often just too straightforward. I am not afraid to say it out when something is not working for me (but I’ve also learned to bite my tongue on certain occasions, if it’s only about a minor detail), but I’m also quite willing to share if I really like something. At least I hope that is the case!So it would be quite fair if I would just share some things I like about Amsterdam as I really like the city a lot (and leave out the details that I don’t enjoy so much).
If it’s not raining in Amsterdam and the wind is not trying to blow all the hair off your head, it is pretty easy to realize that the city is just adorable. It is large enough to feel that „big city vibe“ and small enough to get everywhere in the centre on foot. I do have a bike, but when the weather is nice (and I don’t have to go too far), I really prefer to walk. I’ll listen to the music on my iPod, check out all the cute kitties that sleep on the windowsills and just enjoy the warm sun (if it’s shining at that moment). And before I know it, I’m already on Dam, Kalverstraat, at the university or any other place I was heading to. I really prefer to walk in the mornings, exactly before the time when the tourists wake up and „occupy“ the streets. All the narrow streets are still quite empty and you can smell a sweet bouquet of scents in the air as all the small bakeries have started to sell their products already. A bit later it is replaced by the smell of weed. And the canals, I just love them! Amsterdam wouldn’t be anything without them.
The place where I’m living is pretty amazing as well. Our building not so much, but the location is just great. It’s close to the city centre so that you can get there really fast, but it’s also far enough so that the tourists don’t usually find us. So, if we think at 10pm that it’s such a nice evening and that we should have a drink at the centre, then 15 minutes later we’re already sitting at a bar and ordering ourselves some Kriek (Belgian „ladies“ beer, that tastes like some berries).
I have been quite critical about the Dutch, but it doesn’t mean that everyone here is rude. It’s just always the case that the exceptions to the rule stand out well. Surely I have also met really nice and friendly Dutch people. But during the last two weeks I’ve met so many great people from all over the world and this must be the thing about Amsterdam I’m enjoying the most. All my four neighbours are without any exceptions really nice, as well as those people who I will start studying with on Monday. For example, yesterday when I woke up, I found a chocolate at my door with a note saying „Thank you for being my neighbour!“ Days that start like that just have to be great!
PS. We went to a market this morning that is located behind the Heineken factory. And this market is going to be on my list of things I love about Amsterdam.
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