A week of learning. I have learned.

Tuesday my Professor set up an optional tour for us to take of the places of worship and religion in Amsterdam. I thought it would be interesting but apparently only three other people thought the same so our tour was just us four and the tour guide. It was really interesting and I think I learned a lot. He talked to us as though we didn’t know anything about Amsterdam but I still gained new facts. He took us to many churches in Amsterdam starting with the one from the 12th century and worked his way through history. He also took us by the Portuguese Synagogue, the Buddhist Temple, and a Mosque. At some point we stopped for coffee in the middle of the tour which was kind of weird but kind of cool because to got to talk to a Dutch guy and hear his perspectives and perceptions especially regarding religious and cultural diversity in the Netherlands. Oh, I almost forgot, we also got to go into the Turkish Mosque. It was really neat. It was pretty plain but they have these huge, beautiful chandlers that were only about five feet from the floor. We also learned about the Dutch Hells Angels. It was random but interesting.

Facts and Such that I can remember from the Tour:
-Amsterdam is divided by the Amstel River. Centuries ago they built a dam on the river. Amstel + Dam = Amsterdam! I’m probably an idiot but I never put that together.
-The Zeedik (Now where the Buddhist Temple and best Chinese Food is) was build in the 12th Century.
-A few window panes in the Old Church (in the Red light district) are the oldest existing stain glass in W. Europe I think. Like from the early 12th century. Most stain glass was removed after the country became Protestant but a few survived. Warning, you have to stand, however, in front of some really graphic pictures of lady parts in order to get a view of the stain glass.
- I always wondered why it is so Catholic in the south but not in the north. I guess King Philip of Spain was fighting against the Protestants and William of Orange. As the troops made their way from the south, all the Catholics fled south and the Protestants north. Eventually, the troops got distracted (I am guessing from something like, you know, the Spanish Armada) and never made it to the north. ¡Interesante!
-If you care to travel to Amsterdam, you should totally go to a house chapel. They look like normal canal houses but they are pretty churches on the inside. At one point, the Dutch were like its okay to be catholic we just don’t want to see or hear about it so they build house chapels.
-Okay, so I could go on for longer but I won’t because it would a little much.
*Please note that I am suspicious of some facts. For instance, when we were at Waterlooplein he told us a fact about a church and what it was designed after in Paris. I totally called him out because that church was build after the one he was talking about. I felt kind of bad about saying I thought he was wrong but he later looked it up, told my professor, who relayed the message that I was right back to me.

In addition our tour guide said that people are racist or have the most negative feelings towards the Moroccans of all the immigrant groups. I thought that was really interesting because in our readings for class, the authors seem to group both the Turkish and Moroccans together. They seem to say that both groups have different problems, although equally, problematic. I guess I could make a further hypothesis to reasons for these differences but I might risk sounding offensive, cynical or both.

Later that day we had a Guest Speaker who told us a whole lot of facts about Amsterdam’s history. I wrote most of them down and it was cool. Also, did you know that the Dutch built both the Wall (Wall Street) to protect themselves and build Broadway and bought Manhattan for really cheap? I guess I didn’t think of it as “Dutch” as the Dutch seem to.

Speaking of New York, nearly every time we go out and encounter drunk Dutch that usually comes up. I am always reminded that New York use to be New Amsterdam and that Harlem was Nieuw Haarlem. The other things that tend to come up are Bush and whether we think it will be Hilary or Obama. Once McCain came up but only as “that old guy” that no one would elect. It’s kind of funny.

Today we met with an American practicing International Law in Amsterdam and went to a Dutch Criminal Court. The lawyer we met with was super nice and helpful. There is, however, a collective sense of apprehension and anxiety amongst our group over our future and the prospective of potentially going to law school. It was interesting listening to an American talk to us. I forget the formality and difference in the way that Dutch speech English as their second language. It was nice to hear the easy and the good old slang in his voice. The Dutch Criminal Court was also really interesting. First of all, everyone wear robes. At first, I thought they were awful but they grew on me. Especially, as a woman it seems easier. I also noticed that one of the lawyers had jeans on under her rope which must be convenient. That said, I am pretty sure she wasn’t a very good lawyer. Anyway, the case about a guy who beat his girlfriend, threatened people, insulted a police officer and damaged property. One thing that was interesting was that the judge (they only have one judge, no jury) really wanted to know why he committed his crimes. The guy admitted to beating his girlfriend but the judge kept persisting to the reasons why. He was really paternalistic and focused on the need for psychiatric counseling. My impression is that American judges are not like that but that generally Dutch judges are. The other thing that stuck out to me was that the guy (whose ethnicity was unidentifiable to me) insulted a Moroccan police officer. They also said that many of the insults were in Arabic. Just so you know, he got 8 months but actually only 4 as long as he follows his parole officers’ recommendations. Also, as a side note, the World Trade Center and the surrounding area felt like an entirely different city. In fact, we could have been anywhere in the world.

Well, I’d say that sufficient. Tomorrow I am going to a National Park. I’ll take pictures.