Hello! I'm in Amsterdam for the time being (well, the airport anyway), at least until my connecting flight leaves in about four hours. And, because there's not a ton to do in the airport for six hours, I'm going to talk to you, instead! Please excuse any typos--I've only slept about 4 hours (on an airplane) in the past 36. Because of this and the swirl of foreign languages surrounding me, everything feels vaguely like a dream. If I took my glasses off, everything would look like I had recently entered an Impressionist painting, and the sensation would be complete.
My flight here was pretty easy--I read, slept, and spent quite a bit of time with my eyes closed trying to pretend that I was asleep. Oh, and people-watched everyone wandering up and down the aisles, as it's quite difficult to sit for 10 hours. My favorites were ten-month old twins, little boys with heads of thick blonde hair--one curly and one straight, big smiles, and mesmerizing blue eyes.
What I know of Amsterdam is wonderful. I love the Dutch language--written, it looks sort of like English, with extra letters added for fun (I'm sure that this statement betrays a deep misunderstanding of linguistics). And spoken it sounds like a gentler version of German. I just googled it, and apparently it's roughly halfway between English and German, so my misunderstanding of linguistics is shallower than I assumed. Also, I learned that they speak Dutch in Suriname. There's your random fact of the day.
This airport is really cool. They have a miniature museum! It's one of those children's science museums, where you learn about light refractions through tilting mirrors and oscillations through pendulums that you can move yourself. And they have a DNA-based play structure, which I thought was really cool for antsy children (honestly, I sort of want to try it, but I'm a bit big).
They have a piano! That anyone can play! The Amsterdam airport gets some really good pianists too--I heard someone playing the Moonlight Sonata, all the way through, and someone else playing something that sounded like Rachmaninoff, but I didn't recognize the piece. They also have a library, with a bunch of titles in Dutch (and a handful in English).
Wandering around, I saw a sign for a "meditation room," and, curious, I wandered in. It was an interfaith chapel, with space for people of all faiths. Walking in, there was a shelf with Muslim prayer rugs, as well as a chart of when the calls to prayer will occur during the month of June. And on the shelf, they had religious texts in 47 languages (I counted, because that's what you do when you have six hours to kill in a foreign airport). Everything was there, from Thai to Luganda to Norwegian (the books were all labeled). It was very peaceful, and I tried to talk to the lady manning the room, but there was a bit of a language barrier. I don't know any Dutch, unless I wanted to try and sound out the "Only Use In Case of Emergencies" label on the alarmed door, but that wasn't quite the message I was going for. But I think that she understood that I appreciated the space.
Anyway, that's all I have to report. I promise that things will get more interesting once I actually arrive in Ghana. Love you all!
My flight here was pretty easy--I read, slept, and spent quite a bit of time with my eyes closed trying to pretend that I was asleep. Oh, and people-watched everyone wandering up and down the aisles, as it's quite difficult to sit for 10 hours. My favorites were ten-month old twins, little boys with heads of thick blonde hair--one curly and one straight, big smiles, and mesmerizing blue eyes.
What I know of Amsterdam is wonderful. I love the Dutch language--written, it looks sort of like English, with extra letters added for fun (I'm sure that this statement betrays a deep misunderstanding of linguistics). And spoken it sounds like a gentler version of German. I just googled it, and apparently it's roughly halfway between English and German, so my misunderstanding of linguistics is shallower than I assumed. Also, I learned that they speak Dutch in Suriname. There's your random fact of the day.
This airport is really cool. They have a miniature museum! It's one of those children's science museums, where you learn about light refractions through tilting mirrors and oscillations through pendulums that you can move yourself. And they have a DNA-based play structure, which I thought was really cool for antsy children (honestly, I sort of want to try it, but I'm a bit big).
They have a piano! That anyone can play! The Amsterdam airport gets some really good pianists too--I heard someone playing the Moonlight Sonata, all the way through, and someone else playing something that sounded like Rachmaninoff, but I didn't recognize the piece. They also have a library, with a bunch of titles in Dutch (and a handful in English).
Wandering around, I saw a sign for a "meditation room," and, curious, I wandered in. It was an interfaith chapel, with space for people of all faiths. Walking in, there was a shelf with Muslim prayer rugs, as well as a chart of when the calls to prayer will occur during the month of June. And on the shelf, they had religious texts in 47 languages (I counted, because that's what you do when you have six hours to kill in a foreign airport). Everything was there, from Thai to Luganda to Norwegian (the books were all labeled). It was very peaceful, and I tried to talk to the lady manning the room, but there was a bit of a language barrier. I don't know any Dutch, unless I wanted to try and sound out the "Only Use In Case of Emergencies" label on the alarmed door, but that wasn't quite the message I was going for. But I think that she understood that I appreciated the space. Anyway, that's all I have to report. I promise that things will get more interesting once I actually arrive in Ghana. Love you all!
