Thanksgiving, trains, Amsterdam and cold weather

Hi! It's been much too long since my last post, especially because it is already the 3rd of December! My time here is going by too fast, but luckily I've had a number of things to do to occupy my time. I guess I should fill you all in on what I've been doing since my last post!

Classes at the center are going pretty well. Nothing too exciting there; just doing homework, taking some tests and getting ready to start finals. Our center did have a potluck thanksgiving for us on Thanksgiving and I decided to make sweet potatoes. I asked mom for the recipe, bought the stuff and told my host mom what I was going to make and she said that I MUST make some for her family to try. So I made a little bit for them at dinner and I have to say, I must not be that terrible of a cook because they loved them! Especially the mother. She asked for 2 helpings and the leftovers. I think they liked the marshmallow topping the best. I mean, who wouldn't? The next day(t-giving) I cooked a larger batch while my friend cooked green bean casserole. That was also very delicious. Note that this happened during the greve (strike), so we had to find a way to get to the center by 7pm and we did NOT want to walk an hour from my house. We decided to take line 9, which was working a little better than line 8 (my normal line to school). We waited in the station for about 10 minutes when the train arrived completely full of people. Even if we weren't carrying hot pans with food we still wouldn't have been able to fit inside of the train. Sadly, we waited by the very front of the train when the conductor happened to walk out. Miraculously he motioned to us to board the train with him. So....we got to ride with the conductor! It was pretty awesome and is probably one of my more memorable experiences in France, just because I love the metro and to be able to ride with the conductor is like a dream come true. Anyway, we made it unscathed to the center with our dishes and the night commenced. There was a lot of good food, Ferrero Rocher's (chocolate of the gods) wine, and dessert. I had a great time with my friends and professors and (no offense to my family) but it was one of my more fun thanksgivings. Ok...onto the next event.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Ruth who is studying in Amsterdam. I took the train very early (it left at 6:55am, which meant i woke up at 4:30am) to Amsterdam, and on the way the train stopped in Brussels, the Hague, Rotterdam, and a few other cities. I think the train was the first place that I heard Dutch spoken, and I have to say, I really like it. Anyway, when I got there I met her at the train station and we walked to her dorm. There really are a ton of canals in Amsterdam, as well as bikes. it was such a nice contrast to Paris and I definitely want to go back and spend more time there one day. Plus, it's way cheaper than Paris! We got lunch at this restaurant which served Pannokoeken (i think that's how it's spelled), which is like a mixture between a crepe and a pancake, only better. After that we visited an open market called the Albert Cuyp market and saw lots of stands and I also saw some of the Zwarte pietes (I think that's how it's spelled...it means black pete's...I think). Anyway, it was for the Sinterklaas holiday coming up and these people are santa's "helpers," and are really dutch people dressed as black people. They go around handing out candy to the little kids and to most it's seen as perfectly normal, but it was shocking for me to see because it seems a bit racist to have a white santa with black helpers. After that she made me buy Stroppen waffel for only 1 euro, which is a heavenly dutch pastry made of two thin waffely things with a thick syrup in the middle. I wanted to take it back to France with me it was so good. Then we headed to the Van Gogh museum, which was amazing, and after that we hung out in her room for a while before we made dinner. Later that night I got to meet some of her friends and we hung out with them for a while before we headed to an australian bar in town. The next day, since it was raining and really freaking cold, we woke up around 10:30am, sat around, made breakfast, watched an episode of the Office and headed to the Troppen Museum, which has exhibits about Africa, the Caribbean, the Rainforest, South America and parts of Asia. It was huge and unfortunately we couldn't make it through the whole thing, but we saw a good portion of it. Then we went back to her room because it was still cold and rainy. We hung out for a little more until I had to get on my train. it was a short weekend but I enjoyed seeing Amsterdam and spending some time with Ruth and her friends. I definitely want to go back some day. I have to add that when I was on the train ride back, there was a little dutch boy who was very much at home walking around the train car that I was in. He would mumble dutch things and occasionally run into some seats, lay on the ground and smile at me. Sometimes he cried, but I just listened to my ipod when that happened. Then, the woman who was sitting next to me had some bags in the compartment above me. I guess it wasn't very secure because as I was minding my own business the bag has the nerve to fall on my head! I didn't really care, it was just kind of a shock. She seemed really sorry about it, but I assured her that I was indeed alright. I really do love taking trains much more than planes. I wish the US had a better train system.

Other than those two major events, I have been hanging out with my friends, watching some movies in the center, doing homework and exploring Paris. I hope this was a sufficient update!