History, Haarlem, and Hookers- Day 1 and 2 in The Netherlands

Day 1- Amsterdam

I arrived early around 8am.  I was very pleased to have a quick and calm visit to customs officers.  It was a sharp contrast to my 2 hours of chaotic lines in Kuwait's airport the night before.  I dropped my bags off at my hostel and set off for a walking tour.  In case you are wondering, a hostel is a low priced hotel in which you share accommodation with others.  I stayed in a four person dorm with 3 people from Brazil who were traveling together.  The four of us shared a room and a bathroom.  I found my new Brazilian acquaintances to be friendly and it certainly didn't hurt that guy (there were 2 girls and 1 guy) was quite a hottie :) I chose to try a hostel in an effort to keep my budget low because the cost was about half the price of other hotels in the area.

After dropping my luggage off in a locker at the hostel,  I walked a few blocks to find Dam Square, a major gathering place in Amsterdam.  In this area, I joined other tourist who were gathering for a free walking tour.  If you are ever visiting a new city, I suggest checking to see if they offer a free walking tour.  I am learning that they give a lot of the same information you would get on tours that you pay for.  It's nice to give the guide a good tip after.  The guide for my tour gave a good history of Amsterdam's government.  He talked in detail about Dutch Imperialism and influence throughout the world.  A huge influence of this can be seen in New York City, which was originally settled by the Dutch and was previously called New Amsterdam.  I am spending part of my visit in Haarlem, which is the what Harlem, New York is named after.  

The white Umbrella says "Free Walking Tour" and helps tourist to find the tour guide

The walking tour took us through the Red Light District.  The Red Light District in a historic part of the city that has lots of charming shop, canals, and beautiful buildings. Oh, and hookers.  Lots and lots of hookers.  Amsterdam chose to legalize prostitution.  Our tour guide said this was to end the problem of women being abused by pimps.  He said that the prostitutes are "self-employed".  We know that prostitution is one of the oldest professions in history, so Amsterdam chose legalize it rather than continue to prosecute its prostitutes.  I had heard about the Red Light District and assumed it would be a couple of dark alleys that the tour guide would point to as we walked by.  I was a bit surprised to realize that the cute cobblestone alleys we were walking through were a part of this district.  My tour was at 10:30am and the ladies were already standing in the windows wearing bikinis or lingerie awaiting customers.  We learned that open curtains means they are open for business, while closed curtains mean they are already "busy".  There are red lights on above the doors of the shops. We also learned that a blue light means you are likely in the company of a transvestite. 

you will have to guess. I can't tell you what marijuana soda taste like

nobody goes to this coffee shop for coffee 

The Red light district is also notorious for drugs.  Our guide explained that Amsterdam has not legalized marijuana.  It has however, chosen to ignore this "soft drug" use.  The result is that there is a distinct smell of weed in the air coming from the many "coffee shops" that are present.  

The streets are lined with lovely cafes and businesses

if you live along the canal, this pizza place will deliver to you via boat

The walking tour gave me a great view of historic Amsterdam.  I was surprised by how large the Red Light District was, and by the fact that the girls in windows are right next door to cafes and small business.  During the tour, I met a girl from New Zealand, and we walked around together for a couple of hours after the tour sightseeing and grabbing lunch.  As a solo traveler, I find that I am much more likely to meet new people than when I am traveling with a group and only speak to those in my group.  

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I visited the Anne Frank House Museum as well.  The home where Anne Frank and her family hid to escape Nazi persecution has been transformed into a museum.  I found this to be a very touching experience.  I remember studying this while in school, but being in the house solidifies the fact that this was a real family who remained indoors for over 2 years to protect themselves.  Ultimately, the family was killed in a Jewish concentration camp with the exception of Anne's father, who fulfilled her wish to have her writing published.  I do not have photos to share because photos are not permitted inside the museum.  However, I would recommend this experience to anyone visiting Amsterdam. If you do plan to visit the museum, make a reservation online a few weeks in advance to secure an admission time.  If not, you will wait in a very long line without a guarantee to even be able to get in.

this is just one third of the line waiting to enter the museum. I could skip this line because I had a reservation

I choose to end my busy touring day with a canal tour.  Amsterdam is famous for its beautiful canals and buildings.  In retrospect, this was probably not the greatest idea after walking miles around the city and only getting a few hours of sleep the night before on my 2am flight from Kuwait.  The canals soothed me into a peaceful nap after about 35 minutes of the hour long tour.   I found it interesting to see how closely cars park to the canals.  Apparently, about 1 car a week drives into the canal in spite of guard rails. 

Day 2- Haarlem 

I booked a stay at an Airbnb home in the city of Haarlem which is a short 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam.  I choose to do this because it is more affordable than staying in Amsterdam, and because I find big city life to be too overwhelming and chaotic for my taste.  AirBnB stands for Air bed and breakfast.  It is an alternative to regular hotel stays.  I am staying with a Dutch woman in her small home.  She was kind enough to pick me up from the train station, provide me with lots of brochures, and give me guidance about how to get around town.  This stay is costing me less than $45 per night. 

I choose to allow myself to relax a bit more today.  I have plenty of time to return to Amsterdam for more touring.  Today I went to the beach.  After my host explained the transportation system, I chose to face my fear of getting lost and venture out.  I took a bus to the train station and then took a train to the beach.  I asked strangers for help along the way.  Although the national language here is Dutch and most signs are printed in Dutch, most people also speak English.  People here have been very friendly and willing to help.  I was successful in finding the beach.  It was nice, but a bit too cold for me to sit outside and enjoy.  I found a restaurant with huge picture window so that I could see the beach while staying warm.  After being in temperatures over 110F in Kuwait, a 65F day at the beach was chilly.  I relaxed with a tasty grilled salmon salad and a good book. 

I ventured back to my temporary home with a slight detour.  Slight detour is my fancy way of saying that I got lost.  The cool part is that I found my way eventually.  A tool that I forgot to use when I got lost has been pretty helpful to me during this trip.  I use the app "RometoRio".   It tells me the modes of transportation that are best to get around a city and gives turn by turn walking directions.  This has been a great asset to me this week.  

What I have learned about Ramadan

Ramadan began today.  Ramadan is a month of religious observations for Muslims.  During this month, many Muslims engage in faith based practices such as fasting, giving to charity, and studying the Quran.  Why is it necessary for me to learn about Ramadan even though I am not a Muslim? Some of the rules of Ramadan are actually the law here in Kuwait.  Breaking some of the rules could mean fines exceeding $1500USD or jail time.  Here are some of the things I have learned so I can keep my tail out of jail.


1. There is no eating or drinking in public from sunrise to sunset.  No morning cup of coffee.  No cool  bottle of water in the car after walking through the big parking lot in 115F temperatures like today.  Breaking this rules in public can result in the penalties mentioned above.  I found it interesting to drive past restaurants today at 1:30 and find them completely abandoned. Food is not publicly served during fasting hours this month. At work, we have been instructed to eat or drink behind closed doors if we must do so.  In case you are wondering, there are exceptions to the fasting rules for children, pregnant women, and people with medical conditions.

2 Modest dress is a normal thing here. We generally follow the rule of thumb that women should cover themselves from shoulders to the knees.  During Ramadan, we have been advised to cover our arms and legs as well.  While many women choose to cover their heads here in Kuwait, it is not a requirement for anyone.  This rule of optional head cover does remain the same during Ramadan.

This was the temperature earlier today.  Seeing this adds some perspective to the "No drinking " rule 

Now here are some general things I have learned about Ramadan. My job took time to have a meeting explaining some of these things to us.  We have a large staff that includes both Muslims and Non-Muslims.  I appreciated this information to help me understand the religious observation a bit more:

•  Its it customary to greet people saying "Ramadan Kareem" or "Ramadan Mubarak"!  This is the equivalent of saying Merry Christmas. 

• Work ends early this month for most jobs and businesses have shortened hours of operation.  For example, my job's Ramadan hours are 9:30am until 1pm.   

• During the month of Ramadan, it is traditional to fast from sunrise to sunset.  Individuals usually get up early before sunrise for a morning meal called Suhur.  In the evening after sunset, there is a large meal called Iftar. 

I am posting some photos of an Iftar dinner hosted by my job tonight.   This was also our End of Year Staff Dinner.  We gathered at a local hotel and enjoyed a great meal. 

Ramadan Kareem!! 

Reflections On My First Year Teaching Abroad

Today was a beautiful day! I gave my students farewell hugs and watched them depart for the summer.  Hooray! Hallelujah! Wahoo!  I have officially made it through my first year of living and teaching in Kuwait!

Our entire kindergarten class and teachers wore this shirt today! 

When I looked into teaching abroad opportunities, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted.  I did not want to teach English. I wanted to do the same things I did in an American classroom while living in another country.  (I wrote about the process of finding this job here.) Thankfully, my current teaching position has allowed me to do that.  I teach an American curriculum at an American school.  I teach according to Common Core standards, which are used in most states in the USA. I thought I would write a great comparative blogpost about my teaching experience here versus back home in the USA.  Not today.  In case you didn't just read above, today was my last full day with students.  I'm exhausted.  I can, however, share some random bullet points related to this topic. 

• A class of 15 students with two adults is lovely!  I have no complaints about the student to teacher  ratio. 
• I experienced my first "rain day" here.  It was raining in the morning, school was cancelled throughout the country.  Rain is serious business in a desert climate. 

the "naughty kid"

• I think every classroom in every country has a notorious naughty kid.  You know that kid that is popular for all the wrong reasons who parents ask about at conferences. Thankfully, this year I only had one of those little angels and not 4-5 of them. 
• I felt relieved to be able to focus more on teaching without several stops during the day to deal with disruptive behavior.  As mentioned above, children here do misbehave, but I experienced with much less of this compared to my last few years of teaching in North, Carolina. 

This week's forecast. It was still 90 at 10:25 pm when I took this screen shot.

• Our students played outside year round.  This means they were outside going strong whether it was 110F or 50F.   In case you are wondering, 110 is NOT fun for supervising recess or carpool time at dismissal.

This is one fancy ride for the kids to spill their juice boxes in after school

• I went from a high poverty public school to a private school with 1 year's tuition that is equal to 1.5 years at the  University that I graduated from.  Kids are kids. They enjoyed play, laughter, and learning.  The kids here are just more likely to have passport stamps from international travel and live in nannies. 
• I had more parents who spoke fluent English here in the Middle East than I did back in America.  My inability to speak Arabic was not a barrier for communicating with parents here.

my next bullet points bring me the most joy! 

• This job pays my rent so I haven't paid rent or utilities in the last 9 months!
• I've paid off $10,000 in debt!
• I've visited 5 new countries and will add 1 more to my passport next week! 

This year has been a busy one.  It has included a fair share of ups and downs.  When I think about all of these things, I know that I still have no regrets about my choice to move to Kuwait. Have you ever considered living abroad?  

Egypt- in photos

I've had the pleasure of spending the past 5 days in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  No pyramids here ladies and gentleman.  This was a trip for rest and relaxation.  My friend Nikita and I shared a room at a 5 star hotel.  I do not usually have a budget for 5 star travel alone, but sharing expenses and a surprise complimentary upgrade made it possible on this trip.  Our hotel overlooked the Red Sea. The daily schedule was something along the lines of beach, pool, excursion, eat, repeat.  We kept things simple and had a great time.

Our Hotel

one of the great views walking the grounds of our hotel

this room was nice and spacious with 2 queen beds, two closets,  a sitting area, and a swim up pool outside of the sliding doors. 

The Beach

Our hotel had a private beach with plenty of lounge chairs and beach umbrellas for shade. You may notice that the water appears to be two distinctly different shades of blue.   The light blueish green water is shallow.  The deep blue water is where the reef drops.  That meant that this was also a nice location for snorkeling along the coral reef.  

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the mountains visible in this photo is actually an island called Tiran Island

Quad Bike Excursion at Sunset

This took place in the desert with the mountains as our backdrop.  

we are wearing scarves and sunglasses because the quad bikes kick up lots of dust while driving

my friend and travel buddy Nikita

sunset

Excursion #2- Snorkeling

The water was a beautiful clear blue.  The fish were colorful and varied along the coral reefs.  The temperature was very high, but that was forgivable on a moving boat with the fresh sea breeze. 

pictured with our snorkel guide

notice all the jellyfish behind us.  I never quite got used to feeling them brush against my arms or legs. 

screen shot of the day's forecast-it was the hottest day of the trip

mountain views from the boat

Overall, this trip was GREAT!  We had a good balance of activity and relaxation.  We met some interesting people.  We met at least 10 guys named Mohamed because that name along with Ahmed and Mustafa seemed to be the most common name in the country.  This is not an exaggeration!  We bartered with men working in shops because we know they were trying to overcharge the foreigners.  This is a common conversation while walking along a strip of shops: 

Salesguy: Hello, Sister!  You my color. (pointing to his arm and referencing our skin color) Welcome. I  give you good price

Me: (after observing souvenir item) How much for this?

Salesguy: Where you from? 

Me:  I want the price first.  Don't change it because of where I'm from

They would quote a price that was at least triple the value.  I would offer a much lower price.  We would meet somewhere in the middle. 

we had delicious grilled fish one night at a local market 

 Naama Bay- a local shop and restaurant spot 

The best part of this trip may have been the price!  Everyone likes to get a great deal.  I am on a mission to eliminate debt in my life, so budget is really important to me.  Sharm El Shiekh is very affordable.  Although Egypt has fairly cheap accommodation in general, part of this is influenced by a plane crash in October of 2015 which was linked to possible terrorism. Sharm El Sheikh has traditionally been a very popular resort destination for British and Russian tourist.   Because of that plane crash, tourism from the UK and Russia has reduced dramatically. During our stay, we mostly saw tourist from Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.  We did not ever feel unsafe in the time that we were there.  Here are some figures from my budget:

5 night hotel with complimentary breakfast and 3 meals for two at the resort- $328 USD 

This means that my half was $164 USD

Quad Bike and Snorkel Excursion- $68/person

Flight from Kuwait to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt-  $239 USD

In addition, I spent about $150 on meals, transportation, a wifi router, and a couple of souvenirs

This makes a grand total of $607.00 which was slightly over my budget of $600. 

I recommend this destination as a place to enjoy natural beauty and relaxation.  Although I never felt unsafe, I also recommend checking travel advisories before planning a trip since this location is still linked to threats of terrorism. I imagine that it would be a perfect addition to a vacation to Cairo, Egypt.  I look forward to returning in the future! 

  

Jordan Trip- Spring Break 2016

I’m going on a trip this weekend!   That’s actually not the topic of this blog entry. I still have to write about the last trip.  My previous blogging goal was one entry per week, but clearly that has not been happening.   I visited Jordan during our spring break in late March-early April.  I was fortunate to be joined by my mother and our family friend Ms. Denise. 

Day 1 of our trip was spent in Amman, Jordan.   Amman is a busy city with lots of buildings on what seem to be never ending rolling hills.  Our guide informed us that over half of the countries inhabitants live in Amman.  After living in Kuwait for the past 8 months, the thing I was most excited to see in Jordan upon arrival was ……grass.  I know it sounds simple, but grassy fields of green grass are just not common in Kuwait.  One thing that I was not excited about in Jordan was the cold.  The temperatures averaged about 45-55Farenheit.  Winter was already over in Kuwait and we were experiencing 70-80F regularly already.  I made the mistake of assuming that Jordan’s weather was the same as Kuwait because they are both Middle Eastern countries. 

We visited The Ancient City of Petra on Day 2 of our visit.  This city is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world.  The city is believed to have been established over 2,000 years ago by a group of people known as Nabataeans.  In this city, you find amazing structures carved into stone.   You can see how there was class distinction with cave dwelling homes built into stone for poor, middle class, and wealthy families.  Within the city you find places of worship, an amphitheater, and tombs for burial.  Petra is also a very naturally beautiful city with rose colored stone. I would recommend this a place to visit for anyone traveling to Jordan.

Petra Selfie-  This headscarf was all about staying warm.  It was cold. 

The Dead Sea was also a part of our agenda.  It’s difficult to explain why going to this body of water is fascinating.  My first impression was that the place was stunningly beautiful.   As we drove along the coast with a view of the sea, I couldn’t believe how stunningly blue the water was.  Unlike the rest of Jordan,  the Dead Sea was rather warm.  As we drove there from Petra, I noticed the temperature reading increase about 30 degrees as we decended to the lowest elevation on Earth.  The warmer temperatures allowed us to hop in and try floating.  After getting over the initial cold, I found the water to be pleasant and relaxing.  The surface was really rocky, so I recommend water shoes to anyone else who plans to visit.   It was really windy and there were lots of waves the day of our visit, so I had to hold on to the platform pictured below in order to not float away. 

The white substance at the bottom of the rocks is salt

We visited some pretty cool Biblically significant spots such as Mt. Nebo and the Baptism Site of Jesus.  If your childhood was anything like mine, then you spent A LOT of time in church.  I also attended a Christian school from preschool through 6th grade.   Jordan is one of the countries that the children of Israel passed through to get to the Promised Land.  Mt. Nebo is the mountain where Moses viewed the promised land and was buried.  When we visited this location, we could see Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Jericho in the distance.  

You are looking at "The Land flowing with Milk and Honey" - The Promised Land

Jordan is also believed to be the location where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.  This fact is disputed because Israel also claims to be home to the baptism sight.  In any case, it is the same body of water, which is the Jordan River.  The pillars below are said to be the location where the baptism took place.  Visitors are not allowed to  get into this water or draw water from this spot of the river.  However, there was a part of the river about 1/4 mile further where visitors are allowed to get into the water and have their own little baptisms.  My mother, Ms. Denise and I dipped our hands in the water and baptized one another in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.   

The baptism location of Jesus beyond Bethany

This is the baptism site where visitors are allowed to enter the water.  The ropes in the water show the separation of Jordan and Israeli borders.  There was an armed guard to make sure no one tried any funny business with illegal border crossing. 

Overall, I enjoyed the trip to Jordan.  There were a lot of locations to visit.  The variation of climate and landscape is very interesting.  We visited mountains as well as the lowest elevation on land at the Dead Sea.  Our trip to the Desert at Wadi Rum was cancelled because it was too cold for a ride in an open Jeep.  I would recommend this trip for others with the following tips:

• bring water shoes for the Dead Sea.  It is very rocky and the salt water burns open cuts (i cut my finger on a rock)
• Hire a driver or arrange a tour with a tour company.  Jordan has a lot to see and do but the locations are spread out.  For example, Petra is about 3 hours from Amman.  The landscape is also very hilly with some pretty sharp twist and turns along the mountains.  Driving a rental is not for the faint of heart. 
• Know that English is widely spoken at tourist locations, but not necessarily common throughout the country