Amsterdam and Day 1 in Israel
The past 2 days have been so hectic. I left the hotel in SA around 6 pm Saturday, got to the airport, and my flight was supposed to leave at 12:30am. Of course, just my luck, the plane was delayed to 1:30 am. An extra hour of waiting. So, I took my book, cozied up on a bench, and waited and waited until I finally boarded. I was in hope of having a whole row to myself, but a man sat in the aisle seat, leaving me and the middle seat. The flight was long. Like, excruciatingly long. I thought I would have a Harry Potter Marathon (since they had all the movies!) so I started with the first one, and got around 3/4 through, and decided I would try go to sleep.
I tossed, I turned, I folded my legs and my arms into wierd positions, and I just could not get comfortable. It was horrible- I tried sleeping and it was the most awful sleep I have ever had. Just terrible.
After a while, I gave up on trying to sleep, and decided to watch more HP. But, to my luck, my video screen was broken. It took them about 45 minutes to restart and fix. By the end, it was ok. I only watched the first HP, by the time we landed in Amsterdam. The man sitting next to me turned out to be quite a nice guy, travelling with his wife. He was from Pretoria, and now lives in Scotland. We spoke a bit, and I told him about my volunteering in Israel plan, and he said it was a good idea not to do that in SA- he was telling me how it was so common for the gangsters and criminals to shoot or stab the paramedics if they don’t attend to them first ( no matter how minor or serious). Such craziness.
I landed in Amsterdam 11 am Sunday morning. I headed straight out to meet up with Nancy. I took the trains and found my way, and she met me at the station. Once we went back to her place, we hung out and I showered. Might I say, she has the most awesome apartment- it’s in an old trucking container, which was soundproofed and insulated, with running water- so she basically lives in a big container- and it’s awesome. I want one!
We headed to the city, where we decided we’d go to the Anne Frank House. We walked through the city in the foggy cold. Along the way we walked through the flower market, and stopped by some head shops and saw all the crazy cannabis being sold. Once we got to to the museum, the line was quite long ( but according to Nancy, it was actually the smallest cue she’s seen there) so we waited about 30 minutes before heading in. The tour was short, and it was interesting to see. I snuck a picture of the bookcase that hid their annex ( I wasn’t supposed to) but I couldn’t resist.
After the tour, we walked to the city center- Dam street ( I think that’s what its called?) We saw some more coffeeshops, and of course, we headed to the red light district. It was too funny to see all these girls and women in the windows, all shapes and sizes. We couldn’t stop laughing. After walking around for an hour or so, it was time to head back to the airport.. but first it was Nancy’s mission to show me this restaurant that had vending machines serve you.. I didn’t really believe her at first, but once I saw it, I have to say, it was pretty cool (and delicious!)
I picked up my stuff from Nancy’s and then headed back to the airport. It was perfect timing. My plane left at 8:50 pm, and I got to the airport around 6:45. I got some sushi and soup, and then went straight to the boarding.
The plane was packed solid. Luckily, the girl sitting next to me decided to go sit with her friend, leaving me with an empty seat ( but there was another person on the aisle seat). This flight didn’t have any entertainment system unfortunately, but I was pretty tired from walking around all day with Nancy, and I successfully fell (half) asleep. And, I was suprised that my Ipod lasted the whole flight!
When we were landing, I experienced the most excruciating pain in my right ear. It was blocked while we were landing, and it hurt.. like, a lot. I never experienced anything like this before while flying I’ve had a sore throat since SA, and it seemed to develop into a full fledged cold while in Amsterdam, and now I am congested beyond belief, and my ear is still blocked.
After landing and gathering all my luggage, my sweet cousin Maya was waiting for me at the arrivals ( this was all around 3 am Monday morning!! So nice of her to come get me!). We got back to her cute little apartment where she lives with her wife Shira and little doggy Spino around 4:15 am. I had a quick shower, spoke to Eran and my Mom, took some meds, and went to bed.
I woke up today around 12:30 pm, thinking it was still really early. My throat was horrid, and my ear was still blocked. Maya took me out for a delicious breakfast, and then we went to the pharmacy where I got some cold meds. They seem to be helping, but we’ll see tomorrow just how effective they really are.
After that, we picked up Spino, and headed to visit some other family members in Ashkelon. My uncle Joe ( my Bobba’s older brother) and his wife Ronit live on a Moshav, and their other lovely daughter Avital and her husband Michael live nearby as well. We all met and had tea together, chatting away. We even had some fresh oranges and pomello( I picked it myself!!) from their backyard- I took advantage of this and ate a lot of oranges for Vitamin C! Ronit then had to run to a theatre rehearsal, and the rest of us had dinner together at their house. It was so nice to be with the family. Even though I just met Avital, it felt like I’ve known her forever. I get such a nice, welcoming, and warm feeling from my family. It’s really such a pleasure, and they are so nice for taking care of me.
Now, I am back at Maya’s apartment, typing away. I think I will take some night time cold pills and hit the sack.
I am so happy to be here- I am eager to see what kind of adventures lie ahead for me.
Lots of love
Sjjt
