To Amsterdam!

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After three hours of sleep, I awoke at 9 exhausted. Today I was to heading to Amsterdam, and my mode of transportation was with Jochem’s rowing team in a twenty-year-old limousine. They were heading to the Southern Netherlands, and were able to swing by Amsterdam to deposit me. It was nice to have had the opportunity to stay with Jochem and Jaust, and perhaps I will see them again someday. I arrived in Amsterdam around 5:00, and due to the late hour and lack of planning ahead, all the hostels were booked and I took the cheapest hotel I could find which was 50 Euros. My first night in Amsterdam, it was obvious as to the place that I should first investigate - the Red Light District. I sauntered up to the District about 9 that night, and -mindful of the warning that the hotel receptionist gave about the strange people that lurked at night - my senses were vigilant for danger signs. There DID seem to be strange looking folk up in that area. Actually, it seemed like they were mostly Black people, who looked tall and emaciated and had a rather crazy look in their eyes. In commenting upon their race I do so only for illustrative purposes, nothing else. One person approached me and asked if I wished to buy his bike; later, I discovered that these people are infamous for stealing bikes and sell them (for as low as 6 Euros) to pay for cocaine and other drugs. I did not spend much time in the district, as dusk was falling and it was quite depressing to witness the passer-by’s objectification of the women behind the glass. I feel fortunate to have seen these things however, not for its erotic nature - actually it was more uncomfortable than erotic - but for the education I gained about human nature. I suppose, in one sense, it is completely natural for males to find such an outlet for their powerful sexual drive; in another, it is sad to witness the marvellous complexity and wonder of human sexually brutally simplified into a transaction of commodities. Too much to ponder with so little sleep; I retire.

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Photos

Limo
Here is the hog that we rode to Amsterdam in - it doesn't look too bad on the outside, but it was falling apart on the inside.

Reg Light District
Self-explanatory