Talking with strangers in Amsterdam

            I am more relaxed in Amsterdam since I don’t feel as rushed by staying two full days here, I can stroll (quickly) and linger in various places.  I can duck in and out of shops that I find interesting. 

            What I have noticed is the different languages spoken by the people who surround me.  And yet, when I ask a question, they immediately adapt and respond in English.  Of course, many times I am apologizing for something----with a smile---the universal language. You can’t just be a looky-loo!

            With so many people surrounding me, there is no one to have a conversation.  The last good conversation, albeit short, I had was in London with Julia.  And I paid for that tour.  My hotelier, well at least one of them, was very friendly and would great me at the end of the day. He shared a brownie square with me (delicious).  I told him I heard him singing while I was sitting and writing in the lobby.  He corrected me and told me he was reading his Koran and that started the conversation—mostly one sided---about God and belief. Well, still, it was a very good brownie.   

            When I arrived in Amsterdam coming from Leiden on the train, I decided to Taxi to the hotel from Centraal Station. (I am finding my shoulder and neck are going numb and sometimes is too painful with the weight of my backpack). Hailing a Taxi was easy.  It was a 20-minute trip for very cheap (cheaper than the 100 pounds in London!). My taxi driver, Zakaria, made plans with me to take me to the airport on Friday for a flat rate of 50 euros.  That is the going rate—at the hotel it was 52 to 55 euros. Zakaria told me to call him if I had any questions, which I never did.  Come Friday, Zakaria was at the hotel to pick me up.  We had a nice conversation in the 30-minute car trip to the airport.  He parked and we talked more for about 20 minutes.  Being a second-generation Dutch, he talked about how things have changed in Holland since his grandfather came to Amsterdam from Morrocco in the 1960’s.  Most of his concerns were around the housing crisis.  Basically, at age 18 one can apply to buy a social house, but it takes 20 years to be approved.  In the meanwhile, living with parents, roommates, and renting are your only options.  Rents are expensive and the gov’t doesn’t help unless you are in the social housing market. Immigration was to be blamed for this crisis according to Zakaria point-of-view. 

            To me, it was interesting to hear this.  I am a reader of walls, stickers and graffiti.  One sticker (posted) protests the “Residential Crisis” and I was able to hear about it from a local.  

            

Protesting the Holland Residential Crisis in stickers.

Other protests graffiti, stickers, and murals were found: 

This tag at the shipyard (above) says, "America, can we agree? Abortions should be FREE!

                                        Tag above:  "Taste the Madness"

                                            This is not a Banksy (that I know of). 

                                            Icy and Sot poster found in museum

                                I thought I would throw this in from an earlier blog post.  This is what Londoners posted about MTG, calling her a "Green-eyed monster".