Godenmorgen,

This is my first post from Amsterdam, and my first since Alli died. I wanted to memorialize her by keeping her at the top of the page throughout August, and now that I'm in Amsterdam slowly intgrating into culture, I know she'd want to hear about it.

Things have been really difficult the past month or so, and the past few days were no different. My flight from Toronto was surprisingly good though, as I was bumped up to first class and enjoyed getting liberally doused in beer throughout the flight. Once I arrived in London, I took the train back to Lisa's, had a nap, went for breakfast at a lovely diner and took the train back to the airport. I fumbled with my bags for a while, but ended up getting everything on the flight to Amsterdam for free (even though it was all overweight) and got through customs.

The flight was delayed two hours. Thankfully I met a lovely American named Shanna on the flight who was moving to Amsterdam just because, and she got me a ride to Dam Square with a friend after we arrived. I then cabbed it from here and here I am.

Today was eventful. Very eventful. I went to a small town outside Amsterdam called Hilversum to take care of my immigration. An hour later and many forms out of the way, I got my residence sticker - a big deal by the way - and came back home. Then I proceeded to get CRAZY lost biking home, ending up in a neighbourhood I've never seen. Then my bike broke, so I had to walk it home. I found a repair shop, fixed the bike and stumbled on home, exhausted and two hours late.

Then began my introduction to dutch grocery shopping. I went to the cheaper retailer, Dirk Van der Broek and spent a lovely hour grabbing everything from Zucchini to dutch jam. After ringing everything through, I brought out my VISA and they told me that they don't take credit cards. NOBODY TAKES CREDIT CARDS. Since I don't have a debit card yet, it's cash cash cash, and I had to start eliminating food to get down to the amount of cash I had in my pocket. I held up the line for 15 minutes, as everything had to be scanned individually. People were generally understanding, but I stood out like a black girl at an Aryan dance. Fun.

I've fully unpacked and hooked up my phone. Call me at 905.667.4389 if you like but remember, I'm six hours ahead. I have to go to school tomorrow, and then head to the bank to setup an account. I never thought they would just give me the residence permit, so I'm gonna make a headstart in getting a bank account set up, if my credit cards are useless.

More later with pictures.