Delft Boat Tours, and Libraries with wierdos :p

I find myself becoming increasingly lazy when it comes to my blog. I love writing don't get me wrong and I love sharing my experiences but more and more escuses are making there way out for me not to update. Sorry about that, I'll try to be much better in the future, I guess it helps that I have a TON of things coming up that I'm looking forward to actually blogging about them. Alright so what's been happening with me lately.

I've been here for 5 months at the end of June it wil be 6, and that means that half of my adventure is already over. Wow huh? I made some friends, but one that I could consider to be a best friend here lives way up in the North of Holland and I myself live in the South. It's expensive to travel to see her, so I'm trying to branch out and make more friends here. I need traveling buddies. Like I mean that.

 Last week I went to a theme park called Efteling in Tillburg, Holland. Its entrance is to the left. Now I will say it was fun, but at the same time it wasnt. It was extremely tame the coaster in my opinion but then again I have Cedar Point, and Magic Mountain to blame for that I suppose. It only had 4 'big' coasters. I was slightly depressed too, as the two theme parks I mention above have me spoiled at 18...or is it 19 now apiece? I have a few pictures of the park, it was a great day, hot for Netherland standards and I loved it(the weather I mean!) Btw I'm not sure what character that is, but it was creepy. It's eyeballs rolled like a dolls would, it was girl under it, I have Cedar Point and Chuck E Cheese to thank for that that bit of insight. Anyways, I was uncomfortable in this picture as you can clearly tell, it was touching me...*shudders* 

 

This weekend, or more importantly this pass week has been killer. Like I'm so exhausted right now, my host kids had the week off from school and I got Monday off, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I worked and it was intense. Then add to it, Saturday I worked too, Sunday was my only day to 'rest' and I'm not even allowed to do that. It freaks them out if I stay in, so as tired as I was, I went to Delft, which is 20 minutes or so from the Hague by train.

But before I get ahead of myself and telling you what I did today let me explain also why this week was so intense despite the babysitting, it was Hockey Mania and I suppose Football(soccer) Mania as well. Everything is so decked out in Orange and this is the most I've seen the dutch flags hanging from the posts in front of the houses. I'm not sure who won, I'll turn on the tv and see later or I can wait until tomorrow and my host kid Wies(whose a hockey fanatic) will share with me I'm sure.

Today I went on a Boat tour and I took notes lol at what I saw so I could add to the post today. So when I got off the train I went left when I should have went right and ended up backtracking as not to get lost. Following the signs that pointed to the Centrum, I headed for it. Before I even got there though I noticed the canals that reminded me of Leiden and Amsterdam. Which I think I want to do a boat tour in Leiden as well. There is no need for Amsterdam as I walked the whole centrum on King's Day in May and I'll be back there on Saturday for the Color Festival(more on that later) They even had boat tours going on and I got on one as I wasn''t trying to get lost ya know? After a while all the buildings with their history look alike and your effed if they're are no signs. Anyway the tour was 50 minutes and cost 7.25 euros.

The tour consisted of Butter house(where they obviously made butter) A crazy house that has been converted to a studen dorm lol, I learned some history of the Canals in Delft and was told that every year they have to fish 2000 bicycles out of the canals due to when the kid's graduate from school they toss their bikes out, thinking they'll save enough for an expensive car or something. That job must suck fishing bikes out the canals. This pass week alone he said they fished out 200 bicyles, money wasted you guys. Especially since a bike over here is SOOO expensive.

Our tour guide was this College kid who spoke Dutch, German and English, quite and assortment huh? But thats the norm over here. The guy before him spoke Dutch, English and French I believe. Its mandatory that they learn another language and not just for two years like in the states. Damn we're so behind its blows so much. Anyways I was the only person on the boat tour who didn’t understand a degree of dutch. So he spoke English for my benefit, there was two ladies who spoke German but they could understand a bit of dutch as the languages are very similar but he spoke German to them so it wasnt an issue. I would have gotten slightly confused but he switched over all 3 languages smoothly, it was very cool to listen too.

At times the boat seemed a bit big for the Canal which came as no surprise when we bumped a corner, it was a small jolt but a bump nonetheless. We also saw this church that is slanted to the right as it stands. It's call the Oude Kerk, which translates to Old Church is also called the leaning church. It had been built from 1204-1600, taking about 300 odd years to build and by the time they finished it the foundation on it was starting to break hence the reason it's slanted. I wont go into it, but about 400 people are buried in the church...I believe the walls, so entombed is the word. Creepy and thats all I'm saying about that. See to the right how it's leaning???

I saw an old girls Orphanage that had been built in 1578, for poor girls. The front of the orphange has two little girl statues facing slightly away towards each other, and the reason of that was because of the boy's orphange right across the Canal and they are looking directly at the girls lol. It's called the Meisjeshuist which means girls something...probabaly home actually. 

 

I googled it and I was right! My dutch has gotten better! It was amazing on the outside I wish I could have seen the inside of it, right across the street or Canal really was the boy's orphanage, which wasnt given any information on it. And I even googled and they only focused on the girls..wtf? Then we saw an Hospital that is still in use today I think called De Zuster, and for a long time people who went there, got sicker and even died even if their illness weren't fatal. It turned out that the hospital water supply was connected directly to the sewer..thats sad and gross. It's been fixed now but still, thats horrible. 

The tour ended and I bascially strode through the center trying but failing not to buy things. I hate going out, you always end up spending. I took the train back to the Hague Central and wanted to see a movie but they didn’t have any that I didn’t see yet, and the ones they did I didn’t want to see IMAX 3d for it, so I'll wait. Spent time in the library before I headed home. Oh yeah, before I forget I almost got pick pocketed today, that was a horrifying experience.

I was just walking a whole bunch of people and I had put my wallet in my backpack(Thankfully) and then the next thing I know, my hand was resting lightly on my jacket pocket, I felt someone's elses hand in my pocket, they touch my hand andturned to the left of me to see this woman unnaturally

close to me. Before I could say anything she disappeared in the crowd. And I lost rational thought for a moment as I thought she had swiped my wallet, which had my bank card, my visa, and everything else important. But I found it after a mini panic attack in my backpack. Constant Vigilance I shall lol

Alright so after that experience I went to the library to enjoy the free wifi. I just want to point out that everyone who knows me, knows that I'm weird. My mannerisms and the things I randomly say and do speak for themselves. However today I met someone wierder then me, and it was slightly alarming. So Like I said I'm at the library. I get there and I'm on my Nook when maybe an hour later a guy sits near me. He looks to be in his thirties I think. I have one of my shoes slighty off, I'm relaxed and everything and heres where it gets weird. At first he's asking me the time, I tell him, and go back too what I was doing. Then he's bothering me again, asking for something in dutch, but I don’t understand it, and then he changes. He's like...hold on I'm going to Dialogue this bit its easier I think.

“I'm an artist,” he says with a smile.

“Okay, cool,” I said slowly trying to see where this was going.

“And I was wondering if I can take a picture of your feet?” He asked looking odd excited.

*stares at him blankly for a moment. “Oh..kay, sure,” I said slightly wierded out but I didn’t sense any evil or bad intentions.

“Can you take off your shoes and prop your feet on the chair(it was a booth type thing)?” He asked getting his phone out.

*Is hyper aware that my socks don’t match, I don’t usually care but dutch people REALLY DO. “Alright, sure,” I mutter out, my face I know is looking bewildered.

“And just cross them please?” He asked with a smile.

“Yeah okay,” I said quietly and does as he asks.

“Now just continued on what you were doing,” he said and I turn back to my Nook, trying to ignore his gaze on my feet.

I don’t say much for a moment but I hear him clearly.

Perfect, beautiful,” he murmurs and takes a picture, before he touches my feet. He then props up his book he was reading as his phone records my socked feet.

At this point I'm thinking he has a bloody foot fetish. And I felt slightly insane for indulging him knowing that he'll probabaly get off on my looking at my feet but hey he's not hurting anyone so who am I to judge. Like really who am I? So after about 5-10 minutes of surrealism, I don’t know how long I was slightly uncomfortable it was an odd request you know. I glance out of my Nook and look to him who pretends he wasn't llooking at my feet.

“So how long is this supposed to last?” I asked bluntly, never one for being subtle.

He shakes his head and smiles. “Ohh, I think Its done now. Thanks, and have a good day,” he says before getting up and leaving. Leaving me to stare at him in confusion. What the hell???

In that moment I swore I could hear my mom calling me an idiot for being so Naive lol,, but he literally did record my socked feet. Wierded out, I was for a moment and then I got over it and is now smirking at it. Living in the Bay Area has dimmed me when it comes to strange things, like seriously.

Next week I'm going to Amsterdam for the Holi Color Festival, I'm going to the store tomorrow to buy a white tshirt though, I don’t know what to expect but I hope it's fun. I'll have more on it next week though. Anyways, enjoy these pictures of Delft, and until Next week!