Today just has not been my day.

I found out that one of the MCAT prep books I brought with me didn't transfer properly, discovered that I had somehow managed to misplace my bus pass 40 minutes before my dentist appointment, was consequently late to said appointment, couldn't communicate (aka speak French) with the dentist because of the frazzled state I was in, got a fb message from a stranger named Mohamed requesting an English-French tandem, and received a message from a couchsurfer in senegal who prefers to host women, specifies in his couch information section that he is "celibataire, pas d'enfant," and considers a traffic accident in which a baby that was only a few days old died to be one amazing thing he's seen. 

Just....Why.

Oh, and in case it's unclear why the fb message would faze me, let's just say that I met a guy named Mohamed a few months back who followed me around a grocery store, wouldn't accept that I didn't want to see him again and that I needed to go, and followed me as I started walking back home. At a distance. And without my knowledge. Luckily I realized about halfway through and he split.

Soooo yes, not exactly the best day I've had here. (On the upside, I don't have any cavities!)

But this is France, where the wine flows freely and at least one bakery can be found per tiny European block, so to improve my mood I downed one of these.

Tarte Crumble aux Mirabelles

And then I felt a little bit better.

Amsterdam

I'm starting the med school application process and it turns out I'm already (slightly) behind. HA. Why does this take 18 months?!

So in between the studying and writing and interviews and who knows what else I have to do, I thought I'd add more pictures to this thing. So here are some photos from my day trip (yes, you read that right) to Amsterdam in late January. We left on a bus at 4-5am, got to Amsterdam at around 10-11 (behind schedule, as per usual in France), spent the day walking around a wonderfully fascinating and beautiful city before getting back on the bus for the return trip at 8pm.

One of the many canals in Amsterdam

 

The tram. I hope it works better than the one here.

More canals

We started by walking to the Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht canal, the place where Anne, her family, and four others lived in hiding for over two years. The house has been turned into a museum, where you can see Anne's diaries, where they lived, and the work Otto Frank, Anne's father, has done since being released from captivity, among other things. Seeing the annex was so incredibly sad - imagine being forced to stay in small, cramped rooms with thick black shades over the windows at all times, and for so long at such a young age. But the hardest part for me was watching the videos of Otto, the only survivor among the eight, speaking about his experiences and his emotions upon finding and reading his daughter's diary. It was so heartbreaking to watch him say that he thinks parents can never fully know their children as he visibly fought back tears.

The entrance to the Anne Frank House, where she and her family lived in hiding until they were betrayed.

The Anne Frank House. Such a sobering experience.

Afterwards, we had lunch then caught the bus that would take us to Zaanse Schans, which, according to wikipedia, is "a neighborhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk in the municipality of Zaanstad in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland." So to paraphrase, it's a place outside of Amsterdam with a lot of windmills, old houses, and cute museums (cheesemaking, bakery museum, etc.).

Reserved seats on the bus.

Someone's a little bit behind.

Zaanse Schans

Because I am (still) a child.

In the wooden clog museum.

Windmills!

This one is called De Kat.

On the roof of De Kat.

Such a cute and charming place. I can only imagine with it looks like in the spring/summer.  

Once we got back to Amsterdam, we walked around the red light district for the rest of the time, looking at highly unconventional window displays and having the lifeblood scared out of me by what turned out to be a prostitute I saw moving out of the corner of my eye.

Amsterdam at night.

Part of the red light district.

Despite the severe time constraints, it was definitely worth the trip. Amsterdam/The Netherlands is a fascinating place.

Printemps du Cinema

It appears that French cinemas welcome spring with cheaper admission. For the past three days, all movies have been 3,50 so I took advantage and went to and saw Les Femmes du 6eme Etage and Made in Dagenham (which is referred to as "We Want Sex Equality" here in la belle France). I thoroughly enjoyed both, though I felt Made in Dagenham got off to a rather slow start. 

Les Femmes du 6eme Etage is about Spanish women who work as maids for wealthy Parisian families and follows the evolution of one male employer's perception of these women, which in turn affects his relationships not only with them but also with his elitist wife and friends/colleagues. Immigration, class, and gender issues all rolled up into one, plus a cute and often hilarious love line made it easy to like, despite the challenge of having to decipher French spoken with a Spanish accent. 

Made in Dagenham/We Want Sex Equality is based on a true story and follows the strikes of women employees at the Ford Dagenham plant, who protest sexual discrimination and demand equal pay as the men. It was pretty lighthearted for the most part, but did also show the consequences of fighting for rights - on marriage/family, friendships, etc. Some of the scenarios are highly unlikely and difficult to believe, but overall I appreciated it. It is a feel good movie, after all. 

Aside from watching happy, feel good movies, I've been preparing lessons in order to teach French schoolchildren about texting slang/shorthand and the civil rights movement (late, I know, but sadly I had to work really hard to convince people to let me do it at all) and soaking up as much sunlight as I can while this gorgeous weather lasts. Have to stimulate vitamin D synthesis!

Today's day 1 of my fifth to last week as an English teaching assistant in France. And unlike far too many of my other days here, it has been/is marvelous. The sun is out and shining, skies are gorgeously blue, flowers are starting to bloom, and everyone is generally much cheerier than usual. Like the one teacher that I was frightened of, for instance, who decided to have a nice heart-to-heart with me in hushed tones as she oversaw her students doing a devoir. Even the man at the post office was unusually nice, joking with me as he did his job efficiently and with a smile(!!!).

The view from my window - tell me those blue skies would not plaster a huge grin onto your face!

Strangely enough, this place is (finally) starting to feel a little bit like home, and I suspect that I will miss it dearly when I leave in 5 weeks.

Am back from a marvelous two weeks traveling around Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, wonderfully refreshed and ready to take on the system once more. Only six more weeks!