A Dam good time

We had a saying this past weekend on our trip to the capital of The Netherlands, "When in Amsterdam, do as the damned do." This is not to suggest that we sought out great amounts of immorality that Amsterdam is best known for by any means. Rather we just kept finding ourselves in situations where we just had to laugh, wonder why on earth anyone would raise their kids in such a city, and continue on with our exploration.

We trained in around 16:30 (I'm using military time now, yup I'm cultured) and the four of us (Jake, Layne, Matt and I ((Matt is an English major, so I now have good grammar (((This parathenses thing I'm doing is definitely not good grammar though, oh well)))) immediately agreed that we loved the city. Within 10 minutes we had almost gotten hit by a tram, avoided about 6 bikers that were not about to stop, and stood on a tiny bridge while taking in a beautiful scene of the sun beginning to set behind an old church. The canals that run all through Amsterdam in a Venice-like fashion were almost like arrows leading our eyes to this amazing view. We all looked at each other passing along the unspoken, but shared view that this adventure is for real.



As we explore more Jake strikes up a conversation with a random guy about a pub crawl happening later that night, and for some reason we actually did it ("When in Dam"). It really was up in the air until the words "free t-shirt" were dropped, then it was a wrap. Basically the night consisted of all of us hopping to a total of 6 pubs with a relatively small group. There was 5 of us, 4 crazy Irishmen, and 2 hilarious Englishmen. Earlier in the trip we developed a method of avoiding American prejudice and stereotyping in foreign countries by just saying we were from Canada. We decided in the rare event that we might run into Canadians we would quickly make up a province and University that we all attended, but we really did not have much behind that plan. Well, when we arrived at the first pub of the night we were all discussing our "Canadian roots" and having a good laugh about it. Just then a girl walks up and introduces herself to the group and asks where we are from. We all give slight smiles to each other and casually respond, "Canada, we are Canadians." She immediately freaks out, "NO WAY, I'M FROM CANADA! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS FROM!"

...silence...

For some reason everyone looked at me because I guess I'm designated B.S.er of the group, and they were all expecting some brilliant answer, to which I responded, "yeaaa we're from America." Credit Layne Hancock with this clutch, spontaneous, hidden camera footage:



Even though the night started a little shaky, and we added 'liar' to a list of American stereotypes, the ingredients of the night was a recipe for success. See picture below for proof.



The night also included a tour of the Red Light District, which I can use very few positive words to describe. It was easily the lowest part of my night, and I truly believe I have never been in a more worldly place in my life. "Heavy" is a great word to describe the feeling after walking through a small alley where men go to window shop for prostitues. I oddly felt that this is the exact place Jesus would be today, and quickly reminded myself that He is there, which led to continued prayer through the tour. I do not want to get any more into the Red Light District than I just described, I'll let JPatt talk more about it if he so chooses.

The next day we found a free walking tour around the entire city with a really knowledgeable and entertaining guide. Amsterdam is a beautiful city that is overshadowed by the "Coffee Shop" (weed) scene and the Red Light District. We ended at the Anne Frank house, which was 100% worth the quick tour, and was a very special place to see.

I will close with the Kevin Beach moment of Amsterdam: the Canadian girl from the pub asked if any of us were in fraternities, and Kevin Beach immediately responded, "yea Kappa Sig!" She then replied that she "LOVED Kappa Sig! and she knew a ton of Kappa Sigmas." This spawned a wonderful quote from Kevin Beach, "She had me at the letters."

Oh and for all you who are wondering who this Kevin Beach is and what he looks like, this next video will give you a visual.



By the way, he lost his passport on our first trip in London and got a temporary one from the U.S. embassy. He did end up finding this new one in Amsterdam, which was good.