amsterdam

amsterdam was wonderful. i expected it to be dirty and seedy and altogether uninhabitable, but it was the opposite. it's clean. it's cozy. the people are in good spirits and ride bikes everywhere. and, dutch is way easier than czech.

we were on approximately hour 1.5 of our bike tour when i realized that i could probably live in amsterdam forever. i can't put my finger on why, just like i can't picture why i liked boston so much when i first visited, but it might have had to do with the weather.

it's unfortunate that opinions of places have to do with something so uncontrollable, but if it's pleasant outside (60-70 degrees F) it seems to be perfect weather to fall in love with a place.

since i've been back to prague i've been trying to find a way to move to amsterdam. it's almost impossible to teach english there (because most of the dutch speak better english than i do), but "mike" of mike's bike tours told us that holland and the US have some sort of agreement where they will grant visas as long as you invest a certain amount of money each year into a business (the figure is around $5000).

so i'm thinking, the dangling conversation in amsterdam? sounds perfect. plus i think in the two days i was in amsterdam i learned more dutch than i've learned czech in the 7 months i've been in prague.

so lace up your wooden shoes, let's move to holland.