What a long day today was...
We woke around 4:30 am and made sure our last few things were packed up. We had a quick breakfast and headed out to the bus for the quick ride to the Gare Du Nord train station. We have nearly 50 people in our group and the prospect of putting that many people on and off a train was resting heavily on our minds.
 |
| The long long of travelers making their way into the station in France. |
 |
| A bunch of camped out for a quick respite awaiting for our train to open up. |
 |
| I was passenger 57!!! |
 |
| I was jealous of these kids who got on the train early. I was at the end of the line. |
David used his 17 years of experience to prepare us for the challenge. He called it a military procedure. The plan was for each of us to have an assigned role and to complete the task without pause. We had to remove 50 pieces of luggage and 50 people in under 3 minutes...using only 1 exit of the train's car. About 10 of us were assigned the role of backpack keepers. They collected all of our carry-ons and when the train stopped, they were to go outside and form a pile of these bags. Ms. Alongi and Ms. Mottola would watch over these bags. The kids still on the train, and the other chaperons, would form an assembly line like formation passing each bag down the line until it reached the entry way. At last, we made it to our stop and it was time to put the plan into action. We were like a well oiled machine. Everyone performed flawlessly. The folks on the train were actually cheering for us. No one complained, no one lollygagged, and no one shirked from their duty. I am not sure how long it took us, but it didn't matter...we were successful.
 |
| A celebratory pose after beating the world record of train disembarkments!!! |
As we made our way to the bus, we were shocked to see that EF Tours was present in Amsterdam.
 |
| Amsterdam is a really unique city for a variety of reasons. The architecture is one of them. |
 |
| Our Captain. Some thought he looked like SHS's Mr. Fontanella. |
 |
| Cruise Selfie. |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| All seven bridges are supposed to be visible down this canal. |
The canal tour was fun, but a slight rain had started. It made it difficult to get the pictures that we wanted, but the tour was informative. The rain subsided near the end of the tour and our captain was able to open the window. It had become a little hot in the boat and the change of weather was a nice surprise. It was after the cruise that we embarked on a little walking tour of Amsterdam. David was our guide. He started off by talking about the differences in cultures that we see when traveling. He talked about the Dutch and how their way of life is a little more relaxed and liberal than ours. I think he introduced the Red Light District with a strong sense of professionalism. For those of you not aware, there are things that are legal in Amsterdam that are not legal in Boston...namely marijuana and prostitution. The Red Light District is the zone in the city where these things are available. From a cultural perspective, the Dutch have a strong argument for these things being legal and David took us on a quick walk through a small portion of the district. It was almost the same exact route that a different tour director, Thierry, took a smaller group down several years ago.
These types of things are those that chaperons can worry about. On the one hand, we think it is important for kids to see other cultures and to talk about our differences. On the other hand, we know parents are concerned about the safety and well being of their children. Of course, we balance this with diligence and discussion. As we walked through the district, I found myself in a conversation with Danielle. She wasn't quite aware that prostitution was legal here. She was a little shocked to see how open the Dutch culture was to something taboo in America. We talked about it and found ourselves discussing the Dutch political structure and comparing different types of governments. We spoke about the changes occurring in our own country and the proposed changes happening in Massachusetts when discussing marijuana use. Danielle said something to the effect of, "I need to learn about how these things work if I am going to be voting soon." We put the motto "One Must Travel To Learn" on our shirts and literature for a reason. We learn through our experiences even if they are taking two minutes of our day to walk through a culturally unique portion of a foreign town. Our experiences provoke discussion. The discussions lead to learning.
David's tour wasn't just of the Red Light District. He took us to a couple of different squares and shopping areas. We were given some free time near the Flower Market to shop for souvenirs. A couple of us entered into a Dutch Cheese Shop and helped ourselves to numerous samples. We may have had too many samples. When our time was up, we converged on our meeting spot. There was a little vendor there selling Herrings. Of course, I ordered one...
I hate fish. I try it sparingly at best, but sometimes, you need to lead by example. The herring was only a couple of Euro and I knew I could convince a couple of kids to try it. I had to publicly show how brave I was and so I grabbed a small portion of the fish and ate it. It was gross. Actually, it was worse than gross...but I chewed it up and swallowed it anyways. Then, one by one, kids came up to try their herring. Some liked it, others did not. Soon the entire fish was gone. Some kids, who initially said NO, eventually caved and tried the herring. While the Red Light District is one example of a cultural difference, so is the Herring. I was so proud of the kids who tried the herring today.
We were meeting to head for dinner and when we did our head count, two of us were missing. The group waited a few minutes past the meeting point and then David gave Ms. Alongi directions to dinner. Mr. Buss and I stayed with David and began a systematic search of the Flower Market for the two missing students. As an old city, Amsterdam has a couple of twists and turns and it is easy to get a little turned around. So, when I finally saw Jenna and Kacey in the middle of a crowded market, I could tell they had been a little lost. They were very happy to see me, but I think they were also a little embarrassed and/or scared. We told them not to worry about it...our group has been great in terms of punctuality and sometimes these things happen. I let them know that I had to conduct a similar search last year in Nuremberg, Germany and that they could use the lesson as a learning opportunity. They did the right thing. It is the type of thing that helps make us become more independent and teaches us a bit of street smarts. Despite what you might thing, Amsterdam is a very safe city for people of all ages. The area surrounding the Flower Markets is filled with people, but is also fairly small. While I am sure it took them a little longer than they would have liked to find us, it was really just a matter of time before they did.
We went to a place called Wagamama's for dinner. It is a chain and they have them locally. The kids all seemed to love their dinner. Poor Alison had to wait until everyone else was served...and some were finished...before she got hers, but we all had enough to eat. I was super impressed with Diana's ability to help others...finish their meals. Alas, our day at the dam had finished and we were soon headed to our hotel. We have a full day planned ahead of us tomorrow and we are all looking forward to a good night's sleep.
Mr. Lavoie, currently in the Netherlands and relishing every minute of it.
Of course it was Jenna... Sigh. Thank you for looking for them!! ~Amy
ReplyDelete