I AMsterdam: Our Final Day.

 

It's a dreary, rainy day here in Amsterdam, and today marks our last full day here in The Netherlands.  Tomorrow, we will get up very early and find our Euroline bus to Barcelona, Spain.  The bus leaves here at 9 am, and we arrive the next day at 11:30 am; we will be leaving chilly weather in the low 70s/high 60s, and will arrive to beaches, seafood and 90 degree weather!  Matthew is going to have a fun time sitting next to me on a bus for 26 hours. ;)

 

We have been staying with our third and final couch surfing host, Philip, and his rambunctious four legged friend, Jinx.  I can proudly say we navigated from one side of the city to the other with out error or getting lost for the first time!  When we arrived earlier this week, we were excited to find that Philip lives across the street from Westerpark, which is another huge park full of canals and trees.  Yesterday, we walked around the park all day, and when evening approached we found an open feild where there were lots of people gathered in small groups.  People are full of movement here: bicycling, running... last night, we even saw a whole group of people hula-hooping and listening to music. 

 

We have been eating healthier than we ever have in our lives.  We're sleeping eight to ten hours a night, and are slowly waking up in the morning.  Last night, we found a duck pond with fountains; we stretched by the pond for at least an hour, and Matthew showed me some yoga poses. I feel healthy, I feel whole, and now being flexible makes me feel like I am no longer a prisoner in a body, but a liberated being full of life and freedom.  We laugh like never before.  We contemplate our life, and our next adventure after this adventure in Europe.  We have so many plans and goals, and it feels good to know we can accomplish them, because we are living our dreams and facing our fears right now.  And it feels so good.

 

A bit about Philip: He was born in Michigan, and he is a driven man who has accomplished a lot in his time.  He graduated with a Bachelors degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia and continued his education to earn his masters degree. Currently, he works for Tiffanys in The Netherlands as a financial advisor.  He loves to travel, especially in Asia.  He is very eco-friendly, like most of the people here.  He rides his bike to work, he grows vegetables and herbs on his balcony, and his lights in his apartment are very energy efficient.  He even has a wind-powered light on his balcony!  And no one uses paper towels in Amsterdam.. its great, I hope we can mimic this lifestyle when we return to the states.  I anticipate we will be little nature-loving tree-huggers after this eye-opening adventure. 

 

It is hard to believe it has only been ten days; I feel like I have 'lived' in Amsterdam for a long time.  I have been thinking and feeling a lot, so expect an update on my brain by the next entry. Hehe.

 

Namaste,

Elliot
(here is one more picture of Jinx, who has been our cuddle buddy and friend the last four days, we are going to miss her and her licks.)