Amsterdam!

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010

And it Begins: Amsterdam

Lets just say, we started off our first weekend in Europe with a bang. Traveling to Amsterdam surpassed my expectations in every possible way. I actually went into this weekend of travel with much apprehension and fear about what troubles we would encounter on our first trip away from our new home, Differdange. As I expected we were faced with some dilemmas such as finding our way around a new city, living in a below average hostel, and communicating in different languages. All of these put us out of our comfort zone, however they also gave us the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in the culture of Amsterdam.

Unfortunately I do think that I came to Amsterdam with many preconceived notions about what the city and is people would be like. I had heard many stories from friends and family and was just so excited to experience it all on my own. I wanted to loose the judgment I had already created in my mind and travel with a clean slate to build on. So visiting the Red Light District on Friday was one of the more memorable moments for me. I can honestly say that I first walked through the Red Light District scared to death, and tried to stay as close to my friends as possible. However, I soon realized that the Red Light District really seemed safer than I had imagined because the streets were filled with tourists just like myself. Although I had no idea who any of these people are I felt comfort in the fact that I heard English being spoken down the streets and many people were wearing fanny packs and carrying cameras just like myself. This was my “imagined community”. All of these people, although we did not have a specific label that madde us a community, we shared an “imaginary” bond because we were all tourists in an unknown city.

Encountering the Red Light District made me further understand what Carl Sauer stated in 1925, “Culture is the agent, natural area the medium, and the cultural landscape the result.” The Red Light District was shaped and formed by the culture, the people and their beliefs, attitudes and values. As humans we have the ability to shape our landscapes, and the Red Light District was fashioned into a bounded area with many landscapes that reflect and reinforce their cultural systems. For example, as I walked down the streets, looked into the windows and saw women in lingerie posing and selling their bodies, part of Amsterdam’s culture was reinforced in my mind just as when every corner I turned there was a coffee shop with people of all ages smoking pot. This was a city where anything and everything seemed to be allowed. The many symbols we saw in the signs on the streets or the names of the bars communicated a message to us that The Red Light District is a city of sex, drugs, and sin. The fact that these women clearly are finding some success in the prostitution industry since the district continues to live on demonstrates to us the politics of the territory. However, it seemed to be bounded by the differing politics of the regions around it.

Something that both the Red Light District and the other areas of the city shared was the difficulty to label or find the definite territory of Amsterdam. As we spent the days walking around we noticed that the city and people were extremely international. There were several languages being spoken and several ethnicities of people being represented. Even in the windows of the Red Light District I remember commenting to my friend Annie, “Wow, these are all women of color.” We did not see one blonde European looking woman in a window, and that was somewhat surprising to us. So in a way I felt that Amsterdam was lacking nationalism. However, next on our list of sights to see was the IAMsterdam monument. This monument screamed nationalism. It stood as large red and white letters, which happen to be the colors of their very own city flag, in the center of a beautiful plaza. This monument along with the flag, which could be spotted all around the city, flaunted the pride that people felt for their city. As I stood looking at the letters I felt proud to be experiencing a city like this. Although many people come and just snap photos sitting on the letters that mean nothing to them, to the people of Amsterdam these letters mark their territory. Although it is a very international tourist location, Amsterdam embodies culture and homeland for several people.

It was once said that, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel only have read a page.” After my first weekend traveling I truly believe this quote. I have learned more in the last three days than I have ever learned from any school course. By engrossing myself in the culture of Amsterdam I feel I have really opened a new page in this astonishing world book.