XXX-Amsterdam By Kimberly Mehan

On Thursday May 20, 2010, eight of us traveled from the Chateau to Amsterdam for our first weekend together. The excitement was indescribable. It was my first time ever traveling through Europe and I was headed to Amsterdam out of all places. I heard that if you plan your first weekend to Amsterdam, then you are setting the bar high for the rest of the weekends. If this is true, then the other weekends will keep getting better.
After traveling seven or so hours, Amy and I were very anxious to get off the train. All eight of us gathered together and followed the herd out of the station and into the city. When I first saw the city, I thought that this is like all other cities I have been to in the states. That initial thought did not stay true once we started walking to our hotel, which was located in the Red Light District. It was around 7:30 when we approached the area and a cloud of smoke filled the area around us. It was from all the cigarette and pot smoking that everyone was doing.
Everywhere I turned was a different bar and coffee shop that contributed to the reputation of the Red Light District. This area represents a part of Amsterdam because the people there are proud that they have something so well known. This area has been going on since the 14th Century when sailors would arrive for some female attention. This link gives tourists a heads up before walking into it without knowing much about it http://amsterdam-red-light-district.info/.
Searching for food was a bit of a struggle. Even though we were traveling in a bigger group and we had a difficult time deciding where to eat, there weren’t as many food places as expected. As we walked around, I realized that people wandering in the Red Light District aren’t interested in a sit down, traditional meal that you could find outside of the area. We ended up eating at a place that I thought was a step up from McDonalds. I don’t even remember the name because it wasn’t something that memorable.
I was a little overwhelmed at how the night was going to go, but as the night went on, I realized that this is considered normal. Around 10:00 pm is when I realized that the area was filling up a lot quicker with men in particular. In bars, coffee shops, or walking the streets, women are clearly the minority and some may feel a little unsafe at times. I traveled with three guys the whole trip, so I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as others may have felt. Walking down the alleys, I could see the red glowing light from far away and I prepared myself for it. When I walked by one window, one woman gave me the finger so I decided after that to just pay attention to what I was doing and not what they were doing. I was not used to walking down the street and seeing men walk in and out of the places. It was a very different scene but thought of as normal to others. In some ways, I think the Red Light District marks a certain territory of Amsterdam because it is a known area of drinking, smoking, and prostitutes.
Through my weekend travel in Amsterdam, I saw so much that I was able to relate to in class. It is important for each country to have something meaningful to them and even though I only discussed about the Red Light District, there are many other monuments and statues that represent nationalism throughout Amsterdam.