Bye-Bye Amsterdam

So I came and now I am ready to leave Amsterdam with a whole new outlook on life. I had a really great conversation with my roommate Nick about why I am the way I am. We talked about how I don't conform to everything society tells me to. I want to be an independent thinker and I don't allow society to dictate to me what I should and should not do. In Amsterdam you have the freedom to do what you want as long as you are not hurting others, it does not look bad, and it's good for business. Throughout history Amsterdam has been known as the city of tolerance and acceptance of anyone as long as you follow those three rules. Hence, you can do all the things that you can do here. I question the "freedom" of the US on a certain level. If you think something is wrong about me and I choose to still do it as long as I am not hurting you, you have no right to judge me or tell me what to do. For example, If I want to drink alcohol at age 16 with my friends as long as I don't drive and am not causing other people problems. Why should society condemn me for my choice to drink? After all it's my life and if I don't value it that should not be your problem. The only thing you can and should possibly do is inform me about the consequences of my actions. There after it's my choice about whether or not I want to listen and or do something about it. That is how it is in Spain and many other places. I don't understand why others impose their way of seeing things on others. We must be informed and then we as individuals should make our choices. Our society in my opinion is making us more and more stupid, by making all of the choices for us. If we are in the land of "freedom" then where is it? I understand that there should be rules and regulations that I do not dispute but all within a reasonable degree.
Here is some information just to illustrate my points.
Average age at first intercourse is higher for teens in Europe. Teen birthrate, abortion rate, and instances of AIDS are all far lower. Just imagine, in "amoral" France, legendary land of mistresses and noontime sexual encounters, the teen pregnancy rate is a quarter of what it is in the US.

I was told by our tour guide that Amsterdam has THE lowest cases of teen pregnancy and has the lowest consumption of Marijuana. All because they don't see it as taboo just normal and are educated about it. The consumers are all foreigners from countries that don't give them the choice instead it is already made for them.

Don't get me wrong I love the California with all its problems but that does not mean I will always agree with the policies of the society I live in. I will just choose to be the maverick who thinks for myself and does what feels right. I believe that as human beings we all innately know the difference between right and wrong.

Speaking about California here's a funny story: we were walking to this place called El Paraiso club but it had an hour long line for 6 euros and then once we would have gotten in it would have closed in an hour. So we were walking back and I break the ice with these two tall blonde Norwgian girls and we go to nearby bar en route to another club. So we are there and Nick talks to some guy at the bar and then next thing I know tequila shots are being poured for all of us!!

The Norwegian girls didn't want to take the shot so they pretended to take one. So me and Nick took their shots later. It turned out that this guy was so excited to have met someone from California that he decided to buy us drinks. I just think he was trying to impress the Hot Blondes that we just walked in with...but I don't know all I know is that I pretty much drank for free yesterday because we were given tokens for the hostel bar and I got twice as many just by asking for more. I had eight drinks all of which I only paid for one (a pint of Heineken) granted I was dancing and spreading them out throughout the course of the night so I never got "drunk" only buzzed which was nice. It was so much fun because me and Nick conducted several "social experiments" at the clubs and bars we went to. I observed and interacted with a lot of people and it was a lot of fun.

I got to see many of the bartender's tricks to keeping the alcohol flowing to its best patrons. I watched why guys got rejected I paid attention to why I got rejected and why. I mean I was having such a good time learning about all these little things that usually go unnoticed for the most part. I want to learn from my mistakes but I would much rather learn from the mistakes of others. On our way back we met some more Norwegians this time they were not THAT tall and we walked with them back to our hostel. You know its so easy to talk to people when you start with a smile. I mean I have always done that but it never hit me that that was such a powerful tool to breaking the ice. I mean that works for me but not necessarily for everyone else.

Oh so you remember I said that I had had 8 drinks right so on our way home I was regretting talking to these girls because every step I took felt like my bladder was one drop away from exploding until I could not take it any longer and I let Nick and the girls go ahead of me so I could get a "Phone call"...
Oh man that was the best "phone call" I had ever recieved. Nick challenges me that our hostel was one way and I said it was the other way. Conveniently his way was the way of the girls. So we parted ways and he came back a few minutes later with 5 euros in hand (Because he lost a bet that I knew which way was the hostel). I felt good about my orientation skills even when buzzed.

Oh other things that happened before I forget. I didn't want to go to the Anne Frank house or some other Mueseum so I did my own thing. When he was at the Museum I went to Vondel Park where its okay to have intimate relations with someone as long as its not in the direct path of people and its in some corner away from sight. There was a very very light rain so the weather was not conducive to such hot and passionate acts when you can't get things up and running in such unfavorable weather conditions. It was a very nice walk in the park because a lot of people were riding their bikes, smoking, and/or just hanging out. On my way back I didn't even look at the map and I just walked until I got to my hostel. It was really cool walking through the neighborhoods because every inch of space seems to be used to its maximum efficiency. Obviously if 2/3 of the Netherlands under sea level and they live on a bunch of islands they have to conserve. EVERY house has a bar with a hook coming out of the roof. And the houses are usually leaning forward. Since space is of the essence you can't get furniture up the stairs so you have to pull it up using these hooks and bring it in through the windows. I sat on a bench and just took a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty and character of each house. I am serious when I say that I don't think that there are to homes that look alike in Amsterdam, except in the Jewish quarter but there's a reason for that of which I won't even get into (ask me if you care). I really enjoyed this walk through the neighborhood because I momentarily put myself in Dutch shoes and imagined what it would be like to live here.

Fast forward=> I'm at my hostel and I then I go to an Argentinian restaurant yes I said Argentinian. I have seen food from literally the whole world. Uruguay and Brazil standing out the most. Nick went to see the Anne Frank house and I delighted myself in some Argentinian steak with some Argentinian sauce which was really good by the way. We did the same thing we did in Paris he went to the Museum and I went to the gardens. I feel like I want to learn more about what is in the Museums before I go. That way I can have a better appreciation for what I am looking at.

One more thing the weather here is really different from what I am used to. During our tour for like 5 minutes I felt like the clouds had eight drinks of its own and could not hold it in any longer and it got a "phone call" from mother nature saying let it out. So it did and I was on the recieving end. So the tour guide man offered his jacket now normally people are inclined to say no out of kindness, but I did not because I didn't want to get my one and only cotton jacket wet so I accepted. Nick said that wasn't cool, but my counter argument was "Well then he should not have offered it if he didn't mean it" if that was the case then he is lying to himself and others about his intentions. Over time I have learned to be honest to yourself and only do what you feel is right. If I don't want to give you something I won't. Just because society says I should I would be lying to myself and the other person. I still am working on truly defining this philosophy. Nick had an epiphany about my character and felt like now he understands me better. For me it makes sense, it boils down to truth and my thing has always been: if you can't handle the truth then you can't handle me. I know the truth can hurt but I would rather get hurt now and not later when the wound would be bigger.

Okay so here are my final thoughts... given this scenario would you jump on a granade and save lives and die in honor or run away and be the living coward that lives to see another day?

Gratitude: I have so very thankful for being able to have made this journey. It has been both a spiritual and intellectual reawakening that I was longing for. I am thankful for being able to cherish these fleeting moments of time. I am thankful for being able to share my knowledge and experiences with others and hopefully inspire others.

I know this all may not make too much sense but it's constantly being updated, modified, and changed as I meet new people that challenge the way I think and I embrace those challenges. Until then I'll talk to you later.