Airplanes, Christmas, and Amsterdam
Flight To Amsterdam
So, my flight was set to leave from Taipei to Amsterdam at 7:20pm last Wednesday. I go there in time, and sat around for a long long time. During that time I wondered around the airport and talked to Justin on my phone for a long time, mostly about Afrikaans, Dutch, and Frisian. I got some noodles from a Japanese fast food place and ordered all in Chinese, which got me stares from the people sitting around me. Anyway, eventually they started to board the flight. We all get on, the plane starts to head for the runway, when some person said they could smell a burning smell. So, we had to go back to the terminal and wait about an hour and a half while they checked everything they possibly could, and eventually the person said they could not smell it anymore, and we finally got to leave.
I am not sure if it was planned or not, but about four hours later, we landed in Bangkok. When we landed, they said there was trouble with the landing gear, and so we had to switch planes. They gave us all these little transit card things as we left the plane, and were told to go straight to that terminal. So, I did. I got there, and they said the flight has been delayed until 3 AM - and it was about 11:30 PM at the time. I had no idea what to do with myself. I didn't have any baht, and I didn't want to exchange any money, so I couldn't eat or drink or do really anything. I eventually saw a pay phone that took credit cards, so I tried to call home, I didn't get an answer, so I left this really cracked out message saying I was in Thailand, my flight was delayed, and I was really bored. Anyway, I think I feel asleep eventually or something because before I knew it, they were calling my row.
The flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam was packed beyond belief, and I had a window seat. I couldn't lean back because the lady behind me would start hitting my seat. I couldnt stretch my legs out because there was no room for that, and I couldn't sleep because I was so uncomfortable and I had just slept a few hours in the terminal. I think I actually did end up sleeping a total of maybe two or so hours because I missed the second half of both the movies they played. But yeah, we eventually landed twelve hours later in Amsterdam, and I all but sprinted off the plane.
At customs, they asked for my passport, opened it, stamped it, handed it back, and said thanks. I went from there to baggage claim, sat for ten minutes waiting for my bag, got it, and started to walk out, when some guy in a uniform yelped something in Dutch at me. I looked at him and sort of opened my eyes wider, and he said it in Dutch again but louder. I then said "Haha, sorry, I don't speak Dutch" and then he finally asked in English, if I was alone. I said yeah, and he took my bags, opened them up, emptied everything out, put it back in, and then wished me a great trip in The Netherlands.
From there, I made my way down to the train station, got a ticket to Centraal Station in Amsterdam, got on the train, and then sat in first class without knowing it until it was too late to switch. I sat there hoping to death that they wouldn't come around to check tickets because I didn't want to have to look like the stupid tourist that I was. Anyway, I got to Amsterdam without anyone checking my ticket. Got off the train, and followed Alison's directions to her place - which were amazingly clear. I got there no problem. The problem was that I didn't know her room number, so I couldn't call her from the front door to let me in. Long story short, I eventually realized that I had her room number in my address book, so I called her and my adventure from Taipei to Amsterdam was concluded.
Christmas
Christmas was really good. I woke up first (because I'm still jet lagged and Alison loves the sleep), and after a few minutes of rolling around we opened presents. Alison got me the most amazing book - "The Cult of the Mac". It's all about the cultish following that Apple Computers has with its users. I sat around Alison's place all morning reading it, and reading out loud the good parts. She also got me a framed picture of us (the classic cheesy but good gift), a children's book that is in Dutch, a more portable and stylish MagnaDoodle type thing (you know, that toy where you can write all over it, and then swipe the bar from the bottom and it erases it...I use it to practice my Chinese...I swear), and lastly I got my first man gift - a Jim Beam flask which came with a broken funnel that Alison's friend sat on.
I got Alison a bunch of random stuff I found in weirdo stores in Taipei like an origami set, funny chopsticks, post-it notes (that's a bit of a story), but I also got her a steamer and a cook book about steaming foods with Asian recipes because she's a nut for dumplings.
We spent Christmas night at her friend Shiloh's house (after getting an amazing Christmas dinner at a Greek place in between Alison's place and her friend's). We sat around for hours drinking wine, then brandy Alexanders while playing the dictionary game. I've got a say - it's a rare group of people who can be entertained by the dictionary game for so long. There were a few times when my back started to hurt I was laughing so hard - I don't think my back has ever hurt from laughing. The sad thing is that I was laughing at my own definition. By the way, "snickersnee" is not "the sound one makes when they laugh so hard that Snickers come out of their nose, but when they try and say "I just had a snicker sneeze" they begin to laugh again and are unable to say the final 'z' sound".
What I've Been Up To
We have been doing a lot of nothing - which is good. I haven't really taken any pictures yet or have any good stories to tell aside from the fact that I have this problem where I don't want to admit that I don't speak Dutch. It has not gotten me into any problems yet. But for instance, I was in an H&M looking for some new pants because I can't buy pants that fit me in Asia. I went to try them on, and the person working said "2?" in Dutch to me, but since I know that much, I just said "ja" back to her, and so she handed me a thingie, and showed me to the fitting room. Then, on my way out, I set the clothes down on the counter, assuming it was their job to put them back, but then she said something in Dutch and sort of pointed to the racks, and so I assumed she meant I had to put them back, so I smiled and handed her the thingie back, and then put the clothes back where I got them. Hmm, well, I think that is all I have to say for now. I am going to take some pictures today. It's a beautiful blue sky right now, and I am just waiting on Alison to get her lazy butt out of bed.
So, my flight was set to leave from Taipei to Amsterdam at 7:20pm last Wednesday. I go there in time, and sat around for a long long time. During that time I wondered around the airport and talked to Justin on my phone for a long time, mostly about Afrikaans, Dutch, and Frisian. I got some noodles from a Japanese fast food place and ordered all in Chinese, which got me stares from the people sitting around me. Anyway, eventually they started to board the flight. We all get on, the plane starts to head for the runway, when some person said they could smell a burning smell. So, we had to go back to the terminal and wait about an hour and a half while they checked everything they possibly could, and eventually the person said they could not smell it anymore, and we finally got to leave.
I am not sure if it was planned or not, but about four hours later, we landed in Bangkok. When we landed, they said there was trouble with the landing gear, and so we had to switch planes. They gave us all these little transit card things as we left the plane, and were told to go straight to that terminal. So, I did. I got there, and they said the flight has been delayed until 3 AM - and it was about 11:30 PM at the time. I had no idea what to do with myself. I didn't have any baht, and I didn't want to exchange any money, so I couldn't eat or drink or do really anything. I eventually saw a pay phone that took credit cards, so I tried to call home, I didn't get an answer, so I left this really cracked out message saying I was in Thailand, my flight was delayed, and I was really bored. Anyway, I think I feel asleep eventually or something because before I knew it, they were calling my row.
The flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam was packed beyond belief, and I had a window seat. I couldn't lean back because the lady behind me would start hitting my seat. I couldnt stretch my legs out because there was no room for that, and I couldn't sleep because I was so uncomfortable and I had just slept a few hours in the terminal. I think I actually did end up sleeping a total of maybe two or so hours because I missed the second half of both the movies they played. But yeah, we eventually landed twelve hours later in Amsterdam, and I all but sprinted off the plane.
At customs, they asked for my passport, opened it, stamped it, handed it back, and said thanks. I went from there to baggage claim, sat for ten minutes waiting for my bag, got it, and started to walk out, when some guy in a uniform yelped something in Dutch at me. I looked at him and sort of opened my eyes wider, and he said it in Dutch again but louder. I then said "Haha, sorry, I don't speak Dutch" and then he finally asked in English, if I was alone. I said yeah, and he took my bags, opened them up, emptied everything out, put it back in, and then wished me a great trip in The Netherlands.
From there, I made my way down to the train station, got a ticket to Centraal Station in Amsterdam, got on the train, and then sat in first class without knowing it until it was too late to switch. I sat there hoping to death that they wouldn't come around to check tickets because I didn't want to have to look like the stupid tourist that I was. Anyway, I got to Amsterdam without anyone checking my ticket. Got off the train, and followed Alison's directions to her place - which were amazingly clear. I got there no problem. The problem was that I didn't know her room number, so I couldn't call her from the front door to let me in. Long story short, I eventually realized that I had her room number in my address book, so I called her and my adventure from Taipei to Amsterdam was concluded.
Christmas
Christmas was really good. I woke up first (because I'm still jet lagged and Alison loves the sleep), and after a few minutes of rolling around we opened presents. Alison got me the most amazing book - "The Cult of the Mac". It's all about the cultish following that Apple Computers has with its users. I sat around Alison's place all morning reading it, and reading out loud the good parts. She also got me a framed picture of us (the classic cheesy but good gift), a children's book that is in Dutch, a more portable and stylish MagnaDoodle type thing (you know, that toy where you can write all over it, and then swipe the bar from the bottom and it erases it...I use it to practice my Chinese...I swear), and lastly I got my first man gift - a Jim Beam flask which came with a broken funnel that Alison's friend sat on.
I got Alison a bunch of random stuff I found in weirdo stores in Taipei like an origami set, funny chopsticks, post-it notes (that's a bit of a story), but I also got her a steamer and a cook book about steaming foods with Asian recipes because she's a nut for dumplings.
We spent Christmas night at her friend Shiloh's house (after getting an amazing Christmas dinner at a Greek place in between Alison's place and her friend's). We sat around for hours drinking wine, then brandy Alexanders while playing the dictionary game. I've got a say - it's a rare group of people who can be entertained by the dictionary game for so long. There were a few times when my back started to hurt I was laughing so hard - I don't think my back has ever hurt from laughing. The sad thing is that I was laughing at my own definition. By the way, "snickersnee" is not "the sound one makes when they laugh so hard that Snickers come out of their nose, but when they try and say "I just had a snicker sneeze" they begin to laugh again and are unable to say the final 'z' sound".
What I've Been Up To
We have been doing a lot of nothing - which is good. I haven't really taken any pictures yet or have any good stories to tell aside from the fact that I have this problem where I don't want to admit that I don't speak Dutch. It has not gotten me into any problems yet. But for instance, I was in an H&M looking for some new pants because I can't buy pants that fit me in Asia. I went to try them on, and the person working said "2?" in Dutch to me, but since I know that much, I just said "ja" back to her, and so she handed me a thingie, and showed me to the fitting room. Then, on my way out, I set the clothes down on the counter, assuming it was their job to put them back, but then she said something in Dutch and sort of pointed to the racks, and so I assumed she meant I had to put them back, so I smiled and handed her the thingie back, and then put the clothes back where I got them. Hmm, well, I think that is all I have to say for now. I am going to take some pictures today. It's a beautiful blue sky right now, and I am just waiting on Alison to get her lazy butt out of bed.