Rereading my last entry, I noticed an innocent yet ignorant remark... Of course it matters where one lives and more importantly, other factors such as race, class, ability, sexual preference (and so on and so forth) are key in this matter as well. Only I, who have the privilege of being raised middle-class in the suburbs of Toronto, who is now engaged in the luxury of idle travelling, can make such an innocent comment as: it is our attitude that must change and not so much where we live. How can the experience of living in a war-torn land compare with living in tourist-ridden, posh Venice? To be able to choose to be in the military versus being forced into at age 18, for instance?

The point I was making earlier spoke more to my personal situation than anything else... specifically between a choice of some European destination versus living in North America.... it is my own attitude that must change.

Back in Amserdam, I have so far said "Scuzi" (as in "Excuse me" in my bad Italian) to Dutch people on the tram and "Si,si" to the man behind the counter at the nightshop... I keep shaking my head for not getting the right language in the right country :) I can only laugh at myself and hope some of the Dutch I learned in the months that I have been living in Amsterdam, comes back to me... :)