The Dutch Pineapple

 

(The above picture shows my free funky scarf, and a lovely coffee drink-half coffee half, real whipped cream–be jealous Amy!)

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am a bit of a clothes horse.  I can’t help it, I just love fashion!  That said, my wardrobe I have with me in Amsterdam says little about my actual sense of style.  I brought more functional, travel friendly pieces.  Read: boring.  And my normal attire is not boring.  So I’ve done a small bit of shopping since I’ve been here. 

Because never, have I ever, in my entire life, felt so…dumpy, short, unfashionably out of it, so tennis shoes, American tourist in the worst stereotyped way as I have in Amsterdam.  Why?  Because everyone here is a supermodel.  The Dutch are tall, blond, fit, and Trendy!  They all have such a funky, fun sense of style!  It’s amazing, really-even old men dress well.  The girls here dress kind of Euro funky-trendy and pull it off so well.  Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

To look really chic and with it, do not wear anything besides the following-

Skinny jeans or straight jeans only.  no bootcut allowed

Boots of anykind, converse/puma-like trainers in any color, or cute flat shoes.  No other footwear is allowed

A few layered tops, none of which match in color or print, but somehow go together

A light jacket

And always, always a funky scarf.  probably the most important part of the outfit.

Soooo, I’ve purchased a few key pieces-skinny jeans, a pair of metallic gold flat shoes, a funky vintage shirt, and my raspberry beret.  oh, and I found a cool scarf in the “:random stuff people leave here” closet at the staff house.  I think I’m pretty set for my Euro wardrobe now.  But geez, if you ever visit, be sure to pack accordingly.  I mean, you’re going up against a country full of supermodels.  Get ready to bust out the beret!

 

So hello to everyone!  I’m terrible about posting here, I really am.  So instead of writing a huge update, I’m going to post an email I sent to a few friends that is basically a huge update on what I’ve been up to.  So here it is:

WHY did I ever think to Not come here?  that would have been the worst
ever.  I love it here!!!  such a good decision!  thanks God!
so basically, I work different shifts in the cafe of the hostel, either making
breakfast, or helping with dinner, or being there late night to serve
coffee or tea to guests.  I work about 6 hours a day.
usually I have a morning shift, where I make pancakes or french-toast
for about 80 people!  can you imagine?! haha who knew.  then i spend
about 2 hours cleaning the kitchen for the next shift.  ugh, mopping.
But you know what?  I love it!  it’s very….humbling to serve by
cooking and cleaning.  but the best part is, i get to talk to
backpackers from all over the world, everyday!  it’s so fun to build
relationships with people so quickly, and for a short amount of time.
about 3 days is average that someone stays.  but we have a lot of
people staying for around 1 month right now.  so i just chat with
them, and usually they ask me how i got here, and that gets me into a
short testimony, and it just a great conversation from there.  oh,
and about once a week i lead a bible study for the guests.  i had my
first one yesterday.  it went well i think.  it was on not worrying,
because we can cast our burdens on Jesus if we have a relationship
with him.  Matthew 6:25.  We also go to class twice a week, where we learn ways to share our faith with others.
and the staff i work with is really awesome.  we all live in a house
about a 10minute bike ride form the hostel i work in.  we come and go
at different times through out the day, so it’s hard to build a
relationship with everyone, specially the people who work at the other
hostel.  and most of them are younger than i am, so i feel oddly old
at sometimes.  hahaha. most of the staff just graduated college.  but
they are so fun to hang around and work with, and awesome because
they are all so dedicated to Christ and serving him.  it’s very
inspiring to be here.
Amsterdam is so very awesome.  it’s so historic.  the hostel i work in
started as a school back in 1700 something i think.  and some of the
houses here date back to the 1500’s!!! it’s crazy–you can just feel
how old everything is.  but it’s all very well preserved.  oh, a block
over from the hostel i work in is where Rembrandt lived!!! how insane
is that?!
I’m used to riding my bike around town now.  it was a little scary at
first.  Imean i hadn’t ridden a bike in years ya know, and never in a
huge, crowded city with small roads and cars and other bikes bustling
around.  But now I’m totally at ease zipping through the crowds on my
bike.  how very European of me, haha.  oh, and i bought a raspberry-ish beret (cue the Prince song) the other day.  i feel very chic in it.  🙂  there are markets
just about everyday somewhere in the city, huge markets where you can
buy Anything!  and always flowers for sale, beautiful flowers all
kinds, for really cheap!
Dutch is a very hard language to learn, it’s very guttural, with a lot
of hacking involved.  i try.  i know a few words, and can count from
1-10!  i”m very proud of actually remembering.  oh, and i can say “I
am the pancake Queen!” {Ich bin de pannekakenn coning!}  in
dutch–very practical.  🙂  oh, and they eat bread with butter and
Chocolate Sprinkles on top as a meal!  haha!  how very awesome is
that?!  i have a feeling I’m going to be large when i leave here.
they like sweets here, so lots of yummy stuff to eat.
so that’s all the good stuff.  bad stuff–I’m really tired at the end
of the day, so i don’t leave much time to email or call home-sorry.
Also, I’ve never felt such strong spiritual warfare as i have here in
Amsterdam.  It’s really amazing.  Some parts of the city have such a
dark presence around it.  And people as well.  The devil is hard at
work here, and has been for a while.  i felt it for a while around the house
where we live, and other staff members did as well.  and a lot of
people were starting to get sick.  so we had a day of fasting (already
set up before i got here, the main purpose to bring more of the guests
staying in the hostel to Jesus) and praise and worship with lots of
powerful prayer.  And I feel that broke down any holds that were around our group here.  And it’s so awesome to know that
we have authority in Jesus to do that!  I feel very
protected here, knowing that I walk with Christ.  (thanks for
reminding me Amy-Romans 8:38)
so all in all, my relationship with Jesus is growing, and hopefully I
am helping others as well.  an exploring Amsterdam is really fun–i
tend to get lost a lot, but am slowly learning my way around the city!
Thanks so much for your prayers and updates!  please keep them coming!
 please continue to pray for me, the hostel and backpackers.  also,
feel free to share this email with church and small group, so they can know what i’ve been up to and
that their prayers are needed and welcomed!
Love,
Deanna

I had an overnight flight to Amsterdam.  It was okay, I was able to sleep, and get some reading done as well.  But the most amazing thing happened!  I woke up at some point and decided to have a look ... [Continue reading this entry]