Two typical Amsterdam views from behind my campus office building. My breath is still taken away by this city's beauty. The last two days have mostly been settling in - buying my first batch of ginger cheese (yum!), sorting out the details of a new campus ID (always a hassle, no matter where you go), making a new friend, and having dinner with friends from last year. I am amazed at how much Dutch I know, and getting around the city is easier than it was when I first arrived last fall. I walked six miles yesterday! And the bank took a cash deposit, which they insisted they couldn't last year. In retrospect, I believe we literally weren't speaking the same language. . . .

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