Red Light District

Amsterdam port through E by way of Jeff

The day has come, not sure it has finally come or come too fast, but that will be determined soon. We left for an overnight flight direct to Amsterdam with all my belongings for a minimum five months and arrived after me being awake for 24 hours and a severe case of jet lag.

Upon arrival we tried to get out of our AirBnB for a few hours to avoid sleep to get a feel for the city and try to find the Golden Leeuw, which would be my home, school and community soon. Through the rain we took the ferry to the NDSM Wharf to where it would be moored, but to our disappointment it was not there yet (we later found out it had been dry docked getting a fresh coat of paint). The next day we became tourists, where we took a canal cruise, saw the Anne Frank House and some churches. Compared to our last big trip, travelling with parents where I am more aware where they are taking me and I have some say now is funny, for whatever reason Dad needs to go in to all old churches even though I have never seen him actually go to church and Mom likes to see odd sights. I had to veto the idea of visiting the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, she did however take Dad later. Amsterdam is a neat city with the city center all built in the 1600s around canals, so much more history than home considering Canada just had its 150^th birthday. It is also very different with bicycles and the smell of dope everywhere and the Red Light District which is interesting and awkward with your parents (Not sure who it is more awkward for, me with my parents or for my parents with me). With curiosity, we went back to the wharf and got to see a glimpse of my ship which was now there…this is now real.

City with a canal

Couple different canals

Anne Frank House (That is not Anne Frank in front)

Me and a canal

Another Canal

Check In Day!! Although we got up and did some last minute touring before afternoon check-in, it was obvious we all had our minds on getting to the boat and what lied ahead. Once we got to the ship it was a whirlwind and crowded; parents, faculty, students and some mariner staff all on board. We had stations with passport and yellow fever vaccination submittal, a meeting with the Medical Officer, Head of School regarding courses, contact numbers for while at each port, student photos for ID cards, VISA information, “the bank” and a safety tour with a lot of rules that included “not allowed to go here yet”. Finally, we got issued a bunk where I realized I brought way too much stuff, not because I didn’t need it but because all I have is my bunk, a small locker (for textbooks, toiletries…) and a sea chest (about the size of two milk crates) where I need to store all my clothes. One funny thing though is the first kid I met on the boat is from Stettler.

First night was tough with no sleep, not because I was alone but because although I have a good bunk with nobody around me, I have a red light directly over my head and it is crazy bright. The Mexican kid, Nico, at one point looked up at me from his bunk and said “Hey Red, looking pretty sexy under that light” which was really funny or I was just delirious because I was so tired. Our everyday schedules were introduced and we will be busy;  0720 breakfast, 0800 Colours (our morning meeting), 0815 Happy Hour which is not like it sounds, this is where we clean the boat with our Watch Group. This is the group I will be with for all of our duties for the next 5 months. There is six groups with 7 kids per group. Not sure what we did wrong, but we have been assigned head cleaning for Happy Hour for the first little bit and the 0400 to 0600 night watch for the next 3 weeks…uggh. We are all learning what is expected of us, even so much as step by step on how to clean the head, Mom doesn’t make me remove and clean the sink trap at home but a quick note to all, when cleaning the trap do not drain the water from the trap back into the sink where you just removed it, “we did the thing” as it is called here. I was also given the honor to throw the first pail full of dirty water from cleaning overboard, it didn’t go as planned and most of the water didn’t clear the rail and ended up on the deck where the other watch had just scrubbed...I guess “ship happens” (Jeff’s joke). We then loaded 5 months’ worth of food to galley, storage and deep storage including boxes and boxes of noodles and a full cow leg??? ….so tired and hungry.

The next couple days were exhausting being just as busy with our “normal” schedule, plus add in my 0400 night watch, safety training (which included jumping off the boat in survival suits and climbing some of the mast), and our watch being assigned galley duty for the day. But I am sleeping well through the red light now and getting up at 0400 isn’t as bad as what I thought it would be but I don’t get as much food as I am used to.

Finally the scheduled day had come and it was time to leave, there was to be a big celebratory sendoff planned including some Canadian Embassy official but due to 95km winds, the Captain thought better of leaving and our departure was delayed for the day. Most parents were disappointed as they had to leave and say last good byes without seeing us off, honestly though I just want to go as well. Only delayed by one day and only a few parents left to watch us disembark it finally happened. After a number of safety briefings and an evacuation drill it was time to get ready. After checks, double checks and the weather still agreeing we pushed off for 14 days till the next port.