Greetings from Sunny Amsterdam

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Off to the Van Gogh Museum with Adam today. Yesterday I told my friend Robert Hensgens that I find his country frustrating -- I like being forced to speak a foreign language when I travel, as its the only way I ever really learn one well. But here, everyone speaks English better than I do. Adam remarked, "No, what about that guy in the airport?"

"Adam," I replied, "that was Heathrow Airport."

The worst English speaker I've encountered on my trip to the Netherlands was a BA employee in London.

In other matters: Last night, Adam was asked by a friendly burgher what the most notable difference was between New Amseterdam and Amsterdam. He said, "The bicycles."

Some of them are more equipped than a basic car: Multiple storage compartments, two or three child seats, headlamps, windshields, etc. The bikes even have their own traffic lights.

UPDATE: Thinking of my travels --
Bad places to be forced to learn a foreign language: Montreal, Quebec, Florence, London, Cancun, Dublin, Cardiff, Amsterdam.
Good places to be forced to learn a foreign language: Sicily, working in an American grocery store.

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