I've never felt so un-American.

Or so Dutch.

My last day and a half in Amsterdam have been incredible. When I last left off, I was sitting in Museumplein, I believe. Shortly after I finished writing, I took a trip to the Dutch fashion block just East of the park. After perusing the street and deciding that I didn't have near enough money to even go in any of the stores, I went to find dinner. That odd looking piece of pie in my photo album is what I ate. Spinach and mozzarella, topped with a tomato wedge. Believe it or not, it was delicious. Then it started to rain. I made my way back to Hotel Jenson (where I am staying) just as the downpour started. By that time it was 9 o'clock or so and when I walked in to my dorm EVERYBODY was there.

I was very lucky with roomies, I think. Two were from New York, two more from Colorado. We were hoping to go out, but by 11 o'clock the rain had still not stopped. To the liquor store! Which was closed. We tossed around the idea of going to the Red Light District, but the ride was too long in the rain. In the end, the Coloradans (?) and I decided to wander around the streets and smoke. (Yes, THAT kind of smoke. When in Amsterdam...) As we began to wander, the rain slowed to a pleasant drizzle. We took a seat on a nifty porch to go through our first, and found a coffee shop for the second. By the time the "coffeeshop" closed at one in the morning, hunger was a serious issue. I had not yet been to Bulldog's (the local dealing store) or Vondelpark so we decided to walk that direction to find food. At two, we came up to a very busy little place across from the Hard Rock Amsterdam that had the most delicious fries I've ever eaten. Though, in hindsight that could've been the effects and hunger. We took an hour and a half wandering back to the hotel, and I passed out at four. It was a wonderful night!

I woke up at nine the following morning to go find another hostel. When I had booked Hotel Janson, the booking site had listed Sunday night as full. I found out that morning that it wasn't. My second hostel, Euphemia Hotel was only a kilometer or two away, so it wasn't so bad. I showed up at half past ten to find out that my room was not yet ready, and there was no place to do my laundry, so I was forced to walk around the block to do wash my clothes in a laundromat while they readied my room. On the plus side, that hostel had in room Wi-Fi, so I was able to say hi to mom and dad for a while. Then I slept.

Only for about an hour, though. Sunday was a busy day. I had one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. There is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING that can compare to being in the capital city of a nation participating in the World Cup Final. Five huge screens had been set up by Nike in Museumplein, an area the size of a football field. Now that you can visualize that, add 200,000 people dressed in nothing but oranje (orange). The atmosphere was almost overwhelming, I've never seen anything like it in the U.S. Honestly, I don't think I will. Not having anything orange to wear, I picked up a giant Holland soccer flag for ten Euro and tied it about like a cape. I had to look official on my way to find beer. The major grocery, AlbertHein, was luckily right beside the park, so I stopped in to pick up a six pack of Heineken. Which, by the way, Is cheaper than water. How awesome is that?

I walked around the park by myself taking photos (to be posted as soon as I can) for a while and picked up two free orange shirts. ING was tossings shirts that said "oranje oud spanje" or something like that and Heineken was giving away shirts that said "Bertje!" Bertje was more my size, so I threw it on and went back to my hotel to drop off my camera. I came back and hour later to twice as many people as before. The crowd was so dense that you could hardly move!

I planted myself in a spot and some Dutch girl yelled "BERTJE!" at me. So of course I shouted back at the top of my lungs, still having no idea what it meant. I think she sensed it and asked me (there were a lot of tourists in the city) and was kind enough to explain the play on words. I ended up spending the rest of the day with she and her friends and watching the match with them. A better option, I think, than with other Americans.

Watching the match was a very unique experience. I don't think that I've ever felt so much like somebody else, or so much a part of something else. The Dutch go CRAZY for their soccer. Van Gogh has a quote, "Orange is the color of insanity," which was perfectly fitting for the situation. Nike even made an awesome Dutch commercial about it. Make sure you click the link. There was so much tension in the air, the crowd was silent for most of the match, eyes glued to the screens. Only taking breaks when the match stopped.

I think the most profound part of the day was the loss. When you walk out of a Chiefs loss, everyone is sad, but the rest of the state and country doesn't really care. EVERYBODY was bummed after Spain's goal. They knew it was the end. There was even a fight right in front of me in the crowd because of it. I don't even normally support Holland and I was upset. I didn't feel like going out after that (nor did anyone else), so I said goodbye to my Dutch friends and went back to my hostel to pass out.

All in all, I think that it was one of the best experiences I've ever had, or ever will have. It will be tough to find something that can compare. It will be something I'll remember forever. Check another few off under "Abso-freaking-lutely Amazing."