amsterdam top 10....

ok, so i've been here a week and things are going well. i've been through the city of Utrecht a little, but not Amsterdam yet. i'm waiting to take Kristie and Caleb. Holland is a little different, so here is a quick top 10 of things that are awesome about the netherlands.

1. the prefered mode of transportation here is the bicycle. most of the bicycles are leftovers from WW2.
2. this means that a small family will travel on one bicycle. mom drives, one child in the seat behind the handle bars, the other child either in the seat on the rear or just sitting on the rack over the back tire.
3. some people just ride their friends around on the back of their bicycle, sitting on the rack.
4. there are really no SUV's here, just compact cars and Mercedes Benz. a lot of cabs are Mercedes.
5. the bicycle paths are better kept than the streets, and almost as wide.
6. french fries and mayonaise.
7. everyone smokes. 8 year olds, our cheerleaders, the pregnant lady at the bar on saturday night (i'm not kidding)
8. i have no idea how to speak or understand dutch except for one word, that i can't spell, which i have adopted to mean everything and anything that i want.
9. the dollar sucks here and euro coins are annoying.
10. as we were on the bus coming from the airport to Utrecht, passing by Amsterdam, the bus driver says, "Welcome to Amsterdam! On the left you can see the Amsterdam Stadium where you play your games. If you look to the right... you can't see a f***ing thing on the left! Welcome to Amsterdam!" no joke!

really, everyone speaks english, which really makes you feel like an idiot, and everyone is nice. i'm having a good time so far but i miss my family. they will be here in a week. i can't wait!

our first game is this saturday at home against the Rhein Fire. should be a good time. we have a really good team.

out'