my friend and I are gonna be in A'dam in august (from the 20th to the 27 or 30th). Is there anyone you know that rents a room in Amsterdam? Just a roof over our heads would be quite enough. together we can pay up to 30€ per day and in exchange if u ever come to Turkey you can stay at our summerhouse by the aegean sea. (Ayvalik, a sunny region full of beaches, restaurants, archaeoloical sites, -close to the ancient city of Troy- and etc.
Hey I'm sorry, I don't live in Amsterdam so.. but if you can pay up to 30, why don't you get a room in a youthhostel? That's about 14 euro for each person per day.. check this: http://www.lastwaterhole.nl/ it's very close to central station, very close to the RLD as well.. age 18 - 30.. It's gonna be pretty busy though, so I recommend you to call them if you're interested to make a reservation, if possible.. Have fun!
I heard something about a place called the flying pig it's a hostel but i never stayed there I heard it was pretty resonable hope i helped
actually i've been to a'dam for 4 times b4 and the cheapest place I'd gotten to stay was this hostelling international stadsdoelen, 20€ per day with discount card and breakfast was included. I even stayed at the christian youth hostel. But this waterhole hostel is superb, it's so cheap yet gives you lots for free, like a drink for each night you stay and sheets and etc. Thank you very much velvet, we saved a lot! Hope we can find a bed. Thank you FerrisBueller too, I know the flying pig and have read some bad reviews about it before. If you ever want to go to A'dam, check out www.amsterdamhotspots.com. Also there is the bulldog which is perhaps the worst of all with its arrogant staff. cheers!
Hey I hope you'll like the hostel.. I've been there once to pick up a friend who was staying there.. it looks a bit shabby (haven't been to the rooms though) but I think it's okay.. as it is so close to the rld, you are sure to encounter some junks etc.. but I've walked there before (being a girl) and I didn't feel unsafe for once, so.. you should have a great time.. as long as you don't blame me if you don't! Have fun!
i agree with what u say about the bulldog staff - they do come across as very cliquey and unapproachable!
The last time I was there, we conducted some "research"* at the UvA about the Dutch tolerance and the diversity of the city Amsterdam and how/why the Dutch have compromising as a key element in their culture Some of the workshops were about prostitutes, euthanasia, drug policy, gays and etc... So I got to know much about the things behind the "decor" which was a great experience. We were even given a lecture by some hi-ranked police officers (who told us how the turks ruled the heroin market :& Hearing that the jewish,chinese and the dutch mafia are also a pain in the ass, honestly helped me relieve) As for the dodgy side of the city: Istanbul is 12 million and I get to see all sorts of junkies, aggressive travestites, hookers loitering, homeless kids inhaling thinner (not to feel the cold) in the certain areas of the city where I hang out. So junks approaching me "u want some acid, maybe some coke?" is the fun part of Amsterdam because it lets me live the real city not the postcard one. I'm not saying "danger is my middlename" but itz just I'm used to metropolis hassle. *Being an archaeology student, I delved into Amsterdam's story a few centuries before: the street life, the plague, fires, wars, nightwatchers, tale of the "daalder" (dollar) and the florine, the saints, cart pushers waiting by the bridges to help push peoples carts and make money, horse drawn canal boats and etc. It's nice to see the Achternburgwal, when you figure out the 8 city wall was once there (RLD). In short, Amsterdam is an open air-museum, that I love. Our stoned research team in the court of the UvA I'm the one attached to the Heineken, kneeling with respect
Heheh.. cool picture.. hey, you look pretty good! It's amazing how foreigners can be interested in this country and Amsterdam.. I think that's something that locals overlook, the history and beauty of our own land. I work with 'homeless' youth in Amsterdam (they have a roof over their head, but they don't have a 'home') and I know some refugee's.. so if you're interested in the more 'shady' side of the city I can maybe fill you in a little..
It would be a great experience to see the shelters and the kids. But i just wonder how you make them feel at home? I mean with games or by which means? As far as I can imagine, those kids might have social behaviour disorders, due to the traumas they might have been thru at the earlier stages of their lives. How old are they? Ive been to this church in Rotterdam, where the priest welcomes literally everyone, even the refugees without residence permit, homeless guys, prostitutes, or just the hungry. I think his church is the only one in the country. I'd also been to this NGO (also in Rott.) where they try to make the "refugees" integrate to the dutch society and to help them fight racism. I really appreciate the social side of the Netherlands. Ps: thnx for the comment :sunglasse
Well.. there are several shelteres in Amsterdam for homeless people and also a few for youth (16 - 23). I started my own foundation in Amsterdam together with a friend to give free computereducation to them, so I'm not working for one of those shelters, but I do know people there (workers & youths). I don't think it's possible to just go there for a visit, because the privacy of the people would be jeopardised that way. Most of the youth became homeless because of trouble at home (they got kicked out or run away).. physical and sexual abuse etc. The definition of a 'homeless person' is when they didn't have a steady place to stay for at least three months. They usually sleep over friends, squated houses, shelters etc.. and some spend a few nights on the streets. It's a vicious circle for them, because they don't have the money to pay for public transport, so they get fines, which they can't pay.. etc etc.. and with all the problems and the unsure future it's very hard to find a job or go to school. Once they are in a shelter or a housing program, they get help with their financial problems, their police trouble etc. The social workers don't make the problems go away, but they help the people to deal with every problem seperately, so that it isn't so overwhelming. Also the bureaucracy here is terrible.. especially if you're young and not very experienced with it. Anyway.. what I do is I make contact with the people (through the shelters mostly) to get them interested in the computercourse.. for them it's a good way to spend some freetime in a sensible way and also learn some skills that they can use later in a job or at school. Sorry if the story is kind of incoherent.. I'm trying to tell a milion things at the same time Feel free to ask anything!
you must be one hell of an activist to start your own foundation at that age! I mean people at your age sit some and watch MTV. I really appreciate what you do My humble opinion, if you (or those shelter guys) invite some people to those shelter and tell the kids that they will be having guests, then it may create a sense of hosting in kids at the shelters which may cause them to feel the place as their home: Since the visitors will have the social role "guest" the role left for the kids is the "host". So, its just an idea to warm the kids to the idea...of course their privacy should be protected. How many kids do u have at your center? What do you guys teach them? Maybe they can gain some professional skills? (or is that already what you intend?)
Hm.. sorry if I wasn't clear.. but we (the foundation is called Sokai, which is old-japanese for 'cherished hope') don't have a shelter ourselves. We rent a computerroom in a local community center. In October our second course will start (we're a very young/new foundation). Besides the course, we also have a project where we give them a computer for free (but they have to meet certain standards for that though, like living in a steady place, they have to take our course etc etc.). The two shelters I know best are both very different. One has two departments, a long stay and a short stay. The long stay is like a training to go live on their own.. they stay in the shelter for at least half a year. The short stay is different.. people (up to 23 years) can sleep there for 7 nights a month. They get a meal also. That's all free. So those kids have a lot of new people everyday as it is. The other shelter is a 'social pension' which means that they can live there for a long period (until they get their own place) but they have to pay a little for it. This place is really ment for youth with psychiatric problems, but because they have more room, homeless youth can stay there as well. They are in an old building now and most of them sleep with 2 people in one room, which is very small. As you can imagine, there are a lot of fights because there are a lot of people with (mental)problems on a small space. Fortunatelly they are moving next month to a bigger place where everyone can have their own room. Here it probably wouldn't work to have guests as well, because of the complicated group. But... I know what you mean and I like the idea as well. It would be nice to have a hostel run by youngsters like them.. so they could get a job experience and a place to sleep. Something like that is hard though, because a lot of them got a lot of problems and they can need a lot of guidance. But it certainly would be interesting. Soo.. Sokai teaches them very basic computerskills.. the first course was a big succes and a disaster Succes enough to continue, disaster enough to make some big changes. One of the problems was that it got a little to informal.. I'm only 23 and the teacher (and co-founder) is 25 so we're practically the same age as the students. Because of that we didn't feel comfortable to be very harsh or strict on them.. sometimes resulting in them only enjoying the internet instead of doing what they're supposed to do. So in the next course, we're gonna try to be a little more dominant.. hehe Hm.. long story.. hope I'm not boring you
i'm not bored at all...I just wonder if the govt. helps you with your projects... or you get by with donations? Creating a "compassionate dominance" over your peers might be hard. But they should be aware that the lowest price they pay for computer education, is to respect the instructor. Actually the hostel idea sounds very good. I have this fast food chains idea on my mind: There would be small doner & kebap restaurants run by the kids and inspected by the officials (hygiene and etc.). This way they would get a profession, earn money, have place to sleep, feel socially accepted and thus, satisfied. The stores would be franchised (even at international scale, who knows? ) and people (customers) would know that when they buy a sandwich from that fast food chain, they would be helping the society.
Sounds like a cool idea.. you should try starting something like that! The foundation is just a year old now.. and up 'till now we paid for everything ourselfs, but that's just not doable anymore, so we're looking into other options now. Last week we got 7 very good computers donated by my university (they replaced the old ones and sold them or gave them away to charity).. I'm sooo happy with'm! They were sold for 150 euro, so basically we got 7 x 150 euro for free! Yeay!
1050 € and 7 computers, thats grand! may be u can open a very small internet cafe and make money with the comps. when the kids arent using them?
Hm.. no.. we got 7 computers that together are worth 1050 euro. For now we'll just use them for the course and their private use.. since we're a foundation we're not allowed to make profit or anything, so starting a small enterprise would mean that we would have to make some changes in the legal stuff.. besides the fact that the rents are very high in Amsterdam and there are already a lot of interneroptions.. soo.. ah well..
i see... :/ it just sux if after all, the govt. doest back you up. someone with a lot of money must appreciate what you're doing!
