I just had my family come to visit Amsterdam. It was quite interesting having them here. I was, of course, very excited to see them after not having seen them in 3 months, but at the same time it was a bit overwhelming. Escorting around 4 people while still going to class and trying to keep up with other obligations was a little bit hard at times. Yet, all in all, it was wonderful to have them here with me for a few days.

During their stay here I got to look at Amsterdam from a whole different perspective. It is one thing to have a group of Americans your own age and quite another to be with your family. Walking through the red-light district with my family by my side was a little bit awkward. I explained that they shouldn't stare or look down upon the prostitutes. I feel that too many tourists do this and I feared that my family would be one of them. As far as I am concerned, you are on their turf, this is their profession and you should respect it. Thankfully, my family listened to request and we got along just fine.

I took my little brother and my older sister to a coffeeshop because they wanted to go and it was interesting seeing them in the setting. In the states, smoking is illegal, and smoking with family members, I think, is really uncommon. Yet, they were in Amsterdam and i was not opposed to taking them into a coffeeshop, so, I did. I took them to Abraxis, we smoked and it was fun.

I had to keep reminding myself throughout their stay that they were seeing Amsterdam for the first time. It was the first time during my trip here that I realized the fact that I have grown very accustomed to seeing the architecture, the cobblestone and the people of Amsterdam. At the same time it made me think that I shouldn't take the time I have left here for granted, because I will soon be on my way back to the midwest.