Hi from Amsterdam!

My friends and I arrived in The Netherlands a couple days ago. The weather has been extremely frigid so we looked up what latitude degree Amsterdam is on--turns out that we are farther North than the northern most tip of Maine. Everyone here speaks English and is extremely friendly. Unfortunately the Royal Palace and the Rijkmuseam (two magnificently beautiful buildings) are under construction, but other than that, the canals running along the street are unforgettable. While my friends visited the Heineken factory (Admission 15 Euro? No thanks...), another friend and I played chess on one of those huge chessboards in the middle of a square. My friends and I have started buying groceries in order to save money and so I've been enjoying baguettes and cheese. We also rode a ferry and visited some churches. The Internet costs money at the hostel we're staying at right now so I can't write too much. Happy New Year!