The day starts out groggy, it's 6 AM and I'm getting out of bed. Tired from a night with good friends and dancing, I get up and make myself a cup of tea. The stove won't start, so much for making everybody breakfast. It's now 7:30 AM and the sun still hasn't full risen. It's our last day in Holland, and all of the student from UMaine Machias are going into Amsterdam. Fast forward to 9 AM - public transportation; goodness isn't it confusing and gross? We get off the bus and head to the train. Making our way into Amsterdam, walking fast, faces flash, and we're obviously tourists. All of us go into a few shops, buy some things for our loved ones back home. We go and eat pizza, and after that the group splits off. I go to get my tattoo from The 3 Sins, while Dara, Ryan, Dawn and Rowan head to the Van Gogh Museum.

 

Speaking to Dara and Dawn, the Van Gogh museum was fascinating. With floor upon floors of different time periods spanning form Van Gogh's early work into his slow slide into insanity. His early work seems more structured because of the framing technique, with a bright awakening in the middle, then slowly showing you his progression into mental illness. 3 PM - it's been a long day and we are all tired, it's time to go back to Jamarco. After a long and tiring train/bus ride we finally arrive, throwing chop suey on the heater because our stove still will not work. It's relaxing and peaceful, yet sadness overwhelms me. It's my second year doing Crossing Borders, and probably my last, but I never lose hope that I will one day be in these beautiful cities again. Until we meet again Holland, Shayna Jester