It's a beautiful day!

Mmmm, today is my first day off, and Tina has it off also. Yesterday we had training and weren't working in the hostel so it feels like two in a row almost and it's very nice. Yesterday morning we had informational meetings all morning and got to know each other and dutch food. The old blindfold someone and have them try something. I am so thankful I got vla (and I knew what it was too!) because pickled herring and droups (sp?) are not my favourite foods in the world...but we had fun and did a little mission impossible during our ten minute break. This organization (Tot Heil Des Volks-for the salvation of the people) has been around for 150 years this year, so this is a year of jubilee. There have been a number of celebrations already and will be more, so I am told. It was neat to find out about the ministries that were done at the beginning of this organization and the ones going on now. I already discovered the homeless ministry next door on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays because of the people hanging out near our door all day Wednesday that confused Tina and I because we would have thought they'd have something else to do. But Krista told me that they get a hot shower and some tea or coffee and food and they can relax there, maybe get clean clothes? stuff like that. very cool. There is also a ministry to the prostitutes and another to homosexuals. and Nora (our tour guide last night) leads "outreach tours" and so she was showing us all the main sights of Amsterdam and the history behind them and then how to tie that in to evangelism. Very helpful and interesting. So after our meetings we had lunch and Tina and I did our chores, and then went off exploring! We found Nathalie's apartment (a two minute bike ride from Willemsstraat) and then went to the harbour and then to Westerpark. We discovered that when it's a beautiful day people take advantage of the sunlight and go to the park to tan regardless of their shape or size. But it was a beautiful park, and we'll probably go to another one today for a picnic lunch once her small group is finished. We picked some flowers there and wrote a note for Nathalie which we left in her mailbox because it was her first day of classes (we think, hehe). Then Rala and Nora started our walking tour which included dinner at the Jordan and ended at the City (which has such a beautiful garden! Jordan was gipped in that area, but it is so much more gezellig that I don't even care that much). Upon our return to Willemsstraat we had a tea party in Leticia's room. While some of us tried to be ladies, others were still unable to handle it, so it was a time full of laughter, haha. but then again, any time Leticia is anywhere the room is full of laughter. Especially when Leticia and Rala are together. After our tea party we rearranged the living room and Leticia taught us how to salsa and samba dance. It was very fun, and good exercise, because we did it for a few hours...Leticia is amazing, but I suppose it just comes naturally with being Brazilian. We gathered an audience at some points and made some of them join in, so that was fun too. And Tina showed us her breakdance move. I'm going to stop talking now because it's not going to be amusing for you. Although if I put a video of it on here I'm sure you'd have a lovely laugh. Perhaps I'll do that if I can figure out how. Bye for now!