This week I am a lucky lady. I get to dog-sit no less than prince Louie. Although it keeps me very busy next to my other job I love his company. He is a bit of a whiner, he cries like a baby now and then yet after a few minutes of ignoring him he gives up and pops by for a cuddle (if more people were this way:P). Now that my friend is priceless. I believe animals, education, patience and openness can help cure a lot of problems in this world.
Speaking of which, while dog-sitting I am staying in a area of Amsterdam that has had its share of challenges. Can you believe I got lost here on my 2nd day getting back from work in the freaking dark??!
Me and my friends joke that it is the ghetto sometimes, only because people get shot here occasionally. Like last week a guy got shot with a machine gun 1km from where I am dog-sitting. For a small-town gall like me it is rather shocking to hear even-though I know there are other parts of the world that face far greater challenges than this. Even if I have been through a lot of things before, such as violence, force and other unpleasant moments I still felt a bit hesitant when I heard about the man with the machine gun. Besides that I have also experienced a fair amount of badly behaved people on the streets. I will not name one culture for this because that would not be fair, but I can tell you all of them were men with a twisted idea of what a woman is and what a woman wants. Several people might say it was probably just my perspective on things or I was dressing wrong or whatever to take away the nagging thought in the back of their head ...that some people just are not decent or nice.
However, despite my unpleasant experiences with some men from certain cultures and people getting shot in this ¨ghetto¨ I am glad I decided to dog-sit here. You see, there is beauty everywhere and yes it is even here in the so called ¨small-ghetto¨ of Amsterdam. Like the morning walks with Louie to the doggy-daycare when the frost still bites into my skin and the air is filled with winter fog. Or when I leave the doggy-daycare and run to catch the bus I might miss otherwise and meet a lovely strict looking lady that still turns into a smile when I say ¨GOOD MORNING madame¨! Or when I get off that bus to catch Tram 17 to work and then miss it because it broke or something silly like that and I get this awesome view in the winter-cold.The lady that can not stand up in the tram because her legs do not work but will do so anyway because the tram is full-packed, her grandchild is with her and she has pride from Earth to the Moon.
¨Waiting for Tram 17 that came 2 times but just kept driving....¨
Several people might assume I am either funny, black-and-white minded or even blanc up there.... that I do not see, smell, taste or feel the world around me. That I make up my mind and it can not be changed. Though I sometimes feel uneasy about this I do not think this matters because deep down I know very well who I am and how I work. I enjoy being wrong because it teaches me new things, I do not like finger-pointing though.
This morning I stood next to 2 ¨suspicious looking¨ men while making an attempt to catch a tram for the 2nd time this morning. One of them looking like a guy that attempted to rape me back home in Norway. The men spoke another language,no clue which one I just stood there and listened to them. It sounded like singing and it took me back in time for a moment. After 10min the tram came and despite the tram being packed to the brim and the men waited longer than me in the freezing cold, they let me go first. In my eyes this is what heals old wounds, kindness and not pointing fingers or anger nor lecturing people about what they should or should not feel. Kindness is key in my eyes, intent means nothing without a sufficient amount of kindness and even here in the ¨mini-ghetto¨ of Amsterdam there is plenty of that to fight the bad days.
Laters xxxx Annie
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