Hashing in Amsterdamse Bos...

On May 4 the FILTH Full Moon Hash took place in the Amsterdamse Bos. We brought our bikes on the train for the cycle ride between the station and the park. After seeing how easily Boar Whore rented a bike at the train station for less money than we spent to bring ours along, we signed up for OV Fiets so we also could rent bikes in the future. At precisely 8 p.m. there were two minutes of silence to remember all those lost during wars. Ironically, the hare was War n’ Piece; he managed to get us to the WWII Memorial at exactly the right moment. The memorial showed the names of all the concentration camps where Dutch people were murdered; the sheer number of names was shocking. After shedding a few tears, we continued onto the obstacle course part of the trail. While I hung on for dear life, Jimmy scrambled across with no hands.

I opted not to the the zipline over the water, but he enjoyed it.

As the group’s new Religious Adviser, I thought I might get away with wearing new shoes, but no such luck. Boar Whore joined me in drinking a beer out of a shoe.

Year 13 Leavers’ Assembly...

We were invited to attend the Leavers’ Assembly on May 1 as the school bade farewell to the graduating students before they began their exams; this was the closest thing to a graduation ceremony our school does. Each student was given a BSN Alumni hoodie.

Later, Veronica was called back up on stage to accept the BSN Alumni Spirit Award for her efforts with the Environmental Committee and photographing special school events.

Jimmy and I were so proud of her!

The new alumni of the British School of the Netherlands.

Veronica and her gang would soon be separated. Nora (Dutch uni), Emilie (medicine in Denmark), Michelle (hotel management in Switzerland), Amelia (vet school at Cambridge), Kimiko (science in Glasgow), Maria (biology in Holland), Wendy (Dutch uni), Adelina (politics in London), Lizzy (theology at Cambridge) and Ellie (English at York)

That evening Veronica had a great time on a boat ride with all the graduates and their teachers.

Partying on King’s Day...

After making it over to Skye’s house, it was time to hit one of the street parties for some dancing.

 There was some interesting entertainment.

What a fun weekend!

King’s Day Scavenger Hunt...

Rather than just suggesting that we walk through Vondel Park, we were given a list of items to find and tasks to complete with photographic evidence. Here we are posing with our twin...

...and here Jimmy is making friends at the urinal.

The weather was fantastic and the park was full of kids trying to sell things at Holland’s largest yard sale.

We never did submit our photos to see how well we did compared to the other teams, but we had a blast nonetheless.

While most of the city was decorated in orange, this block was decorated in green.

King’s Day in Amsterdam...

Rather than attempting to run a traditional hash through Amsterdam during one of the busiest days of the year, the hash hosted a progressive party that moved between the homes of hashers. Simon was the first host, which was very convenient for us. Luckily for everyone, the weather was fantastic and we were able to party on his rooftop terrace.

 A good sized crowd showed up, all decked out in orange.

Jimmy, Skye and Reinhardt posing at the second of three houses

Pre-King’s Day Hash...

After skipping ahead to report on Tokyo, it’s time to go back in time to the end of April...

We were excited to be in the country for King’s Day this year. The day before, we went to Amsterdam for the Pre-King’s Day Hash and recruited Richard to come along for his first hash. The trail started near the Red Light District and ran along the Ij and into an area I’d never been to before. 

After stopping for a beer break at a hasher’s apartment, there was a game. Rather than bobbing for apples, it was bobbing for bacon which was then passed to the next person.

As you can see, Jimmy really enjoyed passing some bacon to Andrea (aka Best Before)...

...and to Ana (aka Liver Dance).

We bought head scarves as part of a fundraiser for the earthquake in Nepal. After dinner, we boogied in the streets until the early hours of the night. Simon was kind enough to offer us a place to stay; we eventually walked across town back to his place.

Japanese Toilets...

Much to Ashlynn’s disapproval, it’s impossible for me to write about Japan and not mention the toilets. Even in our shabby apartment, we had a toilet that automatically warmed the seat and had several different spray options.

The most unusual aspect of our toilet, however, was the top which had an integrated faucet. Honestly, I’d never considered using toilet water to wash my hands before. After I got over how gross that seemed, I realized that it actually made sense that some of the tank's clean water went to the bowl while some went to the top. I only saw one other toilet like this during our journeys, so I guess it’s not commonly used.

In the giant electronics store, you couldn’t buy a toilet but there was an entire department dedicated to the large variety of fancy mechanisms that you can add to your existing toilet. 

In many public places, the restrooms were spotless (including in most train stations!) and the western toilets had sophisticated control panels with a variety of buttons; although I never experimented with all the options, I do know that the button with an image of a musical note will play the sound of rushing water in order to block out any “embarrassing” sounds you might make. 

The Japanese love pictograms. Here’s one just in case you weren’t sure how to use a Western toilet.

In one place I saw a clever family set-up: a regular toilet for the mom, a urinal for a young boy and a seat for the baby all within a single stall. I also saw a fancy electronic map on the wall at one train station that not only specified which stalls were available, but which had western toilets versus Japanese traditional toilets.