Back to Amsterdam

I made the mistake of telling my students I was going to Amsterdam for the weekend. “Ooooohhhhh”, they all shouted. They know — or think they know — what goes on there. “Come on, guys, there’s other stuff in Amsterdam!” I told them. And this during a lesson that started with a listening task about Vincent van Gogh. I pointed to his picture in the textbook. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to visit the van Gogh museum,” I said, not even sure if there is a van Gogh museum. “And what are you gonna do before that?” someone called out from the back, which set everyone off again. One student asked if I could bring him back some “cakes”. Another asked if I was planning on visiting the red light district. A solid no to both questions; I didn’t want to give them any ideas even though the reality lies somewhere between what the students think and what I tell them. They don’t know much about me but they know I’m not going to the Netherlands to look at windmills. <a href="https://lorenzogaertner.medium.com/back-to-amsterdam-afdd59b395ee">Read More</a>