keyboard tapping and page shuffling in a library.
a knife gently hitting wood, slicing through soft vegetables, sock shuffle on hardwood.
the focused silence of a girls bathroom when someone is doing their eyeliner.
all of these spaces carry little sound and high activity, focus, output. intention.
it is my second day in amsterdam, and this quiet but high energy is very apparent here. i am staying in de pijp, and have yet to explore amsterdam proper, so i must wait until tomorrow to see if this is the truth across the city or just my quiet corner of it. it's wonderful - there is just the sound of shop doors opening and closing, the occasional gentle whoosh-by of a bicycle wheel picking up water, and gentle greetings, all underlined by the constant patter of rain.
the loudest sound i have heard thus far was a man laughing across the street while i was on my search for coffee this morning. he was tall and muscular, with long dreads and walking with a sort of jaunt in his shoulders –– not cocky, but very comfortable. mid to later twenties. he was switching from english to dutch to boisterous laughter, and from what i could understand he was recounting a story to his friend ("i tell her i don't want to f*ck anymore––" then laughter.) it stuck with me a) because i thought it was funny that just that part of his story had to be in english, an easter egg for me, and b) because i was surprised by the deep, echoing sound of his laugh.
here, there is no song, only dance. no whistles and the bells are gentle.
tap card readers don't beep, the washing machine doesn't sing, shop music isn't blaring, and my shoulders are not tense up into my ears. this place makes sense.
tomorrow i am meeting up with my cousin to go to the shops and things. perhaps the most exciting thing, if it all works out, is that i am meeting up with a fellow river user! couldn't seem to avoid community if i tried, and this excites me a lot. will report back when new friend is made.
on the topic of sounds, here is some music i am listening to:
(mostly for me, for when i inevitably look back on this blog post and want to send myself back in time, as music does...)
transition into the chorus sounds like a plane taking off, listened to this album top-down on the flight (window seat!!) and swear they wrote it for this time in my life (dramatic asf)
the last time - julie doiron and the wooden stars
sweet bassline over sweet smell of wet streets, breeze over the bridge in de pijp (river smells unmistakably like sock, hm)
seventeen - mark william louis
suuuuper good when the song matches the weather
breathe in + flicks - frou frou
classics that are always in rotation, regular travel picks for me
ha it's me...