Farewell, reunion, big flash mob, storytelling, and a little explanation about Amsterdam

Hello there!
Today I finally want to tell you about my Friday in Amsterdam. First, you need to know that on Wednesday evening, I was scrolling through my contacts on my phone and I came across Anne's number. I didn't even know that I still had it and I was super happy about it. Why am I so excited about a phone number? Well, Anne was my best friend in America, and she's from the Netherlands. We haven't seen each other in 2 years, which is a shame because we got along so well in Santa Barbara. Anyway, I spontaneously decided to send her a message and ask if she wanted to come to Amsterdam for a day. To be honest, I didn't really expect her to come, but I wanted to give it a try. But then, a few minutes later, the most wonderful surprise happened! Anne hadn't forgotten about me and she was immediately thrilled about the idea. So, it was decided within 5 minutes that she would come to Amsterdam on Friday after work to visit me. You can't imagine how much this fact made me glow with happiness! If everything goes according to plan, I will have met 2 dear people within 5 days, both of whom I met and haven't seen in California 2 years ago. That would be crazy, right? And it did turn out to be crazy.
I slept until about 10 and then I wanted to take care of my further travel planning. I was quite successful in booking my last two hostels and bus rides. Yes, it seems that 70% of the end of my trip is already planned. I'll tell you what exactly I booked another time. But now back to Anne. I made my way to the Central Station at 2:30 because Anne was supposed to arrive at 3:20, and I had also arranged to meet Alex there again to say goodbye to him. Alex and I were able to talk for a good half an hour, and then our paths unfortunately had to separate. But since I was so excited to see Anne, the goodbye wasn't as bad as I had feared. And then it was already 3:20. So, I stood there excitedly like a little child, waiting for Anne. By the way, we had exchanged pictures of our outfits shortly before, because after all, you can change a lot in 2 years. But as it turned out, it wasn't necessary at all. I immediately recognized Anne and luckily she recognized me too, and we ran into each other's arms. We both couldn't believe that we were actually seeing each other again so spontaneously. It was an incredibly beautiful moment! Happy and amazed, we simply walked into the city center. We had so much to talk about and then we decided to take a short break at a café on the way to the "I amsterdam" sign. And so we did. After we finished our drinks, I called the waiter over in Dutch and told him that we would like to pay. And to say goodbye, I also wished him a nice day in Dutch. Of course, my Dutch was far from perfect, but at least it made the waiter, Anne, and me laugh, so in the end, it served its purpose. By the way, from that moment on, I wished every Dutch person a nice day in Dutch, which always brought a smile to everyone's faces. After some time, we finally reached the sign, where we came across a flash mob by an orchestra. It was really incredible! Anne and I then decided to go to the nearby Vondelpark to enjoy the beautiful weather with nice conversations and cold drinks. But around 6:30, we unfortunately had to leave again, as we wanted to go to a small bar again, and Anne's train was scheduled to depart at 8:40. In summary, it can be said that Anne and I walked a lot through Amsterdam, talked a lot, and laughed even more, and simply spent a really wonderful day together. I accompanied her to the train station and then took the tram back to my hostel, where the journey was supposed to continue directly.
Now we come to Paul, my tour guide from yesterday. Paul and I quickly exchanged our Facebook information yesterday, as he had already invited me to a storytelling/stand-up comedy evening and wanted to send me the necessary information. In the hostel, I had to convince Hiral, who was busy packing, to accompany me there, but it worked. So, at around half past nine, we went to the meeting point with Paul to walk together for about 20 minutes to the venue. All of this was more than worth it because once we arrived, I didn't want to leave anymore. This bar had an incredibly cozy atmosphere and the people there were all super friendly. Paul (who knows practically everyone there because it's often his stage) introduced us to a few cool people and then we listened to the storytellers' stories while enjoying a bowl of nachos. But my concerns that I wouldn't understand anything were completely unfounded, as the storytellers spoke very clear English, so I could enjoy the evening just like everyone else around me. Admission was free, but at the end, a small donation pot went around where everyone could put in as much money as they felt was appropriate. At around midnight, Hiral and I were back at the hostel, but the evening wasn't over for us yet. Our hostel threw a little party in its own club, which actually didn't look bad at all, but Hiral and I were the only ones there and we stayed there. Actually, it was even cooler that way because we had a DJ and two bartenders who fulfilled all our wishes, and Hiral and I rocked the dance floor like Queens. Life is much more fun when you don't take yourself too seriously. But since Hiral wanted to go to proper clubs in the city center at half past one, our paths separated and I went back out to meet Yomi, Sam, and Anthony.
So, I had a really long, eventful, and happiness-inducing Friday in Amsterdam!
Now a short explanation regarding Amsterdam, as announced in the title:
I finally learned the meaning behind the check-in and check-out system in all public transportation! Anne explained to me that every Dutch person has a card that they can load with money at places like the supermarket. You always have to check in and check out because you pay for the distance you actually travel. In order to make sure that everyone follows the rules, there is an additional inspector in the middle of the tram, for example, who monitors everything. By the way, on weekends, students can travel completely for free throughout the Netherlands using all public transportation, and they also only have to pay 50-40% of the normal prices on weekdays. Pretty cool, right?

(Today's report contains little about Amsterdam and more about my personal experiences, but if you want to be my real travel companion, you also have to be able to participate on such days)

P.S.: I just want to quickly say that I'm really doing great here and I'm incredibly grateful for these past few days, and I really appreciate them. By the way, I just wrote this report in Vondelpark, where I will sit for a while longer with good music and my book (it is 3:41 PM).

See you later, my friend!