Today will absolutely constitute one of the most memorable of my days in Amsterdam. I started of the day with a jog through Vondelpark, which is conveniently located within a few blocks from our hotel. After a morning of sleeping in for most, everyone was wide awake for the event our professor had scheduled.
We visited the Prostitution Information Center, which is appropriately located in the infamous Red Light District. It was here that we had a conversation with a woman who worked at the center and is a former sex worker. Until now, I have never had an open conversation with anyone who is/was a sex worker, and it was an eye opening experience. The overwhelming majority of things I have heard or experienced regarding prostitution were biased against it. I think the woman we met with did a great job conveying that prostitution does not have to be a negative thing. She helped me see another way of looking at the issue of prostitution, and it is clear to me that this is made possible largely as a result of the tolerant laws the Netherlands has in place. Overall, it was a great experience to have an intimate conversation with a woman who knows the business because she has been a part of it on many different levels.
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