amsterdam, or not to amsterdam?

the only real reason i'm hesitating on going is the cost...   for some reason i find it hard to shell out (probably) about 2k for a trip, but i really should do it. i mean, when else will i have a good friend already over there that knows the area and would be a great tour-guide/travel-buddy. but on the other side of the coin, maybe i'm over-thinking things again, but i also imagine that i'll feel a little... behind? it's just that joe and the people who would be joining us have been living there for a year and are comfortable with the peoples and currency and ways to travel, and i'm going to be feeling totally lost and a bit left out. not that i think they're going to call me "dead weight" and leave me in a ditch on the side of the road, but yea... i over-think things.
i'm also wondering if the new-found anxiety i've gained over the past year will cause me to be cranky and anxious; or if maybe the trip will distract me from all the nonsense going on in my head. speaking of which, i'm never really consciously anxious about anything. i think i have more of a sub-conscious anxiety issue. maybe i should try hypno-therapy.