Alright Fam and Friends,
I realize I've been bad about updating. I'm sorry, tomorrow I'm spending studying at the library, so I'll probably update again. To make you feel better, check out my pictures. I've even posted captions and names of my friends, so that y'alls can know who my friends are and what we've been doing.
It's http://picasaweb.google.com/lmtheobald
Enjoy!
Laura
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
London Calling, Other Dutch Adventures
Hi Again,
Today is an incredibly rainy day in Amsterdam, so I am sitting in the absolutely delightful Amsterdam Public Library getting a bit of research done for my final papers. But right now I have decided to take a break and catch up on some blog entries.
Let me start with a short daytrip I took with friends to Rotterdam. We took the train, then walked around and saw all of the ships and whatnot. It's a fairly modern city, mostly because so many of the buildings were destroyed during WWII. I was feeling sick however, so I hopped on the train back to Amsterdam.
The very next day CIEE took us to an incredibly underwhelming castle. But it was a very significant castle because it is where Kaiser Wilhelm fled after WWI and signed his official abdication. So I guess that was important.
Oh yes, I have now also been to one of the biggest clubs in Amsterdam, Paradiso. Not that I am spending my time here partying a lot or anything, but it's located in an old church with fabulous stained glass windows. They also played really good music, so I could dance the night away. Would have been nicer if the guy who had invited me to come had not ditched me, but he was a jerk anyway and I had more fun dancing with my girlfriends.
Over Easter weekend, my friend Jacqui from my program invited me to her parent's flat in London for the holiday. She is American, however her father works in London so the family maintains two homes. My flight over was surprisingly empty, we both got our own rows. We flew into London City Airport, which is a very nice small airport in the middle of London. They don't have any long haul flights, but it's great for those small ones. Since Jacqui was occupied with family matters, I went off and did my own thing for the weekend. I had been to London before, so I felt like I knew my way around and her parents had provided me with an Oyster card which made public transport incredibly easy to use. Although, some genius decided to close down several of the major lines, which meant a lot of crowds. We arrived on Friday evening, where we walked around the area the flat was located, then ate a delicious meal cooked by her mother (it was really nice to have some home cooking). On Saturday morning, I got up and got myself to Leicester Square to hit up the TKTS booth for a ticket to a show. I ended up deciding to see Blood Brothers, mostly because it's currently starring Melanie C from the Spice Girls. It's a very good musical about class issues in England, a bit depressing, but I liked it nonetheless. I also went to the National Portrait Gallery and walked through Hyde Park and saw Buckingham Palace. On Easter Sunday I visited the British Museum. Downstairs was incredibly busy, but the upper floors were pretty empty. After that, I met up with my friend's family for a wonderful Easter dinner plus drinks afterwards, and we played this really fun trading game that I think my mom would really love. On Monday, I went to Harrods, then caught an evening flight back to Amsterdam. It was a very fun weekend, and I really liked being able to do my own thing and see what I wanted to see.
The weekend after Easter was another CIEE trip to the Deltaworks. This is the major water project that is keeping the Netherlands from sinking, so it's a big deal. The trip originally sounded pretty boring, but I signed up anyway because it was free and I was guaranteed delicious food that was also free. Although, I guess it's not really free, but it's included in my tuition, so my parents have already paid for it. It ended up being really fun, they've turned the area around it into a nature sanctuary and there is a little amusement park too. After we took a tour of the actual Deltaworks (really big dikes) we took a boat ride around the area and played on the playground. But most importantly, what made this trip one of my favorites, was the fact that there were seals there! And they were feeding them! I took lots of pictures and a video of the the tricks they were trained to do. I was very disappointed though, because they let the small children feed the seals, even though I was standing right next to them and I was looking very expectant. Sigh, I guess the trainers didn't realize they were crushing a poor 20 year old's biggest dream in life. Someday, someday, I will get to meet a seal. I just have to keep hope alive.
Alright, that is all for now. My friend is getting hungry and there happens to be a cafe on the top floor of the library which overlooks the city of Amsterdam. Up there is also one of my favorite places, especially because the food is delicious and quite cheap.
Tot Ziens!
Laura
Today is an incredibly rainy day in Amsterdam, so I am sitting in the absolutely delightful Amsterdam Public Library getting a bit of research done for my final papers. But right now I have decided to take a break and catch up on some blog entries.
Let me start with a short daytrip I took with friends to Rotterdam. We took the train, then walked around and saw all of the ships and whatnot. It's a fairly modern city, mostly because so many of the buildings were destroyed during WWII. I was feeling sick however, so I hopped on the train back to Amsterdam.
The very next day CIEE took us to an incredibly underwhelming castle. But it was a very significant castle because it is where Kaiser Wilhelm fled after WWI and signed his official abdication. So I guess that was important.
Oh yes, I have now also been to one of the biggest clubs in Amsterdam, Paradiso. Not that I am spending my time here partying a lot or anything, but it's located in an old church with fabulous stained glass windows. They also played really good music, so I could dance the night away. Would have been nicer if the guy who had invited me to come had not ditched me, but he was a jerk anyway and I had more fun dancing with my girlfriends.
Over Easter weekend, my friend Jacqui from my program invited me to her parent's flat in London for the holiday. She is American, however her father works in London so the family maintains two homes. My flight over was surprisingly empty, we both got our own rows. We flew into London City Airport, which is a very nice small airport in the middle of London. They don't have any long haul flights, but it's great for those small ones. Since Jacqui was occupied with family matters, I went off and did my own thing for the weekend. I had been to London before, so I felt like I knew my way around and her parents had provided me with an Oyster card which made public transport incredibly easy to use. Although, some genius decided to close down several of the major lines, which meant a lot of crowds. We arrived on Friday evening, where we walked around the area the flat was located, then ate a delicious meal cooked by her mother (it was really nice to have some home cooking). On Saturday morning, I got up and got myself to Leicester Square to hit up the TKTS booth for a ticket to a show. I ended up deciding to see Blood Brothers, mostly because it's currently starring Melanie C from the Spice Girls. It's a very good musical about class issues in England, a bit depressing, but I liked it nonetheless. I also went to the National Portrait Gallery and walked through Hyde Park and saw Buckingham Palace. On Easter Sunday I visited the British Museum. Downstairs was incredibly busy, but the upper floors were pretty empty. After that, I met up with my friend's family for a wonderful Easter dinner plus drinks afterwards, and we played this really fun trading game that I think my mom would really love. On Monday, I went to Harrods, then caught an evening flight back to Amsterdam. It was a very fun weekend, and I really liked being able to do my own thing and see what I wanted to see.
The weekend after Easter was another CIEE trip to the Deltaworks. This is the major water project that is keeping the Netherlands from sinking, so it's a big deal. The trip originally sounded pretty boring, but I signed up anyway because it was free and I was guaranteed delicious food that was also free. Although, I guess it's not really free, but it's included in my tuition, so my parents have already paid for it. It ended up being really fun, they've turned the area around it into a nature sanctuary and there is a little amusement park too. After we took a tour of the actual Deltaworks (really big dikes) we took a boat ride around the area and played on the playground. But most importantly, what made this trip one of my favorites, was the fact that there were seals there! And they were feeding them! I took lots of pictures and a video of the the tricks they were trained to do. I was very disappointed though, because they let the small children feed the seals, even though I was standing right next to them and I was looking very expectant. Sigh, I guess the trainers didn't realize they were crushing a poor 20 year old's biggest dream in life. Someday, someday, I will get to meet a seal. I just have to keep hope alive.
Alright, that is all for now. My friend is getting hungry and there happens to be a cafe on the top floor of the library which overlooks the city of Amsterdam. Up there is also one of my favorite places, especially because the food is delicious and quite cheap.
Tot Ziens!
Laura
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Ich Bin Berliner!
Hallo All!
Since it's been so long, I'm breaking this into multiple entries for easier reading. This will specifically be about my adventure to Berlin waaaaay back in March.
To start off, we decided to save some money and take the night bus. You know what, I'm going to give some advice here, pay the extra 30 euro or so and take the train. The bus was cramped and there were some very loud Dutch girls who were talking and laughing the whole 10 hour ride there. Then the bus dropped us off on the outskirts of the city and we had to figure out how to get into the actual city of Berlin. Luckily, we were in Germany, so they have very organized and efficient public transportation. This is one of the reasons why I love traveling in Germany, they do things the way I like them. That is easy and it works.
We were able to check into our hostel early, and since it was still around 10am we cleaned up a bit then headed out to take on the city. It was gorgeous and sunny and Berlin was calling to us. We took the S-bahn to Brandenburg Gate, where we met up with a free tour. This was a fabulous tour, because not only was it free, but it was led by a hilarious man from Northern Ireland named Finn. It took up most of the day and included a lunch stop, but we saw the majority of the city and learned many hilarious anecdotes. At the end, of course he begged for a tip and showed us pictures of his not-so-starving puppy to entice us to give him more money. We each gave him 5 euro, and the rest of the group gave about the same so I don't believe his puppy will be starving anytime soon.
Afterwards, we had naptime then got some dinner at the cheap pasta place next to our hostel. We went out for a bit, but I was still tired from the bus ride the night before, so I went back to go to sleep early.
On Saturday morning, we again went to Brandenburg Gate, but this time to meet up with the same tour company to go on their Sachsenhausen tour. This one cost us 12 euro, but it was worth it to get someone telling us all of the information about the camp. It was the second time I've been to a concentration camp, and again it was a very moving experience. Afterwards, we needed some detox time to process everything we had just witnessed, so we rode back to Berlin in mostly silence and had more naptime.
On Sunday, members of my group were all leaving at different times, but my friend Gina and I were taking the last train to Amsterdam, so we had the day to explore Berlin more. It was again sunny, and we had wanted to go up the Reichstag, however the line was freakishly long so we nixed that idea. We then headed out to the zoo in search of Knut. Knut is the polar bear that was born in the Berlin Zoo whose mother rejected him so he was hand-raised by human from birth. Now, Gretchen will probably not like him, because many animal rights activists believe he is now too accustomed to human attention and the zoo really uses him as a way to make more money. Ok, well, maybe they have a point. Knut is pretty psychopathic. He spends all day pacing around the same area of his enclosure while the girlfriend they gave him sleeps. But he was an incredibly cute little cub back in the day, so I picked up a postcard of him to hang on my wall because I like cute furry things.
We also saw many other cute little animals until it was time to take the train back home. And this was the train that never ended. Finally, we got back to Amsterdam around 10 and both of us went home and went to bed, exhausted from our exciting weekend in Berlin. It has definitely become one of my favorite cities and is also on my list of cities I would not object to living in.
Ok, I think that is enough for this entry. Now you can take a short break and then read my entry about London!
Laura
Since it's been so long, I'm breaking this into multiple entries for easier reading. This will specifically be about my adventure to Berlin waaaaay back in March.
To start off, we decided to save some money and take the night bus. You know what, I'm going to give some advice here, pay the extra 30 euro or so and take the train. The bus was cramped and there were some very loud Dutch girls who were talking and laughing the whole 10 hour ride there. Then the bus dropped us off on the outskirts of the city and we had to figure out how to get into the actual city of Berlin. Luckily, we were in Germany, so they have very organized and efficient public transportation. This is one of the reasons why I love traveling in Germany, they do things the way I like them. That is easy and it works.
We were able to check into our hostel early, and since it was still around 10am we cleaned up a bit then headed out to take on the city. It was gorgeous and sunny and Berlin was calling to us. We took the S-bahn to Brandenburg Gate, where we met up with a free tour. This was a fabulous tour, because not only was it free, but it was led by a hilarious man from Northern Ireland named Finn. It took up most of the day and included a lunch stop, but we saw the majority of the city and learned many hilarious anecdotes. At the end, of course he begged for a tip and showed us pictures of his not-so-starving puppy to entice us to give him more money. We each gave him 5 euro, and the rest of the group gave about the same so I don't believe his puppy will be starving anytime soon.
Afterwards, we had naptime then got some dinner at the cheap pasta place next to our hostel. We went out for a bit, but I was still tired from the bus ride the night before, so I went back to go to sleep early.
On Saturday morning, we again went to Brandenburg Gate, but this time to meet up with the same tour company to go on their Sachsenhausen tour. This one cost us 12 euro, but it was worth it to get someone telling us all of the information about the camp. It was the second time I've been to a concentration camp, and again it was a very moving experience. Afterwards, we needed some detox time to process everything we had just witnessed, so we rode back to Berlin in mostly silence and had more naptime.
On Sunday, members of my group were all leaving at different times, but my friend Gina and I were taking the last train to Amsterdam, so we had the day to explore Berlin more. It was again sunny, and we had wanted to go up the Reichstag, however the line was freakishly long so we nixed that idea. We then headed out to the zoo in search of Knut. Knut is the polar bear that was born in the Berlin Zoo whose mother rejected him so he was hand-raised by human from birth. Now, Gretchen will probably not like him, because many animal rights activists believe he is now too accustomed to human attention and the zoo really uses him as a way to make more money. Ok, well, maybe they have a point. Knut is pretty psychopathic. He spends all day pacing around the same area of his enclosure while the girlfriend they gave him sleeps. But he was an incredibly cute little cub back in the day, so I picked up a postcard of him to hang on my wall because I like cute furry things.
We also saw many other cute little animals until it was time to take the train back home. And this was the train that never ended. Finally, we got back to Amsterdam around 10 and both of us went home and went to bed, exhausted from our exciting weekend in Berlin. It has definitely become one of my favorite cities and is also on my list of cities I would not object to living in.
Ok, I think that is enough for this entry. Now you can take a short break and then read my entry about London!
Laura
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Since I've Received Some Menacing Emails...
Hello All,
I've received some menacing sounding emails about how half of the family back home thinks I'm dead because I haven't updated in a long time. I don't really have much time right now, but I'll just do a short entry to give an update.
The first weekend of March (yikes, it really has been a long time) we went to Brussels. It was fun, a kind of easy city to navigate once we got the hang of it. We opted to just take the bus to our hostel, but for the rest of the weekend we walked everywhere. Brussels is a relatively nice city to visit, but the food is very expensive. There are also lots of touristy restaurants where creepy men stand outside trying to make you come inside. Good thing my time spent in Los Angeles has taught me the art of pretending people aren't there and continuing on my way. I found saying no in an unintelligible accent and walking quickly worked pretty well. We mostly just walked around the city and looked at buildings/peeing statues. Yeah, the Belgians have a thing for peeing statues it seems. There is Mannekin Pis, who is the iconic peeing boy. Then there is Jannecke Pis, his female equivalent. And not to leave anyone out, they also have a peeing dog statue. The city was pretty easy to see within 2 days, and on Sunday morning we left early so that we could get back to Amsterdam in time to finish homework.
What else happened? Oh yes, I went to the Netherlands vs. US football match. It was a very enjoyable experience, I saw European soccer hooligans up close. They are especially hooligan-esqu when decked out in orange (the Dutch national color). The home team won (of course) but I liked going anyway. I really didn't know what was going on the whole game, I just cheered when the people in orange were cheering. That's my usual philosophy when it comes to sports.
That's all for now, I have plans with some friends tonight and I have to get ready! However, I promise in the near future to write about the epic weekend that was Berlin. It really was such a fun city to visit, and I want to be able to devote a long enough entry for it!
Talk to y'all later!
Laura
I've received some menacing sounding emails about how half of the family back home thinks I'm dead because I haven't updated in a long time. I don't really have much time right now, but I'll just do a short entry to give an update.
The first weekend of March (yikes, it really has been a long time) we went to Brussels. It was fun, a kind of easy city to navigate once we got the hang of it. We opted to just take the bus to our hostel, but for the rest of the weekend we walked everywhere. Brussels is a relatively nice city to visit, but the food is very expensive. There are also lots of touristy restaurants where creepy men stand outside trying to make you come inside. Good thing my time spent in Los Angeles has taught me the art of pretending people aren't there and continuing on my way. I found saying no in an unintelligible accent and walking quickly worked pretty well. We mostly just walked around the city and looked at buildings/peeing statues. Yeah, the Belgians have a thing for peeing statues it seems. There is Mannekin Pis, who is the iconic peeing boy. Then there is Jannecke Pis, his female equivalent. And not to leave anyone out, they also have a peeing dog statue. The city was pretty easy to see within 2 days, and on Sunday morning we left early so that we could get back to Amsterdam in time to finish homework.
What else happened? Oh yes, I went to the Netherlands vs. US football match. It was a very enjoyable experience, I saw European soccer hooligans up close. They are especially hooligan-esqu when decked out in orange (the Dutch national color). The home team won (of course) but I liked going anyway. I really didn't know what was going on the whole game, I just cheered when the people in orange were cheering. That's my usual philosophy when it comes to sports.
That's all for now, I have plans with some friends tonight and I have to get ready! However, I promise in the near future to write about the epic weekend that was Berlin. It really was such a fun city to visit, and I want to be able to devote a long enough entry for it!
Talk to y'all later!
Laura
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
It's Been Awhile...
Sorry all, I have been horrible about updating this thing the past week. Since I had very few classes this week, I took it easy and relaxed a bit. I've also gone slightly crazy booking trips and whatnot. My calendar is quite fun to look at because I feel like I am quite the little jetsetter now! My first big trip is this weekend, and a big group of us girls are going to Brussels. Then we'll be doing a weekend in Berlin later in March. For Easter weekend I'll be staying with a friend in London, she is in my program and her wonderfully nice parents offered up their flat to us. I've also heard mention that if we are around at mealtimes we might be fed too, so it's a really good deal. So far that's all I have planned, but I have a couple of long weekends in May that I need to figure out if I'm going anywhere for. I really would like to go Copenhagen for one, but we'll see what happens.
Hmmm, what else? I went to Groningen this weekend with CIEE. First we took a bus up to the small fishing village of Urk, then went all the way to Groningen which is in the north of the country. It wasn't spectacular, but it was interesting nonetheless. We did a walking tour around Urk, then did a canal boat cruise in Groningen. After that we had some free time, so we went to the contemporary art museum and to the outdoor market for some fresh stroopwafels. It ended up being a really long day, we met up at Centraal Station at 8am, and got back at 10 at night.
Today I decided to venture to Ikea, because my room has yet to feel like home. The duvet cover they gave me is falling apart, so I bought a new one (which wasn't too terribly expensive and it's hot pink). I've also investing in some candles, because we're allowed to burn them in our rooms. It was pretty easy to get out there, I just took the metro and was able to walk to the Ikea. I did get a little lost looking for the entrance, they really did design it for people in cars, just like in America. I did also resist buying the duvet cover exactly like the one I have at school, because it was twice as expensive as the one I got. Plus my room needs a lot more color and the hot pink will help with that. My next mission is to track down tape, so I can put stuff on my walls to make them less bare. I also bought some flowers at the market last week that really brighten my room up and make it more homey.
What else to talk about? Have I discussed public transportation here? It really is wonderful, of course everyone rides their bikes around and it's a lot cheaper to ride my bike than use public transport. However, here in Amsterdam they have trams, buses, and a metro. I think my favorite are the trams, they are good for the shorter distances and I personally find them the easiest to navigate. The buses are also quite nice, and the metro is good for the long distances (like to Ikea). They don't currently have that many metro lines, however they are building more. What is especially nice about public transport is that I use an OV chip card, which is exactly like the Oyster card in London. You put money on the card, then tap it on the sensor when you get on and off public transport. It's quite nice and rather easy, much better than the old system of strippenkaarts, which were little strips you had to get stamped. I see some people on the trams using them, but nowhere else.
Ok, that's all for now. But I promise to write an entry after I get back from Brussels, because I am sure that it will be an adventure!
Tot Ziens,
Laura
Hmmm, what else? I went to Groningen this weekend with CIEE. First we took a bus up to the small fishing village of Urk, then went all the way to Groningen which is in the north of the country. It wasn't spectacular, but it was interesting nonetheless. We did a walking tour around Urk, then did a canal boat cruise in Groningen. After that we had some free time, so we went to the contemporary art museum and to the outdoor market for some fresh stroopwafels. It ended up being a really long day, we met up at Centraal Station at 8am, and got back at 10 at night.
Today I decided to venture to Ikea, because my room has yet to feel like home. The duvet cover they gave me is falling apart, so I bought a new one (which wasn't too terribly expensive and it's hot pink). I've also investing in some candles, because we're allowed to burn them in our rooms. It was pretty easy to get out there, I just took the metro and was able to walk to the Ikea. I did get a little lost looking for the entrance, they really did design it for people in cars, just like in America. I did also resist buying the duvet cover exactly like the one I have at school, because it was twice as expensive as the one I got. Plus my room needs a lot more color and the hot pink will help with that. My next mission is to track down tape, so I can put stuff on my walls to make them less bare. I also bought some flowers at the market last week that really brighten my room up and make it more homey.
What else to talk about? Have I discussed public transportation here? It really is wonderful, of course everyone rides their bikes around and it's a lot cheaper to ride my bike than use public transport. However, here in Amsterdam they have trams, buses, and a metro. I think my favorite are the trams, they are good for the shorter distances and I personally find them the easiest to navigate. The buses are also quite nice, and the metro is good for the long distances (like to Ikea). They don't currently have that many metro lines, however they are building more. What is especially nice about public transport is that I use an OV chip card, which is exactly like the Oyster card in London. You put money on the card, then tap it on the sensor when you get on and off public transport. It's quite nice and rather easy, much better than the old system of strippenkaarts, which were little strips you had to get stamped. I see some people on the trams using them, but nowhere else.
Ok, that's all for now. But I promise to write an entry after I get back from Brussels, because I am sure that it will be an adventure!
Tot Ziens,
Laura
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I Finally Got Out of the City!
Hallo Again,
Well, I finally scratched the itch I've been having to get out of the city and see more of Europe. Today my friend Vivian and I hopped on a train and went to Leiden, which is only about 35 minutes away. We decided to go about 10:00 last night, and we're glad we did. We didn't really have a plan, and looked at our guidebooks on the train to figure out what we wanted to do. We had perfect timing, we bought our tickets 4 minutes before the train was supposed to leave, and immediately after we got on board the doors closed. When we got to Leiden, we really had no idea what we wanted to do, but we noticed a visitor's center outside the train station. We went there to pick up a map, which we looked at once, then wandered off. We found the Museum of Ethnology, which was something in we saw in our guidebooks that we wanted to see. CIEE gave us museum kaarts, which gives us free admission to all of the national museums in the Netherlands, and luckily this museum was covered. We did pay a euro each in order to see the special exhibitions on Sumatra and the Mayans, but no one checked our tickets anyway. The museum was pretty much filled with artifacts the Dutch stole from the colonies, but was educational nonetheless. I learned more about Indonesia. Turkmenistan, and Sumatra than I ever knew and I was excited because in the Maya exhibit I knew pretty much all of the background info. Since it was a Saturday morning, the museum was pretty empty anyway, so we could take our time throughout all of the exhibits.
After we left the museum, we decided to just walk around Leiden. It's a pretty small city, so it's pretty easily walked. We decided to search for somewhere to eat lunch, and we found this cafe on the water which was pretty cheap. The food was delicious and it cost less that €7, which was even nicer. After that we continued to wander around the city. We looked in a bunch of the shops, found a residential area to wander around, and found a huge market. At the market, we decided to pick up some fresh stroopwafels. Have I explained stroopwafels here yet? Well, they are an amazing sweet that I am now addicted to and planning on bringing a whole suitcase full of them home with me to last me until I can get more. They are two thin waffle cookies with caramel in between. In markets, they make them fresh and are much bigger, they are also really warm and delicious. The ones made fresh are like flat ice cream cones with caramel. It's the most delicious thing ever and they only cost a euro (either for one big fresh one or a package of them). After that we found this medieval fortress which apparently is the highest elevation in the Netherlands (so it was a small hill). That offered up some nice views of the city, it has 2 very large churches and lots of red rooftops. After that we decided to make our way back to the train station, stopping to buy a couple of cheap scarves in an attempt to make our wardrobes a bit more European. We also picked up some fries in the train station, which was always an addiction for me, but it's worse now because the fries here are much better. Again, our timing was perfect, our train was rolling in just as we came up the stairs. 2 stops later, and we were back in Amsterdam before 5pm.
We both decided that short day trips like these would be a good use of our weekends. An issue many of us are facing is that we want to travel, but we have a limited time to do so and traveling is quite expensive. Paris is only 3 hours away, however since it's a high speed train is costs around $150 round trip. But traveling within the Netherlands is relatively cheap and easy, my ticket today cost less than €16. And by being back in time for dinner, I don't have to pay for as much food and a hostel. Also, our museum kaarts get us into the interesting museums. Also, we'll really get to know the Netherlands, which is important because we're living here for 4 months and we're technically citizens while we are here. But we do have some weekends planned to travel further away. The first weekend of March a big group of us are going to Brussels, which should be a fun trip. I also want to spend some of my long weekends in Berlin and London. Flights to London are actually pretty cheap, about €70 round trip and it's about a 45 minute flight.
Next Saturday my program is going to Groningen for the day. It's in the north of the country and it's where our program director is from. It's going to be an early morning though, we have to be at the bus at 8am. Oh, and I also signed up to do a homestay. I don't know who my family is yet or where they are from, but my program will cover the cost of a train ticket. I really am getting my money's worth out of this program. They offer all kinds of activities which are included in our program fees and they gave us the museum kaart too. Like the Amsterdam day trip I did last weekend was with my program. They also got us tickets for the US vs. Netherlands soccer gam on March 3rd. Of course the program staff is trying to convince us to wear orange (it's the color of the soccer team, so it's the national color even though the flag is red, white, and blue), however we are sitting in the American section. Some people are going to try to support both. However, people here take their football very seriously. I don't want to cause any trouble, so I might be neutral. However, I also need to acquire lots of orange in preparation for Queen's Day in April, which is a major national holiday where everyone wears obnoxious amounts of orange and no cars are allowed in the city center, so it's one giant party celebrating the Netherlands.
This week is going to be a light week, apparently the primary schools have the week off, so two of my classes are cancelled. So on Monday I don't have class until 4, then my usual no class on Tuesday, class on Wednesday from 3 until 5:45, and class on Thursday night at 6. I'm going to try to explore the city more and get out of my comfort zone. I know I wanted my first venture outside of Amsterdam to be with someone, but I think I'm comfortable enough to navigate the trains on my own now. Not that it's difficult or anything. Everything is in English, and I'm picking up on enough Dutch to understand stuff. That is one thing I appreciate about my Dutch class, I am learning the practical stuff that I am seeing around me. It's not like language classes in the US where they teach you the most random vocabulary you might never use. One of our assignments last week was to bring in our grocery lists and the professor told us all of the Dutch words for the things we couldn't find. He is also very useful as he answers our questions about Dutch culture. Of course, the Dutch happen to think that they are far more advanced than the rest of the world, so he adds his European bias into his answers. For example, he made biting remarks about how Americans always special order everything and expect their waitstaff to constantly be paying attention to them. And apparently the Dutch aren't exactly into skim milk, most of them drink whole milk or buttermilk. I haven't found lactose free milk here, however I found halfvolle milk, which mean half fat or low fat milk. I just use it for my cereal anyway, so I think I'm good.
Oh, and I also attempted to make french toast, however it didn't turn out well. Mostly because I didn't have maple syrup. So I went to Albert Heijn and bought some pancake syrup, which I think is maple syrup. We'll see how that goes. In case anyone was wondering, my mac and cheese was a failure. The cheese I bought didn't melt or mix with the milk. I guess I should stick to mac and cheese out of a box or Grandmother's. It's fine, I didn't have a big enough bowl to mix the sauce with the pasta, so I was able to just forego the cheese sauce and use regular pasta sauce on the leftover pasta. It actually created a quite tasty meal, I could throw some pasta, broccoli, and chicken into a skillet with the sauce and it cooked in about 10 minutes. See, there is life without a microwave! I still haven't figured out my oven dilemma, I do miss baking a lot.
Ok, I think that's enough for now. I sit down to write a short entry, and it always turns into a novel. Oh well, I suppose this a good way to remember everything that happened right? I supposed when I am missing Amsterdam I'll go back to this blog and relive my memories. I guess that's why people keep journals about exciting times in their lives.
Love,
Laura
Well, I finally scratched the itch I've been having to get out of the city and see more of Europe. Today my friend Vivian and I hopped on a train and went to Leiden, which is only about 35 minutes away. We decided to go about 10:00 last night, and we're glad we did. We didn't really have a plan, and looked at our guidebooks on the train to figure out what we wanted to do. We had perfect timing, we bought our tickets 4 minutes before the train was supposed to leave, and immediately after we got on board the doors closed. When we got to Leiden, we really had no idea what we wanted to do, but we noticed a visitor's center outside the train station. We went there to pick up a map, which we looked at once, then wandered off. We found the Museum of Ethnology, which was something in we saw in our guidebooks that we wanted to see. CIEE gave us museum kaarts, which gives us free admission to all of the national museums in the Netherlands, and luckily this museum was covered. We did pay a euro each in order to see the special exhibitions on Sumatra and the Mayans, but no one checked our tickets anyway. The museum was pretty much filled with artifacts the Dutch stole from the colonies, but was educational nonetheless. I learned more about Indonesia. Turkmenistan, and Sumatra than I ever knew and I was excited because in the Maya exhibit I knew pretty much all of the background info. Since it was a Saturday morning, the museum was pretty empty anyway, so we could take our time throughout all of the exhibits.
After we left the museum, we decided to just walk around Leiden. It's a pretty small city, so it's pretty easily walked. We decided to search for somewhere to eat lunch, and we found this cafe on the water which was pretty cheap. The food was delicious and it cost less that €7, which was even nicer. After that we continued to wander around the city. We looked in a bunch of the shops, found a residential area to wander around, and found a huge market. At the market, we decided to pick up some fresh stroopwafels. Have I explained stroopwafels here yet? Well, they are an amazing sweet that I am now addicted to and planning on bringing a whole suitcase full of them home with me to last me until I can get more. They are two thin waffle cookies with caramel in between. In markets, they make them fresh and are much bigger, they are also really warm and delicious. The ones made fresh are like flat ice cream cones with caramel. It's the most delicious thing ever and they only cost a euro (either for one big fresh one or a package of them). After that we found this medieval fortress which apparently is the highest elevation in the Netherlands (so it was a small hill). That offered up some nice views of the city, it has 2 very large churches and lots of red rooftops. After that we decided to make our way back to the train station, stopping to buy a couple of cheap scarves in an attempt to make our wardrobes a bit more European. We also picked up some fries in the train station, which was always an addiction for me, but it's worse now because the fries here are much better. Again, our timing was perfect, our train was rolling in just as we came up the stairs. 2 stops later, and we were back in Amsterdam before 5pm.
We both decided that short day trips like these would be a good use of our weekends. An issue many of us are facing is that we want to travel, but we have a limited time to do so and traveling is quite expensive. Paris is only 3 hours away, however since it's a high speed train is costs around $150 round trip. But traveling within the Netherlands is relatively cheap and easy, my ticket today cost less than €16. And by being back in time for dinner, I don't have to pay for as much food and a hostel. Also, our museum kaarts get us into the interesting museums. Also, we'll really get to know the Netherlands, which is important because we're living here for 4 months and we're technically citizens while we are here. But we do have some weekends planned to travel further away. The first weekend of March a big group of us are going to Brussels, which should be a fun trip. I also want to spend some of my long weekends in Berlin and London. Flights to London are actually pretty cheap, about €70 round trip and it's about a 45 minute flight.
Next Saturday my program is going to Groningen for the day. It's in the north of the country and it's where our program director is from. It's going to be an early morning though, we have to be at the bus at 8am. Oh, and I also signed up to do a homestay. I don't know who my family is yet or where they are from, but my program will cover the cost of a train ticket. I really am getting my money's worth out of this program. They offer all kinds of activities which are included in our program fees and they gave us the museum kaart too. Like the Amsterdam day trip I did last weekend was with my program. They also got us tickets for the US vs. Netherlands soccer gam on March 3rd. Of course the program staff is trying to convince us to wear orange (it's the color of the soccer team, so it's the national color even though the flag is red, white, and blue), however we are sitting in the American section. Some people are going to try to support both. However, people here take their football very seriously. I don't want to cause any trouble, so I might be neutral. However, I also need to acquire lots of orange in preparation for Queen's Day in April, which is a major national holiday where everyone wears obnoxious amounts of orange and no cars are allowed in the city center, so it's one giant party celebrating the Netherlands.
This week is going to be a light week, apparently the primary schools have the week off, so two of my classes are cancelled. So on Monday I don't have class until 4, then my usual no class on Tuesday, class on Wednesday from 3 until 5:45, and class on Thursday night at 6. I'm going to try to explore the city more and get out of my comfort zone. I know I wanted my first venture outside of Amsterdam to be with someone, but I think I'm comfortable enough to navigate the trains on my own now. Not that it's difficult or anything. Everything is in English, and I'm picking up on enough Dutch to understand stuff. That is one thing I appreciate about my Dutch class, I am learning the practical stuff that I am seeing around me. It's not like language classes in the US where they teach you the most random vocabulary you might never use. One of our assignments last week was to bring in our grocery lists and the professor told us all of the Dutch words for the things we couldn't find. He is also very useful as he answers our questions about Dutch culture. Of course, the Dutch happen to think that they are far more advanced than the rest of the world, so he adds his European bias into his answers. For example, he made biting remarks about how Americans always special order everything and expect their waitstaff to constantly be paying attention to them. And apparently the Dutch aren't exactly into skim milk, most of them drink whole milk or buttermilk. I haven't found lactose free milk here, however I found halfvolle milk, which mean half fat or low fat milk. I just use it for my cereal anyway, so I think I'm good.
Oh, and I also attempted to make french toast, however it didn't turn out well. Mostly because I didn't have maple syrup. So I went to Albert Heijn and bought some pancake syrup, which I think is maple syrup. We'll see how that goes. In case anyone was wondering, my mac and cheese was a failure. The cheese I bought didn't melt or mix with the milk. I guess I should stick to mac and cheese out of a box or Grandmother's. It's fine, I didn't have a big enough bowl to mix the sauce with the pasta, so I was able to just forego the cheese sauce and use regular pasta sauce on the leftover pasta. It actually created a quite tasty meal, I could throw some pasta, broccoli, and chicken into a skillet with the sauce and it cooked in about 10 minutes. See, there is life without a microwave! I still haven't figured out my oven dilemma, I do miss baking a lot.
Ok, I think that's enough for now. I sit down to write a short entry, and it always turns into a novel. Oh well, I suppose this a good way to remember everything that happened right? I supposed when I am missing Amsterdam I'll go back to this blog and relive my memories. I guess that's why people keep journals about exciting times in their lives.
Love,
Laura
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Another Tuesday Off
Hallo,
I think that Tuesdays are becoming my day to post, since I don't have class on Tuesdays and it seems to be the day that I use to get things done. So I guess that makes it easier for the people checking this to know that they don't have to check every 5 minutes to see if I posted?
Back to the getting things done, today I sought out the H&M and Hema, which are both very important stores. From H&M I bought warmer tights because the tights I brought with me aren't really that thick. At Hema, I bought items necessary to make my bike much more usefel, and to personalize it a little bit more. This included buying boring black saddle bags for the back (they were 11 euro) and a hot pink mini-basket for the front. And yes, this hot pink basket was originally intended for a child's bike, but of course I can't own something that doesn't have pink on it. But hey, my bike is now officially ready for the streets and it only cost me about 20 euro. Hema is the Target equivalent here, only of course it's much smaller. But it has pretty much all of the basic necessities to survive. At least it will fill the void in my heart where Target used to be, since there are no Targets over here.
Then I went to Albert Heijn (my local grocery store) and bought way too much food. However, I'm pretty sick of running out of food every couple of days, so I felt the need to stock up. Tonight I'm going to attempt to make mac and cheese. This will be interesting, because the recipe calls for cheddar cheese. But of course I'm in the Netherlands, land of cheese, I can't use an American cheese! So I think I bought some Gouda cheese. But I'm not sure. I believe it will melt well because it's already grated. I threw in some pizza and pasta cheese too to hopefully make it good. But I'm not sure exactly what pizza and pasta cheese is. I'm assuming mozzarella and parmesan. I'll find out tonight. I bought some broccoli and chicken too, so if anything it'll turn out to be a cheesy pasta-y goodness meal. Or I'll get horribly sick from the dairy overload. I dunno. By the way, feel free to email me quick, easy, cheap, and delicious recipes that can be made without an oven or a microwave. Oh, and if they make huge portions, make sure they keep well and can be reheated on a stovetop. I did finally get my Albert Heijn Bonus Card though, which entitles me to savings! But the super nice thing about the bonus card is they just gave it to me and I didn't have to give them any of my personal information. All the savings without the stalking or creepy cashiers who know your name (freaks me out every time when they say, "have a nice day Ms. Theobald" even more when they call me Mrs.). It also entitles me to get 5 packs of football player cards for every 10 euro I spend. They're like baseball cards, except with football (and by football I mean soccer) players. Guess what everyone's getting as a present when I get back? I plan on putting them up on my wall to decorate, since my walls are kind of barren.
Over the weekend my study abroad program did an Explore Amsterdam daytrip that was pretty fun. We went to the western part of the city and had a tour about the Amsterdam New School of architecture. It's pretty much the buildings socialist built to be social housing. Kind of cool to think that they actually made social housing look cool rather than just doing the bare minimum. Then we took the ferry to the NDSM Wharf in North Amsterdam, which at one point was a shipyard, but is now inhabited by artists. The government actually rents out spaces within the old shipping warehouse where artists can construct their own buildings to work in. The result is that there is a whole city of artists inside this huge building. It also includes a skatepark, which is kind of cool. Because of all the artists, the once abandoned area has new life and energy. MTV Networks even has their offices there, signaling that it is an up and coming area. What is interesting is that our tour guide wasn't too upset about the prospect of the area becoming commercialized. She told us how the government has 5 year contracts with all of the artists, and in 5 years they might not want to work in the area and might move on the somewhere else. It's all apart of the growth and evolution of the area. I also discovered a yummy Ethiopian place around the corner from me run by a daughter and mother team that I'm sure we will be frequenting in the future.
I'm not really sure what I'm doing this weekend. I'm considering running away, because my 9am class on Monday is cancelled, so I wouldn't have to be back until 4 on Monday. But I can't decide where I want to go. So it might end up being a weekend in Amsterdam. I think some people wanted to do some daytrips around the Netherlands, so maybe I'll do that instead of going somewhere for the weekend. I can probably save a lot of money by not having to book a hostel and it'll be nice to see the country a bit more. City life is fun, but I miss nature. Oh yeah, and it keeps on snowing. I am officially over snow now. The sun can come AND bring warmth with it. But I somehow don't think it'll be doing that in the near future.
Oh yeah, and other people have been getting lots of mail. I like mail too. Care packages are also always welcome. If they are filled with Disney DVDs, Girl Scout Cookies of the Tagalong and Thin Mint variety, warm socks, pictures of people I love, and other various American goodies they would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and Puffs kleenex. The kleenex here is crap. And biking in the cold makes my nose runny. My address is very easy:
(For Letters and Postcards)
Laura Theobald
c/o CIEE/ISHSS/GSSS
PO Box 26
1000 AA Amsterdam
The Netherlands
(For Packages)
Laura Theobald
c/o CIEE/ISHSS/GSSS
Prins Hendrikkade 189-B
1011 TD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Anyhow, I love and miss you all! I also like receiving emails about life back in the states, however if you could avoid discussing the subject of warm sunshine I would appreciate it. It's a touchy subject for me, living somewhere without warm sunshine is a new experience that I'm not adapting to well. This is why I've spent my entire life out West.
Tots Ziens!
Laura
I think that Tuesdays are becoming my day to post, since I don't have class on Tuesdays and it seems to be the day that I use to get things done. So I guess that makes it easier for the people checking this to know that they don't have to check every 5 minutes to see if I posted?
Back to the getting things done, today I sought out the H&M and Hema, which are both very important stores. From H&M I bought warmer tights because the tights I brought with me aren't really that thick. At Hema, I bought items necessary to make my bike much more usefel, and to personalize it a little bit more. This included buying boring black saddle bags for the back (they were 11 euro) and a hot pink mini-basket for the front. And yes, this hot pink basket was originally intended for a child's bike, but of course I can't own something that doesn't have pink on it. But hey, my bike is now officially ready for the streets and it only cost me about 20 euro. Hema is the Target equivalent here, only of course it's much smaller. But it has pretty much all of the basic necessities to survive. At least it will fill the void in my heart where Target used to be, since there are no Targets over here.
Then I went to Albert Heijn (my local grocery store) and bought way too much food. However, I'm pretty sick of running out of food every couple of days, so I felt the need to stock up. Tonight I'm going to attempt to make mac and cheese. This will be interesting, because the recipe calls for cheddar cheese. But of course I'm in the Netherlands, land of cheese, I can't use an American cheese! So I think I bought some Gouda cheese. But I'm not sure. I believe it will melt well because it's already grated. I threw in some pizza and pasta cheese too to hopefully make it good. But I'm not sure exactly what pizza and pasta cheese is. I'm assuming mozzarella and parmesan. I'll find out tonight. I bought some broccoli and chicken too, so if anything it'll turn out to be a cheesy pasta-y goodness meal. Or I'll get horribly sick from the dairy overload. I dunno. By the way, feel free to email me quick, easy, cheap, and delicious recipes that can be made without an oven or a microwave. Oh, and if they make huge portions, make sure they keep well and can be reheated on a stovetop. I did finally get my Albert Heijn Bonus Card though, which entitles me to savings! But the super nice thing about the bonus card is they just gave it to me and I didn't have to give them any of my personal information. All the savings without the stalking or creepy cashiers who know your name (freaks me out every time when they say, "have a nice day Ms. Theobald" even more when they call me Mrs.). It also entitles me to get 5 packs of football player cards for every 10 euro I spend. They're like baseball cards, except with football (and by football I mean soccer) players. Guess what everyone's getting as a present when I get back? I plan on putting them up on my wall to decorate, since my walls are kind of barren.
Over the weekend my study abroad program did an Explore Amsterdam daytrip that was pretty fun. We went to the western part of the city and had a tour about the Amsterdam New School of architecture. It's pretty much the buildings socialist built to be social housing. Kind of cool to think that they actually made social housing look cool rather than just doing the bare minimum. Then we took the ferry to the NDSM Wharf in North Amsterdam, which at one point was a shipyard, but is now inhabited by artists. The government actually rents out spaces within the old shipping warehouse where artists can construct their own buildings to work in. The result is that there is a whole city of artists inside this huge building. It also includes a skatepark, which is kind of cool. Because of all the artists, the once abandoned area has new life and energy. MTV Networks even has their offices there, signaling that it is an up and coming area. What is interesting is that our tour guide wasn't too upset about the prospect of the area becoming commercialized. She told us how the government has 5 year contracts with all of the artists, and in 5 years they might not want to work in the area and might move on the somewhere else. It's all apart of the growth and evolution of the area. I also discovered a yummy Ethiopian place around the corner from me run by a daughter and mother team that I'm sure we will be frequenting in the future.
I'm not really sure what I'm doing this weekend. I'm considering running away, because my 9am class on Monday is cancelled, so I wouldn't have to be back until 4 on Monday. But I can't decide where I want to go. So it might end up being a weekend in Amsterdam. I think some people wanted to do some daytrips around the Netherlands, so maybe I'll do that instead of going somewhere for the weekend. I can probably save a lot of money by not having to book a hostel and it'll be nice to see the country a bit more. City life is fun, but I miss nature. Oh yeah, and it keeps on snowing. I am officially over snow now. The sun can come AND bring warmth with it. But I somehow don't think it'll be doing that in the near future.
Oh yeah, and other people have been getting lots of mail. I like mail too. Care packages are also always welcome. If they are filled with Disney DVDs, Girl Scout Cookies of the Tagalong and Thin Mint variety, warm socks, pictures of people I love, and other various American goodies they would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and Puffs kleenex. The kleenex here is crap. And biking in the cold makes my nose runny. My address is very easy:
(For Letters and Postcards)
Laura Theobald
c/o CIEE/ISHSS/GSSS
PO Box 26
1000 AA Amsterdam
The Netherlands
(For Packages)
Laura Theobald
c/o CIEE/ISHSS/GSSS
Prins Hendrikkade 189-B
1011 TD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Anyhow, I love and miss you all! I also like receiving emails about life back in the states, however if you could avoid discussing the subject of warm sunshine I would appreciate it. It's a touchy subject for me, living somewhere without warm sunshine is a new experience that I'm not adapting to well. This is why I've spent my entire life out West.
Tots Ziens!
Laura
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It Decided to Snow Again
Hello!
Look, I'm getting better about updating my blog!
This morning I woke up to snow, again. It came out of nowhere, the weather forecast said nothing about snow. I am not actually sick of snow yet, the only reason why I groaned is because it meant that it would be quite cold outside. But I still enjoy walking when the snowflakes are falling, and it's kind of magical. I would still love to go somewhere warm, perhaps a trip to Greece or the South of France would be a good idea one of these weekends?
Which brings me to my next point, now that I'm more or less acquainted with Amsterdam and settled into a routine, it's time to take advantage of my close proximity to so many European countries and travel! But I have no idea where to go :( I think I definitely want to travel into Belgium, since it's relatively cheap to travel within Benelux (that's Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in case you didn't know, they are so small that they group themselves into one country). I have a few long weekends, and I think for one of those long weekends I'll see about venturing to London. I would also like to travel to Germany, I would really like to go back to Berlin. But my plan is to mostly see where other people are going and go with them, since that way I'll have travel buddies.
Oh, another point. In my last post I said you cannot buy coffee at a coffeeshop. Apparently I was wrong, see, the coffeeshops can't advertise that they sell marijuana, hence why they are called coffeeshops. So you can go in and get a cup of coffee, just be aware that you will be surrounded by mostly American and British tourists getting high. So it's a cup of coffee with a free show.
I know that one of my mother's concerns with me coming here was the legalized marijuana aspect of the city. One thing I have realized in talking to my new friends I have met here is that no one came here with the specific intent to get high for a semester. And our course work is so hard, it's difficult to find the time to do so. Yes, there is a lot of drinking going on, but it is more of a cultural thing. People don't get drunk and are happy just milling about and talking. And like I've said before, if your drink is non-alcoholic it's really not a big deal. The Dutch enjoy a good debate, and that is difficult to achieve if the other party is slurring their words.
Another one of my mother's concerns was whether I would eat here or not. Well Mother, at 20 years old I hope that I am capable of feeding myself, but this is a good time to discuss my kitchen facilities or lack there of. See, my kitchen consists of a gas stove top that I have to turn a knob to turn on the gas, then light a match to get the flame going, and a mini-refrigerator. I know no one else who lives in student housing who has an oven, and some lucky ducks get a microwave. Mostly, I've been eating a lot of pasta, sandwiches, and salads. Over the weekend I attempted to make tacos, however was faced with the issue of having leftover taco filling and no microwave to heat it back up. I discovered if you add water to the meat and heat it in the frying pan again, it makes more of the sauce part and works out pretty well. I am going to try to figure out some other things to make, since I'm not going out to eat as often as I thought I would. Which is fine, because going out to eat is much more expensive than cooking for myself. Oh, and another cultural difference- here they do not do take-out containers. If you don't finish your meal at a restaurant, they take your food away and you never see it again. I haven't dared asked for a box and never have I been offered one to pack up my food. But the portions here are much smaller than in America, so it's not like I can make 3 meals out of one restaurant dinner.
Ok, time to tackle some of that reading I need to get done for tomorrow. Until next time!
Laura
Look, I'm getting better about updating my blog!
This morning I woke up to snow, again. It came out of nowhere, the weather forecast said nothing about snow. I am not actually sick of snow yet, the only reason why I groaned is because it meant that it would be quite cold outside. But I still enjoy walking when the snowflakes are falling, and it's kind of magical. I would still love to go somewhere warm, perhaps a trip to Greece or the South of France would be a good idea one of these weekends?
Which brings me to my next point, now that I'm more or less acquainted with Amsterdam and settled into a routine, it's time to take advantage of my close proximity to so many European countries and travel! But I have no idea where to go :( I think I definitely want to travel into Belgium, since it's relatively cheap to travel within Benelux (that's Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in case you didn't know, they are so small that they group themselves into one country). I have a few long weekends, and I think for one of those long weekends I'll see about venturing to London. I would also like to travel to Germany, I would really like to go back to Berlin. But my plan is to mostly see where other people are going and go with them, since that way I'll have travel buddies.
Oh, another point. In my last post I said you cannot buy coffee at a coffeeshop. Apparently I was wrong, see, the coffeeshops can't advertise that they sell marijuana, hence why they are called coffeeshops. So you can go in and get a cup of coffee, just be aware that you will be surrounded by mostly American and British tourists getting high. So it's a cup of coffee with a free show.
I know that one of my mother's concerns with me coming here was the legalized marijuana aspect of the city. One thing I have realized in talking to my new friends I have met here is that no one came here with the specific intent to get high for a semester. And our course work is so hard, it's difficult to find the time to do so. Yes, there is a lot of drinking going on, but it is more of a cultural thing. People don't get drunk and are happy just milling about and talking. And like I've said before, if your drink is non-alcoholic it's really not a big deal. The Dutch enjoy a good debate, and that is difficult to achieve if the other party is slurring their words.
Another one of my mother's concerns was whether I would eat here or not. Well Mother, at 20 years old I hope that I am capable of feeding myself, but this is a good time to discuss my kitchen facilities or lack there of. See, my kitchen consists of a gas stove top that I have to turn a knob to turn on the gas, then light a match to get the flame going, and a mini-refrigerator. I know no one else who lives in student housing who has an oven, and some lucky ducks get a microwave. Mostly, I've been eating a lot of pasta, sandwiches, and salads. Over the weekend I attempted to make tacos, however was faced with the issue of having leftover taco filling and no microwave to heat it back up. I discovered if you add water to the meat and heat it in the frying pan again, it makes more of the sauce part and works out pretty well. I am going to try to figure out some other things to make, since I'm not going out to eat as often as I thought I would. Which is fine, because going out to eat is much more expensive than cooking for myself. Oh, and another cultural difference- here they do not do take-out containers. If you don't finish your meal at a restaurant, they take your food away and you never see it again. I haven't dared asked for a box and never have I been offered one to pack up my food. But the portions here are much smaller than in America, so it's not like I can make 3 meals out of one restaurant dinner.
Ok, time to tackle some of that reading I need to get done for tomorrow. Until next time!
Laura
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Important Things To Know In Amsterdam
In the past few weeks, I have learned some important details that have made living in Amsterdam much easier, and now I'd like to share them with you:
A coffeehouse or koffie huis is a place that sells coffee. A coffee shop does not sell coffee. VERY important difference.
The washing machines here are quite small, and many Europeans have never used a dryer before. Seriously, I taught a German kid how to use a dryer and when his clothes were done he was so excited about this amazing invention.
You have to pay for even the plastic shopping bags, hence why everyone reuses their bags.
Bike lanes are for bikes, not pedestrians. One of my new favorite pastimes riding past Centraal Station is to see how many tourists I can hit. And I am not the only one who enjoys doing this. Also, there are more bikes here than people, meaning they get the right of way most of the time. Nobody here wears a helmet, and there are very few cars hitting cyclists. I tell them about how dangerous it can be to ride a bike down a busy street in America and they are shocked that cars are so mean to cyclists.
I am never going to be warm in this city, it's official.
Europeans don't understand the concept of light beer. They think it's stupid.
They also don't understand all of the Americans complaining about the healthcare reform. Then we tell them about how much healthcare costs in the U.S. and they especially don't understand why so many Americans are opposed to it.
Most European students do not have to pay for their educations, in fact Dutch students get a €500 stipend each month for going to school. I tell them how much my school costs, their jaws drop. Apparently if you take more than 5 years, then you have to pay about €1600 a year.
Ok, that's all for now. Time to continue doing my laundry in the tiny washing machines, I am definitely going to have to learn to do laundry more often now. 2 1/2 weeks is way too long.
A coffeehouse or koffie huis is a place that sells coffee. A coffee shop does not sell coffee. VERY important difference.
The washing machines here are quite small, and many Europeans have never used a dryer before. Seriously, I taught a German kid how to use a dryer and when his clothes were done he was so excited about this amazing invention.
You have to pay for even the plastic shopping bags, hence why everyone reuses their bags.
Bike lanes are for bikes, not pedestrians. One of my new favorite pastimes riding past Centraal Station is to see how many tourists I can hit. And I am not the only one who enjoys doing this. Also, there are more bikes here than people, meaning they get the right of way most of the time. Nobody here wears a helmet, and there are very few cars hitting cyclists. I tell them about how dangerous it can be to ride a bike down a busy street in America and they are shocked that cars are so mean to cyclists.
I am never going to be warm in this city, it's official.
Europeans don't understand the concept of light beer. They think it's stupid.
They also don't understand all of the Americans complaining about the healthcare reform. Then we tell them about how much healthcare costs in the U.S. and they especially don't understand why so many Americans are opposed to it.
Most European students do not have to pay for their educations, in fact Dutch students get a €500 stipend each month for going to school. I tell them how much my school costs, their jaws drop. Apparently if you take more than 5 years, then you have to pay about €1600 a year.
Ok, that's all for now. Time to continue doing my laundry in the tiny washing machines, I am definitely going to have to learn to do laundry more often now. 2 1/2 weeks is way too long.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Time for Another Post!
Hello Again,
Well, I've been here for over a week and I still haven't made another blog post! Since my mother finally bothered me about it, I guess I'll give a little update:
After I moved into my dorm and went to a very interesting dinner where I was the only native English speaker at the table, I had the International Student Network (ISN) Introduction. We were all in smaller groups with people from all over the world, however there seems to be a majority of Americans. The groups sometimes mixed together too as we were walking between events, so I was able to meet more people. It was really nice to finally be meeting people from around the world after having spent the first couple of days with all Americans. I mean, it was nice because as Americans we all get each other and the experience we're having, but I didn't travel 6,000 miles to make friends with only more Americans. The ISN Introduction wasn't really much of an orientation to the university, but a way for international students to meet each other and be social that first weekend in Amsterdam. On Thursday night we had a borrel, which is Dutch gathering that includes alcohol (but people really don't make a big deal if you don't drink). Then on Friday night we had karaoke, which was really fun. I have to admit some of the Americans from my program embodied the loud American stereotype, but we all had so much fun we didn't really care. Then on Friday night was the big party, which was also very fun. It was at one of the clubs here in Amsterdam and it was very popular. They had a sports day at the University Sports Center earlier in the day where you could get a free ticket, otherwise you had to pay 6 euro. Apparently very early on in the night they ran out of tickets and only those who already had them could get in. Before the party, I went out with my introduction group to a Turkish restaurant, then we went to a little bar to have drinks before heading out to the party. My group that night had about 3 Americans, 1 Danish Girl, 1 Italian girl, and the two Dutch coaches. It was nice to get to know them on a more personal level before getting into the loud club. But it was also fun at the club dancing with all of my new friends I've been making.
Classes started on Monday, and of course I have a 9am class that day. But it is Public International Law, which I am really excited about. The professor is American, was one of the first women accepted in Yale, got into Harvard Law, but decided to run away and join an orchestra traveling Europe. After traveling for a bit, she decided to go to University of Amsterdam Law, then also did a law degree at Columbia. Then she got a job working at the International Court of Justice in Hague, and after she decided she didn't want to be a lawyer anymore decided to start teaching. We'll be doing field trips to the Hague to hopefully observe some hearings (depending on if there are any cases with open hearings). She was also on the flight on Christmas Day that the nut tried to bomb, and said that she had no idea what was going on until she got off of the plane because she was in the last row of coach and he was in the front of the plane. I don't have class on Tuesday, and yesterday I had Intro to Sexual Studies, which should also be interesting. This is actually the one course I'm taking that directly correlates to my major. The professor is Dutch, and it has a good mix of international students. Today I have Dutch National Cinema and my Dutch language class.
This weekend we are planning on being tourists in Amsterdam. We're planning on hitting up the Anne Frank House and checking out some of the museums. It is also one of my friend's birthday tomorrow, so we are planning on going out tomorrow night to celebrate. On Tuesday night I became rather sick, but I drugged myself up with Nyquil and slept every moment I wasn't in class so I think I'm getting better. At least it's the first week of class so I don't really have much work to do yet. But now I have to get to class, so I will give another update later! (and I'll try to do so more often)
Laura
Well, I've been here for over a week and I still haven't made another blog post! Since my mother finally bothered me about it, I guess I'll give a little update:
After I moved into my dorm and went to a very interesting dinner where I was the only native English speaker at the table, I had the International Student Network (ISN) Introduction. We were all in smaller groups with people from all over the world, however there seems to be a majority of Americans. The groups sometimes mixed together too as we were walking between events, so I was able to meet more people. It was really nice to finally be meeting people from around the world after having spent the first couple of days with all Americans. I mean, it was nice because as Americans we all get each other and the experience we're having, but I didn't travel 6,000 miles to make friends with only more Americans. The ISN Introduction wasn't really much of an orientation to the university, but a way for international students to meet each other and be social that first weekend in Amsterdam. On Thursday night we had a borrel, which is Dutch gathering that includes alcohol (but people really don't make a big deal if you don't drink). Then on Friday night we had karaoke, which was really fun. I have to admit some of the Americans from my program embodied the loud American stereotype, but we all had so much fun we didn't really care. Then on Friday night was the big party, which was also very fun. It was at one of the clubs here in Amsterdam and it was very popular. They had a sports day at the University Sports Center earlier in the day where you could get a free ticket, otherwise you had to pay 6 euro. Apparently very early on in the night they ran out of tickets and only those who already had them could get in. Before the party, I went out with my introduction group to a Turkish restaurant, then we went to a little bar to have drinks before heading out to the party. My group that night had about 3 Americans, 1 Danish Girl, 1 Italian girl, and the two Dutch coaches. It was nice to get to know them on a more personal level before getting into the loud club. But it was also fun at the club dancing with all of my new friends I've been making.
Classes started on Monday, and of course I have a 9am class that day. But it is Public International Law, which I am really excited about. The professor is American, was one of the first women accepted in Yale, got into Harvard Law, but decided to run away and join an orchestra traveling Europe. After traveling for a bit, she decided to go to University of Amsterdam Law, then also did a law degree at Columbia. Then she got a job working at the International Court of Justice in Hague, and after she decided she didn't want to be a lawyer anymore decided to start teaching. We'll be doing field trips to the Hague to hopefully observe some hearings (depending on if there are any cases with open hearings). She was also on the flight on Christmas Day that the nut tried to bomb, and said that she had no idea what was going on until she got off of the plane because she was in the last row of coach and he was in the front of the plane. I don't have class on Tuesday, and yesterday I had Intro to Sexual Studies, which should also be interesting. This is actually the one course I'm taking that directly correlates to my major. The professor is Dutch, and it has a good mix of international students. Today I have Dutch National Cinema and my Dutch language class.
This weekend we are planning on being tourists in Amsterdam. We're planning on hitting up the Anne Frank House and checking out some of the museums. It is also one of my friend's birthday tomorrow, so we are planning on going out tomorrow night to celebrate. On Tuesday night I became rather sick, but I drugged myself up with Nyquil and slept every moment I wasn't in class so I think I'm getting better. At least it's the first week of class so I don't really have much work to do yet. But now I have to get to class, so I will give another update later! (and I'll try to do so more often)
Laura
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I'm Here!!!
Hallo!,
Well, I finally got here and I am moved into my dorm! The past couple of days have been kind of crazy, but incredibly exciting. I got in on Sunday afternoon, the flight was pretty easy. I had an aisle seat in the middle section and there was only one other person in the row of 5. I still didn't get much sleep, but that's ok. On Monday morning, I met my group at Schipol airport. On the way, my big heavy suitcase rolling handle decided to break, thus making me unable to carry all of my luggage at once (yeah, I definitely overpacked, but everyone else did!). Luckily, my Resident Director took pity on me and came up with the genius idea to tie a scarf around the handle, which made it a bit easier to roll around.
On Monday we had a pretty easy day, we stayed at a hostel in Amsterdam and just did a canal boat cruise around the city and had pizza for dinner. It was very beautiful, the city is currently covered in snow. It was a bit shocking since I wasn't expecting it, but driving from the airport into the city was pretty too, the Dutch countryside looks very picturesque with all of the snow. Needless to say, I am freezing to death and have been the entire time I've been here.
Tuesday was more Orientation stuff, we walked around the city for about 5 hours in -16°C weather. In the evening, we got our bikes, and a few of us brave souls decided we wanted to ride our bikes back to the hostel rather than walking them back with our leader. It was dark, and about the time when everyone was leaving work. So yes, of course we got lost. It didn't help that we were freezing to death, making the ride a bit more dramatic. I have never been that cold in my entire life, and I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, down North Face jacket, gloves, and a hat. I could not feel the majority of my body by the time we got back to the hostel. But now I feel like I've had a great Amsterdam biking experience!
Today we got our survival Dutch lesson and set off to move into our dorms. Mine is called Prins Hendrikkade, which I finally think I can pronounce now. It is an incredibly nice dorm, right on the harbor and next to the building the majority of my classes are in and only a few blocks from the CIEE office. I have my own incredibly huge room and I share a kitchen and bathroom with a girl name Janna from Germany. At least I think that's how you spell her name. At least, I think that's her name. Needless to say, I've had to learn a lot names this week and start to grasp the pronunciation of the street names and locations around here. I still don't really know my way around the city at all.
But onto check-in, it was amazing (Mom, you're really going to like this process). They were expecting 300 students to arrive today, so they set up a heated tent outside of the building to serve as the staging area. Here, they made a copy of your passport and sent you to a colored table to wait to be called. While I waited, there was free food and beverages. But most amazing of all were the free massages. I didn't wait long, so I didn't get one. But I bet if I had waited just a bit later I would have taken advantage of it. One girl had just sat down when they called her, so they pushed her to the next group so that she could finish. The people we dealt with were really nice, and the process was smooth, organized, and efficient. Just my style. They even had representatives from the City of Amsterdam so that you could register as a citizen. You see, everyone who lives here has to register as a citizen. This involves bringing your lease agreement and passport to City Hall, but it worked out better at check-in because that is when we received our lease agreements and we needed our passports. They gave me a brochure about all of the great benefits about being a citizen of Amsterdam, however of course it was in Dutch. The woman said they'll be sending me a welcome packet in a few weeks with my Dutch Social Security number. AND, they gave me a free IAmsterdam bracelet. Yeah, that's right, they give free gifts to new citizens.
Tonight I am going out with my roommate and a group of students who have been here for 2 weeks for a language institute. I don't know where we are going, but she says it'll be cheap. Getting myself set-up here has not been cheap. Everything must be paid for in cash, even my bike (which cost €150 AND includes a Teletubbies bell). Luckily my program has a goodie box filled with things people have left, so I got a hair dryer out of there for free which will be quite nice. I got really lucky with that too, as apparently there were only 4 hair dryers in there. Books are apparently about €40-€50 each, which will get expensive. My books for Dutch class only cost €25 though and I can sell them back to the program at the end.
So to sum up the past couple of days, I'm here, I'm alive, the people are nice, the food is ok, but they have also been giving us a lot of traditional Dutch food. Which is bread and more bread, plus lots of cheese and milk. I discovered I really like Indonesian food, I didn't think I would because someone said it was similar to Thai and I've never really liked Thai. It's the best meal I've had here so far (the first fairly decent one too). I'm doing just fine here, and I think I am going to like it.
Tot siens!
Laura
Well, I finally got here and I am moved into my dorm! The past couple of days have been kind of crazy, but incredibly exciting. I got in on Sunday afternoon, the flight was pretty easy. I had an aisle seat in the middle section and there was only one other person in the row of 5. I still didn't get much sleep, but that's ok. On Monday morning, I met my group at Schipol airport. On the way, my big heavy suitcase rolling handle decided to break, thus making me unable to carry all of my luggage at once (yeah, I definitely overpacked, but everyone else did!). Luckily, my Resident Director took pity on me and came up with the genius idea to tie a scarf around the handle, which made it a bit easier to roll around.
On Monday we had a pretty easy day, we stayed at a hostel in Amsterdam and just did a canal boat cruise around the city and had pizza for dinner. It was very beautiful, the city is currently covered in snow. It was a bit shocking since I wasn't expecting it, but driving from the airport into the city was pretty too, the Dutch countryside looks very picturesque with all of the snow. Needless to say, I am freezing to death and have been the entire time I've been here.
Tuesday was more Orientation stuff, we walked around the city for about 5 hours in -16°C weather. In the evening, we got our bikes, and a few of us brave souls decided we wanted to ride our bikes back to the hostel rather than walking them back with our leader. It was dark, and about the time when everyone was leaving work. So yes, of course we got lost. It didn't help that we were freezing to death, making the ride a bit more dramatic. I have never been that cold in my entire life, and I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, down North Face jacket, gloves, and a hat. I could not feel the majority of my body by the time we got back to the hostel. But now I feel like I've had a great Amsterdam biking experience!
Today we got our survival Dutch lesson and set off to move into our dorms. Mine is called Prins Hendrikkade, which I finally think I can pronounce now. It is an incredibly nice dorm, right on the harbor and next to the building the majority of my classes are in and only a few blocks from the CIEE office. I have my own incredibly huge room and I share a kitchen and bathroom with a girl name Janna from Germany. At least I think that's how you spell her name. At least, I think that's her name. Needless to say, I've had to learn a lot names this week and start to grasp the pronunciation of the street names and locations around here. I still don't really know my way around the city at all.
But onto check-in, it was amazing (Mom, you're really going to like this process). They were expecting 300 students to arrive today, so they set up a heated tent outside of the building to serve as the staging area. Here, they made a copy of your passport and sent you to a colored table to wait to be called. While I waited, there was free food and beverages. But most amazing of all were the free massages. I didn't wait long, so I didn't get one. But I bet if I had waited just a bit later I would have taken advantage of it. One girl had just sat down when they called her, so they pushed her to the next group so that she could finish. The people we dealt with were really nice, and the process was smooth, organized, and efficient. Just my style. They even had representatives from the City of Amsterdam so that you could register as a citizen. You see, everyone who lives here has to register as a citizen. This involves bringing your lease agreement and passport to City Hall, but it worked out better at check-in because that is when we received our lease agreements and we needed our passports. They gave me a brochure about all of the great benefits about being a citizen of Amsterdam, however of course it was in Dutch. The woman said they'll be sending me a welcome packet in a few weeks with my Dutch Social Security number. AND, they gave me a free IAmsterdam bracelet. Yeah, that's right, they give free gifts to new citizens.
Tonight I am going out with my roommate and a group of students who have been here for 2 weeks for a language institute. I don't know where we are going, but she says it'll be cheap. Getting myself set-up here has not been cheap. Everything must be paid for in cash, even my bike (which cost €150 AND includes a Teletubbies bell). Luckily my program has a goodie box filled with things people have left, so I got a hair dryer out of there for free which will be quite nice. I got really lucky with that too, as apparently there were only 4 hair dryers in there. Books are apparently about €40-€50 each, which will get expensive. My books for Dutch class only cost €25 though and I can sell them back to the program at the end.
So to sum up the past couple of days, I'm here, I'm alive, the people are nice, the food is ok, but they have also been giving us a lot of traditional Dutch food. Which is bread and more bread, plus lots of cheese and milk. I discovered I really like Indonesian food, I didn't think I would because someone said it was similar to Thai and I've never really liked Thai. It's the best meal I've had here so far (the first fairly decent one too). I'm doing just fine here, and I think I am going to like it.
Tot siens!
Laura
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It's Almost Time!
Hello,
So in less than 24 hours, I will be on my way to Amsterdam, well kind of. I'm not actually leaving the country until Saturday, but we're driving the California tomorrow. I finally feel like I'm really going, since today I found out where I am living and what my classes are. My dorm is called Prins Hendrikkade and I really don't know how to pronounce it but I'm sure that will change soon. I am currently enrolled in Beginning Dutch, Public International Law, Introduction to Sexual Studies, Introduction to Conflict Studies, and Dutch National Cinema. When I get there, I am supposed to drop one of the classes within the first 2 weeks since it is too many credits. On the bright side, I don't have class on Fridays which will make traveling much easier. On the low side, I have a 9 am class on Mondays. And class until 8 on Thursdays. So it's not the most ideal schedule, but I will still take it! Well, I have more packing to do, so my next post will most likely be from Amsterdam!
So in less than 24 hours, I will be on my way to Amsterdam, well kind of. I'm not actually leaving the country until Saturday, but we're driving the California tomorrow. I finally feel like I'm really going, since today I found out where I am living and what my classes are. My dorm is called Prins Hendrikkade and I really don't know how to pronounce it but I'm sure that will change soon. I am currently enrolled in Beginning Dutch, Public International Law, Introduction to Sexual Studies, Introduction to Conflict Studies, and Dutch National Cinema. When I get there, I am supposed to drop one of the classes within the first 2 weeks since it is too many credits. On the bright side, I don't have class on Fridays which will make traveling much easier. On the low side, I have a 9 am class on Mondays. And class until 8 on Thursdays. So it's not the most ideal schedule, but I will still take it! Well, I have more packing to do, so my next post will most likely be from Amsterdam!
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