Den Haag

I went to Den Haag recently and had a really great time. While home, IES set its students up with Dutch contacts so that we could have a cultural exchange. The Dutch students could learn about American culture for their class, and we could learn about Dutch culture for our upcoming study abroad time! I was very excited to have a Dutch contact and we continued e-mailing until we met, which was lucky for me since most students never heard from their contact. Of course I wanted a tall, blond haired, blue eyed, handsome, Dutchman to be my contact (who wouldn’t) but I was just as happy to have one at all! The funny thing about my Dutch contact was that he was not really Dutch…he was Columbian! Haha He had, however, lived in the Netherlands for seven years now so was still a great resource. He lives in the Hauge (the governmental capital), and I went to visit him with my roommate. It turned out to be quite an adventure. We purchased our tickets for Den Haag central and rode the train for and hour when we saw a sign for Den Haag HS. We decided that that wasn’t central so we didn’t get off. We waited and waited but central never came, and when we asked for a sign, “Rotterdam” showed up! Oops, we misunderstood that we were supposed to change trains! We laughed a little, got off the train, and then asked a few workers for help. We were told to talk to the train conductor going to Den Haag central and ask if we could ride back a few stops without buying a new ticket! Luckily he was very nice and said that “it is all the same ticket, just with a few mistakes.” So we hopped on and got off at the third stop—Central. Camillo (my Dutch contact) was waiting for us when we arrived and we laughed about our mistake. Then he took us to a Greek restaurant with delicious but messy Gyros! We socialized and one thing that Camillo said made me smile! He said “you really do look Dutch…I mean your skin color and hair and eyes and all.” Later when we were walking and talking, he said “you could always pull the tourist card, but no one would believe you.” Both of these statements really made me feel my Dutchness and I loved it!  My roommate and I hung out in Den Haag with my contact and his other Columbian friend until 11pm! We went to the beach (beautiful day) and walked down to a type of pier where we sat to watch to boats and ocean. On the way back we stopped at a café on the beach for a drink. The café had couches and big pillows everywhere! It was gezellig! For dinner they joked about taking us to Burger King but that was a big NO—they actually brought us to this really nice place with great food. I love how all dishes are served with Dutch fries and mayonnaise! Heel lekker (really delicious)! For our evening entertainment we went to an outdoor concert in the middle of a square. Camillo and his friend said that you should always listen for music and follow it—that is how to find entertainment or good places to hang out! The band was crazy but fun and in English so YAY! When we thought our adventure was over, another began. We ran to the train stop to make the 11 pm train back home, but the doors closed to quickly and the train pulled away without us. It also left behind our soon to be new/temporary Dutch friend. I introduced myself to this Dutch guy also on his way home. His name was Sebastian and he was a futbal sports writer. We socialized while waiting for the next train and then sat across from him in the train. We talked about where we were from and what we were studying and what our favorite food is, but we also talked about what “the most evilest thing we’ve done” was! What an interesting question to ask people you have never met before. Well, that day my roommate and I had stolen a beer glass as a souvenir—that was our “most evilest task.” He told us that is “most evilest action” was getting high off laughing gas…sounds really evil, I know! (don’t try it at home, I am sure it is unhealthy!) He also blamed us for missing his stop. Half way through the ride he asked us if the train had stopped. We told him yes and then he calmly said “that was my stop. Where I was supposed to change trains. I’m blaming it on you guys. I think you owe me another mint for that.” Up to this point he had already eaten 4 of my roommate’s mints, yet he still took two more. He said that he took so many because they were so small. Anyways, we had a very interesting conversation with this guy, and then when we arrived at Amsterdam Centraal, he got off and said, “in another life maybe” and then walked off. At least it was entertaining!