Wofford College - Study Abroad

The End? No

 

I packed my stuff the last night. Somehow I managed to fit all of my stuff into the same luggage I came over with even though I had collected a few more items. I did have to leave the sheets and towel I brought but oh well. It was weird to think that I was catching a plane home the next day. To be honest I spent a lot of time hoping that a giant snow storm would blow through and my flight would be cancelled. When they would try to put me on the next flight, I would tell them to delay the ticket until at least right before January—since classes start at Wofford then. I wasn’t ready to come home. I was so settled in Amsterdam and I loved it so much; I didn’t want to just walk away. It doesn’t feel like it has been a whole semester! I just got to Amsterdam! Now I had to leave, but not for good. There is a 99.99% chance that I will go to Grad school in the Netherlands! I learned about some of their programs and found a Vet school there. Whether I do Veterinary science or any other science, I am definitely going back! My roommate Daniella and my neighbor Emma also both want to come back for higher education! We have talked about living together and I think that would be so gezellig! Wat leuk!

I went on a canal cruise a while back, and as we were going under a bridge I noticed a saying that was written on the wall; It said, “Terugkomen is niet hetzelfde als blijven” which means “coming back is not the same as staying.” It sent a pang to my heart. I wanted to come back and here was this sign! I wish that I could stay. Yes, I missed my friends and family and pumpkin pie and eggnog but this was Amsterdam! I had friends here too and a lifestyle that I loved. If I did not have science classes that I needed in the spring then I probably would have stayed in Amsterdam for the spring semester. However, I did come home. There are classes I need at Wofford in the spring and no snow storm ever blew through. I did get a little excited when they couldn’t find my reservation at the airport but even that fell through; Northwest over booked the flight and I had no seat, but I waited at the gate and eventually they found me and the two other girls (Kemper and Katie) seats.

Getting to the airport was a hassle. I took the bus with all my luggage to the train station and from there took the train to Schipol Airport . I was wearing a new sweater, my hoodie, my peacoat, a scarf, a hat, and mittens. When I finally got in the train I was so sweaty that I went into the train bathroom, grabbed some paper towels, and wiped myself off.  Sounds nice, ja? I made it though; I got on the plane and settled in my seat next to my two friends. It was going to be a long plane ride; ten and a half hours to Memphis, TN and then from there to Greenville. I did not sleep at all on the long flight even though I was tired. The night before, I stayed up late packing and spending time with friends—we went on a midnight bike ride through the city one last time! I was exhausted when I arrived at Greenville at 10:40 pm—that’s 4:40 am in Amsterdam! It was nice to have a surprise visit from my friends at the airport though. They showed up and greeted me as they normally would—pretending it was any other day saying “hey girl” and passing me! Silly but wonderful friends! My dad was there to pick me up. He was waiting near baggage claim, and I was so glad to see him. It was a really good finish for an abroad trip in Amsterdam.  I left my Dutch country but found my Dutch dad waiting at home!

I have two homes now; Amsterdam is now a home for me and I will return in the future. But I am back at my South Carolina home now and it feels weird. There is no big city waiting outside my window anymore; only trees. I don’t have to bundle up as much when I go outside. I can’t just ride my bike to the store or market or friend’s house; there are no bikes or bike lanes at all! Everywhere I go I hear English; no more Dutch constantly swirling around me. It is a different type of world.

I used to imagine myself as a “country girl;” I wanted to live in the countryside where I could have my own farm. I wanted green to surround me and my neighbors far away. Now I feel a little differently. I loved living in the big city; especially Amsterdam! It wasn’t overwhelming but it always had something to offer. The Dutch seem very precise and use space well. While I used to imagine myself in a giant house (like any other little kid), now I want a smaller, cozy home!

            I miss Amsterdam and the people—my new friends. I enjoyed getting to know them, and I only hope that we can carry on our relationships. We made a lot of great, fun memories that I will cherish forever. I learned many valuable things from our experiences together; from music to relationships to emotions to politics.

            My advice to future study-abroaders:

1)      Choose somewhere you want to go! Don’t go somewhere just for academic reasons. You can work out class schedules wherever you go so don’t limit yourself! Your experience will go so much better if you are where you want to be! Go with the choice that inspires you most; the rest will fall into place!

2)      If possible take classes that are different from your major or main study. Branch out and see some other options—even if it is just art. And don’t overload on tough classes; you don’t want to be stressed with school while you are abroad. Your semester abroad should be more about discovering the world, another environment, and your own interests. The more personal you make the trip, the better!

3)      I recommend going abroad single if at all possible. Long distance relationships are hard and you may find yourself missing home more than enjoying yourself. If you aren’t single then you better make a promise to yourself not to let missing home drive you into depression! (A girl in my program this year missed her boyfriend and home so much that she stayed in bed watching TV on the computer—she didn’t even try to get out of the room. It was depressing to be around her negative attitude) Be proactive and always make an effort to be a part of the society or culture you are living in—you won’t regret it!

4)      Get a bike (if there are bike lanes), go out often, make friends, be open minded, get your work done before the last week, and have FUN!

My Last weeks...

Two weeks ago I took a day trip to Brugge, Belgium! It was my first time leaving the Netherlands during my semester; I had visited so many places within the country, but I had never crossed the boarder. At first I thought that I would feel bad about not traveling more of Europe while I was there—traveling across boarders there is easy and everything is pretty close; however, in the end I am pleased with my choice of exploring Holland instead of the rest of Europe.  By staying in the Netherlands (especially Amsterdam), I really got a grasp of the Dutch culture, which meant more to me than leaving the country for a weekend to take “touristy” photos. It is nice to go into another region or country and see their true culture and not just the touristy sights.

When I visited Belgium, I definitely went as a tourist! I went with another girl from IES and we only went for one day! Elissa and I met at Central Station early Sunday morning and we bought our tickets. We were just on time to catch the train the leaves every hour; however, the ticket lady kindly reminded us that we had to have our passports. Darn! We both forgot ours, so we each biked back home to get them. It was really annoying because that would mean we would have to wait for the next hourly train! It was also frustrating later because they never checked our passports, so really we could have gone without them. Oh well! We got on our train and finally made it to Brugge by 1 pm even though we left on the nine O’clock train. There was another group of people on our train that were also going to Brugge. They were from Spain and really didn’t understand the train schedule. One of the ladies came over to ask if we were also going to Brugge. I tried to explain that we had to switch trains in Antwerp (which was a really cool, giant station), but she was still a little confused. Eventually she said they would just tag along with us, and I told her that was great! After we got to Brugge we split up, but we still ran into them a few times!

Brugge was really nice of course. It was funny at first though because I imagined that it would be quieter, but as soon as you stepped out of the train station there was a constant stream of people heading to city center. As Elissa’s guide book said, it was quite a “tourist trap.”  Trap or not I was glad to be there. We followed the herd of people until we made it to the main shopping street.  It was a great sunny day and the buildings seemed to glow from the sun. We made it to the Christmas market where there were tons of booths full of colorful items surrounding a big ice skating ring! Naturally we went ice skating! It was so packed on the ice that at times you had to stop from a traffic jam but it was still lots of fun!

We also bought Belgium waffles with chocolate sauce on top and later a pita with lost of chicken in it! It was really good food! As snacks in between we went into the chocolate stores and bought little truffles to try. They were all so delicious but my favorite item of the day was the “Worlds best hot chocolate.” After walking around the small town and taking pictures of the houses on the canal, we went in search of hot chocolate to warm us up. We found a small chocolate store with a café upstairs and a sign that read “Worlds best hot chocolate.” We found our winner! We got to sit in really comfy sofa-like chairs and warm up! Everyone seemed to have these large bowls in front of them and Elissa was hoping that that was what our hot coco came in but it seemed too big so I assumed it was soup. Elissa was right though!  They brought out a large bowl-mug full of warm milk and, on the side, chocolate chips served in a small chocolate bowl! We added the chocolate to our milk and it was delicious! By the end of the day though, I was quite sweetened out! We spent more time in Brugge before catching the train back to Amsterdam.  It was a really long but wonderful day out of the city. It was almost surreal to think that I was in Belgium for a day. 

My last week in Amsterdam was really packed. We had exams up until the last day, final places to visit, last minute shopping, and we all wanted to hang out before leaving. It was unfortunate that the IES end-date wasn’t a week after exams that way we could enjoy the city more before we scampered out. The last weekend, I went to see the nutcracker ballet. It was really cool to see the differences to the “American” performance. They incorporated their Sinterklaas celebration into the play and both Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet were in the play! The theater is amazing in Amsterdam and I am glad I got to go to two ballets!

All of my exams went well I think and we all found time to hang out!

Feestdag!

Thanksgiving! I was both delighted and sad to see it come! We had organized a potluck dinner two nights before through e-mail, and everyone signed up for a certain dish. Everyone was so willing! Food options were taken quickly and soon there was nothing left to be taken! I think we were all excited about our holiday away from home. I surly was exciting; I was going to make stuffing! But seeing that it was Thanksgiving meant that it was already November 27th! No! How could that be? I need more time! The semester is coming to a close too quickly! I love it here so much and feel so comfortable here now that coming home seems weird. Why leave this great place for the stressful US? For now I am going to go with Family and Friends as my answer. But back to the big day! My lovely roommate went out early to buy bread for our stuffing before she went to class. At first we were not sure if stuffing was an option. Everyone always makes it in the oven and all we have is a stove; however, I remembered that my mom had sent me several recipes early in the semester one of which was stuffing. I had disregarded most of them because they all seemed to need an oven, but on a second glance I realized that I could make this stuffing on the stove! We were saved...what is thanksgiving without stuffing!? So I awoke that morning to two large loves of fresh bread, onions, celery, and spices! I could smell it already, but it would have to wait until later in the afternoon.

Brittney Getz from Wofford was in town visiting me for the holiday, and we had plans for the morning. We headed out into the city on my bike...yes my bike...two of us on one bike. She sat on my luggage rack, and I got a good leg work-out! Thighs of Steel! It was a little bit of a challenge finding out balance but we did it on our second try! Once we got into the main part of the city we walked so that we could actually take pictures. We walked quite a lot that day: from Nieuw Markt to Dam to Spui to Leidseplein...and back! That’s pretty darn far! We left my bike at Nieuw markt and then walked to Dam square (its a big tourist spot). From there we walked down the big shopping street and checked out a few shops. We turned off the Spui and walked down a street that supposedly had a "US & British Food Store;" we were looking for pumpkin pie puree and egg nog! We walked right past the small shop with a green awning and found ourselves in Leidseplein--we must have missed it, so we turned around and tried again, this time with success! Unfortunately our success stopped there. We were an hour too late for the pumpkin pie filling--supposedly he sold his last one--and the egg nog was 10 euro for a can--little too much for me! We walked out empty handed but it was worth a shot. I have never really thought about what "American foods" I have been "missing." Obviously I wasn't really missing them. It was funny to walk into this small shop and see the shelves stuffed with cheerios and baked beans and other assorted "US foods."  The only thing I missed was egg nog but I had heard about a "replacement" so we would try that later. 

We headed home so that we could make the stuffing. It was pretty easy. While I chopped and cooked, Brittney looked up the Macy's Day parade so that we could have it going in the background...just for fun. We also watched a little Home Alone 2. It was a good day. Our room smelled so wonderful but across the hall our friends were burning up a storm. John said that he was going to make cornbread, but of course we have no oven so he was making stove top in a brownie pan. It cooked really well! All the edges were burnt to a crisp and hard as a rock. The middle was still good so we just cut off half and inch of black crust and it was good to go! He also made green beans in mushroom soup! Yumm! His roommate was making fried chicken and deviled eggs for us! He did a super job! Mandy brought garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and squash. She added beer to the squash for flavor and boy did it add flavor! It was quite beer-y but it was fine and funny! My roommate made us salad and Michael brought bread and dessert. We had so many desserts since more than one person contributed. We had a cherry pie, apple crumble, apple pie, ice cream, truffles, apple sauce, and stroop waffels! It was great! Jason was the "booze-man" and brought wine, champagne, sparkling cider, and seasonal beers for us to try.  We had a delicious meal and a great time. Our dinner lasted from 7:30 until midnight! Gezellig! I had such a great Thanksgiving with these new friends! We laughed at jokes, stories, and the quite moments that Michael offered! We were so inspired by this meal that we are going to have another one similar to it next Tuesday!

The rest of Brittney's visit went well also. I showed her around Amsterdam and the wonderful time that it has provided for me! We went on a canal tour and ate pannekoeken and poffertjes! Zo lekker!!! We also bought some Advocaat which is the stuff that was supposed to be a "replacement" for egg-nog.  It was funny walking into the Liquor store. The man there was so friendly! When we walked in the door he turned and said in dutch, "you guys thirsty?" Haha  I asked him about this Advocaat and he said that it was good on ice cream and we had some left over from Thanksgiving so we thought we would give it a try. It was wel oke but it wasn't quite egg nog. Not as  delicious...sad day...oh well! It was worth the try. Now we just have to figure out what to do with this alcoholic beverage! YAY! What a great time of the year, no?
Annemarieke loves Holland/Amsterdam!

Mijn Oma

Recently I got the privilege to meet my dad's mother. I really did not know what to expect. I had never been in contact with her and I had never meet her. Would she like me? Would she hate me? I butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. The visit with my "step-grandmother" Janny went fine but there was also a lot of awkward tension. That was a first time meeting as well, but she had always sent me postcards, so I felt more comfortable in the idea of meeting her. With my "real" Oma Laurina I had no background. I got in touch with her through my aunt (my dad's sister) and we set a date. She was very direct in her e-mail and it felt more like we were setting an appointment up rather than a family reunion. We decided on a Saturday, a time, and a place. She told me she would be wearing a burgundy jacket and I told her I would have my cream one on. When Saturday came the sun was out, and I was excited and nervous at the same time. I biked over to the Spui (a square) and looked for the FEBO off Kalverstraat that we were to meet in front of--but alas, there was no FEBO. I walked around the block full circle, glad that I came a little early. What was I going to do? She of course does not have a cell phone, and she came by train all the way from the north of Holland! I had to find her! After asking three people (in dutch) if they knew where a FEBO was and being told no, I decided I would look for her jacket around where the Spui and Kalverstraat met. Thank goodness she told me what color jacket she would have on! When I saw her, I couldn't help but smile. She turned and either caught my coat color or the giant grin across my face, but she recognized it was me. As we walked toward each other all of my nervousness vanished. I felt completely at ease and elated as if I had known her all along. We hugged, and she told me that the FEBO used to be right there--on that corner--but now it was a bank. Amsterdam had changed some since her youth and she had not known it. It didn't matter; we met! The whole afternoon was great. We talked about school and adventures that each of us had had.

We wound up walking from the Spui to Dam square where we decided on Nieuwe Kafe beside the church. While we were seating ourselves she turned to me, while placing her jacket on the back of her chair, and said, “You know you really do look like me; when I was younger of course.” She said that she recognized it was me in the spui walking up to her because it was like looking in a mirror of herself many years ago. Maybe it wasn't the jacket or the smile at all. It made me feel good to have her recognize my Dutch side. We talked about everything from food to bike accidents and there never seemed to be a dull or awkward moment.

I asked her about foods that she normally makes, and she said that stampot and hutspot were of course traditional. Applesauce is also a favorite, but she told me about a new recipe I want to try: you make pannenkoeken and stack them up with applesauce in between each one and then you cut it like a pie! Sounds great!

She also told me about how she fractured her shoulder blade in 7 spots by falling off of her bike when her foot slipped. I thought it was funny when she openly old me she had trouble putting her bra on. She said that she tried on a sports-bra once but had to get a worker to help her out of it because she couldn’t get it off. Haha. She was just open, and the conversation never really faltered.
The meeting with my Oma Laurina went really well and much better than the meeting with Janny (funny enough--since she was the one that we were in touch with the most). We seemed to be able to connect more which makes sense since we are blood related.

After eating lunch, having tea and coffee, and a piece of apple cake, we said our goodbyes.We hugged and parted our separate ways. I am glad that I got to meet her but don’t know what our future holds in terms of our relationship. The family ties on this side of the family are not very strong, but at least I stepped forward, showed my neutrality, and meet a new side of my heritage.

My Rollercoaster!

 The past few weeks have been full but empty all at the same time. I went to a lot of fun events and had a great time with friends, but there was always something missing. I made gingerbread houses decorated with candies (snoephuisjes) and poffertjes with little Dutch kids one Saturday. In this big market they had a bus set up that was converted into a kitchen. It had a sink and stove and cabinets and counters! For a certain cost, children could come into the bus and help make the food they were going to eat. They got to wear aprons and crack eggs and stir batter! It was really cute. Lots of kids came to make the snoephuisjes; the hardest part was keeping them from eating all the candies they were supposed to decorate with! It was great to work at this event because younger kids only speak Dutch, so I got to practice speaking the language! I went back another weekend to work at their actual kitchen.  I helped Max celebrate his ninth birthday with five other boys! Together we made burritos, nachos, and a slagroom taart (cream cake). Most of them wore aprons and chef hats that were really cute. One boy asked me (in Dutch) if I had come all the way from America just for Max's birthday. I wish it were that easy!

On a more adult note, the next week I got to go on a tour of the Red Light District with a former prostitute as our guide! She told us all about how the Red Light District worked and even showed us a real working room! (no girls were it is of course) We went inside, turned on the red lights, and automatically people started looking in the windows; however, all they saw were eight fully clothed women.  We got to sit in the chairs behind the window which was quite an experience. Our tour guide told us that the key was to never make eye contact unless you wanted their attention—always look at something else. She demonstrated and made eye contact with a passer-by. Smiling, he came over to the window; he knocked and asked “how much” to one of my classmates but walked away with a laugh and wave! It was fun!

The carnival is also in town for a while—a fair in Dam Square! We went last Friday and found it to be very similar to American carnivals; they had a cotton candy man and the impossible games, but    they also had several really fun rides.  All of the booths and rides were squeezed together in this historic part of Amsterdam. It was quite amusing to see Pirate rides, spinney rides, and bungee rides in front of the old palace and Gothic church. We rode on the giant swings. Every fair has them—the swings that go round and round—but this one was better; not only did it go round and round but it went up and swung you round and round. You could see the whole city of Amsterdam while swinging! It was great! After the ride we decided to buy Oliebollen! These delicious balls of dough are fried and then cover in powdered sugar; you can get the plain or with raisins, almonds, etc.  Quite the delicious treat! 

I also got to go swing dancing that night! It was really fun to be around other dancers and fun music. At first I was a little intimidated to get on the dance floor—I didn’t know anyone—but this really friendly lady introduced herself and another person. She asked if I could Lindy and told me to talk off my coat of no one would know to ask me. I then got to dance like seven songs and had a really good time. My roommate was with me but she doesn’t really know how to swing dance, so I taught her the basic step and we danced a little! It was a really fun night.

Of course my time here in Amsterdam has not always been filled with pure fun. Study abroad is not always a fair. During orientation they show you a diagram of what your emotional rollercoaster will look like, and you think to yourself, “I’ll be fine. That’s not everyone’s rollercoaster.” But sooner or later you find out that those ups and downs really exist.  I found myself starting to miss people. I could handle being away from home, but being away from the people I love and the people who love me is hard. I couldn’t just pick up the phone and call my family or friends. I had to wait on skype or windows messenger if I really wanted to talk to someone and there was no guarantee.  When you are by yourself you lose motivation to go out and do things, so make sure to have a buddy or plan to meet someone. The important thing to do is surround your self with social activities. The longer you stay in your room by yourself, the more depressing everything will seem.

This past Friday it was good that I went to Fish Friday (the cooking event for students) or I might have started to slip down the slope. It was a perfect energy booster. There were five other Dutch students and we were all learning traditional Dutch meals. This Friday we learned how to make a delicious boerenkool stampot.  Stampots are popular in Dutch culture because potatoes were a popular winter item. We peeled, chopped, and boiled potatoes and mashed them with cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Then we added chopped, uncooked boerenkool (Kale) and cooked prosciutto bacon! Mash it all together and you have a delicious stampot! The next item on the menu was dessert—an appelmousse! We chopped up apples and put them in a pan with a little water in the bottom. Then we cooked it on the stove with some cinnamon and sugar until it was smushy!  We served it in bowls and poured plain yogurt on top! It was yummy!

Although Friday was an “up,” Saturday wound up being more of a “down” overall.  I had planned to go see my grandfather’s second wife Janny.  The journey there was rough. I had a plan, but in my confusion and frustration (at not being able to get a kortingskaart—discount card—b/c I didn’t have a picture) I messed up; I got there an hour later than planned because I took a later train and missed the once an hour bus to her town.  Oh well. The visit with Janny went well. She was very hospitable seeing as I had never met her before. She saw me once when I was four, but I don’t remember. We had tea and cake and lunch, we walked around the neighborhood, and she showed me all of my grandfather’s handiwork. He was a great painter and drawer. He also liked to build models of boats and ships from paper/thin cardboard. Janny had left his “craft” room just the way he left it 10 years ago. I was really lucky to be able to see his room. The visit was nice and I learned a lot about my family that I didn’t know. When I got home I was pooped. It was just an emotional overload. I wanted to quit when the train didn’t work out that morning, but I am glad I made it out to her house even if there were awkward times during the conversation. What do you expect if you have never met someone before?

To wrap up, yesterday—despite the rain—was a great day. I decorated a little for the Halloween spirit (even tough they don’t celebrate Halloween here), I got to talk to friends and family online, and I had a delicious piece of apple pie with my roomie!

There are always up and downs, but you have to focus on the ups and take action in order to keep from sliding down!

Texel! An island adventure!

We had an excursion to Texel this past weekend with IES! Texel is reclaimed land (used to be underwater) to the north of Amsterdam. We took multiple modes of transportation to get there: Bus, train, bus, Ferry, bus, Hostel! It was really exciting! The ferry was my favorite. I was expecting a small boat with a covered area where we would sit, but our ferry to Texel was giant with multiple floors and a café inside! It felt like a twenty minute cruise! We traveled by night and reached the Hostel despite the wet, windy weather. The “Stayokay” hostel was really nice…especially compared to the one I stayed at in Utrecht! This one had key card access into the rooms, a whole cafeteria, and a bar/lounging area: very cozy! However, we ventured back out into the night to see that small town and find some snacks. We went to a traditional eet (eat) café that serves all kinds of fried snacks, and then socialized in the hostel lounge area when we got back.

Saturday we got up early for breakfast before heading into town for some shopping. Breakfast consists mostly of assorted breads with assorted toppings-from honey or jelly to ham and cheese. My favorite though is Hagelslag! You butter a piece of bread and then cover it with delicious chocolate sprinkles! Mmmmm!

The town was very happy! It wasn’t really touristy but there were still a lot of people out and about. We went into the bread shop, the cheese shop, the wool shop, and two candy shops but we also went into Hema, which is an everything store. I bought a Jip en Janneke book at Hema. It is a collection of short stories about best friends that have lots of adventures together and het is heel leuk! (it is really cute)

In the afternoon we went out to sea on a shrimping expedition! Several people from our group get motion sickness so they took Dramamine before we “set sail” but I found the rocking quite fun! It was really windy and cold but it was too much fun not to enjoy.  When they pulled up the shrimping net, I was a little surprised to see the small catch, but I guess that is they way it goes. Everyone on board (and there were a lot of people) gathered around the catch while the “Shrimp Man” told us about it. He showed us several different fish that typically get caught in the shrimping process and made lots of jokes. He spoke in Dutch mostly but translated a little into English. At one point he told everyone (in Dutch) about this Sea Scorpion that you can’t eat because of its poison barbs, but then he told us in English that we should eat it!  Very humorous! They had a separator machine on board that took out everything that wasn’t shrimp and threw it back in the ocean. The seagulls followed the boat the whole way hoping to catch some of these stray fish. The shrimp, however, went straight to boiling water so that everyone could eat some. After shrimping we were ready to warm up and IES had a delicious evening meal planned for us. We went to the Schouten Huys and had a three hour long meal: Appetizer, dinner, dessert, and coffee after. I got a wonderful salad with ham as the base and cubed cheese for my appetizer and oven roasted goat cheese with assorted nuts drizzled with a honey sauce for dinner! For dessert we had a sampler plate with a brownie, a scoop of apple pie flavored ice cream, a small cup of frozen sangria, and whip cream with a Dutch cookie. And then I finished off with a cup of hot chocolate and a Texel shaped cookie! Amazing!

Sunday was a little drearier! It poured all day and was very windy. We went to the Seal care center and saw them feed the seals! The seals made a really funny sound like they had been smoking for a long time. One of the seals was blind and slapped his fin on the water to ask for fish. When there were no more fish, the lady dumped the bucket of water on his head so that he would know! After that we traveled back to Amsterdam where it was also rainy. That night was the perfect night to curl up with a book! And that’s just what I did! I joined Jip and Janneke on there adventures!

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! 

More than the City...

So far Amsterdam has been an interesting place to live. There is a lot of hustle and bustle here; the streets are always busy with pedestrians and bicycles, tourists and students, businesspeople and construction workers...Amsterdam is a hot spot! People commute here for work everyday, and until the tourist season dwindles, the souvenir shops always have business. I like living here in Amsterdam, but when I visit other places, that is one of the things I notice: "This city seems a lot quieter."  I visited two places this past weekend and they were great: Enkhuizen and Utrecht! Enkhuizen is a small fisherman's village in the north that is very quaint and quiet! The streets were practically empty except for the occasional person going for a tea break. The buildings here were not very tall, but they were beautiful. In the Netherlands everyone adds -tje or -ke to the end of a word in order to make is smaller. For example,  een potje (little pot) or een biertje (little beer) or even Annemarieke (little Annemarie). Well Enkhuizen should be called Enkhuizentje because every thing is small but happy.

The houses and building are not tiny but just so beautiful and efficient with no wasted space! We went to the Zuiderzee museum while there and they had a lot of great art, but part of the village was part of the museum. Everything was "preserved" as if it was still the fisherman's village of way-back-in-the-day. They even had men doing "jobs" like making fishing nets and long ropes by hand.

We got to walk through the whole town and see how people lived back then. So COOL!We went into an old school house and sat in the desks, and bought candies from the little general store, and saw how clothes were washed (in big barrels that spun), and played old, traditional, Dutch games! It was very fun! We also stopped at a cute cafe for an afternoon coffee and cake (not part of the museum). The inside was really happy and the walls were covered in delft blue tiles!  I had a delicious piece of applecake with whip cream and a hot chocolate; It was a great treat for the misty day and a wonderful town to visit!! Utrecht was also fun but not quite as "cute."  We took the train and passed a lot of farm land, which was good to see after being in a city.

My main reason for visiting Utrecht was that there was a swing dance thing there that I wanted to join. Saturday this group of swing dancers had a workshop where they learned some Jazz dances--like the Shim Sham and the Jitterbug stroll--and a Lindy routine. The next day (Sunday) they were going to perform these dances at the Uitfeest, which is a festival that Utrecht was having. So I went to these workshops and had so much fun dancing and learning. They spoke in Dutch (except for the occasional English explanation) but it was easy to follow since dancing is an international language! I was pumped about Sunday and the performance. I felt so alive I wanted to go back to the hostel and practice the jazz steps! However, my enthusiasm turned to nervousness on Sunday for several reasons; the first was that I didn’t fit in. I happened to see my partner from the previous day walk through the crowd and I followed him to our performance location. When I got there, he was sitting and socializing, and the teacher was dancing with a girl I had not seen before; she was good too. My first thought was that she couldn’t make it yesterday but still wanted to dance, so they were quickly teaching her the steps and she was going to dance with my partner. I could no longer approach the swing group. I was afraid of rejection. I didn’t want to impose on their performance; I was an “outsider” after all. Secondly, there seemed to be a color scheme that I was not aware of.  The ladies had black pants on and the men had white pants on, but I had a blue skirt on with black and grey leggings underneath! Now I really stuck out! I lost all enthusiasm and started backing down. If it wasn’t for my friend’s persistence in me dancing and another girl coming up to me and telling me that I should dance, then I probably would have walked away right then! I wound up dancing with my partner from the previous day and I felt really good about our Lindy hop routine. I am very glad that I went to this event! Even staying at the Hostel was entertaining! We stayed in "dormitory beds" in a room with like 20 other people and the lady in charge told us, "if you don't eat, we kick you out" because meals were included in our 20 euro fee for a night! YAY! They even had a "music corner" with lots of instruments and a giant chess board outside that we played!

After visiting these other two towns that were less busy, I could really see how Amsterdam was a big melting pot. There are a lot of international people here that speak Dutch and all but they aren't the typical tall, blond people one might expect. It was great going to the smaller towns and I plan to visit many more! I may even bike to the Haag this weekend, especially now that my bike should be all better...I wound up getting another flat...and spent some more euro on a new inner and outer tube, so now my bike should be happy!!

 

My Bicycle!

My first week at Amsterdam has already had some ups and downs. Orientation was the first week and my main objectives were to readjust my circadian rhythm, make it to all the meetings, and learn my way around. I did pretty well actually! I caught up on sleep by the next day and familiarized myself with many locations through our orientation program! I knew how to get to all the vital places and there was always someone to walk with—I met a lot of new people from all over the United States. One of my favorite activities was actually a scavenger hunt for famous statues throughout Amsterdam.

With a map and clues, each group set forth to find and document as many of the 10 statues as possible in 3 hours. The group with the most statues and the fastest time would get a 75 euro dinner voucher for the five group members to split. Second place: movie ticket vouchers. Third place: A box of the best chocolate in Amsterdam. My group had our eyes on the prize and we strategically set up a path to hit as many statues as possible. In the end we wound up with 8 statues; however, the last two were in Vondel Park, which was very far away from the finish line. After we got those we had 25 minutes to get back before time was called! We found our way to the tram stop on broken feet and legs—we must have walked a majority of the city! We waited 10 minutes for the next tram and then had to ride back to central station and walk or bus to the finish line. With all the stops and garbage truck hold ups along the way, we didn’t make it back to central till about 1:30pm. We were way over the deadline! Unfortunately we didn’t win any prize—we were disqualified—but we did find the most statues! We won in spirit and we had fun together! Eventually our legs ached from walking, especially after this scavenger hunt. We knew a new mode of transportation was important!

So that weekend was the bike shopping weekend. Bikes are the main mode of transportation inAmsterdam! As a pedestrian, cars are not a concern. You have to watch out for bicycles all the time or else bikers will ring their bell at you to move! I bought my 2^nd hand bike for a pretty penny/euro…85 of them to be exact! It was quite a chunk of change! I was very happy about my new, used bike and rode it “gracefully” to central station where IES student were meeting to a field trip to Haarlem and Zandvoort!

Haarlem is a wonderful city, very quaint and full of color! There was an open air market in the square and a wedding in one of the churches! We had a delicious lunch (soup and sandwiches) in one of the cute restaurants facing the square, and then we wondered through the cobblestone streets until leaving for Zandvoort—the beach! It was beautiful weather but the water from the North Sea was still rather chilly. I got in about mid-calf before I decided to sun bathe instead! I think a lot of people had the same idea because the beach was full of people and covered in yellow and green wind breakers. Most of the IES students brought their bathing suits but a few of the guys didn’t, so they stripped down to their boxes, which wasn’t crass compared to the European men in tight, little Speedos and the European women in only bottoms! Haha

Next was dinner and we had delicious Pannenkoeken, which are giant but thin pancakes with whatever you want on top! I had an Apple and banana pannenkoeken and it was delicious! This is a “must eat” food!

Now comes the downfall to my glorious day: I got back to central station prepared to ride my bike home however my bike felt differently! It decided to have a flat tire! Of course all the stores in Holland close at 6pm so my bike would have to wait till morning. So, I walked the useless thing all the way home! The next day I went to four different bike spots and asked if they could fix my flat, but everyone I went to told me they couldn’t fix the bike because I had a special “sports” tire that they didn’t have! One place told me it was going to be 31 euro for a new tire! The last thing I wanted to do was add another 31 euro onto my 85 euro bike! All I wanted was a patch and nobody could do it! I think there was a miscommunication. Finally I went to MacBike near central station and found someone who knew what I was looking for, Yay! I left it with him and picked it up the next day with a patch for 7,50 euro! I finally got to ride my bike! Unfortunately that wasn’t my only hiccup! I was riding my bike to the IES center so several of us could bike to class together (classes are great by the way!) when my bike chain came off as I shifted gears! I was forced to come to a quick halt! I tried to put the chain back on and in the process the chain just broke…in half! Seriously?! I was going to be late meeting with the group so I locked my bike up where it was and left it! Since I was bikeless, I sat on the back of someone else’s bike and that was fun! I dropped my bike off to get fixed and had to spend another 10 euro but hopefully that is the end of my bike problems!

So that’s the story thus far! Quite an adventure! Yay Amsterdam!

My own traveling pants

    As my departure date starts to get closer I can’t help but wonder how it’s going to be. At first I was so overwhelmed with excitement about my long awaited trip that I couldn’t even think about the wonderful things I would be temporarily leaving behind: My friends and family, familiar places and food…I actually tried to cram a little taste of it all in my two week break between summer school (Yay O-chem) and Aug. 25^th—the beginning of a new experience abroad. I worked several days, visited my friends, attempted camping, drove to Gatlinburg for a weekend to see relatives (getting lost in the TN mountains), hosted some friends, spent time with my mom and dad, packed some, and started making a carry-on bag! I was full to the max. I felt I couldn’t breathe sometimes trying to fit everything in, but it was all worth it…I would have it no other way! I found ways to do everything I wanted—a summers worth in two weeks! I am glad I got to see everyone before I left. I feel more confident in my departure knowing that when I come back there are going to be people excited to see me…I won’t be forgotten…I stopped by Wofford the other day and was filled with pure joy when all these people came to say hello and bye to me! I got to give them all hugs and that made me so happy! It makes me somewhat excited to come back (I can’t wait to be on staff with those wonderful RAs in the spring); however, oddly enough I think one of my greatest fears is that this semester abroad will go by too fast for me to remember. I want it to last forever, but we all know I will eventually get homesick!

    Having a Dutch heritage I feel driven to Holland, knowing that I will feel comfortable there! A lot has worked out in my favor and for that I am thankful! Because my dad is from Velp, Netherlands and I was born in America, I had the opportunity to claim dual nationality! The process was somewhat overwhelming when I first looked into it two years ago, but with this new inspiration of going abroad I felt more driven to finish that paperwork and apply for my Dutch passport. So during the last weeks of summer school I drove to Columbia, SC to get my Birth certificate and such—all recent, certified and legalized. Then I took all my paperwork and drove to Atlanta for a day to get passport pictures made (mug shots since you can’t smile!) and turned in everything to the Dutch Consulate. Two weeks later a FedEx package came for me and I was ecstatic! My Dutch passport is beautiful and happy! It feels kind of good having official documents that prove your heritage. Not only that but since I am a dual citizen, I don’t have to get a residency permit for living in Holland; that saved me 433 euro! Yay

    My other happy accomplishment for the summer is still in progress but it is quickly coming together. I have constructed my very own personalized carry-on bag out of scraps of fabric, shirts, and pants! It is very colorful and it has been an extremely creative outlet for me. Hands on tasks like these are good at helping me relax and enjoy home before I leave. I cut up two different corduroy pants that make up some fun parts of the bag, so in a way they have become my traveling pants. This bag will represent me and all the things I love. It will remind me of home and where I am going, bringing my future forward. This bag was once just an image in my head so it is a good reminder that I can do whatever I set my mind to! Whatever I dream can be accomplished!

Don’t think of it as stepping out of your comfort bubble, instead just imagine expanding it!
Amsterdam here I come!