Wofford College - Study Abroad

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!

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!