three months

Just a quick post to commemorate my three month mark :) It feels like the right amount of time, like time is going at a regular speed. I don't feel like the days race by, but they don't drag either. It's nice to have a good pace down, and I think that I'll be happiest if I keep myself busy and running around like I have been. I only recently began feeling the true homesickness that I'd been warned of and last week was probably the toughest I've had here. Just trying to balance school and language and the craziness in my head... all I can do is take it day by day.

This weekend has been nice so far though. Last night I went with Wencke and her friends to New Moon... no comment :) ah well as far as entertainment goes it was a fine evening. I saw a few girls that I know from local parties there, so I talked with them for a while. It's always funny running into people I know around here because I never expect to see a familiar face.

Also, Paula booked a trip for a few days before Christmas for her, Wencke and me. We're going to Glasgow, Scotland from the 20th to the 23rd - I'm really looking forward to it. Only a few weeks until break!

I LOVE being in a small country

So Tuesday night I was on MySpace and I saw that Portugal. The Man was playing Wednsday night in Nijmegen, about 2 hours away by train. It's an Alaskan band originally (one of the few good things to ever come out of Wasilla!) and I was way way stoked that they were here - the only problem was that it was the very next day. I checked out my list of AFSers in the area, and whatddya know, my Canadian friend Walker happens to live in Nijmegen... so I gave him a call, and a few minutes later we were set to go to Doornroosje the next evening!

last night I took a train to Nijmegen, leaving from Borne and switching trains a few times. I've finally gotten the hang of the train system here, the first time I did it alone I had about five panic attacks when I couldn't find the right track. I've gotten much better at it by now, thank god. Walker and his lovely hostmom Renee met me when I finally arrived, and gave us a lift to the club... the doors didn't open for about half an hour so we wandered around the neighborhood to waste time.

We went in about 8:15, waited in line with quite a few other people (typical hipster crowd, it was funny seeing all the same types here as in america). The outside of Doornroosje is really cool, covered in bright grafitti and murals. The name might sound funny but it means ' rose thorn', which is the dutch name for Sleeping Beauty. You know, Briar Rose. the inside is painted with vines of roses and thorns and various other flora. A band called The Cave Singers opened the night, I'd listened to them a little before but they played really well live. Live music feels more whole than recordings, it might have something to do with being able to feel the vibrations in your body (i love that) but a good live band makes the night that much better.

Portugal came on about 9:30, and were fantaaastiiic from beginning to end. they didn't waste time with little quips between sets, but just kept on playing one crazy amazing song after another. They did, however, ask if there were any Alaskans there and it was fun to be able to raise my hand :) The whole show was awesome though, had a good lineup of songs and they brought their own lights guy to keep everything colorful and surreal to match the music. I think they played for about an hour and a half, and I left Walker for in the club in search of an ATM... no luck, although I did team up in my search with some cool dutch guys who were looking for the same thing. Haven't laughed so hard in a long time, I wish i'd gotten their picture.

So finally we walked home.. or atempted to... got a little misguided and ended up having to call or backup (renee). collapsed on a cot in walker's room and slept for about 6 hours, got up at 7 to catch the train back to Borne. I managed to navigate the tracks with relative ease (only had to ask someone once if i was on the right train!! success), and got home in time to eat a quick breakfast and wash my face before racing off in the POURING rain to take a dutch biology test at 11:15! it's been quite a day.

in front of doornroosje

...and here i'm just a creeper

Hagelslag

So I figured because I've been so behind, I would do an extra post dedicated to one of the best Dutch foods: Hagelslag. They are chocolate sprinkles, but unlike the American ones that taste like wax, they actually taste like chocolate. Everyone here eats them, mostly for breakfast, sprinkled on buttered bread. AMAZING.

October

Ok, so I haven't updated in over a month... I'm sorry, I haven't even been that busy, but blogging hasn't really been first and foremost on my list of things to do... but today is catch-up day so here we go!

The most exciting thing I did last month was take a week and go to Italy with my host family. You see, they don't celebrate Halloween in NL, but apparently make up for it by giving us a week off in mid-October. I feel that this is a pretty good trade-off. So anyway, I took my herfstvacantie in Italy, because Paula and Henri are amazing people who in addition to feeding me and letting me live with them also bring me along on vacation.

We left on friday the 16th, and drove (and drove and drove) over the German border, which takes all of ten minutes, and then down into the German area of Ulm, where we spent the night in a little village inn.

In the morning, we ate our usual breakfast of bread rolls and various toppings (meat, cheese, jam, ....hagelslagen) and drove off once more. We soon crossed into Austria, where I annoyed more than one non-english speaking cashier and paula accidentally knocked over souvenier schnapps. We make an awesome team!

Austria, I must say, is beautiful. It reminded me of home a little, because of the pine trees and the mountainous terrain that I've been missing in the Netherlands. We kept on through a winding pass that took us through the Alps, where it began to snow. Luckily not too badly, otherwise Henri would have had a lot of trouble, but enough to look like the snow forest in the Nutcracker... Homer people know what I mean. Seriously, it looked like we were driving past the snow scene. So, so pretty.

That afternoon, we crossed the border into Italy. It was really kind of quaint stopping in a little town there and seeing that all the street signs, posters, and flyers were both in German and Italian. These Europeans make me hate myself sometimes, for knowing rudimentary Spanish and (so far) toddler's Dutch. Henri speaks fluent Dutch, English, French and German. Americans are pathetically behind here.

Our house in Italy amazed me. 350 years old, stone and wood, shutters on the windows. It was settled on a small orchard of apple, chestnut, olive and pomegranate trees, high up in the hills above Vicenza, surrounded by huge vineyards. That evening, while waiting for Angeline and her family, we sat by the wood stove, drank wine from the nearby winery and roasted chestnuts over the fire. peaceful and amazing.

We spent the next week exploring the surrounding area. Padova on Sunday, Monselice on Monday, Venice on Tuesday, Verona on Wednsday, Vicenza on Thursday, and Venice again Friday.

Of all the places we went, Venice will stay with me the most. I was amazed by the whole city, ancient and rising out or the sea. It was almost like Atlantis. We wandered around in St. Marco's Basilica for hours: the huge vaulted ceilings mosaiced in gold, and the artwork and marble statues were incredible. I never felt more surrounded by that omnescient something than when I stood there in the cathedral.

way more photos on my facebook, here's a few:

St. Mark's

venetian fish market - for dad

our orchard

little italian-german town

austria

my room in germany

day tripper

hello there, it's monday morning, 9: 24, taking it slow because i only have two classes at school today! wahoo, I don't have to be there until 11. so i figured i'd take my free time to do a little update cause I haven't done it in a while :)

so Saturday AFS organized a little walkabout around Amsterdam for anyone who wanted to go. I got up at 6:30 which is an ungodly hour for a weekend but I had to be at the train station by 8, to get to Amsterdam Centraal by 11. I ended up arriving more towards noon because one of my trains was late, I am told this was because they found a body on the tracks. this happens about once a week or so, and so sadly i was the only surprised one. Anyways, made it to central station and met up with all the other AFSers, not sure how many of us were there but it was quite a few. We were led on by four of our mentors from the orientation, who are in their early twenties and very amusing. it's also nice that while they all live here, all of them have been exchange students at some point so they always know what's going on.

We began in the red light district, which was still crazy and a tad sketchy even at 12:30 in the morning. The coffeeshops were already in full swing, a haze of smoke threading its way out onto the street from every door. Countless sex shops showed off their wares in garishly decorated displays, everything from pink bunnies with huge dicks to trashy mannequins and model toys. It was kind of overwhelming because of all the excess and vices out in plain sight. the entire district is based on serving every human want - sex, drugs, food, jewels.

In the heart of the red light district are the alleys that have no shops and no signs. The street gets very narrow, wide enough for two people to walk side by side. This is where we were explicitly told to put away all cameras, because if a prostitute catches you photographing her either she or her pimp will literally beat you. the streets are lined with identical glass doorways. The prostitutes stand behind the windows, looking for customers, scantily clad in glittering lingerie and underclothes. some of the doors have their curtains pulled; we don't have to be told what's going on behind them.

We made our way out into the sun, a little dazed from everything. I remembered my host parents telling me that the district put on a happy, circus-like facade to hide how dirty and sad it really was. After a while, every porn shop looks the same. The prostitutes seemed almost like exhibits in a zoo, and it's hard to think about how this is their job. It's noon on saturday, and they were selling themselves in dark alleys. They made me feel lucky to be free, in the sunlight and walking towards a happier and more peaceful part of the city.

Next we went through part of what I think was the shopping district. There were three H&Ms in two blocks, and yet there's like one store in the entire Pacific Northwest. unfair. Eventually we stopped in Dam Square, the center of the city and where the Queen's business palace is. Everywhere you look, there were pigeons, people, bikes bikes bikes. Living statues - a robot, a gladiator, Darth Vader - stared us down and occasionally allowed pictures. Resuming our wandering, we made our way over bridges, watching boats drift down the canals and doging bikes and cars. We passed a KaraokeFiets, a bar on wheels with ten drunk guys shouting to a sing-along tape. Cheers!

The architecture and just the form of the city is amazing. plain apartment buildings look the same as they did two centuries ago, and most buildings seem well looked-after and the streets are clean for such a large city. We were left to do what we wished at 4, and so a large group began wandering again. none of us were quite sure where we were going or what we were looking for, so eight of us found a little streetside bar and sat down for an hour. coffee and beer all around, watching the sun sink over the canals that surround the entire city and discussing the sights of the day.

Another Monday has come and gone, getting into my fourth week of school here. Mondays are kind of underwhelming, as i only have 2 classes. I'd rather have my long and difficult days early on in the week but instead monday, wednsday, and friday are all fairly uneventful with tuesdays and thurdays being long and painful. I missed all of last week due to my crippling cold, so going to school today was filled with more confusion. Two fridays ago a boy from my class showed me around Hengelo after school, and we ended up seeing a movie. AS FRIENDS. I explicitly told him that nothing more would come of it. Of course I go to school today and had to fend off rumors left and right, which would be a whole lot easier if I could actually speak Dutch. High school is pretty much the same everywhere, apparently.

Other than that my social life here is pretty quiet as of yet, kind of nice after my crazy last weeks in AK. I went to a party last weekend held by Floris, the first person my age I actually met here. His mom, Angeline, is Paula's best friend. Anyway so people came to his place around 9 or so, and after hanging out here for a few hours, drinking, talking, listening to music etc. we headed out to a bar in Hengelo around midnight. There we did the same thing, a bit of dancing thrown in :) A few people from school were there as well, good to see them in a different place!

So every day at school has a different schedule. Most classes I have only two or three times a week, apart from the P.E. class. I'm taking the mandatory one plus the extra class, BSM, because... actually I'm not sure why. I just am. But here's a rundown of those classes:

Nederlands: Dutch. I really don't do anything in this class, because he just talks and the students read packets he gives them. I probably won't really be able to participate for a couple more months, so I just read a book or something. Right now I'm splitting my reading between Love in the Time of Cholera and The Places in Between, written by a British guy who walked across Afghanistan. Both are really amazing. I'm told I shouldn't read English here but please tell me, what am I supposed to do otherwise?

Wiskunde: Math. So I'm in VWO 4, and in the regular level of math. This means that I'm doing Algebra I, so I don't have much trouble doing the work, or even reading the problems in the book. The problem is that the boy who sits next to me is the one who showed me around Hengelo and he won't stop talking about it - and not just to me, to everyone else. I mean, he's a nice guy. I should be grateful that someone is taking an interest in me. But, somehow, being an antisocial and mean person I kind of wish he wouldn't. hahaa I'm rambling on about little things. Over all, it's not too bad. It would be nice if I could have participated in a higher level class so that I have some preparation for SATs and ACT. But you can't have everything, right?

Engels: English. Another class where I don't have to do much, because we just have workbooks that we do excercises and vocabulary in. It's actually kind of useful because I get to brush up on my grammar and word tenses and things. It's funny that you never actually get taught these things when it's your first language but the others are learning stuff I've never even thought about. I completely share their pain, above and beyond. It's nice though because I can help other kids, so I can return the favor of having them translate stuff for me in the other classes. Plus, our weekend homework is to watch English-language television. We have a TV log. No joke.

CKV: It's like Art History. Sort of. It's also an introduction to modern art, and to critiquing and understanding it. I've only been once so far but the teacher is really young and cool. We have to see at least 4 performances a year, so if I go to a play or art opening or something I write about it or take pictures and get credit for it.

Drawing/Art: I have this for three hours on Thursday mornings, plus another fifty-minute period on tuesdays. Our first assignment was to design a child's chair, sketch it, and then build a 3D model. Very fun!

Science: I forget what it's called in Dutch. It's a sort of combination of biology, chemisty, and physics. Right now we're studying deadly diseases, such as polio and leprosy. It's not really as hands-on a class as I'm used to, we read out of the book independantly and fill in a worksheet. Actually, most of the classes here are like that.

Maatschapijleer: I can actually say this now, I couldn't remember the whole word for ages. Anyway it's Social Studies, or something like it. We've been talking about different kinds of media. For some reason she talked about Bill Clinton's sex scandal for about half an hour, and I still have no idea why. Mysteries.

Levensbeschowing: Religious studies. I have a feeling that I would adore this class if I could only understand what he was discussing, the teacher is an amazing guy. He had me talk about the death penalty, because they don't have it here, and about euthanasia because they do have it here. It's supposed to be about world religions but I think it's really more of an ethics class. Proably the most difficult class for me to follow because of the discussion and vocabulary but of what I've understood I've really enjoyed so far.

BSM/L.O.: These are both gym classes and there's no difference between them except for different teachers and different classmates. BSM is the 'step-above' class where you learn more about the rules of the games, it's like sports ed. For those who want to be gym teachers or something. I really don't want to be that, so again I'm not quite sure why I'm taking it.

So there you have it. It's a lot of classes, but I end up having the same amount of periods as usual because each class only happens two or three times a week. None of my teachers have had exchange students before so no one really knows what to do with me. Classes seem kind of loosely structured, but that might be because I have no idea what's going on most of the time. It does make me miss school at home where classes are a lot more involved. Here it's mostly just lecturing or individual work. Hopefully as the year goes on and my comprehension grows, the objectives of class and what's expected of me will be clearer. Right now it's strange going to class and not learning anything. At least, not of what's being taught!

ba-ba...this is the sound of settling

So it's been about two weeks since I last posted... meaning I've been here for nearly three weeks! Crazy. It feels like it's been longer than that, but there are still times when I feel like I just stepped off the plane. This is my third week of school, but sadly today I'm at home with a cold :( hopefully tomorrow I'll be on my feet again. Let's see... School. No matter what country you're in school is still more or less the same! Or so it seems to me... I never really liked school all that much but Twickel is pretty good so far. I have a lot of free periods so that gives me time to hang out and listen to music, go get lunch, whatever. The hardest part is not knowing what's expected of me in classes. Exchange students aren't common here so a lot of teachers don't really know why I'm here, or what to do with me :) the first question they all asked : "You don't speak any Dutch at all?" Sadly, no. I can understand the topic of conversations and follow them, but not enough to participate. My speaking skills are pretty much non-existant at this point, so there's a lot of smiling and nodding on my part. Most people here do speak English, but few of them (especially my classmates) speak it well enough to have more than a simple conversation. I can tell my English is getting worse already! haha that's a good sign I think, but until my Dutch gets better I have to find a more effective way to express myself in public. Interpretive dance? We shall see.  

I've made a few friends both in and outside of school, hooray! I was (and remain) a little worried about the whole science of friendships. One of the harder bits of exchange is the social difference. One minute you're surrounded by people you've known for years, and then poof - that entire support network is two oceans and a continent away. There are no Inflatable BFFs, unfortunately, and friends take a while to make. Going to school the first day was overwhelming because there's so many people, and all of them already have established relationships years in the making. It's hard to be dropped in the middle! Especially when there's language difficulty. I know I don't have that part as badly as others though, so at this point I can at least communicate a little bit. and even if they don't really understand why I'm here, people have been really nice - helping me translate schoolwork, partnering with me in P.E. etc. So dank je to Iris, Sharon, Francis, Ishmael, and Floris for making me feel welcomed :)

One thing I've found really interesting is how as an exchange student, I'm totally blind to cliques and social borders. Because that dividing line is gone (to me), I and all other foreign kids end up making friends from all different social groups. On one hand, this is kind of a drag when you find out that two of your friends don't like each other; but on the other it's amazing how easily lines are transcended when you ignore them.  

Some things I love about Holland (patrick, i'm stealing your theme!):

1. Bikes. There are so many bicyclists here, it's amazing. everywhere you look, there's clusters of them: old omas en opas (grandmas and grandpas) in skirts and tweed jackets, mothers with babies strapped into seats on their handlebars, business men with bluetooth headsets, and lots and lots of teenagers. Cars are very watchful of bikes, no one wears helmets, and there's always a bike path next to the road. and another great thing? the cobblestone streets. I still haven't gotten over them :)

2. Beer. The drinking age in Holland is 16, and the Dutch believe that responsible drinking begins at home. Grolsch pilsner is brewed in nearby Enschede, and so that's what most people drink in the area. That's all I've seen anyone drinking. and it's good! 

3. Proximity. The Netherlands is a small country, so all of the villages/towns/cities are really close together. I can bike to Borne's city center in three minutes, Hengelo's in fifteen, and Enschede in thirty. When it's too far to bike, there are trains that go everywhere. Thery're quite expensive, but AFS gave me a card that gets me a 40% discount. I'll break it in with Lauren (another American AFSer) this friday when we go to the orientation! 

4. Fashion. As predicted, Europeans are on average much better dressed than... anyone else. Nobody wears just jeans and a tshirt to school, and i'm pretty sure anyone wearing sweatpants would be shot. Think layering, boots, lots of bracelets, and skinny jeans. I was terrified at first, being among those who enjoy fashion as long as it's on other people. However, after a couple trips to Blend and H&M (best. store. ever.), I think my more fashion-concious friends would be proud of me! The value of dressing well has skyrocketed for me because as I can't speak Dutch yet, I need to make good first impressions and show my personality through how I dress and act, rather than my words. 

5. The fact that I haven't heard a single song by Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, or any other Disney star since I arrived. Yes, the Dutch do like Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne - but I can live with that. But the lack of shit-tastic pop by over-sexed fifteen year olds is greatly appreciated by the likes of me.