Last we left off, I was jumping on a punt in Cambridge for the afternoon with Brooke and the gang. That was 2 and a half weeks ago now. Wow. Alrighty, time to get back down to work.
I was the first to drive the punt. The "punter" stands on the back of the punt, similar to what those people do on the gondolas in Venice. I held a long pole, about two and a half times my height, and about the width of my arm, and stood on the back. The canals are shallow, so you put the pole into the water till it touches the bottom and push the boat forward. Steering it was similar to a sailboat ("tiller towards trouble"). I was doing surprisingly well actually, until I underestimated how close and low the bridge was in front of us. The pole hit the bridge, I tried to hold on, and ended up in the water. Thank god my camera was waterproof. Too bad I was still wearing my hiking boots. I climbed back on, my picture was taken by Brooke, and we continued. Other than a large amount of knowing, humored faces looking at my wet clothes, the rest of the trip went off without a hitch.
We came back to the dock, walked back to school, found a pair of shoes to borrow from one of Ariel's friends, did some laundry, and took a shower. Everyone was at their "end of the summer" dinner event, and I hung out in Ariel's room. Their dinner ended, a group of about 9 girls and 3 guys started partying in the room, and after chilling for a bit we went to their favorite club called "Lola Lo". It was a three story club, complete with thatch-roof tropical decorations, palm fronds, and a light up dance floor that looked straight out of Saturday night fever. Got home somewhat late, with a slight detour... hehe... and slept comfortably on my makeshift bed of four chairs and a pillow :)
I grabbed my (mostly dry) boots, said goodbye to Ariel, and left the next morning around 0830 to get on my 0945 bus to Manchester. The first leg of the journey went off without a hitch, and I met a cool business guy from London who was meeting a friend up north for a stag party. The connecting bus, however, would turn into the worst public transportation experience of my life. What was supposed to be a 2 and a half hour trip to Manchester became a 6 and a half hour trip, stuck in Friday afternoon traffic. The son and daughter who sat behind me with their mother were the most vile, inconsiderate English teens I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The daughter was a heavy smoker, and since the bus would not stop for her, she could not get her fix and was cursing out her mother for her &@%#^ *@#&( decision. The mother retaliated with *&@# yourself or I'll &^%@# go &*#^%$ ^&#%^* @^% punch you again. Another time, the mother went to the restroom once, tripped slightly, and the son (who also enjoyed kicking, touching, tapping the back of my seat) retorted with something like, hahaha, you're such a &@$#^% idjit.
I commented on this remarkable family dynamic to the man sitting next to me, presumably from a rough part of north England, to which he replied, "We don't need to be worried about anything until punches are thrown." At least the bus driver was cool, haha, and calmed the daughter countless times with witty comebacks to her incessant complaints. Made many of the passengers laugh. He also responded to a (very smelly, dirty, illogical) orthodox Jewish man with witty comebacks and questionable (yet undeniably funny) responses to his additional complaints about the bus stuck in traffic.
It also rained.
We arrived in Manchester about 1830 and were finally free to breathe fresh air. I walked out of the bus station and directly into... gay pride. That was quite a surprise. I found out which direction I had to go to get to Kayla's friend's place, and headed off straight through one of the main streets of the (now thriving on a Friday night) gay festivities. The funniest thing I saw during that short 300 meter walk was by the DJ stage being set up. Imagine those bucking rodeo things you see in country bars to see how long you can stay on. Alright, well this thing was a massive penis that did the same thing.
Moving on.
I make it to Mel's flat (Kayla's friend) and spend the next hour or two catching up with Kayla and Melissa about our adventures of the past week or so. They had just come from Croatia and Hungary, and have inspired me to make it there, myself, this year. Mel had decided that she would show us all a "night out" in Manchester, and when her friends arrived, we proceeded to do just that. Now, Manchester is known for its nightlife, and I am very happy that I had the opportunity to meet up with the girls and have a local show us around. We didn't go to that many places, but we went to the local's favorites and had a great time anyways, so I couldn't have asked for more. At one place, Melissa had a very creepy (and *slightly* funny) encounter with a horny clubber, which quickly sent her running back to our group. A Fireball and some Sambuxco were also some interesting accompaniments to the evening. It rained a little on our way home, so we paid for a taxi and each chipped in a pound. Chatted a little at Mel's flat, and shortly went to sleep.
The next morning, my bed of pillows on the ground had held together and I felt well rested. Mel had apparently planned an itinerary of things that she wanted to show us, "after the Pride parade, of course". We found a library to print out some future tickets, grabbed a burrito from Mel's favorite Mexican food place (which wasn't half bad and contained some decent guacamole), and lined up by the gate to see the parade. If you have not seen a Pride parade before, it is some standard fun and I recommend. If you have seen one, then I assume you pretty much know what went down. Awkward moments, hilarious moments, and some very happy people.
Afterwards we went back to Mel's flat to grab some stuff and headed out the door again; this time into the rain, and onto the trolley that would take us to "where the BBC lives". There are multiple locations that house departments of the BBC, but the one in Manchester is by far the largest. We did a bit of shopping in the mall and found a great bag of chocolates called "MisShapes", which was definitely detrimental to our health for the next hour or so. We viewed Manchester Stadium from afar, took some pictures with some Doctor Who Daleks and Tardis's, and headed back to town. We went to an all-you-can-eat Chinese place in China Town, and headed home for the last time. Mel introduced us to a show called "The Inbetweeners", which is a very vulgar, yet very hilarious British show. There's three seasons and a movie, too, if you're interested. Mel helped decipher all the British lingo for us, and we learned exactly what a "bell-end" is. Good times.
The next morning I woke up, left her flat in the heart of the city as they were leaving for their Liverpool train, and got on my bus to Glasgow- Scotland!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Then there was some tourism in Cambridge...
The next day at Cambridge was packed with touristy activities.
I went to breakfast with Shreya (Ariel's friend) and grabbed some cheap panini's at the college cafe. We had decided to check out Trinity College, and Queen's College, and the Mathematical Bridge. We separated from each other for her to do some errands and for me to do some more tourist objectives. I wandered into another random college and the Fitzwilliam museum and the Zoology museum and the Archeology museum. I met up with Brooke and her gang around 3pm to go punting. We grabbed some drinks and jumped on the punt.
What came next will be followed in the next post :) Just be sure it includes me ending up wet beneath the orgasm bridge. Yayness
I went to breakfast with Shreya (Ariel's friend) and grabbed some cheap panini's at the college cafe. We had decided to check out Trinity College, and Queen's College, and the Mathematical Bridge. We separated from each other for her to do some errands and for me to do some more tourist objectives. I wandered into another random college and the Fitzwilliam museum and the Zoology museum and the Archeology museum. I met up with Brooke and her gang around 3pm to go punting. We grabbed some drinks and jumped on the punt.
What came next will be followed in the next post :) Just be sure it includes me ending up wet beneath the orgasm bridge. Yayness
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Then there was the Irish bar, David Hasselhoff, the Tate Modern, and getting to Cambridge...
...I made it to the Thames after checking out the Somerset house (where I'm pretty sure Vantage Point was filmed) and saw the skyline 360 view from Waterloo bridge. Breathtaking. London Eye down south, Tate Modern across the water, the Gherkin building in the distance.
I walked across and stepped inside Waterloo station. Grabbed a drink at a cafe inside (SO hot and humid still) and sat down to watch the people shuffling to their trains. A pretty looking girl sat down two seats from me, and I "asked her the time" to start the conversation. She had spent some time in London with some friends and was waiting for a train to take her down near Brighton for a job. She had ordered white wine and received red from the same cafe. It was her 22nd birthday.
I finished my drink and continued through the South End to my hostel. It was called the Dover Castle Hostel and was situation above a bar. I was put on the third floor (which in America would have been the fourth, as their first floor is simply called the "ground floor"). It was still hot. I went downstairs to order the special drinks they had, and soon found out that Cider is very popular here. Definitely a little too sweet compared to what I was expecting.
I decided to walk down to the river walk to see what the Tower Bridge looked like during nighttime. It's beautiful. And I'm pretty sure I saw it for the last time it had the Olympic rings, as they were not there the following day. There was also an exhibition that had been set up called "Perspectives" in which photographs of major traumatic events in the world were displayed. Some of the captions sent shivers up my spine. It contained pictures of starving children, wars, 9/11 images (of the people watching, not the event itself, which were some haunting images), British troops in Iraq, the earthquake in the Philippines, and more. Very cool. There were fountains in the ground which were still on, too, at 2230, and people were still playing in them, partly because it was so warm still. I got my first Guinness in Europe at a pub on my way back to the hostel, watched part of a James Bond film in the lounge, and went to bed.
The next day I decided to do the major touristy things: got my "Oyster Card" to be able to ride the Tube and headed over to the London Eye, Big Ben, St. James Park (filled with birds and pelicans), Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Hyde Park (which was filled with monuments and stuff still set up from the Olympics), the official Olympic shop, and Harrod's (the largest shopping store in London, possibly the Empire). Harrod's was awesome, as was when I was 11. I found the HoverDisc thing I had when I was a kid, clothes that I could possibly never afford, and got myself lost. Very fun. I stopped by the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, saw some Rembrandt's and had my picture taken with the lion statues.
My next stop was SoHo and Chinatown, where I spent most of the rest of the day. There was the M&M store which was four stories high, and the premiere of Keith Lemon (a British comedian with a reputation that looks like a rehashed version of Austin Powers) which brought David Hasselhoff and some well known British stars that the two teens standing next to me on the fence were raving about. I headed back to the hostel to grab some pants and a decent shirt, then went back to SoHo to see The Bourne Legacy at what was apparently a really nice theatre. I got to choose between salty and sweet popcorn, which was cool. I didn't get popcorn. There was also beers, wines, and spirits to choose from. I didn't get alcohol. I bought an orange Fanta and took my seat in the theatre (which had three tiers of seating!).
After the movie I wandered into Chinatown, where I found a nice, three story Irish bar (bottom floor: seating/bar, second floor: dancefloor/ bar/ live rock band playing some awesome classics from late 90s and early 2000s, and the third floor was a top floor open balcony) which was all overrun with some Australians and some French girls. That was entertaining for a while. I stopped by the Underground to head back to the South End, but Tube was apparently done for the day. I took a big red bus home and crashed.
The next morning I missed breakfast at the hostel, which was alright, I needed the sleep. I grabbed breakfast at a grocery store and enjoyed it at the RiverWalk. It was a really pleasant morning. I had all my gear with me, but when I stopped into the Tate Modern I was able to check my bags. The Tate Modern is filled with (imagine this) REALLY modern art. I have been waiting for the day I would see a pile of feces on a pedestal and be told it was art. Tuesday, the 21st of August, 2012, at about 11am, was that fateful day.
I took the Tube over to the Tower of London and wandered around the grounds a bit, then headed over to the station to be taken by the bus. I missed the first bus, so had to take the Underground to the other station, but I caught the bus eventually. Wound up in Cambridge, walked around some more after some more confusion, but eventually made it to Brooke's place. We grabbed a (fantastic) burger from the "Trailer of Life" and met up with some people at the canal for some beers. Had a nice chat about life at Cambridge, the work they had done, and what it's like to be going home soon (which was kindof weird). Came back to her place and crashed on her floor. :) Slept rather well.
More on Cambridge to come later! :) Goodnight everyone
I walked across and stepped inside Waterloo station. Grabbed a drink at a cafe inside (SO hot and humid still) and sat down to watch the people shuffling to their trains. A pretty looking girl sat down two seats from me, and I "asked her the time" to start the conversation. She had spent some time in London with some friends and was waiting for a train to take her down near Brighton for a job. She had ordered white wine and received red from the same cafe. It was her 22nd birthday.
I finished my drink and continued through the South End to my hostel. It was called the Dover Castle Hostel and was situation above a bar. I was put on the third floor (which in America would have been the fourth, as their first floor is simply called the "ground floor"). It was still hot. I went downstairs to order the special drinks they had, and soon found out that Cider is very popular here. Definitely a little too sweet compared to what I was expecting.
I decided to walk down to the river walk to see what the Tower Bridge looked like during nighttime. It's beautiful. And I'm pretty sure I saw it for the last time it had the Olympic rings, as they were not there the following day. There was also an exhibition that had been set up called "Perspectives" in which photographs of major traumatic events in the world were displayed. Some of the captions sent shivers up my spine. It contained pictures of starving children, wars, 9/11 images (of the people watching, not the event itself, which were some haunting images), British troops in Iraq, the earthquake in the Philippines, and more. Very cool. There were fountains in the ground which were still on, too, at 2230, and people were still playing in them, partly because it was so warm still. I got my first Guinness in Europe at a pub on my way back to the hostel, watched part of a James Bond film in the lounge, and went to bed.
The next day I decided to do the major touristy things: got my "Oyster Card" to be able to ride the Tube and headed over to the London Eye, Big Ben, St. James Park (filled with birds and pelicans), Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Hyde Park (which was filled with monuments and stuff still set up from the Olympics), the official Olympic shop, and Harrod's (the largest shopping store in London, possibly the Empire). Harrod's was awesome, as was when I was 11. I found the HoverDisc thing I had when I was a kid, clothes that I could possibly never afford, and got myself lost. Very fun. I stopped by the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, saw some Rembrandt's and had my picture taken with the lion statues.
My next stop was SoHo and Chinatown, where I spent most of the rest of the day. There was the M&M store which was four stories high, and the premiere of Keith Lemon (a British comedian with a reputation that looks like a rehashed version of Austin Powers) which brought David Hasselhoff and some well known British stars that the two teens standing next to me on the fence were raving about. I headed back to the hostel to grab some pants and a decent shirt, then went back to SoHo to see The Bourne Legacy at what was apparently a really nice theatre. I got to choose between salty and sweet popcorn, which was cool. I didn't get popcorn. There was also beers, wines, and spirits to choose from. I didn't get alcohol. I bought an orange Fanta and took my seat in the theatre (which had three tiers of seating!).
After the movie I wandered into Chinatown, where I found a nice, three story Irish bar (bottom floor: seating/bar, second floor: dancefloor/ bar/ live rock band playing some awesome classics from late 90s and early 2000s, and the third floor was a top floor open balcony) which was all overrun with some Australians and some French girls. That was entertaining for a while. I stopped by the Underground to head back to the South End, but Tube was apparently done for the day. I took a big red bus home and crashed.
The next morning I missed breakfast at the hostel, which was alright, I needed the sleep. I grabbed breakfast at a grocery store and enjoyed it at the RiverWalk. It was a really pleasant morning. I had all my gear with me, but when I stopped into the Tate Modern I was able to check my bags. The Tate Modern is filled with (imagine this) REALLY modern art. I have been waiting for the day I would see a pile of feces on a pedestal and be told it was art. Tuesday, the 21st of August, 2012, at about 11am, was that fateful day.
I took the Tube over to the Tower of London and wandered around the grounds a bit, then headed over to the station to be taken by the bus. I missed the first bus, so had to take the Underground to the other station, but I caught the bus eventually. Wound up in Cambridge, walked around some more after some more confusion, but eventually made it to Brooke's place. We grabbed a (fantastic) burger from the "Trailer of Life" and met up with some people at the canal for some beers. Had a nice chat about life at Cambridge, the work they had done, and what it's like to be going home soon (which was kindof weird). Came back to her place and crashed on her floor. :) Slept rather well.
More on Cambridge to come later! :) Goodnight everyone
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Then there was sleeping in the Brussels train station...
I have reached Cambridge and I am currently using my friend Brooke's computer in her dorm at Pembroke University. I won't be able to cover everything right now- I'm on my way to bed- but we'll see what I can post for now to tide you guys over for a bit.
I spent the last night in Utrecht at my friends Josh and Brian's place near the Wall at the UCU campus. The last day in Utrecht comprised almost solely of getting bus tickets, hostel reservations, and finding a place to print it all. When it was all completed, I decided to head back to De Beurs (an outdoor cafe in the city center) for a beer and london trip planning. The people next to me started talking about Salsa, which caught my ear. I found a place to go for some latin ballroom! Time to meet some locals when I get back from this two week trip.
When it was almost time for my train to come, I headed over to the train station, only to find that it had been cancelled. I searched the board for the next train leaving for Rotterdam (which I realized later was the LAST possible option), and it was sitting at the station at that moment. I ran to the platform and hopped on the train. I had a different ticket, on a different train, but was determined to get to the Bruxelles-Midi train station.
No one checked the tickets, though I'm sure it would have been fine anyways. I arrived in Rotterdam twenty minutes before originally planned, which is a blessing because the terminal my next train was going to leave from had been switched. This notification was in Dutch, so I had to ask a few people what it meant, but I made it on the correct train this time, heading to Bruxelles-Midi.
I arrived in Brussels at 00:42 and was hoping to find another wayward traveller spending the night in the station that I might be able to hang out with. And no problem- the place was nearly crowded with backpackers; or, at least the benches were. The first group I heard speaking English I asked for directions, and I soon found out that I was definitely in the right place. The group was made of two German girls (age 24 and 25), a French guy (21), and a guy from New York (23). I know the guy from New York was named Joe, and haven't a clue about the rest. We chatted about good horrible movies (such as Tremors, Croctopus, Dale & Tucker vs Evil, etc.) for a while. Something about a shark eating a plane in flight. Good times. We also touched on EU/USA politics, travel plans, language acquisition, and more. The German girls were studying archeology and received permission to do a dig in England for two weeks. Something about the design of houses from centuries before our time; a thesis project. Joe was on the last leg of his two-month excursion of Europe, and he would fly home shortly after exploring England. Additionally, Joe really wanted to say that in his life he had been slapped with a black leather glove by a French guy cursing in French. So that happened, and the picture is on its way. We fell asleep around 4, and woke up around 5:30, fending off homeless people along the way. We all went through customs to the Eurostar (except the French guy), got on the train, and woke up at Pancras station.
I withdrew some money, found a map, and departed from the station in search of the British Museum. I had been there when I was 11, but I wanted to remember and appreciate it this time around. So I spent hours in there, covering everything I could. The place is amazing and I highly recommend to anyone who visits London. I just... I really like that place. Check it out.
After the museum I wandered towards the Thames, walking down streets I didn't know the names of, but finding street performers and large crowds and little shops and large malls and telephone booths and beautiful architecture. My ultimate goal was to reach my hostel on the other side of the city, but the pure joy in seeing the streets packed with the hustle and bustle of tourists was intoxicating. So I just kept walking, with my backpack strapped on.
On that note, this will be an intermission. I'm really tired now. Goodnight everyone, I'll pick this up again later :)
I spent the last night in Utrecht at my friends Josh and Brian's place near the Wall at the UCU campus. The last day in Utrecht comprised almost solely of getting bus tickets, hostel reservations, and finding a place to print it all. When it was all completed, I decided to head back to De Beurs (an outdoor cafe in the city center) for a beer and london trip planning. The people next to me started talking about Salsa, which caught my ear. I found a place to go for some latin ballroom! Time to meet some locals when I get back from this two week trip.
When it was almost time for my train to come, I headed over to the train station, only to find that it had been cancelled. I searched the board for the next train leaving for Rotterdam (which I realized later was the LAST possible option), and it was sitting at the station at that moment. I ran to the platform and hopped on the train. I had a different ticket, on a different train, but was determined to get to the Bruxelles-Midi train station.
No one checked the tickets, though I'm sure it would have been fine anyways. I arrived in Rotterdam twenty minutes before originally planned, which is a blessing because the terminal my next train was going to leave from had been switched. This notification was in Dutch, so I had to ask a few people what it meant, but I made it on the correct train this time, heading to Bruxelles-Midi.
I arrived in Brussels at 00:42 and was hoping to find another wayward traveller spending the night in the station that I might be able to hang out with. And no problem- the place was nearly crowded with backpackers; or, at least the benches were. The first group I heard speaking English I asked for directions, and I soon found out that I was definitely in the right place. The group was made of two German girls (age 24 and 25), a French guy (21), and a guy from New York (23). I know the guy from New York was named Joe, and haven't a clue about the rest. We chatted about good horrible movies (such as Tremors, Croctopus, Dale & Tucker vs Evil, etc.) for a while. Something about a shark eating a plane in flight. Good times. We also touched on EU/USA politics, travel plans, language acquisition, and more. The German girls were studying archeology and received permission to do a dig in England for two weeks. Something about the design of houses from centuries before our time; a thesis project. Joe was on the last leg of his two-month excursion of Europe, and he would fly home shortly after exploring England. Additionally, Joe really wanted to say that in his life he had been slapped with a black leather glove by a French guy cursing in French. So that happened, and the picture is on its way. We fell asleep around 4, and woke up around 5:30, fending off homeless people along the way. We all went through customs to the Eurostar (except the French guy), got on the train, and woke up at Pancras station.
I withdrew some money, found a map, and departed from the station in search of the British Museum. I had been there when I was 11, but I wanted to remember and appreciate it this time around. So I spent hours in there, covering everything I could. The place is amazing and I highly recommend to anyone who visits London. I just... I really like that place. Check it out.
After the museum I wandered towards the Thames, walking down streets I didn't know the names of, but finding street performers and large crowds and little shops and large malls and telephone booths and beautiful architecture. My ultimate goal was to reach my hostel on the other side of the city, but the pure joy in seeing the streets packed with the hustle and bustle of tourists was intoxicating. So I just kept walking, with my backpack strapped on.
On that note, this will be an intermission. I'm really tired now. Goodnight everyone, I'll pick this up again later :)
Friday, August 17, 2012
Then there was the last day of DCL...
I woke up this morning with a slight headache. Last night was pretty crazy at the Wall. Since we did our final on Thursday, our instructor Matte decided to join us that night for drinks at the University College Utrecht (UCU) campus for our home-made "graduation" party at "the Wall" (where some of the people from UCEAP are living this year). It was just some good old fashioned college bonding over a drink or two... or three...
But enough about that.
After a crazy, hectic morning of packing and moving our stuff down to the Utrecht Summer School office on Janskerkhof (pronounced "Yains-kair-koff", and don't forget to roll your R's), we headed over to the Dom Tower to climb to the top. It's the highest church tower of the entire Netherlands, and we were able to see Amsterdam from the top. It's about 450 steps to get up there, so it was definitely our morning workout. I got to bang one of the bells with a sledgehammer inside, too! ...I think there's a picture of that somewhere. I'll try and find it.
After Dom Tower we went back to Broer's for final drinks. Everyone was allowed two drinks paid for by them. I was not quite in the mood for beer yet, similar to a number of other people, and thus Chocomelk (chocolate milk) ended up being the drink of choice for us college kids. And as we all know, Chocomelk is the only obvious alternative to beer or wine, of course.
Afterwards, Josh, Jun, and I went over to HEMA (the Dutch version of Target) for a cheap lunch of Turkish pizza and mustard soup, and shortly went back to Josh's place with Michael to drop off some luggage.
I slept for three hours this afternoon at Josh's place, and it was glorious.
We started to teach Michael how to ride a bike! ...which can only go so well for the first day. But it went alright- he was able to go by himself for at least fifteen feet until he hit grass. It's a work in progress. We determined that swimming and biking are two skills every child should learn growing up. Yes, Michael knows how to swim.
I went downtown with Erin, Joey, and Katrina for a drink in Neude Square (Nyoo-deh Square) in the evening, and we people watched and talked about animal genetics and travel plans and complained about the administration people and it was a very pleasant evening for everyone. Came back to UCU, stopped by the Wall to say hi (they were all planning their trip to Belgium this weekend) and now finishing up this blog post.
I have still not posted pictures to this blog, I apologize. For now I have been using Facebook to dump all my pictures into, so I hope everyone has had a chance to see a couple on my page.
It's really humid here, I feel like I've been dropped off in Florida. It's supposed to be something like 95 degrees Fahrenheit here over the weekend, and there's so much water in the air I'm sticking to anything that feels like leather. Long story short: it's hot and it's muggy. But my god it's beautiful :)
By the way, I have my housing organized for the first full week in England. Transportation is another story, but it'll happen. Via CouchSurfing, I've made contact with a host in Scotland near this castle: http://www.rampantscotland.com/castles/blcastles_donan.htm and this bridge: http://www.lochalsh.co.uk/skye_bridge.shtml , which means I cannot wait to see what else the Scots have to offer. I am getting very anxious for tomorrow's train ride to London.
More on that later.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Then there was super busy, stressed, exciting, happy, sad, concerned, mixed feelings and emotions. The conclusion to my first week...
Warning: this post starts out pretty emotional and depressing. Sorry. It's how I've felt for the past couple days, so I feel it needs to be included to get a rounded view to my stay here in the Netherlands.
Currently, I'm freaking out. The Dutch are a very exclusive society and it is currently very hard to feel part of the culture at all. I feel like a perpetual tourist anywhere I go, which, for now, is fine. On the other hand, I get the feeling that I will always get that from the locals or anywhere I go. Currently, I wish I had decided to study in New Zealand or Ireland or Australia, with a more accessible language gap and more familiar culture. It's going to snow here, be overcast for months, rain almost every day, be cold, and currently I can't see myself being happy for an extended period of time. I've almost never felt homesick in my life (you can ask anyone, really), but right now, at the conclusion of my first week, it's hitting me really, really hard. I was so stupid with my housing this year that my parents are spending hundreds more euros than they needed for me to be able to have a place to live, and I don't even have housing for an entire six weeks at the start of the semester. Looking for apartments here is hell reincarnate, and I'm happy/ lucky that Short Stay Solutions had what they had. The location is ideal, but I feel like an incredibly stupid and incompetent burden on my parents. I haven't been able to sleep well lately, if at all. One thing that keeps me wanting to stay here for a year is a girl I've met who will be doing the same. We'll see if she's worth it, but she's amazing.
But in other news, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. And that was probably the worst introduction one can make. The Dutch Culture and Language program is amazing here, and very intensive. Most of our days go from 9 in the morning to 6 or 8 at night, so throwing in partying or travel research or, in my case, looking for housing, is quite the load. We learn about the history of the country and the current issues that the Netherlands faces. Geert Wilders (pronounced "*phlegm*airt Vill-ders"), for instance, is running on a campaign of anti-Islam antisemitism, and may in fact become the country's next prime minister in the next election. Some of the things he says reminds me of some guy who persecuted Jews during the second world war.
The language has been described to me as "speaking with a perpetual flu". All of their "G"s are pronounced as if you are preparing to spit on someone, but somehow it fits in a word. They roll their "R"s, all their "W"s are pronounced like "V"s, and their "V"s are like "F"s. It's very similar to German, so I keep throwing in German words in language class. Unfortunately, the Dutch aren't fond of Germans per se, so that ship kinda sails in the wrong direction.
Last Tuesday was a great first night on the town with a small group of people. We took the bus downtown (with some of the girls looking like some very american students in another country, but oh well, yolo) and bar hopped a little. Found the Belgian bar again, great place. Long story short, a beer was intentionally poured on a girl making out with a Dutch guy, who then throws two beers at that person, along with a mouthful of water. Oh yeah, and *someone* ended up crawling on the roof of Cambridgelaan for a bit.
Last Thursday was a great night on the town, pregaming with all the UC kids here in Cambridgelaan, and heading downtown on the bikes (most of the bikes have platforms on the back for groceries, but commonly used for passengers). Ended up at the Belgian bar for a bit, and headed over to Tivoli, the largest club in Utrecht. Students go in for free on Thursdays. They dance funny. No one really dances with anyone, and the music ranged from Blitzkrieg Bop to 90s pop to euro techno. Lazer lights were everywhere.
Saturday we went to den Haag (the Hague), the location of all the parliamentary buildings and such (I will make another post about this trip later), and then went out again that night. Got to sleep at 5am. This whole sleep schedule thing is a little messed up. Monday was another day of classes, and today was our tour of Amsterdam. It's always nice waking up to prostitutes in the windows at 9am. More on that probably with the Hague post later. Bought some Burger King with some guys to get the closest thing to a real burger around here, got home, and promptly slept from 8pm to 12am, which is why I'm currently writing this at 1:45am over here. I'll be asleep again (hopefully) by 2. Class at 9 tomorrow! ...and the final tests for the program on Thursday.
I have an itinerary for my England and Scotland trip, but I need to actually buy tickets and reservations. Like really really soon.
I apologize for the way this post started out, and it might even be unwise to post this, but it's how I've felt for the past few days, and should end up in the blog at least once. Hopefully this will be the only non-level-headed post, however we'll see what the future holds. I promise to put up the Hague and Amsterdam adventures tomorrow, but for now I'm off to bed again. I miss you guys.
Currently, I'm freaking out. The Dutch are a very exclusive society and it is currently very hard to feel part of the culture at all. I feel like a perpetual tourist anywhere I go, which, for now, is fine. On the other hand, I get the feeling that I will always get that from the locals or anywhere I go. Currently, I wish I had decided to study in New Zealand or Ireland or Australia, with a more accessible language gap and more familiar culture. It's going to snow here, be overcast for months, rain almost every day, be cold, and currently I can't see myself being happy for an extended period of time. I've almost never felt homesick in my life (you can ask anyone, really), but right now, at the conclusion of my first week, it's hitting me really, really hard. I was so stupid with my housing this year that my parents are spending hundreds more euros than they needed for me to be able to have a place to live, and I don't even have housing for an entire six weeks at the start of the semester. Looking for apartments here is hell reincarnate, and I'm happy/ lucky that Short Stay Solutions had what they had. The location is ideal, but I feel like an incredibly stupid and incompetent burden on my parents. I haven't been able to sleep well lately, if at all. One thing that keeps me wanting to stay here for a year is a girl I've met who will be doing the same. We'll see if she's worth it, but she's amazing.
But in other news, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. And that was probably the worst introduction one can make. The Dutch Culture and Language program is amazing here, and very intensive. Most of our days go from 9 in the morning to 6 or 8 at night, so throwing in partying or travel research or, in my case, looking for housing, is quite the load. We learn about the history of the country and the current issues that the Netherlands faces. Geert Wilders (pronounced "*phlegm*airt Vill-ders"), for instance, is running on a campaign of anti-Islam antisemitism, and may in fact become the country's next prime minister in the next election. Some of the things he says reminds me of some guy who persecuted Jews during the second world war.
The language has been described to me as "speaking with a perpetual flu". All of their "G"s are pronounced as if you are preparing to spit on someone, but somehow it fits in a word. They roll their "R"s, all their "W"s are pronounced like "V"s, and their "V"s are like "F"s. It's very similar to German, so I keep throwing in German words in language class. Unfortunately, the Dutch aren't fond of Germans per se, so that ship kinda sails in the wrong direction.
Last Tuesday was a great first night on the town with a small group of people. We took the bus downtown (with some of the girls looking like some very american students in another country, but oh well, yolo) and bar hopped a little. Found the Belgian bar again, great place. Long story short, a beer was intentionally poured on a girl making out with a Dutch guy, who then throws two beers at that person, along with a mouthful of water. Oh yeah, and *someone* ended up crawling on the roof of Cambridgelaan for a bit.
Last Thursday was a great night on the town, pregaming with all the UC kids here in Cambridgelaan, and heading downtown on the bikes (most of the bikes have platforms on the back for groceries, but commonly used for passengers). Ended up at the Belgian bar for a bit, and headed over to Tivoli, the largest club in Utrecht. Students go in for free on Thursdays. They dance funny. No one really dances with anyone, and the music ranged from Blitzkrieg Bop to 90s pop to euro techno. Lazer lights were everywhere.
Saturday we went to den Haag (the Hague), the location of all the parliamentary buildings and such (I will make another post about this trip later), and then went out again that night. Got to sleep at 5am. This whole sleep schedule thing is a little messed up. Monday was another day of classes, and today was our tour of Amsterdam. It's always nice waking up to prostitutes in the windows at 9am. More on that probably with the Hague post later. Bought some Burger King with some guys to get the closest thing to a real burger around here, got home, and promptly slept from 8pm to 12am, which is why I'm currently writing this at 1:45am over here. I'll be asleep again (hopefully) by 2. Class at 9 tomorrow! ...and the final tests for the program on Thursday.
I have an itinerary for my England and Scotland trip, but I need to actually buy tickets and reservations. Like really really soon.
I apologize for the way this post started out, and it might even be unwise to post this, but it's how I've felt for the past few days, and should end up in the blog at least once. Hopefully this will be the only non-level-headed post, however we'll see what the future holds. I promise to put up the Hague and Amsterdam adventures tomorrow, but for now I'm off to bed again. I miss you guys.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Then there was the first day of classes and wine night...
...yeah that was great.
And my luggage arrived! :D
And my luggage arrived! :D
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Then there was groceries and wine...
Woke up this morning around 10. Met with the people in my place around 11 and decided to try and walk into town. I navigated most of it, and the walk took about 30 to 40 minutes. We ate lunch at Enzo, and ordered waters. The waiter brought out glass bottled water and we were charged 2.20 euros- the same amount as bier. We learned that lesson pretty quick.
After lunch, which in total cost about 10 euros, we simply walked all over the city again, discovering more streets and canals. Around 1400 we decided to start heading back to Cambridgelaan and pick up groceries along the way. Albert Hein is the most popular grocery store in the area, and was surprisingly well priced. In my excitement to be shopping for the first time and to be "of age", I bought a decent Sauvignon Blanc and a six pack of a beer that I had seen on tap in the Broer's cafe. We soon walked all the way back to campus- never again.
We never left Cambridgelaan again once we returned, other than to make trips to Spar- the grocery store on campus. It has basically everything you'd need for food and cleaning supplies. Made myself a salad with some kaas and kip (cheese and chicken) and tried the wine on the side.
It rained.
I have made it a "thing" to start taking pictures of all the different biers I've had, so I'll get around to posting those sometime in the future...
We met some other UC students who live on the floor above ours, and their kitchen is quite a bit nicer. They have an HD TV and were watching the Olympics, which I haven't watched since I left SoCal. The hammerthrow and triple jump are intense. Some things were passed around the table and I left shortly afterwards to get some dinner.
Girls from my floor joined me in the kitchen and we researched flights around Europe for places that looked interesting to travel for the two-week gap. Academic confusion was also discussed. Questions to be answered!
...tomorrow!
So for now, goodnight
After lunch, which in total cost about 10 euros, we simply walked all over the city again, discovering more streets and canals. Around 1400 we decided to start heading back to Cambridgelaan and pick up groceries along the way. Albert Hein is the most popular grocery store in the area, and was surprisingly well priced. In my excitement to be shopping for the first time and to be "of age", I bought a decent Sauvignon Blanc and a six pack of a beer that I had seen on tap in the Broer's cafe. We soon walked all the way back to campus- never again.
We never left Cambridgelaan again once we returned, other than to make trips to Spar- the grocery store on campus. It has basically everything you'd need for food and cleaning supplies. Made myself a salad with some kaas and kip (cheese and chicken) and tried the wine on the side.
It rained.
I have made it a "thing" to start taking pictures of all the different biers I've had, so I'll get around to posting those sometime in the future...
We met some other UC students who live on the floor above ours, and their kitchen is quite a bit nicer. They have an HD TV and were watching the Olympics, which I haven't watched since I left SoCal. The hammerthrow and triple jump are intense. Some things were passed around the table and I left shortly afterwards to get some dinner.
Girls from my floor joined me in the kitchen and we researched flights around Europe for places that looked interesting to travel for the two-week gap. Academic confusion was also discussed. Questions to be answered!
...tomorrow!
So for now, goodnight
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Then there was the first day of summer school...
I walked around the city last night and it was absolutely beautiful. Bought my first beer (I didn't know what beers they might have, so I did the most European thing and bought an imported beer- a Carona. Yeah, kinda lame, I know. I made up for it.) Anyways, I people watched for a little bit and went back to the hostel. Fell asleep at 1, woke up at 3, 4, and 5 in the morning due to drunk partying Dutch people yelling outside. Took a melatonin and crashed till 10 in the morning.
Woke up and made myself breakfast downstairs, toast with peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles, some traditional cereal, and fruit juice. Packed up my things and met up with some people that were waiting outside the Utrecht Summer School office. Melissa was one, Michael was another, all the people in this thing are essentially from the UC campuses. Went back through the Hoog Catherijne to pick up a bus pass with a girl from UCSB named Danielle and picked up both some frites + fritesaus (fries and mayonnaise) and some hot dog looking thing on the way out. Tried to look very Dutch whilst eating these items, however realized how non-Dutch we are when we found out the Dutch use a special fork to eat the fries. We soon grabbed special forks. The mayonnaise was just a little too weird for me, however, and was shortly dropped in the rubbish bin.
We made our way to Cambridgelaan (on the University campus, where I am sitting now, fully enjoying my private room), dropped off our stuff, and made it back to Broer's pub for the meet & greet at 1700. Everyone was allotted two free drinks, which were promptly drank, and socialization ensued. I purchased a Chimay Blauw for myself to top off the meal, and people broke off into groups to explore the city once again. For dinner, our group purchased some 5 euro gyros from a swanky little venue that spoke zero English, after which I headed off to see a tower and a windmill with a girl from that group. Most people came back about an hour before we did. However our feet became tired and we headed back here to Cambridgelaan.
Overall I'm feeling better about this place. I still can't understand 80% of what is going on around me, but other than that things are manageable. The shower here works, though the warm water is a little scarce. My room is of a comfortable size, and I have a south-facing view over a forest to the next town some miles away. I can see more modern windmills in that direction.
The weather is rather humid, and especially warm when the sun is out. I am surprised it did not rain today, though not unhappy. Tomorrow I plan to walk on foot back to the city with a small group of students.
Should be an adventure...
Afscheid
Woke up and made myself breakfast downstairs, toast with peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles, some traditional cereal, and fruit juice. Packed up my things and met up with some people that were waiting outside the Utrecht Summer School office. Melissa was one, Michael was another, all the people in this thing are essentially from the UC campuses. Went back through the Hoog Catherijne to pick up a bus pass with a girl from UCSB named Danielle and picked up both some frites + fritesaus (fries and mayonnaise) and some hot dog looking thing on the way out. Tried to look very Dutch whilst eating these items, however realized how non-Dutch we are when we found out the Dutch use a special fork to eat the fries. We soon grabbed special forks. The mayonnaise was just a little too weird for me, however, and was shortly dropped in the rubbish bin.
We made our way to Cambridgelaan (on the University campus, where I am sitting now, fully enjoying my private room), dropped off our stuff, and made it back to Broer's pub for the meet & greet at 1700. Everyone was allotted two free drinks, which were promptly drank, and socialization ensued. I purchased a Chimay Blauw for myself to top off the meal, and people broke off into groups to explore the city once again. For dinner, our group purchased some 5 euro gyros from a swanky little venue that spoke zero English, after which I headed off to see a tower and a windmill with a girl from that group. Most people came back about an hour before we did. However our feet became tired and we headed back here to Cambridgelaan.
Overall I'm feeling better about this place. I still can't understand 80% of what is going on around me, but other than that things are manageable. The shower here works, though the warm water is a little scarce. My room is of a comfortable size, and I have a south-facing view over a forest to the next town some miles away. I can see more modern windmills in that direction.
The weather is rather humid, and especially warm when the sun is out. I am surprised it did not rain today, though not unhappy. Tomorrow I plan to walk on foot back to the city with a small group of students.
Should be an adventure...
Afscheid
Friday, August 3, 2012
Then there was the plane ride...
I have finally arrived in Utrecht. It is currently 10pm over here (or 2200) (or 1 in the afternoon back in CA) (or anything really, my mind´s a little fuzzy).
There is a row of computers here and it is a room filled with people I don´t know. The guy to my left, named Alex, is from Austria and studied in the states in Chicago. The woman to my right helped me a little to understand this keyboard. Everyone else here is of every race you can imagine. And yes, an asian is playing the piano right now in the corner. He´s from Taiwan and doing summer school here in Utrecht.
But I´ll start with the plane ride.
Getting on the plane from LAX was rather painless, except for when mom´s tears started flowing. There was an awkward five to ten minutes of me waiting in security and mom and dad watching me slowly progress to the front. *waves* *shuffles forward* *waves*. I really love you guys. And already kinda miss you. And Jake. Damn.
My seat on the plane from LAX to Heathrow, London, was changed to accommodate a family, so I was changed to an exit row... at the front of coach... with so much leg room my feet couldn´t even touch the wall in front of me. Also, contrary to Dad´s prophecy of a ¨large black woman¨ sitting next to me, a rather petite 50-something was already sitting in the seat next to mine. And across the aisle, a very attractive, tanned British girl. Spent the next three hours talking.
She lives in Edinburgh currently, as a 19-year old university student studying Mathematics. She wore leggings with four inch heels (solely because ¨they would not fit in my bag¨). She was born in Barcelona, and moved to Hong Kong after that. Her family moved to Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and some Polynesian countries before her parents split and she moved to Egypt with her mother. Her father moved to Marina Del Rey, California (hence her flight from LAX to London). During her time in Egypt she was evacuated for a month back to Britain due to the revolution, and shortly after her mother moved to a city just outside of Dubai. Two years later she went to school in Edinburgh and is considering transferring to Stanford. A truly amazing person. So after this amazing two or three hour conversation, we finally introduce ourselves. Her name was Lola Rose Donohoe. Lola Rose is her full first name. I have her email and picture and will stay in touch :)
I slept for probably 5 1/2 hours, so not too bad for a 9 hour flight.
The hour and a half layover in Heathrow was not bad at all, but I didn´t even have enough time to buy a beer. In fact, I still haven´t even bought a beer... what am I doing... oh well. Tired.
The flight from London to Amsterdam went on without a hitch, except for when I arrived at the terminal and my luggage hadn´t. It´s still in Los Angeles, the bastards! Haha, I´ll figure it out. I think I have enough clothes to survive a couple weeks.
I met a woman on the train from Amsterdam to Utrecht who lives a little ways out in the country. She helped me figure out when to get off the train, as half the signs around here are purely in Dutch. She´s originally from South Africa and has lived here in Holland for about 5 years. Her brother lives in Maastricht at the south end of Holland and can offer a place to stay if I visit down there. Her name was Emma and I have her email.
I got off the train in Utrecht, which connects to the Haag Catheriyne, supposedly the largest covered mall in the Netherlands, which compared to some malls in the USA, was smaller than expected. I finally make it to the end of the structure to go to this B&B Hostel when it starts raining. Everyone in the area then waits at the end of the place around me, and 20 minutes later the rain stops and people continue with their evening. I turn my suitcase into a backpack and only get lost twice while finding this place. The door opens, the bearded dutch woman host takes my money, and I get myself settled.
I need food.
I wonder what I´m doing here on the other side of the globe. It´s a very different place from Southern California (duh) and half the people are always speaking some foreign language that I don´t understand- and it´s not always Dutch, either. I really want to meet up with the International program to get a better sense of this place, because right now it´s all a bit much to take in.
Alright, goodnight everyone, time to eat a dinner, take some Melatonin, and PTFO. Hope everyone back home is doing well!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Then there was packing...
This is my last full day in the US of A and I've still got quite a bit of packing to do. Instead, I'm here starting this blog to start my adventure. Hopefully I'll get the hang of this thing and my diction will become clearer, but for now my mind is going all over the place. When I arrive in Europe, I will experience four weeks of introduction and finding apartments and travelling and plane flights and beer tasting; then diving into my courses at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Utrecht is about 30 minutes to the southeast of Amsterdam in the heart of Holland. My flight leaves tomorrow at 7:45pm from LAX and I will (hopefully) be arriving at Heathrow airport in England on Friday before skipping over to Amsterdam. More info on that stuff, I'm sure, will come later... hopefully when I reach the hostel this Friday night.
I'm anxious, excited, and nervous about this. Travelling internationally and trying to cram as many things in my bags as possible to enable living for a year in another country. I will be exchanging whatever sort of life I have back here in the states for an completely different life overseas. I want to meet new people, make new connections, establish friendships and relationships with people who may or not even speak English. I want to visit friends in Madrid and Barcelona and Dublin, and I want to singlehandedly navigate the countrysides of Edinburgh and London. I would like to sleep on Mediterranean beaches and marvel at the artworks in the Louvre. I want to get lost in a long-forgotten German town and discover a cafe with the best scones in the world. I'd like to survive in a world beyond the Southern California bubble and come back with stories of crazy nights and gorgeous days.
Should be quite the experience, wish me luck!
Utrecht is about 30 minutes to the southeast of Amsterdam in the heart of Holland. My flight leaves tomorrow at 7:45pm from LAX and I will (hopefully) be arriving at Heathrow airport in England on Friday before skipping over to Amsterdam. More info on that stuff, I'm sure, will come later... hopefully when I reach the hostel this Friday night.
I'm anxious, excited, and nervous about this. Travelling internationally and trying to cram as many things in my bags as possible to enable living for a year in another country. I will be exchanging whatever sort of life I have back here in the states for an completely different life overseas. I want to meet new people, make new connections, establish friendships and relationships with people who may or not even speak English. I want to visit friends in Madrid and Barcelona and Dublin, and I want to singlehandedly navigate the countrysides of Edinburgh and London. I would like to sleep on Mediterranean beaches and marvel at the artworks in the Louvre. I want to get lost in a long-forgotten German town and discover a cafe with the best scones in the world. I'd like to survive in a world beyond the Southern California bubble and come back with stories of crazy nights and gorgeous days.
Should be quite the experience, wish me luck!
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