faniculi

I have yet to see a paved sidewalk. Every sidewalk I've seen here is made of brick or stone.
Today I biked to class with Karyn's bike. I gave her the key at school and I walked home. It was very very cold! It's supposed to snow today. It takes me around 20 minutes to bike to and from school (sometimes more) so I was surprised to make home in under an hour walking. However, a nice lady passed me on her moped and stopped to ask if I wanted a ride. She took me a little way until our paths separated. She spoke no english, but we still managed to communicate. I love how that works!
I was supposed to do homework last night. It's due sometime today by email.
I feel like I'm always hungry here!

blazing away

Last night I was getting ready for bed at 11.30 or midnight and Jeanine (my host sister) came in my room and said she was going to town to hang out at her favorite bar, the flying horse, with some friends of hers. She said I should come with. I said I was going to bed. She said "no, you're coming with." So I said "fine". And I went. I had fun. I'm glad I went. The guys all bought rounds, so by the time we left I was just feeling great and I hadn't spent any money! But we came home around 2.30am (?) and then I got up to go to church this morning. I'm tired now. It's only 7.30pm.
I have class tomorrow from 9.15am to 3.45pm. Oh boy.

a few more observations I left out.
ppl here are very good hosts, constantly asking if I want more to drink and always bringing out snacks and stuff.
Whoever said dutch food isn't good is a liar. - The pastries are especially delicious, and the cheese = LEKKER!!!
They don't card much at bars.
They do weird things to trees here.
I found out there's a canal behind my house. I didn't know because there's a "hill" that hides it, but the hill is actually like a dike? or something.
Guys always escort the ladies home at night. (almost)
ALL the girls wear boots! (almost)
guys here actually care about their hair.
In Amsterdam they fish out about 1000 bikes from the canal every week or so. I think.
My host mom likes to watch a soap every night. I watched it with her once and found it slightly humorous. Dramatic music, dramatic voices, dramatic expressions, dramatic pauses... and gibberish. Reminds me of comedy league with Elliot De Wit.

overdue

A few observations I've made so far.

1. everything here is small.
2. coffee cups are about half the size of American mugs.
3. I've seen bigger restroom stalls than half the bathrooms here!
4. bath-towel, dish-towel... same size. (almost)
5. did I mention everything is small here?
6. BIKES EVERYWHERE!!

Everyone knows that in the Netherlands everyone uses bikes, right? I mean, I knew before coming here, but I guess I never thought about it much. So when I got here I was still a bit struck by the way cities and towns here are set up to revolve around the bikes... There are bike racks everywhere, bike paths everywhere, bike paths even cross into the street for a turn lane, and bikers always have the right of way. On our tour of Amsterdam we saw a multilevel parking garage - not for cars, but for bikes! Only in the Netherlands!
Yesterday most of the group went to Jolene's to play games. She lives way north and a bit west of the center. I live way south and a wee bit east of the center. It took me nearly an hour to get home. But luckily I was entertained. I noticed the moon was very full! And there were a few whispy clouds in front of it sometimes and it was really fun to bike fast and just look up at the moon because I was biking in the same direction as the clouds so it looked like the clouds and I were standing still and the moon was moving. Fascinating! As was the way it looked so spooky when I biked under a tree with its bare branches in front of the moon. Just before I got home I realized why I was so in love with the sky all night - I think that was one of the first times I've seen the moon and stars since I've been here! It is cloudy so much of the time here, but last night was so clear the stars were out.
Then today was nice and sunny, which was very nice because I went on a tour of zwolle again. Amanda gave me some booklet thing she had that has a map in it and a "trail" marked out to follow and it explains about everything as you go. Turns out it's much like the tour NSPICE gave us. Who knew? Ah well. My host sister (who's my age and who I like more the longer I'm here) went with me. Then we shopped a bit in the market, which is set up every saturday.

Heads up

I spent three moons at Amanda's current residency. Now I am with my host family, the Huls - a very nice couple about my parents age, with four kids - age 25, 22, 21, and 11. But only the two youngest still live at home. All speak english fairly well, except the youngest, but with him we (Karyn and I) don't need to speak much because we mostly just play darts or skip bo or chess. (He kicked my ass at chess!) They are pretty easy going and easy to talk to. I think I like them. They have hosted 5 or 6 other times - last year Audrey and Bekah were here. :)
Yesterday we NSPICEers got a tour of Zwolle. We climbed the Peperbus, which is a huge tower of a church. It goes up and up and up for about 65 meters! 236 steps! I had no idea when I started climbing and probably after the first 50 stairs I made some comment about how it seemed like it never ended... Little did I know there were still another 186 steps to go.
Today I went to church with them and had a hard time staying awake because I understood nothing. But after church we met up with 6 other NSPICEers and their host families for coffee, cheesecake, snacks, more coffee, juice, soup, buns, more snacks, more juice, wine, and desert (yogurt). I was stuffed! Then we got home and Lita (Mrs. Huls) asked if we wanted tea!
I'm tired now and it is only quarter to nine. I have to be up at 8am to get to school by 9am for orientation or something. Hopefully I don't get lost. Good thing I don't live alone.
Sometimes I keep thinking to myself that though everything is different here - the toilets flush different, the doors are different, the bikes are different, the food is different, and obviously the culture is different - in some ways it seems very much the same. There is still food, three main meals, there is still a toilet, there are still dogs and cats and doors and bikes and cars, and traffic rules... you know? Though it is different, I think adjusting to living here might not be that bad. I guess we'll see if I still think so after four months. I could see the language thing getting a bit annoying though.
There are three girls on NSPICE this year from Romania, but they are actually Hungarian. They speak Romanian, but not completely fluently, though they study in Romanian. I feel a bit bad for them because they don't speak Dutch and their English is a bit limited as well. They get tired of trying to speak English, but since they don't speak Dutch they can only talk to the people here in English. So when I start to get frustrated, I'll just remember I have it better than some...
Good night to some. Good day to others.

another travelling song

The whole time I was in Mexico I heard Iowa had 30 degree weather or so. The day I got back from Mexico, the temperature was about -4 degrees or so. Or +4? Either way, freaking cold! We got to Minneapolis at about 10, got out of the airport at about 11, found the car and actually left at 12 as in midnight... Got to Sioux Center at about 4am? Got up the next day (sat.) at 10:30am to get to the post office and bank before closing. Did laundry and packed. Went to the bar that night and went to bed around 2:30am. Got up the next 
day around 11.
Packed some more. Went to Steph's for supper. Then hung out with Smickers. Went to bed at 2:30am. Got up at 5:30am. Left Sioux Center for Omaha at 6am.
After 27 long hours of travel, I'm finally in Woerdense Verlaat.  Hooray! And for anyone ever coming out this way - take British Airways. It's pretty darn good. I didn't have too bad of jet-lag when I got here because I slept quite a bit on the airplanes and in the airports. I had three layovers, one for over 5 hrs. And every flight I was on was a bit delayed, but I still made it on time because there was a strong wind blowing east so my 8hr flight turned into 6hrs. 
It's weird seeing Amanda here because she has a whole different life here. She's like a little mom, picking up and dropping off kids, speaking in dutch really fast, cooking, making tea, going to bed early... :)  It's good to see her though. I missed her!
Now I miss other people.  
Tomorrow I go shopping. Friday I go to my host family's house. I can't wait to unpack. I've been living out of a suitcase 
for over three weeks. 
To all Dordters, happy studies!  I don't know when I start school. Probably monday? Anyway, have a great semester.

chiquitita

I just went to the mall by my old house and in one of the music stores I heard a song that, with different lyrics, sounded like it was a complete knock off of a song by jack johnson. (can't remember the title.)
Tonight Cal is going to play futbol with the guys. I might watch. Or I might stay "home" and watch Friends. To be honest, I'm getting bored here. All my friends have either moved away, or gotten married, or are working all the time. 23 days is a long time to visit. Especially with no car when the busses stop at 10 or 11pm but the parties are just getting started at 10 or 11pm. All complaints aside, though, I am enjoying my time here and the little bits of time I get to spend with old friends and in my old neighborhood and in my old city.

to hell with white christmases!

Guess who went swimming two days after christmas!! ME.
Then the temperature dropped to a record low!! 59 degrees!
(Actually, that was kinda bad because I only brought one thin jacket and one quarter sleeve shirt...)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

near the end

I got a paper cut on my lip. From licking an envelop shut. I like the envelops with the adhesive tape that you just remove the back and stick down... My stamps are like that.
I ran a bunch of errands today and I still feel like I have a ton of shit to do. I just want to be gone and not have to worry about this stuff. But the problem is, I havn't prepared for my trip well either, because I am going to be in Merida in less than a week and I still am not entirely sure where I'm staying. Maybe I should get a phone card. Or maybe I should just show up.. :)

Gotta go. I have a date today. Right now. With Karyn Zuidhof. My roommate from freshmen year.

Peace, love, harmony, and all those good things.

happy in the sun

I went to the business office to hand in a paper for NSPICE stuff and Karen asked me if I got her email. I said "no, what email?" And she said about the cost of NSPICE, and then said "oh, that's someone else..." But then she said she did have the figures of what NSPICE will cost and what I will owe, if I would just wait for her to calculate it all. So I said fine. She calculated the numbers and said "You'll owe about $100 for next semester." And then "Oh wait, you paid a deposit already" a little more calculating and then the magic words "Dordt will owe you $200 next semester." HOORAY!! So I started walking back to my room and I was so excited I had to tell someone, so I called my mother. While on the phone with mom, I saw this guy up ahead with longish blondish hair and I thought "I don't remember seeing the back of that head here before" and the guy turned around and - Hey, it's Jeff Schutter!! So I said "Mom, I have to call you back later." She said "call me tomorrow". So I said hi to Jeff and talked for a while in the middle of the sidewalk - it's a lovely day today. Sunny. And now I'm all excited and don't know what to do with myself!
Maybe I'll go make some lupper and then go buy a sinterklas present for someone I don't know and then babysit for the Hendersons.
Have an enjoyable weekend!

ps - thanks for the comments on the last post. I don't really know what that was all about, but I enjoyed the comments. :)