So I lied in my last post; I am going to have to take a week off of blogging because tomorrow (in 9 hours) I will be in Morocco! We were told that we could bring our computers however something about an unstable energy current that has the potential to blow up a computer has made me reconsider...

Anyway, I will be sure to document the whole experience and have one massive entry when I come back.

Today was a good day- probably a 7.346 out of 10 (10 being the best day ever). I had a class on conducting interviews in the afternoon and this evening my host family took me out for Ethiopian food. Eating Ethiopian food is an experience; I would highly recommend it. You eat the food with your hands and while it may not be glamorous it sure is delicious.

Anyway, I should probably pack...

All my love,
L

P.S. I know some of you only visit my blog for the pictures (I don't expect you to actually read all of this nonsense) so here is the picture of the day. This is a candid picture of Karo who loves to sleep and hang out in the fruit basket; who says an apple can't make a great pillow!

Please excuse my recent absence and inconsistency with updating my blog. I have been busy- and by busy I mean my life has been consumed- with a theory synthesis paper. Now that the paper has been completed and turned in (thank god!) I should have more time to devote to blogging.

All is well in Amsterdam and this past weekend was wonderful. On Friday the SIT group (the group that I am abroad with) threw a party at one of the host's house that was out of town (we had permission of course). It was a good bonding experience and since we'll be spending the next three months together it's good to speed up the whole "getting to know each other" process. Saturday I slept in (ah, glorious!) and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get my bike fixed. That night I met up with Emily and we went to Profte- would you expect anything less of us!? Sunday I went to a Pilates class with my host mom, however I did not realize that the class would be in Dutch. Needless to say I struggled and probably appeared to be Pilates incompetent!

Today has been a fairly relaxed day. I had Dutch class this morning and a meeting about our trip to Morocco in the afternoon. To say I am excited about Morocco would be an understatement. Yes, I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture, learning about different walks of life, yatta, yatta, yatta BUT I am MOST excited for the warm weather (it is supposed to be in the 70's). I never realized this before moving but Holland is cold. Not a Nebraska type of cold that you only experience on the brief walk to and from your car but a real cold; A-bike-in-the-sleet-you-have-to-walk-everywhere-cold. Also, Holland is very good about conserving energy and so their houses/buildings are, by my standard, freezing. That being said, you could understand why I am so excited for the weather; finally a chance to thaw!

If you were curious, I've already outlined my plans for Morocco:

1. Purchase a Moroccan Djellaba like so:



















2. Put on my Djellaba and then find myself a warm beach














3. Lay there all day, soak up the sun all while sipping on Moroccan tea.

Also, there will likely be some education activities but those are rather unimportant.

Anyways, I must conclude this post. Monday nights are pancake night and if I'm late I will miss out!

All my love,
L

Today was the first day I was able to sleep in past 8am and it was glorious. I had class from 2-5pm, (today was a theory siminar that focused on Judith Butler's, Undoing Gender), and then dinner at 7. After dinner I met up with some friends and watched Gummo. Gummo is one of the strangest films I have ever seen. Today was short, simple and sweet.

Feburary 16- Biking Isn't Glamorous

I've decided to dedicate this entry to the glorious and not so glamorous sport of biking. Prior to Amsterdam I had envisioned biking as a lovely, almost romantic experience (I blame the movies for this). Biking, in my mind, involved sundresses and attached white wicker baskets containing puppies. Well it was all lies; the movies have failed me.

Previous biking expectations:


The past week has revealed to me the harsh realities of bike riding: the rain, wind, traffic and flat tires. Biking, in Holland, looks more like this (only remove the woman's huge grin, add a coat and the most unattractive pair of rain pants you can think of).

The Real Truth:


Additionally, the past week has heightened my awareness of the real dangers of biking. I've created a list (ordered from least to most dangerous) of the dangers one faces when s/he decides to embark on a biking excursion in Amsterdam.

1. Badly parked bikes- these bikes are parked by incompetent cyclists who seem to forget that when your back bike wheel is in the bike lane it could create a hazard to cyclist. Danger level = 1.5, worst-case scenario= having to stop suddenly and possibly aggravating the cyclists behind you.

2. Couple Biking- this is similar to couples in the States who tend to walk on the sidewalk, hold hands and basically create an impenetrable wall you can't seem to walk around. In Amsterdam, this activity does not occur on the sidewalk, but rather in the bike lanes; two people will cycle next to each other leaving little space for novice cyclists like myself to bike past. Danger level 3.6, worst case scenario= three person collusion

3. Cyclists who multitask- I have been amazed at the things I have seen cyclists do while biking; this includes but is not limited to, talking on the phone, talking on the Bluetooth, walking a dog (cyclist bikes, poor dog tries to keep up), and texting (or SMSing as they call it in Holland). The lack of attention put forth by those cyclists who multitask makes me nervous putting this at Danger Level = 4.12 and worst case scenario= interrupting a conversation, ruining a text, injuring a poor dog.

4. Mopeds/ Vespas - For some reason that has yet to be explained Mopeds/Vespas seem to believe they should join the cyclists in the bike lane. While a moped/Vespa may look similar to a bike it is not a bike. The can cruise at a speed that no cyclist could maintain and the drivers seem to emphasize this as they speed race down the bike lanes. Not cool. Danger level= 4.5 Worst Case Scenario= Collusion in which the Moped/ Vespa would win.

5. Cars- This one is pretty self-explanatory. Danger level= High, Worst Case Scenario= Death?

6. Street Trams- These trams have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. If the trams themselves don't get you their tracks will- unless crossed at a certain angle you run the risk of getting you bike wheel stuck. Danger level and Worst Case Scenario= Same as Cars

7. Flat tires- Okay, perhaps this isn't the most deadly or dangerous but it sure is inconvenient. Today, for instance, my bike was making strange noises and I was struggling to keep up with my friends who were also biking. I was convinced that my bike was at fault for this and I became so enraged at my bike that I squeezed and popped the front tire. This was right before I threw it into the canal.

Just kidding. In all actuality, though, my bike was making funny noises and I almost didn't make it over one of the bridges on my way home from Dutch class. Laura, who I was following, must have noticed that something was up and once we got back to SIT she pointed out just how flat my front tire was. Because of the flat I now must face the epic task of dragging (I obviously can't ride it) the bike to Orange Bike to have the tire fixed... Yet another thing to add to the coolness factor of biking.

Aside from biking, all is well and I shall update again soon!

That's all for now.

All My Love,
L.

Photos

Here are all the photos that Blogger would not let me upload last night.Emily and myself with typical Dutch pancakes. Emily's came with bacon while I had mine with bananas.
The Tea House where my host sister, Lotje works. My host mother and I visited it after the Opera on Sunday.
The Het Zongag Ochtend Concert Hall. On Sunday I saw a H. Purcell Opera with my host mother.
The Hall of Mirrors features young and unknown artists- there was a short concert there before the Opera.
A picture from Profste. Hanna (left) and Emily (right) are both in my program. Check out Emily's fancy drink (stand and all!).

Feburary 12- 15th.

Thursday was a simple day; I had dutch class from 10 - 12:30 and then I went off on my own and explored (or rather got lost in) the city. Later that night my friend Emily and I were supposed to meet the group at a club, however upon arrival we realized how sketchy the place was and decided to go somewhere else. We ended up at this little jazz bar right by our house called Profste. Emily and I made friends with the owner and are now attempting to become regualars.

Friday was a long day at school and afterwards I had to rush home to make dinner. Els, my homestay mother, asked each person in the family to cook one night a week- to give her a break. Phil, my host father, is a good cook so when it's his day there are no problems. Tom and I, however, are a different story. Both Tom and I have limited cooking skills (Tom moreso than myself) so this week we had to fight over who got to make the pasta (Tom told me he can only cook pasta and pancakes). So Friday I made a lovely pasta dish and my friend Emily came over and joined us for dinner. After dinner Emily and I went out and met up with the rest of the group at Cafe Sappho. Cafe Sappho was a cute club with a fun crowd. They also had velvet attached to the walls which reminded Emily and I of the tacky backgrounds they have in Prom pictures so naturally we took our own prom-like picture. Emily and I ended up leaving Cafe Sappho early and going to Profste.

On Saturday I met up with a friend from American, Meris, who is studying outside of Amsterdam (I forget the name of the school- sorry Meris!). It was wonderful seeing and having coffee with Meris. After coffee with Meris I went home for dinner. After dinner Emily, Hanna and Clem and I met up at Profste (we are succeeding at becomming regulars) and played a few rounds of Jenga- it was the perfect, laid back, Saturday night.

This mornign my host mom woke me up to go see the Opera with her. The opera house was beautiful and even though I didn't understand a word of the opera, I had a wonderful time. After the opera, Els and I rode our bikes to a cafe in Vondelpark and then went home to nap. The rest of today was spent shopping for rain boots and attempting to do dutch homework.

I have pictures of all these things that I have just written about, however, Blogger is only letting me upload two? I will try to upload the remaining pictures tomorrow...

Until then, Sleept Lecker!

Dam Square Our "prom" picture (take note of the velvet walls)

My Biggest Accomplishment Yet.

Today I successfully completed my first bike ride home! It was not exactly a smooth process but it was completed- and I'm still alive! I had decided to attempt the journey back to my house today because we had only one class and were done by noon (there isn't much traffic around lunch time). My first attempt at coming home today was an utter failure. I rode around for about 30 minutes, nailed a street pole while attempting to get out of the way of a car and got yelled at for my lack of skills by numerous other bikers. Needless to say when it began to downpour I had officially given up. Disappointed and frustrated I walked my bike back to SIT (my school) and locked it up. I walked towards my tram stop but before I got there decided to have a cup of coffee and relax. I spent some time at the cafe wallowing in my own misery and after awhile began to experience a change of heart; I became very motivated and determined; Idecided to try biking again- round 2. I only got lost once on my second attempt and had no close encounters with street poles, trams, or other cyclists (success!). I'm so relieved that I was finally successful in my biking indevour- if only now I could learn to balance groceries, my purse, and a small child while biking like all the locals do. Oh to dream...

Home Sweet Amsterdam- Part 2

Hallo!

A brief update from my last entry. After orientation was over the group moved to a new hostel in Amsterdam (yet another StayOkay). On our first night in Amsterdam we went on a walking tour and then went off on our own and proceeded to get very lost. The following day we met our home stay families and officially moved it! I was finally able to move out of the "silver monster" (the name I have lovingly given my suitcase) and into a real room! My host family is wonderful; Phil, the father, is an interior designer and Els, the mother, is a retired physican. They have two children, Thomas and Lottie. Thomas is eighteen and still lives at home; Lottie is 23 and has since moved out (I have taken over her room). My room is absolutely adorable. I have a giant window, tall ceilings, a lofted bed, constillations above my bed and plenty of storage.

The top two pictures above were taken from above in the loft area and the one below is of my bed inside the loft area.

I am so thrilled with the situation- I couldn't have asked for a better family. I'll have to dedicate an entry just to them, their four cats, and their chickens (that's right, I have pet chickens). :D

Some other exciting news! I finally received my cell phone and bike. My new cell number is 0644 749 880 but if you want to call from the States you must dial: 0031-644-749-880 (beware, calling is expensive!). My bike is very nice- I have yet to ride it. Riding your bike in Amsterdam feels like a life and death experience and because I don't really know how to get home I've been putting it off (the bike is currently locked up outside of my school). However, my host mom helped me map out a route at dinner tonight so tomorrow I'll have no excuse; I'll have to brave my way home! Nothing else new to report. I've included some older pictures from the cheese, clog, and windmill museum- enjoy!

A demonstration on how to make
a wooden clog Wooden clog examples

Windmills and a picture from the cheese factory is below!

Home Sweet Amsterdam (Part 1- I shall finish the rest tomorrow!)

Please excuse the massive delay; last night I arrived at my home stay and, for the first time since my departure, had the luxury of free internet (this is in great contrast to that of the Hostel in Egmond where internet cost an arm and a leg).

My trip thus far has been a thrilling, and exhausting one filled with everything from Dutch cheese to wooden clogs. It began on Saturday, January 31st. That afternoon I left Omaha and arrived in New York. I spent Saturday night with my cousin Bridgette and her three lovely room mates (also, I mustn't forget Seth her boyfriend). Bridgette has a charming townhouse in Manhattann- walking distance from Central Park. We went out for sushi (my favorite) at Ruby Foo's and for dessert indulged in Oreo cheesecake from Roxy's. I spent the remainder of the night attempting to repack my already "heavy" suitcase and completing homework that should I should have completed prior to the trip (for what it's worth, I work best under stress). I had a delightful time in New York and I left wishing I could have spent more time there.


Me, Bridget, Alexandria and Amy in Times Square.

On Sunday morning I met my group at JFK and by 5pm we were on our way to Paris for a short layover before our final flight to Amsterdam. Paris was snowy yet romantic-just like the movies. Perhaps someday I can return to Paris and experience more than just the airport (oh to dream!).

Making the best of our layover in Paris.

After two hours in Paris we boarded for our final flight. The plane was delayed fifty minutes due to the massive amounts of snow and ice that had accumulated. I thought surly we would die trying to liftoff of an icy runaway but alas such melancholy thoughts did not prevent me from falling asleep- two hours later I woke up in Amsterdam both alive and with a kink in my neck from sleeping airplane-style. Once in Amsterdam we met up with the rest of the SIT abroad group (there are 19 students participating) and proceeded to pile into a bus that shares an odd resemblance to the magic school bus. Needless to say, we were quite a sight.















Magic School Bus!

After a short trip on the Magic School Bus we arrived in Egmond (rural area outside of Amsterdam). We had a four day orientation at the StayOkay hostle in Egmond. It was filled with awkward icebreakers, lessons on Dutch culture and naturally a group bike ride.














Sarah, Me, Liz and Karen at the StayOkay Hostel on our first night (please note the waffle we are indulging on compliments of the vending machine)













A typical bike- unlike American bikes you brake by peddling backwards. That was fun to get used to...














The Beach @ Egmond.

Sarah and I posed for a picture before noticing the the pictured sign (Oops). Also listed below is a picture of a city street in Egmond.