Past Few Weeks

Okay so here I will continue. I have done a LOT of things the past few weeks, and have been very busy indeed! It has been quite fun though.Here is Lili, Me, Tanno, and Lex zitten op de bank:

On the 6th of September I went with my host family to the Efteling (photo above is also from there) which is a fairy tale themed amusement park. It really did feel like a fairy tale! They played fairy tale music and the paths were through woods etc and there were even some peacocks. It was a great place for kids. Strollers are to the Efteling as bikes are to Holland. Outside of each attraction there were about 20 baby strollers lined up against the wall haha. I had fun, though I am not much of a theme park person, and I told that to my host family. Hey, I am honest at least!!

I forced myself to go on this scary looking roller coaster, and I almost turned back, but then I was like "screw it, those little kids are coming out alive and I can, too!" I was so proud of myself! And that ended up actually being the funnest ride!!!

Later we went out to dinner and I acidentally went into the men's bathroom. Men's is Heren and Women's in Dames, but I just saw Herens and I read "her" or I don't even know I think maybe I was just tired. Besides, it was bound to happen sometime, right? :)

The next weekend I had my AFS orientaion, and that was fun. We stayed in a hostel somewhere in the middle of Holland. I met so many people from all over the world. However, it was a waste of time as far as Dutch learning is concerned. I know so much more Dutch than most of the other exchange students, which even I was surprised about! Some people just do not try to learn it I think! Here is the whole group this year:

We had to do a cultural presentaion where each country presents something from their culture, so for the American group we did a rap and tried to act "gangster." Hah.

In the green is Brystal from New Mexico, Sam from Wisconsin is in the middle (he is the only American boy this year!), and Anna from Alaska:

It was so nice to see how everyone else was doing and what everyone else was going through. I was talking with this Brazilian girl named Marina, and we realized that it was so cool to talk to everyone from all of these countries, because you realize that everyone really is alike. Everyone likes to talk about the same things, except you may happen to speak a different language! We had fun dancing at night, and the AFS volunteers were encouraging me to flirt with some Dutch boy which I thought was pretty funny...
In this photo I am with 3 people from Thailand and standing behind me is a girl from New Zealand:

School is a lot better. I feel pretty comfortable and there are always people to talk to. One morning I overslept until 5 before 8 and I am supposed to be out of the house by quarter of 8! I was so terrified!!! I threw on my clothes and biked as fast possible and made it just 5 minutes late. I was forgiven because "I don't know anything I am just an exchange student." Tehehe....

I take Spanish now, and it is weird because I find myself thinking in half Dutch half Spanish in Spanish class. Dutch comes way easier to me than Spanish. I like Geography class and math is not too bad. Religion is cool, too.

This past weekend Tanno, Lili, Lex, Krista, and I went to a science museum in Amsterdam called NEMO, which was really fun! We took the train there. I liked this train because it was all green inside:

It is all hands on and there is just so much to see! Here I am inside of a bubble:

And this was the lounge area on the roof of the building. It was really neat and the ligher colored steps are actually little waterfalls that you can wade in:

It was so much fun at first but then we all got really tired. So then we walked around Amsterdam and I got to see the city a little bit. It is so beautiful and old.

I took lots of pictures, and when I looked at my pictures I thought, wow, it really looks like all the pictures you see of Amsterdam! But actually being there is such a different experience! The streets are narrow and the buildings are old and pretty. There are canals and house boats everywhere.

We went to the Red Light District (De Walle) which was fun. I wasn't disgusted at all, just more shocked at how crazy it all was! The prostitutes actually stand in the windows and try to lure in customers. I was interested by the fact that prostitution is legal here and sex really doesnt have to be such a big deal. If you want to buy sex toys, then you do it. If you don't then you don't. Don't worry mom and dad I didn't buy any sex toys.

Two prostitutes got really mad at me for taking photos, but I wasn't even taking pictures of THEM, more of just the street! One of them flicked me off. THAT got my attention! haha

We walked by some coffee shops and it was neat to see people just smoking their joints casually outside and not having to hide it. Oh, and if you thought there were a lot of bikes at my school, check out how many bikes there are next to the train station in Amsterdam!:

Then you realize why some people have such crazy colored bikes: they have to be able to find it again!

At midnight I went to the discotheek with Lex and Lili (that is when it starts), and it turned out to be pretty disappointing. The place was HUGE, and it was a pretty quiet night because there were not that many people. Inside, it was like a little village of different dance parties. Each room had a different theme and different music playing, and it was all very loud. In one room they even had a bar that you could dance on which was cool. I was really tired though so I never really got into the discotheek mood I guess. We went home early and that was that. I might try it again another time but I am not sure. Apparently it is way more fun when it is busier.

I had my first dance lesson on Friday, and that was fun. I learned the Cha-cha and quick-step. We dance to the funniest music, kind of like the "Hit List" or "Top 40." I never knew doing the cha-cha to Top 40 songs could be so fun!

Dutch people eat their french fries with mayonnaise:

My host dad even has a device that squishes a potato into rectangular fries.

One night Tanno told me that he was happy that I don't have a British accent (thank you Tanno). He is small enough that he can even fit inside of my laundry basket! Well, without the cover:

Something interesting I have noticed is how different the supermarkets are here. You have to put a coin into the shopping cart to unlock it, and once you are in the supermarket, it is REALLY hard to get out without buying something! Also, they don't bag your groceries. Nobody asks, "would you like paper or plastic?" You have to put them in your own bags or boxes or else carry them out. Talk about eco-friendly!

Until next time!