Skip to main content

Time flies when you're having fun



It has been a while since I was on here blurting out what I was thinking. It turns out there are not many negative points about studying abroad twice. That was maybe obvious right? When I first got the news I would be in the Netherlands for six months to finish my degree I thought well it won't get any better than FN. Apparently I had nothing to worry about as both experiences are incomparable. So if your wondering what has been on my mind these last two months, it's mainly bikes, cold weather and asking myself why the Netherlands don't accept Mastercard.

They say dutch people are very direct and get to the point. I have yet to see this from anyone I have met here. The food is questionable if your a bit of a health freak as the bitterballen that appears on every menu has been fried to its core. Also, turns out they have meat in them. Oops. The stroopwafels however are a delightful treat that I overindulged on my first two weeks here. Again, not healthy! But we bike. We bike everywhere, so that makes up for it right? It has taken six weeks but some of us have finally mastered biking with no hands. Kind of. There have been a few falls there and there. As bikers, we become a tiny bit inconsiderate with any other means of transport as having our own lanes and traffic lights gives us a powerful feeling or something. It becomes believable then that there are more bikes than people in this country. You get used to the sudden herby scent that hits you when walking slash biking through town and that cold wind that cuts through you. The lovely dutch peeps are the tallest in the world and a good 85% of them speak english, so learning words from the locals is a little tricky. 

I have met a bunch of cool people from all over the place. My english accent is getting effected by all the Americans, who have a worrying addiction to coffee by the way. My phone dependency has decreased along with my communication skills. I find myself with 20 something daily unread messages from back home. My cooking abilities change from day to day, some days I'm a master chef making vegetable curry that my room mates nibble on, others I'm a hot water and packet soup kind of gal. 

Making all these new friends is putting a dent in my imaginary bank account reserved for trips. We have managed to hop on a few trains here and there and discovered a few places in this flat as a pancake country, which has me more and more hooked as the weeks passed, Nijmegen especially. The whole idea of studying somewhere for a few months is great until you remember it's for a few months. I was looking for some pics to go with this post. Turns out I don't document my time here as much as I thought. I'll try to do better.





Btw, there was ice on this beach.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not what you know, it's WHO you know.

I realise I only just posted yesterday, and never post this frequently but writing is the only way I seem to get anything off my mind lately. I have also realised how much I admire someone who knows what they are doing with their lives... I'm twenty one and have no clue what I actually want to do. How do you know? How can you choose one thing to dedicate yourself to for the rest of your life? When does it become clear what your 'calling' is? I have been told I don't know how many times that it's never too late for anything, but maybe it is. The thought of actually getting to where you want at the age of thirty terrifies me. As you know, it's finals time and everyone is at the library cramming as much in as possible. I was there the other day thinking how many of you are studying what you really want to study? How many of you are doing because your parents or someone else has made you? How many of you are actually going to give 100% to that future jo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unlinking refugees to Paris attack.

By now, most of us have heard about the attacks in the french capital on Friday evening. For those who haven't, here is a brief summary: First attack Friday 13th of November, Stade de France - explosion outside the national stadium while France played Germany. Little after a second explosion echoes inside the stadium. Both carried out by suicide bombers.  Minutes later, in Paris's 10th districts gunmen arrive with rifles at two restaurants, Le Carrion and Le Petit Cambodge. Soon after, another explosion at Stade de France, meanwhile a shooting was carried out at La Bonne Bier in the 11th district. Followed by shootings at La Belle Equipe and Comptoir Voltaire, another two restaurants. Finally, the last attack at around 9:40 in the concert venue Bataclan, also by shootings.  All of these attacks happened between 9:20 and 9:40. As many start hearing of the attacks they automatically started to link them with the Syrian refugees. This is plastered all over soci...
Post a Comment
Read more

Easter in Spain.

It's that time of year again, Easter or patch as some call it, a week where some celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead, a few days after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary. Easter time, as we all know, isn't a fixed holiday. This is due to the fact it follows the Julian calendar, which depends entirely on the cycle of the sun. It is determined by a lunisolar calendar similar the Hebrew one. This post is mainly focused on the Spanish Easter week, or as they call it ' Semana Santa '. Depending on what area you are in, it is celebrated one way or another, but the main attraction is the massive holy parades taken place. I will speak from now on solemnly of the city of Málaga, where I have seen them first hand.  The parades start on 'Domingo de Ramos' or Palm Sunday in English and end on the following Sunday, resurrection Sunday. There are around 6 to 8 parades taken place daily walking many streets of the city. Each parade cons...
Post a Comment
Read more