Saturday, September 29, 2007

Another plane ride...

So, despite the tragic circumstances that brought me home... it was nice to be back for a little while. I was missing everyone a lot, and it was nice to see my family, my friends, my wonderful boyfriend, and my cats again. Also, it was really great to eat American food again!

Now I have to pack. I got some new clothes, new SHOES and I must remember to bring my silver shoes that I missed so much. I also have the Easy Mac that Heather requested, hopefully it'll make it through Customs. Still unsure as to how I'll get Papa Gino's Chicken Tenders (buffalo) over there, but I'm sure as hell going to try. I think I'll have enough room for everything, it's the return in December I'm a little worried about. But I was like 20 pounds under the limit when I went there, and I won't have the heavy bottles of shampoo and stuff when I get back. So I should be okay.

I want to thank everyone yet again for all the love and support they've given me these past few days/week. It's been amazing to see how many people's lives my dad touched. Even people who only knew him a little while will miss him. So many people came to the wake, it showed how loved he was. The funeral ceremony was beautiful. It was fun to hear all his friends tell stories about him. I'm glad I was able to sing for him one last time.

Now I'm off to the Netherlands yet again, to deal with another plane ride (not my favorite) and another week of jet lag. Hopefully my teachers will be sympathetic. Dad would have wanted me to go back and continue my adventure. He was so excited and proud.

Now, to get back to packing. Love you all! I'll miss you! Keep commenting! <3

Friday, September 21, 2007

No Scotland for me, or Berlin either for that matter. I am flying home for a week due to a death in the family. If you're my friend or family, you know what happened already.

I just need lots of hugs right now.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Classes, woo.

Okay, so, for lack of anything else to talk about I guess I'll talk about my classes. Right now I'm in Sophie's Lounge and working on my essay for Ethics but it's stressing me out so I need to take a break. I have until next week to do it, but with the Scotland trip this weekend I want to get as much done tonight as I can. I already have to read all of The Odyssey by Tuesday, which I plan to do on the train/plane this weekend. I've already had to read most of it twice for other classes in the past so it shouldn't be so bad.

Anyway, classes are alright. I think I'm really going to like Creative Writing and Literature, but knowing me that's obvious. Here's my classes:

Intro to Creative Writing Fiction:
The teacher is really cool. She has us meditate. Her voice is very relaxing, kind of like something you'd expect on one of those audio book things. We have to do a short story every two weeks, but a small one 1-5 pages, then two larger ones in lieu of a final. She believes that first drafts can't have cross-outs and you need to just keep writing no matter what and kind of let go of all thoughts and such. It sounds cool, it'll be hard to get used to. I'm just really excited to have an excuse to write. I tend to write more and better when a grade is on the line. I have a good feeling about this class and teacher.

Literary Foundations:
I feel like this would be boring if it wasn't for the teacher. We're reading a bunch of old books that most of us have read before. However, the teacher is hilarious. He doesn't stop himself from swearing, he has this ridiculous Boston accent, and is just generally crazy. He wears his hair in a big hair clip. He likes to go off on tangents that include the quote, "I could have solved the war in a minute... just go over to Iraq and instead of bombs drop TEDDY BEARS!!" I'm really excited for this class, it seems like he has a lot of passion about the books as well so hopefully it'll be interesting.

Intercultural Communications:
I wasn't entirely sure what this class was about other than it was a requirement, but it seems pretty cool so far. We just learn about other cultures (mainly Dutch so far) and how they're different and about culture shock and whatnot. Yesterday a former prostitute came to talk to us. She was amazing. She's done so much in her life and isn't ashamed of any of it. She said she might even go back to sex work someday. Right now she does the more informational side of things, working in Amsterdam like that. She was cool. Next week we get to talk to two German students who spent a year in America and we get to see what it's like from a foreigner's point of view.

Topics in Philosophy, Ethics and Values:
This is my hardest class, I know already. It's abstract and different. I'm trying really hard to be into it, but I'm someone who likes direct answers and in philosophy you don't get that. Your answers are questions. It's frusterating. Also, the reading material she gives us is hard. The teacher is really nice and I don't mind the class... I'm just a little scared of the work. It's interesting.

So, yeah. This weekend is Scotland. I still have to put up the Brussels pictures, Flickr is just annoying because it takes forever to upload. Hopefully I'll have all that done next week if I don't have too much work.

Miss everyone lots! Thanks for the comments <3 love you all!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Mail is fun!

I got my package from my mom today! It was very exciting. I saw the paper in my mailbox after dinner and got really happy, then I realized the paper said I had until 17:00 to pick it up (5:00 non-military time), and it was 19:00... but the office was still open. So I waited for someone to return from dinner and they gave me the package! They said the time limit was old, and not in effect anymore. Yay! I got all sorts of little goodies, even a little black cat stuffed animal, since I joked about taking Jack (my little black cat back home) to Europe with me. Maybe I should make him a collar, since the real Jack back home has been making escape attempts and now needs to wear one.

Not much else has been happening. I had my first writing class today, and it seems amazing. The woman seems really cool. And the class isn't what people told me it would be: just spending all semester writing one or two long-ish stories. It's actually reading a bunch of short fiction, writing 1-6 page stories every two weeks in the style of one of the fictions, and then two longer fictions at the end. I am really excited to have a reason to start writing again! I've been reading this amazing book, My Sister's Keeper, and it's been sparking my imagination. Also, being surrounded by such beautiful landscape and being able to roam around Europe at my leisure is pretty inspiring as well. This is good. I was afraid I was losing my creativity.

Tomorrow, in Intercultural Communications, an ex-prostitute is coming to talk to the class. I am really excited, they sent out a bio and she seems like a really cool person. She works in Amsterdam now, but I think she works with the legal aspect of that stuff, since prostitution is legal in The Netherlands.

So... yeah. Not much happening. We sent out postcards last night. I didn't have enough to send to everyone I wanted to, but those who I promised postcards should get them soon. The rest of you will get them soon... but later. I walked to the market to get more stamps and other essentials.

That's all. Dodgeball game tonight, I'm contemplating whether or not I want to join, I thought I was done with gym class forever... though Dodgeball was one of the more favorable activities... we'll see.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I Enjoy Brussels! (Not the sprouts...)

An updated list of my favorite cities:
1. Boston
2. New York
3. Montreal
4. BRUSSELS

Oh my goodness. From the delicious waffles we enjoyed upon entering to the amazing free concert last night, Brussels was one of the best places I've visited in my life so far. I had no idea what Brussels had to offer aside from maybe chocolate, waffles, and the French language, so I didn't have many high expectations other than being able to say "hey I've been to Belguim!" No. Oh my goodness. The city is BEAUTIFUL. Not all parts, some were a little dingy, but the arcitecture was so pretty.

Aparently the town mascot is Le Mannekin Pis, this statue of a little peeing boy. And they dress him up for special events. It's really funny. There's a rumor that he pees beer during special occasions. There's also a rumor that he has a sister, a little peeing girl, but we couldn't find her anywhere.

Last night was amazing. Our friend Eric wanted to go to this dance club, and we scoured the city but found no such club. Just when we thought hope was lost, we heard bass. We followed the sound until we got to this huge outdoor concert playing techno music. We couldn't get in, but standing across the street we could see and hear perfectly. The music was loud and fun but no one inside the concert was dancing. They were just standing and drinking. So, of course, we all started dancing. It was awesome. People were waving to us and taking pictures (probably thinking "wow those stupid Americans!" but who cares?) But people started dancing. Then some Belgian people danced with us, so we had this group of us dancing across the street from the concert. People sent us drinks! Which was cool, but we didn't drink them just to be safe. Then later, one of the people who sent us drinks went on stage and performed. It was nuts. And so much fun. One of the girls who danced with us was a 16 year old girl named Kristina who had just moved to Brussels from Russia. She was really cool, we got her email so we can keep in touch.

Today we just wandered around more, got lunch, had more waffles. The waffles were to DIE for. They were so much better than our waffles here. So much sweeter and just all around better. I had mine with strawberries (fresh! not canned!) whipped cream AND chocolate. Amazing. So good. I miss the waffles.

I have to get to my homework now, we came home early so that we all could catch up on work. Next weekend: SCOTLAND!!

Friday, September 14, 2007

The Dutch put sauce on EVERYTHING

So, another day where not much happened. I had a 10 am class and then no class the rest of the day. I ate lunch, napped, did homework, ate dinner, watched episodes of my favorite tv shows back home online, and then ordered pizza with Heather and Jill. Tomorrow I have another 10 am class, so I probably should go to bed soon.

I am scared to get money out of the ATM since our friend Shawna had both her debit and credit card eaten by the one in town. No one else has had problems, but she has the same bank as me so I'm a little weary. Though another girl also has the same bank and she was fine. I still have a good amount of cash left from what I changed over in the US, but I'll need more soon with all the trips we're going on in the coming weeks. Tomorrow Jill and I are going back to Venlo to shop around, I'm going to try the ING bank there. It's a bank that exists in the states so hopefully it'll work fine. Shawna used my Skype to call the bank and we all got to hear the RIDICULOUS conversation that ensued. She was transferred to Visa, and back to the bank, then to Visa again, then was disconnected twice, talked to five different people that told her different things, was told she could get a new card overnight, then told she had to cancel her card, then told that she was getting sent a new one. It all ended ok, hopefully she'll get a card soon. Both her credit and debit are gone, meaning her first trip this weekend had to be cancelled.

Not much else to say except that I am craving some choice American foods. I really wanted a hamburger the other day. Not McDonalds, just a juicy cookout hamburger with lettuce and tomato. Then today I wanted buffalo tenders. I also wanted a hostess cupcake. None of these things exist in Dutch. I was not impressed with the pizza we ordered tonight either. Hopefully the cravings will go away soon and I'll grow accustomed to Dutch food more... not that the food here isn't good, it really is, I just miss my messy greasy comfort food back home. Oh, and the title of this post: every night at dinner, regardless of WHAT is for dinner, there is a sauce to put on it. I never know what the sauce is, but it's always there. A new one every night. With the exception of last night's calimari, all the food here has been good. The sauces have also been good. It's just amusing to me that every dish has a sauce.

Aaron coming to visit is becoming more of a reality every day! I'm trying not to get TOO excited, lest something go wrong and he can't come, but still. It'd be nice to see a face from home. Especially such a cute one ;) And more cute faces from home: Mom and Val are meeting us during our London trip then we're going to Paris (we=Me, Heather, Jill, Mom, and Val). I booked the chunnel tickets today. Still have to book a hostel for the second half of the Paris trip (so mom if you're reading this don't cancel it just yet). The Chunnel was a hassle enough. There was a problem with the address to where they should send the tickets, I gave the castle address but I don't know if it went through correctly so I'm waiting for an email from the company and I'll call tomorrow if I don't get one by then. But I'm sure everything will work out and it'll be fun times :)

Sleep now. Love and miss everyone, leave me comments full of love!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Important Sending Stuff Information!

For anyone who would like to send me a package, there are some things to remember:
-Do NOT use UPS. They aparently have not been reliable in the past and I guess there are some billing issues between the company and the castle. Also, the U.S. Postal Service is an option that is cheaper but takes a looooong time and hasn't been the most reliable service. They suggest using FedEx because it is quick and reliable.
-Try not to make it too heavy, shipping stuff overseas is expensive. The heavier the package, the more it will cost.
-Use this format for my address:
Ashley Blom
Street Address: Kasteellaan 20
Town or City: Well
Postal Code: 5855 AE
Province: Limburg
Country: The Netherlands

*Remember: My birthday is October 11th, hehe ;) If anyone wants to send me anything... an itunes giftcard would be wonderous. I forgot some songs I wanted to bring. And Euros are nice, haha. You can get them at any local bank! And anything else, I don't know, you all probably know what I like. Even a card would be thrilling, I haven't gotten any mail yet. ALSO: if anyone has any pictures, I totally forgot to bring any to put on my walls = no pictures from people at home. I'd love some photos to be sent here!

Okay. So, not too much has been happening. I think the most exciting thing I did today was go shopping again. Now that classes have started and I am not obligated to get up at 8 am I probably won't, but then I'll miss breakfast. So I got some snacks.

I added more pictures to http://internationalashley.blogspot.com And tried to put them in chronological order. If you click to the side, that says European Adventure, it's a bit more organized and easy to see the pictures.

Megan's birthday was last night. We went to The Linden and celebrated. It was fun, but I think I'll avoid going to the bar in the middle of the week from now on. I didn't have class until 2:30 though, so it was okay, but it's money I don't need to spend. But yeah. On the walk back Jill and I were very entranced by the stars. I didn't realize how pretty they are here. So we laid down in the field and looked at them for a while and we saw a shooting star. It was really cool.

Internet appears to be back up and running, which is convienent. It was a pain in the butt to have to keep going to the computer lab whenever I wanted to check my email. Hopefully it'll last!

We booked our next trip today! We're going to Scotland! We found plane tickets for $50, and a hostel for like $20. I like my new little group of friends, they're fun. Another idea we had was to go to Switzerland and either go skydiving (I doubt any of us would be brave enough, but it's something I've always wanted to do) or take a plane tour of the Swiss Alps. I think by then we can activate our Eurail passes so we won't have to fly. We also are considering going to Greece and Ireland. Plus in a couple of weeks we're going to London, and then Mom and Val are meeting us there and we're going to Paris. I'm excited :)

Homework to do... <3 and miss you all, like always.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Cola Epiphanies and Venlo!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/internationalashley/ LOOK! PICTURES!
Not ALL of them yet, because internet shut off halfway through uploading, but it's something to look at so far :)

Okay, so, before departing to The Netherlands I was warned that my beloved Coca Cola would be scarce. Worse, that it'd be expensive if I did find it. However, I am happy to say this is not true. Not only is Coca Cola in vast abundance, it is cheap! Even including the exchange rate, it's less than its American counterpart. Also! It tastes BETTER. I don't even know how. Usually I prefer fountain coke, but the bottled coke here is amazing. Aparently they use real sugar whereas the US uses some sort of artificial sweetener. So, it's probably bad for my teeth, but delicious nonetheless.

Today a few classes were cancelled since the teacher hasn't flown in yet, so Jill, Eric and I decided to explore the city of Venlo. At first we were a little distraught that it takes 8 strippenkart stamps to go one way to Venlo (its like a bus pass, 45 stamps is 20E) but the town is so pretty it's worth it. The delicious lunch we had in the pub was worth it! I got french bread with ham and cheese (which was served to me on a pretty platter, not sandwich-like in the slightest, and I had no idea how to go about eating it...) and tomato soup with feta cheese. Jill and Eric split tomato soup and a hamburger meal... Dutch hamburgers look so much more high class than ours. They're served on pretty bread rolls and the meat looks a lot more appetizing.
Then we wandered around the shops and such... this is when I finally felt like I was in another country. In Well it's pretty and old fashioned, but it's pretty much like Hatfield: Lots of cornfields, barns, horses, cows, chickens (they look like they have bellbottoms, the chickens, it's crazy) and only a few little shops. But Venlo really feels far away. Cobblestone streets, lots of little buildings, old fashioned architecture... really nice.

I bought a couple of pretty shirts and a long sleeve white t-shirt to wear under the t-shirts I packed so I can wear them longer. I feel a little better now that I have some more dressy-ish shirts. I still need another pair of leggings, but I couldn't find a color I like. It was like 10 Euro for three shirts, meaning only $15 American. I think I did well shopping. There's one more thing I want to buy, which is a pair of calf-high boots with no heel. I found some for less than 20 Euro but decided to wait until we go again (sometime at the end of the week). But no worries, I don't plan on doing weekly mall trips searching for sales like I do back home. I plan on saving my money for my various trips (we can't activate our Eurail passes yet or else they won't last through our Prague trip, so our first few trips we'll have to just pay for transportation) The stores are so cute. We went into a pastry shop that was to DIE for. Jill got a little cake that was delicious.

What's nice is that people just assume we're Dutch. Every store we went in (and the pub too) they greeted us in Dutch and asked if we needed any help--in Dutch. The first time someone did this Jill just stared at them blankly and they repeated the sentence, then she's like "um... sorry... I don't understand..." and the person smiled and repeated it in English. This is probably because Limburg doesn't seem like a very touristy place. I feel like I should be like "Spreek u Engels?" ("do you speak English?") but I feel like I wouldn't say it right and it'd be insulting. Also what's cool is everyone here speaks English with a British accent. One of my professors is Chinese and he speaks English with a Chinese AND British accent. It's really cool.

I would like to say that my Literary Foundations teacher is probably one of the coolest teachers ever. For those of you who went to Smith: he's like... if Mr. Hopkins had a Boston accent instead of a New York one, was a little more liberal with the swear words, and wore his hair in a ponytail. He's so cool. We began The Oddessy, which I've read a couple of times already... but he's making it really interesting so far.

So, in theory, we now have internet 24 hours. The internet was back up and running earlier... but now it won't work again. But when it decides to actually work, it means I can talk to people on Skype at a normal hour. :) And AIM too. That is, if I can afford to go to bed at a late hour. So we'll see. Skype is really helping me cope with missing people. Being able to have a ten minute conversation for 20 cents = awesome.

We're going back to Venlo Thursday or Friday since we only have one class, then BRUSSELS this weekend! Then next weekend we're going to Amsterdam. Should be fun times. I'm excited. That's all for now. Love you all! Comment and let me know you're reading!

Monday, September 10, 2007

First day of classes...

Today was the first official day of classes. Already I'm realizing that I chose classes with lots of writing involved. Kind of sucky, but I AM a Writing Major so I should expect it. I just ate dinner and decided to sneak to the computer lab since the wireless internet is down yet again. I don't like the keyboard here so this entry will not be long. Because wireless is down I still haven't been able to make a picture blog yet. I will do this soon. Thankfully they're sending someone to fix the internet tomorrow.

My allergies are killing me right now. I couldn't stop sneezing in one of my classes and had to excuse myself to the bathroom and wait until the sneezing subsided. I took some Bendryl and a nap and it's better but my nose is still very much like a faucet. I think it's from living in this old castle with all its dust and such. Hopefully it'll get better as I get more used to it.

There was a boat tour last night. It was really pretty, but a little chilly. We each got coupons for two free drinks. I got a screwdriver and a hot cocoa (non alcoholic). I loved seeing all the personal boats and little houses and waterfowl. I took many pictures.

I realized that I brought plenty of warm clothes, but not many overly pretty warm clothes. I forgot how into fashion most people seem to be here, and it makes me wish I'd gone a little more adventurous with my packing. I have only two skirts but they're more functional than pretty and the leggins I brought only work with one of them, and I REALLY wish I'd remembered to bring my pretty silver shoes because the black flats I brought give me blisters. Maybe it'll be too cold to care soon, but also maybe I can find some deals in Venlo, a nearby city. But I haven't visited there yet so I don't know what they have for shopping.

Not much else is new. I'm still missing everyone lots. I think I talked to five different people on Skype last night. I love that thing.

I'n gonna go get ready for my next class, Literary Foundations, which goes until 9. Comments on my blog are much appreciated and encourage me to write more :)

Sunday, September 9, 2007

There's a place where things really do close on Sundays...

Okay, so we explored Well yesterday. It's a cute little town with lots of adorable houses and shops and such. I got a few school supplies and necessities like shampoo, body wash, and wine. At night we went to this pub in town and had a few drinks. I had a Malibu and Cola (Pepsi... not Coke... which was dissapointing) and then all the other girls ordered it too since it was the only "girly" drink we knew they had. I also tried some Dutch beer, which was actually quite good.

Today we were woken up at about 8 am by the geese that live outside our window, who were squaking and making all sorts of racket. By "we" I mean Heather and Jill, I actually slept through that annoyance but was woken up about an hour later by some crazy church bells. There was not one set of bells, but two, and they refused to stop. I put my head under my pillow (my lumpy bumpy uncomfortable pillow that I still need to find a replacement for) and blankets and eventually I fell asleep again after closing the windows and blinds. We then woke up for 10, showered and such (7 girls on our floor and one shower... eep!), and went to brunch for 11. After that we went into town again, thinking the supermarket would be open so we could get some snacks for the room, alas nothing was open. So we walked back. Oh, and it was raining. It rains a lot here, and then immediately gets sunny. It's very odd weather.

We met the Executive Director of the program today, Dulcia Myers. She seems pretty awesome, but also a little strict. Aparently, it's a very important semester for the castle program. For those of you who don't know, Emerson students are restricted to a maximum of 90 days in the Schengen Region, which includes these countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Austria, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is now required to get a special kind of student visa to be able to stay longer than 90 days in any and all of these countries, and because Emerson is an American school and not a Dutch institution, we cannot get this visa. Therefore, the itinerary for the program had to change. This is why we go to London and Prague (cities that are in countries not affected by the Shengen visa) and not Florence and Paris like years prior. This gives us exactly 90 days in the Shengen countries. Also in this agreement, Emerson students who are not American citizens (therefore who do not have American passports) cannot take part in the Kasteel Well program, and students cannot visit any of these countries 90 days before or after the program. Dulcia has been trying to work with government officials to fix this for years, but only recently has one agreed to meet with her, here at the castle, and discuss if this can be changed.

So, the week of October 3rd, right before our London trip, not is the governor of Limburg coming to the castle to see the program and talk to Dulcia, but the president of Emerson College, Jackie Liebergot, and a handful of trustees, will be arriving at the castle. So, lots of pressure on us, the students, to behave and show them how awesome this program is.

Tonight we have a boat tour of Well and the surrounding villages. We're also going to a concert. Should be fun times :) I uploaded pictures to my Facebook, so if anyone wants to see them they can look there. For those who can't see my Facebook, I will have them posted here shortly. Hopefully I'll have some time tonight to do so. I might make a Flickr account and just link to it, because I have to make pictures fairly small here and details are lost. I don't know. We'll see. Also, my Myspace is not working, so anyone who left me comments there or whatnot, I cannot get them and probably won't get them. So for comments please use this blog, facebook, email, or even (gasp!) a REAL LIVE LETTER! I'd love some mail.

Jill just found a PRIZE in her cereal. I haven't seen cereal with prizes since I was like, five. The Netherlands is AWESOME.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

HUGE fish!

I would just like to point out that our moat has ENORMOUS fish. I saw them and screamed and Jill yelled out the window "HOW DID YOU GET SO BIG??"

Today we are touring Well, the village we live in. Some people went to the bar last night or explored the town already. Heather, Jill and I were far too tired to think about doing anything but sleep last night. So this will be our first time seeing the village. We have to buy school supplies and such. They provided us with pillows that feel like they're filled with little bits of foam. I think when we go into town I'll try to find a cheap one that is filled with fluff instead.

We've decided that next weekend, for our first trip, we're going to Brussles in Belguim. I have no idea what's there except chocolate, but I'm excited. It's supposed to be really pretty this time of year. I will also get to practice my French since that is mostly what they speak there, as well as Welsh I guess. We're going with another group of girls that Heather is friends with, and our friend Eric is probably coming too.

Not much has happened so far today, I will probably blog again later. <3

Friday, September 7, 2007

Things I Learned Whilst On a Plane...

So, airline food is not as bad as everyone says it is. It's about on par with a frozen tv dinner, not bad at all. There was chicken and mushroom over rice, a salad with lettuce cucumber and tomato, half a sliced apple, individually wrapped cheddar cheese and club crackers, lemon cookies, and cous cous. I enjoyed it.

Getting on the plane wasn't as hectic as everyone said it would be. We checked our bags, went through security, then waited for the plane. It just took a long time since there were 80 of us. The plane ride itself wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still a little scared. I tried to sleep but I don't think I slept for very long. The drinking age is NOT 18 in the air, regardless of where you're traveling, which I discovered when the person in the seat in front of me tried to order a drink. That was amusing. Also, the in-flight movie was pretty cool. There were actually like 20 movies to choose from, and they were all free. I ended up watching The Ex, but it wasn't very good. Terrible actually. There were also video games and music videos and such, even shopping with the duty-free section... I bought nothing, it seemed too expensive for me. I ended up sleeping for maybe two hours when we began to land and I woke up with an explosive pain in my ears. I got some gum and it helped a little but wow. Ow.

I have now been in The Netherlands for 9 hours. I've yet to find the phone to call home. I thought I found one, but it was for local calls only. After I've gotten my fill of internet (which was just hooked up moments ago after being checked for viruses and whatnot) I'll go explore and find one. So far we haven't done much but unpack and eat lunch in the dining hall (which is adorable and looks more like a restaurant than a cafeteria) and listen to the staff tell us stuff about the program.

The grounds are gorgeous. Everything is so green and pretty. There's horses across the street and obscure birds everywhere. Mom was right when she said the ducks looked weird here... they're enormous and kind of ugly. They're white with black spots and red-ish beaks. There's also white geese that everyone is saying are swans. They are geese.

Our room is really nice. We've had a bunch of people come in and express jealousy. I haven't explored the other rooms yet. We didn't get a tower room but it's just as nice. Our enormous windows look out onto the moat and part of the garden. We can see the ducks and GEESE swimming around. We're on the lower floor which was wonderful since Heather and I packed as much as we possibly could using all four types of baggage available to us. My one mishap so far is that a bottle of hair oil I use religiously on my hair (Biosilk!) leaked. About half of what I had is gone and pooled at the bottom of my suitcase. Thankfully, there were few casualties. I had my clothes in plastic vacuum bags so they were completely fine. It was just annoying to clean. There's a lounge for us to chill in that sells food and beverages (including beer and wine, limit 3) in the evening and has a piano and guitar for the more musical among us to dabble with. I haven't seen much else in the castle, but I'm going to probably explore before dinner if I'm not too tired.

Dinner is soon and I need to find a phone to call mom. I will update again, hopefully with some pictures of my room and such.

Miss you all and love you lots!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

People I'll Miss...

Here's some pictures of the things in the US that I'll miss the most...



Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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I'm gonna miss all of you sooo much... thanks for an amazing summer. I love you all!!

And so it begins

Today I officially began packing. Officially meaning gathering all the things I knew I was bringing and trying to figure out what to bring and what to leave behind. With two days to go this is really crunch time but that's how I always pack. Granted, I am going to be gone three months but... Hopefully it will all be alright.

For those of you who are not so up on the details: As of September 6th I will be off to The Netherlands until December 14th. My school owns a castle (yes... a CASTLE...) in Well, The Netherlands (a short ride to Amsterdam) and each semester 80 students are selected to do their studies there. All classes are in English, and there are no classes on Fridays to encourage European travel. I plan on blogging as much as I can so all the people I love back home can keep up to date with my Euro-ventures. I feel like this is a better option than sending an email to a bunch of people at once (though I will be emailing select people too... I have always sucked at being a penpal though so email me first) and will allow me to get comments back and post pictures without using up everyones email space.

So, yeah. This is the first entry. Let's hope I have anough time to keep up on my schoolwork, explore Europe, and keep up a website. Woo!