Verjaardag!

Last week was indeed, my 17th birthday. Saturday the 16th, extended family and a few close family friends came over to celebrate the birthdays of Rob, Katharina, Tim, Roos (family friend), and I. It was very nice, delicious food, fun people, and leuke cadeautijes! There must have been at least thirty people over! Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandfathers, neighbors, dogs, and more. The night prior, we all spent cleaning and cooking in preparation- making cupcakes, quiches, you name it! The party was a success, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I got the movie, "500 Days of Summer," nail polish, hand cremes, money, jewelry, stroopwafels, and socks! After the party, I went to Vierkantje with the girls, because Sunday just happened to be Beau's birthday! 

 Monday was the Daltonloop- a 5km run that most of the school is required to participate in. I got a 29.02, which considering my exercise level here is little to nothing....a pretty respectable time. Not to mention, 18 seconds faster than Tim! 

On Tuesday, we celebrated my birthday and Kat's as well- ate pannenkoeken for dinner, and exchanged gifts afterwards. I got DVD's, hair clips, cake-pop maker w/book, Dutch book called "Matchbook," makeup, and tickets to MAROON 5's CONCERT! It's in July, three days before I leave.

Beau, Maartje, Pascale and Fiona had wanted to throw a birthday party together at some point- and said that I could join in. So in two weeks, we will be giving a party! The theme is Cowboys and Indians (stole it from one of my high school's dance themes). Seems easy enough to dress up for! 

This week is test week, and this morning I took my math exam. It was very hard...I had thought I was so prepared for it, but now I'm doubting. We'll see. My next exam is Thursday, and then Friday I will be going to Tilburg to visit my friend Marlie. Saturday we'll spend the day in Antwerp! 

Yesterday I got an email from AFS with my travel itinerary for my return home...a bit sad and startling, but hey, I still have three months left! 

-Molly

Berlin again!

I never thought I'd get the chance to go back to Berlin this year, but as luck had it, I did! I had the choice between Cambridge and Berlin, but chose Berlin because most of my good friends were going. I did see many of the same monumental buildings, but the trip itself was completely different. I won't go through it day by day, but rather highlight a few things....

One thing I hate about Berlin (although it's not just in this city), and I may have mentioned it before, you have to pay to use the bathroom. Gas stations, train stations, McDonalds, you name it- from fifty cents to sometimes even a euro! And if you really have to go, taking the time to find the exact change, or make change, is not appreciated. I miss free public restrooms!

Well, my class and the class below us, stayed in a very nice hostel/hotel, however, it was located slightly out of the city. Therefore, if we had an activity in the city, transportation would take about an extra thirty minutes or so. Not the end of the world, seeing as the hostel/hotel we stayed at was pretty high end for a school trip!

On the trip we went to the Berlin Zoo, to the top of the TV Tower, to The Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, to the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, did some amazing shopping, and ate pretty good chocolate! Everything in Berlin is cheaper in the supermarkets, so many people loaded up on their fair share of German snacks. 

Going to the top of the TV Tower was pretty cool, the elevator went six meters per second! We went at night, so you could see all of the lights of Berlin. 

The Zoo was pretty nice, although I find the Zoo in Rotterdam better, due to the fact that the animals have a lot more space. However, the monkey section was very cool, as well as the nocturnal, underground part! Unfortunately, the weather was cold and grey that day, so spending five hours walking around outside was not ideal. Nonetheless, my friends and I had a good time looking at the lions, tigers, bears, baboons, and more. 

We also visited the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, which had some really incredible modern art pieces, like nothing I'd seen before. Fiona, Beau and Pascale were required to go because they have Kunst (art class), and Maartje and I just went along for fun. It turned out to be pretty interesting, and I was glad that I went!

I also saw the President of Indonesia! We were walking by a hotel, and there were police cars, security, and a whole crowd surrounding the entrance. We waited for about thirty minutes, and saw him for about two seconds! 

We took a boat ride on the water one day, which passed many historical buildings. The sun was out that day, and the weather was perfect. It couldn't have been better! You could even see the back side of The Berlin Wall, completely plastered with graffiti.  

The trip was pretty great, the best part was spending time with my friends, and getting to know other people from my class. Shopping was also a plus, did I mention that it was amazing?! We went to Primark and spent hoooours in that store alone. H&M Divided is also my new favorite store now, because Berlin had such a cool one! 

The next thing that's coming up for me is...my birthday! Seventeen already....sounds a bit older, right?

Well, for now- more school work. Test week is the week after next, and I have to pass my math test! So I'll spend many afternoons making the homework and studying...

-Molly

Austria and other things.

I realize it's been about a month since my last post, I've been traveling the world! Well, that may be an exaggeration...but I did go skiing in the Alps, and toured Berlin again! So, I have somewhat of a valid excuse.

February has come and gone, and I feel as if time is slipping through my fingers. I have been living here for over two-hundred days, and have less than four months left. That thought makes me want to cry, in both sadness and excitement!

This past month has been very busy, and great fun. I don't think I had a weekend where I wasn't doing something! On the fifteenth of February, I went to De Guyter in Pijnacker, for my friend Nienke's birthday with many other classmates. The famous (in Holland, and possibly Belgium) Yellowclaw was performing that night, so the bar was completely packed! They came on 'stage' (really just a small raised area) around midnight, with strobe lights and all. I had such a fun night, despite how loud, crowded and hot it was in the building! To the left is a picture-collage of the night. It was definitely one to remember! Then again, it feels like most days are here.

The next Saturday I spent ten hours in the car with my host family, headed to Austria! It was quite crammed with six people, everyone's bags, and ski gear. For the drive, Tim and I made thirty sandwiches, so that we only had to stop on the way for bathroom breaks!

Most of the drive was through Germany, until we hit the mountains. Driving through the mountains reminded me so much of going back and forth between Homer and Anchorage! So in other words, they were quite gorgeous indeed.

That week, everyday we went skiing in THE ALPS. We stayed in a small apartment, right in the center of the small town, Neukirchen. In the mornings, Renee and I, or Dennis and Tim, would walk across the street to get pastries for breakfast. After coffee and food, we'd all dress appropriately for a day of skiing, and head to the lift.

Learning to downhill ski was such an adventure- funny, and even at times a bit scary! I realized halfway in the week, that if I didn't look all the way down to the bottom of the slope, I wouldn't get as nervous. Most of the time it worked! I did of course fall down a few times, but who doesn't when skiing in the Alps? Luckily I had Tim, Dennis, Renee and Rob to help me!

Most days were gorgeous at the top of the mountain, with the sun shining so bright that I had to put on sunscreen! Somehow I still managed to get a bit burnt... but that's one of many gingerproblems.

We'd ski until lunchtime, and break for a delicious meal in one of the restaurants. Depending on how tired Renee and I were, we'd either ski after lunch for a bit, or call it a day! It was quite exhausting.

Listening to other foreigners around me was quite entertaining also, because most of them came from either Germany or the Netherlands- therefore I could understand half of them!

In the evenings we'd go out to dinner at one of Marijke and Rob's favorite restaurants (they had been to Neukirchen many times before). The schnitzel was to die for, and I tried so many delicious, Austrian meals and desserts! For the last night in the restaurant, I tried Jagertee, which is a tea that is often drunk in the colder parts of Europe in the winter, even more specifically, in the Austrian Alps during the ski season! It is black hot tea, normally made with rum and other spices. I am a big fan of teas in general, and it was as they'd say here in the Netherlands, heerlijk.

All in all, the trip was fantastic. After dinner each night, we'd all play card games until midnight or so. I had a great vacation, and would honestly love to go back there someday. A girl can only dream!

Saturday we all piled in the car again, and headed back home, to the Netherlands. This car ride I was smart; plugged in my music, and read a book to kill the time! None other than, the well-known 50 Shades of Grey. Now I can understand what all the hype is about!

I was home only on Sunday, because Monday morning I would be headed to Berlin with my class! So of course, Sunday was spent doing laundry and packing for my next trip....

That's for the next post though!

-Molly