Up to date!

Last weekend was the AFS Orientation camp held in a Youth Hostel in Soest. For the first time, I hopped on a train here! From Rotterdam Central Station to Utrecht first, and then I switched to a train headed to Soest. Finding the Hostel from there was quite difficult however, because when I got off the train it was nine o'clock and very dark out! Luckily I ran into a few other lost AFSers, and with the help of a random Dutch man on the street, we found our way...

The camp mainly focused on the Dutch culture, how to adapt, and the language. Socializing with the other AFS students and returnees was really interesting, because there were all kinds of different people from all over the world. We (about 70 kids) all watched "Freedom Writers," which was very inspiring regarding integration of races and ethnicities, as well as how writing affected them.

Seeing Kyle, Colette and Marlo (the other students from the US) was very nice. It was good to see a couple familiar faces! Hearing about their first few weeks was enlightening; some had many complaints while others seemed to have really enjoyed their first experiences here.

Staying in a Youth Hostel was completely different than what I had pictured. Somehow in my mind, "Youth Hostel" sounded...well sketchy. But it wasn't AT ALL, it was like a hotel but with one small room with bunk beds in it, a sink, a room for the toilet and a room for the shower. I was roomed with Colette, and a girl and a boy from Italy.

Being around such a large group of kids my age was eye-opening. There were people from all over the world; Chile, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Turkey, Hungary, China, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, etc. One aspect that really stood out to me was how many of them smoked cigarettes. It seemed like one-third of the group smoked during the breaks...kids my age! That was definitely a culture shock (however, not really a Dutch culture shock). They rolled their own or had packs of Marlboro. I think I just haven't ever really been exposed to a large international group of kids my age before...and had never really thought that smoking was more so accepted in other cultures and countries. It seems like the US has tried really hard to make that habit appear disgusting and immoral. In reality, it's normal in other places for teens to do (not saying it's good, just normal).

When introducing myself, I always liked to say, "I'm from Alaska," rather than "I'm from the U.S." The U.S. includes pretty...average (and a bit boring) states, whereas as soon as I said Alaska people's eyes widened. "What language do they speak there?" "You're the first person I've ever met from Alaska!" "Is there even summer there?" "Are there trees where you live?" "Is it cold there?" No, it's always balmy...

All in all, the camp was great. Taking a train there in itself made me feel more independent. Also, with all the talk of our Berlin trip coming up, I got incredibly excited! On the Saturday that I'm there, I will hopefully get to meet up with Lennart! Plus me, Kyle, Marlo and a few other kids roughly planned a trip to Amsterdam during our fall vacation week (right after Berlin)!
Amsterdam + Youth Hostels + exploring + going out + seeing things = HAS TO BE AWESOME!
Plus, my host mom was fine with it as long as a) I wasn't alone, and b) there was at least one guy in our group! Safety reasons.

Today (Friday) I had my first two tests in school...English I know I did fine on (Dutch to English and English to Dutch translations) but with math...well we'll see. I figure, the worst I can do is fail...and from there, I can only do better, right?!

Skyping with Maddie is always a highlight, hearing about her college adventures is entertaining. I miss her more than I thought I would, because it was like always having a best friend around. The girls in my class are very nice...but also very into their studies and schoolwork. Which is fine, but that's not my focus here at all. I want to go out, experience things! Let's just say, they are no Tiyana :( miss her like a sister too.

Tomorrow we are celebrating Dennis's birthday. Family members and close friends are coming over, so that should be fun to meet everyone. Sunday, the AFS potluck for my region is happening here at the house! I am so excited for that, to get to know the kids living close to me - and hopefully plan some outings! We have to make a dish of our culture/country, so I'm doing what Marlo did at hers; banana bread! I'm hoping that's easy enough, because my cooking skills aren't exactly...impressive.

Next Thursday I have an appointment to get my Residence Permit! I get to miss school, which is nice. It's 600 euro's though! Not cheap to stay here I guess. Oh well, I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end. Like they say, it's not a year in my life, it's a life in a year ;)

I have been trying to go for walks or bike rides every once in a while, when I have spare time and the energy (which can be a rare combination). However, they often are the best parts of my day. This evening for instance after dinner, I wandered through the streets of town until dark...people watching and such. The canals are the prettiest at dawn; only the silhouettes of the ducks (and occasional swans) can be seen. Around eight, small bats will come out as well. This hour of time is a great way to clear my mind, and have the serenity of my own thoughts and nothing more. Constantly being around a new culture and hearing the Dutch language really IS exhausting.

Well, ik ben moe. The tests, along with PE (we have to cycle to another town to use the outdoor facilities), wiped me out today. Plus, it's just been a long week. So being that it's close to one in the morning here...this is it.

I will post another blog within the next week or two, when I have more to say.

-Molly

Rotterdam's Zoo today!

Home?

My breakfast:


Yes I have goats around the corner from the house...


My house!

Sailing BBQ weekend!

My night walk:






So many cows and farmland...




The harbor on the island:


Prepping for the big BBQ:

Rats, school & sailing

School is a combination of sitting in class, listening to lessons taught in Dutch. Without my Resident Permit I am not an "official" student at Wolfert Lyceum yet, so I don't have a locker nor card to scan to open them. I haven't had any textbooks either, but they have just been ordered today. No more zoning out and staring at the wall during class! Well maybe. No it's not that bad...just hard to understand! I've met many new people and made several friends in my grade so far. But the language barrier is definitely hard. In my Dutch class (their version of Language Arts), I sit and do my own Dutch lessons, which AFS provided me (I'll be tested in februari I think, maybe januari). The teacher is very nice and bluntly told me she didn't expect me to complete assignments in her class, due to the fact I know little to nothing in Dutch. She also encouraged me to ask her questions if I need assistance with translations.

I only have a few classes a day, and come home exhausted. I think the exhaustion is caused by constantly being around a language completely foreign to me, as well as that I'm sick with a cold.

This past weekend we spent preparing for and participating in the Sailing Club BBQ, which Marijke arranged. Big party tents were set up on Friday, and Marijke, Renee and I spent the night on their sailboat! I took a walk along a narrow canal that night, passing cows left and right. In the water I watched ducks float by, and then I saw something else. It appeared to be a river otter! I stopped and watched it more closely, until I noticed that it wasn't an otter at all, but a giant rat swimming. I had never seen a rat before...
Talk about disgusting!

On Saturday I went sailing for my first time with Dorris. It was beautiful out, and I manned the sails while she steered. Later in the day, all the food preparation finally paid off. Being of age, I tended the bar the whole night and got to practice my Dutch; "Wat wil jij drinken?" to all that came to the counter.

Fruit Beer was my drink of choice for the night. Sounds weird? It is...but I like it better than normal beer. It tasted of cherry, but still had the carbonated kick of beer to it. Delicious!

I played guitar at the end with a few other people, it was so much fun. Slept in the boat again, which is great EXCEPT FOR THE SPIDERS. I will never be afraid of an Alaskan spider again. They are nothing compared to the big, black hairy spiders that are
e v e r y w h e r e here.

This coming weekend, we might go back to the island and go sailing. Another idea is to go to the zoo; everything is up in the air at this point.

My travel schedule this year:
Oktober: AFS trip to Berlin
December: Skiing trip with the family to Austria
April: School trip to Cambridge!

Other than that, no definite plans have been made. Apparently Paris is only like, four hours from here. So a weekend there would be quite fun! I hope to have waffles in Belgium soon as well :)

In a few weeks, another AFS orientation is held with all AFS Nederland students from all over the world! We will stay in a youth hostile, and apparently the weekend is supposed to be incredibly fun from what I've heard! So I'm pretty stoked.

As for tomorrow, school pictures...

I love Holland so far. I especially love the chocolate sprinkles on bread and butter…to die for! My breakfasts are the best.

-Molly

School tomorrow...

I have never been so nervous for the first day of school in my life.
Today, Marijke and I had a meeting with the school counselor at one. We talked about scheduling and roughly put together what I wished to take. I am only following 5 subjects (plus PE), which for Dutch students isn't many. This is good with me though, because the Dutch language itself will give me enough difficulties in the beginning. If the scheduling works out as planned, I'll have: English, Nederlands, Chemistry (again), Social Sciences, math, and PE.

However, class times are set up differently than what I am used to. For example, I will only have two math classes in a week. Each class is about 45 minutes. Also scheduled in is "Dalton," which is study time. School days have two breaks, whereas at Homer High we had one. My schedule is very...nice and not full. I don't have class until 9:45, and get done at different times, but around 2ish average, or earlier. The counselor will be sending me my exact schedule sometime today, which I'll post and things will be clearer.

I am so nervous. I toured the building, which is shaped like a piece of pie:

When leaving Wolfert Lyceum, students were on break and all in the lunch area. They all stared...

Tomorrow I believe my first class will be English, which is really nice. I feel like making friends in that class won't be difficult... we'll see though. I believe the counselor set up that I'll have another student to show me to my classrooms and help me. All the girls there were clad in colored skinny jeans, and letter-jackets. I'm sure I'll stick out like a sore thumb in my...American attire, so I'll have to go shopping one of these days. Most of the guys have gelled hair...

This coming weekend, The Alders (Marijke, mostly) has organized a BBQ/Campout for their sailing club on an island. There will be about 40 people, and us girls of the family get to sleep on the boat! I'm looking forward to it, hope it doesn't pour.

That's it for now. We'll see how tomorrow goes...

-Molly

Arrival

Flying over New York City has got to be one of the coolest sights ever, with the unbelievable skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty. For the past two days, I had been staying at the Hilton for another AFS orientation, along with other AFS students departing to Europe from the US. The actual 'orientation' was a bit silly and somewhat redundant, but meeting so many different exchange students in the same situation as me was incredible. It was nice to finally be able to relate my nerves and excitement about my trip abroad with other kids going through the exact same feelings. There are also three other students going to The Netherlands, and we're hoping to get together once in a while. Plus, now I know people in all the countries surrounding me and farther, so if I'm ever traveling it'll be nice to be able to meet up with someone I know.

The flight to Iceland was an exhausting 5-hour red-eye flight. Iceland was cool, literally, and we had enough time to grab coffee and relax for an hour. The airport accepted American money, however they gave back Krona (Icelandic money) in change.
From Iceland was a direct 3-hour flight to Amsterdam, which felt even longer than the flight before due to growing anticipation of arrival. I was seated next to two Dutch girls my age, and they were incredibly insightful on the teenage life in Holland (i.e. how Dutch girls dress in high school, what they do in their spare time...)

When the flight began its descent, below us I could see windmills and LOTS of flat, farmland. A bit different than back home...plus, the screens on the back of each seat read that we were 14 feet below sea level when we landed!

After collecting our luggage, each of our host families were awaiting to greet us outside. Mine were holding up a sign, "Welkom Molly" clad in flowers! My family treated me to a piece of Flay, Dutch pie with fruit, on the way out of the airport! The ride to Bergschenhoek was short, and soon enough I was being given a tour of the house, and my new room. My host siblings are so nice!

For a snack, we had raw Herring, Gibbling (fried cod) and smoked eel...seeing as I love seafood this was perfect. For dinner, Marijke made Wiener-schnitzel (a pork dish), potatoes, and green beans. It was SO good to finally have a home cooked meal! I tried switching my fork to my left hand and knife in the right for most of the meal...it felt so awkward though.

So far, I know 5 or 6 phrases in Dutch...if I have the energy tomorrow I'll start working on my lessons. For now, it just sounds like gibberish. Technically my school (Wolfert Lyceum) starts on Monday, but I might wait a few days to get everything figured out.

I love Holland so far. Granted I've only been here since 1pm, but I love it already. Not homesick yet.

Can't wait for what this year's going to bring,

-Molly