Weekend with the Exchange Students

Hey everyone! Well not too much has happened since vacation, but I still did a little bit to keep myself busy. As usual the school week was normal with a few basketball practices in between. It's hard to believe that I only have a few practices left here in the Netherlands. I think they may be the last actual basketball practices of my life because I don't actually play in the States. As I say on every update it has been a great year to be a part of our team here. Yesterday we actually had a game. I thought our games were over but I was wrong. I guess it wasn't really a game though just more like a fun competition. Tracks Parkstad is the club that I am with, but there are several teams within the club so they got all teams together and picked people randomly. So now we all play against each other. It was quite fun yesterday and I met some new people as well. Yesterday was also my first host brothers birthday so I was invited to go over there for dinner. It was just like old times, and I really enjoyed it. Okay, so this past weekend we had a another weekend with the exchange students. This time it was a shorter weekend (literally less than 24 hours) but it was extremely fun. We went wadlopen. Now before you get all confused let me explain to you what it is. This type of walking takes place in the Wadden sea which stretches from the north of the Netherlands all the way up to Denmark. The prerequisite for Wadlopen is a shallow sea. This means that for a few hours of the day, you are able to walk on the sea. In some places there is only a few inches of water and in some places there is just mud. I enjoyed it more when there was a little bit of water because when you were just stepping in pure mud and sinking down half a foot it felt kind of weird but either way it was really fun. We walked for about 3 hours, but it is a little harder to be walking on mud the whole time. It was a good work out to say the least. Not all the exchange students were there because it is getting close to the end of the year and a lot of them are busy. If I can remember correctly I think 8 of us were missing. It's okay though because I will be seeing them again in less than two weeks on the Euro Tour!!!! I know that this is a rather short update and I hope to update again before I go on the Euro Tour, but if I don't I will let you guys know all about it after the trip. Thanks again.

Still in Shock

Well as I said on the last post, I was going to an amusement park the next day with a couple of the other exchange students. It was a blast! The only thing that was bad was the weather, but now that I have been living here for about 10 months, I have kind of gotten used to that. Anyway, the place wasn't that busy. I think the longest we ever had to wait was 30 minutes and people here tend to think that 30 minutes is such a long time to wait. Sometimes I can't help but laugh because most places in the USA you normally have to wait at least an hour. Anyway, last Friday was an awesome day with some of my good friends. Our group is like a family and it is always great when I am able to hang out with other exchange students. Last Saturday, I finally had a relax day after that hectic vacation. Then I was at it again on Sunday. I went to a small town called Horn which is about 30 minutes from where I am. While I was there I visited a family that has been so great to me since I have been here. I have seen them several times. I only know them because my youth minister back at home met them before (I don't know if I had mentioned that before). They are such a great family and have helped me out so much this year. They are truly a blessing. I was there for XLT which is a worship night (I am sure I have mentioned this before). It was absolutely amazing. Sunday was definitely the "Highlight" of my vacation. I got to spend time with a great family and I got to go to Church. That to me is an awesome day! The next day I was back at school. I keep telling myself that time is just going to keep flying by and it is. Every week seems so short, but that is probably because I have been so busy lately. The week at school was just another normal week filled with everyday exchange student stuff. Tuesday I made it back to my host club after close to a month so it was definitely nice to see everyone again. Thursday I had basketball practice and I made sure I was extra loud this time. The season is over now but we are still practicing. I know I have said this before but the basketball team that I am part of is a great team. We are all friends and they have helped me out so much this year too. If I am having a down day, I show up at practice and I just can't stop smiling and laughing. All of them are such great friends and I am going to miss them a lot when I leave, but one day I will show up and surprise all of them. I now have only ten days of school left. The Europe Tour begins three weeks from today and next week I have off from school Thursday and Friday and then the week after that I have Monday off as well. It really makes me realize how little time I have left here. Tomorrow my host sister and her boyfriend are taking me to a city up north called Den Bosch. I have been there before but we only walked around for about an hour but I absolutely loved it so I can't wait! These next few weeks I am going to be really busy and then soon enough I will be going on the Europe Tour! I am so excited for these last few weeks that I have here! I will try and update again and thanks for reading!

Time is Winding Down

Well I guess I let time pass me by, because it has been close to a month since my last post and I was almost positive that I just updated a week or so ago. Anyway, I am on vacation again and my goodness what a vacation it has been so far. Sunday evening I had a basketball game in Maastricht. It was our last game of the season and we lost 49 to 50. When you are that close to winning, you obviously wish you would have won especially with the game being the last game of the season, but we all played well and I am glad that I was able to be a part of the basketball team on my year abroad. The guys on the team are really great friends and they have made the year a lot easier for me. The same evening, I went to Leiden which is the city where we had our Dutch Orientation Course (DOC) at the beginning of the year. I met up with another exchange student there and on Monday morning we met up with a few others in Amsterdam. Monday was a holiday here in the Netherlands. The holiday is called Queens Day and Amsterdam is the place to be. Total there were I believe 700,000 people from other countries and close to the million that live there. So in total there was almost 2 million people. Now when I think about it, it isn't really that many people but Amsterdam isn't very large in land area so 2 million people in a smaller area looks like a lot. Honestly, it was crazy, but it was a lot of fun. Pretty much everyone dresses up in orange so when you are walking down a street with a few thousand people you just see orange which is funny at times, but when you are with friends it is quite easy to get lost if everyone is wearing the same color. Queens Day is definitely a day to remember from my exchange year so far. It was a great day. Later in the evening on Monday I went back to a place near Leiden to stay with a different exchange student. I stayed there for 2 nights. On Tuesday we biked several miles to go to the beach. When I got there I couldn't help but think of the east coast in the USA and how much I miss it, but who knows, maybe it is just the water I miss. On Tuesday, we also went to my friend's host club for a Rotary meeting. It was quite nice visiting another club here in the Netherlands and seeing how the clubs are different everywhere you go. Wednesday, we both came back to where I live in Limburg. We had dinner with my host family and then later went to a movie. This morning, we took a bike ride into Germany (which I have never done) because I live about 3 miles from the border. I know I have mentioned this before, but it really is a whole different world right on the other side of the border. It's absolutely crazy. This vacation has been hectic, but I really enjoy keeping busy. Tomorrow I will be heading out again to go to an amusement park up north with a few other exchange students and then on Sunday I am meeting up with a family. I have been so busy lately and time is just flying by. I have less than 2 months here and with every day that passes by I just keep getting more and more excited. I can't wait to see my family, my friends, and I just can't wait to get back home. I love it here and it's going to be hard saying goodbye, but as soon I say goodbye to the people here and I will be saying hello to my family and friends back in Arizona.

Wow!

So for those of you who don't know, I just had my birthday on the 26th of March. That means that I am now 17. Unfortunately, I don't feel like it, but age is just a number. Personally, I thought my birthday was great. I mean it was a rough day because I am away from home and everyone wants to be home for their birthday. However, I am very happy that I was able to experience my birthday in the Netherlands. I did not throw a huge party or anything like that, but I had a great time with my new host family. I can honestly say that so far things are going quite well between us and I am definitely going to enjoy staying here for my last months here in the Netherlands. I didn't think a birthday here was too different from the birthday's in the USA. However, for dinner we cooked ourselves on the kitchen table. I have never seen nor heard of that in the USA, but I really enjoy it. The food is also amazing but as you all of you already know I really love food so of course I brought food up again. Now that I am 17 and in the Netherlands I can say that I feel more mature. I still act immature but I know that I have matured a lot. You really have no choice though when you are away from family at such a young age. I have also realized that I have faults just like everyone else. I use to think that I did nothing wrong, but honestly I think that is normal because almost every teenager thinks they are always right and they think they are invincible whether they think so or not. Another thing I have realized over the course of 8 months is that I never would have thought how different cultures were if I hadn't come here. I know that I sometimes say that the culture isn't much different, but they are totally different. The people here act different than those in the USA and everything in every day life is done a different way. I am not saying that either culture is wrong I am just saying that they are different and I am glad that I have finally realized it. It is amazing what comes to you as you age. I wonder what it's gonna be like when I'm 40....or 80.....but I don't want to think about that now because I am still young and I have a lot to learn in life. Anyway, enough about that stuff. I will continue on the past few weeks. Last week and the week before last we had test week at school. They have 3 test weeks here in the Netherlands. However, since I can't fully understand everything in a lesson yet I only took an English and Math test. Last week we had Wednesday through Friday off and on Easter Monday so we pretty much had a another week off of school. I do have to say that this vacation was one of the best I have had so far (besides going to London and Duinrell with my first 2 host families). Thursday I was with 2 other exchange students and we went on a day trip throughout the Netherlands. We pretty much visited the entire west coast of the Netherlands. I left at 9 in the morning and I actually had to stay the night at an exchange student's house because I would not have made it back in time for the midnight bus which is the last one. So if my math is correct we were traveling for about 16 hours. I think the coolest thing we did was visit Texel which is an island in the Northwest of the Netherlands. We actually had to take a ferry to get there. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to get back so we took a bus to tour the island. There are not many people living on the island but it sure is beautiful. That was my first time on a small island and I found it to be quite an experience. On Saturday I went to Amsterdam to meet some more exchange students. I really love going to Amsterdam because of the history and the architecture. I think it is a beautiful city to visit. Later that night I was with 3 other exchange and we stayed the night together in a town nearby The Hague. We went to a club and just hung out for a little. It was a ton of fun and the exchange students are like family to me so even if we are only together for a day it is always hard to say goodbye. As all of you know, I only have 2 and a half months left here. It has been a great year so far, but I intend to make it even better. Time has gone by so fast and I can't wait to get back to my family in AZ but I know that I am going to miss not only the Netherlands, but all of my friends and my 3 great host families that opened their homes to me and made this year possible for me. I really can't believe this year is coming to an end so quickly, but I am going to make the best of these last 2 and a half months. Thanks for reading everyone.

Third and Final!

Hey everyone, well I just realized that I haven't update my blog in 15 days. So let me fill you in on what has been happening on the other side of the world. First of all, I just keep realizing how fast time is going by and how little time I have left in the Netherlands. It is so sad to think about, but you all probably understand. I have so much to do when I go back to the USA (I probably already talked about this). So in a way I am excited to get back to everything. My family, my friends, baseball, and the warm weather. Anyway, These past few weeks have been kind of down. I have been sick for literally almost an entire week, but today I almost feel normal again, so I am very happy. I was also sick a few weeks ago. I don't know what's going on with my immune system but most people are saying that I don't have enough Vitamin C or I don't eat enough fruit or vegetables. I can definitely see that it may be the reason, but I try to tell myself that it's not because I like eating junk food. Just because I have been sick doesn't mean that these past few weeks haven't been any fun because they have been. The past few weeks were also the last few weeks I had left with my second host family. I had a great time staying with them and I sure hope that gave them a good experience because it was their first time hosting somebody. I know I had a great experience while I was staying with them. I think I am pretty lucky to have the host families I have. Not much has happened at school the past few weeks. Most of the days were laid back because a lot of teachers were gone so I didn't have too many classes. However, I did find out that we have another test week coming up. And with my luck, of course it has to start the day of my birthday, but oh well. I am sure that it will still be a great day. Come to think of it I am turning 17. Dang, I am getting old. And mom/dad since I know you are reading this, I just thought I would let you guys know that you guys are getting pretty old too :p. So now that I got my stupid joke of the day out of the way I will talk about something else. Yesterday, I moved again to be with my third and final host family. Unfortunately, I was still a little sick so I wasn't as alive as I normally am. So far, I really like it here. The family is a big family and I am the youngest one which I am not use to so it's going to be quite an experience. I think these last 3 and half months are going to be ones to remember. I think these next 3 and a half months are going to be the best of my exchange. I will try my very best to make sure of that. I am really looking forward to getting to know my new host family better and hopefully I can make it a good first experience for them as well. I will try and update again soon!

Delft

Hey everyone, it feels good to be updating more often again. I hope all of you enjoy reading my posts as well. Last Weekend, during vacation, an exchange student and I went to Delft together. He is one of the exchange students that I don't know very well, but I got to know him better last weekend when we went to Delft together. Anyway, Delft is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited in the Netherlands so far. For those of you who know about the famous blue pottery than you should know that it comes from Delft. Surprisingly, we didn't actually go in any places that actually sold the pottery. One of the reasons being that we only saw 2 places that actually sold stuff like that. Okay, so I will try and recap the day as best I can. We arrived at the Delft train station at about 11:30. From there we walked to the center of the city. That is when I actually was able to see how beautiful the city was. The population of Delft is about 95,000 people (I just thought I would throw that random fact in there). It is a decent size with a few cool shopping streets. I particularly like Delft because it is very quiet and peaceful even though it is where a lot of students attend college. It was so easy to get around because of the small crowds. Normally when you go to famous towns like Delft, it is flocked with tourists and things  like that, but maybe my friend and I got lucky. Anyway after walking around for about an hour we decided to get something to eat. We went to McDonalds (why, I don't know but it sure was good). Since I can never stop talking about food I will tell you what I ordered. I ordered a stroopwafel mcflurry. I think I have tried to explain what a stroopwafel is before but it is really hard to say what it is. Let's just say that is a really good tasting cookie kind of thing. So as you may have already guessed, they put that in the mcflurry. My goodness, I am going to miss that mcflurry when I go back to the USA. After McDonalds, we walked around some more trying to decide what to do. In a really nice center square, there is a beautiful Church called the Nieuwe Kerk. When we went in, we had a choice to pay 2 euro to go inside and look at some art work, or 2 euro to climb the tower. We obviously decided to climb the tower. Personally, I have never been in a church tower before so it was quite an adventure and quite a trip climbing up the stairs. We were able to go outside and that was when the excitement/adrenaline really kicked in. First of all, it was extremely windy so it felt like we were about to blow over the railing and we must have been about 100 meters off the ground. Normally, I am not one to be scared of heights, but this time I was. I soon got over that though once I looked at Delft from a higher point of view. Delft looks amazing when you're above it. It literally took my breath away (but I also may have been out of breath because of all the stairs). I have to say that it was one of the most exciting and most memorable moments of my exchange so far. After that, we just continued walking around Delft and taking pictures like tourists do. We left delft about 5 to go to Leiden so I could visit my host family from the DOC. It was so nice seeing them again. They really made that week a lot better for me and much easier. My friend and I were invited to have dinner with them so we stayed til about 8:30 and than it was back to the train station. Fortunately for my friend it was only about a 5 minute train ride for him and for me it took about 3 and half hours to get back. I really don't mind though because the time goes by fast and I am here to enjoy as much as I possibly can. I will try and update again soon.

Carnaval! (And Vacation, Again)

Hey Everyone! I guess I am getting better at this update thing again, because it's only been seven days. I have many things to talk about though so that is why I am updating all of you. I am on vacation right now (again) because of Carnaval. I hope I don't have to explain to all of you what Carnaval is because the only thing I know about it is that it is a religious holiday right before the Catholic time of Lent. But if you were here, you wouldn't think that. Carnaval however, is an absolute blast. It is also really funny to see all the people dressed up. It is kind of like Halloween with all the costumes, except everyone here wears some sort of crazy and funny outfits. Mine however, was not very funny. I wore some pink suspenders and sprayed my hair pink and white. I also wore bunny ears for a little while, but I decided to take those off. People my age normally go out and party with friends to a club or something like that so that is what I did. One thing I want to talk about is the music they play here for Carnaval. It's nothing like I have ever heard before (no it's not because it's in Dutch or German). The music is a mixture of like.......I don't know, I can't even explain. It is really fun music to dance to though (if you can dance, and I can't but it's more fun that way). I think experiencing Carnaval was one of the best experiences of my exchange so far. I got to have a true taste of culture during Carnaval. Like I said, it was an absolute blast, and being with friends makes it even better. Most of the culture that goes along with Carnaval here is drinking, but that is culture so there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I actually find it quite cool (even though I don't do it) and it makes things more interesting sometimes. On Monday there was a huge parade in Brunssum that lasted at least 2 hours. I have never seen such funny outfits and bazaar floats. It was quite an experience. The parade itself wasn't much different than those in the USA but the floats and people definitely were. A lot of the people walking had a beer in their hands which I though was quite funny. I love the people here. I don't think many people in the USA would do that, nor would people be tolerant of that, but I could be wrong. As usual, I have a busy week coming up again. I am going to a friends tomorrow, and on Friday I am going to Delft (famous for the blue pottery). On Saturday my host family and I have a meeting with my third host family which I am looking forward to and on Sunday I have another basketball game. About basketball, we won 2 straight before our last game, because we lost our last game. But like always, we played hard, but my shooting was horrible. Now back to the host family thing. I can't believe I am only 3 and a half weeks away from moving again. The thought of moving to a third and final host family is mind boggling. I have just a little over 4 months here. I still can't believe how fast time is going by. I love it here and I am actually sort of planning on moving back here when I am older (like 50). The culture is amazing, the people are amazing, and the food is amazing. Anyway, I am looking forward to moving again. I love the host family I am with right now, but the idea of change always makes me excited now. In my next posts, I think I may get into my plans for when I get back home since time is going by so fast. I will update again soon. Also, for all the Catholics out there, I want to wish you a very successful Lent. I myself am practicing the season of Lent and I am really looking forward to it. I fasted today and it was an incredible experience. Thanks again everyone for reading.

The New Inbounds

Hey all. I guess I told a little lie because I said that I would update again soon on my last post, but as you can see almost a month has gone buy since my last update. Anyway, I was able to meet the other exchange students that just arrived several weeks ago. They are from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and New Zealand. From what I could tell, they are a good group and I know that we are all going to have a lot of fun together. I think most of the fun, however, will be on the Europe tour in June. My exchange has officially passed the halfway point and I still can't believe it. I don't want to leave this place, but I have to. I am falling in love with this place more and more everyday. The Netherlands is one of the most beautiful places on earth in my eyes. The people are outgoing, it is rich in history, and the country is beautiful. I am sure you have all heard this before, but I feel like I can't say it enough. I really hope I don't forget this experience in the future. All I have been doing is blogging, and as you can see I don't really blog that often. I think I either need to start blogging more or begin writing in my journal again. This experience has changed me in ways that I never even thought would be possible, but I guess I was wrong. I used to be really shy and not very outgoing and now I am still shy but not too much and I think I am a much more outgoing person. I act crazy around our basketball team. If you were there at the practices you would probably notice right away. I am always smiling and messing around, but I am serious at the same time. We all get along really well, just like the rest of my friends and I. Anyway, I will get back to the weekend where I met the other exchange students. I arrived in Twello at about 8 o clock. I thought I would be on time, but than a few of us got lost. I think at the end of it all, we didn't arrive until ten. I can say one thing about exchange students (but not all). We are not very good when it comes to directions. That may be an instinct of ours. Maybe we always get lost so we can explore what is around, or maybe we do it on purpose. The world may never know, and neither will I. The get together was at a Rotarian's house. When I say house, I mean a castle (not literally). This place was absolutely huge. It was by far the biggest house I have ever been in. I would say that the house was probably around 12,000 square feet (don't know how big that is here in Europe). But hopefully that gives you all a picture of the size of the house. Anyway, I went up to every exchange and introduced myself. I kind of spoke to them in Dutch just to see how much they learned during the DOC and they were pretty good. I think they all speak Dutch pretty well for the month that they have been here. The next day was the closing ceremony. It was already time to say goodbye to the exchange students we had just met. And with my luck, the nearest one lives in Eindhoven which is about an hour away by train. But that's okay because Limburg is the best! We received a little bit more information on the Europe tour as well as far as who was going and where. We will know most of the information at the end of March. I can't wait for that trip! I know that I probably left out a lot more, but I will update again next week since I am on vacation.

London!!!!!

Like I said in my last blog post, I waited to get back from London, England to update again. I just got back on Monday. London was absolutely amazing. I am pretty sure it is the biggest city I have ever been in even though I am coming from the USA. Although, I have to admit that the British do an awesome job when it comes to organization. When going up and down an escalator in the metro station, you have to stay to the right or the left, I can't remember. But anyway if you don't want to move and you would rather just stand there to wait to get to the top/bottom then you have to stand to the side so the people that are in a hurry can get past and move up/down quicker. The great thing was that people actually read and payed attention to the signs. I don't know why I am even talking about this, but it kind of shocked me while I was there. Even though London is so big, the underground metro is really easy to use so you can go pretty much anywhere in a matter of minutes. Since my host parents have a little daughter I was walking around and sight seeing by myself most of the time. I was able to see pretty much every major tourist attraction while I was there. I think the one thing I didn't visit while I was there was St. Paul's Cathedral which I'm sure is probably beautiful. The problem occurred though when I got off the metro. I am 16 years old, so therefore my sense of direction is absolutely terrible. Most of the time I would get lost, so I would just follow a group of people and I would wind up in an awesome place. An example of that was on Monday when I followed a huge group of people to Buckingham Palace where I witnessed the changing of the guards which was pretty cool. Even the times that I didn't follow a group of people I wasn't disappointed with the outcome. London is a beautiful city, so no matter where I was, I was fascinated with what was around me. England is known for their fish and chips (I think) but I didn't have any of that. I am going to sound like I am definitely from the States right now, but I ate at McDonalds twice while I was London. I did try to find other places to eat, but I just wound up eating there instead. I guess I missed that place. Anyway, I don't want to get sidetracked when it comes to food because those of you that read this know how much I talk about food. Before leaving the subject of food though, I have to tell you one thing. Pub food in England is probably the best food I have ever had in my life. It is also pretty amazing because even though London is so big and busy, Pubs are so relaxed and quiet. Okay so I will get back to the adventures. As I said before, I visited pretty much everything. That includes Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, the Parliament Buildings, and so many other things. I walked for 4 hours or more everyday because I was so excited that I was in a city like London. My host parents and host sister along with me stayed with a great family while we were there. This world is even smaller than I thought. The people we stayed with were some of Rosanna's good friends from college. I don't know about you, but I think that is pretty cool. I really enjoyed my stay with them for the few days that we had there. I do have to say that I actually spent some money while I was there. Normally I am so cheap and I don't buy anything when I go to places like that, but I did this time and I sure am glad I did. In a few days I hit the half way mark of my exchange. It is sad to think about because I am having so much fun here and I have some awesome friends as well. These 5 months (almost 6) have gone by incredibly fast. Although, I can't wait til I am home so I can share some the European culture with everyone. I do have a lot to look forward to for the rest of my exchange though, so for now, I don't want to think about returning home just yet. I have a Rotary weekend this weekend, so maybe I won't keep all of you waiting another 3 weeks til my next update. I will try to update again soon.

Holiday Season

It took me so long to update because I wanted to wait for the holiday's to be over. I am not happy at all that they are because this time of the year is a blast especially when you are experiencing it in a place like the Netherlands. The past 3 weeks have been loaded with traveling even after that five country in one day tour. My host family took me to a little town called Thorn about 30 minutes up north. Thorn is otherwise known as the White Village. Most of the homes and buildings are white because a while back the people wanted to hide the poverty that was in the town so they decided to paint the buildings white. While we were there we went inside another awesome Church that was also white inside. Then my host family and I went out for a walk, but I am not going to talk about that. After Thorn, I met up with some exchange students in Arnhem which is a really nice city up north. We didn't spend time in the city because we decided to go to the zoo before hand. The zoo was pretty fun mostly because the exchange students and I know how to make things even more fun. My day was made even better because this time I had absolutely no trouble with NS which is the main transportation system here in the Netherlands. When all the exchange students are together it is crazy, but yet so fun. The next day one of the Rotarians in the Host Club took me to Antwerp, Belgium. I love architecture and so does he so it was an awesome day. Antwerp has some of the most beautiful architecture I have seen since I have been here in Europe. The city is filled with old buildings and beautiful Churches. I am glad we were in Antwerp because that is the Flemish speaking part of Belgium so I was actually able to understand what people were saying. I just realized that I skipped Christmas here in the Netherlands. On Christmas eve we went to my host Grandma's house where I was able to meet more of my host family's family. I have to say that it is pretty fun hanging out with all of them. Christmas morning we went over to my host dad's  mom and dad to have breakfast. Unfortunately I was feeling kind of sick on Christmas but I tried my best to not make it ruin Christmas. We didn't actually open gifts until the 26th because here in the Netherlands they kind of have two days of Christmas. The 26th I believe is referred to as boxing day but I could be wrong. In other words, Christmas isn't much different from Christmas in the USA. Surprisingly, I wasn't homesick on Christmas, but that was probably because Christmas this year didn't actually feel like Christmas. It was most likely because time has been passing by so fast that I haven't been able to catch up with it. A few days ago my host family and I went to The Hague (Den Haag). The Hague is a beautiful city just like pretty much every other city I have visited. That day was the first day that I had seen the sun in a while. Since the sun was out, my host family decided to go the beach. I have never been so cold in my life, but it was fun. As all of you know, yesterday was New Year's Eve. I spent New Year's Eve with some of my great friends that I never get tired of hanging out with because they are so great. Yesterday was sort of a rough day for me because I was quite homesick. I wasn't sure why but I think it had to do with the fact that I knew I would wake up in a new year and I wouldn't be with my family. I love my family so much back in the USA and I can always count on them. To be honest though, I have a family here that is great as well. My host family is great and my friends are like family to me. So I guess in a way, I do wake up to family every day that I am here. My friends were there yesterday to help me get over my homesickness so besides that it was a great night. I didn't want the night to end, and no one else did either. At midnight the sky lit up with fireworks so that was a cool experience. I told my friends there last night that one of my resolutions was to act like myself again. I think they may need to be prepared for the real me because I am pretty crazy, and my friends and family back at home are probably thinking the same thing. So for 3 hours last night, I was acting like myself and we were all having a great time. I haven't laughed so hard in quite a while. I didn't wind up getting home til 3:30 in the morning and even then I didn't actually go to bed. So last night was a long and fun night. It is 2012 now and I know that it is going to be another great year. My host family and I are heading off to London in 3 weeks, so I don't know if I will wait til then to update again, but we will see. Happy 2012 everyone!

Great Times

This past weekend was an absolute blast. A Rotarian took 3 of us to Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Belgium in one day! I love Europe sooooo much. It is amazing to see how the countries differ so much even though they sit right next to each other. The drive was about 300 miles, but it didn't seem that long. Our first stop was Belgium. We went to La Roche and that small city was absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen anything like that town. Our next stop was Luxembourg, the capital. I think that was my favorite city that I visited over the weekend. I definitely wasn't expecting what I saw when I went there but that is the great thing about Europe. We had lunch at a Mexican restaraunt there and me being me, I ordered a burger. I guess I am still not missing the Mexican food too much. We visited an American war cemetery while we there in Luxembourg where approximately 5000 American soldiers were buried including George Paton. While I was there, I stood still for a few minutes and looked over the graves. I realized then how truly thankful I am to be part of a country where an American soldier is willing to give his life for my freedom. Then we went to Thionville, France. We walked around there for a little and that city was beautiful as well. We got some freshly made churros while we there. I you may think it is wierd how I always talk about food on my blog, but that is just a sign of how good the food really is here. The architecture in the city of Thionville was more modern it seemed like but it still had a lot of character. Then we went to Trier, Germany. It was dark by the time we got there and everyone was out and about. We spent most of the time at the Christimas Market walking around. I could barely move because of how many people were there. It was insane! The highlight of that city I think was a building that dated back to about 120 AD. It was absolutely incredible. After that it was time to return back to my new great host family. I am pretty much completely settled in with my new host family and I am really enjoying my time here. It feels almost just like home. Yesterday I had another basketball game. We lost but it was still really fun. I really like playing on the team I am a part of because everyone is there to have fun. I like playing basketball with a team that plays for fun. I am really good friends with everyone on the team and they take good care of me. I love it here so much! Only two weeks til Christmas and I know I am going to miss home, but I am really excited to celebrate Christmas here in the Netherlands. I know this post isn't as long as it should be, but I have to get back to studying for my test tomorrow. I will update in a few weeks and reflect on the things I missed in this post.

All Moved In

I did not write the week before this, because not much was going on and I know that it is hard to believe because I am an exchange student. It wasn't because I was being lazy, it was just because nothing was really going on, but this last weekend a lot happened. On Friday it was time to pack to move in with my next host family. It is definitely like me to start packing the night I had to bring my stuff over. Amazingly it didn't take to long, but goodness, I have a lot more stuff with me then what I came here with. I had to bring two seperate bags with me just to pack everything, but that could also be because I am quite bad at packing. Friday night was my last night with my first host family. I still can not thank them enough for being a part of this opportunity and for being such a great host family. It was definitely hard to leave them, but thankfully they live about a mile away. Saturday night, all three host families came together to celebrate Thanksgiving. The food was almost exactly the same as back home in Arizona (turkey, mashed potatoes, bread, stuffing, etc) but I am in Europe so I can't expect it to be the same. It really reminded me of the holiday Thanksgiving. On Thursday I said all that I was thankful for, but on Saturday during dinner, I really thought about what I said to myself. I realized how truly blessed I actually am. I have a great family waiting for me back in Arizona/Maryland/Illinois/Pennsylvania, and the 3 host families that I have here are great. I thank God for blessing my family and I. One thing this exchange has done for me is make me realize and appreciate my surroundings even more. I have been here for almost 4 months now and I am already looking forward to the day that I get to stare my family in the eyes again, but I also know that saying goodbye to the life that I have established here is going to be extremely difficult. I am going to bring so much knowledge with me back to the USA and I can't wait for that day to come. But for now, I am going to enjoy the remainder of my time here in the Netherlands because it is going by quickly. Back to the Thanksgiving dinner....I was able to socialize with my third host family more during the dinner and I know that I am going to enjoy my time there as well. When the dinner was over, it was time to say goodbye to my first host family and move onto the next. It was hard saying goodbye to them, but I knew that the second host family was great too and I was right. I have only been with them for 2 days so far, but I really like it. We get along great, and I am really looking forward to the rest of my stay with them. On Sunday, we took my little host sister to a little Sinterklaas party (a really popular holiday here) that I found to be quite nice. I really enjoy going out and celebrating the traditions here and every time I get the opportunity to become a part of the tradition I immediately jump on the opportunity. Today was just another normal day at school, so as usual I enjoyed it. Well depending on what goes on this weekend, I might update again in another week, but I am not sure yet. Thanks for reading.

Rotary Weekend in Den Haag (The Hague)

I know I haven't update in 2 weeks but that is because last week if I wrote it would have been like a paragraph update. After this update it might be another two weeks before I update because I am moving in with my new host family on the 26th so next week is going to be a busy week because of packing and everything. Besides last weekend, not much has happened in that past 2 weeks suprisingly. Or a lot of stuff has happened but I have forgotten what I did because I am sort of having a brain fart as I am typing. Anyway, this past weekend was amazing. Friday I went to Den Haag to meet up with all the other exchange students. My luck with the Dutch transportation system hasn't been too great since I have been here. I missed both trains on the way to Den Haag so I was late to the station where everyone was standing around waiting for me. Besides the bad luck with the transportation, the rest of Friday was great. The first stop on Friday was lunch, and everyone that has been reading this blog knows that eating the food here is one of my favorite things to do. After lunch we visited the House of Europe where one of the main people gave us an introduction to how the European Union is doing economically and how the system works which I found to be quite interesting. Being an exchange student is a responsibility so I enjoy learning about what is going on in the world. We spent about and hour and a half or so at the House of Europe and then we were all greeted by the host families that we would be staying with during the weekend. I must say that my friend and I got really lucky because our host family was awesome. They told us we could visit again anytime so I am going to try and go back. Friday turned out to be a long and fun day. Saturday had more in store for us. Our first stop was a museum filled with mostly art. Downstairs however, were the wonder room where pretty much everyone spent the hour that we had there. The wonder rooms were kind of a mixture of everything ranging from a blue room to a fashion room. The museum was fun, but it was not too interactive. After the museum we walked for close to an hour to a restaraunt on the beach where we had lunch. My goodness what a good lunch it was. Everyone was given 5 euros to do a little Sinterklaas shopping (Sinterklaas is a really big holiday here in the Netherlands but I believe the real Sinterklaas day is on December 5). We all wrote down our names and what we wanted and then we all set off to buy something for whoever we chose from the drawing. I am not too good at gift giving or finding the correct thing so I was not able to get the person what she wanted but I did get her some nice Delft blue pottery that she can take home. What I got, well that is a different story and I am not going to tell. All I can say is that all the exchange students know I am a good kid and I don't really do anything bad so they got me something that I would react to but I thought it was really funny. The rest of the day was pretty much a chill day with the other exchange students which everyone always enjoys. Later in the evening we had sort of a goodbye party sort of thing to say goodbye to the exchange students that came in January. There are new exchange students coming in January again, but this group was a really awesome group and they are definitely going to be missed. So that was a really depressing moment for pretty much everyone. Later in the evening we had a music workshop with a few guys that taught us. We later had to play for Sinterklaas and the other Rotarians that were there. Everyone enjoyed that as well. Saturday in total was about a 15 hour day of doing something with everyone so it was a another long but fun day. Sunday was a good day as well. Our first step was a museum, but it was more of an interactive museum so that was cool. The museum was supposed to show us what it was like to be a refugee and I thought they did a pretty good job because I kind of felt like one during the tour. After that it was lunch time again so we stopped by McDonalds. After McDonalds we made our way to a famous art museum where a lot of famous paintings from people such as Rembrandt were on display. I am not the biggest fan of art, but when you are hanging out with other exchange students, you can make an art museum really fun. After that it was time to walk back to the train station and say possibly a final goodbye to the exchange students that came in January. I rode home with two of my good friends for most of the way because they live near me. I thought I was going to get lucky and have no problems and I would be back with no problem, but nope that didn't end up happening. They were working on the tracks so we had to go back to Roermond and wait for a bus to take us to the Sittard train station. Well like when I was traveling to Amsterdam, I think at least 500 people were waiting for a bus so I was standing there for 2 hours in 40 degree weather. That didn't help the fact that I was already exhausted and now I was standing in the cold so when I finally arrived back at my host family's house I felt like crap and I did not go to school today because I don't feel to great. Anyway besides the bad experiences with the Dutch transportation system, the weekends was awesome and I can't wait until the next one.

Vacation!

This past week I was off of school and had vacation. The vacation was a lot more busy than I anticipated, but I am glad it was because it sure was fun. On Saturday (the Saturday before last Saturday) I met up with one of my good friends who is an exchange student in Amsterdam. Getting to Amsterdam was quite an adventure to start off. I went by train, but they working on some tracks so I had to take a bus from one train station to another. Normally it takes about 2 and a half hours to get to Amsterdam and on Saturday it took about 4. At least 500 people were waiting for the busses to come by and take us to the Hertogenbosch train station. So for about an hour I was standing outside in 40 degree weather and of course me being me I was not dressed to appropriate for that weather. And to make matters worse that day, before I took the bus I was on the train and my mp3 player broke. Now it works again, but I pretty much had nothing to do for 4 hours except look out the window of the train which I find quite nice especially being in such a beautiful country. When I finally arrived in Amsterdam I met up with my friend and his sister who was visiting from Germany. I was in Amsterdam for about 6 hours before coming back. We spent about an hour in Amsterdam looking for a Turkish restaraunt which was definitely worth it after the search. After the long search and a great lunch we decided to go to a bakery. I try to make it a tradition for myself to go to a bakery every time I travel just because the food is so good. After that we went to the red light district. I don't think it is as bad as what people make it out to be. What goes on there isn't necessarily good, but I think seeing and experiencing it is a good thing. Then the next day, my counselor and his family took me to Cologne, Germany. My goodness that city is absolutely beautiful. Cologne has the oldest cathedral in Germany. It started being built about 600 years ago and since it is so old it is still being worked on constantly. I think it is so awesome that such a beautiful city in another country is only an hour away by car. I am so thankful that I have people that do these kind of things for me because it is all a great experience. Then Monday through Friday, my host family took me to Duinrell which is a holiday park near Den Haag (The Hague). Duinrell has a small but exciting amusement park and a really great indoor water park called the Tiki Bad. I am pretty sure that I went on every ride in the amusement park while I was there and almost every water slide in the waterpark. On Wednesday we went to Madurodam which is Holland in miniature size. I found it to be quite exciting and I am so glad we went because it was on my to-do list for while I am here. Now that I went there, I can add more things to my to-do list because most of the stuff that was there, I did not know of. Thursday we went to the sea and had some snacks and drinks by the sea as well. After the sea we went back to Duinrell for a few hours and then went out to eat where I had the best spare ribs I have ever had. On Friday we went to Corpus which is a really nice interactive musuem of the human body. Unfortunately I was not able to take any pictures during the tour of the human body, but it was really cool. On Saturday I was back from Duinrell, but the fun did not stop there. On Saturday I had a baskteball game. We didn't win but I still thought we played well as a team. Later that day I went to a party that I was invited to. It was really fun and I am glad that I have the friends that I do. Sunday was more of a rest day which I needed desperately. I will update again soon.

Maastricht

Well last week was just another normal busy week, but I like those kind of weeks. On Saturday my friends and I went to Maastricht. I had to get up at 8 in the morning on a weekend. The only exception to waking up that early in the morning on the weekend, is going to a place like Maastricht. We litterally spent almost the entire day there. From 10 am to 5 pm we were in Maastricht. My friend told me that even in that amount of time we did not get to see everything. Maastricht has about 125,000 people. Talk about European cities being compact, we were able to walk from one end of the city to the other end in 15 minutes. It takes 15 minutes by bus to get to my school in Arizona, and here, if you walk for 15 minutes you could even end up in Germany. Anyway, Maastricht is probably one of the most beautiful cities I have seen so far in Europe. Part of the city is modern, and the other part still has it's early century look to it. We did so much on Saturday that I don't even know if a book would cover anything. At about 11:30 we went to a bakery and bought a few things. I got a brownie and a chocolate croissant (I hope I spelled that right, but I doubt it). My goodness, it was some of the best food I have ever had. In the Netherlands most of the people buy their food at the bakery, (not all of it, just bread and pie and that kind of stuff) so it is always fresh. Maybe that is why everything is so good. I am lucky that I have to ride a bike almost everywhere, because if I didn't have to, I probably would have easily put on 15 pounds by now. After the bakery we walked around a bit more, and went to a book store. Books here are quite expensive. The cheapest I saw was 10 euro and that was for a book with like 100 pages in it. After that, we went to go get some fries. My friend recommended we go to this place so we did. The fries were so good I almost had to go back for seconds but the portion they give you here is huge. Then we went to go get some ice cream. Me being me I decided to order a chocolate milkshake. Once again, it was great. I think I need to cut back on this love of food and start talking about some other stuff. Like I said, Maastricht is beautiful. The architecture there is absolutely incredible. No matter what kind of architecture, old to modern it was all amazing. Parts of Maastricht is seperated by the Maas (a river). I know there is some history to it but I can't remember. Saturday was an awesome day to say the least and I am glad to have the friends that I do. Sunday was another great day. It started off with going to Church. I am not sure what the mass was about because it was in Dutch. All I know is that the Priest blessed some animals on Sunday celebrating St. Hubert who was the Saint of the hunt. I thought it was pretty neat to experience considering I have never heard of something like that. The evening was also great. My host family and I went to a Greek restaraunt and the food was awesome. I personally have never had actual Greek food so it was an experience and my taste buds and I will probably never forget it. The dinner was also nice because the whole family was there and it is always nice to just sit down and chat with the awesome host family that I have been given. Well, I might not update for a few weeks because my host family is taking me on vacation next week, but when I get back I will inform everyone how it went.

Rotary Weekend

Hey everyone. Well yesterday I got back from the Rotary weekend that I mentioned in my last update. Seeing all the inbounds again was great considering I haven't seen them in 2 months. We were supposed to go sailing, but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to do so because of the weather. I did post some pictures on facebook of Neeltje Jans (I think that is how you spell it) and the weekend if you want to take a look. I am pretty close to all of the exchange students because I try my best to talk to everyone. Everyone calls me Baby Patty because they thought I was the youngest. I am not the youngest but the other person who is younger then me looks older then me, so that nickname is definitely going to stick for the rest of the year. Anyway, no one really got any sleep during the weekend either. The first night, I was lucky enought to get into bed at midnight but didn't fall asleep until like 1 in the morning. Saturday night was the night pretty much no one got any sleep. It was our last night together for the next month or so, so we all talked the night away. I thought the weekend was great and the weekends in the future are going to be just as fun. Zeeland (the province where the weekend was) is beautiful. When they say the Netherlands is flat, they aren't kidding. I think last weekend was the only time in my life where I was actually below sea level unless I was actually in the ocean. The train ride back yesterday was an adventure. Going to Zeeland took about 2 and a half hours but it sure didn't seem that long, but coming back was really long. It took about 4 hours to get back and it seemed like an entire day (probably because I was so tired). We stopped at the Eindhoven train station and from there we had to take about a 45 minute bus ride to Weert where we took the train back to where I am staying. Besides the train ride (which was also pretty fun) everything was pretty fun and I am glad I got to see everyone again. I think in another month or 2 we are all going to see each other again, but after that the inbounds that came in January are leaving to go back home. They are all awesome too and I am going to miss them, but they still have about 2 months here so I am going to try and together with them. Well I am sure that this coming week is going to be busy again so I will try and update again soon.

Adventures

Hey everyone, so like I said in my last post my weekend was booked. On Saturday, my friends and I went to Brunssum for a few hours. Our first stop was an ice cream place. There are 2 famous ice cream places in Brunssum, but I think we went to the one that is a little more famous to the locals, but I am not sure. After we had our ice cream, we walked over to the carnival. We could not figure out what to do at first so we went to the park. The parks here are so nice and I really enjoy going to them. My friends and I then decided to go back to the carnival to ride a ride that we had been looking at when we first got there. The carnivals here are so much different, well not in the sense of the things there, but you have to pay for every ride seperately.The ride that we went on cost 4 euro! When I heard that one ride cost about 7 USD I nearly fainted haha. Yes well, that was the only ride we went on, and although it was so expensive, it was worth the 4 euro. Then we went on the shopping street after our adrenaline calmed down. Shopping streets here are quite interesting. I don't particulary like shopping, but walking around the shopping street is pretty interesting. As usual I didn't get anything. That was the end of the Saturday journey, but hopefully my friends and I are going to do something in a few weeks again. Yesterday was an absolute blast! I went to go meet a family that my Youth Minister back in Sierra Vista knows. You know that it is a small world when your youth minister knows a family that lives 15 minutes away from where I am when he is 5,500 miles away. Anyway, they were awesome. They were so welcoming and friendly, but one thing that I will make sure not to do is play them in soccer because I would do terrible against them. We spent a few hours at there house, and had a late lunch. Before we had that late lunch I watched one of their kids play soccer and that is why I know that I should watch out if I am ever to play them. Later that night, we had XLT which is a Catholic church event held once a month. I have not been to one since June so I am so glad that they invited me. Whoops, sorry I forgot to say that I went inside my first windmill that was 200 years old. I thought it was pretty awesome. Okay so back on track. They said I was welcome anytime so I am definitely going back to see them since they are only a 15 minute train ride away. That was my other adventure on Sunday. I have been in Europe for 2 months now and yesterday was the first time I traveled alone by train and by bus. It was not hard, just a little wierd since I am not used to that sort of thing, but it all worked out. So, yea my weekend was amazing and I have another great weekend coming up. All the inbounds in the Netherlands are going to Zeeland to learn how to sail! I will let everyone know how it went when I get back. I might not be able to update right away, because I will have a monthly report to send, but I will update again soon.

Update!

Hey all. Since the last post, as usual a lot has happened. On Friday our class went to Brussels. The first stop was mini Europe which was pretty neat. All the countries that are a part of the EU had a famous building that represented the country. We stayed there for about 2 and a half hours and then moved on to the city. There, we were taken on a short tour where we went to the center of Brussels. Truthfully, I could not believe what I was seeing. The old architecture of Europe absolutely blows me away. Most of the buildings in the center of Brussels date back to the 1600's and have only been renovated once. Most people today do a renovation on their houses every few years but only 1 time in 400 years, incredible! I was suprised when some of the classmates told me that they have never been to Brussels. Brussels is only about an hour and a half drive so it really suprises me. While I am in Europe I want to go and see as much as I can before I leave, but I guess since my classmates live here, they aren't in any hurry to see anything. I also thought it was kind of funny when we were seperated into groups during our alone time to explore the city. Well that wasn't the funny part, but the funny part was everyone wanted to go to Mcdonalds. I would have never guessed that anyone would want to go to Mcdonalds in a historic city like Brussels. I am definitely going to go back before I leave because 1 hour is not enough time to see Brussels. When I talked to grandma before I left, she said one of the things she remembered from Brussels, was the little statue of the boy peeing. Of course I had to go see that so I did. I can now tell my grandma that I saw the little statue of the boy peeing. Sunday our basketball team had a game. We did not win, but it sure felt good to get back on the court after not playing for a few years. Brussels was the big story of the week, but I have another busy week coming up so I will update again soon.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Hey everyone, sorry I have not updated my blog for a while. As you can tell by the title I have been extremely busy lately and still will be in the future. Anyway, since I last updated I have done quite a bit. My mom's dad invited me to a professional soccer game. It was a blast and I can't thank him enough for taking me. I have never been a part of crowd that yells at the referee so much. It was really funny. The professional team plays in a village a few miles away. This year they haven't been too good, and the game I went to see they were playing the first place team. The ending result....We won! The score was 2 to 1 and I was so happy that the home team won. Normally I am not the biggest fan of watching soccer, but after that game I think my whole point of view changed because I really like watching it now. Last weekend we went to Woerden for an information day where all the kids in the Netherlands that want to go on exchange get to look at information on the countries they are interested in going to. There must have been 80 kids and coming from a district that only had 8 outbounds that was a lot of people for me to see. Then we went to Enschede to stay at one of my host brothers friends. Her family and her were very nice and it was nice to see more of the Netherlands. I was shocked when they told me that their house was right on the German border. I thought that was pretty awesome. Coming back from Enschede, we drove in Germany pretty much the whole back. It is amazing because right across the border it is a whole different world. Last week I found out the school I am going to is taking our class to Brussels on a day trip! The trip is this Friday and I am so excited! I haven't been to Brussels yet so it will be nice to see more of Europe. I am making more and more friends as the weeks go by. This weekend I was invited to a party so of course I am going. The language barrier isn't really affecting anything right now because all of my friends know that I am trying my best to learn Dutch. Yesterday, I actually spoke Dutch for the first time to my friends and it wasn't that bad. I guess my Dutch is coming along better then I thought. I will try and update again soon.

More School

This week is my second week at school. So far I am enjoying the school and the people that go to the school. I have made quite a few friends so far and yesterday I asked one of them if they would like to come over for dinner one day. The language is still exhausting me, but I am learning new words every day. I may not be able to speak Dutch very well, but I think I am beginning to understand quite a bit which is a big step in my eyes. Yesterday I went to basketball practice for the first time. It is nice to finally play competitively again for the first time in a few years. I made some friends on the basketball team as well. I was shocked when I heard what time the practice ends (9:30) but I didn't get home until 10:15. I really like how people stay up so late here. A dinner out with friends and family can last until 6 pm and go until 11pm. That is not because the food takes long to get out, but because everyone talks and I enjoy talking to everyone as well. I find myself learning Dutch a lot faster and easier during family events. I don't know why, but everytime my host family has someone over I find myself speaking Dutch, not too well, but I am at least speaking it. Today, I am going to Eindhoven to get my visa/residence permit. I am actually really excited because Eindhoven is suppose to be a really nice city, not that we are going to be there for a long time, but even driving through the city will be nice. A few days ago I got an email from Rotex (past exchange students from the Netherlands) and they are setting up a weekend for all inbounds in October. We are going to Zeeland (a province in the Netherlands) and we are taking sailing lessons and going sailing. I don't know what to expect but I think it should be pretty fun. It is a month away, but one month goes by really fast on an exchange. Anyway, I will update again soon!