Not bad, but different.
I've been mulling over these differences, and thought I'd put together a funny little list of things... well of things I never thought I'd have to think of, or actually physically consider appreciating.
1. Clean underwear
Now don't let your imagination go too far, I haven't gone commando. However, I once had to buy underwear because I didn't have any more clean ones or access to a washing machine. Lemme tell ya having a pile of clean underwear in my closet never felt so good. And on the note of washing clothes....
2. Water heaters
Get this.. some/most of the washing machines here heat the water themselves. I didn't even know that was possible, but if you don't have a water heater your washing machine has to heat the water up... and it takes nearly 3 hours just to do ONE LOAD of laundry. Not cool man.
3. Dollar cokes
Surely you can imagine fast food chains are different in Europe, that's a given. But possibly the biggest let down of the Amsterdam McDonalds is the Coke. Coke just has that signature super carbonated perfect combination of sweet and sharp taste, and here in the Netherlands they just don't got it. They also don't have size large, and NOTHING is a dollar. Nothing.
4. My blow dryer
Haven't blow dried my hair in over 2 months. Enough said.
5. GPS
I didn't fully understand the lack of cell phone usage I would have over here. Honestly it's nice not being able to text, I feel like I can absorb much more of my surroundings when I'm out and about. However, I can't tell you how many times I would have given my right hand for some 3G service up in here. Sometimes a map just doesn't cut it in these 21st Century times.
6. My printer
Paying five cents a sheet is just a rip off. Not to mention the steps I have to go through to even access a printer. Geez louise, Imma be hugging that thing as soon as I get home.
7. My Temperpedic pillow
We were issued pillows by the housing service here when we arrived.. however I think they might have run out when they got to my apartment and resorted to saltine crackers.
8. Ovens
While we do have stove tops, which allow us to do plenty of cooking, I would sell my bike (a hefty price) for some chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, or just some Pillsbury biscuits.. mmmmmmhmm which brings me to
9. Sweet things
I'm the kind of person who has to have something sweet after every meal.. sometimes even breakfast. Now, don't get me wrong, the treats I've gotten from home are splendid, but sometimes you're just craving brownies, ice cream, or some fancy made up Pinterest treat. Dude, I paid SEVEN euros for a pint of Ben & Jerry's the other day. I'm desperate!
Last but certainly not least...
10. Midol
Sorry, reader discretion advised.. guess I should have mentioned that. Woopsie Daisy. Dude, okay idk if these Dutch women are trying to be tough or if they just don't know help is out there, but dang. All they even have here that I can identify are.. cardboard tampons ..it's a wild world here in Amsterdam. If you ever go to Europe, don't forget those happy little pills. Better yet, bring extra for me.
So, this post is meant to be funny and witty, not to be taken as complaining or whining or whatever. Because in all reality I am going to appreciate the little baby American ants when I return to the Promised Land. 56 Days y'all. Time sure flies when you're having fun.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Why I love the Fall
It actually feels like fall in Amsterdam today, as it's stopped raining (at least for now) and through my open door I can see a few of the leaves changing color. I feel like a lot of people claim fall as their favorite season, and who wouldn't?
Alright so now you get a feel for what I'm majorly missing from home... sorry Jumbo, but these chocolate biscuits just a'int gonna cut it for much longer. (FYI Jumbo is the name of our grocery store)
But today as I was riding my bike on the 10 minute jaunt back from the VU to my home at Uilenstede I recalled some other feelings the breezy fall days stir up inside of me. Another reason I think I cling somewhat nostalgically to the fall season. It reminds me of my daddy.
It's not like fall has some special birthday, or specific reason why I'm reminded so much of my dad. I guess maybe I just think of him as having fall like qualities.
Or maybe it's because when I was a kid he always wanted us to do things outside in the garden, or at my cousin Austin's house, or just have a campfire for no reason. Maybe because some of my favorite memories of us are camping in the late summer, him coming to cheer me on at cross country meets at 8 AM on a brisk Saturday morning, or going out to Fort Ouiatenon for The Feast of the Hunter's Moon.
I'm not sure where all this nostalgia is coming from, but I've been feeling it in full force lately. Feeling the urge to run because I miss my cross country days, listening to music I have on burnt CD's from when I first got my driver's license to be taken right back into that nervous driver's seat, and looking at pictures of my (now seemingly all grown up) baby brothers and desperately wishing to turn back the hands of time.
You would think nostalgia would make you feel happy. For all the happy memories you've made, and for all the amazing memories left to make. So why does it leave me feeling so sad, with this longing feeling to go back and do it again, that maybe I wouldn't take all those moments for granted now that I know how much they really meant to me.
Isn't it strange how things so far away from home, can make you feel so homesick? How thoughts you have 6,000 miles away, bring you crashing right back into the world you left behind?
The smells of burning leaves
The desserts
The slightly chilly weather, but still warm enough to enjoy being outside
The desserts
Outdoor football games and bonfires
The desserts!?
Alright so now you get a feel for what I'm majorly missing from home... sorry Jumbo, but these chocolate biscuits just a'int gonna cut it for much longer. (FYI Jumbo is the name of our grocery store)
But today as I was riding my bike on the 10 minute jaunt back from the VU to my home at Uilenstede I recalled some other feelings the breezy fall days stir up inside of me. Another reason I think I cling somewhat nostalgically to the fall season. It reminds me of my daddy.
It's not like fall has some special birthday, or specific reason why I'm reminded so much of my dad. I guess maybe I just think of him as having fall like qualities.
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| Maybe it's his burly beard? :) |
I'm not sure where all this nostalgia is coming from, but I've been feeling it in full force lately. Feeling the urge to run because I miss my cross country days, listening to music I have on burnt CD's from when I first got my driver's license to be taken right back into that nervous driver's seat, and looking at pictures of my (now seemingly all grown up) baby brothers and desperately wishing to turn back the hands of time.
You would think nostalgia would make you feel happy. For all the happy memories you've made, and for all the amazing memories left to make. So why does it leave me feeling so sad, with this longing feeling to go back and do it again, that maybe I wouldn't take all those moments for granted now that I know how much they really meant to me.
Isn't it strange how things so far away from home, can make you feel so homesick? How thoughts you have 6,000 miles away, bring you crashing right back into the world you left behind?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Livin' la vida loca: Barcelona edition
For our third excursion of the epic semester abroad, Emily and I ventured down to the Mediterranean coast of Spain, in Barcelona! Being a Spanish major, I was extremely excited to have a chance to test out my Spanish speaking skills with some locals, among other aspects of this trip we had to look forward to. Usually in the Spanish classes I've taken back home throughout high school and college we've learned mostly about Mexican and South American language and culture. This being said, I wasn't exactly sure of what "touristy" things Barcelona was going to have to offer. I knew little of the history or even location within Spain, so when our plane landed literally in the mountains a red flag flew up...
We have been booking our flights through Ryan Air, an airline known for being very cheap, and also for charging you for every extra piece of lint you bring on the plane with you. A minor downside to flying with Ryan Air is that we have to travel about 2 hours in total just to get to the airport the airline flies out of in the Netherlands. For our trip to Dublin it took longer to get to the airport than it did to get to Ireland. Anyway, sometimes (in Barcelona for instance) there are multiple airports to choose to arrive in. So, knowing nothing about Spain or it's geography really, we naturally chose whichever flight was cheapest and ended up in what appeared to be a ghost town. When we got off the plane we walked straight through the airport, didn't go through customs, didn't get our passports checked, and didn't have a clue where we were. All we did know was that we were not in Barcelona. We were in a city called Girona, about 75 minutes by bus outside of our destination. After discovering that a cab to our hostel from the airport would be 135 Euros, we opted for the hour and fifteen minute bus ride through the mountains of Girona.
Once we arrived at the Lullaby Gardens hostel, we checked in, freshened up, and then ventured out into the city. We had a group of friends from Butler, who are studying in Alcala, Spain this semester, who would also be in Barca for the weekend, so our plan was to eventually meet up with them to go out later Friday night. As we walked the streets we became super confused. There were no restaurants. None. No shops, no people, no nothing. We had a little map that we used to find the general location of our friends' hotel, and then from there we eventually stopped at a "Café" where we ordered some authentic Spanish food, and a pitcher of handmade sangria. Yum!
After dinner we met up with our fellow Bulldogs and went to a couple of bars, one was a Wall Street theme, and the other Chupitos. At the first destination, all of the drinks were listed on a stock exchange menu, and depending on the trends of who was ordering what, the prices of the drinks went up or down. It was a really neat concept, and every 15 minutes or so there would be a "Stock Market Crash" and all the drinks would go down drastically in price, an excellent marketing strategy. We enjoyed a few drinks here and then headed to Chupitos, which means "shots" in Spanish. Here they have hundreds of different kinds of shots to choose from, each only 2 euros (a price unheard of in Amsterdam). They weren't very strong at all, but we tried one that involved roasting a marshmallow called "The Boy Scout" and one called the "Harry Potter" which also included some fire...
After turning in to our hostel around 1 or 2, early for Spaniards, Emily and I went off to bed eager to spend Saturday sight seeing and at the beach with our friends! The weather was absolutely amazing, it was in the low 80's all weekend. This temperate forecast mixed with the palm trees made it feel like we were on Spring Break, like we were on vacation. It was AWESOME. Saturday we spent the day going to an extremely crowded market, discovering the downtown "Ramblas" area, and finally reaching our ultimate destination: The Beach. That's right folks, this weekend I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, WITH I might add, tons of not so tiny fish. Which if you know me, you know I'm not the biggest fan of large bodies of water, especially not those with fish. But the crystal water cleared my mind and I just relaxed the afternoon away with salt in my hair and sand between my toes.
After the beach, we headed back to Lullaby Gardens to shower and take a small siesta before dinner. We had our first tapas experience Saturday evening. Now by evening I'm talking about around 9 PM. Everything seems to happen much later in Spain, than in the States for sure. I think it's because of the 2-3 hour planned siesta that takes place every afternoon, and this must also be the reason the Spaniards can stay out so late! Saturday night we hit the beach again and didn't make it home until nearly 5 AM. What a night :)
We groggily got out of bed around 10:30 Sunday morning, and quickly got ourselves ready for another day full of sight seeing. On our list was La Sagrada Familia, a historically beautiful cathedral, and the Park Guell, an area with loads of incredible architecture and art by Gaudí. When we arrived to La Sagrada Familia we were instantly let down. Not at the sight, of course, but at the line. Holy Cow. We were gonna be waiting all day. After about 15 minutes I crossed the street to grab a Coke from McDonald's, but before I could even make it through that line, Em called saying she was at the ticket station and that I needed to hurry back! Phew! We got our tickets and entered what was probably the most exquisite building I have ever set my eyes on. First of all it was nice and cool inside, a major plus, but even though there were hundreds of people meandering around the cathedral, it was still eerily quiet. It was so cool just to look up at the ceiling and just take in all the stained glass, sculptures, and history held inside this famous place. Then, when we went outside to the other side of La Sagrada, my mind was blown again. It is so hard to fathom how on earth, one, that someone had the creativity to come up with this plan, and two, that they physically could make it happen. The only way I can do it justice is describing through photos.
Each part of the cathedral has meaning behind it, the 18 towers each represent Biblical characters, there are Nativity scenes depicted all over the outside architecture, and underneath is a museum devoted to the creation and building of La Sagrada Familia. All I have to say is that this Gaudí guy, yeah he's a genius.
After leaving, we headed what seemed to be 100 miles uphill at approximately a 89 degree angle trying to find this "Park Guell". We were so tired, and it was so hot out, we were cracking jokes and just absolutely dying the entire walk until we struck gold. Park Guell was incredible. Where there weren't intricate sculptures made of rainbowrific mosaic, there were live bands playing, mountains to climb, and sculptures to gape at. At one point in our afternoon of discovery we had to take a water break and laid down on a bench for a while. And of course we had to take a sangria break before heading back home :)
After the trek back to Lullaby I took a much needed shower, and we headed out for one last Spanish meal. We had paella, a traditional Spanish dish of saffron rice, seafood, peas, and other mixin's. Even though I think some of the shell fish might have still been swimmers, it was delicious. We chased it down with, you guessed it... and had a delicious dessert, all for just 63 Euros! I about pee'd my pants! But hey, the motto of the weekend was YOBO (You're Only in Barca Once) so we laughed it off and went back to the hostel for a whopping 2 hours of sleep before an 8 hour non-stop travel back to Amsterdam.
Making it home around 11 AM I luckily have no classes on Monday so I was able to take a lengthy nap, while poor Emily did have 4 hours of class in the evening. Her roommate made us traditional Chinese Beef Curry for dinner in exchange for a paper of hers we helped proofread the week before, and we shared laughs and stories of our adventure filled weekend.
Yesterday being my long day of class anyway, was very stressful. I got some new information about classes and credits transferring that came as an unpleasant surprise, and was still so exhausted from our weekend that when it was time for bed I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Not before I had time to Skype some wonderful friends back home, and hear all about the formal with my sorority I had missed (which it turns out I didn't really miss out on anything, surprise surprise :)).
While yesterday wasn't the best day ever, I wouldn't trade the memories made this weekend for anything, and am excited to say that a few of the friends we visited with this weekend will be taking a trip to Amsterdam in late November! It will be a great opportunity to get to show off our city and share some more time abroad with people from home. It's always a nice refresher for me to meet people from America, whether I know them or not, just to have some really common ground with someone. Not just to share the differences and struggles, but also to learn more about the many places in my home country that I still have yet to visit. Each day is a surprise, and everything happens for a reason, I'm just trying to sit back, relax, and be thankful for the times I have had, and the ones yet to come.
Love from Amsterdam, xoxo
We have been booking our flights through Ryan Air, an airline known for being very cheap, and also for charging you for every extra piece of lint you bring on the plane with you. A minor downside to flying with Ryan Air is that we have to travel about 2 hours in total just to get to the airport the airline flies out of in the Netherlands. For our trip to Dublin it took longer to get to the airport than it did to get to Ireland. Anyway, sometimes (in Barcelona for instance) there are multiple airports to choose to arrive in. So, knowing nothing about Spain or it's geography really, we naturally chose whichever flight was cheapest and ended up in what appeared to be a ghost town. When we got off the plane we walked straight through the airport, didn't go through customs, didn't get our passports checked, and didn't have a clue where we were. All we did know was that we were not in Barcelona. We were in a city called Girona, about 75 minutes by bus outside of our destination. After discovering that a cab to our hostel from the airport would be 135 Euros, we opted for the hour and fifteen minute bus ride through the mountains of Girona.
Once we arrived at the Lullaby Gardens hostel, we checked in, freshened up, and then ventured out into the city. We had a group of friends from Butler, who are studying in Alcala, Spain this semester, who would also be in Barca for the weekend, so our plan was to eventually meet up with them to go out later Friday night. As we walked the streets we became super confused. There were no restaurants. None. No shops, no people, no nothing. We had a little map that we used to find the general location of our friends' hotel, and then from there we eventually stopped at a "Café" where we ordered some authentic Spanish food, and a pitcher of handmade sangria. Yum!
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| I had steak and eggs haha |
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| The Friday night crew |
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| You can't see it here, but they put an orange slice on top of each glass, loaded it with sugar, and then lit it on fire, caramelizing the orange. It was delicious! |
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| My first European Starbucks really hit the spot |
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| Emily, Hayley, and I relaxing on the beach |
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| We had to have sangria for the long walk back to the hostel, in retrospect I think it definitely inhibited my navigation abilities... but it was delicious! |
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| Encants Vells market where we bought some presents for folks back home :) |
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| Beautiful fountain in the park we found by accident |
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| Looks like a stinkin' postcard! |
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| Teriyaki Chicken, Risotto, and Sangria at dinner |
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| Our group for the evening :) |
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| Ice Barcelona |
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| After our early (early) morning swim in the Mediterranean Sea |
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| La Sagrada from afar |
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| On the wall just before entering |
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| BAM! Look at that stained glass, breathtaking. |
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| View from looking straight up |
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| Like really? This was not real life. |
After leaving, we headed what seemed to be 100 miles uphill at approximately a 89 degree angle trying to find this "Park Guell". We were so tired, and it was so hot out, we were cracking jokes and just absolutely dying the entire walk until we struck gold. Park Guell was incredible. Where there weren't intricate sculptures made of rainbowrific mosaic, there were live bands playing, mountains to climb, and sculptures to gape at. At one point in our afternoon of discovery we had to take a water break and laid down on a bench for a while. And of course we had to take a sangria break before heading back home :)
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| Can you spot me!? |
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| You can't really see the exquisite colors very well here, but it was incredible |
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| On top of Barcelona |
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| Water break, much needed. |
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| I spy with my little eye... a Jessie! |
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| Gaudí lizard |
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| Enough paella to feed a family of 12, don't worry, we didn't finish all of it! |
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| Literally, best chocolate anything I've ever eaten. |
Yesterday being my long day of class anyway, was very stressful. I got some new information about classes and credits transferring that came as an unpleasant surprise, and was still so exhausted from our weekend that when it was time for bed I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Not before I had time to Skype some wonderful friends back home, and hear all about the formal with my sorority I had missed (which it turns out I didn't really miss out on anything, surprise surprise :)).
While yesterday wasn't the best day ever, I wouldn't trade the memories made this weekend for anything, and am excited to say that a few of the friends we visited with this weekend will be taking a trip to Amsterdam in late November! It will be a great opportunity to get to show off our city and share some more time abroad with people from home. It's always a nice refresher for me to meet people from America, whether I know them or not, just to have some really common ground with someone. Not just to share the differences and struggles, but also to learn more about the many places in my home country that I still have yet to visit. Each day is a surprise, and everything happens for a reason, I'm just trying to sit back, relax, and be thankful for the times I have had, and the ones yet to come.
Love from Amsterdam, xoxo
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Revelation
I did something kind of weird different last week. I made a fake e-mail address. Not one for spam to go to so my Butler e-mail doesn't get clogged (though that's actually not a bad idea). I made a fake e-mail address for God.
Before you call the shrink, let me explain with a little background:
Last New Year's, my resolution was to keep a daily journal of my prayers. I've never been a huge journaler, but I got the idea from the book, The Help. One of the main characters, Aibileen, had this habit, and after reading I was inspired. I thought I had come up with the perfect NYR, one that might actually stick, as opposed to giving up chips and Coke like I tried to do the year before.
So, anyway the prayer journal worked for a good couple months, but then as usual I fell out of the habit. Overall I did journal more consistently, but certainly not every day. Since we've been in Amsterdam, Emily has done a really good job of journaling in great detail the day-to-day happenings, with emotion and great effort. While I think it would be awesome to be doing this too, I've kind of decided that my blog pretty much acts as my journal while I'm here, we all know it's certainly not lacking in detail or emotion... But then I got this crazy idea the other day, for this faux e-mail concept.
I don't even really know how it came to me, but I just got to thinking that it might help me to pray better, and more vividly, if I felt like my messages to God were physically GOING somewhere. In recent strides of my walk with Christ, one of my biggest struggles has been not FEELING Him. His presence. I would always get so frustrated when people would tell stories about their calling or hearing God, and I always just thought, "When is this going to happen to me? When am I going to FEEL this unconditional love that everyone says God has for me?" Now, I'm not trying to say that making God a Gmail account led me sense His physical presence, but I think it might have triggered an epiphany in me.
At the end of last year I was having some real life questions, and a now close friend, through sharing her testimony with me, planted a seed that would grow into the revelation I refer to in this title. She explained through little life stories that she had gone through so many things, thinking they would bring her the happiness she was searching for, and one by one they were taken away from her. Finally she realized that this was God's plan, not to take away her happiness, but to help her realize that He was all she needed to be happy. That He was all she needed to be anything, to live. He is all we need.
After talking with her a few times, I was desperately jealous that I was now so close to someone who had come to have this relationship with God in such a realistic way. Everything she had said made sense, and it wasn't that I hadn't heard it all before, that we have to rely on God fully before we will be blessed with the things and people he has planned for us, it was that I wanted this. But there were still things I didn't want to give up, that I didn't want to lose. Relationships, habits, feelings. I'm not saying there aren't still, I'm sure there always will be these struggles and I will always have to battle similar temptations; but the other day, when I was e-mailing God (you have to admit this sounds absolutely ridiculous) I started thinking... and I'll share a bit of the message, or prayer, with you to help explain:
Before you call the shrink, let me explain with a little background:
Last New Year's, my resolution was to keep a daily journal of my prayers. I've never been a huge journaler, but I got the idea from the book, The Help. One of the main characters, Aibileen, had this habit, and after reading I was inspired. I thought I had come up with the perfect NYR, one that might actually stick, as opposed to giving up chips and Coke like I tried to do the year before.
So, anyway the prayer journal worked for a good couple months, but then as usual I fell out of the habit. Overall I did journal more consistently, but certainly not every day. Since we've been in Amsterdam, Emily has done a really good job of journaling in great detail the day-to-day happenings, with emotion and great effort. While I think it would be awesome to be doing this too, I've kind of decided that my blog pretty much acts as my journal while I'm here, we all know it's certainly not lacking in detail or emotion... But then I got this crazy idea the other day, for this faux e-mail concept.
I don't even really know how it came to me, but I just got to thinking that it might help me to pray better, and more vividly, if I felt like my messages to God were physically GOING somewhere. In recent strides of my walk with Christ, one of my biggest struggles has been not FEELING Him. His presence. I would always get so frustrated when people would tell stories about their calling or hearing God, and I always just thought, "When is this going to happen to me? When am I going to FEEL this unconditional love that everyone says God has for me?" Now, I'm not trying to say that making God a Gmail account led me sense His physical presence, but I think it might have triggered an epiphany in me.
At the end of last year I was having some real life questions, and a now close friend, through sharing her testimony with me, planted a seed that would grow into the revelation I refer to in this title. She explained through little life stories that she had gone through so many things, thinking they would bring her the happiness she was searching for, and one by one they were taken away from her. Finally she realized that this was God's plan, not to take away her happiness, but to help her realize that He was all she needed to be happy. That He was all she needed to be anything, to live. He is all we need.
After talking with her a few times, I was desperately jealous that I was now so close to someone who had come to have this relationship with God in such a realistic way. Everything she had said made sense, and it wasn't that I hadn't heard it all before, that we have to rely on God fully before we will be blessed with the things and people he has planned for us, it was that I wanted this. But there were still things I didn't want to give up, that I didn't want to lose. Relationships, habits, feelings. I'm not saying there aren't still, I'm sure there always will be these struggles and I will always have to battle similar temptations; but the other day, when I was e-mailing God (you have to admit this sounds absolutely ridiculous) I started thinking... and I'll share a bit of the message, or prayer, with you to help explain:
I don't know what to think about the betrayals I'm feeling from back home, but I think it's a sign. I think that having all these people really not caring, or just being selfish, or hurting me is a sign from you saying that you are all I need. I can feel myself being transformed by you and it's like a calming sensation sweeping over me. Like after all this time I'm really realizing the feeling that people so often talk about, feeling you, or being called and whatnot. I used to be so confused by this, especially when *people would say things to me about how everything had to be taken away for them to realize what really mattered, and I think I'm really starting to feel that. All I can say is that I'm so sorry it has come this long for me to realize that I have to put you first, and that I am so incredibly thankful that you have been patient with me, and I am so grateful that you are giving me this opportunity.
There have been so many times where I have let someone get my hopes up, or I have been so heavily discouraged by hurtful words, or failed promises, and while I do usually pray to God that he will "help me though", I never let go, I never stopped going back to these sources of "happiness" or "satisfaction" that never really filled me up the way people always said God could. And I never got it through my head that it was actually possible for me to put every fiber of my trust in Him, and that that was all that I really need, and that I will be blessed by His plan, on His terms, and that that's okay.
Now, don't get me wrong, I know this all might sound crazy to you. Especially if you haven't heard some of these things, or if you have never heard me share about my faith. But after having this revelation, I just want to tell everyone. I just have this new strength within me, like when I would usually get so upset so easily, I now feel like I have the power to breathe it out and just lift it up to God and that there's no reason for me to get so worked up. I feel like, when I usually am so fretful about who am I going to marry, when am I going to meet him, where is he, that I am more excited to work on this budding relationship with Jesus than with anyone else. I feel so free inside. Empowered. I fully believe this is a combination of the new independences I have had to experience through my time in the Netherlands, the thoughts I've had floating around in my head about giving it all to God for the last 6 months or so, and the idea our pastor shared in his sermon on Sunday, about needing to feel absolutely poor in order to truly understand what it is to fully rely on God.
I get that this might be a bit of a large cookie for you to digest, so if you wanna ask me anything, please e-mail, Facebook, or even Skype me :) Like I said, I'm really excited about this new chapter I'm turning over and would love to share more of my story with you on how I've come to this point in my journey.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Livin' the dream
As you can probably imagine, there have been a few ups and downs since my last post. I received multiple encouragements after my little vent session, which I am very appreciative of, and I would just like to assure you that I was not looking for any sort of pity by pulling the plug on the drain of complaints. Sometimes you just need to get pissed and let it all out, and since I can only take so much of my anger out on Emily (jokes) this is how I can let it all out. Thanks for stickin' around.
Overall, we had a nice, relaxing weekend. Thursday night we got back down to the city to have drinks with two American friends at an Irish pub. We really love hanging out with Sarah and Rob because they can relate to us 100%, and after my day it was so nice to be on the exact same page with some friends. They are really nice people.
Then Friday, Em and I went downtown to shop around and just soak up the lovely day. We went into a few shops, bought some postcards and tea, ate some delicious "tosti" sandwiches (we're getting really good at just going for new dishes on menus at these foreign restaurants!) and then made it home in time to Skype with some friends back at Butler.
Saturday morning we anxiously awoke still checking our online Dutch bank accounts for our payment from the university (which finally came this morning!! Praise Jesus.) and went along with our friends Clara, Abi, and Georgie to a really fun market, where I nearly had a panic attack from the claustrophobia causing amount people. I didn't realize how well I truly don't do in large crowds of people! While downtown, Clara and I got caught up in a sort of festival that was getting ready to start, where live music streamed from all the shops, beers were in high demand from little street carts, and the trams were having a interesting time weaving amongst the crowds. We found a band of about 8 guys, who couldn't have been older than 16, playing trombones, trumpets, saxophones, African drums, basses, guitars and keyboards. They had attracted an incredible crowd so we stopped for a bit, we were so glad we did, they were so much fun to watch! It was really cool for me personally to see these teenage guys so excited about their music. It reminded me of band in high school; I really loved the band-y atmosphere, and it was inspiring to see kids getting excited about making their own music. They were really cute too!
After our tour downtown, Emily, Abi, and I, along with our Finnish friend Jussi, made a delicious dinner of meat pasta and salad with fresh veggies from the market at Clara's place. About once a week I bring my laundry over to the green tower, because it's free for them. Here in our building we have two washers and dryers, but it's expensive and you have to have special coins to use the machines, that can only be purchased on the weekdays. For this reason, I make the trek across Uilenstede with my Ikea bag full of laundry on my little bike because it seems to make more sense.... :) An interesting things about these washers though, is that they heat the water themselves. At home, you know, we have water heaters, so when you start your laundry the water is instantly hot. Here, that not being the case, one round in the washer takes about 3 hours. Yikes. Anyways, long story short, after the 3 hour washing stint, the dryer ended up being broken. So, after thinking my clothes were dry after 2 hours in the dryer I opened the dryer to a sopping wet surprise. 1 load of piping hot, soaked, and all blue laundry. Let me now add that not everything had gone into this load being blue. I ended up borrowing a hanging rack and spreading the ruined laundry all over my quaint apartment, praying it would dry quickly.
Sunday morning, Emily and I headed off to Crossroads, our new church here in the Netherlands (I never know if I'm supposed to capitalize "the"?) and when getting off the tram at our stop, a lovely man handed me a list of bible verses. One of those sheets that says where to look in the Bible when you have specific prayer needs. He said he had overheard me telling Emily about my nightmare from the night before, and that God wanted me to have good dreams. It melted my heart. Then, at church, the sermon hit the nail smack dab on the head of the issues we have been stressing over lately. The new sermon series is The Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, one of my favorite passages, and each week we go over one of the Beatitudes and then are challenged with different "Experiments."
For instance, the first Beatitude is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And the pastor described how the poor in spirit are those who stand without pretense before God, their only hope. He explained that we enter this world dependently, when we are born as helpless infants, and we leave this world dependently as we are taken by death; but that we constantly try to overcome this dependency throughout life, trying to "do" life on our own, when in reality we simply cannot do it on our own. We must fully rely on God for all things in our life, and this is what it's like for those who are poor in spirit. The experiments for this week are things like fasting, grocery shopping for the food pantry, sleeping on the floor, and fasting from as much electricity as possible. These acts are all little luxuries that we truly don't realize how much we rely on, but that we don't really NEED to live. And there it was: I have been so focused on missing my comforter, and food, and my blow dryer, and while I have absolutely already realized how much I take for granted back home (it's sickening actually) it was like listening to this sermon was God saying, I've heard your prayers, I know what you're going through, and you're gonna be fine. During dinner Emily and I had a long conversation about how neat it was, and had a little heart to heart about finding soulmates and whatnot :)
When I went to bed last night, my laundry still damp and my mind racing with all the drama going on back home and trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings, I had a very hard time falling asleep. But when I woke up this morning, I went to the office to buy some laundry coins, rewashed my laundry (which is now *pretty much* back to normal!), replied to my grandmother's sweet e-mail, and now am talking to you, sippin' on some instant coffee, and just thankful to be clean and back in my comfy sweatshirt I thought was ruined forever. Life is good, thanks for reading.
Overall, we had a nice, relaxing weekend. Thursday night we got back down to the city to have drinks with two American friends at an Irish pub. We really love hanging out with Sarah and Rob because they can relate to us 100%, and after my day it was so nice to be on the exact same page with some friends. They are really nice people.
Then Friday, Em and I went downtown to shop around and just soak up the lovely day. We went into a few shops, bought some postcards and tea, ate some delicious "tosti" sandwiches (we're getting really good at just going for new dishes on menus at these foreign restaurants!) and then made it home in time to Skype with some friends back at Butler.
Saturday morning we anxiously awoke still checking our online Dutch bank accounts for our payment from the university (which finally came this morning!! Praise Jesus.) and went along with our friends Clara, Abi, and Georgie to a really fun market, where I nearly had a panic attack from the claustrophobia causing amount people. I didn't realize how well I truly don't do in large crowds of people! While downtown, Clara and I got caught up in a sort of festival that was getting ready to start, where live music streamed from all the shops, beers were in high demand from little street carts, and the trams were having a interesting time weaving amongst the crowds. We found a band of about 8 guys, who couldn't have been older than 16, playing trombones, trumpets, saxophones, African drums, basses, guitars and keyboards. They had attracted an incredible crowd so we stopped for a bit, we were so glad we did, they were so much fun to watch! It was really cool for me personally to see these teenage guys so excited about their music. It reminded me of band in high school; I really loved the band-y atmosphere, and it was inspiring to see kids getting excited about making their own music. They were really cute too!
After our tour downtown, Emily, Abi, and I, along with our Finnish friend Jussi, made a delicious dinner of meat pasta and salad with fresh veggies from the market at Clara's place. About once a week I bring my laundry over to the green tower, because it's free for them. Here in our building we have two washers and dryers, but it's expensive and you have to have special coins to use the machines, that can only be purchased on the weekdays. For this reason, I make the trek across Uilenstede with my Ikea bag full of laundry on my little bike because it seems to make more sense.... :) An interesting things about these washers though, is that they heat the water themselves. At home, you know, we have water heaters, so when you start your laundry the water is instantly hot. Here, that not being the case, one round in the washer takes about 3 hours. Yikes. Anyways, long story short, after the 3 hour washing stint, the dryer ended up being broken. So, after thinking my clothes were dry after 2 hours in the dryer I opened the dryer to a sopping wet surprise. 1 load of piping hot, soaked, and all blue laundry. Let me now add that not everything had gone into this load being blue. I ended up borrowing a hanging rack and spreading the ruined laundry all over my quaint apartment, praying it would dry quickly.
Sunday morning, Emily and I headed off to Crossroads, our new church here in the Netherlands (I never know if I'm supposed to capitalize "the"?) and when getting off the tram at our stop, a lovely man handed me a list of bible verses. One of those sheets that says where to look in the Bible when you have specific prayer needs. He said he had overheard me telling Emily about my nightmare from the night before, and that God wanted me to have good dreams. It melted my heart. Then, at church, the sermon hit the nail smack dab on the head of the issues we have been stressing over lately. The new sermon series is The Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, one of my favorite passages, and each week we go over one of the Beatitudes and then are challenged with different "Experiments."
For instance, the first Beatitude is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And the pastor described how the poor in spirit are those who stand without pretense before God, their only hope. He explained that we enter this world dependently, when we are born as helpless infants, and we leave this world dependently as we are taken by death; but that we constantly try to overcome this dependency throughout life, trying to "do" life on our own, when in reality we simply cannot do it on our own. We must fully rely on God for all things in our life, and this is what it's like for those who are poor in spirit. The experiments for this week are things like fasting, grocery shopping for the food pantry, sleeping on the floor, and fasting from as much electricity as possible. These acts are all little luxuries that we truly don't realize how much we rely on, but that we don't really NEED to live. And there it was: I have been so focused on missing my comforter, and food, and my blow dryer, and while I have absolutely already realized how much I take for granted back home (it's sickening actually) it was like listening to this sermon was God saying, I've heard your prayers, I know what you're going through, and you're gonna be fine. During dinner Emily and I had a long conversation about how neat it was, and had a little heart to heart about finding soulmates and whatnot :)
When I went to bed last night, my laundry still damp and my mind racing with all the drama going on back home and trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings, I had a very hard time falling asleep. But when I woke up this morning, I went to the office to buy some laundry coins, rewashed my laundry (which is now *pretty much* back to normal!), replied to my grandmother's sweet e-mail, and now am talking to you, sippin' on some instant coffee, and just thankful to be clean and back in my comfy sweatshirt I thought was ruined forever. Life is good, thanks for reading.
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