I've got some catching up to do!

It's been almost a week since I posted last. Life has been CRAZY over here and I have a few things to talk about.


On Thursday morning last week I went to an event called the Freshers Fayre. There I looked at all of the clubs that UCL has to offer and picked a few out that I would like to try. The basketball booth immediately tried to suck me in to their club because I was the tallest one in the area by far! However, I think of this trip as a study/vacation opportunity and don't want to make any major commitments such as multiple practices a week. It sounds lazy and when I look back at my school athletic career, going to some kind of practice most days sounds exhausting! So instead, I chose some new things that I thought sounded like fun. As of now, I am planning on joining the Hiking and Walking Club, the Fencing Club (SO EXCITED!), and the chocolate society. What kind of club asks for a 10 pound deposit and I get to try all the chocolate I want for the rest of the semester? The answer: my perfect club. :)

After the fair I checked my watch and realized that my flight for Amsterdam left in just 2 short hours and it would take me an hour to get to the airport. I sprinted to my room, called my mom to freak out about classes for 30 seconds while I grabbed my things and the went to call a taxi. I made it in time but probably managed to scare the taxi cab driver and the check in man at the airport because of my desperate state that pushed me close to tears.

Once the plane landed and I was on the train to Centraal Station in Amsterdam, I met someone who had more connections to me than I could have ever imagined. This lady was around 55 years old and grew up in the Netherlands. She moved to London as a young adult. She asked where I was from and I started to explain Pella to her before she cut me off. She actually studied abroad in Orange City, Iowa and and visited Pella for Tulip Time. She told me it was the most boring year of her life and knew that I would understand. Who studies abroad in Orange City????

After I got off the train I FINALLY got to see the one and only Chelsea Waits. I was on Cloud 9 until she showed me the way to the hostel I booked. When I booked it, I was in a huge hurry and saw that it was a five minute walk from Dam Square. It so happens that the Red Light District is a five minute walk from Dam Square and our hostel was located right in the middle of it. Not the best first impression of Amsterdam that someone should have!

The next day we went for a bit of sight seeing. We walked around for most of the morning and early afternoon totally lost but finally found what we were looking for. We went to the House of Bols, which is a kind of hard liquor. We got to tour, smell all the flavors, and do a bunch of other things before getting a really cool mixed drink and taste tests for our favorite flavor we smelled earlier. It was a really cool place with tons of colors and the bar was almost completely mirrored except for the floor, cuz that would just be gross.

After the House of Bols we got to go to the thing I had been waiting for: the Van Gogh Museum. It was absolutely wonderful to be in a place surrounded by the art of someone I have admired for so long. And to get that straight, I don't admire his life or personality, just his paintings. :) I could have spent hours in that place.

The next day was Saturday and we spent the day walking around the city, not doing much of anything. It was great being able walk around in nice weather knowing that you have no obligations to do all day.

Sunday was my last day in Amsterdam. We started the day off by getting coffee and walking to the Heineken Factory. We purchased tickets and went inside to take one of the best tours I have ever been on. There was a virtual ride, taste testing, movies, a factory tour, awesome chairs to watch every Heineken commercial from 1955 to the present, a ceiling made completely out of Heineken bottles, and of course at the end there was a bar where we could have two "free" beers. I won't give away all the details for that would be spoiling it for Lance, who loves Heineken and has more souvenirs than anyone else on the planet.

Sunday night I made my way to the airport and returned to the city that I love. Amsterdam was a nice place to visit, but I don't know how anyone can live there. I almost got hit by a bike several times because unlike the U.S. bikes are EVERYWHERE and definitely have the right of way when it comes to anything and everything.

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day filled with walking around Picadilly Circus and shopping with a girl from my program. Today was a different story. I finally started classes two months after everyone else I know. Classes were way more laid back than I expected but the reading assignments are very daunting. I have to read for tomorrow's class yet so I believe that this will conclude my blog post.

Hope everyone is well and I miss you all!!!

Lorinda