Day 64: Roadtrip to Bruges (Take Two!)

Remember reading about Bruges earlier in February....that's where I went again today! This experience in Bruges was a bit different than the last though, and I enjoyed Bruges just as much as last time.

Last night, Bali's uncle came into town for business. She invited him, as well as several friends and flatmates, over for dinner at her flat. She cooked us some yummy pineapple rice and I made the crescent dough cinnamon rolls again that I made for the breakfast for dinner night. All eleven of us enjoyed a tasty supper, coffee and dessert. I really enjoyed meeting her uncle and hearing all about his travel tales. He lives in Canada and works to develop gadgets that have to do with roadways (don't ask me exactly what!). He is a really interesting person, and it was incredible to hear all about his experiences in the traveling he has done. Plus he is super fun and so young at heart, so it was great to talk with him over dinner.

After cleaning up and departing, Mathea and Bali and I decided to bake the cinnamon muffins that they had given me for my birthday to take with us on our trip to Belgium. We attempted to do it on my flat, but as usual, the kitchen was packed with Italians and Spanish :) So we went back to Bali's and baked the muffins and did manicures...girl's night!

This morning, we got up bright and early to have breakfast together before heading to Belgium. After waking up Bali, we fixed toasti's and coffee for breakfast. Then we headed downstairs to meet her uncle in the parking lot. He has a rental car since he has to drive alot for business, so he had offered to take the three of us to Bruges for the day. I was super-excited not to be going via train (although the trains are lovely!). It was so nice to ride in a car for a bit! I was surprised to learn that the Belgium border is only 10 km from Tilburg, and Bruges is a total of two hours by car. So we left at 9:00am and arrived around eleven. During the car ride, I sat shotgun, as I was attempting to "learn how to drive on European highways". I think I picked up a bit, but its quite different than America. We also had fun picking Bali's uncle's brain. He knows so many interesting things and loves learning languages, so we spent most of the ride exchanging words in other tongues!

Arriving in Bruges, we were so happy to see the sun come out! The weather forecast had predicted rain for the whole day, but it turned out to be warm (16 C) and semi-sunny! We parked at the train station and took the bus into the city centre. I was having deja vu, as I had just been to Bruges about a month ago. But it was great to be back! We were dropped off in the square, where the officer on the bus warned us about all the police in the city who were watching out for pick-pocketers, as its supposed to be really bad there. Sure enough, we saw loads of "politie" on bikes and walking around watching for pick-pocketers. If anything, it made me feel even safer!

We walked around and headed back towards the area that Ashley and I had stayed in when we were there last. I showed them the Choco-story museum, the canals and the hostel we stayed in. We enjoyed taking it at a leisurely pace and stopping to enjoy the scenery and check out some shops. After awhile, we got hungry and went to find some lunch. Before doing so, we stopped in a quaint little park off a side street. It was really nice! We headed back towards the Centre and found a small Eet Cafe where we bought sandwiches and smoothies from the woman working there. I had a worstenbroodje, which is like a long sausage wrapped in croissant dough (kind of like a massive pig-in-blanket) and a strawberry-kiwi smoothie. It was delicious. We took our food over to the markt square to watch the people (and dogs) go by and enjoy the remaining sunshine. Afterwards, we shared a container of Belgian fries with curry sauce on top....so good! I was super excited to be eating Belgian fries!

After lunch, we headed back through town, stumbling upon some more amazing architecture and cute shoppes. We looked about for some time, before taking a break for coffee and pastries. We stopped in a cute bakery and I ordered an eclair. Let me tell you, the Flemish know how to make eclairs! It put Dunkin Donuts to shame :) We chatted and enjoyed our afternoon snack before heading back out into the city to roam some more. I bought some cute spring clothes at the massive H&M in the Centre. Around 5:00pm, we decided to head back to the train station, as we were all exhausted from walking all day! We wandered back through this beautiful little park and made our way to the train station. We were home by 7:00pm, back in the Netherlands!

I really enjoyed getting a second look at Bruges. Ashley and I did more touristy things while we were there (which I really liked and were totally fun), where as this trip was more of a leisurely look at the city. I really enjoyed soaking in the culture and observing the people. Plus, we got in some good shopping and had really great company. All in all, another wonderful trip to Belgium!

Day 62: Forever Optimistic

Another sunny day in Tilburg, what more could a girl want?

Nothing terribly exciting happened today, but I just thought I'd share some thoughts I've had over the past few days here. Today I had my first presentation at Tilburg. Luckily for me, it was in English (my Dutch is not that good yet!). We had worked in a group of seven students for our Culture/History/Society class to research differences between two countries (we chose Greece and Turkey).

It turned out to be a really great project. I worked with four Dutch students, a Canadian and Mathea (my Slovenian friend). After our initial research and meeting with the professor, we divided the work amongst us for the presentation. The native English speaker, I got the job of presenting and Mathea agreed to present along with me. We worked quite a bit yesterday and today getting ready for it, but as always, we were both a bit nervous just beforehand!

However, the presentation ended up going really well! We got through it just fine and I think the prof enjoyed it. It was really interesting to hear the other groups present too. All the students in the class had completed the same project and were presenting this week. So we heard comparisons about all of the countries in Europe- Greece, Hungary, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Netherlands and more! It was really cool and a quick, fun way to brush up on some European history! I also found it really fascinating, because the majority of students that presented were not native English speakers. In fact, my friend Alissa and I were the only two native English-speaking students who presented out of nearly 20 presenters. But all of the students really impressed me with their ability to speak English in front of a group and remain poised and calm. If I were trying to do a presentation in Dutch or Spanish....oh my word, I can't even imagine!

So now I feel very refreshed that my presentation is over with! And the weather is super nice today. Its sunny(ish) and its currently 64-degrees Fahrenheit outside....I think this is the warmest its been since I have been here! Mathea and I are heading to the city centre tomorrow...I will buy some shorts and t-shirts to welcome in the warm weather and spring...alas!

Past that, things are going good. I have really been enjoying my Dutch class. Its nice to be learning a bit more of the language. I realize its not practical beyond this time in my life, but its really neat to be learning another language in its home country. Plus, I get to practice a lot while I'm here. This weekend, I even had a bartender tell me that my Dutch was good! I try to practice some outside of class...I say "dankjewel" a lot when I am out to eat or at Albert Heijn. Its all in good fun :)

Last night as I was walking back from the library (actually walking to my bike to cycle back!) I realized how gorgeous Tilburg is. Its been kind of hard, as I tend to compare the campus and school to Agnes Scott, which is beyond beautiful. So the "looks" of Tilburg were kind of disappointing at first, but last night as I walked on campus with the sun set and the lights on, I realized what a nice place it is. It is very different from ASC (in so many ways), but I really appreciate those differences and am thankful for all of the amazing experiences I am having here. Literally every day is a new adventure and I enjoy living, learning and absorbing every moment of it! My experience abroad is totally priceless. I cannot express all of the sentiments I have about being in this place, exploring the cities and countries around me, and the people I have spent these months with. This is truly an unbelievable journey in my life, and I do not regret my decision to come here at all. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm really in Europe, and this is not all just a dream :)

Wow, so this has been a pretty reflective entry! Sorry for boring anyone who's reading this. Just wanted to put some of this on paper (or computer screen?) so that I can have these memories to hold on too as well.

This weekend I will be heading to Bruges, Belgium (again) with Bali and Mathea. Bali's uncle will drive us there, so it should be fun to ride in a car again and explore Bruges a bit more. I'm hoping for good weather (knock on wood :)!

Then next week I have four exams between Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I head to France to visit my friend Ashley from Agnes Scott (the one who visited me here in February). I am really looking forward to seeing her again and exploring some of France. We will visit Paris and perhaps some places around Besancon, where she goes to school.

So many exciting things! Stay tuned :)

Day 58: 21st Birthday

Today's the big day! 

I'm officially twenty-one years old! 

Crazy :)

The morning started off as a usual Sunday morning: sleep in, laundry, big breakfast, study, workout. Late afternoon, I headed over to have birthday champagne before going out to a birthday dinner in the City Centre. We had burgers, fries and milkshakes in this nice, relaxing place in Tilburg. My friends watched as I opened gifts and cards from my parents and relatives. Mathea and Bali had gotten together and given me a box of Duncan Hines Cinnamon Swirl muffin mix and a muffin-baking book in Dutch!

It was a really relaxing evening with some good friends from Tilburg. After dinner, we went back to campus and had birthday cake, baked specially by Shaun. He even wrote 21 on it in cherries. Mathea, Shaun and Daniel sang "Happy Birthday" to me in three languages: Slovenian, Afrikaans and English! It was really nice :) The cake was good too!

So 21 years old. Its an exciting age, and exciting day! I miss everyone back home and can't wait to get home and celebrate our 21sts in the States. But I am thankful for the great friends God has provided me with here and am glad that I got to spend a nice day with some of them. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and prayers. You all are loved dearly and have all made a great impression in my life. I am thankful for these 21 years God has provided me with and look forward to many more to come!

Day 56-57: Birthday Pre-Party in Amsterdam

Since my 21st birthday is this weekend, some of my friends and I decided to celebrate a bit. Twenty-one is a pretty big age in the US, as it is the legal drinking age (amongst other things, like the age you can rent a car!), so we wanted to something a bit special for my big day.

We decided (really last minute) to take a quick excursion to Amsterdam. Friday afternoon, my friends Alissa (Michigan, USA), Daniel (Scotland) and I headed via train to Amsterdam. We had to take the scenic route there through Rotterdam instead of the usual way through 's-Hertogenbosch, as there had been some kind of malfunction at the Den Bosch station. So the journey took a bit longer to get there, but it was really nice, as we got to see a bit of scenery and other parts of the Netherlands out the train window. We passed by Delft and Den Hague, two places we hope to get back to pretty soon!

Once in Amsterdam, we met up with Alissa's boyfriend and group of friends that were visiting from the States on their spring break. She had gone with them earlier in the week to Spain and the Canary Islands, but was glad to see them again in Amsterdam. We were all introduced and headed out from the station.

We walked through the city went to the hotel that Alissa's friends were staying at. Here, we shared some delicious pink champagne and Daniel was kind enough to manage to get the bartender to find us a bottle of 21-year-old whiskey. We sipped the whiskey and champagne in the hotel bar for a bit before heading down to the Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam for a birthday dinner! I ordered a nice pomegranate martini along with a quesadilla...YUM! We enjoyed a nice dinner together, before heading out to a nearby club, Paridiso where we planned to dance and have fun.

Arriving at the club, we discovered the queue was over an hour long! Not wanting to wait in the cold, a few of us decided to head back to the hotel lobby again for more drinks and to chat a bit. I was disappointed that we didn't get to go to Paridiso, but it turned out okay. A few of the people in our group did end up going to the club, but they later told us that it wasn't very good. They said the music was not so great, it was really crowded, and it cost 15 euro to get in! I was then glad we hadn't gone.

Later on, we headed back to the train station to catch the late train home. We were pretty tired on the way home, and I managed to get in a little sleep. It turned out to be a really great night, partying in Amsterdam! This is definitely one of my favorite towns in the Netherlands :)

Day 51: Cycles and Connect

This morning began quite early for one in Tilburg, especially a weekend day! Mathea, Bali and I met up at 8:30am this morning to go to campus to look for her bike. Long story short, another student who owned the bike (and was giving it to Mathea) had lent the bike to another exchange student who parked it "somewhere on campus". It was our duty to figure out where it is on campus, without actually ever having seen the bike.

So we set out strategically this early on a Sunday to search for the bike, since we knew there wouldn't be too many other bikes parked on campus at this hour. We searched through all of them and tried the key to the lock on any that vaguely matched our description of the bike, but our efforts were futile. We did not find the bike :(

We returned to Verbs, and made a nice warm breakfast to thaw out. Then we parted ways for the day. The rest of my day was pretty productive, the usual Sunday routine: homework, laundry and workout. I skyped a friend and spoke to her about tentative plans for an upcoming visit to the Netherlands and got a lot done.

Tonight I decided that I would try and go to this Bible study, Connect Tilburg, that I have been meaning to go to all semester, but have been unable to make it each week  for one reason or another. This group meets every other Sunday night at a Church nearby the University (only about 15 minutes cycling), for dinner, fellowship and Bible study. I was looking forward to finally going, but a bit apprehensive about finding it on my own, as I had never been to this part of town before. But it turned out to be the nicest thing. The cycling trip there was great, as the weather was again sunny and cheerful :)  I enjoyed seeing this new scenic route and riding through some quaint neighborhoods in Tilburg. I was glad to find the Church, with no turn-arounds (imagine that!!). I had taped the directions that I had written down for how to get there onto the front of my bicycle so that I would just have to glance down for the next turn or whatever. Truly convenient!

Connect was great! This was the first time in about three months that I have been with a group of believers in a safe environment where we could openly discuss the Word and fellowship with one another. Back home, I am really involved in the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) at Agnes Scott, and I have really been missing my girls and weekly Bible study group while here. Its been weird not having a church home or a Christian group to interact with on a regular basis, as I have had that my whole life. So it was really nice to be amongst fellow believers...in Europe!

We enjoyed a nice dinner, fixed by Miss Ruth (the sweetest woman from Germany, who I had been in contact with about coming to Connect). We had a tasty penne pasta with creamy veggie sauce and optional sausage. Then we had vla (Dutch for pudding...their favorite item in a carton!) and coffee and poundcake for dessert. After supper, we separated into two smaller groups for Bible study. I went to the one called "Stay Awake". It was led by a Dutch guy (in English!) and was a mix of young men and women from all over (Chile, Canada, China). We discussed the topic of Jesus' Second Coming. It was really thought-provoking and I enjoyed hearing the opinions and thoughts of others' from all over the world. It was so neat to see how we all came from entirely different places geographically, but this common belief in an Almighty Savior and Lord bound us together. It was really great! And I met a girl who is an au pair in Breda (about 20 minutes away by train) who offered to take me to the English-speaking Church in Eindhoven with her sometime. I am really thankful for that, as I have not been to Church since last semester (not counting my previous attempt at finding a Church here :). Hopefully that will work out! Apparently there is an Evangelical Baptist Church in the City Centre of Tilburg as well. Its services are conducted in Dutch, but they have the option to wear headphones that relay the service in either English or French....I think it would be weird to wear headphones in Church though (I'd feel kind of rude :)!

Cycling back was rather chilly, but it was a pretty quick ride. And the night ended with my weekly Skype date with mom and dad :)

All in all, a very nice and enjoyable day in Tilburg. A good start to a brand new week that promises sunshine, according to weather.com!

Day 50: Day Trip to Nijmegen!

Its hard to believe I have been in the Netherlands for 50 days already! Its also hard to comprehend how gorgeous Nijmegen, Netherlands is!

Nijmegen is the story of today's blog, as it was the feature of the weekend. Early this morning (okay, it was 10am!), Bali (Singapore), Mathea (Slovenia), Maddie (USA), Audrey (USA), two of Mathea's friends visiting from Slovenia and I all boarded the 10:09 train to Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands. A relatively short train ride away, we reached Nijmegen about 11:15am and headed to the VVV to see what we could see (see see!). The VVV is the tourist information center located near the central train station in every city in the Netherlands. We got a 45-euro cent map there and asked the woman at the counter where things were located. Map in hand, we headed for the first destination of the day: a real Dutch windmill!

A brief walk down the busy roads of Nijmegen, we came across the old windmill. Built in 1849, this poor "molen" as it is called in Dutch no longer had the "sails", as you can see in the picture. We had been told at the VVV that we could go up inside and see the windmill, but as it turns out, this was not the case. We did get to go into the store in the lower portion of the mill and sample some delicious Dutch cheese. Yum yum!

We then headed back towards the city centre. We stopped in some shops and bakeries to look around, and walked through the massive Saturday morning flea market taking place in the City Centre. Then we came upon the beautiful square, walled in by an array of gorgeous buildings. Here also was St. Stephen's Cathedral, which I had seen on the internet and hoped to visit while in Nijmegen. We got to go inside and take our own self-guided tour (with English paper guides) of the Cathedral. It was really interesting, as the Cathedral had been partially bombed in 1944. The tower was hit, but it was later repaired. The Cathedral was gorgeous, but much less gaudy than some of the others I have seen so far!

Next, we decided to find some lunch! We ended up at this nice little restaurant that served soup, sandwiches, warm beverages and the like. I ordered a cup of Dutch pea soup, something I am really starting to enjoy over here in the NL! After a warm and tasty lunch, we headed down toward the Waalkade, Nijmegen's waterway, and according to the 'net, the "Busiest Waterway in Europe". It was breathtaking! The clear skies and sunny weather assisted the amazing view we had of the waterway and the architecturally-genius bridges.

We took the opportunity to take numerous photos and enjoyed the view for a few moments before heading into the Velorama- the bicycle museum in Nijmegen! This was another find on the internet, which we thought would be totally worth it, as we all know how important cycling is in the NL! We toured the museum and took some great pics of the funny-looking bicycles that we saw. The museum consisted of three-stories of bicycles that told the story of the development and modernization of bikes from the 19th century to the present. It was super-cool to see and funny to think that people actually rode these things! We couldn't even begin to imagine ourselves on some of them!

Coming out of the museum, we decided to explore the ruins of the city right behind it. As mentioned earlier, Nijmegen is considered the oldest city in the Netherlands (with Maastricht closely following). So there is a lot of history here, although much of it has been subjected to war and destruction. There remains a few ruins, which we got to see today. On top of  a large hill, there is a lone remaining Chapel, dating back to 1400 and the rein of Charlamagne. We could not go in, but we saw the exterior of this monument and took some great pics from the hill it rested on. Then we explored another nearby ruin, before heading over to this massive bridge and archway (where we took more pictures).

Afterwards, we headed back into the city centre. We walked through the market again and looked in some more shops. Maddie and Audrey left to get back to campus for the evening affairs, while the rest of us stuck around to see a bit more of Nijmegen. We wanted to find one more place- the Commanderie van St. Jan, which is a coffee-roasting house, brewery and distillery. After asking directions, we found it and went inside. We were a bit disappointed, as it was too busy for us to actually sit down and have a beer or cup of coffee, but we got to see it at least!

Finally, we walked back through the city centre towards the train station to head back to campus. We bought snacks for the ride back before boarding the train for our scenic ride home to Tilburg. As usual, it felt good to get back to the warmth of our rooms in Verbs. And (as usual) we all met up for dinner later. Mathea pulled out all the fixings from the tacos she and the girls had eaten the evening before for dinner. We enjoyed some food and chatted for awhile before calling it a night.

Nijmegen was a beautiful city! I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this small, unassuming, historical town in the Netherlands. It was clear weather and we had good company. I'd call it a good day :)

Day 47: Cooking & Day of Rest

So its been awhile since I've blogged on the actual day of something. So I  thought I would share some fresh thoughts and updates :)

Being Wednesday, I did not have any classes today! I slept in super late for me (noon!!!), as it was a long night out last night. As previously mentioned, Tuesday nights, we have our ESN mentor dinners where two students cook for about 20-30 other international students and the Dutch mentors. These are always super fun & a great way to try some international cuisine! I was especially excited for last night's dinner, as Gabi and Alba (both from Spain) were cooking some legit Spanish food. YUM! They made Spanish omelettes, baked chicken drummies and these delicious deviled eggs with beans, salsa, mayonnaise and tuna. Oh yeah, don't forget the sangria :)

So dinner was fabulous and then it was time to head to the LG (the night club/bar in City Centre that all the international students  go to on Tuesdays). Bali, Mathea and I had arranged to cycle there together as a group. This was my first time cycling to the LG, and I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous! It was below freezing outside and dark...but it turned out completely fine! I didn't feel too cold and I wore my glasses, so I could see :)

We made it to the LG after parking our bikes in the underground bike parking garage (no cars allowed!). Tonight's theme was "Traffic Light" or Red-Light, Green-Light as we call it at Agnes Scott. I wore my little green dress, and it was so fun to see all the effort people had put into their outfits. One girl truly was a traffic light with all three colors hanging down her body from her neck. Clever!

We danced the night away and headed back to Verbs about 1:30am. So cycling at 1:30 in the morning is the best thing EVER! It was amazing! The air was super cold, but it had gotten so warm in the LG with all the people there,that it felt pretty good to be outside! We cycled back together and headed up to Bali's floor when we got back for some toasti's! Bali made us cheese and mushroom toasti's (what are essentially pressed sandwiches), that were delish, before heading back to our own places for the night.

So back to today...

I woke up rather late (noon, as I said before!) and made some lunch before cycling down to City Centre. This was only the third time I've cycled all the way there and the first time by myself, but it was a really  nice ride and a gorgeous day for it. I made it a uniquely American  day by stopping at the McDonalds and snuggling into one of their booths with a stroopwafel McFlurry. I ate it and laid out my things to study for a bit. Two hours later, I had finished reading this super-long article for a class and felt very accomplished! I went to retrieve my bike from the underground parking and cycled back to campus.

When I got back, I was extremely exhausted and laid down on my bed for what I meant to be a second. An hour and a half later I woke up and decided it was time to make some supper!

At home, I rarely do any "real" cooking. When I'm at home in Florida, mom typically cooks dinner. Sometimes I help, but I'm never the "one" cooking. And at ASC, I always go to the Dining Hall, because we have a meal plan and improper cooking facilities. So it has been a bit weird here to have to grocery shop and cook for myself. I'm always talking to mom about it on Skype on our weekly Skype date. She's always got great tips. And I've been doing some research myself online and by watching other people. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the whole cooking thing!

Anyways, today's blog is title cooking, because a significant portion of my evening was spent experimenting with a pasta recipe I discovered on the 'net. Its called Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta, and for those of you who really know me, you know I love my cordon bleu! I somewhat followed the recipe, leaving out some (of the expensive) ingredients and making it a hot dish instead of cold. Basically it was bowtie pasta (which is so fun!), cubed chicken, cubed ham, broccoli florets, grated swiss cheese, garlic salt and dijon mustard. I was super-anxious to taste it and it turned out really well! I made ample, so that I would have leftovers for another meal or two in the next couple of days. I felt very accomplished cooking a "real" meal for myself! So if you have any easy meal suggestions or cooking tips, here is your chance to share! Please feel free to leave a comment with your tips :)

The rest of the evening is devoted to skyping, blogging and more homework. Till next time!