In the Beginning...

Hello world,

my name is Julia and I am going to be embarking on a student exchange to the Netherlands next school year. Right now I live somewhere in the great and wonderful state of Maine, U.S.A. To say that I live in the boonies of rural Maine would be an understatement. My town has a population equal to about three.

Town center consisting of 3 houses, a church, fire station, post office and general store. Yes, yes this is the glamorous life that I now lead, unfortunately in August (hopefully) I will be leaving all of it behind.

In my school and community, common phrases that will be often heard are “hey there bud” and “get your deer yet?”, but in thick, and often slightly exaggerated Maine accents so instead it would sound more like “ey dere bud” and “ get yah deah yet?”. We the people of Maine are proud of our rugged woodsmen exterior. On the inside though, we are actually a kind people.

Although some might see this as an dramatization of Maine life it is in part true. We like the out of doors and, our motto, “Maine, the way life should be” is pretty awesome. Lobster is an important part of our culture, I being one of the few around these parts to dismiss it with an expression of unrepentant horror. Besides lobster, we also like a good hunk of tenderloin (deer meat) which we hunt down and capture with our bare hands (dramatization).

Over the next several months I will be posting about my adventures in my new homeland. I would be honored to have everyone and anyone follow my escapades. At times I hope not to bore my ever loving followers (family and friends), but to regale you with exhilarating, or rather “different”, tales of the Koninkrijk der Nederlanden.