Hallo,

I have arrived in a foreign land. The Netherlands, to be exact. Well, to be more exact you could say Holland, that is what all of the people here call it. Since I have arrived in this city of Eindhoven I have done a great many things. I have gone to a library, a market and a brewery, amoung other things. The question that people usually ask is something along the lines of "is it really different?"

The answer to that question is as elusive as the Maine moose (no, not really I just wanted to sound clever). The Dutch have some strange mannerisms that I have begun to adjust to and enjoy. Number one is that they drink a lot. I am constantly plagued with the question, "would you like something to drink?" They are satisfied only when you accept the offer. If not they mutter about how it is good to drink, it is good for your health. Tea, Coffee and assorted juices are the drinks of choice. A collected effort of the students at the Dutch Orientation Course in Arnhem have come to the conclusion that drinking is essential so as to not lose your voice with all of the gaaahhhhking and the gchhhkkking that the Dutch language requires.

Even with this difference Holland is a pleasant country that I am proud to call my second home. All of the people that I meet here are so very nice. When I first arrived at the airport the shop that was first visited was Starbucks. This is a very "American" thing. So in this aspect Holland and the USA are the same. People like Starbucks...Hooray!

I have just gotten back from my Dutch Orientation Course in Arnhem which is about an

hour north of my current city. I met many nice

people from all around the world. The countries

represented were USA, Canada, Indonesia,

Thailand, Mexico, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. It was an awesome experience to meet so many different people and I made some very good friends. I also had a chance to practice my painfully limited Spanish skills as some of the spanish speaking students had a sad sad grasp of the English language. We exchanged a few words and laughed at each others terrible communication skills. As a way of learning we also sand ridiculous songs about going places and saying hello. Now the songs are playing on repeat in my head. I do hope that they fade away with time. One of the favorites was Wie ben je? (who are you). The song begins with a jolly whistled tune. The kind of tune which just makes you smile because it is so so funny yet so so ridiculous.

Before all of this insane Dutch-ness I visited Den Haag (the Hague) with my host family and host grandparents. I had a great time and walked the beautiful beach that is pictured above. It was cold and there were fireworks and a wonderful Dutch invention, the stroopwaffle. The stroopwaffle is a delightful thing. It is found in almost every Dutch home in various forms. The basic stroopwaffle is two very thin sweet waffles pasted together by soft caramel. They can be big, small, covered in chocolate. Really they can be a lot things, the most important being wonderful.

I must bring this blog post to an end. I will end it with this wonderful picture of me riding the most ridiculous bike. It was insane and awesome. Until next time, tot ziens, Julia.

Hey Universe,

a lot of things have happened since I have last been on this wonderful page that is my trip. I have obtained a date of departure, Saturday the seventh of August, and a suggested three stop plane trip which would span over the course of two days. Yes, yes it is all very exciting. I have also made contact with my host family, through an extraordinary use of e-mail and facebook. Paperwork is coming together and Dutch is being learned...sort of. I feel as if I am some sort of business women, e-mailing people I have never meet, signing things and overall being stressed out. When one decides to go abroad, in the beginning, he or she never really realizes the extreme mental catastrophes that they must endure. I believe at this moment in time the deadlines and the e-mails that take forever to answered and the most frustrating and stressful for a body. Right now however, the extreme excitement of my upcoming crossing of the pond rests over everything like a fine silver lining. My elation, though not always audible, makes everything worth the while.

So for now, my friends I must go and sit in my home in the rain and recite Dutch words and phrases out loud to myself in the dankness.

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.