Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! It’s almost 2013 so I wanted to write an end-of-2012 blog and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Now let’s review some events from 2012:

-Graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in International Business

-Got an internship in Holland the day after I graduated (yes, I’m going to brag about it)

-Moved to the Netherlands and started my life with Koen (on the same continent!)

-Adopted my cat child, Pepi. I’m a proud Momma!

-Many of my very best friends and family members have gotten engaged and I could not be happier for them! Praying I have the opportunity to fly back and be there on their special days!

-Started from scratch in terms of friends and met some really great people!

-Learned how to live (mostly) on my own and so far away from home

-And lastly, realized how much I miss all of my friends and family in the States and how important they are to me.

Now I’d say I had a pretty good and eventful year.  There were lots of hardships to overcome like adapting to my new life here in Holland but with everyone’s help, I have been able to do that. There are still things that I struggle with like ordering French fries from the Turkish diner down the street (whose counter clerk doesn’t speak any English) or walking through the rain and not complaining about the toll it takes on my hair when I finally arrive at the office (1.5 hours later). Ok obviously these haven’t been the hardest but there are things that I just never had to go through while living at home and with the support of my parents/friends/family.

Luckily, I have Koen. (My make-shift parent and sweet boyfriend). I’ve realized that over the last few months of being here, he has really done a lot for me and tried to make me feel at home. He rarely thinks about himself but puts me first in almost every situation which personally I think is a lot to ask of a 22 year old boy just out of college but he does it. On top of that, his family has been more than welcoming with their constant support and concern for my happiness. (Which I must say is at its peak at the moment) They are always making sure I’m okay and happy with our life and everything in it. I’m truly thankful for this.

Finally, I must bring attention to the fact that I have put my family through a lot by moving here this year. Not only do they probably miss my good looks, witty sense of humor, and money spending habits but I can imagine that having someone live so far away after being together for so long is difficult. I imagine that because that is how I feel myself. Missing birthdays, holidays, and big family gatherings is difficult for me as I come from a very family-oriented well…family. We’ve done everything together and although this is a big time for me, a part of me wishes we could share more with each other. So here’s to hoping they can come visit and spend time in Holland with me in the near future!

 

Happy New Year everyone! Cheers!

 

Ps. Sorry for the sappiness of this blog :)

It’s the holiday season…in Holland

Hey everyone! As some of you may have noticed (or maybe not), Koen and I haven’t been around much in the cyber world lately due to our lack of internet in the new apartment and of course, all of the holiday chaos. Therefore I will catch you up on some recent encounters and experiences I’ve endured over the last few weeks in Holland via my blog.

Atjehhhhh

As most of you know, Koen and I just moved to our new apartment on Atjehstraat in Rotterdam earlier this month. Atjehstraat is located in Katendrecht (in the south of Rotterdam) which until recently was a hot spot for hookers (okay so it was back in the 80s but still pretty recent). The bridge I go over every day to get to work is called Hoerenloper meaning Hooker’s walk. Ironically enough, today it is one of the safest areas in Rotterdam and attracts lots of younger, “hip” people like ourselves. It is the home of over 4,000 people and like the rest of Rotterdam is very diverse.  Now I know what you’re thinking, why do I suddenly feel like I’m reading an article from Wikipedia? Well to be honest, I found a lot of this information on Wikipedia but that’s because there is a lot of interesting information about this area and it’s me and Koen’s first apartment together so I have the right to brag a little J Anyways, there are some other exciting attractions and benefits of living on this peninsula. Just to name a few:

1. The water cab running from the city center to Hotel New York (Right by Hooker’s Walk) Yep, now we can go out in style. Oh wait I’m 23 and poor.

2. Hotel New York- a classy bar/restaurant that has outdoor seating right on the river

3. Luxor Theater-reputed the most beautiful theater in Holland that offers various productions including musicals, shows, theater concerts, opera and dance.

4. Restaurants-Ketelbinkie and Wing Wah are the only ones we’ve eaten at so far but all of them seem very cool and many are located by the water.

5. Erasmus Bridge-if you google Rotterdam this is the white, modern looking bridge in the pictures. It’s only a 5 minute bike ride away (this is how I measure time now). And just to give you a funny visual, picture Koen and I riding the bike over this bridge. Koen standing up pedaling because it’s slightly uphill and me dying laughing while sitting comfortably on the back and enjoying the view. Only in Holland my friends… only in Holland.

For all of you history buffs there is one very interesting fact about Hotel New York. This is where ships on the Holland-America Line were docked. These ships carried passengers to New York and back. The first journey took place in 1872 and actually Koen’s mom’s uncle made this journey at some point to get to Boston where he lives now! Feel free to google this for more information. (That means you Dad even though you’ve probably already done it)

The only drawback of living here is the multiple forms of transportation I must use in order to get to work in the mornings. Bike to metro station (3 minutes), metro to train station (7 minutes), take train to bus station in Utrecht (40 minutes), and take bus to office (20 minutes). Eggshausting.

Sinterklaas

So I know I already gave you a brief introductory of this Dutch tradition but now I have a story of mine own to tell. Last weekend, I went to Deventer with Koen and family to celebrate the holiday with the Kuhnes (Hans’ family). First of all Deventer is pretty far from Rotterdam but nonetheless very quaint and exactly what you’d picture a small European town to look like. Not to mention the apartment we visited also had a euro style like I’ve never seen before. I loved it!!  Pit of the trip: cramming into the little Peugeot with Jelle and Koen crushing me in the back.

Now before leaving for the party, Koen’s mom (Jolanda) asked me if I was nervous and I didn’t understand why she would ask that. Yes, it´s a big family and I had anticipated meeting lots of people but to be honest I thought I could just blend in with the group and have small side conversations with family members all night long. I was sadly mistaken.

First of all, in preparation for this event, everyone has to create a present themselves and hide the actual present somewhere inside. This is a completely anonymous present so it is nerve-racking to open your own present but also watch someone open yours. And considering the family is even bigger than the Griffins and everyone was speaking Dutch while sitting in a giant circle, the wait made me even more nervous.

I was probably the 3^rd to last person to open my present so the anxiety of being next had reached its peak. Finally someone called my name so I went into the middle and began unwrapping my gift. Oh and I forgot to mention this, everyone has a witty poem that accompanies their present so I was happy to see that my poem was in English...or was I?

I open my present and find that the poems included with my present are more like instructions. First poem (which of course was written with poetic harmony): put on Zwarte Piet wig and collar and sing this song in front of everybody:

“Sinterklaas kapoentje, gooi wat in mijn schoentje.
Gooi wat in mijn laarsje.
Dank u Sinterklaááásje.’’

Then I had to throw kruidnoten (aka ginger snaps) at everyone like they did at the parade and do a puppet show with a Sinterklaas puppet and Americo (the white horse) puppet (thankfully I got out of doing this last part). Either way, the joke was on me and my face was crimson. However, I think that after this I can truly say I’ve immersed myself in the Dutch culture. I mean how many people get the chance to embarrass themselves in front of 30 Dutchies right?

In other news, this week is the week Pepi will be emasculated. He has commenced with spraying and action needs to be taken.

Stay tuned for the result. :)

October Update... Winter is here!!

Sorry I am so bad with blogging lately. Fortunately not a lot has gone on since my last blog as I am working every day and there isnt much to tell.. unless you'd like to know all about my hour long commute and what I eat for dinner every night.

My biggest accomplishment as of lately is that I am now a legal dutchie. Ok so I don't have citizenship but I finally got a stamp in my passport at the IND (immigration office) to stay in NL for work. It is quite the stamp. Very official and all that. Now the best part about getting this stamp was the simplicity of the process (once you have finished the giant pack of paperwork that is). You know how people that work at places like the DMV are super cranky and hate their lives and thus are always pissed off at you? Well here it wasn't like that all. I even told Koen as we were walking into the building that I was nervous they'd be rude if I forgot some document. But no, I had a very pleasant experience. The man assisting me was very pleased that I had like 98343097 copies of each document and only forgot a few things like writing my name on the very first page...Durrrr. The other thing I noticed was the casual attire of the employee sitting next to my guy. He was obviously gay and wearing a tight v-neck with a studded jean jacket vest. Soo euro. And i loved it. I guess you could say that The Netherlands overall just seems to be more relaxed than in the States. Even at work I get to wear really whatever I want. Once I got everything stamped and processed, Koen and I went to a nearby McDonald's to celebrate with Happy Meals (I told you there's not much to talk about lately). Woohoooo burgers.

But lets see what else. Oh yes, I have had my first encounter with what appear to me to be somewhat controversial Christmas decorations. Or maybe the better name is Sinterklaas decorations. Google this if you want to know more about it but this is the more traditional Dutch holiday around Christmas. The controversiality with this lies in the helper of Sinterklaas, Zwarte Piet or Black Peter. He is a white boy covered in black (presumably soot) and distributes presents through the chimney with Sinterklaas. However it used to be that he was a black slave who was freed by Sinterklaas and ultimately stayed by his side by choice because he was so grateful for what Sinterklaas did for him. (Pictures of the little kid costumes in the grocery store coming soon). Anyway, we are going to celebrate with Han's (Koen's stepdad) family's party sometime around the 5th of December!

In other news, it is currently raining and freezing outside. My mom and dad got lucky that the weather was still tolerable for touring when they were here. Especially with Amsterdam because although that would give my parents a more realistic perspective of what Holland is like on a daily basis, it's not so enjoyable no. I think they had a good time though especially at Fockink. This is a "gezellig" Dutch bar that makes their own liqueur in Amsterdam. It was really funny because the gay bartender working there was really an entertainer. As usual Koen was his victim. (I'm not sure why but he is just about every gay man's type over here and it's beginning to worry me. Haha) He said things like "Oh yeah, those long distance relationships. You just skype once or twice and then it's over. But its good for me and I'm sure your dad is okay with it too, am I right?" I think Koen's face got a little red! ;) But anyways, what they have you do when you get your drink is bend over the bar and slurp it from the glass because they intentionally fill it to the brim. Great photo op there.

All in all, I think the best part about their trip was just being on the same continent again although my mom would probably say it was getting to meet her grandson, Pep! But hopefully they'll be back soon and we can all go on some European adventures preferably to more tropical locations. Nick, Katie and Drewby too!! (Hint hint)

Fall and the real dutch weather are upon us!

Hello everyone! It's a lazy Thursday (my day off from work) and because Lauren has been persistently nagging me to blog, I'm going to satisfy her thirst for juicy details about my life here in NL. Although there are not many I believe a few new things have happened since my last blog! ;)

I can't remember if I've already written this in the last blog but we have kitten now. His name is Pepi and he's seriously the sweetest little guy ever! He sleeps in the bed and cuddles any time he has a chance. Oh and did I mention he's my morning 6 am alarm clock? Oh yes, unfortunately every morning whether its a Saturday or not, he props himself up on my chest and stares at me while purring VERY loudly. Does he do it to Koen too? No. Just me. Smart little feline. Just like his momma. Anyways, we are very happy to have him and call me Eileen but I think we want another one! I already have the perfect name for him and everything. Just need to wait a while so we have enough money to pay for shots and vet bills. Exciting though! He really needs a buddy to run around with...

Aside from Pep, we´ve done a lot lately. For one, I´ve finally gotten my train pass for work and it´s absolute bliss. Not having to rush to the train station every morning and wait in the line to buy a ticket is great. I´ve never relied on public transportation so much in my life and although it is very convenient, I´ll be the first to tell you that it´s expensive and a pain in the ass. Not to mention might be making me gain wait. Yes, the Netherlands doesn´t have drive thru McDonald´s on every street but they DO have this great establishment by the name of Smullers. They sell fries, burgers, chicken sandwiches and more...Hate-love it. It´s also made me realize Koen´s obsession with french fries which makes me sick because he can eat it every day if he wants and never gain any wait. Stupid metabolism.

We´ve also gone to several Dutch parties with Koen´s friends which has been an adventure as there is hardly any English speaking going on. I think this has been the biggest challenge for me so far. Living in Spain wasn´t as difficult considering I spoke the language a little but here I´m completely lost. Koen has found some relatively cheap classes in Rotterdam that I should sign up for but hopefully over time listening to people speaking will speed up the process. The only conversational vocabulary I´ve mastered is ordering food, train station conversation, buying food at the store (want a receipt, do you want a bag, goodbye). But its pretty good considering I´ve only been here a month and a half. I must say its a very tricky language with all of the R´s and strange throat noises you have to make in daily conversation. One day Erin..One day.

Another challenge is the grocery store. Everything is placed in spots you would least expect them to be or aren´t in stores at all. For example today I wanted to make Koen and I chicken parmesan. Where are the bread crumbs...don´t have them. However to me the worst is that there is no ground turkey..my mom wouldn´t be able to live over here. Just beef and pork. And with things being in Dutch I find myself having a hard time deciding on pretty much everything unless Koen´s there with me. And I think I mentioned this in my blog from Spain but I have to bag my own groceries and it´s still as struggle.

Aside from the difficulties of living here, there are many perks. To mention a few:
-the local park: Koen and I go to this park by the apartment every now and then. It's so nice because it's an escape from the city life and everyone is just hanging out and grilling food. It's very relaxed.
-constant festivals: in Rotterdam there are lots of festivals almost every weekend and despite what theyre for they are a good time. The city is so crowded and theres music. Last weekend we went to this art festival with Jolanda, Hans, and Jelle on Wittedewith straat which is a very popular street with bars and restaurants.
-Mint leaf tea!!! This is my new favorite drink. A lot of europeans drink coffee after they've eaten dinner but personally, I'm so full from my meal that I cant stomach an espresso so my alternative is tea. I've found that many restaurants serve mint tea. It's basically mint leaves, honey, and hot water. Very easy to make, healthy, and warms your soul ;) I recommend it.
-I've probably lost weight from walking so much. In America, you are always driving everywhere and here I'm always on my feet. Whether its walking to the train station, walking to the city, or walking to the grocery store. We'll see how much I like this when the weather starts to change though :)
-Even if he's sick of me at this point, living here with Koen has been great. Spending a year apart was definitely worth and I don't think many couples can say that. I don't mean to get all sappy on you guys but I'm so much happier being on the same continent as him for once. He's really done a lot for me since I got here including cooking, grocery shopping, walking with me to places, and much more. I'd recommend everyone to study/work/live abroad because its a great experience but I don't think I could do it alone.

Things to look forward to:
-In about one month my parents are coming to visit after their trip to Ireland. I cannot wait and I'm so happy that they can experience Europe with me there to watch. I've never seen my parents in a foreign environment and I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when they witness their first coffee shop or walk through the red light district. Despite some similarities, it really is a whole other world over here! But hopefully they'll enjoy it and then maybe the rest of my sibs can come visit. Not seeing my family is very difficult especially since we've grown a lot closer over the past year considering the amount of visits I've made to Cary.
-My friend Kristen from App is coming to visit at the beginning of October. She's traveling to Hamburg, Munich, Austria, Prague, and Amsterdam! I'm actually kind of nervous because this will be my first American visitor and there's a lot to show her! :)
-Further, Koen and I have (briefly) looked at apartments in Rotterdam. I know Jolanda (Koen's mom) really misses being in her apartment and wére gonna have to find something soon so the process has begun. I'm excited but nervous because there's so much to do!

Anyways, I think I've rambled enough. Hope you guys enjoyed reading my post.

P.S. For those of you who I havent skyped with, get it together! I miss you! :)

Gay Pride and Random Updates

Hello again! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have been super busy and tired adjusting to my new schedule for work. It turns out I have to get up at 6 am every morning and only have a few hours to be with Koen in the afternoons so I wanted to wait a while until I figured out when the best times are for blogging, skyping, etc.

Anyways, a lot has happened since I last blogged. The biggest being the gay pride parade that Koen, Jelle and I went to in Amsterdam! It was like nothing I've ever seen. We arrived in the city center by train and the first things I noticed were rainbows, butterflys and sunshine! Really though there were rainbows everywhere although not too many butterflys and if you know anything about Dutch weather there wasn't much sunshine either! Bhahaha kidding it was a gorgeous day. Anyways, as far as dress, I believe that the theme when you go to this parade is to wear pink too because I was noticing a lot of feminine males wearing it. It was so great. Everyone was just going crazy whether they were straight or gay.

We met up with Jelle shortly after arriving and luckily for us, he had planned ahead and brought a 12 pack of Grolsch (Dutch beer) so we wouldn't have to buy the mega expensive beer that they were selling. Aka he saved the day. We walked around for a while trying to find an opening on the canal to watch the parade from. It was probably the busiest event I've ever been to because every railing and bridge was covered with people and we still had about an hour before the parade started. Madness. Finally we found a spot right by this nice boat next to the canal. Mom would have loved this too (as usual). They were drinking fine wine and serving appetizers to everyone on their boat and had the perfect view of the canal.

A little later the boats starting coming by and if you saw my pictures, you probably have an idea of what I was seeing. Sooo great. Everyone was dressed up and the music was very European. Dad knows what I'm talking about with the same beat over and over again! Overall, it was a good time. We need more parades like that in NC. Maybe one day! :)

Anyways, works been going well. I have finally figured out the train system. It's actually quite easy once you understand where each train is going to or have the 9292.nl app on your phone. Basically you can plan your trips depending on what time you want to arrive/leave and it gives you a schedule of where to go and when! Perfect for train amateurs like me. It's a long trip to Amsterdam from here but I've learned to catch up on my reading. However, the thing I've become most proud of myself for is my relationship with the morning newspaper guy at the station. At the beginning, he would hand me a newspaper and I didn't know what to say because I didn't feel like explaining that I can't read Dutch and just take it anyways but then I had a revelation: there's a sudoku/game section that is English-speaker friendly!! So now every morning I walk by and he hands me the newspaper and says, "Goedemorgen" (Good morning) and I say it back or say "Dankjewel" (thank you). Mornings=conquered. The only annoying thing is that I have to pay cash every morning to buy my train tickets at the office and sometimes this is time consuming. They have ticket machines but unfortunately they only receive a certain type of debit card and just coins instead of bills. Cool. But once the month is over and I am reimbursed with my transportation costs (my parents will be very happy about this), I can get a discount card so I can be a pro like everyone else and scan my card super quick.

We've had a lot going on lately with all the visitors we've had (I think they're all just secretly here to see Pepi) . Koen's cousin, Bernd and his girlfriend came for a couple days and we went out in the city. My favorite bar here in town is de Witte Aap (I may be spelling this wrong) but in English its the white monkey/ape. It reminds me a little of town tavern because its kinda small and homey. It seems that here there are still a lot of students that aren't in school because when I have my days off on Wednesdays, there have been a lot of people at the bars. Until veryyyy late.

Update on Pepi: He is still his adorable self although I think he has gotten a lot bigger since we picked him up. It's hard to tell since we live with him. He is such a cuddle muffin though: he follows us around the house and his sleeping spot at night is on my head. I love it! He just visited the doctor with Koen this week and they said he's a good kitty.

For some reason living in Holland has been a little harder to get used to than living in Spain. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I can't read anything in the grocery stores (or anywhere for that matter), I travel a lot on my own (yes I'm being forced to become more independent finally), and we have a baby in the house, Pepi. It's a lot to take on but so far I'm learning a lot about myself and I think this is good for me!

Anyways, this is all I have for now. Next blog will probably be about how I now have a functioning bicycle and what it takes to survive riding it around the city of Rotterdam. Wish me luck! Love you all. Kusjes.

Finally in Holland

Hello all! I am finally settled in Rotterdam, my new home! After a long and exhausting trip, I arrived in Brussels, Belgium Thursday morning. Didn't sleep a wink as usual but for some reason it wasn't so bad this time. When I got to customs they hardly asked me any questions and I basically walked right into the country. Woohoo. For some reason that always makes me nervous... I ended up having to wait a while for Koen because as most of you know, people over here must rely on public transportation and his train was delayed..but I got to people watch while I waited and when you haven't been to Europe in a while, it can be quite entertaining. I saw the standard "marfs" (man scarves), DEEP v-necks, euro shoes, and fedoras. They're everywhere I swear!


Anyways, when we arrived in Rotterdam, the weather was quite nice. I have to embrace this as it may not last long considering winter starts earlier here than in NC. I caught up on some sleep almost immediately and later we made reservations for a nice turkish restaurant in the city center. The restaurant was called De Bazar and it was really good! Then we had a couple drinks elsewhere in the city. You would all definitely appreciate the atmosphere in the city. They have little awnings outside of all the restaurants and you can just order a beer and watch the people go by. Very peaceful. 


Friday Koen and I decided to go to this beach that was only 30 minutes by train. The beach was called Hoek van Holland which means Corner of Holland. On our 20 minute walk there from the train station, we stopped in a snack bar (these are everywhere and they sell typical Dutch fast food) and got some frietjes (french fries) and I was slightly embarrassed because I ordered ketchup while Koen ordered a giant glob of mayonnaise--thats the Dutch way it seems! This place was a little different from the beaches in Spain and I'll tell you why: COLD WATER. We dipped our toes in the water as soon as we got there and it was absolutely freezing. I don't know how people were swimming in it..Probably felt good to them. That will probably be me around this time next year I hate to say! :) But we found a spot and "chilled". Had a few Amstels and did some people watching (yes I love people watching). It was pretty entertaining because there were cute little Dutch kids running around half naked and my favorite part: the boys trying to the throw an American football. Bhahahaha! I mean think about it. You know how cocky boys are in the States when it comes to Football. They are all pretty good at throwing one because that is something you learn while youre in the womb. These guys here were pathetic. I told Koen I should have gone over there and embarrassed them. However, to redeem themselves, they were all pretty good with a soccer ball. They were everywhere on the beach! After the clouds started rolling in, we caught the train back to R'dam and apparently you can bring all sorts of wildlife on the train because we saw a parrot AND a baby kangaroo. This kangaroo was seriously the cutest animal I've ever seen. He was swaddled in a towel that was hanging from the woman's neck and he looked so cozy. I wanted to steal him! When we arrived we decided stop by the grocery store. Our store is about a 10 minute walk from the apartment which is nice. We got some dinner and went back home and I didn't even get hit by a bike. Success.


Today Koen and I went down to the city center for the Zomercarnaval. This was the best people watching opportunity I've had all week. The parade consisted of people with crazy outfits. There were even guys in slutty clothes shimmying with heavy makeup and fake birds on their shoulders and feathers. Lots of feathers! The music was pretty good though. If you want a taste of what they played, go on youtube and listen to Balada Boa by Gusttavo Lima and Ai Se Eu Te Pego by Michel Telo. They're so catchy! :) However my most shocking view was the girls wearing American flag leggings. Do not try this at home. It isnt gonna work for you I can promise you that. For some reason wearing clothing with the flag on it is popular here. We went into one of Koen's favorite stores called Pull and Bear and in the girl's clothing section, there were flags everywhere. 


So far I like it here. It's cool living in a city and although it's a huge change from living in Boone, I love it. The people are nice and hopefully my Dutch will improve faster now that I'm forced to hear it and occasionally use it. :) It's time to watch the Olympics now so I must go but I'll post again soon!!! Ps. We may be getting a kitten this week!! :) :) :)

One day left in 'Merica

Hey guys. So upon request of several friends/family members, I have decided to start a blog for living in The Netherlands. I am pretty excited to start blogging again because a) this means I'll have more interesting stories (how can I not when I'm around Koen) and b) I just love writing these and reading them long after my trips to reminisce! 


It is the day before I leave and I haven't even finished packing yet...this is what happened last time so I guess I never learn... However, as an alternative to packing, I have decided to go spend some time in the sun before I leave for the land of rain and colder weather aka. NL. They are infamous for their gloomy and MOIST (this is for Katie) weather so I want to get as much vitamin D as possible before I surrender to the rain and frigid air over there. 


Now I don't know if anyone else has felt like this before but it seems to me that leaving the country for long periods of time forces you to become a social butterfly (in terms of meeting up to say goodbye to certain people) and in turn you receive lots of extra attention and I love it. The last few months I have spent a great deal of time with good friends and family and it makes me realize how much I am going to miss everyone and everything American..Especially Mr. Marls, my ultimate non-human companion. I love traveling and seeing the world but home means a lot to me and to leave it behind is a very difficult task. 


However, I think this will be a good thing for me and Koen too because I'll get to see things from his perspective and the Dutch business perspective which is never a bad thing! Maybe I'll learn some Dutch too if Koen follows through and posts sticky notes on everything in the apartment like I've asked.. Anyways, I'm hoping to learn a lot there and ultimately come back with a sense of what I want for the future. Duh Koen is a big part of that. But I won't get all sappy and lovey dovey on you all. :)


Ok gotta go, I'm wasting daylight so I'm signing off but I will post my address and new phone number in case anyone would like to contact me! Love you guys!