i am in the netherlands sitting on my bed AND i have internet. thank goodness for internet. so, much has happened between 1 pm friday afternoon georgia time and 12:15 pm Sunday afternoon Netherlands time. The post will be lengthy, but I promise it will be filled with horrible and entertaining stories. Let's go.
So, the trip started off with the ticket desk in Atl telling me that I needed a Visa. Yeah, I don't have one of those because I was told by the people over here that I didn't need one. This was Problem #1 which was solved by the worker calling several different places. This would have gone much better if she had been a friendly worker that informed me of the situation. Instead she said "You need a Visa" and then started making phone calls. Induce panic now. That crisis was averted, then I had to say goodbye to dad before going through security. Really I wish I had been under 18 so he could have walked me to the gate. The mean woman worker wouldn't make an exception. Problem #2...I went to the wrong gate. Now, this is not my fault. My paper I printed from the internet had a different gate listed than the gate the computer listed. I followed the computer. It was wrong. Thankfully other people encountered this problem so an announcement was made. On the airplane I sat next to a nice Russian doctor going to interviews for a residency somewhere.
Landed in Philadelphia. I had some time, so I walked slowly to my gate and stopped to get a smoothie. Once getting to the gate I saw people up at the desk, so I went there too. Turns out we had to check in again in Philly. Problem #3, they said I needed a Visa. This time, the woman was also not very kind. I was pulling out all of the stops - smiling, being way super polite, etc. Did not work, this woman was cranky. Finally, after I pulled out all of my paperwork again to prove that I did not need a Visa a supervisor came over - she was SO NICE - thank goodness!!! So, I had to tell the supervisor everything, and she had to call Amsterdam. At one point, I had to forward her an email confirming that I have in fact paid for my residence permit. Then, I set my laptop down in a chair, which it promptly slid out of, thus landing underneath the chair where I couldn't see it. At this moment, I had gone to the desk to speak with the workers again. I turned around less than a minute later and did not see my laptop. That was Problem #4 and panic #3. I could hear mom's voice in my head saying "keep a close eye on your things, Emily." Finally all things worked out and I boarded the plane as one of the last people. Talk about being terrified. On the plane, my first seat was right in front of the bathroom and did not lean back. On the plus side I had the row to myself. Then, a family asked if they could have my row so their kid could sleep. Of course, I felt like I had to say yes, even though I wanted to say - but i'm kind of a kid too! So I moved. At first, it was fine. I had a window seat, the middle seat was empty, and a nice Dutch woman sat in the aisle seat. She loved her sequins - they were on her pants, shoes, and shirt. Also she loves shopping in America; Victoria's Secret is her favorite store. As I prepared to go to sleep, I put my sleeping mask on and leaned my chair back the small amount that it goes back. About 10 minutes later, I felt someone kick my arm. I pulled my sleeping mask away from my eyes and Problem#5. This woman's child(?)nephew(?) was now occupying the middle seat and watching a dvd without headphones. Thankfully, the noise of the plane made most of the sounds blend together. But let's be real, sleeping on an airplane is a terrible experience. So is eating airplane food. Don't get the chicken - disappointing. Muffin in the morning? Terrible.
So, my flight landed in Amsterdam at 4:30 am georgia time and 10:30am their time. Then, I breezed right through the airport, changed some money, got my bag, got my passport stamped, walked straight through customs and into the train station. Thankfully, the Dutch people are so friendly. I asked many (at least 6) people how to find the trains I needed at various locations. One person began speaking to me in dutch, so perhaps I can look the part occasionally. However, at the next stop I must have looked way lost because a girl immediately approached me asking if I needed help.
Finally I arrived at the university. I went through all of the checking in, then was delivered to my room. It's a nice size with great windows...pictures will follow later. I haven't unpacked yet...I'm doing that tonight though. Enter Problem #6, my internet didn't work. So, I made a total of 3 trips to and from my room to the housing company. Not a long walk at all, except I live on the 6th floor. There are no elevators. Hello super muscular legs by June. Finally I just ended up skyping home from campus - the housing here is all "off campus" by law, but we are very very close to campus.
Grocery shopping here was definitely Problem #7...everything was in Dutch! I relied on so many pictures to tell me what the items were. Finally I became so overwhelmed that I left with apples, applesauce ( i think), rice cakes, bread, and peanut butter. I will try again on Monday...everything is closed here on Sundays. I ate dinner with some of my dorm mates. There are 17 of us total, we have our own rooms, but share 2 (TWO!) toilets, 3 showers, a kitchen and a living area. We are all international, and so far I haven't met any Americans.
Problem #8 is jet lag. I couldn't fall asleep last night to save my life. Also, I was terribly homesick. No one really talks about how difficult the first few days of study abroad are, but it will get better for sure. Today, I am getting ready to go on a tour of the city. You know what that means? Pictures for you to look at! Get excited.
Okay, time for a funny story. Problem #8 - the linen package. I unwrapped my linen package and pulled out my comforter (which is really a duvet - remember this). That left me with a terrible pillow (which i put my jacket under last night to make better), a fitted sheet, and what I thought was the top sheet. So, I put the fitted sheet on, leaving me with the top sheet. It looked strange though - like someone had taken a full sheet and doubled it over, and sewn all the edges closed except the bottom. First, I thought maybe their sheets are just like that. I decided that wasn't right. Then I thought maybe the fitted sheet was a mattress pad and the other sheet was the fitted sheet (that you somehow shoved the mattress in?) leaving just the comforter to cover you. Yeah...I was way wrong. Thankfully before I tried this I asked for help. The Australian boy probably thinks I'm stupid now...he was like "that's a duvet cover..." Oops. Aside from the strange bedding, the bed is nice.
I'm going to go piddle around now. Hopefully some people are in the living area. There are so many nationalities on my floor - Colombian, Brazilian, Australian, Irish, Italian, Finnish, Spanish, Taiwanese, and Hong Kongan (I'm pretty sure that last one is not pc).
