Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Million Thoughts Rushing Through My Mind
And I all I am going to say is this: I am genuinely happy.
Funny isn't it? After being the girl who appears happy but is actually miserable for years, I have somehow transitioned into the girl who lets her petty problems overshadow the true joy in her heart.
Tak for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was absolutely perfect. I was going to go into a whole 5 page description of all the events of the day, but I do not have time to write it and with the holiday season rapidly approaching in the states you probably do not have time to read it. 
In the morning I went to my børnehave and played with the kids. We went on a field trip to the bibliotek for Mumitrold's 65th Føselsdag. Mumitrold is a Finnish book character who has since been turned into a television series, all the kids are in love with him. The kids had fun and we got cookies, but it was very stressful. At one point I was in charge of keeping them from escaping up the stairs and to sit there quietly, which is still quite a task without the language and when they see me now as a fun silent girl who likes to play and have fun. We went back to the class and had a delicious quiche for lunch, and then it was outside play time! Outside play time may seen normal, but it had been snowing straight for 3 days at this point and I was/am super in love with the snow. It was the best day I have had with the kids. Here are a few pictures, none with face of course so a lot of the really good ones I can show you in person when I get home. This is where I go every Thursday all day and one of my favorite things ever:
After practicum I met up with my friend Ashlee at Nørrebro Station (in my head I wrote that stay-shee-on like it is pronounced in Danish, it surprised me) and we went to her host family who live outside of Hellerup in one of the richest neighborhoods in Denmark. Think going from my practicum to this house like going from the Bronx to Manhattan, except neither that extreme because it IS a welfare state after all. Anyways, the house was beautiful. The walk from the train to the house was like out of a Halmark card. When we got home we started making food. We didn't eat until around 8:45 pm, but we had: turkey, stuffing, bacon, brussel sprouts with sauteed onions, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmellows, and sweet potato pie. It was all family recipes of Ashlee's and it was delicious. We told her family all about Thanksgiving and I realized what an American holiday it is. Here I am in a country that values cooking and eating together as a daily thing trying to explain why on one day a year we have to make an effort. Yes, our Thanksgiving is a grand gesture towards being thankful for what we have and spending time with family and loved ones, but it seems to be overcompensating for a culture that does not take time normally to do these things. I do not think that any Americans who think about pilgrims and native Americans after elementary school (unless they are going to a Thanksgiving-themed part the weekend after), so do not try to tell me that Thanksgiving is not about family and food. Leftovers was also a big discussion at our table. Danes do not typically do leftovers. Their fridges are too little and they do not typically like to waste. They make enough for what they want. They kept saying over and over how much food we had made, when really it seemed normal for Thanksgiving and maybe a little less than my family would have at home with one less person. We tried to explain turkey sandwiches and soup and leftovers for the coming weeks but it still sounded absolutely gluttonous. Other things we tried to explain were turduckens and tofurkey. All in all I love Thanksgiving and missed being home, but I had a day and night that I was truly thankful for the had all the elements I would want in Thanksgiving.
Bad parts of the day: I fell HARD on some snow in front of a bus of people and it was embarrassing and now my entire body is bruised. I saw some bad racial profiling by the train conductors on my way home, but it did distract from the fact that I had just realized that my ticket was no longer valid because I read it wrong and saved me $120. I just hope that the Middle Eastern man they escorted off the train had all of his paper work and gets an apology.
In the morning I went to my børnehave and played with the kids. We went on a field trip to the bibliotek for Mumitrold's 65th Føselsdag. Mumitrold is a Finnish book character who has since been turned into a television series, all the kids are in love with him. The kids had fun and we got cookies, but it was very stressful. At one point I was in charge of keeping them from escaping up the stairs and to sit there quietly, which is still quite a task without the language and when they see me now as a fun silent girl who likes to play and have fun. We went back to the class and had a delicious quiche for lunch, and then it was outside play time! Outside play time may seen normal, but it had been snowing straight for 3 days at this point and I was/am super in love with the snow. It was the best day I have had with the kids. Here are a few pictures, none with face of course so a lot of the really good ones I can show you in person when I get home. This is where I go every Thursday all day and one of my favorite things ever:
After practicum I met up with my friend Ashlee at Nørrebro Station (in my head I wrote that stay-shee-on like it is pronounced in Danish, it surprised me) and we went to her host family who live outside of Hellerup in one of the richest neighborhoods in Denmark. Think going from my practicum to this house like going from the Bronx to Manhattan, except neither that extreme because it IS a welfare state after all. Anyways, the house was beautiful. The walk from the train to the house was like out of a Halmark card. When we got home we started making food. We didn't eat until around 8:45 pm, but we had: turkey, stuffing, bacon, brussel sprouts with sauteed onions, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmellows, and sweet potato pie. It was all family recipes of Ashlee's and it was delicious. We told her family all about Thanksgiving and I realized what an American holiday it is. Here I am in a country that values cooking and eating together as a daily thing trying to explain why on one day a year we have to make an effort. Yes, our Thanksgiving is a grand gesture towards being thankful for what we have and spending time with family and loved ones, but it seems to be overcompensating for a culture that does not take time normally to do these things. I do not think that any Americans who think about pilgrims and native Americans after elementary school (unless they are going to a Thanksgiving-themed part the weekend after), so do not try to tell me that Thanksgiving is not about family and food. Leftovers was also a big discussion at our table. Danes do not typically do leftovers. Their fridges are too little and they do not typically like to waste. They make enough for what they want. They kept saying over and over how much food we had made, when really it seemed normal for Thanksgiving and maybe a little less than my family would have at home with one less person. We tried to explain turkey sandwiches and soup and leftovers for the coming weeks but it still sounded absolutely gluttonous. Other things we tried to explain were turduckens and tofurkey. All in all I love Thanksgiving and missed being home, but I had a day and night that I was truly thankful for the had all the elements I would want in Thanksgiving.
Bad parts of the day: I fell HARD on some snow in front of a bus of people and it was embarrassing and now my entire body is bruised. I saw some bad racial profiling by the train conductors on my way home, but it did distract from the fact that I had just realized that my ticket was no longer valid because I read it wrong and saved me $120. I just hope that the Middle Eastern man they escorted off the train had all of his paper work and gets an apology.
IOU
A post about Thanksgiving. A post about how stressed out I am. A post about Sweden.
Totally unrelated: allow me to analyze myself briefly. I say a lot of shallow things in order to protect how I really feel. I exaggerate life in order to make it compensate for the flaws I find in myself. I have a twisted sense of pride in my unhealthy psychological past because it lets me see how far I have come to be who I am now. I try to hold on to my past because it was easier to have an outlet for stress than have to deal with it in a healthy way. My identity right now is abstract and I cannot seem to piece together who I want to be. I cannot be who I want because what I want is still unhealthy, but now I know better.
Teaser for the blogs to come: Thanksgiving and Sweden were both perfect. This next week is going to be academic suicide.
Totally unrelated: allow me to analyze myself briefly. I say a lot of shallow things in order to protect how I really feel. I exaggerate life in order to make it compensate for the flaws I find in myself. I have a twisted sense of pride in my unhealthy psychological past because it lets me see how far I have come to be who I am now. I try to hold on to my past because it was easier to have an outlet for stress than have to deal with it in a healthy way. My identity right now is abstract and I cannot seem to piece together who I want to be. I cannot be who I want because what I want is still unhealthy, but now I know better.
Teaser for the blogs to come: Thanksgiving and Sweden were both perfect. This next week is going to be academic suicide.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
No Peter Pan Here
You also know you are growing up when you have to google "What wine goes with Turkey?".
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Snow Snow Snow
I change my reading to Celsius when it is cold so I do not feel like such a baby. IT IS 0º RIGHT NOW! <-- see, that sounds much more impressive than 32.
We had our first REAL snow. I took a walk in it and it was pure magic. There are lots of things that people do not tell you about snow. Things I am now an expert on because I have been in falling snow that I would tell someone who is not an expert:
- Snow is cold. You think that it should be like an ice cube, but it feels colder.
- There are different types of snow.
- It feels soft.
- It floats and swirls.
- It sparkles.
- It makes an amazing crunchy sound when you walk on it.
- It is sticky.
- It is slippery.
- It is magical.
Danish children play outside in all types of weather. I am secretly hoping that there is a fresh layer of snow tomorrow so that I can play with them in it. No one would play with me last night because they are all from the East Coast or boring and do not think that snow is the most amazing thing in the world. California, this whole not snowing thing may be a deal breaker for where I spend the rest of my life.
I secretly really want to watch the Thanksgiving Eve Service so that I can wallow in my homesickness for an hour and then get it out of my system, but it is at 4:30 in the morning and I have to wake up at 7:30. That should probably not happen.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Oh Hey Winter
Forecast says snow for the next few days, the perfect thing to go with my cold. I knew I was doomed, the children at my børnehave are chock-full of Danish germs that my body is not familiar with. Taking my vitamin C tablets and drinking my imported Dayquil. Plan for the day: Go to school for a million hours, come home and sleep, take some Nyquil and sleep some more, be better in the morning so I can play in snow.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Jeg savner mine forældre, min søster, mine kate, og Thanksgiving.
"I miss my parents, my sister, my cats, and Thanksgiving."
In Danish we learned "Jeg savner" which is "I miss" which was the most depressing class period of my life. After we were done saying what we miss now we went on to "Jeg kommer til at savne" which is "I am going to miss" and talked about everything we are going to miss once Denmark is over.
Studying abroad is really the stupidest thing ever. For the rest of my life I am going to miss Danish things. Even if I decided to stay here forever (which would not be allowed because of a new RIDICULOUS immigration system) then I would miss American things forever. I was so homesick yesterday it consumed me. I think that facebook also ruins study abroad. I am half toying with the idea of just not going on at all second semester. I think that this experience would be more rewarding if I did not have the constant connection to America, but then I remember that I am American and that those are my friends. Anyways, seeing every single person I am friends with on facebook being home for Thanksgiving and talking to each other about how they are going to see each other makes it worse. I know that facebook is a great way to keep in touch, and practically the only way I talk to people, but it is hard to already know you are missing out and then get the specifics of what you are missing out on. I watched the 11:15 Thanksgiving Sunday service online and I cried through that too. I think I am going to skip the Thanksgiving Eve Service viewing, it will just be too hard. That being said, I am going over to a girl from my core classes house for Thanksgiving, she lives with a host family so she is making it for them. It will be nice to cook with her and be with people, even if it is not what I am used to. I am very excited. It is supposed to snow on Thursday too! I am not going on any big extensive trip this weekend. I am going to stay home and clean and do my MASSIVE amounts of homework and just enjoy the season. I may go shopping in Sweden on a day trip, I need warm things.
Everyone I talk to is just completely defeated by school right now. I have a good 36 pages worth of papers due the first week of December, so I need to get a move on that. I also have a short paper due tomorrow that I thought was due Thursday. I may have to go to the doctor tomorrow, I do not want to.
In Danish we learned "Jeg savner" which is "I miss" which was the most depressing class period of my life. After we were done saying what we miss now we went on to "Jeg kommer til at savne" which is "I am going to miss" and talked about everything we are going to miss once Denmark is over.
Studying abroad is really the stupidest thing ever. For the rest of my life I am going to miss Danish things. Even if I decided to stay here forever (which would not be allowed because of a new RIDICULOUS immigration system) then I would miss American things forever. I was so homesick yesterday it consumed me. I think that facebook also ruins study abroad. I am half toying with the idea of just not going on at all second semester. I think that this experience would be more rewarding if I did not have the constant connection to America, but then I remember that I am American and that those are my friends. Anyways, seeing every single person I am friends with on facebook being home for Thanksgiving and talking to each other about how they are going to see each other makes it worse. I know that facebook is a great way to keep in touch, and practically the only way I talk to people, but it is hard to already know you are missing out and then get the specifics of what you are missing out on. I watched the 11:15 Thanksgiving Sunday service online and I cried through that too. I think I am going to skip the Thanksgiving Eve Service viewing, it will just be too hard. That being said, I am going over to a girl from my core classes house for Thanksgiving, she lives with a host family so she is making it for them. It will be nice to cook with her and be with people, even if it is not what I am used to. I am very excited. It is supposed to snow on Thursday too! I am not going on any big extensive trip this weekend. I am going to stay home and clean and do my MASSIVE amounts of homework and just enjoy the season. I may go shopping in Sweden on a day trip, I need warm things.
Everyone I talk to is just completely defeated by school right now. I have a good 36 pages worth of papers due the first week of December, so I need to get a move on that. I also have a short paper due tomorrow that I thought was due Thursday. I may have to go to the doctor tomorrow, I do not want to.
Friday, November 19, 2010
SNOW!
I woke up and looked out my window and saw snow. Just a little on the ground, and now it is raining, but it is freezing cold. I am excited and then I remember that I do not know how to deal with temperatures like this. May have to go shopping tomorrow for some gloves, hats, and scarves so that I do not die.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Am I Allowed to Post 2 in 1 Night? Yes.
Okay, there are a million things I should be doing right now, but I am posting this.
This is my first dose of Christmas homesickness.
I am sad and grumpy and feel very alone. I have to accept that we grow up and people grow apart. That being said, every December my friends and I meet at Pier 39 for Christmas time. It started in Starfire with Cable Car Caroling, but it has served the same purpose since about junior year of high school that is did in later years. It centers us. It is a day when there is no need to party or go out or be with our boyfriends. It is friends reconnecting eating at the same places we always do and getting bath salts and remembering that no matter what happened that year and what mistakes we made or what fights we got into that we have each other and that we love each other. I am going to miss that this year.
Harry Potter og Dødsregalierne
Harry Potter was amazing. It was annoying that it was only half a movie. They should have just waited and released both halves at the same time. I want to see the rest.
I feel like every time I see Harry Potter the people in the theatre are my age. When I was 14, everyone seeing it was 14, now everyone in the theatre is 20. I think that this is because I fall in the "Harry Potter" age. The books were not really known until the 3rd one was released, which is when I was 9 years old. I was the age where I started out reading the books with my mom, but then as I got older I read them on my own. I caught up with the characters ages in the books, their final year of Hogwarts was released the summer before my final year of high school. The movies were also released when the characters were my age. I appreciate that new children are "discovering" the books, and that the series is enjoyed by all ages, but there is a span of about 5 years I think of kids born between 1987 and 1992 that have an unhealthy love of the story. We are the ones who waited for our Hogwarts letters and who were figuring out our own romantic awkwardness while the characters were sorting theirs out. We went to the midnight releases of the books, and know the routine of the 3 day June lockdown to finish the books before spoilers can be leaked. It is totally appropriate for university students to dress up like wizards and stay up all night to watch a movie even with a full day of classes ahead, because you EXPECT that everyone else in all your classes is doing the same thing.
Now that I am done telling the world that age has anything at all to do with loving Harry Potter (which it probably doesn't and I only see because of my skewed perspective), I was thinking about all my experiences with Harry Potter. HP and I have been through a lot together. It seems like I always see the movies with people who are important in my life at the time, which means I have seen Harry Potter movies with some pretty toxic people from my past. The books remind me of Starfire, church camp, and my grandmother's death. One of the happiest times of my summer was watching the 6th movie on the 4th of July with my then best friend, and look where that has ended? Harry Potter has been in my life for 11 years, over half of my life. What are we going to do after this summer when we have no more premieres to look forward to?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
I Hate School, but I Love Danish Class
My Danish teacher brings us cake or cookies almost every class. Today she lit candles all around the room to make it hyggeligt. I also got an A- on my Danish oral midterm, which is amazing for how badly I did. How do I get A's in Danish when I am HORRIBLE at it, but Cs in my psych class. Oh, because I am completely in love with my Danish teacher and cannot stand my Psych teacher, that is how.
Random: I think that all of my friends are too ambitious. All the friends that I would be a bridesmaid for at their fun young-to-mid 20's wedding are not going to get married young. We are all going to go to college until we are 30 and be sensible and mature by the time we actually have time for men. No crazy bachelorette parties for me to plan, we will probably have a tea part or something instead. Marriage is something I have been thinking a lot about lately, like how I do not even have a boyfriend and there must be something wrong with me.
Apparently julefrokost (Christmas lunch) season is a big time for couple to cheat on each other in Denmark. Relationships are complicated things.
Random: I think that all of my friends are too ambitious. All the friends that I would be a bridesmaid for at their fun young-to-mid 20's wedding are not going to get married young. We are all going to go to college until we are 30 and be sensible and mature by the time we actually have time for men. No crazy bachelorette parties for me to plan, we will probably have a tea part or something instead. Marriage is something I have been thinking a lot about lately, like how I do not even have a boyfriend and there must be something wrong with me.
Apparently julefrokost (Christmas lunch) season is a big time for couple to cheat on each other in Denmark. Relationships are complicated things.
I'm Gone for 2 Weeks and the Entire Town Goes Crazy
There is not water running from fountains anywhere. My ice cream stand is selling churros. Paradis is CLOSED until like February.
I am sorry Copenhagen, but this is not acceptable. I know you gave us some Christmas decorations and finally finished the trippiest Abercrombie I have ever seen, but I miss my ice cream.
Grace and I have decided that what they are doing is changing the pipes in the fountains so that when they turn on they will flow chocolate, and they are saving all the ice cream to put underneath this chocolate.
I bought my tickets for opening night Harry Potter. I am very excited.
I am sorry Copenhagen, but this is not acceptable. I know you gave us some Christmas decorations and finally finished the trippiest Abercrombie I have ever seen, but I miss my ice cream.
Grace and I have decided that what they are doing is changing the pipes in the fountains so that when they turn on they will flow chocolate, and they are saving all the ice cream to put underneath this chocolate.
I bought my tickets for opening night Harry Potter. I am very excited.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
First Semester Travel Break
So I know the world of my blog never got caught up with England. In order to prevent that same situation this is how this post is going to work: I journaled all but the last 3 days (when I was with Caitlin in the Netherlands). I am going to choose 3 "sentences" (in quotes because I write horrible run-ons all the time) straight out of my journal that I think sum up the day. I will also post 2 pictures from the day. Each day will be labeled with the day number and the city I spent the majority of the time in/slept in.
31/10/10
Day 1: Geneva, Switzerland
We were given food and champagne and people were taking pictures of us like the paparazzi until we were actually on the plane. I walked across to the super fancy stores and decided I could be happy with a Rolex, but only if it has diamonds in place of the numbers. After dinner I went to my hostel and ate crunchy M&Ms and watched the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror in French.
1/11/10
Day 2: Lausanne, Switzerland
Got to Lausanne, put my luggage away, then spent 7 hours walking around the town. A man kissed up my arm. For dinner I had fresh backed bread and cheese, no complaints.
2/11/10
Day 3: Zermatt, Switzerland
Right now, I am in Zermatt at a restaurant about to eat cheese fondue in the Swiss Alps, if I could see the Matterhorn like would be perfect. Straight up out of Heidi. I walked around town just trying to take everything in, and it is just beyond precious.
3/11/10
Day 4: Zermatt --> Zurich, Switzerland
This morning when I woke up the sky was crystal clear and the Matterhorn was breath-taking and perfect. I miss my sketchy cabin of men in the Alps. Today was a little step back into the westernized world for me, which is fine, but not as charming.
4/11/10
Day 5: Zurich, Switzerland
I walked through the streets on my own and saw St. Peter's Church which has the biggest clock face in all of Europe, it was not very exciting. If I ever own a zoo I think it would be cool to have regional restaurants, like have an Outback Steakhouse by the kangaroos. I am sorry tastebuds, you will never have another Christmas season like this one.
5/11/10
Day 6: Karlsruhe, Germany
I felt like a badass, I was also petrified. When I realized my train had left and the next one to Karlsruhe-West was in an hour and I was about to pee my pants I searched for an ATM. Imagine rowing along in a little rowboat when BAM a 5 star luxury cruiseship pulls up an says "aw, you look tired, let me take care of you!"
6/11/10
Day 7: Frankfurt, Germany
The first thing that greeted me in the Frankfurt train station was a T-Rex and Velociraptor replica duo. I realized you can only shop for cheap if you like cheap things. I guess there was a car company having a ball because there were pretty lights and a red carpet and TV camera crews.
7/11/10
Day 8: Luxembourg
I have perfected "train picnics" to an art. Lots of castles on hills tat actually reminded me of when I was 5 and just when I would want to see it "Train". It was rainy and there are lots of hills, but it is gorgeous and the perfect mix on old and new.
8/11/10
Day 9: Luxembourg
I tried very hard to get to the modern art museum, but I could not for the life of my figure out how to get there. This possibly may be my favorite European city (after Copenhagen). One thing that is fun is you put tap water in a water bottle and after 20 minutes of walking around outside it is ice cold and nice to drink.
9/11/10
Day 10: Brussels, Belgium
I legitimately cannot understand why the name of a city changes in different languages, wherever I go I am Julia, even if you say it in a different language. To make myself feel better I pretended that it was my huge house and all the people working in the hotel were my servants. Je voudrais un streak-frites si vous plait.
10/11/10
Day 11: Brussels --> Bruges --> Brussels, Belgium
I was smitten with Bruges. I got chocolates and frites with mayonaise, and was fat and happy. The television was mocking me.
11/11/10 - 14/11/10
Days 12 - 15: Leiden and Amsterdam, The Netherlands
I do not have journal entries for these days, but they were fabulous. I stayed with Caitlin who was the greatest host I could have asked for. We spent all day Friday in Amsterdam and saw Anne Franks House, the Redlight District, and the "Heineken Experience". I ate all sorts of AMAZING things and learned way more than I would have if I had tried to do the city alone. Last night I took a night train (that I was on for 17 hours) but I got a free upgrade from normal chairs to a cabin with fold down beds, which was very nice and although cramped I slept very well and I was not robbed.
31/10/10
Day 1: Geneva, Switzerland
We were given food and champagne and people were taking pictures of us like the paparazzi until we were actually on the plane. I walked across to the super fancy stores and decided I could be happy with a Rolex, but only if it has diamonds in place of the numbers. After dinner I went to my hostel and ate crunchy M&Ms and watched the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror in French.
1/11/10
Day 2: Lausanne, Switzerland
Got to Lausanne, put my luggage away, then spent 7 hours walking around the town. A man kissed up my arm. For dinner I had fresh backed bread and cheese, no complaints.
2/11/10
Day 3: Zermatt, Switzerland
Right now, I am in Zermatt at a restaurant about to eat cheese fondue in the Swiss Alps, if I could see the Matterhorn like would be perfect. Straight up out of Heidi. I walked around town just trying to take everything in, and it is just beyond precious.
3/11/10
Day 4: Zermatt --> Zurich, Switzerland
This morning when I woke up the sky was crystal clear and the Matterhorn was breath-taking and perfect. I miss my sketchy cabin of men in the Alps. Today was a little step back into the westernized world for me, which is fine, but not as charming.
4/11/10
Day 5: Zurich, Switzerland
I walked through the streets on my own and saw St. Peter's Church which has the biggest clock face in all of Europe, it was not very exciting. If I ever own a zoo I think it would be cool to have regional restaurants, like have an Outback Steakhouse by the kangaroos. I am sorry tastebuds, you will never have another Christmas season like this one.
5/11/10
Day 6: Karlsruhe, Germany
I felt like a badass, I was also petrified. When I realized my train had left and the next one to Karlsruhe-West was in an hour and I was about to pee my pants I searched for an ATM. Imagine rowing along in a little rowboat when BAM a 5 star luxury cruiseship pulls up an says "aw, you look tired, let me take care of you!"
6/11/10
Day 7: Frankfurt, Germany
The first thing that greeted me in the Frankfurt train station was a T-Rex and Velociraptor replica duo. I realized you can only shop for cheap if you like cheap things. I guess there was a car company having a ball because there were pretty lights and a red carpet and TV camera crews.
7/11/10
Day 8: Luxembourg
I have perfected "train picnics" to an art. Lots of castles on hills tat actually reminded me of when I was 5 and just when I would want to see it "Train". It was rainy and there are lots of hills, but it is gorgeous and the perfect mix on old and new.
8/11/10
Day 9: Luxembourg
I tried very hard to get to the modern art museum, but I could not for the life of my figure out how to get there. This possibly may be my favorite European city (after Copenhagen). One thing that is fun is you put tap water in a water bottle and after 20 minutes of walking around outside it is ice cold and nice to drink.
9/11/10
Day 10: Brussels, Belgium
I legitimately cannot understand why the name of a city changes in different languages, wherever I go I am Julia, even if you say it in a different language. To make myself feel better I pretended that it was my huge house and all the people working in the hotel were my servants. Je voudrais un streak-frites si vous plait.
10/11/10
Day 11: Brussels --> Bruges --> Brussels, Belgium
I was smitten with Bruges. I got chocolates and frites with mayonaise, and was fat and happy. The television was mocking me.
11/11/10 - 14/11/10
Days 12 - 15: Leiden and Amsterdam, The Netherlands
I do not have journal entries for these days, but they were fabulous. I stayed with Caitlin who was the greatest host I could have asked for. We spent all day Friday in Amsterdam and saw Anne Franks House, the Redlight District, and the "Heineken Experience". I ate all sorts of AMAZING things and learned way more than I would have if I had tried to do the city alone. Last night I took a night train (that I was on for 17 hours) but I got a free upgrade from normal chairs to a cabin with fold down beds, which was very nice and although cramped I slept very well and I was not robbed.
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