Hey everyone! There’s only a few days left until my first month is the Netherlands comes to a close, and I have to say, the time has flown by. To be honest, I don’t know where to start. Schipol airport is absolutely amazing. Once you leave the boarding area you enter into this huge foyer that is lined with stores and restaurants, and is filled by crowds of people from all over the world. Luckily I met a very nice woman from Cyprus who helped me get a train ticket and find the correct platform. Even then, I still would have gotten on the wrong train if it hadn’t been for the help of some friendly locals (what Albin said in an earlier post is true, the Dutch have been extremely helpful). Unfortunately I got in on Sunday due to a flight delay and the housing office was closed. The upside is that I got to stay in a hostel that was situated on one the cities canals.

The next day I got situated in my apartment and met my roommate. Her name is Jin, she’s from South Korea and is completely awesome. She’s been showing me around the city and and tonight, she, Maddy, and I are going to a well-known local bar called The Fiddler.

It feels like we only just started going to class but in reality we just finished our third week. There are a lot of in-class assignments and group projects that we have to do, as well as the final exam that takes up the majority of our grade. I really like most of the classes that I’m taking and my teachers make their subjects very interesting. And speaking of school, the building that is De Haag Hogeschool is so cool! The building is made up of four different parts: the Ovaal, Slinger, Strip, and Rugzak. All of our classes are held in these four parts and there are a lot of places you can sit down and chat with your friends or study.

So far Maddy and I have traveled to Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Antwerp, Belguim. This upcoming weekend we are planning on going to Disneyland, Paris. Maddy and I are both very excited and are looking forward to going on the rides and taking pictures with the Disney princesses. And a few weeks from now we (the UofL group) and a bunch of other exchange students are going to Oktoberfest for a few days.

Since everyone has been providing small details that they’ve noticed, I’ll add my own in here. You have got to watch the bikers. The cars in this country will politely stop for you and wave you across the road while the bikers will yell at you if you are in their way and almost run you over. I haven’t seen a single car accident while I’ve been here but I have seen several bike collisions. It’s very different from the states. Another thing is that Belgium has delicious food. I think the main thing Maddy and I did while we were in Antwerp was eat. I mean, yeah we walked around and saw all of the cool sights, but we mostly ate. Belgian waffles, Belgian fries, gelato, donuts, and the most delicious chicken I’ve ever eaten for dinner. If you go to Belgium, make sure you have a good food budget.

I think I’ll end this post here. I’ll be back soon though to tell you more about our trip!

At the end of the spring semester I attended the study abroad orientation hosted by the University of Louisville’s Study Abroad office and part of what they tried to tell us was that we would experience a roller coaster of emotions during our trip. I didn’t really believe it and thought that I was mature and smart enough to be able to avoid it. Come to think about it the last couple of days have been indescribable.

In my personal life everything has changed and emotionally it’s chaotic and complex. There are moments when I’m able to hide it and then there are times like yesterday when I just couldn’t. I’ve been listening to playlists like The Cure for Loneliness, Unrequited Love, One of Those Days, etc. I’ve listened to those for hours and tried to find words to express the emotions but I just can’t. The mixture of emotions only gets compounded when I realize that I am lost. Lost in the sense that nothing is the same and I am outside of my comfort zone. I miss eating my favorite food, watching my favorite shows, spending time with friends and family, and just being lazy.

But I signed up for this and it is my sincerest hope that being able to survive this experience will help me become a better person in all aspects of life. I often rely upon quotes to assure me that I am not the only one who is experiencing these feelings but so far haven’t been able to much so if you have any quotes or advice, please let me know!

After the first week of school, I ended up changing my schedule to have Friday and Monday off. This should allow me to have plenty of time to travel and explore other cities and countries. One key thing that I have noticed is that in 4 out of my 6 classes the professor had no control of the class, multiple side conversations, people watching videos on Facebook, and it was almost impossible to hear the professors. In my experience when this happened in the states the professor would usually ask the student to leave the class!

For that one negative observation there are a thousand positive ones. I got a chance to literally rope down (pictured below) from the top of the main building. There were multiple student organizations with various booths, free coke, free student boxes, and so much more. The school building also includes a bar. Yes you read that right, a bar in the same building as the school. The people here have been very understanding of my situation and always managed to put a smile on my face.

This past Friday we attended the Oh Oh Intro festival and the best way I can describe it is Welcome Week at the University of Louisville but way more fun. Beer was sold to anyone over 18 (I’m 21), a stage with multiple DJs, various booths from student organizations and more. I ended up crowd surfing during the festival and it was one hell of an experience.

Apart from all these experiences it is fascinating to be able to observe a culture where people live a happy life. Going out to the bars (almost daily) is always guaranteed to be fun because hundreds of people sit out together and spend time with friends. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is because having fun and spending time with loved ones isn’t a chore but a part of life. It is also incredible how many Turkish restaurants exist here and across Europe. I keep meeting more and more people from Germany and I am convinced that their university experience is much more captivating. Apparently you don’t have to go to class in Germany at all as long as you pass the class. I met Julia, who visited New York during school, and just studied for the finals after and passed. To top that off, they don’t have homework once you’re in the university and no essays to write!

I went to a church (after a long time and on my own accord) in The Hague around 5:30 PM (Netherlands Time).

Corey, Chase, and I just booked our hostel for the trip to Paris this coming weekend. My friend from back home Mitchel Payne, who is studying abroad in France, is going to be joining us for the Beyoncé and Jay-Z concert!

PS: More posts and pictures are available at my personal blog: http://albingeorge.com/blog

I have officially been in Den Haag for two weeks now. I am still in shock that I am even here. Classes started last week and all the professors are very nice and helpful. There are bikes everywhere!!! So far I have been to Amsterdam and Haarlem.

In Amsterdam we saw the I AMsterdam sign, visited the Vincent Van Gogh museum, went to an ice bar, went to a flower market place, visited a park and went on a canal tour.

In Haarlem we went to St. Bavo church, saw windmills, went to a dutch market place, and saw the Corrie Ten Boom house (If you don’t know who she is I recommend looking her up! very cool story). The hiding place is about her!

Something kind of random I have noticed since I have been here are the dogs. Dutch people love their dogs and take them everywhere they can. And these dogs are way more behaved than your average american dog. When the owner stops walking the dog sits with out being told to. If the owner has to walk into a shop where dogs are not allowed the dog will sit very patiently at the door starring and waiting for their owner to return (and they are not tied to a tree! the owner just drops the leash if they have one and goes inside). Most dogs are not on a leash and if they are the dog doesn’t really need it because even with no leash the dog doesn’t run away, it stays right next to their owner.

Over all Den Haag is very nice and friendly and I am very excited for the rest of this trip 🙂