This is my first COB post, and since it has been practically 2 months since I began my semester in Sevilla, some people will say that I have been procrastinating in writing this. For me, however, I do not think it is so much as procrastination as it is a lack of time. In my ten weeks in Sevilla, not only have I completed a two-week intensive Spanish course, but I have also traveled to seven Spanish cities, and visited five countries on the weekends: France, Morocco, Portugal, Great Britain, and Germany. This amount of traveling is very exhausting, but each weekend I am so grateful for the opportunity to explore Europe (and in the one instance Northern Africa). I am not going to lie…there have been moments when I have second-guessed studying abroad this semester. However, I would never change my decision to be in Spain if I were given the option.

I feel like I differ from the majority of people who have or are studying abroad now because I would never describe this experience as a fairy tale or a dream that you are afraid will end. I promise I have enjoyed my time here, but I do miss greatly my family and friends and the majority of the aspects from my culture. The Spanish cuisine, for instance, became quite repetitive after the first few weeks here. What I originally thought would be healthy, flavorful food, has turned out only to be food drenched in olive oil and salt. Each day I miss my buffalo sauce and fried chicken more and more, and I continue to imagine my dream meal when I return to the US on December 5. Maybe it started out as a game or a way to remember my favorite foods with my friends, but now when I stare at the tortilla española on my plate—the fifth instance this week—it is quite calming to imagine in its place a big, juicy steak in only a matter of 18 days.

Even though I definitely miss home, I feel like my two months abroad have accomplished the goals that I had created before leaving Louisville in September. Not only did I want to improve my Spanish language abilities and confidence in the subject, but I also wanted to become a more independent person. When I came to Spain, it had been approximately two years since I had taken any Spanish course, and I hardly practiced the language in Louisville outside of a classroom. Ask any of my friends or family, and I am completely positive that they could relay to you just how afraid I was to be studying in a country where I had not practiced the language for so long. Even though I never believed those people who told me that my language abilities would come back to me quickly, those people were for the most part correct. At the beginning of the semester as I sat in my intensive Spanish course—reviewing those obscure verb structures and endings that I had once learned—it finally felt as if a flood gate had been opened as all the old knowledge I had grasped from my Advanced Placement high school teacher Mrs. Robke, came flooding forward into my memory. I am still surprised as to how much vocabulary I had retained after so many years, and I continue to increase my confidence in my Spanish writing skills.

As for my Spanish speaking skills, however, that is a different story. While I may be slightly disadvantaged due to my gringa Kentucky accent and the fact I cannot roll my R’s (thanks genetics), I do continue to struggle with oral communication. For the most part, my professors and my host mom understand exactly what I am saying; it is every other native who has difficulty understanding me. Sometimes, I repeat a word or phrase three times to a person, only for them to repeat it back to me exactly as I had said it, before they understand me; but other times the people give up on me. Granted, many Sevillans are friendly and are willing to help you, but I feel I have a tendency of finding all the people who become annoyed easily with Americans.

Despite this, there are times when all the cards fall into place and something special happens, something that makes you retain your faith in the whole reason why you are studying abroad. If you are lucky enough to stumble upon this when you go out at night, make sure that you appreciate it and fully take advantage of it. The first time I stumbled upon a group of Spaniards who wanted to practice their English speaking, I was completely surprised as to the impact this would produce. During this weird intercambio in which I spoke in Spanish and the Spaniards spoke in English, a judgment free zone was created since both the Spaniards and I were struggling as much as the other one. It is in this zone where all the pressure of speaking perfect Spanish vanishes and you can finally enjoy speaking the Spanish language. You learn so much more in these random intercambios about the Spanish culture and the colloquial phrases used in Sevilla than any amount of time you can spend in a classroom. It is during these intercambios that you stop questioning your study experience, and you start only focusing on the positives of your time abroad—at least until the conversation ends and you remember you have assignments due in the morning.

While it was difficult for me to finally take the plunge and to sign up to study abroad in Spain, this was only the start of becoming significantly more independent. Before coming here, I already felt that I was independent since I lived in my Louisville apartment six hours away from my parents’ house. However, that does not compare to what happens in Spain. It is not only the significant distance between Europe and the US, but it is also the fact that you—and only you—are solely responsible for your own well-being. Before studying abroad in Sevilla, I had never once before traveled alone and I had increasingly relied on my family and friends for all planning. In Europe, it becomes your responsibility to plan and book everything, navigate places usually without the use of a working phone, and somehow still manage to evade the pickpockets of Europe. It is time consuming and exhausting, and it forces you to grow up and mature even when you thought you had matured as much as you could. In my time abroad, I have become wiser—especially with traveling—and I now feel that I possess street-smarts even though two months ago I only had book-smarts to my name and could not even navigate anywhere without the use of my GPS.

When I am not traveling, and the Spanish culture and people are starting to weigh heavily on me, I just have to laugh. I have to laugh at myself when I make mistakes speaking Spanish, and I have to laugh later at some of the cultural differences that earlier in the day angered me. I have to laugh when my host mom turns some of my clothes into tie-dye and yells at me for not eating my olive oil soaked vegetables. I have to laugh when I mispronounce the ending of the word for chicken (pollo), and it turns into a word completely opposite of what I wanted. I also have to share in other people’s laughter. I have to laugh with my roommate when she shares the story of her having to run to class with her backpack as Spaniards videotape her; and I have to laugh when we all share host parent stories, each more horribly funny than the previous one.

When I reflect on my study abroad experience, I realize how much of these past two months have been full of funny memories, especially over things that I never thought I would be able to laugh at. In an environment that is so different from the one that I am accustomed to, I have to place a positive spin on my daily failures and on my slight annoyances with the city. My experience has not been perfect, but I realize the great opportunity I have to experience the Spanish culture first hand for three months. I know when I return to the US, I will have these funny memories to share with my family and friends and to continue remembering my experience abroad.

Lauren

As I sit on my balcony overlooking the park with the sun shining on my face I am struggling to put into words the overwhelming experience that I have had so far in Barcelona. Every aspect of this study abroad experience has been absolutely amazing. Nearly every person I talked to before I left for this trip told me that it was one of the best things that they had ever done and when I asked if they had any regrets it was only that they did not stay longer. I am no exception this. So far in my life, there have been only a handful of my moments that I knew in the present moment that they were truly exceptional and I would relish these moments forever. This is one of them. I am at the top of my roller coaster and enjoying every single moment that I am given. I cannot thank UofL, the donors, my advisers, my teachers, the ISA program staff, and especially my parents for giving me the encouragement and means to make this wonderful experience a reality.

When I first got to Barcelona I was honestly a little scared and nervous. Knowing no one and not being fluent in the native tongue is a daunting thing especially when you are in a foreign countries for four months. Typically, I am pretty aware of where I am and relative location, but for my first few days in Barcelona I was practically a deer in headlights and lost constantly. This was fantastic. I discovered places that I would have never gone typically and simply embraced the moment. Instead of being fearful of not knowing where I was headed, I viewed it as an adventure that would only enhance my experience of this city I was living in. Yet, with all the adventure and excitement my first few days in Barcelona were met with me being pretty homesick. Life is pretty different here and there moments when I wondered, how am I going to live here for four months? I looked at my calender and thought, “Wow, I have a long time left.” After that, the first three days felt as long as the first three weeks. Time has simply flown by. Like many others, I have met so many amazing people in my time here. My homestay mom, Rosa is the sweetest Spanish lady. She takes care of me like I was her own. I cannot thank her enough for easing my transition to this Spanish life. I have friends here now that I know I will stay in contact with and visit for the rest of my life.

Barcelona is technically a part of Spain, but anyone who is from here or has lived here long enough will tell you that it is actually part of Catalonia. Now, you might think I am just being picky by saying oh its Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and not just Barcelona, Spain, but there is a strong fervor here that Barça is truly Catalonia. The culture here is very different than the rest of Spain that I have seen. Every street sign, every menu, and most of what you will hear on the streets is Catalan. Although it may share some similarities with Spanish it is very different. Even though I do not know any Catalan I get by with my Spanish, but have learned that by extending the courtesy of greeting the locals with a little Catalan, it goes a long way. The Catalan people are very proud and have an extremely rich heritage. There is hardly a street here that is not lined with at least three or four Catalan flags. I am especially lucky because I am in Barcelona at a special moment in history where Barcelona is looking to vote for their independence in less than one week (November 9). Although it may have been blocked by the Spanish government it has not subsided the ferocity at which people are calling for independence and at the very least a democratic vote. I personally am a little biased because my homestay mom is very passionate about the issue and believes that Catalonia should be independent, but I believe it is only right for the people to be given the right to decide what they think is best.

My time here as been filled with so many great memories. September was packed with events including holidays such as La Merce (the annual city festival), which was an insane city wide festival with concerts, parades, and fireworks that rivaled Thunder over Louisville. Singing songs, dancing in the streets, walking in the parade, and lighting sparklers with the locals was a great experience. At times, I felt like I was a local and just having fun with over a million of my closest friends.

Every week here is seemingly filled with constant activities. Between going to class, laying out on the beach, swimming in the Mediterranean and hanging out with friends there really are not enough hours in the day. I can understand why the Spanish started taking siestas during the day. I have so many options here it is truly a blessing. I have gone to the Pablo Picasso museum and seen why he is so revered for his work. I have hiked the mountain to Tibidabo, the highest point in the Collserola mountain range. I have been to the clubs on the beaches and danced with friends until the sun came up. Before coming to Barcelona I had no clue what I was getting into and how much fun it would be. I cannot begin to explain to how much fun it is to get into a dance off against the locals on the metro at 2am or how wonderful it is to sit on rooftops looking at the skyline sipping on cheap Spanish wine. Living in Barcelona or Spain in general I would have thought that I would need to immerse myself in the culture but rather it kind of just wraps around you like a blanket and you begin to see why people love it here so much. They do not need all the amenities and luxuries that we are afforded in the United States (albeit they are nice), but they live for the simple pleasure of good food, wine, and company. Some of my favorite nights have been spent with friends just walking the streets of Barcelona and talking about life. I am exposed to so many different styles of living and how people perceive the same events differently; it is fascinating to me.

One of the best experiences I have had so far was going to the Barcelona versus Ajax champions league futbol (soccer) game. I decided just hours before the game I was going to go and bought a ticket front row behind the goal in the Barcelona fan section. When I bought the ticket I didn’t realize what I was getting into and since I didn’t own any Barcelona gear I wore my USA soccer shirt. I quickly realized that I needed to blend in so I bought a Messi jersey. That was definitely the right decision. I soon found out that I was in the heart of where all the dedicated fans go. They all had on their jerseys while waving their huge flags and banners around. They chanted the songs of support for the team and roared every time Barça got close. Now, Barcelona FC plays in Camp Nou which seats over 98,000 people and I swear to you every single of one of those seats was filled with die-hard fans. The stadium was electric. When Messi connected with Neymar for the first goal the stadium exploded and sounded like a fighter jet had just flown over my head. It was absolutely amazing. Later on when Messi scored the second goal for Barça, I understood why he was such a big deal. Not only is he lightning quick, but his footwork and mastery of the game are obvious. The fan section I was in began chanting his name and bowing to him like he was a demi god. After Barcelona won 3-1 it was an absolute mad-house trying to leave the stadium. Everyone flooded out into the streets and turned the city into a sea of scarlet and blue. After having been able to attend a game like that I am definitely a fan for life. I can appreciate why their motto for the club is, “Mes Que Un Club” or “More Than A Club”. Barcelona futbol is a way of life.

Although I am in Barcelona for the semester, it would not be a true study abroad experience without traveling and seeing the rest of what Europe has to offer. To date, I have been to Sitges, the French Riviera (Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo), San Sebastian, Valencia, Peniscola, London, Narbonne, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Collioure, Montserrat, and Paris. I have loved each one of the places for their own unique features. My favorite (if I had to choose even though I love all of them) is probably London. In my four days there I go to see so much of the city including: London Bridge, Tower Bridge, the Globe theater, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Belgravia, the National Gallery, Tate Modern Buckingham Palace, Picadilly circus, Camden Market, Burrough Market, the Eye of London, London Tower, Parliament, Big Ben, Millenium Bridge, Hampton Court, and Hyde Park. It was a whirlwind trip and I loved every minute of it. I have met some Americans who are studying abroad there and alot of them have not gotten to experience some of the things that I did in my limited time there. I did so much of that on my own and was happy I did so. There was nothing that was going to hold me back from seeing as much as I could.

Traveling and study abroad has taught me alot about Spain, culture, and myself. I have learned to not mind getting lost because I will always find something I did not know before. I have learned to try everything. I have eaten fish heads, had mussels for the first time, tried countless different types of tapas, and discovered my love for good french duck. I understand now that being uncomfortable is normal and actually good because I am much more open to new experiences now. I know that I need to be bold and just make decisions instead of letting others always decide. I have learned that you will always meet new friends and find really interesting people from all over and in my time that has included people from: Peru, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Russia, and France. Meeting all of these different people has taught me that getting to know other people enriches your life and also reminds you of your roots. While I have grown and changed as a person I feel even more proud now to be an American and a Kentuckian.

I am only a little more than half way through my study abroad and I simply am baffled at where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday I boarded a plane to Barcelona and I know now that the remaining weeks I have left will go quickly so I intend to make the most of it. I have Prague, Dublin, and Madrid to look for to in the coming weeks and I am very excited for those. It might be cliche, but the one phrase that I think sums it up nicely is, “Life is beautiful.”

Until next time. Go Cards.

This past week was our fall break. Luckily here in the Netherlands fall break is a week long. My friend and I from home went to Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, and pompeii. Out of all of those my favorite was Venice it had a completely different feel than the rest of Italy or any other place in Europe that I have been to so far. After visiting Italy I would high recommend Venice and Rome. The entire week was such an over all great learning experience. I learned about their culture, food, and even learned a few Italian phrases.   

Top right the colosseum in rome
Bottom right Duomo church in Milan
Bottom left Venice Island
Top left Pompeii
Middle sistine chapel Vatican City, Rome

                I am beginning month number three in Budapest, Hungary and it is safe to say the adjustment stage has officially gone away. While preparing to go abroad you think you’re ready and it is going to be a walk in the park – “oh my gosh, a semester abroad- HOW COOL, I’ll be SO cultured!” This is true, but the phrase that hit my hard 1 week into the trip was “I have FOUR months to be here.” During the first week you want to do everything. You explore the entire city, eat tons of exotic food, do everything you can think to do- and then when you are done you realize you have a very long time to be there. Luckily for me, two weeks into my trip I got a visitor, which saved me from too much culture shock.

                After exploring this beautiful, historic, wonderful city my boyfriend, Logan, came to visit and the next day we left for a trip of our own. Since neither of us had ever been out of the country we decided to use this time to explore a set of cities that both of us wanted to see. We bought a Eurail Pass and began our 14 day journey through Europe. On the first night of our trip we ran into our first problem- the fact that we don’t know how to travel. We missed a train (probably too busy eating cinnamon rolls the size of our face) and were stuck in Vienna for a night, which ended up being not so bad. The next day we got on a new train and finally arrived in Rome. We spent the next few days seeing the entire city, eating whole pizzas to ourselves, and ending every night with a scoop of gelato. Rome was nice, but not for our waistline. After Rome we traveled to Prague which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, it looks like it is out of a picture book. There we explored the city, took a hop-on hop-off tour and even found a Czech Crossfit Gym! After three days in Prague we moved on to Amsterdam which is the most interesting city I have ever been. There you see the most brilliant buildings with hundreds of canals. Not only was it breathtaking, the atmosphere is so carefree which is exactly why I loved it. Everyone minds their own business and does not care what others are doing around them. The BIKES were my favorite part. It is normal to ride a bike around town but the Dutch use them as their everyday “cars” carrying their children to school or riding to work in a suit or dress, it is amazing! After a few days there we traveled to our final city- Munich. I can just say one thing about this city- Oktoberfest. At the end of our two weeks we arrived back to Budapest and Logan’s flight left later that afternoon.

                Now that I have returned from dabbling through Europe I am finally back to classes and have a sort of structure to my schedule, which is nice. Luckily classes only meet once a week, the downside is they are three hours long but this helps the school week go by and the weekend arrive fast. I am readjusting back to being in Hungary rather than a purely tourist city and it feels almost normal, I even referred to Budapest as “home” while traveling. I currently have trips to Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, and the UK planned for the last half of my trip. I even have a trip planned to meet some other students from UofL in Barcelona for Halloween! Even though culture shock is real and it takes some adjusting, I still think this experience is the best thing I have ever done. I have exactly 2 months left and I already do not want to leave.

It has been just a little over a month and a half and it has been a blast living and studying here. As we are preparing to go on fall break, I felt it would be a good time to post about my experiences so far.

I’ll begin with the city; it is absolutely amazing and beautiful. Every morning, I get to wake up to a beautiful sight looking out towards the city. The city center, which is a few minutes away on foot from the train station (Den Haag Holland Spoor), is tremendous. There are plenty of stores many of which are very high-end. One thing is for sure though; you cannot go hungry in this city. There are plenty of places to eat from small cafes to bars that serve anything from a nice juicy ribeye to Turkish pizza. One specialty over here is called patas which are pretty much French fries and are served a lot with main dishes. The one thing that makes it notability different is that they are served with mayonnaise…now I know what you are thinking, how do fries and mayonnaise go together? Well let me tell you that it is awesome. I would never dare do that back home but over here it works. Besides the city center, the beach is not too far away which is nice on a warm day. Next, I will talk about my living accommodation.

What I wake up to every morning.

Picture of the beach to make your day a little better

I live in an apartment very close to school. I have two roommates; one is from Egypt and the other is from France. Space here tends to be a little bit smaller than what seems normal back home but it is very manageable. We do a lot of cooking. Unfortunately for me, my cooking is very limited except for Ramen noodles which I have mastered. My French roommate is the main chef of the apartment so I am taking notes from him to bring back home because he can fix just about anything. One great thing about living in this apartment, besides being very close to school, is the amount of other exchange students that also live here. Students come from all over the world. I have made many new friends and there are always activities going on. Just the other day, a group of us found a local park that had several soccer fields to play on so we will be making return trips there very soon. The next thing I want to talk about is school and what I do on a normal basis.

My roommates and I enjoying dinner in the city center

The Hague University, or De Haagse Hogeschool in Dutch, is a neat school. There are about 30,000 students that study here. The HU is divided up into different sections or buildings which are connected which makes it easy to navigate to your other classes once you get the hand of things. Classes often change rooms depending on the day so it is always good to check beforehand where you need to go so you don’t end up late. Here is an awesome tip; there is an app you can download called HHS TimeTable which you can pull up class schedules very quickly. As far as classes go, I am taking classes in finance, management, and Dutch for exchange students. Other than that, I usually enjoy riding my bike around the city (which there is a cool non-profit organization called B-Cycle-It that offers bikes to rent to students at a very reasonable cost a month). I have also been refereeing soccer games at a local club that I just happened to find one day walking through Rijswijk on certain weekends. Finally, I’ll talk about my travels.

Main atrium of The Hague University

My traveling so far has taken me to Germany and Austria. In Germany, I went to Munich, Frankfurt, Regensburg, Hannover, and Berlin. In Austria, I went to Salzburg which is on the border of Germany. With fall break here, I plan on going to Italy and then working up towards France. One note I would like to make if you decide to come over here to study: ask other exchange students about places you are interested in. Like I said earlier, students come from all over the world. They are a great source of information and can give you great tips that the internet can’t offer.

At Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Well that has been my experiences here so far. While I enjoy my time over here, I know the days are getting quicker and soon it will be the end of the semester. If you are interested in The Hague and would like to know more, feel free to contact me at my email, amhend06@louisville.edu.

Contrary to a majority of my fellow study abroad comrades, I chose a different route for my experience. I am studying abroad in France. You can save your biases about French culture or jokes of a winning-less military for someone else because I have idolized France since my first French class my freshmen year of high school. Since that point I have been intrigued of anything French. I loved speaking it and the way it sounded. I loved French history and traditions. Especially, I loved the romanticism associated with Paris being the “city of lights”.
This admiration only increased coming to Cergy, France for my fall semester to study abroad. The city of Cergy is a thirty minute train ride from Paris and needless to say a majority of my weekends during my first month here were spent navigating through the picturesque facades of the Parisian streets.
Although the city is beautiful and not a day goes by that I am not taken aback by the sheer fact of where I am standing, I would be lying if I said my entire trip has been perfect. I made this experience challenging for myself. I could have gone to a school with a group of my close friends for the summer. I could have attended a school with which our university had a specific exchange program. I could have chosen a country where the majority of its population speak English. To me though, study abroad meant something different. If I was going to study abroad I was going to make myself as uncomfortable as possible because that’s how I feel people truly grow as human beings. Out of the almost 200 exchange students there are ten from the United States and I am the only student from my university. If I had a question about a class or even something so basic as finding the grocery store there was no familiar face with which I could find a solution to the problem.
After a month here I can safely say that I am extremely glad I put myself in such a seemingly uncomfortable situation. It means that I am not reliant on people to make my own decisions. It means I am forced to branch out and acquaint myself with the people and places around me. I have learned a lot about my capabilities in this first month and I could not be more excited for the next three. A bit of advice to any study abroad student: to maximize the personal benefit of the experience make yourself as uncomfortable as possible.

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 🙂