The Kuh That Goes Buh and Smells Like Poo!

For those of you avid followers - ED - I apologize for the lateness in my posts. For the majority I have not had the availability of time to write what I was up to. Having said that, there is a lot to fill in. Sam arrived. She enjoyed and got to experience what Utrecht had to offer. Yay! for culture shocks! We decided against a visit to Paris. It was jam packed in to our other plans and there was a lot of mental anguished involved - believe me. We decided to start our trips abroad by going to Ireland. In Ireland we were going to meet Brian Smith, an old friend of Wesleys that was going to provide us with the things needed to survive for a while. Unfortunately, we were not exactly on the right side of tour season to get a bus straight from Utrecht, Holland to Dublin, Ireland and so we had to improvise. We started by getting a bus ticket from Utrecht to London. We would spend the day putzing around London to kill time. Then, we would board a bus and head to Dublin that evening. Both of the buses we were taking were over-night buses - thinking we were geniuses because would be able to save money on places to stay. Needless to say, we were wrong. The buses made far to many stops and there were to many stinky, loud, annoying people to actally rest. The result - Sam got really sick and I became overtly cranky. We rode the first bus into London and we went and saw Buckingham palace. After that, we thought it would be the best idea to just go and rest in the bus station until that evening when we could board the bus for Dublin. 10 hours later, we still had not rested because while I tried to take a nap, a police offiver informed us that we were not allowed to sleep in the bus station because the camera's couldn't see our faces. So we sat there until our bus arrived. This bus, worse than the first, was filled with the most trashy English people. Comfort was not an option. We finally arrived in Dublin at 7am where Brian Smity and his boyfriend Brian Holland picked us up to take us on an adventure. Sam was still filling quite unwell and asked if she could just be taken to a hotel for the day and rest while Brian, Brian, and I (plus several of their friends) went into the seaside country for a camping excursion. After getting Sam settled in the Brians and I headed out. We grabbed some food and met with their friends. The wonderful about the Irish is the most sterotypes are true....and it is what makes these people absolutly the best people ever to be around. In the morning after waking up, we went down to the seaside and went for a dip in the Irish sea - mind you the air was only around the mid sixties and the way stung when it touched you. I woke up very quickly. We headed back into Dublin where picked up Sam and did some walking throughout the beautiful, old city. We got to see the Sea Lions which are a very intelligent, beautiful animal and relax overall. Once we had a late lunch Sam, myself, and the Brians headed back out to the country to their second home. It was a lovely little cottage again adjacent to ocean. We saw an old cemetary and lots and lots of beautful landscape. Ireland is beautiful country. Today - Sam and are I exploring a little bit of Dublin by ourselves while the Brians are hard at work. They will meet us to take us to the airport this evening where we will fly to London.....Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will add those when I make it back to Utrecht on Wednesday! Missing you all. See you soon!

Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Art, Jason, Joss, and I

Wow, it has been a few days since I have posted anything. The majority of this week has been fairly uneventful. Before, I left I said "I will not get bored, If I need to, reading a book under a tree will be wonderful because, I will be reading a book under a tree in Holland." This holds true though, there really a very few trees that are large enough to enjoy shade under so the alternative has been me laying on my bed listening to Jim Dale narrate his way through "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." (Thanks itunes!) Moving to Wednesday, I ventured with Carlijn into Amsterdam to meet her friends for an art exhibition at Gerritt Rietveld - a very well known art school. Once there we grabbed some food in the CROWDED school and began to see the show. Interesting things to be seen here. One man laid a slab on concrete in one of the basement room's and BAM! Art was created. There was a lot of manipulation of visual camera work. (Which is the program that Carlijn's friend was in) There was also a man who manipulated the written word with aid from photographs that produced a seventy page booklet that you could collect throughout the exhibit that had what he called his "My Fiction Book." It exclaimed personal truths of his and placed a picture of the people in his life that associated with that particular event. It also gave detailed instructions on how to create your own fiction, encouraging the reader to be more proactive in their own life and really appreciate everything and everyone that is intertwined in their day to day life. After another hour or so of baking in the sun, Carlijn and I headed back to Utrecht to get some sleep. A little Jim Dale put me right to sleep :) Waking up on the morning of the 2nd was so exciting because I knew I had a BIG journey ahead of me. I had to travel to Cultuurepark Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam to see Mr. Jason Mraz, Miss Joss Stone, and Miss Prisscilla Ahn play live there. I was terrified I would have to take the correct train to Amsterdam (the train system is more confusing than you can imagine,) fine Bus 21 and take it to the Van Haalstraat exit and get out there. Once there I was suppose to cross the gracht (the canal) and ......the directions stopped there. Finally, after walking around a bit, I found a line and I stood in it. Yes, it was the correct line. The only issue being that it was only 5 o' clock. The concert started at 7:30.....this was the longest wait of my life. In line I stood behind two girls. These laughed and chatted the whole time speaking in very fast Dutch. Occasionally, I understood what they were talking about and laughed. Once the people finally let us inside the complex, every little annoying girl waiting in that line RAN to get standing positions. I walked. So did the two girls that were in front of me. They laughed and then finally they talked to me and started asking where was the person I was here with finding out very quickly that I was alone, they had me stand with them (mind you, I was about 50 feet away from Jason Mraz...it was wonderful!). Their names were Barbara and Kirsten. They were so much fun laughing and making jokes with me throughout the whole concert. Once the concert was over we got onto the bus with about 100 other people. It was so full the bus driver did not even make us use our strippenkaart (the way you pay for the buses) to get back to Amsterdam Centraal. On the bus they chatted with some people next to us and were all laughing together. What joyous people. The bus driver was also making cracks over the intercom to everyone on the bus. Once we got to Amsterdam Centraal, I got off the bus with Kirsten and Barbara. They told me I could follow the people that had been standing next to them on the bus because they to were going back to Utrecht. I obliged. They 3 people heading back to Utrecht were very nice and they asked me if it would be all right if they grabbed some food in the station first. I was very hungry as well and had no problem with this. We grabbed some pizza (one of the only things open and the cardboard pizza holder that they gave you with it read NEW YORK PIZZA: DAMN TASTY. I just thought that was hilarious. I was able to find out their names, George and Cassie (they were dating) and their friend Frank. We casually talked all the way back to Utrecht. I found out (I swear you could totally not tell by the way that they looked) that they were AVID fans and participators in "World of Warcraft." But, all the same they were still nice people. Finally, finding my way home exhausted from the day I fell asleep with ease. Waking up this morning has been interesting. It's almost 2 o' clock and I have not left my bedroom. Is it bad to do nothing on a day that you are in Europe. My mind says yes but my body says no. 

...um I don't get it...

Someone please explain why every celebrity in America is passing away? I guess it is not safe anymore to be a celebrity... 

Lots and Lots....

On the morning of the 26th, I got up to help Carlijn's friend Fifi move out of her parents house and into her brand new home. It was really interesting. In Europe it is very commonplace to find re-dunk-u-lous-ly steep staircases - Especially in homes. Fifi's room in her hold home was on the 4th story attic. 3 steeps flights down, we had to take the larger things like the bed and mattress, tables, chairs etc.. by hand carrying them through the streets to her new home. At which point we had to climb another steep staircase to get to her new apartment. It was worth it. It is nice meeting the people here and creating some sort of relationship with them through our common experiences. Carlijn has good friends that are good people. Fifi treated us to some food in the park where we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and talking back and forth before we went to go meet their friend Laura where she worked (In a hash boat). Laura completed her University work and now has a degree in psychology. As a congratulations celebration, her friends (myslef included) went to her favorite bar LUST bar. It was absolutely neat inside.

On the 27th, my sights were set on finally seeing Amsterdam. In the morning on saturday's in Utrecht, there are huge community markets. Selling cheese, snacks, cloths, really nice knock-off designer watches...whatever you want. It is also called the Bloemenmarkt - or the Flower market because millions of fresh flowers are brought into the city to be for sale. You can hardly move through the streets. After spending much of the morning laying around for some much needed relaxation, it was time to head to Amsterdam after dinner. Carlijn and Fifi opted out because they still were far to tired to do anything, but Carlijn did take me to Eelco's home where I rode with him to the train station. A trip from Utrecht to Amsterdam takes about 25 minutes and only costs 6,50 Euros for a two way trip. We met with Wouter and Marlinna at the train station and they came with us as well. We walked for what seemed like forever before making it to our destination near the center of Amsterdam. Several friends were getting together because all of these people have one thing in common. Sziget. Sziget is a music festival that is sort of like Europe's Woodstock. It's a week long music festival in Budaphest, Hungary. Even though I was a little nervous to try and be extremely social, I soon found a groove and met Ana and Ana. These two girls were from Germany living in Amsterdam for school - this allowed me an oppurtunity to utilize my German - see Dad, I did use it at some point in my life. We also met with several other people, a man from Greece, a man from Portugal, and a few other randoms all of whom were extremely wonderful! Finally, we left the party and went to see Davida's boyfriend in a pub up the street. He worked there. After she got to see him for a short while we headed back towards the train station. Mind you, this was now at 3:30 in the morning. We missed the intial train that we needed and had to wait for the 4:17 train placing into our beds just after 5 am. 

Waking up this morning around noon because of my lack of sleep from the night before allowed me perfect time to go with Carlijn to the Utrecht World Music Festival. It poured the entire time. We really only stayed 1 and a half or 2 hours because the humidity was terrible once the rain finally stopped but, we did get to see a latin music series and a Moroccan musical series - both of which were very interesting. 

The "I miss you bug" hit me today - wishing I was home to see you all! Miss and love you a lot!

Taylor

Uh-Oh Castles and The Best Tea EVER!

Finishing from last night, the Barbeque was phenomenal. I am being used as a tool for learning for Carlijn's friends just as much as I am using them. Having very deep political discussions with people that have a completely different perspective on things is very refreshing. Plus, it also challenged my knowledge of my government and why we run the way we do. Something to note - DUTCH FOOD - the cookout is NOTHING like the American cookout consisting of burgers, brats, hotdogs, chips, pop etc...these people COOK at cookouts. They of course use meat but meats of all styles - Chicken Kabob, bacon etc....and they make interesting things like wrapping tomatoes, feta cheese, and several spices in tin foil to create a very small wonderful treat! Very nice!

This morning, Gail and I got up to head out of the city and go north of Amsterdam. Utrecht, the city that I am living in south of Amsterdam, so we were going a distance. The path was a road less taken. It was small- the size of our bike paths here but it had an absolutely beautiful landscape passing through small towns.  Once we reached our destination, we were able to see several windmills (what Holland is known for) and see how wooden shoes are made. Very interesting stuff. The place was a large tourist trap but none-the-less very informative! After that, Gail and I decided that we were hungry and as we headed south we stopped on the north end of Amsterdam to have some lunch. We went to a small (but very quaint) little eatery that sat just on the Harbor of Amsterdam. Learning about Dutch culture is very different. Here you do not tip the waiter. Only in extreme cases do you leave tip - if the food was beyond you wildest dreams. Also, no free refills - people who know me well know that this is going to be a very challenging thing to adapt to - I like a lot of liquid. I ordered Iced Tea to drink and let me tell you, it was wonderful. It was nothing more than Nestea powdered mix but the difference was the use of carbonated water - It was the best tea EVER! At the end of our meal while Gail was paying, a waitress approached me and in very fast, advanced (for me) dutch asked me if my meal was good - not knowing what in the world she was saying I asked her in Dutch to speak in English. She apologized for mistake and then I apologized and said b"I'm learning," to which she replied "It's really my fault, you look Dutch." And that my friends was the goal of this trip - to assimilate! After we were finished we headed farther south back to Utrecht. Once there, we stopped at a castle that was built in the middle of a small town. The gardens were fabulous. The home was very self sufficient in the food it grew as well. Tired and exhausted, we headed back to the house we Gail and I both crashed from our long morning. Carlijn came for dinner amd afterwards I set out to find a pair of pants. It is a style that never caught on in America but thrives here in Europe. Mens 3/4 length pants - very attractive pants and it was my goal to find a pair to purchase. I set off by foot towards the center of town and found my pants and ordering them in (mostly) Dutch! SUCCESS! On the way back home, I stopped at the market to pick some Cola (because I love it) and I grabbed some strawberries for Gail and I. 

Good News, I finally moved into my room and out of my suit cases. Its a good feeling!

Michael Jackson Died today as well as Farah Fawcett - Interesting to watch the reactions

Tot Ziens, (Til I See You Again)

Taylor

FIETS!

Last night was my first introduction to Dutch culture of people my own age. My cousin, Carlijn (pronounced Car - line) was able to (after my power nap) take me with her and some of her friends to the park up the street. It was very strange to see people hanging out in the park with Alcohol and the reefer menace. But it was present and very eye opening. After that I was able to go to a party with her and some of her friends. Here in Holland the easiest way to travel is via bike or in dutch, fiets (pronounced - feets) These bikes also have little platforms. People use these to sit on to ride as a passenger. I did not know this and looked like a fool riding on the back of the bike holding on for dear life while the girls in Utrecht would text (SMS in Europe) and effortlessly  look at their belongings in their bag on the back of the bike. Once at the party I was instantly attacked by Carlijn's friends inquiring about for whom I voted in last election and what a juicer was...interesting stuff - things I did not anticipate being asked. Once I reached home around 10:30pm I watched a little T.V. with Gail before crashing into my bed. 

This morning I woke up around 9am because Gail and I had to attend her mondhyygienisten (dental hygienist) for a teeth cleaning. This place was phenomenal. In a country where the health care is regulated by the government (monarchy - YAY Queen Beatrix) it is wonderfully nice. Again, I think Hillary Clinton had something. Anyway, the toilet inside the bathroom was totally unique. It had a plastic covering over the seat itself that would keep it clean between each use. You pressed a button on the side and the plastic, like a conveyer belt, changed itself. It was awesome. Following that, we attend the weekly Wednesday festival in the center of town near the Dom tower were you could find anything. The goal - to find Mijn Mansenzak (My man bag). Gail was very incessant that I obtain one of these because it is the only way to carry things without them being stolen (though The Netherlands have the lowest crime rate in the world). We searched high and low and finally found one that would not be considered to effeminate in the States so I would be able to use it at home. So now equipped with my bag, dutch cell phone, and some little basic knowledge of the dutch language (I was quizzed at Carlijn's party( 1,2,3's, Greetings,and colors!)) I am prepared to learn more and not get my stuff stolen. Gail and I then attended several supermarkt (supermarket) to find some things for a barbeque that I am going with Carlijn to. I bought a barbeque meat kit that has 4 kabobs, 4 hamburgers, 4 wurst, and 4 (esentially thick slices of bacon) for only 5.39 Euro. Another nice thing is that there is no tax here. The price you see is the price you pay - wonderful! Along with some Karakter Bier (beer with character) for young twenties-something fun I headed home.  As I sit writing this both Gail and I are frantically trying find a way to adapt the power cord of my Mac to work here - the solution turn out to be much easier than expected....just plug it in. 

Carlijn's friends seem to enjoy meeting me and they have invited me to several things over the next week including a trip with them to Amsterdam on saturday. Lets see what happens!

I Am Here!

Ahh - how refreshing, I am finally here! The flight was interesting. On my flight from Columbus to Philadelphia, I sat next to Stephanie Askins. I graduated with her from Olentangy. What were the chances that I would see someone I knew let alone sit next to them. I began to get frustrated because my flight from Philadelphia to Amsterdam was delayed from plane repairs for two hours. No one was happy! Once I arrived (two hours late) and found Gail, we were able to take a walking tour of parts of Utrecht seeing some of the channels and getting myself a cell phone. A little tired, but I am ready to go - starting with meeting some of Carlijn's friends tonight I will begin what will be a very long interesting journey!