"Well, you can't get more Dutch than this..."

4 days in and I've managed to eat raw herring, experience the Amsterdam nightlife, ride my bike without making a fool of myself, and go on the craziest 5km race known to man-kind. In Warmond, the village beside Sassenheim, it is a tradition to do a race called the Polder-Cross. Polder doesn't really have an English translation, but it means land that used to be under the sea. Land that is polder is now secured by dykes.. but if Holland had no dykes nearly half of it would flood. There are about 3000 polder areas in the country. The neighbour (Lisa) who I have become pretty close with told me about the race and said I should come watch. But then of course my crazy host father threw in the "Hey, you should join!" comment. And again, the "be a yes person" advice came running through my head. I decided I had to join otherwise I would probably regret it... and I can definitely say I was right! It was an experience I will never forget. We rode our bikes into Warmond and got registered and then joined in the huge crowded line up. My legs were already beat after the bike ride... did I mention I'm ridiculously out of shape? Pretty soon the race started.. and I immediately realized what I had gotten myself into. Throughout the race you have to jump in and out of small muddy canals called "sloten". There's probably about 20, all of them are different sizes and depths. The trail is very unique.. and, well.. Dutch. It began on a regular field you run around to spread out the racers, and then there's a series of swampy sloten. Eventually you get to a tree area with a narrow path. It had a lot of variation but the whole time you could always see a windmill in the distance and a few cow pies around your feet. And of course a whole bunch of crazy Dutchmen covered in mud talking with words I can't understand. Lisa said I would get muddy... biggest understatement EVER! After jumping in the first slote I couldn't even recognize my host dad. I'm glad I was able to run it with him because he warned me when it would be over my head or when it would be rocky. I can't even explain what it feels like when it goes over your head. Oh, and the smell... it's something like dirt, cow poo fertilizer and more poo? It's great. There's also a bigger canal that's not so muddy.. almost like a river that you have to swim across twice. So all in all, 5 km feels more like 20km when you're climbing in and out of smelly swamps. There were tons of spectators watching the race and the kids (mostly the little boys) like to yell "BOMMETJE!" which means cannonball. So after awhile the racers just starting doing cannonballs into the sloten getting mud all over everyone. It.. is.. so.. awesome. After you're finished, the fire department is there with the giant hose and you get rinsed off. That atleast gets the first layer off.. and then they have real showers. And then of course you go home and have another shower.. or ten. My hair was literally a mat of mud. Almost worse than synchro knox gelatin hair!

Anyway, my own explanation doesn't even begin to explain the rush and craziness of the event, you'll have to check out my facebook album link below. There are a few good pictures. And to conclude.. I think it's safe to say I won't be gaining weight during my exchange. Even though I'm eating pounds of bread and cheese, I think this crazy host family of mine will be whipping me into shape very soon. Tot zo!

Check out my facebook album for some pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=297367&id=563270103&l=b993dbf7e5

Welkom.. !

3 days into my exchange and I already feel like my head could explode from all of the new things I have seen and experienced. One thing is official: my host family is amazing.. I know I said this in my last post but they are so accommodating I can't believe it. Last night was my Welcome BBQ and they prepared for it almost all day. Tons of food was ordered along with extra tables and chairs. I was able to meet all of my future host parents and most of the kids. They seem just as excited as I am to come live with them. My second family has a daughter who lived in Canada last year on exchange near Niagara Falls. They will be taking me to Switzerland for 2 and half weeks in December for Christmas holidays. My third and last family has a daughter leaving for Argentina this Saturday on exchange aswell. I can't wait to grow even more relationships with other host parents in the near future. I am still overwhelmed with all of the friendliness and encouragement! My host club has made a program for me where they will assign a Rotarian to me each week, and they will provide me with some kind of an "experience". It may just be going to a movie, or it could be a weekend trip somewhere. Either way I am so excited to be able to get to know everyone more closely.

Back to the Welcome party, it was perfect. About 40 people came to welcome me and introduce themselves. It went until about 10pm and then the jetleg was starting to get to me again. I went to my room and thought about going to bed.. and then came upstairs to say goodnight. I walked in on my host dad dancing to the new Pitbull song first.. and he turns to me and says "Hey! Wanna go to Amsterdam tonight?" I basically just yawned and laughed. But he insisted he was serious. I kept laughing then realized Dieteke, Geraldine and him were actually looking at me for an answer. I was so tired but the most common advice I have been given from past Rotary students is you have to be a "yes" person. Never say no to an opportunity. So I figured we might as well hit Amsterdam. It's about a half an hour drive from Sassenheim, and even though I was almost falling asleep, I was quickly ready to hit the town. Apparently 10:30 is too early to go so he wanted to leave at 11 or so. The neighbours came over for some wine and then soon enough Jaco grabbed his keys (that's when I realized he REALLY wasn't kidding.. I was still a little skeptical) and we headed out the door. We had a nice talk on the way there.... about pretty much everything.. especially music. I asked him what his favorite song was and he started playing it. By playing it I mean blasting it in his BMW. It was the most intense techno rave music ever and made me extreeeeemely excited to go to Amsterdam.. why we were randomly going on a late Thursday night I'll never really understand. After the song he just said "Oh, I miss being twenty." ..SO AWESOME. He also has a pretty good talent at dancing and driving at the same time.

Anyway, we get to Amsterdam after the Dutch GPS conveniently guided us right to the main night life square. At first I thought it was strange I was about to go out in Amsterdam with a 30 year old, but he's so funny and easy to get along with it wasn't even awkward at all. He relates well to being an exchange student and wants to make sure I have an unforgettable year. He used to work in Amsterdam so he knew a lot about where to go and where not to go. First he took me to chic place to show me a taste of the nightlife. It was crazy, there was every type of person you could imagine.. even men with briefcases who just got off work at the office. We only stayed there for a bit and then walked around to a few other places. Amsterdam is beautiful at night time, I can't wait to go back.

Today Martine, my counsellor who is helping me get everything set up, took me to the Hague to apply for my residence permit. This is when I got my first taste of stubborn bureaucracy I guess you could say. We brought every possible document you can imagine, along with many photocopies of each. I got to stand in line many many times and then sit through arguments that I didn't understand hardly a single word of. But hours later I got a pretty stamp in my passport so I guess all is good! After that we signed up for my bank card.. and then hopefully in the next couple of days I will get my cell phone.

I'm now feeling completely settled in.. I'm still missing everyone at home but my family has occupied me so much I don't even realize it until I start thinking about. My new room and new place is starting to feel more like a home everyday. :)

Finally arrived!

After months of waiting, I have finally arrived in Sassenheim, South Holland! It has been such a long preparation process for this trip. From orientation weekends with other District 5060 students to a ridiculous amount of paper work.... I am finally on my exchange. Sassenheim is a small town part of the municipality Teylingen which is made up of two other villages, Voorhout and Warmond. I am hosted by the Rotary Club of Sassenheim in District 1600. Before I came I was lucky to be in contact with all three of my host families. I am now settled in my first house, and the family is amazing. The parents are Dieteke and Jaco Goedkoop. Dieteke is a model, and Jaco is now not working after he sold his lumber company last year. They have a 2 year old name Elsa, and two twin 4 years olds named Isa and Emma. I have officially fallen in love with them already! The girls only speak Dutch so it is hard to communicate, but it is nice because it helps me learn the small words. The parents are both fluent in English. Jaco was an exchange student to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for two years so his English is perfect.. with a bit of an awkward southern accent which is funny. They are so welcoming I can't believe it. I already feel like I have bonded so much with the family. They have planned me a Welcome BBQ this Thursday where I will meet all of the neighbours, some Rotarians and hopefully the rest of my host families.

It's only been a day and a half and I already feel like I have seen and done so much! Yesterday when I arrived we just visited with some snacks (cheese of course..) and then they showed me around their beautiful house and property. They have three large fields, one for the horses, one rented out by a neighbour for tulip planting, and another rented by someone else for year round planting. They also live right by De Kaag Lake which is a big recreation area. The family goes wakeboarding and boating all the time and we will be going tomorrow. Today Dieteke, Geraldine (Dieteke's friend who also lives in the house) and the girls and I went into Sassenheim to do some shopping (by bike of course :) ). The town is larger than I imagined and has many cute stores and a few hotels and restaurants. We had lunch and I managed to try some raw herring... it surprisingly tastes much better than I thought. After shopping I biked to Warmond and went to the beach with one of the neighbours and her friends. They are all fun to be with and I'm sure I will get to know them better in the next few months.

Next week I will be in Texel, which I hear is a very nice island. The Dutch Orientation Course will be held there where I will hopefully learn some more of the language. The language hasn't been much of a struggle because my host parents have been nice enough to speak English the first couple days. They said they will stop after my orientation.... ;)

I already feel so at home here... I helped give the girls a bath before bed tonight and am slowly turning into a nanny (which is fine because they're soooooo cute!) I'm not too shy to ask for things and I'm starting to feel really comfortable around everyone in the household. But I guess this is enough blabbing for my first post... hopefully I'll do a good job of updating this from time to time!

Tot ziens!