"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