Well if one thing is official, I am the world's best procrastinator. I realize I haven't updated in awhile, and to be honest I pretty much have no excuse. Host family change, switzerland, christmas, new years... I guess I should take a little bit of time to talk about some of those things, right?
Of course the family change was difficult, but the Tromps already feel like a new family. I miss being able to paint Elsa's nails, constantly being asked "Maag ik een snoopje? alsjebleif? (can I have a candy? please?)", being woken up by the three screaming girls on my birthday "JIJ BENT JARIG! JIJ BENT JARIG!", listening to Sexy Chick and dancing with the family, spending time doing nothing in Lanzarote, hearing Elsa say "NIET DOEN!", and the feeling of having a new set of parents that feels completely natural even though they were once just strangers.
These memories have been moved aside as I'm forced to settle myself into a new house, new bed, with new welcoming family members. If one thing is for certain, there is never a dull moment in the Tromp household. That is one of the first things Henriette told me, but only now have I realized the truthfulness of it. I have 4 siblings, Reinier (21), Marilou (20), Claire (18), and Dorine (15). I got to know all of them very well over are immediate trip to Switzerland. I had 4 days to settle in before we left for a very cramped and cozy ride to the Alps...
In Switzerland I was able to see the true colors of my new siblings... Reinier is actually 12 years old at heart and is very talented at giving face washes in the snow. Marilou loves Kraft Dinner like a typical Canadian and can relate to anything Canadian-ish I say, as she lived near Niagara Falls last year on exchange. Claire, a Farmville addict, is the one who makes sure there is never a quiet moment, and ensures there is always good (and loud) music playing. Dorine is the quiet one who seems to be happy doing anything and is also a great Dutch teacher. Then of course there are my lovely host parents... I managed to dance on a table with my host father, and my host mother happens to be an amazing cook. I have yet to discover something I don't like. Overall, I really couldn't ask for a better host family to share Christmas vacation with.
2 and a half weeks in Switzerland doing nothing but snowboarding, skiing, lounging, and Tipi Bar-ing was a great way to start my 3 month stay with the Tromps. We stayed in Oma's house in Lenk, right on the slopes..
Christmas was different of course. It was very toned down than what I'm used to and consisted of no christmas carols, turkey or stuffing :( But the "gezellig" family atmosphere was still present. New Years was also very different, but thoroughly enjoyed of course. We started off the night with the whole group drinking champagne, eating olliebollen and playing games before heading down to the village of Lenk. The ski instructors of the mountain lit their old skis on fire and wrote "Lenk" on the side of the mountain. Later on they all skied down to the village to celebrate with everyone else. The village was packed with rowdy people, some who even walked around ringing huge cowbells. It was nothing comparable to New Years in Canada, that's for sure. Although there were tons of fireworks, I guess that's one similarity.
Since returning back to Holland I've been going to school and also volunteering at a seniors home called Bernardus. I enjoy helping out there as it reminds me a lot of Berwick, my past job, and makes me feel completely at home. School isn't always great for the whole day so it's nice to get a break in between. I find the school system here very difficult for an exchange student, and have realized that exchange students back home are very fortunate. This system here is strict and very standard... maybe for a real student it's great, but for an exchange student it's nothing but boring to be completely honest. No sport teams, no school clubs, and the classes are only the basic academic subjects. It's been hard to adjust, but as Rotary always said "nothing is better or worse, only different". But sometimes I think.. 'how can someone enjoy going to a school like this?! It has nothing!' But I suppose the system has different benefits for the students as well.. I just haven't discovered them yet.
I've learnt that Dutch people are very direct, which I find to be one of the biggest differences. This has been good for me as I'm always so indecisive in nearly everything I do! I rarely hear someone say "Well... maybe.... I'm not sure." where as that is almost my most common saying. What's so hard in simply making up your mind and saying yes or no? You're the only person who can decide for yourself. Spending time on silly decisions is a time waster and has always been my biggest flaw.
As far as recent fun outings, I have been to Holiday On Ice in Amsterdam which was a beautiful show. Later on I went to see The WestSide Story in The Hague which was another great show. I went to both with nice people from Rotary Voorhout. Just last week I went to Amsterdam again for The Marriage of Figaro Opera in the fancy shmancy music theatre. It was a great experience! also a great opportunity for some picture taking as we walked around the city before and after at night-time..
On a last random note, I've decided to make a goal of visiting 20 different countries by the time I turn 20. I figure it will be good medicine for my travel bug :) Here's my list so far:
United States
Costa Rica
England
Egypt
the Netherlands
Spain
Switzerland
Later this year...
Finland
Germany
Belgium
Austria
Italy
France
Czech Republic
Sweden (I hope!)
Sometime before I'm 20.. maybe after I win a million dollars..
Argentina
Brasil
India
Thailand
Australia
Easy to do, right?
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