Things I Learned in Holland (Copied)

I found this in my friend's Facebook profile, and it is SO TRUE! Except for number 36. No. Big no-no. But some are so true it's so funny, like number 8, 9, 15, 17, 33 and 35!



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1.There are 2 food groups: Bread and Stuff you put on it
2.Biking is a part of everyday life.
3.The only thing keeping you from going to a party is not having money, but you go anyways and deal with being broke for 2 weeks.
4.Public transportation is the best and worst thing ever.
5.An Ipod is your best friend.
6.Apparently letting your underwear hangout is fashionable
7.More than 2 people can sleep in a twin bed.
8.Get drunk before you go out, it saves money
9.Homework is non-existent, and is never done.
10.Dutch Boys are weird, and South Americans are better
11.Your dutch host mother is the scariest person you've ever met.
12.Drinking at school is a monthly thing!
13.Smoking is accepted and it is a good conversation starter.
14.Don't buy drinks, make boys buy them for you.
15.You wake up in the morning after going out and have bruises.
16.When you hang out with other exchangies, you know the photos will be amazing and are up on every website you have the next day.
17.Your hometown doesn't seem as bad as it did when you left.
18.You miss your animals more than your parents.
19.Wearing the same thing 2 days in a row is okay!
20. Deodrant should be applied as a spray, not a stick. (no matter how terrible it is for the enviroment)
21.Any kind of bath products from America are GOLD!
22.Amsterdam is STILL a big deal. (except for Rachel)
23.Bar Hopping is better than Christmas
24.Going to church once a year is totally cool, you will still go to heaven..YOU'RE DUTCH!
25.Kaassouffle helps sober you up.
26.Peeing in public is acceptable.
27.The Public WC is the most disgusting thing you've ever seen.
28.Dutch people cannot dance.
29.Your best dutch friend is fluent in English.
30.You spend a lot of weeknights on myspace and facebook.
31.You don't shower in the morning because it means you can sleep later!
32.You will leave early so you don't have to bike fast to school.
33.You are not a sugarcube! Rain will not kill you.
34.Host brothers and sisters suck sometimes.
35.No matter how nice you try to look in the morning, you get off your bike and look like shit.
36.You have kissed both boys and girls, just for fun.
37.You make dumb videos and put them on youtube and myspace.
38.You get piercings just because you can, not because you really want them
39.The use of a kaasschaaf is integral to everyday life.
40.In the perfect Dutchie world, everything should either be "Lekker" or "Gezellig"
41.Everyone you know shops at the H&M, and as soon as you buy a shirt from there you notice 20 other people at your school with the same one.
42. two words...earth apples.
43.You never go into the HEMA looking for anything, but you come out with 20 euros worth of useless shit.
44.You learned that the actually of number of people that can fit on a bike is not one, but in all actuality, you can fit as many 4 people on one bike.
45.Old dutch bikes are like the honda civics of america..everyone has one.
46.the random dutch peace/gangster sign in every single on of your photos.
47. It's ok to ride a bike without brakes.
48. If you need a bike quickly, dive into an Amsterdam canal and get one.
49. Only a Dutch person can explain the concept of being a 'kakker'.
50. In Holland, it's how 'long' you are, not how tall you are :)
51.In Holland, it is a criminal offense for a cyclist to stop at a red light :)
52. Only a Dutch person can eat a 'kroket' without flinching :)

Scrubbed Kitchen

I think everyone should really rush home and buy a giant box of chocolates for their maids.

MY BYCEPS IS SORE.

I BURNT MY ARM.

MY PJS SMELLS LIKE CLEANING SPRAY.

Or better yet, make it a box of chocolate plus flowers and a handmade thank-you card. Give them a hug while you still can.

First Exams, NOOOOOO!

OK this isnt going so well. I have 50 chapters for 1.5 months I mean, we had 23 chapters max for the entire year for highschool! Entire year! First exam is on Wed, and the last one is on Friday. You bet I'm not going home on Friday night. And Saturday.

Meanwhile exam preparation isnt going so well. I've been reading my ass off these past few days and it just wont stick! I hope some smart people would invent a post-it you can stick on ur brain. I would be the loyal customer till death do us part. Seriously, I have the memory of a goldfish. If someone offers me a sour candy I would take it the first time, groan cause its so sour, walk away to do some stuff, come back and take the candy just because I forgot its sour. Some call it stupidity but I'd rather blame my memory.

Yesterday I tried to do the last year's exams, and by the end of reading time the verdict was that I am skrewed, with a capital S. Holey moley I couldnt even do 1 question. So I spent yesterday going over the answers trying to get how they got that cause I bet my sorry ass thats the first time I saw those workings. Then I decided to bake myself some chocolate brownies (which turns out awesome, with capital AWESOME). When its done, I just sat there on the window panel staring into space while munching the WHOLE batch.

This is not even funny anymore. Cause its not even hash brownies, its pure chocolate. So theres really no additives there.

And I have cookie crumbs ALL OVER my apartment. I feel like cookie-loving Hansel or Gretel. My desk if covered with cookie crumbs. My room. My staircase. My living room. My TOILET.

Save me.

The cookie crumbs are coming to get me.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD :)

Dearest Dad,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Cant believe this is your first birthday that I am not home. Nevertheless, I wish you the happiest merriest most incredible birthday and may this year be filled with incredulous bliss and good surprises.

We'll eat and celebrate when I get home OK :), but in the meantime, give yourself a warm big birthday hug from your youngest daughter.

Wish I am there,

Nik.

The Month After

It's been a month since I moved here. It's so weird. Time moves so quickly. Fall is starting and its so cold! It's been raining and windy. It's so weird. One minute its sunny, then its raining REALLY hard and then its sunny again.

Amusing.

Overall, I really like it here. I feel so balanced here, somehow. I stay home and be a nerd for most days (cause I'm anxious about the exams!!! Exam is in 2 weeks and I still dont know a n y t h i n g about Financial and Management Accounting), and always take a night out (usually Wednesday cause its student night and theres happy hour in this bar near our school ;) yeah I'm a cheapskate) to just chill and meet new people and be retards with the people you know.

Or compensate the amount of sugar intake by substituting tram ride home by walking. Although the perimeter of sugar overtake and working it out is always assymetrical ;)

Academic workload has been rough, but I kinda enjoy it. It's a fresh change from letting cobwebs and dust occupy my brain. It's amazing how we have to do everything ourselves here. Independence is inevitable, yet enjoyable. I wonder what my parents would say if they see how I do everything myself. Their spoilt girl is learning, one step at a time, eager for new lessons everyday.

People might think from the pictures that I posted on my FB that all I do is party. They couldnt be more wrong ;), since I dont post pictures of me behind the vaccuum cleaner or studying behind books. But I'm glad they take it that I am happy here. Cause I am.

I've stopped comparing my life with others, and decided to grasp every opportunity that comes in my way. Maybe thats why I'm so happy. Most people think that their lives revolves around great things, so they wait behind the steering wheel for great things to bump them. What they often miss is that great things are often disguised as small things. And that's perhaps what I learnt most here, that by the end of the day, the little things is what matters most.