Friday Follow-up:

Hooray for being back on schedule!  Wow!  We've had A Piece of Me, A top Ten Tuesday, and now an alliterated Friday!  So today it's...

Now since it's been a while, some of these you may not actually remember...but that's a chance I'm willing to take...now let's begin...

February 7 - Wow!  Million years ago!  But it doesn't matter.  Because one of the pictures I posted on that site has been selected for the 2012 (yea I have to wait a year) I Can Haz Cheezburger Day by Day Calendar!  I'm so excited...and it's pretty adorable too if I do say so myself...

So go out and buy it!
In a year...

September 2 - Before I started watching the Gilmore Girls, I couldn't have cared less about movies just because Alexis Bledel or Lauren Graham were in them.  But then I discovered this movie and besides being completely in love with the other main characters in this movie, she plays the Mom and I was excited!
Oh but that's not the point of this Follow-up...the point...is...THIS!
AAAHHHHH!!!!

September 29 - Yes I'm still obsessed with watching these videos online.  But apparently...I'm not the only one!  Check it out!  (P.S. the last one is priceless)

October 5 - I finally uploaded my photos of me at Oktoberfest so you can go check me and my dirndl out. Pretty good I must say...

October 25 - I totally forgot that I had this photo.  I've been saving it for probably the entire time I've been here waiting until I went to Florence and saw the David.  Ok I didn't actually see the David, but I saw a replica.  Plus this picture is hilarious...

October 29 - Yea, fairly sure this one is self-explanatory...GO GIANTS! (However, come March, it's back to GO OAK-TOWN)

November 1 - On the title I wrote that we weren't going to have turkey...we did.  Just sayin.  I'll actually write a post about it...eventually.

Word of the Day: ingehaald - caught up

Piece of Me: We're going to have a chicken, not a turkey

Wow!  With me NOT writing anything for a while, my last one of these was only a few posts ago...whoops!
Anyway, here's...A Piece Of Me


This month (November)…
 
I like: All the winter stuff I (really did have to) buy in which I can now look stylish in - leggings, hats, and some very awesome boots.

I don't like: having to put away all my summer clothes.  Or should I say...mail them home.  It's not like I'll be needing them.

I want you to know: that I have been introduced to pretzel M&Ms (thanks Auntie Jeanie).  I'll never eat any other kind of M&M the same again.  And no...no they don't have them here in Holland.

I've planned: a border jump to England.  Walking tour, drinks at the Savoy, seeing friends again, and most likely a Broadway Show.  No it's not illegal.  I have the immigration email to prove it.  But it's still fun to call it a border jump.

I want to say to someone special: dear Immigration...no seriously...I have the email to prove it.  Please let me back into your country.

Picture of the Month:

Word of the Day: November - November

Must...make it...more...hilarious...too... much...sentiment...

It’s January 30^th and you all know what that means!

1. Here in Holland, we are celebrating the end of the 80-year war.  (I don’t know of any actual celebrating, but Wikipedia tells me we should be.)

2. One more day before we are officially in Love-Makes-Libby-Sick mode (by that I mean February and Valentine’s Day)

3. I’ve been in this country for three months!!!

Now it’s time for a little sub list.  Because being in this country for three months also means several things…

1. I’m already one quarter of the way through my journey here in Europe as an aupair.

2. I’ve only got nine more months to get my butt in gear and do some more traveling.

3. I’ve officially been in Europe longer than I’m allowed to be without having a visa.  Fortunately, an application for a visa is an acceptable form of proof that I’m still allowed to be here.  And thank goodness for that, because I still won’t find out about my visa until the middle of April.

It really is crazy to think about three months.  So many things are happening, and I’m missing them.  But at the same time, I’m experiencing a whole new realm of things I can only begin to describe on this thing known as my blog.  I missed Halloween this year.  Sure I put on a shirt that was printed to look like a mummy, but I just sat around in my house that day, lack of confidence keeping me from going into Amsterdam for the Halloween couch surfing meet-up.  But I made Amsterdam Museum n8, meeting new friends, exploring a new city, and experiencing European culture full force. I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family.  Of course when I worked at Disneyland, the same thing happened, but there’s something about being 300 miles away versus being 5000 (sorry...5371) that makes it a little harder to bear.  Then again, when you compare what I’m doing now, to wearing ugly and unflattering green pants and talking about the latest technology, Holland kicks Innoventions’ butt.  Plus being here opened my world to the celebration of Sinterklaas, and the welcoming arms of an adoptive family for the year.  I’m missing Pat’s one-man show, which is sure to be a huge hit.  I’m missing birthdays, parties, shows at school; so many things.  But then I look around and I see the possibilities for trips to far away lands, which thanks to having already crossed that pesky ocean, aren’t actually that far away.  I see the opportunities for cultural enrichment through museums, shows, and celebrations unknown to me before now.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that it’s been hard.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I’m happy with what I’m doing and I’m proud I’m out here doing it. So thanks to everyone out there who’s supported me – from my friends whose constant facebooking never fails to keep me in the loop, to my grandparents and extended family, who read my blog religiously and send me emails and letters of love constantly. From my sister who talks to me almost every day on skype, to my parents who make sure we talk at least once a week, and my brother whenever he’s home (get skype doofus!)  From my new friends and family here, who have made the transition so much easier, to you, the readers of the blogging world, who prove that in internet world, being 5371 miles away is the same as living next door to each other.  And knowing I’ve got the support of all of you will make nine more months breeze by just as the last three already have.

Aw shucks…it seems I’ve gotten sentimental.

Word of the day: reis - journey

Sinterklaas, Subway, Stir Fry, and Speed Dating

Today began a weekend long event in the city of Rotterdam known as CS Sinterklaas Weekend. Hosted by couch surfing, the event includes dinners, a couple parties, and some daytime activities. The whole idea is to have a weekend long holiday party celebrating Sinterklaas – the Dutch Santa. (Don’t worry there will be an entry about him sometime next week – it’s an amazing tradition with a long and somewhat tainted history.)
But anyway, Lily and I were surfing in Rotterdam for the weekend with a guy named Ronald. When we arrived in Rotterdam, we needed to wait for Ronald to get off work, so we decided to continue the celebration of American Thanksgiving…so we went shopping! Of course there weren’t as great of sales as there are on Black Friday in America, but we still got some cute outfits for the Sinterklaas party tomorrow night. We also found this fun little number…Seeing as we had shopped till we dropped, we fell into a couple seats at McDonalds and had some coffee and apple pie (again…Thanksgiving.) Then it was time to travel to our host’s house.. We entered the subway, and were greeted by a crazy old guy who was trying to tell us how to buy a card, but once again I was trying to tell him that my American credit card does not have a pin number and can therefore not be used on the machine. So he was nice enough to give me an hour pass and we headed down in search for a map. After finding none and almost getting on the wrong train, we made it to our transfer. Lily was smart enough to yell at me when I decide to just walk without any clue where I’m going, so we made it to our platform in record time only to find that the previous metro had broken down and a HUGE crowd had formed. It didn’t help either that there was a guy who seriously reminded us of Apu from the Simpsons who was speaking crazy talk and mixing Dutch with Spanish with English. Needless to say, we moved away from that. By the time the metro had cleared and a new one came in its place, we began to crowd on only to be pushed out by the crowd. However the doors didn’t register that and they actually CLOSED ON US!! We pushed them open and scramble to get out. But we got on the next one and safely made it to our destination where we met Ronald in his wonderful apartment and headed off to dinner.
Dinner was held in a youth hostel where the cook “Mom” had made a delicious coconut milk rice and stir fry for us to enjoy. We began meeting people from all over and learned some interesting stories. One guy was unable to eat his vegetables because he had gotten dysentery in Pakistan and had not yet introduced the vegetable (the hardest thing to digest) back into his diet. But it’s ok, cuz we ate them for him. :-D
Then it was time for the “Speed Dating.” It wasn’t really speed dating since it was more just a meet and greet of fellow couch surfers with questions to help you along…which was good because we weren’t too keen on actual speed dating. Everyone got a sticker piece of paper that was then taped to our backs. Then everyone got a question, a pen, and most likely a beer and off we went. You went up to people, asked them your question, they asked you yours, and hopefully a conversation got started. Then you had to write something on their back about what you learned.
I met quite a lot of people. I had interesting conversations with two guys about linguistics who are also studying it, a girl from Oregon who shared with me San Francisco memories, and a tiny Philipino guy who was totally the stereotypical partier I remember from high school. But my favorite person I met was during one of the mini “competitions.” It was a dance competition and the guy next to me grabbed me and told me to start dancing. We were dancing and when it was over he told me he taught tango!! He then proceeded to teach me a couple actual steps, which was quite adorable.
Lily was busy sitting in one of the couch areas, which she called the VIP lounge. People kept coming up and wanting to join, and if they were cool, we let them in. :-D Lily also attempted to find every tall person in the room (which was only guys…lucky her) and form another secret club. I did not like this club however when I was called over to stand among them.
Well it was time to go. After a quick chorus of “Poker Face” which had finally come on, we left to find our way home without the metro. We shared a nice cup of tea joined by Celine our third couch surfer, and then settled down for a nice sleep, ready for a new morning!

Turkey Day in Holland

HAPPY THANKSGVINING EVERYONE!
Since Thanksgiving is an American Holiday, I was able to meet up with the previous aupair who worked for my family who was cooking a Traditional Thanksgiving dinner for her Dutch girlfriend’s family. It was my job to bring dessert and, as you know from yesterday, I could not make pumpkin pie, so I chose instead to do Paula Deen’s Peach Cobbler…mmm mmm good. I substituted the first cup of sugar for brown sugar, which makes for a wonderfully rich syrup-y goodness…Then I baked it and it came out looking even more delicious…So after letting it cool (I was smart enough to think of that ahead of time) I packed it up and walked to the bus stop. Once I arrived, I met Esther, her mom, her dad, her mom’s boyfriend, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend. I sat on the couch sipping my wine while smiling and not knowing what ANYONE was saying. Every once and a while Esther would lean over and explain what was going on, but I’d get lost a minute later anyway. Mags however was busy running around like a chicken with its head cut off (or maybe it’s more appropriate to say turkey?)…The table was set, and Mags' Mom had even sent her festive napkins to make us feel more at home...We enjoyed a yummy cranberry/cheese mixture on top of crackers for an appetizer and then it was time for the feast. Mags had made carrots, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing balls (regular stuffing, but formed into balls and broiled…so delicious!!!) sweet potatoes (but since there are no tiny marshmallows here, she used pinapple…I highly recommend it) and a turkey. It all looked amazing…Of course Mags had to special order a large turkey and when she went to go pick it up this morning, they said “Here’s two little ones.” Turkey, especially whole ones, are not common in Holland. But it ended up being just enough food. By the time we were good and stuffed, I put in my cobbler to reheat. I wasn’t sure how it was going to travel or reheat, but let me tell you, it was just as delicious! We had it with vanilla ice cream, and the tiny bit that was left over was taken by the boyfriend (who was a cop) so he could enjoy it while gloating to his fellow officers also stuck working the night shift. All in all, it was a success!
After dinner we sat around drinking coffee, while they marveled in the custom that is a combination of a food coma and tryptophane while discussing other American traditions. I commented on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and the new floats for this year, Mags commented on Football, and surprisingly, Esther’s father told us the history of Thanksgiving according to the Wikipedia page. He had looked it up especially for tonight so as to be more aware. It was very sweet (and surprisingly fairly accurate.)
So with our bellies stuffed, and our hearts full of thanks, we parted ways and I came home happy to go on Skype and talk to my cousins who I don’t get to see today (at least in person)…For all you reading out there, Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for everyone in my life who has affected me in some way. I’m especially thankful for the people who convinced me that coming here was the correct idea. I miss and love you all.

And on a lighter note…Word of the Day: Dankjewel - Thank You

The Day Before an American Holiday

Well it’s the day before Thanksgiving. Of course Thanksgiving is the celebration by Americans for things they are thankful for – family...friends...and the ability to trick Native Americans into feeding them before taking their land and going to war against them...Well as far as I know, there was no ocean to cross to arrive here and therefore no cold hard winter to get through without helpful indigenous people. So by that logic, family and friends are not enough of a reason to have a holiday.
Ok ok all kidding and political reprimand aside, it is still Wednesday – the most traveled day of the year in America, as well as the biggest (grocery) shopping day. So I decided to take part. Since I will actually be going to a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I needed to get ingredients to make Paula Dean’s Pumpkin Pie. In order to do this, I had to go to the big supermarket since the one by my house does not have many of the ingredients I need. So after about an hour of attempting to find the right keys to my bike, figuring out how to unlock it, finding a wrench to lower the seat, and scraping the rust off of the seat bar so that it could be lowered, I was on my way. Of course the bike was still a little too big, and the gears don’t connect right away so I kind of ran into things when I was first starting up, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now. I was all set in my directions as it was pretty straight forward…until I came to a detour in the road and I got pretty severely lost. After being yelled at in Dutch by another woman, and making several U-turns, I found my way back to the street I was supposed to be on. Only one U-turn later (when I veered into a no-bike housing complex instead of the bike path across the street,) I found the Albert Heijn supermarket!
Once inside I set upon finding the ingredients I needed while cursing myself for not translating them from English before I came. Unfortunately I also didn’t even think about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to find canned (or fresh) pumpkin anywhere. So I called Lily who was able to send me the ingredients to make Peach Cobbler instead, which is not as traditional, but just as delicious. It ended up being better anyway because here, cream cheese and graham crackers are both imported and therefore, cost way more than they should, whereas canned peaches are still cheap and easy.
So I got home making a mental note to figure out how the basket goes onto the bike, unloaded my groceries and had a bowl of delicious homemade soup. I don’t need to make the cobbler until tomorrow so I’ve decided to spend the rest of the day straightening up the two houses, and reorganizing mine. I’ve also made the discovery that youtube has ALL the episodes of Cheers and since I recently fell in love with Frasier, which is it’s spin off, I figured I’d try watching that first. Plus it’s an American TV Institution. Plus sometimes you wanna go where every body knows your name.
So for all you surviving the grapevine, standing in line at Safeway, or elbow deep in a hollow turkey, Happy Day-Before-Thanksgiving…I miss it all.

Word of the Day: pompoentaart - pumpkin pie