I went to Gouda last weekend. I love it there. I'm going to go there more often. Two of my good friends from AFS live there, too. You know, I didn't have too many expectations when I came to the Netherlands, but if I had any, Gouda would have fulfilled them. It's this cute place that has a downtown and a country side, and the kids bikes to school between two small lakes. There are sheep and geese and the air isn't polluted so much as it is in Den Haag. And there are these great bike paths that go through the woods if you just want to escape for a while. The houses aren't mashed together, and there are huge lakes that are good for skating in the winter. It's funny, because I'm probably one of the only students in the history of AFS who ever wanted to be placed out in the country, and one of the "lucky few" this year who got placed in a city. Oh well, both have their ups and downs. Anyways, it only takes me 25 minutes by train to get there, or something like 2 and a half hours biking, which I'm seriously considering doing if the weather is good.
Speaking of which, today I went on a one hour bike ride, just because. I didn't put much forethought into it, I just decided, "Let's go." It was nice. I got lost quite a lot (if you are either of my mothers - host or real - this doesn't surprise you), but I eventually found my way back. It was really fun, actually, I am going to do that more often. A couple of people got mad at me because I didn't signal that I was turning (since I made up my mind at the last minute) but anyways, I know to do that now. I got rained on, then snowed on, then the wind blew in my face, but I was home before it became dark outside. As I was biking on a busy street, I heard "Silent Night" playing. It made me feel sort of European.
I'm getting a cold. But tomorrow I'm going to check out a school that will maybe take me after the Christmas Break. Also, tomorrow I'm going back to Gouda (Yes!) for something called "The Evening of Little Lights" which is where the entire town turns off their electricity and instead uses candles to make it glow. I'm pretty excited for that, and to see my friends, too.
I also went to the zoo the other day. I would hate to be an animal in a zoo in the Netherlands. If it's bad weather, they have to go inside, which isn't nice, since that's boring, and it's almost always bad weather. I went with one of my friends from Argentina, and he said something funny while we were looking at the giraffes. He said, "You know, they kind of look like those girls with a lot of sass that chew gum all the time. Just look at how they walk and how they look at you while chewing as if to say, 'I'm so cool'." Oh Fred, you are too funny.
Anyways, I'm feeling generally content right now. Even though I'm sick. But did I mention that I'm going to the Czech Republic to go snowboarding during the school break? No, I don't think I did. But I am. So now you know. I've never been snowboarding, so that should be fun. My host mom is convinced that I'm going to have some kind of fling with one of the hot Czech ski instructors, but we'll see how that goes. Just kidding... she always thinks I'm going to have a fling with any boy I meet.
"You talk on chat with that guy a lot. I think he has a crush on you..."
"Ooooh, that friend you had over today was so cute!"
"He probably loves sitting next to an older, American girl."
Oh man oh man oh man. Tjonge jonge jonge. Carla. Why are you so cool?
Time to clean the tosti machine. You know what that is? It's like a toaster, but for sandwiches, like to make grilled ham and cheese. Really handy. Makes my life delicious.
Tot ziens,
Emily
No comments:
Post a Comment