Hello!!! I have been here over a month now, and I'm a bit late on my promised emails... but I still wanted to send out a hello and say that I'm alive and well. :)
I am having a wonderful time. There has been a lot to adjust to, but that is the point of studying abroad, right? This school is incredible because there are so many international students. A large percentage of the students are Dutch, but for me that is still a different culture to learn about, so I enjoy it, and I have met people from all over Europe and Asia. I feel like I started late with the whole traveling thing here...many people claim themselves to be "citizens of the world" because they have been to so many places and lived in so many places all ready in their lives. It definitely leads to some amazing conversations, and I love that my perspective is challenged a lot. The Universities of California have a large exchange with most schools in Holland as well, so there are many American students here (probably about 20), which is a bit comforting to have people from the US around, but I am unique being from NH, so I can be apart of that crowd, but also separate myself and easily meet more international students. I really appreciate that people here are very aware of the world and it has inspired me to become more aware...many people here know more about American politics and government than I do...which is a bit embarrassing. People told me this would be so, and they were right... Haha.
My classes are fantastic, I am really lucky that I really love all 4 of them. I actually like doing the reading for all of them...and I've kept up more than I did at home sometimes! I have world religions, contemporary solidarity (sociology class looking at social order, ties and exclusion) psychology of the courtroom and cognitive neuroscience. The last two count towards my major, which is nice, and the best part is that all classes are 25 students or less, so there is very stimulation conversation and lots of opportunity for exchange of ideas. It is a lot of work though, which is a challenge trying to fit all of that in with my hopes for traveling all over Holland and the surrounding countries...
I have been to several major cities in the Netherlands, and last weekend I went to Brugge, and Antwerp Belgium. We also biked to the North Sea, which was wonderful. I loooved Brugge, and I loved traveling and staying in hostels in general... So, this weekend I am going to Paris! 2 friends and I just booked the tickets tonight, so we are strategically planning what we can do in 2 days. Weekends are short, so overnight buses are key (and muuuch cheaper than trains).
Well that's my basic update, wanted to let you all know that I think about you a lot and hope your year started out great, even though by now it is well underway. I still receive emails from Heather for Honors, and I received info about training for the Admissions Reps, so that made me excited. :) Good luck with everything, and have a great week!!
Kristen