Yesterday was my hell day for classes-6hrs in a row! Thankfully Intercultural Comm. was better than last time and there were some interesting discussions. Art History and Travel Writing were fine, nothing special really happened in either. Dinner last night was a chicken curry which was…eh? I’ve never had a good experience with curry, having it only from a vendor in Faneuil Hall or on an airplane before so it was slightly better than I was expecting. Still, the Dutch should stay away from all things curry. For dessert there was this mousse-pudding type deal that Stephen called “Italian chocolate chip mousse.” BLEH. It tasted like it had some kind of rum in it and the consistency was something that should never be repeated. Ever. After dinner Joe and I booked our plane tickets and hostel for BARCELONA!!! We’re going with 4 other people from February 18-21 and I am so excited! The hostel we found is like five minutes from the main street of the city and looks really nice (and is on the cheaper side too!). I’m so happy that I have at least one trip fully booked and planned out.
After the planning, Cailin, Joe, and I decided to try and teach ourselves Dutch by using a CD we found in the OSA office called “In-flight Dutch-learn in one hour!” It started off pretty well with us learning how to ask how are you and say my name is (Ik ben Michele). We learned some numbers in Dutch too but then got bored so we skipped to the “making friends” section. From there it all went downhill and resulted in us looking up Dutch swear words and insults. The Dutch have some curses that are very strange; one word literally translated to “gnome ripped from a woman’s uterus.” Yeah, the Dutch are a very odd people!
When we were satisfied with our Dutch knowledge we trekked to the Linden for our first American Night. It was crazy and so much fun! At the beginning of the night the owner got on the bar and told us to be careful because Dulcia would have his head if we did anything stupid. He passed out tiny bottles of Flugel which was more delicious than I thought it would be! Flugel, I now officially know, is red vodka flavored with black currant and mixed with a little energy drink. We all took a shot together and started to dance like crazy. A bunch of us have even found ourselves dancing on the bar… Mom, I know you would be proud! It was all in good fun with everyone taking turns to dance to their favorite songs on the bar, even the RA’s got in on the action! The castle kids all bonded that night and I got to talk to a bunch of people that I normally don’t. Lots of crazy pictures were taken and some of them are ok to put up here! It was just a very fun night because no one was worried about what other people thought of them because we were all there to just have some fun.
Afterwards we came back to the castle and just hung out in our room and talked about the night. We skyped some of the Emerson friends and got to see their lovely faces!
Today is just going to be a day of packing for Amsterdam tomorrow and getting some work done. I’m so excited for Amsterdam! I’m doing a tour of the Anne Frank House, Rjiksmuseum, and the Van Gough Museum. So much art!! We’re going to an Indonesian restaurant the first night we’re there and then dinner in the hostel the second night. There’s nothing really planned for us on Sunday so I think a few of us are just going to wander around the city and see as much as we can.
If anyone has any requests for souveniers/ideas for things to do in Amsterdam and Barcelona let me know!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Day Five-History is sexy
Second first day of classes! I started my day off with my first block of World History since from 1914. I knew this class would be great from the moment it started because the first thing we did was watch the entirety of “Springtime for Hitler” from The Producers. My professor is really funny and engaging; he was talking about history is the best subject: “History can be sexy.” I’m especially excited because the class covers both the first and second world war and I’ll be learning it from a German professor. It’s going to be a new, interesting perspective to have, to hear about the wars from the German point of view. Ralph (my professor) started off his intro to WW2 by reminding us that Hitler was Austrian not German. Lunch today was a delicious tomato soup and came at the perfect time because I was starving even after eating breakfast! It seems as if we’re always hungry here! We keep joking that our parents secretly sent us all to a fat camp because we’re all going to lose so much weight while we’re here between the lack of eating and the steep climb up two flights of stairs.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
Day Five-History is sexy
Second first day of classes! I started my day off with my first block of World History since from 1914. I knew this class would be great from the moment it started because the first thing we did was watch the entirety of “Springtime for Hitler” from The Producers. My professor is really funny and engaging; he was talking about history is the best subject: “History can be sexy.” I’m especially excited because the class covers both the first and second world war and I’ll be learning it from a German professor. It’s going to be a new, interesting perspective to have, to hear about the wars from the German point of view. Ralph (my professor) started off his intro to WW2 by reminding us that Hitler was Austrian not German. Lunch today was a delicious tomato soup and came at the perfect time because I was starving even after eating breakfast! It seems as if we’re always hungry here! We keep joking that our parents secretly sent us all to a fat camp because we’re all going to lose so much weight while we’re here between the lack of eating and the steep climb up two flights of stairs.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
Day Five-History is sexy
Second first day of classes! I started my day off with my first block of World History since from 1914. I knew this class would be great from the moment it started because the first thing we did was watch the entirety of “Springtime for Hitler” from The Producers. My professor is really funny and engaging; he was talking about history is the best subject: “History can be sexy.” I’m especially excited because the class covers both the first and second world war and I’ll be learning it from a German professor. It’s going to be a new, interesting perspective to have, to hear about the wars from the German point of view. Ralph (my professor) started off his intro to WW2 by reminding us that Hitler was Austrian not German. Lunch today was a delicious tomato soup and came at the perfect time because I was starving even after eating breakfast! It seems as if we’re always hungry here! We keep joking that our parents secretly sent us all to a fat camp because we’re all going to lose so much weight while we’re here between the lack of eating and the steep climb up two flights of stairs.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
After lunch was my second block of history which was just as good as the first. When class ended I headed back to my room to relax and look into planning more trips. Dinner tonight was salmon and mashed potatoes (surprisingly good). Dessert was a delicious caramel icecream/mousse log that was incredible! After dinner I had travel writing with my lesbian professor Denya who is going through a bitter divorce from her Dutch partner whom she moved from America to be with (this info is via her other class because we were too afraid to ask, apparently she was very emotional when asked the question “how did you end up in the netherlands?”). Very interesting to say the least! She seems really funny and passionate about what she does so I think everything will be ok. We read a story in class about the Capuchin monks and their bone chapels so I got to talk to her about that. After class was a meeting for the Amsterdam excursion this weekend which was led by Doyna and Robbert. We found out what group activities will be offered and what museums we can go to. I’m so excited!!
Cailin, Joe, and I are planning a trip to Krakow, Poland for the last weekend we can travel at the castle because we found ridiculously cheap tickets. A lot of other weekends are up in the air (I’m still trying to find my way to Morocco!).
Tomorrow is our first American night at the Linden and everyone is really excited. We get a free welcome shot of Floogle (a vodka-type liquor that tastes like lemonade) from Jan, the bartender, and he gives us an official welcome to Well. We’re invited to play any music we want from someone’s i-pod and at the end of the semester we can vote on who had the best mix of music.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Day Four- The Dutch love ethnic food
[View of the snow from our window!]
First day of classes! After an early breakfast that consisted of a ham sandwich and bread with sprinkles I headed to my first official class at the castle: Art History. Rob Dukers was our professor today and explained to us that he and Dulcia alternate teaching different topics. I absolutely love the class!! Rob is very funny and seems like he will be a very interesting person to learn from. He is an art historian and the curator for a treasury museum for a church in Maastricht. I think he is going to take us on an excursion there which would be such a cool opportunity. Rob also told us how he is a guest curator for different exhibits and will actually be giving one in his specialty (medieval manuscripts) in New York while we’re on our travel break. This looks like it is going to be a much better art history experience than my first one! Right now we’re learning about Greek civilization and its impact on European art and architecture. It’s especially cool because two summers ago I was able to see a lot of the Greek temples and statues that Rob kept referencing in person.
For lunch we had Dutch French toast. I wonder if they actually refer to it as French toast…they never really told us what it was called. It seems like the trend here at the castle is to have typical American breakfast foods such eggs and French toast for lunch. After lunch was Intercultral Communication with Patrick Cattrysse. He is a professor from Belgium and speaks Flemish. This class seems like it might be a struggle to stay awake in because it seems a lot drier than my art history course. I had to run to the store with Louisa so we took a lovely stroll through snow covered Well. It snowed about a half an inch and everything looks so unbelievably gorgeous! I came back and did my art history reading and napped for about fifteen minutes before dinner.
Aunt Fran, you’ll love this-dinner tonight was Dutch Tacos. Yes, that’s right, Dutch tacos. To my surprise they were actually good! I’m not sure what kind of meat was in them but I’ve adopted a “don’t ask, just eat it” policy here. We had some delicious strawberry icecream in “baby cones” (a Cardone favorite) for dessert.
Something I have noticed is how the staff here pronounces my last name. Dulcia even made a point during our very first meeting with her to comment on how Mertens is a Dutch name. Everyone here pronounces it differently than in America. It’s pronounced “Mehrt-ens.” Renee told me that if I go anywhere and people see my last name, they will assume that I am Dutch. When I told him the name actually comes from Luxembourg he laughed and said close enough!
I love all of the comments, keep them coming!
Day Three-When I grow up I want to be Dulcia
[Cailin, Me, and Louisa with the Prince of Carnival at the Linden. The picture doesn't do his glorious feather hat justice!]
[Sophie's Lounge in the Main Castle]
[Dutch Beer at the Linden]
[The infamous Castle security pole]After the meeting we had a break where everyone started to stress over planning trips. We then went to a talk with the OSA staff about drug and alcohol prevention. It was basically a condensed health class about the dangers of both, but with the Dutch twist that everything should be done in moderation. The head of the drug task force of Venlo (a nearby town) also came in and spoke to us. He explained the drug laws in the Netherlands and cleared up questions people had. We then went to dinner where we had Dutch burgers and fries (very interesting experience). Dulcia ate with us and then passed out glasses of wine to everyone. She made a toast to us, wishing us safe travels, good studies, and a wonderful semester. After dinner we had a fire drill that consisted of us all gathering in the barn. A meeting with our RA followed which was fun.
The rest of the night was spent trying to plan a weekend in Belgium with other castle-dwellers for the weekend after our Amsterdam excursion.
Oh! It also snowed today! The castle looked absolutely beautiful in the flurries that happened this afternoon. Me, Louisa, and two other girls walked around and admired the grounds. It was so picturesque that I couldn’t believe I was actually here.
Classes start tomorrow and I’m actually looking forward to it. My art history class is first which I’ve been dying to take and it’s taught by my new favorite person-Dulcia.
Everyone here is so nice and we’ve all been getting along really well. Uncle Joe, I know you’ll ask so.. there’s only been one trainwreck so far, a girl who had a little too much fun at the Linden and ended up with a Dutch boy..
I bought a Skype phone plan today so I was able to talk to my mom for a while over the phone tonight which was a much, much needed thing today! I found out that the Cardones are coming with my family for Easter and I can’t wait! It is going to be such a fun trip.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day Two- Dutch Flamenco
This morning I was woken up by the spastic ringing of church bells from the village. It sounded as if someone was angry and decided to take it out on the bells! We got dressed and went to breakfast. After breakfast were a few sessions on castle grounds rules, computer lab, and how to use the laundry machines. We had lunch then walked into town to get toiletries and notebooks from the “everything under one roof” store. The name is very literal-they had everything from Dutch hallmark cards to hairbrushes, hardware supplies, coloring books, and candles. We made a stop at Spar, the supermarket, for some snacks and stroopwaffles. After going to a few meetings we had dinner. I had my first taste of red sauce in the Netherlands and to my surprise it was actually really good! There was also a delicious Belgian chocolate-icecream cake thing that was incredible.
One of the things that surprises me here is how environmentally conscious people are. Huber and other staff members keep reminding us to unplug or laptops and other things when we’re not using them. They also tell us to make sure to turn off all of our lights when we leave (mostly because they cause a fire hazard. As Huber says-“This castle is old and made mainly of wood. Shit burns.”). They also are conscious of how much water we use.
Some upcoming travel plans include Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Scotland, and our spring break adventure to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin.
Tonight there was a performance by a Spanish guitarist and flamenco dancer/singer in Sophie’s. The music was so beautiful! Everyone really enjoyed the Sephardic, Gypsy, and Spanish songs that they played. After a few, the couple asked if anyone was a musician that could join them on guitar. Our friend Jared volunteered and grabbed the castle guitar. He and the guitarist played awesome blues music while another girl and the flamenco dancer improvised blues lyrics. Then they started playing Hotel California and everyone sang along. Afterwards a few people stuck around and messed around playing blues and other songs on the piano and guitar. Before the concert I was able to skype with my parents and sister for a few minutes which was great. I also got to skype with Lane tonight which was much needed! I’ve found that the best internet service is on top of my bed so if anyone skypes me they’ll be in for a bird’s eye view of the room!
Tomorrow brings a later start to the day which means a little extra sleep!
One of the things that surprises me here is how environmentally conscious people are. Huber and other staff members keep reminding us to unplug or laptops and other things when we’re not using them. They also tell us to make sure to turn off all of our lights when we leave (mostly because they cause a fire hazard. As Huber says-“This castle is old and made mainly of wood. Shit burns.”). They also are conscious of how much water we use.
Some upcoming travel plans include Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Scotland, and our spring break adventure to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin.
Tonight there was a performance by a Spanish guitarist and flamenco dancer/singer in Sophie’s. The music was so beautiful! Everyone really enjoyed the Sephardic, Gypsy, and Spanish songs that they played. After a few, the couple asked if anyone was a musician that could join them on guitar. Our friend Jared volunteered and grabbed the castle guitar. He and the guitarist played awesome blues music while another girl and the flamenco dancer improvised blues lyrics. Then they started playing Hotel California and everyone sang along. Afterwards a few people stuck around and messed around playing blues and other songs on the piano and guitar. Before the concert I was able to skype with my parents and sister for a few minutes which was great. I also got to skype with Lane tonight which was much needed! I’ve found that the best internet service is on top of my bed so if anyone skypes me they’ll be in for a bird’s eye view of the room!
Tomorrow brings a later start to the day which means a little extra sleep!
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