Of course though THIS WEEK has been AMAZING. The weather is so wonderful, I really hope it stays this way, only problem is now I'm suffering from spring fever! However, I have now made a list of every single assignment I have left to do up until the end of the semester and put them in order of which I need to complete first, so I'm going to try very hard to make it through that list as quickly as possible to enjoy being in Europe. It's supposed to be about 68 degrees this weekend in Budapest and I can't wait for it! I even went shopping today to see if I could find a pair of sandals to wear, but I didn't find any worth buying. I did get a fabulous orange tank top for Queens Day at the end of April though.
I can't believe how fast March went by, it kind of makes me excited because I know the next two months will go by so fast. It also makes me kind of sad though because as much as I miss home, I am having so much fun and really don't want to go back to the real world. Getting a summer job and putting together plans for after graduation next year are the last things I want to think about right now. If it wasn't for the wedding in June I would definitely find a way to stay abroad for the summer.
As I mentioned before my friend Emily came to visit me for her spring break, it was so much fun to have her here! Of course though I really really wanted to get on that plane with her back to California when she left. I was pretty home sick right after, but I got over it once the sun decided to come out. In class when I was unbearably bored I made a list of every where I want to eat when I get home, it was a pretty long list. Right now the top 5 are 1. In-n-out (I'll have to go on the way back from the airport...I'm completely serious) 2. CPK 3. Chipotle 4. Cheese Shop 5. Yogurt Land I really shouldn't let myself do that though, it's definitely not helpful. Not that the food here is bad though, because its fantastic. Juliana's parents were here last week and they took us out to the nicest Indonesian restraunt. The food was so good (plus I'm writing a huge paper on Indonesian food in the Netherlands for two of my classes, making it also educational).
Tomorrow night we are going to a "football" game between Holland and Macedonia. Who ever wins gets to go to the World Cup, so I am so excited to experience my first European football match and to wear my Holland jersey!
I have a ton of pictures from what feels like forever ago, so I'll do my best to explain them all:
Here are some pictures of the things Emily and I did while she was here:
This is the canal I live on
This is at Noord Markt where they have a market set up every Monday and Saturday morning, I bought some really great scarves for very cheap! Next to the market is a cafe that makes the best apple pie in the world (no exaggeration, it's soooo good)! Unfortunately for Emily I didn't know she doesn't like apples, so she politely came with us with out saying anything.
Emily and I went to the Heineken Experience while she was here. Basically they turned their old brewery into a huge marketing attraction for Heineken. It was very commercialized but still lots of fun.
This huge copper vats don't have anything in them, but have a film playing inside if you stick your head in
This handle I'm turning doesn't do anything, like most of the stuff in the room
Grinding hops?
Bottles getting filled
We went to a little village type place called Zaans Schanes. It was such a beautiful day and culturally informative of dutch traditions!
We went to a little village type place called Zaans Schanes. It was such a beautiful day and culturally informative of dutch traditions!
Inside the windmill
On top
This room was advertised as a "Cheese Farm"...a very loose use of the word farm if you ask me. However, they did have delicious samples in the cheese store
I'm guessing these are the "farm" animals
Horse Clogs
Normally they would have someone making clogs right here, but there was no one to do a demonstration for
Giant Wooden Clog
St. Patrick's Day! We got these T-shirts for free at the irish pub we went to, they read "Kiss Me, I'm Irish"...no one kissed me, but I can't say the same for my friends
Later that week we went to see Girl Talk, he's an American DJ who is so so good! Definitely one of the best shows I've ever been to
I thought this blue brain was really weird
This statue is supposed to be a famous sight to see in Brussels, but I'm not really sure why. I tried to look it up, but didn't understand the explanation
This is my attempt of taking an artistic photograph of the architecture, I guess Ashley has all of the photography talent in the family
Dam Square at Night
There was a huge soccer...sorry football match this weekend against Scottland so of course Amsterdam was filled with the Scottish and I had some pretty funny encounters with a few
He caught me taking his picture so he came over and put his hat on me
Saturday night we ventured to this "party" boat we had heard about that came from Germany. Basically it was a lot of effort to get to a club on a boat, that really didn't need to be on a boat at all. But hey it was an adventure. We accidently got on the wrong ferry to get to the boat and ended up stranded in northern Amsterdam and had to wander around until we finally found our way.
The public library is one of my favorite places in the entire city. First of all its incredibly nice with lots of good places to get work done. Second, it has the most amazing cafe on the top floor, I'm obsessed with their margherita pizza. Best of all, it has the best view! This picture was taken from the top floor, unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me the day before when I was there while the sun was setting, it was gorgeous. I will have to make sure to capture that before I come home.
