Mother Nature Hates Me.

Sooo, definitely haven't updated this in a while. Decided to after my grandmother has been asking me about it at every chance she gets. Kidding, Grandma..but really. That's okay I realize that I've been one giant fail about updating this. Lots has happened between now and then. It's December TOMORROW. INSANE. I don't know where the time has gone.

My sister and mum are coming this year for Christmas. They're meeting me in Paris because we're spending Christmas with my aunt, which should be really fun. Our Australian friends are also coming and my dad is going to try and make it from Japan so that should be a good time. After Christmas (on the 26th) I have my friend Meg coming from home. I'm really excited to see her. It should be good to see someone from home, and she's never been to Europe before. We're going to tour around Paris until the 29th, then she's coming back to Amsterdam with me until the 3rd. It's crazy, I remember her and my parents booking their tickets well over two months ago, and now it's 20 days or something crazy like that.

I've been meeting some really cool people here. Check out --> Amsterdam Acoustics. My friend and I met the guys who are behind that project last Friday night. They were really cool and invited us to come to a session next week when they're shooting Kings Of Convenience, and photograph for them. So, we'll see where that goes. Should be a cool experience.

It's gotten wickedly cold here. Every time I ride my bike I think that one of my limbs is going to fall off. The wind is horrible too. It stops my bike sometimes. Usually I'm on the way to swimming too, so by the time I get there I've gotten a 30 minute spin class in. DEATH. And, you think if the wind was ahead of you on the way there, it would be working with you on the way back..right? NO. Definitely not in this country. Mother nature hates me apparently, and loves the idea of making it rain ALL THE TIME. I'm really ready to get one of those bike poncho's. I swore to myself that I would NEVER get one, but they are looking pretty good right now.

I've discovered that Dutch people are very, very strange. I can't describe it really. It's just something that you have to experience. I saw a male teenage boy wearing ugg boots the other day. Yeah. That's exactly what I mean.

I'm going to put up some random pictures that I've taken. Most are crazy lighting pictures that I've taken in clubs...that's not all I do...I swear

This is my friend Faith. We went to a VICE Magazine party a while ago, and it was awesome!

This picture is insane because I have a mode on my camera that is really slow, so when people move it catches all their movements...that's why there is like 4 shadows of each person.

There was a GIANT random carnival in the middle of Dam Square. Weirddd.

Cool picture of the sunset I took the other night.

Maastricht.

I went to Maastricht (Mah-streekt) this past Saturday and it was such a beautiful city. It's the first city that was built in Holland, so there was tons of history. People say it's like a "Little Paris" and it definitely is. It was only 26 euro round trip, and we got there around 10am and left around 9:30pm. We rented bikes around 4pm, but wished we would have rented them earlier in the day. It really is the best way to get around. It's faster than walking and we just turned down random streets and found some really cool things. By about 8pm we were all starving, and we found this delicious place to eat. We had this gigantic feast, all for less than 20 euro a person. I had the best salad that I've had in my entire life. One of my friends got a smoked salmon, almost cream cheese like sauce w/pasta. We were all soooo full afterwards and we decided that we're definitely going to give up going out once or twice a month and eat somewhere that is really nice.

There were so many churches in Maastricht, and we went in an especially beautiful one that was GIANT. You weren't supposed to take pictures, but I did. I didn't really realize it until we left and I saw the sign. It was also kind of creepy because the church was just so huge and silent. We sat down for a while and just looked at all the stained glass, and detail in the artwork.

All in all, Maastricht was a blast and we saw some really weird/cool things. On the way back there was a boy on the train that had the worst hair I've ever seen. Most Dutch people always use too much hair gel, but this was extreme. I got a picture of it. Don't worry.

I have this whole week off, and I'm really excited because on Friday my friend and I are going to a VICE Magazine party. We got FREE tickets. We go to anything that is free. VICE Magazine is known for being quirky/weird so I have to find something to wear. I tried to find something cool today but didn't really find much. I did just wander around, and managed to get lost, but then had the best piece of Banana Bread that I've had in my entire life. I chose to turn right down a small alley way, and ended up right back where I needed to be to catch the trem. It was fantastic. I think that I'm going to do the same thing tomorrow. I don't really have anything specific to do, I just go and spend money that I probably don't need to spend.

These past few days I have been dying, and now I feel better, but sound like I'm dying. I don't have a voice really anymore. Our neighbor from home was here for work again, and my mother sent a package full of drugs and hand sanitizer. I don't think that I've been that happy in a while. It was amazing.

LOOK AT HIS HAIR. OH MY GOD.

Feast.

These were French boy scouts. This was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

These are the first city walls.

This grave stone was so old, you couldn't even read the date.

A Small Bed Never Felt So Great at 9AM.

So, the other day my friend and I, Melanie found these houses near Leidseplein area that represent the architecture of seven different countries, but there was only actually 6(??). It was really cool, but honestly, looked kind of out of place and weird because they were "new" buildings, on a street with old buildings. I guess it's not something you see every day that's why it's cool. Before seeing the houses we had met up with another au pair, Tanya (who's from Australia, and is a blast) and went to the Rijksmuseum. I'm not a huge museum/art person but I found it interesting. You cannot have phones or cameras out, security will literally tackle you. It's strange. I guess because the "Nightwatch" painting was sliced a long time ago, and ever since then they've been anal about security, because you never know who has a knife in their phone OR camera.

I'm missing lots of small things right now. I'm having my mother send me a special type of chapstick that you cant buy here, my curling iron, dental floss, dental threaders, GUM, hand sanitizer, and crest white strips. So sad, I know.

I'm going to Maastrict this Saturday. It looks to be a beautiful city, so I'm sure that there will be some pictures to follow. We're departing at 7am on Saturday, and then catching the last train at midnight. This past weekend I went out, and didn't get home until 9am. Due to wrong information on the official GVB website. My friend and I took at nap at 5:00am in Central Station because it was freezing, then thought the trems (trams) came at 6:00am. Nope, mine definitely came at 7:34am. I was dying, basically. It was freezing. While we were waiting we saw the weirdest people, but then there are totally normal people like us waiting to catch their trem home because they've stayed out all night too. Usually I go home earlier than 6am, but we thought we'd stay out because there were a couple special events going on at a club. My Mother is probably freaking out right now. But don't worry Mum, it's safe. I promise.

England

Nederland

Italy

Russia

Spain

Germany

Well, duh.

Ik ben Laura. Ik komt uit Canada. Ik woon nu in Nederlands.

The window washers came again. Yep, the other day I was doing some e-mail, and who shows up at the window? The same man with missing teeth, chains, and baggy jeans. Charming. I'm sure that I didn't look so awesome either as I just rolled out of bed. But at least I have teeth. This time I was semi-ready because I heard them in the front so I put down the blinds, but you could still see through. Not much has happened since I last updated. Which was 948393 days ago. Sorry.

I've just been doing random stuff, and I have officially started Dutch classes. They are a mess. I entered into a class that had already been in session, so I missed two classes. I walked in and told the teacher my name and started to tell him that I forgot my sheet in the mail that confirms that I'm in his class. He cut me off halfway and said "NO ENGLISH! NO ENGLISH!" Oh wait, okay, let me tell you IN DUTCH how I forgot my confirmation slip at home. Sure. Dutch is the weirdest language you'll ever some across. Half of the words sound like you're trying to cough, and I'm pretty sure if you went up to someone that didn't know Dutch they would pat you on the back thinking you were choking on something. I'm not even exaggerating. There is the "g" sound which sounds mostly like you have Swine Flu and you're trying to clear your throat. G is a common letter in dutch, therefore, in at least every sentence you sound like you're dying. It's just odd. the letter "W" is actually a "V". When I look at a word that starts with a "W" it shouldn't sound like a "V." There are too many cases where two letters make the sound of another letter that doesn't really seem logical. Oh, Dutch people. That seems to be a common saying.

I got a Snuggie in the mail from my friend Abi. It's kind of growing on me. I told her I would barf if I got one because they are so ridiculous, but I've found that it's warm and you can literally do anything with a Snuggie. It's a blanket with sleeves! It's also Leopard print which makes it totally fashionable. I might even wear it biking. Or not. It's not that cute. But it does make a nice blanket. It's already gotten so cold here and it's only October. The weather is rain, rain, and more rain. I love the rain, and I'm not a huge fan of Summer, but I have now found that I don't like riding my bike into the rain and wind so, never thought I'd say this but, I LOVE SUMMER. And, it gives me a little bit of color, instead of being the color of Casper. Scary.

I have a cold now, but I definitely brought this one on. Last weekend my friends and I were in Leidseplein having some drinks and huge trailer pulled up and the back opened and Techno music started blaring. So, naturally, we walked over. It soon turned into a rave. It started pouring. I was soaked within 5 minutes. I mean SOAKED, no umbrella could save me. Everyone was raving in the rain, so we stayed for about 30 minutes or so, then I had a swim meet the next day so I went home. I didn't dry out and it was cold as ever on the bike ride home. So, I woke up not feeling so well the next morning.

I participated in my first dutch swim meet this last weekend too! It was interesting. It was only about 3 hours long, which is short to me. At home they would be ALL DAY which I think is too long. It was just the right amount of time. I only swam 100m in a relay. I did enjoy talking some kids on my team inbetween events. Everyone is very nice. A girl in my lane that often translates for me, I found out works at Jamie Olivers restaurant "Fifteen" in Amsterdam, so I'm definitely going because the menu looks DELISH.

Here are some pictures from Museiumplein/Rave in the rain/Good cheap pizza.

Enjoy.

Good cheap pizza. 5€.

We are soaked. I'm pictured in the red coat, and that is Melanie (whom is also Canadian) in the back. As you can see, we are drenched.

PARIS!

So, I just came back from Paris. I went from this last Thursday through this Sunday night. It was really amazing, and I'm in love with that city. The weather was beautiful, and this time I went I actually saw the Tour Eiffel. Both in the day and night. I went up at night, and the view was spectacular. There was also an Australian girl, Lauren staying at my aunts house for a mini vacation and a chance to "improve" her french. So, it was nice to have someone to go out and do stuff with. I did lots of other fun things, including, attending a Techno Parade downtown Paris. I went with my cousin, one of his friends, and Lauren. It was basically a bunch of drug addicts and 15 year olds that drink too much following busses throughout the streets of Paris that play too loud of music. It was definitely some "French Culture". There were passed out drunk people just laying in the streets, and the ambulance just did laps to pick them up and take the to the "a coma tent". I had some weird encounters, and have learned there are some realllllly odd people on the metro/RER. Oh, and I got a huge "EFF YOU" on the Champs-Élysées, because I refused to talk to some man about his scam. Anyways, Enjoy the pictures below, I took lots...but these aren't all of them. The city is just sooo beautiful!

ps. To view the pictures, click on the actual "window" the pictures are in. It will take you to my picsa web page where you can view them as a slideshow.

Paris

I Love Waking Up To The Smell of Manure. Soo Awesome.

I'm leaving for Paris on the 17th of this month, to visit my aunt. It was kind of short notice, as I had time off and my aunt offered to buy me a ticket. So, essentially it being 'free' for me to go, kind of made the decision for me. I'm really excited, I haven't seen her or my cousins for a while now, and now that I'm over here in Holland I'll probably see them often, which is nice. It's really awesome that she booked me a ticket on her her points, because on short notice plane and train tickets were fairly expensive. I'm also going to meet an Australian girl that is staying with them while I'm there. She's an exchange student for a couple weeks there, so I think that it will be fun. I've only been to Paris once, and I didn't really do any of the "touristy" stuff, because unfortunately my cousin was sick in the hospital. But I knew that I would have the chance to go back someday, so it wasn't really an issue. I'll be seeing Tour Eiffel for the first time, and all the other obligatory places. Yayyyy. So excited. Oh, and I'll also apparently have a cab waiting for me, with a sign with my face and name on it. My life sucks, right?

I started swimming last night. It was really fun, I'm really glad that I'm joining. Everyone was very nice, and a few of the girls in my lanes were awesome about telling me what the sets were. It's VERY relaxed here. Practice is only an hour long, and the sets aren't even that hard. It's a good workout though because there really isn't much rest. I am apparently being signed up to swim in my first meet on October 4th, so we'll see how that goes. The meets are weird here. I was explained that they are only about 2 and a 1/2 hours long. And, only two events. Everyone swims the same one. This one I believe is a relay, and 100 meter breaststroke..so we'll see. There is just one weird part. Everyone showers and changes together (like, coed I mean)...? The change rooms look like jail cells. Seriously. You walk in and there are pink & blue lockers "separating" the girls and boys. And you have to lock down a bench to secure the "door" that is see-through. It's very odd. Once you lock it, there is another room surrounded by walls so when you're actually changing it's separated into girls and boys. But, the showers are all unisex, and it's like one big group shower and changing room. I guess I'll get used to it. But uhhh, okay.

Apparently the first Monday of every month at 12:00 pm a "town alarm" goes off. This was kind of like the window washers..how I found out they come AFTER the dude with chains was standing at my window with a ladder. I heard this "alarm", really it sounded like carnival ride starting up. It was weird. I had noooo idea what this was, so I went outside. Only, no one else was outside. I was starting to imagine if I was the only one hearing this. People we're still going about their business like nothing was happening. Umm, HELLO is there a giant carnival in town that I didn't know was coming? It finally stopped. When Marja got home I asked her about it, and it's basically the same thing as the tsunami warnings in Hawaii. Except here it's obviously not for tsunami's. I really have no idea what it is for. What could you possibly need a giant alarm for? This town is surrounded by farms. Which REALLY stinks in the morning. I love waking up to the smell of manure. It's actually really awesome rolling out of bed, and feeling like you want to vomit. It's very strong. Something like a cow is actually in your house, or came by to drop off a goodie for you. I've kind of gotten used to it by now, but it's bad when it's windy.

I have also grown a giant love/HATE relationship with the wind. For many reasons.

I love the wind because:

a.) When you're biking with the wind, you don't have to pedal much.

I hate the wind because:

a.) When you're biking against the wind, it's pure hell.

b.) It makes the 'manure smell' come in wafts. Unpleasant.

c.) When you're riding your bike and maintenance is being done, aka cutting grass, it blows into your eyes. Sunglasses don't help. Same goes with street cleaners for the bike paths (?) Yeah, I also questioned that. You have no choice but to pass them, and you get a giant gust of exhaust/dirt/stench/whatever was on the ground in your face.

d.) It can be cold.

I think that it's safe to say that I HATE THE WIND.

September Sunset

Today the weather was sheets of rain. I loved it. I love when it's dark and rainy outside. Yes, I know most people enjoy the sun, I do too, but I love when it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. and it's cold. I've been going for bike rides every night after dinner, it's awesome. It's actually really relaxing by the river with some good music. Some nights, when the sun has been out (like tonight) I bring my camera and take some pictures. The ones that you see above are on the way into town. The tall pointy building is one of the churches. It's so cool, it's really old and medieval looking. Surprisingly, there are about 3 churches in this little town. The other pictures you see are of a little restaurant in town. I think there is only one decent one. There are tons of little cafés, but this one is an actual sit down restaurant. It smells good, maybe I'll have to try it sometime. I usually get some pretty good pictures when the sun is setting, except when it's been cloudy then don't turn out very well. I made a flickr account. For those of you who don't know what that is it's a photography site that you can post on. There are some superb pictures on there. I can spend hours just looking at random photos. People are so talented. My link is here. The pictures are able to viewed larger, and I have more on there that I don't post on my blog.

I was informed yesterday by Marja (my host mum) that I need to go to the 'City Hall' and register with 'them'. I questioned her in this and asked "What do I need to register for?" She said that they basically just have to keep tabs on you. Why the hell someone would need that information, I don't know, and for 'them' to know where I am at all times is pretty creepy. I really don't understand why they need to know all my information. Talk about invasion. I go on Monday, so I'm sure it will be interesting. If I decide to move cities within Holland too, I have to take all my information to 'them' and register again. I've never heard of this. My mum will probably read this and know all about it, since she came from a farm town in The Praries with a total of probably 100 people. I just think it's extremely weird. A lot of things are extremely weird here. On my bike ride down the river, every night, I see a rabbit on the side of the road in a cage...across from someone's house. Why wouldn't you just keep your pet in your house? Or on your lawn? Not ACROSS the road in a cage. Beats me. It's really cute, I just want to let it out because I feel bad for it. Maybe I'll bring it some carrots next time or something. The people here are weird too. I was taking pictures the other night at some horse stables because they had really cool gates with awesome detail and I looked up and a man was standing there just STARING at me blankly. I kinda just put up my camera to show him I wasn't trying to break his fence or something because I was hidden behind a bunch of flowers. He stared me down, and I eventually just left on my bike. I think he thought I was doing something to his fences because it definitely wasn't a friendly look.

Rain, Rain, Rain.

There has been INTENSE thunderstorms this week with hail and tons of lightening. It's actually really awesome when you're inside. I start swimming next week, and have been in contact with the coach via e-mail and she actually graduated from WSU. Small world. I'm looking forward to meeting her, she seems really nice and I'm sure there will be people on the team the same age as I am. Apparently, as she stressed to me, the teams here are really really relaxed. Not sure what they mean by "relaxed" because The Netherlands spits out some of the best swimmers in the world. So, we'll see. Practice is only an hour long..so I may come back without an arm or something. Who knows.

Are You 10?

It's so scary here when you kids (10-14) driving scooters or mopeds. It just looks weird when you pass someone, and they are literally 10 driving a moped. There are also these weird ghetto bikes people have made them into a moped by attaching a motor. It's really strange. I'm trying to plan my first big trip since I've been here. Right now the options are Croatia, Budapest, Istanbul, or Switzerland. I'm not sure. Whatever is cheapest is what I'll take. I really would like to go to Croatia, but I think in October would be iffy, and if I was paying I'd like to go when the weather is nice. One of my good friends is planning to come visit in the spring, so maybe we'll go then when the weather is decent. If you have any suggestions, or input please e-mail me because I'm having a hard time narrowing it down!

Stroopvafels

These are Stroopvafels (strooop-wafels). They are extremely addicting, especially when they are warm & fresh. They are thin "wafels" with a carmel like syrup inside. I'm sure they are really healthy for you. It doesn't help much that there is a bakery in my town that makes them fresh every morning. I think that by riding my bike 7 minutes each way it will make up for a couple bites of them. I always get the mini ones that come in small packages, but they are so good I end up eating almost all of them. I've only done this twice, so it's not THAT bad. I really enjoy going to the bakery to get the fresh bread. It's so much better here. Ahhh I could live here forever, off bread & cheese. Swimming for me starts next week, THANK GOD.

Today Was A Weird Day.

Okay, It's official, I definitely feel very foreign here. A simple trip to the grocery store, and by the end the whole store is staring at me. The cashier speaking very loudly in Dutch after I told her "I only speak English, sorry" Didn't really help the situation much. I'm making dinner for tonight, so I just needed to go grab some stuff from the store. Simple, right? NO. I needed chicken broth, and it only comes with chunks of chicken floating in the bottom. Gross. So, I had to get the concentrated cubes that you stick into water. I decided to go with what I know. I almost grabbed pork, instead of chicken. Luckily I saw a lady I knew at the grocery store so she could help me, or we would have been having a pork dish tonight. I found everything else okay, but when I went to go check out the cashier said something in Dutch, and put out a sign. I said "Are you still open?" Because this was AFTER I put my stuff down. She just rolled her eyes. I had to pay, and had to use my card. I scanned it, and it started beeping at me. She said something again very loudly in Dutch, and this is when her that "I only speak English, sorry." She then proceeded to talk to me in Dutch very loudly. I have no idea what she said, because by the time she was done the whole store was apparently checking out at that time, and staring at me. I wanted to scream. I'M SORRY THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR LANGUAGE. Anyways, I got all the stuff I need so I can make dinner. After a 30 minute search around the store for 5 items, and then having the whole store stare at me after god knows what that woman said. I didn't do much today, just biked around. It was rainy today so I used that time to FINALLY unpack, and put away my suitcases. Haahaha. SO late. And, good news! I'll be joining a swim team next week! I'm excited because I kind of miss swimming, and it will be a good way to meet people. It's not that hardcore either, only about 3 times a week which is perfect.

This morning I found out that we have window cleaners that come. I was eating my peanut butter on bread, and I turned around because I saw a shadow. Only to look out the window and see a man with tattoos, chains, MISSING TEETH, and piercings who slightly resembles a naked mole rat. (I provided a link, click it.) Actually, he considerably resembled a naked mole rat. This can be alarming at 9:00 am, freshly woken, and in PJ's. What even worried me further was that he was staring blankly into the kitchen window, holding a ladder. I was concerned for my safety. I quickly put down my food and dashed over to the couch to hide. I thought I was safe. About 20 minutes later I hear a tap on the big window RIGHT BY the couch. I look up, and hey! It's my friend with tattoo's, chains, and piercings. I thought Really? Is this happening RIGHT NOW? at 9:30 AM. I figured out that he was a window cleaner. And then suddenly, he vanished. He didn't go through the back gate, he was just gone. The windows are clean though. This was definitely scary, because I've never had an experience of someone with missing teeth staring into my window with a ladder at 9:00 am.

Wow. So, I Almost Died. And, The Food Is Good Here.

I biked to Amstelveen again today, which is about 20 minutes outside of my town. It's a nice, calm ride along the river. My final destination was the V&D. It's the most amazing place ever. It has a giant food court, a FLOOR of jewelry & bags, very nice clothes, and a Sephora is connected to it. What more could you want? There are so many bike paths, and bike stop lights here. And, for every stop there are two lights, one for if you're going straight, or if you're turning. Makes sense. I missed the stop light where I was supposed to turn, because it looks like a game of connect the dots on the ground, only with cars and motorcycles (or "donor cycles" as my Dad would say) whipping past you faster than you can pedal. So, I decided I would turn at the next stop light, only to get closer and realize you can't turn at that one. Great. This is apparently when satan took over my mind. So I made the quick decision that I would turn at a crosswalk, where there is no right of way, or stop light. Helllllo? Yes, stupid in the first place. But then I decided that I was a biker, so I OBVIOUSLY have the right of way. WRONG. Cars move fast here. I did look before I crossed - no cars but, when I was crossing a car was coming faster than ever and slammed on it's breaks so close to me, and the driver honked his horn so loud. I think it's safe to say, pardon my french, that I almost shit my pants. Maybe I did. I don't do well in panic situations. Ahhhh. It was so scary. Once I finally got to the V&D I took a huge sigh of relief. Then, on the way home I didn't turn where I was supposed to and ended up biking 10 more minutes than I had to. I had to back track and use my great sense of direction to get my back to where I was supposed to be. For those of you who don't know. I SUCK AT DIRECTIONS. Oh well I got back home, and stopped at the super market to get some fresh fruit & veggies. The food here is so good, and there are totally different things than at home - it's so much better.

Typical lunch. Mmmm, so good. The bread & cheese is so good here!

REAL Gouda. SO good.

These are amazing. They are basically extremely light & thin graham crackers. They are specifically good in the morning with peanut butter on them. And, people put sprinkles on their toast here. It's weird, but good.

You THINK these are "American Marshmallows." However, they are not. They have a taste of marshmallows as we know - and cake batter? Weird combination but it works. They are addictive. They are popular to put out at parties, I have found out.