Hello!
Once again, I apologize for a delay in posting. But finally, I have wifi set up in my apartment, so I can work from here, rather than downstairs, which makes things a bit easier.
Let me start off from where we left off:
Last week Tuesday, I had my french class in the evening, and then came home for the night, nothing special to report there. Last Wednesday, I left for The Netherlands in the late afternoon. But before that, it was a regular day, the girls had a half day of school, and I picked them up from school and we had lunch. Then we did their homework and played on the trampoline and on their bikes. At 3pm, Elise and I both went with Catherine to the doctor. She had to get a sports physical so she can do boxing on the weekends, and I had to get a medical exam by a Belgian doctor to prove that I was fit and healthy. As I stated earlier, I had one of these done in the States, but for some reason, it was not valid, so I had to get it done again. After we came home, Elise went to her friend Killian's house, and Emma and I went on a walk down to the village where there is a family that has five horses. The girls like to keep their old bread ends and when there is a full bag, they bring them to feed to the horses. After we went there and came back to the house, it was time to finally leave to see Brent after three long months apart!
Catherine took me to the train station in Arlon at 5pm, and my first train, to Brussels, was supposed to leave the station at 5:30. However, the train was late by over ten minutes. This caused me to arrive late in Brussels, which made me miss my train connection to Rotterdam, where I was supposed to meet Brent. Needless to say, I was not happy about this and I wasn't sure exactly what to do. I asked a person who worked at the station, and he told me to get on the next train to Melench, and from there, I could transfer to a train to Rotterdam. So a few minutes later, I hopped on the train to Melench which was only about ten minutes by train away from the Brussels Centraal Station. However, once I got to Melench I had to wait about 45 minutes for the next train to Rotterdam. This may not seem like a very long time, but it feels like a very long time when you are just sitting by yourself counting down the minutes. Of course, this train was delayed also, and so I waited even longer. By the time I finally got on the train to Rotterdam, I was beyond ready to get there already. After what felt like the longest train ride of my life, I arrived to the Rotterdam station at about 10:50pm, and began eagerly searching for Brent. I saw him right away. Suddenly, my irritable and tired feelings went away. I never feel happier and more comfortable than when I am with him. It was so good to finally hug him again. Our reunion moment didn't last long, since we had to hustle to get on the last train to Groningen, the city where he lives and goes to school. From there, it was one long three hour ride, and although I was tired, I was just happy to be with Brent.
When we arrived in Groningen, I was amazed by the sheer number of bikes everywhere. There was an underground parking garage that was made just for bikes. There were literally hundreds of them in double decker parking ramps, all crammed in side by side and locked up. I asked Brent how he even manages to find his own bike amongst all of it, I know for sure I would lose my bike somehow! But he knew exactly where his was, and we got out of the station and I sat on the back of his bike and hung on, as he rode through the quiet streets of the very early morning. I jokingly said that this was the closest thing that I would have to my "Lizzie McGuire" moment of riding on the back of a vespa in Europe. Although it was hard to get balance at first, we made it, and slowly pedaled our way across the city in the darkness. It was quiet and peaceful, and Brent told me that come morning, it would not be so calm and quiet anymore. Finally, we made it back to his apartment building, which of course contained another bike garage for all the students who lived there. After a long day of travelling, sleep was much needed.
On Thursdays, Brent doesn't have classes, which worked out well. However, he did have to give an important presentation on Friday morning, so he had a group meeting on Thursday afternoon. So after making breakfast, we went together to campus, and I relaxed on the computer for an hour while he met with his group to go over the project. When this was done, we hopped on the bus to the city center, where Brent helped me find the place for my interview with Pure Distance, the international perfume company. He dropped me off there, and waited for me to go inside the old church building converted into office space. Hesitantly, I knocked at the door and asked for Nele, the woman I had been in email correspondence with. It was her, and she took me upstairs for my interview with herself and another woman named Kateryna. Overall, it was a fairly normal interview process. They asked me all the basic things about myself and my past education and work experiences. However, at the end of it all, I am not sure how I felt about it. This was phase one of three for the interview process, and I am not sure if I get invited back for phase two if I will accept it or not. The company still seems small and in the start up phases, which makes me worry about some aspects of the work environment. So, we shall see how that goes, and I will keep you updated on the progress.
After the interview, I went outside, and Brent was waiting for me a little ways away on a bench. I explained the interview to him as we rode the bus back to his place. We stopped at the grocery store, and bought stuff for dinner, and when we got back, I finally got to meet some of his friends. He has Polish friends, French friends, Czech friends, Spanish friends and Canadian friends. It's fitting, since he lives in an international student house! However, he is the only American on his floor, and maybe in his building. Everyone was very nice, and the Canadian girl, Kayla, was going away for the weekend, so she was kind enough to let me borrow her bike, which was a huge help!
After dinner, we wanted to go ride around the city, but it had started to rain, so we stayed in for the night. We watched the Lego Movie and had a few beers and went to bed.
On Friday morning, Brent got up early to go to campus and give his presentation. So I slept in a bit, and then got up and ready to go. When he came back at about 10:15, we were ready to take on the day of exploring Groningen! We wanted to go get breakfast at a place called the "Pancake Ship", which is (oddly enough) a ship on one of the many canals that is a restaurant known for its traditional Dutch pancakes. However, we got there at about 10:30 and it didn't open until noon! We were hungry, but we didn't want to go anywhere else, so we went and got coffee and then we went to the main plaza of the city to climb the Martini Tower, which was at one point the tallest standing building in Europe. The climb was very claustrophobic! The tiny, winding, brick staircase was for traffic climbing up and down, but there was definitely not enough room for people going in both directions. Once we got to the top, it was a great view of the city, and Brent pointed out everything to me. Where the university campuses were, where he lived, where the train station and the art museum were. It was a nice view, although it was very windy at the top! After making our slow and twisting decent, we finally went to the Pancake Ship! These are not what you would get at ihop, they were much better! Brent got a pancake the size of his huge plate that had ham and cheese baked into it, and I got an "Austrian Pancake" which was stuffed with apple strudel and had vanilla sauce and whipped cream on it. We were both super full and happy when we left the ship, and carried on with our sightseeing.
We went through the large town center, and through all the shopping districts, since I was on the hunt for more comfortable walking shoes. We also went through the fish market, which is a large open air market with all kinds of fresh fruits, veggies, meats and fish. Brent bought some fresh mint to make mint tea with. He showed me the main campus of the university, which is of course old and beautiful, complete with black and white marble flooring and red carpets inside the main administrative building. After a long afternoon, we picked up some Heineken's, and sat in the large, beautiful park next to a big pond and just relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine for a while. After about an hour, we rode back towards Brent's place and stopped at the store to buy dinner. Side note, the stores in Europe really have it down. They don't have big carts that will crowd up the aisles, and they don't just give you plastic bags. You either have to buy a bag, or bring your own reusable one. Awesome for recycling and sustainability! Anyway, we went back and made dinner and hung out with some of his friends from his floor for a bit. After we ate, we rode our bikes down to the river with some beers and found a quiet place to watch the sunset. It was very calming and nice to sit together and enjoy the view. In the dark, we slowly made our way back to Brent's place. We went to sleep relatively early, since we were leaving early Saturday morning for Amsterdam!
On Saturday, we left at about 9am. Brent's polish friend Lucas (and his girlfriend Daria, who was also visiting for the weekend) has his car here, so he drove all four of us the two hour trip south to Amsterdam. First, we stopped at Keukenhof, which is just outside of Amsterdam and is one of the largest tulip fields in the country. There were thousands of tulips weaving along paths and through trees and along little ponds with fountains, and of course, amongst the large windmills. It was a nice sunny afternoon, and there were tulips of all different colors and patterns and sizes! They were beautiful. After about an hour spent there, we headed into Amsterdam. We parked the car outside of the city center, and took the bus downtown. Upon arriving at the central station, I was amazed by just how many people were there. It was so damn crowded! I honestly felt like it was busier than Chicago in the middle of rush hour, except instead of cars clogging up the road, it was bikes, thousands of them, and people, and trams, and dogs, and kids, and boats in the many canals. Although the city itself was beautiful, and the architecture was amazing, it was a bit too chaotic for me. I am not sure how people manage to drive there, let alone bike. Walking was difficult enough! But we managed to work our way around the city and see all of the gorgeous canals lined with houseboats and trees and flowers, and of course, hundreds of bikes. Of course, we also had to see the Red Light District, which was just crazy to me. Women standing in barely there lingerie in windows at street level, beckoning you to come inside. Very strange. Also, the vast amount of "coffee shops" which sell all sorts of drugs, and you can just sit inside and smoke weed and eat food. A stoners paradise, for sure. We also ate some traditional foods, which are similar to the foods of Belgium: frites, pancakes, and waffles! Brent and I finally found a place that made the waffle ice cream sandwiches, and needless to say, we were very happy about that! They were so delicious! After a long day in the city, we made our way back to the car, and began the drive back to Groningen.
When we got back, Brent and I made hamburgers and homemade fries for an "all American dinner" that we were both craving. They turned out really good! Then we had a party on his floor with all of his awesome international friends. They put on loud music in their common room, and we all drank and talked and danced. Later in the night, Brent asked me "five years ago, at the end of high school, did you ever think you would be here, dancing with a bunch of international people in the Netherlands?" Truthfully, no, not at all. But I was so glad that I was there, and I am so glad that I am here, where I am in life. Everything that has lead up to this point, the good and the bad, has happened for a reason. It may not always be a smooth and easy ride, but getting to where I am now has made me who I am right now, and it will help me to grow into who I want to be.
Around midnight, with everyone finishing the last of their current drinks and throwing on their jackets, we made our way down the stairs and onto our bikes in a large caravan. Hooting and hollering, everyone took off into the night, heading for the city center to go to the Three Sisters, one of the largest bars/clubs in Europe. With the wind pulling my hair back, and the thrill of racing beneath the street lights, my feet pumping the pedals, I felt more at home than I had since leaving the States. That night truly showed me that there are some things that transcend languages and cultures and ethnicity's. People are all just people. We all want to have friends, we all want to be loved. We all want to be accepted and be free, yet feel safe and cared for. We all want to have fun, most of all. Music, dancing, smiles, and hugs go a long way in communicating emotions where words can sometimes fail. By the end of that night, I fell asleep exhausted but happy.
However, Sunday morning, those happy feelings were beginning to fade away as I knew I would have to leave Brent soon. We got up and made breakfast and then took a bike ride around the outskirts of the city, along the river through the fields. We came back to his place and had a quick snack and I packed up my backpack, and we left for the train station. Saying goodbye to Brent is literally always one of the hardest things that I have to do. It never fails to tear me apart inside. I hate not knowing when we will see each other, again.
I left very sad on the train, and spent a lonely two hours on the train to Amsterdam. Once I got there, I had to wait another hour and a half for my train to Brussels. However, once the train was supposed to arrive, it did not. Apparently there had been some sort of accident, and the train was going to be delayed another hour or more before arriving. I couldn't help it, I began to cry. My emotions were already heightened from leaving Brent, and the delay seemed too much to handle. Somehow, a young redheaded woman came to my rescue, so to speak. She overheard me talking to the rail worker and so she knew I was going to Brussels, she was also. She asked if I wanted to go get a coffee together while we waited for the train to arrive. She seemed very kind and helpful, so I agreed to go with her. We went to the cafe upstairs and she bought me a coffee, which was very nice of her. This is how I met Sini, the 31 year old from Finland, who has spent the past 4 years travelling for work. She said that I reminded her of herself when she first starting travelling in her twenties, and she said that she had cried many times about delayed trains, planes, and stolen luggage. It was nice to spend an hour chatting with her, knowing that not everyone around me is a local, and there are many others like me that are far from home and sometimes confused and sad. Since she currently lives in Brussels, we exchanged emails. Maybe someday I will see her again. When the train finally came, she hugged me and wished me luck, as if it were the most natural thing, like she was my sister or something. It was nice to finally have a hug from someone, rather than just a cheek kiss or a handshake.
Finally on my way to Brussels, the train went quickly, only an hour and a half since it was a high speed train. However, because of the accident setting everything behind schedule, there were two trains worth of people trying to fit onto just one train. This caused some issues, as you can imagine, but thankfully I had a seat, so I tried to just keep my head down and make it to Brussels in one piece. Once I arrived in Brussels, I just made it onto the train to Arlon before it left, thank goodness, because the other one would have made me wait yet another hour behind schedule! The train from Brussels to Arlon is the longest because it is not high speed and it makes a lot of stops along the way. It takes a little under three hours. By the time I arrived in Arlon, it was 11:30pm, about 10 hours after my departure from Groningen, and I was mentally exhausted. Sebastien picked me up at the station and brought me home, and after unpacking, I finally slept.
Monday was up and at 'em, once again for another week. The girls don't have English classes this week because their teacher is on holiday in Italy. So that's one less thing to worry about, I guess. Monday morning, I woke up and did some laundry, and made pizza for lunch for the girls and I. They were happy to see me, which was nice. It's nice to know I was missed. I missed them too, I realized I talked about them a lot to people in the Netherlands. Monday mostly passed without incidents, and I finally got to skype with Ebony, since I now have wifi in my room. So let's all skype as soon as possible, because I miss your faces and your voices! My skype username is: jennfisher26
Today, Tuesday, I had breakfast, hung out around the house, and made veggie burgers for lunch. I just took the girls back to school and I will pick them up again in the afternoon. Tonight, I have my french lesson from 6:30-9pm. I don't think anything else big is happening this week, but then again, there seems to be some hidden surprise and challenge in every day that I never see coming. So wish me luck!
I love you all,
XOXO
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