Updates Galore!

Wow, I have been so bad recently about keeping you all updated on my life and all the adventures! Last time I posted was Sept. 13th...so I am going to start off with that week and work my way up to NOW...only with the important events

Tuesday Sept. 15th

Had my Pop Songs and P-P-P-Poetry class as usual. Then came home and went to the market to get some things for MEXICAN NIGHT! We all decided that it would be fun to have a potluck dinner and landed on mexican night as our theme! Everyone cooked something and then we set up a big table in the middle of the hall and sat on the floor and ate our delicious dinner! I made some chicken with sautéed veggies, and others brought chips, guacamole, steak...IT WAS GRAND! Then the best part was that someone had brought a homemade pinata...they made it out of a cereal box, and even filled it with candy. That was the highlight of the night! Our group of friends is really fun, and we are planning things like this to do together more often...in a couple days we are planning on having a huge scavenger hunt around Maastricht (i'll let you know how that goes!)

Wednesday Sept. 16th

The big day of Dutch Art History...yeehaw! This day we visited the Bonnefanten Museum, which is just across the river Maas. This time at the museum we focused on the tapestries that they had. They were absolutely amazing! They told us that one tapestry was worth a Ferrari!! And also it took an entire week to do a hand size worth of the tapestry, so they were working on these things FOREVER! Also I thought it was interesting that before they could even create the giant tapestry they had to make sketches of it in actual size (and these were about 7 feet tall by 8 feet wide..not small). During our little break (we get about 30 min between the museum and actual class), Annika and I went to a cute little restaurant called Golden Delicious where we had some tea and bread with vegetable spread. The restaurant has a little lounge in it where there are benches with pillows wrapped around the entire room and it looks right out onto the river (that is where we sat). It was really fun and really yummy!

Friday Sept 18th

Another day of Pop Songs and Poetry....I was the note taker! That means that whatever important is said in class, I am responsible to write it down on the whiteboard for everyone. Good thing I am a really great speller...NOT! I spent the entire time trying to think of smaller words than the ones people were saying, so I knew that I would be spelling them right! Nothing more embarrassing then asking someone who speaks english as a second language how to spell something! The note taker from one class is then the discussion leader of the following class. So that meant that for the next class (on Tuesday) I got to be discussion leader! O BOY! (Getting excited for my trip to Paris...to visit Gammy and Popiem for one night as they were on their way back from a cruise through some of the Greek Islands)

Sunday Sept 20th

Woke up...9 AM....O NOOOOO...my train to Paris left at 7 am!!!! Got myself to the train station...hoped on the first train to Liege and then from there was hoping that I had not messed my entire schedule up and would hopefully not have to pay extra for a reservation from Liege to Paris (I had already paid for one reservation). Once I got to Liege I actually ran into Annika, which was nice to see a familiar face because I was so frazzled about missing my train. She was on her way back from Paris, she had just gone to visit some family who lives in Paris. Then I was off, to find the information desk and sort this whole reservation thing out! I ended up being fine, I just did not have a specific seat, but was still allowed to be on the train to Paris, just had to find an empty seat..PHEW! However, it worked out perfectly as I got to Paris and to the hotel right around 3pm, which worked with Gammy and Popiem's schedules as they had just recently gotten into the hotel as well.

After a hug and a little sit down at the hotel, we were off to the Musee de l'Orangerie. This is where two large rooms have been dedicated to the water lily paintings done by Monet. There is also a downstairs that contains many artists including Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, and many more. The two large rooms with the water lilies were absolutely amazing, it really felt as though you were standing on the water's edge. After the museum we walked around the Tuilerie gardens a bit and stopped to admire the Place de la Concorde. Back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and then off to dinner!

We went to a fabulous traditional French restaurant that had been recommended by the concierge. When we got to the restaurant we were a little nervous as to its surroundings..just didn't look like such a great place, but once we tried the food, I think we all were in love! For dinner, I had a cold tomato soup, lamb, a cheese platter, and ancient eggs! Yes, ancient eggs, well thats we thought they were...or at least thats what we thought it looked like on the menu, so thats just what we decided to call them! Whatever they were, they were quite tasty. The best part about the dinner was the cheese platter. They brought to the table this large platter of cheese with a few knives and lots of bread. We could then cut off whatever kind of cheese we wanted and enjoy! I could've been satisfied with JUST the cheese for dinner!

Monday Sept. 21st

Up bright and early, because we had plans to go to the countryside and see Monet's house, but after breakfast we found out that it was closed on Mondays..o no. Well at least we were up early so we had the entire day to explore Paris. We decided to walk around and visit the St. Chapelle chapel, which is gorgeous. You walk into the chapel and then go straight up a flight of stairs that winds around and around until you are very dizzy and then it leads you into the chapel, which is filled with stained glass and a beautiful rose window. It was simply breathtaking.

After the chapel we did our best to follow one of Rick Steve's historic walks, with our book in hand we set out! We found another chapel called St. Sevrain and again, it was filled with stained glass and beautiful. Then we walked over to Notre Dame and didn't have to wait in any kind of line and went right into the church..WOW! You have to sit down, because there is just so much to take in. We walked around the church and then spent a lot of time looking at the amazing statues and art on the outside. Then we were off to find some lunch, we went back to where we had wandered around looking for the "historic walk" and found a great little cafe where we each had a delicious salad. I had a salad nicoise..my favorite! We decided after lunch it would be best to head back to the hotel so I could get some work done and Gammy and Popiem could have a toes up before they headed back to St. Chapelle for the evening where they were going to listen to a Vivaldi concert.

I got on the right train going home...thank goodness! I found my seat and sat down to work on my notes and questions for the next day, since I was to be discussion leader. A nice gentlemen sat next to me and we didn't really speak until halfway through the train ride, when he came back from the snack car. He told me that it was his lucky day..he had gotten his tea for free, because they did not have the tea he wanted! So we started making small talk...and he knew that I spoke english, because he had seen the book and articles I had been reading earlier. He is from Antwerp, and a very nice man...about 60 years old. We talked about Maastricht and he asked me all about the city and if there were any good restaurants...I said I wasn't too sure since I had not been going out to eat so much since they were a little pricey for me. He then said he would love to come to Maastricht to take me out to dinner sometime...o yes..of course..laugh laugh laugh, what a nice man! (but he was SERIOUS!) He then preceded to ask for my phone number...o, I'll just tell him I don't have a phone...but shoot its sitting right there on my lap...shoot! So I told him I wasn't sure of my phone number..I'm so sorry. He then told me he could find it on my phone..he knew where to look..O NO! So I said it was ok, I think I know how to find it...(i'll just give him the wrong number), but then he said he would call me right then so I had his number...SHOOOOOT, now I have to give him the RIGHT number! So I gave him my number (ughhh) and then tried to go back to doing my work (get this creepy man away from me!) He didn't get the hint that I didn't want to talk to him, so he kept rattling on. THEN...he spilled his tea all over himself! O dear! Wiped himself off, and thankfully was getting off the train a few stops before I was. When he was getting off, he shook my hand and told me it was a pleasure (yes, it was a pleasure to meet you too I said)...then he said well wasn't it my lucky day: free tea, wasn't hot when it spilled, and I got to sit next to a beautiful and charming girl (EEEEEK!)...then did the lingering of the handshake. PHEW! he was gone. Not two minutes later did my phone ring....IT WAS HIM. Hello, I said shyly..and he said, AWWW you wouldn't think I would have forgotten you by now, do you? Of course not! (o gosh, what a creepy man!) He then went on to ask when would be a good time to call so he could take me out to dinner (NEVER...but I couldn't say that..just said o whenever), and he said he was looking forward to our time together (AHHHH!). What a train ride!!! Finally made it back to Maastricht around 10pm and ran to Annika's room to tell her about my new 60 year old Belgian husband!

But it was a GREAT trip to Paris, and so nice to see family while abroad, and a nice chance to be with Gammy and Popiem in Europe (have always wanted to do that, since they are both so knowledgeable about EVERYTHING!) A great trip!

Tuesday Sept. 22nd

Today was the big day...I was the discussion leader for my Pop Songs and Poetry class! I had done all my preparing and thoroughly read the material and the poems that we were discussing, and I was ready to go. Apparently though no one else in the class had done their reading..so there were quite a few awkward silences. So I figured that I would answer my own questions that I asked...to at least have some talking going on. Then at the end of the class, our teacher decided to give a critique of the discussion leader (we had said at the beginning of the block that we would do this every day after class, but of course we had never done it before.. I was the first!) And of course, I got bashed on for being a bad discussion leader!! I was told that I did too much answering of my own questions and did not direct my questions well enough! O man! But after class two people from my class came up to me and told me that I had done a great job with the material and for how few people had done the reading! Made me feel much better!!

Saturday Sept. 26th

Fast forward to Saturday (nothing exciting between Tuesday and Saturday). Hoped on a train off to Rotterdam for the weekend. The trip to Rotterdam was set up because of my Dutch Art History class, because we were going to visit the Boijmans Museum. We (my class and I) met up with our teacher at the museum, and we were off to look at art! We walked around the museum for a bit and talked about the differences between some Dutch art, and then he told us to walk around and find two pieces that we should compare and contrast. The museum was filled with art, but me and my two partners chose to talk about Rembrandt. We looked at one of his paintings from his earlier years, and one from his later years. The one from the earlier years of his art had more smooth brush strokes, making it resemble a picture; whereas in the later years he had heavy strokes, where you could see them on the painting. So we got to hear all about everyone's two paintings and then did some more roaming of the museum.

Then we were free, and me, Annika, Chris, and Brett (both boys from DU) had decided that we were going to stay the night in Rotterdam so we could experience it more the next day, so we were off to find our hostel (my first hostel!). We found the hostel, and it was a cute little place run by a very nice man who was extremely helpful in telling us where to go and getting us settled in. We found some dinner at a great little Italian restaurant and we were all starving and ate an entire pizza...EACH!! It was delicious! Back to the hostel to hang out and then walked around the city. We found a cute little bar where we stopped off and there was live music, so it was really fun.

Sunday Sept. 27th

Woke up the next morning in time to get some breakfast at the hostel (meat, cheese, and bread: a typical Dutch breakfast). We were lucky, because our hostel was near the historic part of Rotterdam, and that was the part that we wanted to see, so we gathered our stuff and headed out. We found the historic part, but it was mostly called the historic part, because it was the only part that had survived after Rotterdam was bombed. But it was still gorgeous...lots of canals and old boats and the best part, there was a HUGE windmill!!! It was very exciting, because it was the first windmill that I have seen since I have been in the Netherlands (crazy, huh!). I have seen a few when we were on the train going to Amsterdam, but nothing up close and personal..and this one was enormous. We strolled around and admired the buildings, but we couldn't do much, since it was a Sunday and most things are closed on Sundays, so we decided to head home, since we had done a lot of walking the night before and felt like we had seen most of Rotterdam. We decided that Rotterdam was a fun and really pretty city, but it was much more urban and dirty than Maastricht, and we decided that Maastricht is in much more of a wealthy part of the Netherlands then Rotterdam. When we were walking around, we saw that most of the stores were closed or in the process of closing, and there was lots of graffiti. But still, it was a great trip, and fun to see somewhere else in the Netherlands.

Tuesday Sept. 29th

Today was again Pop Songs and Poetry day, but I thought I would comment on the lecture that we had, because it was so interesting! The lecture was called "Sounds of Suffering" and we had a guest speaker who talked to us about the different ways you can make the sounds of pain. There are opera singers who have trained their voices to make many different (odd) sounds that are supposed to be mental patients and their dreams that they have and all the hallucinations as well as the devil and all sorts of weird things! If you want to hear these crazy songs, here name is Diamanda Galas! enjoy!!

Wednesday Sept. 30th

Last day of September! Wow..time is flying! I had a presentation today in my Dutch Art History class, and Annika and I did ours on Sinterklaas, which is their version of Santa Claus. There are many similarities but there are also a lot of differences..if you'd like to know anything..I can let you know so much about the holiday! And the fun part is that it is on December 5th, so I will be here for the actual celebration, so it was fun that I got to learn a lot about it and then get to actually celebrate it too!

Thursday Oct. 1st

RABBIT RABBIT! First day of october, and I woke up and started packing for a fun filled weekend, we were off to Oktoberfest for the last weekend of the celebration that is in Munich, Germany. Me and Annika got on a train from Maastricht and were 7 hours away from meeting up with 5 other girls from DU (4 Tri Delts and 1 Delta Zeta). We had been planning this trip (for one of the girls 21st birthdays) since Spring quarter of last year, so we were all really looking forward to it. We got into Munich around 10pm, and I had looked on the internet to figure out how to get our hotel before we left and found that it was only a couple blocks from the train station, so Annika and I headed out to find it. We finally found the Courtyard Marriott and asked which room we were in, and they told us that they did not have any reservation under the name it was supposed to be under. Then I asked...Are there other Marriotts in the city....YES! We had gone to the wrong one!! OOPS! We caught a cab to the ACTUAL hotel we were staying at and stayed up for a few hours gossiping and sharing stories with the other girls that were there!

Friday Oct. 2nd

Woke up bright and early so we could get to Oktoberfest and get into one of the tents. But not before we stopped for a chocolate croissant! YUMMM! Then we were off on the subway and found our way to the festival! It was much more grand than I thought...there were tents everywhere and rides and food galore! We got right in line at the Hafbrau tent (everyone told us to go there) and waited another two hours before we were actually allowed to go in the tent. Once we got inside, we waited another little while before our very own beer maiden came around with our beer...CHEERS! There was lots of singing and dancing..great fun! We had a great time in the tents, but then they kick you out at 3pm, because from then on the tables are reserved. So then we walked around the "fair" part of the festival and went on a couple rides and of course had a brat! YUMMM! After a long day, we called it quits and went back to the hotel!

Saturday Oct. 3rd

Back at it..except this time we had to wake up earlier (6am), because Saturdays there are many more people who wait in line. We got to the festival and started waiting in line around 7:30, and didn't get in until 9:30! Made lots of friends in line! haha. Finally got into the tent (went back to Hafbrau, since we had had so much fun before) and it was a mad dash to find a table for seven people. All the tables were filled and we had to jump over one table to get a seat!! GOT IT! (You have to have a seat, otherwise you do not get served beer..and thats the whole point of the weekend..right?!) Well we did the singing and dancing again...and we ran into a bunch of people that go to DU (small world!!) I also ran into a good friend from high school: Caroline Barth, and found out that she rushed and is a Tri Delt too!!! (even smaller world!) We got kicked out around 3 again and did some more rides and ate wonderful food....and then after an exhausting, but fun day went to bed!

Sunday Oct. 4th

Slept in a little bit, since we were all so tired from such a fun weekend! We went out to breakfast for Katie's birthday at this small corner cafe called the Vanilla Lounge, and thankfully the waitress spoke english and was nice enough to translate the menu for us! I had eggs, bacon, and some German pancakes..DELICIOUS! We did a bit more walking around the town before we had to start saying goodbye to people, since we all had different flights and trains back to wherever we all are studying. Kate, Annika, and I were the three last ones there, so we went back to Oktoberfest and walked around some more and got souvenirs. I haven't mentioned, but most all of the Germans are dressed up in traditional attire...yup thats right...lederhosen ALL AROUND! and the girls wore traditional bright dresses with aprons! Even kids were dressed up! It was great! We went on some other rides that we hadn't seen before...a crazy one that flips upside down about a bazillion times and then water shoots into your face! And then this rollercoaster that was called the Olympic something...so there were the rings of the olympics and those were the loops! sooo fun! Then it was time for Annika and I to make our way back to Maastricht, so we got on the train and headed home!!

Wednesday Oct. 7th

FINALLY...I'm all caught up!! Today I had my Dutch Art History class, and it is my last class before my final (next Wednesday)! I can't believe it is coming so soon!! Tomorrow is my day off and I have lots of homework to catch up on and gym going that needs to be done!!

Until then..

xoxoxo

MY BIKE

ME AND MY FABULOUS BIKE

Note: the sweet side saddles!

It even has a bell and lights for when it's dark (they are required, or you get fined)

I LOVE MY BIKE!

However, it doesn't have a name yet...any ideas??

Description: loves long strolls through the country side and city center, gray with red writing, has working bell and lights, wonderfully spacious side saddles, and a mud flap on front tire! PLEASE NAME ME!

Pictures (Sept. 6th - Sept. 13th)

(read below post first! and to make images larger, you can click on the picture)

Boat we took on the Maas and to the caves (Maastricht, Netherlands)

View near the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

Beautiful tree on the walk to the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

One of the paintings in the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

Note: the Maas-ossauros (comes from the river Maas)in the right corner

An example of the many advertisements in the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

I was really surprised by the height of the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

The Chapel (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

The picture of the four monks (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

Old Farm equipment I saw on our walk back from the caves (St. Pietersberg, Netherlands)

Tri Delt group dinner at the guesthouse (Maastricht, Netherlands)

(Me, Molly, Annika, Katya)

The bikers stoplight throughout Maastricht (Maastricht, Netherlands)

Kannes, Belgium with Molly and Katya

We saw sheep on our bike ride (Kannes, Belgium)

i amsterdam sign (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Canals throughout Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Heineken Brewery (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

A vat or wort (water and barley mash) (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

At the Heineken Brewery (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

There were these music carts all over Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Bikes are everywhere! (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Amsterdam Train Station (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

September 9th - September 13th

Sunday, September 6th
Last Sunday, Becca, Annika, and I decided to be adventurous and go to the St. Pietersberg caves (we had heard they were a fun place to go). Thankfully we went that day, because that was the day of the last tours that were in English! We took a boat tour along the Maas (the big river that runs through Maastricht), and it took us to the caves. We got off of the boat and had to walk up to the top of a hill, where we met our tour guide. We then walked through a bit of the back country until we came to the entrance of the caves. Us girls, got to be the lucky ones to carry one of the lanterns into the cave. Once we got into the caves, they were much larger than I had expected, they were probably 15 or 20 feet high and they were pretty much just walkways that had side coves that were used for many different things. Our guide told us that there was a hospital, bakery, and even a chapel (which we got to see) throughout the caves. The reason why there were these things, was that the caves were used by over 50,000 people to hid out in whenever there was some kind of war in Maastricht. All over the walls in the caves were different pictures that had been drawn by people who lived in the caves and were drawn by using charcoal. The drawings were really amazing. One of the drawings that we came to showed four monks, and our guide explained to us that the monks had come down into the caves. However, their candle went out before they could find their way out, and unfortunately they died in the caves, and when they were found, they had no fingertips. This is because they had walked around with their hands on the walls, once their light had gone out, trying to find their way out and had rubbed off their fingertips by the scratchy walls. So, to experience what the monks had our guide took all the lanterns and walked around the corner and left our group in the PITCH BLACK. The darkness was really scary and quite intense...if you closed your eyes, it was the same as having them open! You could not see 2 inches in front of your face! We made it safely out of the caves with the help of our lanterns! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and just taking in the city!

Monday, September 7th
No class on mondays, so I slept in and went off to the Maastricht Athletic Club (MAC), which I have signed up for while I am here. Its a cute little gym that is right in the town, just between some apartments, and you would never know it was there as it is just nestled into the rest of the buildings! Its a great little gym that has just three treadmills, a few ellipticals, and a handful of machines...SOO Maastricht! Its great minus the fact that all the information and buttons on each machine ARE IN DUTCH! Now, why on earth would they do that to me!! Once I somewhat figured out the machines I thought I should lift some weights..so I marched right on over to the weight selection and struggled to pick up the 20 lb weight...I know its been a few weeks since I worked out, but surely 20 lbs shouldn't be a struggle...right? OOOOO SHOOT I'm in the Netherlands, I remembered, and they use KILOGRAMS here! DUHHH! So come to find out I was trying to do my normal workout that I do with 20 lbs, now with 20 kgs which is roughly 45 lbs! OOPS! The joys of europe!
After my peculiar gym experience, it was time to do some Dutch Art History reading and a bit of relaxation. Then I rode my bike downtown to figure out where my class would be tomorrow, since I had not had it yet. All the buildings for the University of Maastricht are spread out throughout the city, so its always an adventure finding where you're class is! I found the building where my class would be, and went in to explore and find the actual room. When I came out of the building and go my book, something caught my attention...a small wooden bridge. There was an opening in a stone wall that had a wooden bridge...so I went on it! There I found ducks and geese swimming in the small river that is under the bridge. Then I looked straight ahead and found that there were deer and billygoats in a fenced off area...MAASTRICHTS OWN LITTLE ZOO! It is quite darling and its surrounded by a path where many people walk each day. I love this town! Later that night, we all decided to go to a Jazz bar downtown that had live music and was very quaint! We enjoyed the music with some beer and then headed home. Good day!

Tuesday, September 8th
First day of my other class! I had my lecture for my Pop Songs and Poetry class at 11am. When my teacher got up to speak to the class, I thought she looked like a nice older woman who would be fun to take a class with...but when she started talking, things got interesting! She has a stutter, and especially stutters over "P"s, which is not the greatest when we are continuously talking about P-P-P-P-POETRY and P-P-P-POP SONGS! In our lecture, we watched "Dead Poets Society" and then after the lecture we break off into smaller tutorial groups and discuss different things. That day we talked about the different characters in the movie and how poetry affected each of them and what it meant in their lives. The tutorials are the main way that we learn at school, and they are very interesting, because there is minimal teacher-student interaction. It is mainly the students speaking, I would say that 95% of the time students are talking and discussing things together and the teacher only interjects to make sure that we are on the right path. Each class there is a discussion leader who leads the group on the topics that we had left off with the class prior, and each class ends with learning goals which we take home and learn more about. It is a very interesting way to do class, and definitely makes the students talk more and participate in the conversation. After four hours of this class, I was ready for a little nap and then a relaxing evening!

Wednesday, September 9th
Wednesday brought another day of Dutch Art History, and another excursion. We met at the Bonnefanten museum, which is a museum across the river and is very large with many different kinds of art. This trip we started out looking at modern and contemporary art. We all gathered around a piece of work and discussed different things about it, and why we thought the artist had done certain things, etc. Then we broke up into groups and had to find another piece to analyze and then present our thoughts to the rest of the group. I thought this was really interesting, because so many people had different ways of seeing the pieces and it was fun, because none of us were necessarily wrong or right. Then we moved downstairs to more medieval and religious art pieces, which is something we are mainly focusing on. After the museum, we went back to the classroom where we had another few hours of class.
After class, Annika and I went down to the town hall square, where we met Katya (another Tri Delt), who was visiting us for the weekend! She is traveling around before going to Seville, Spain for her time abroad. We made the trek back to the guesthouse and made a yummy dinner, then strolled around the city showing Katya all the great places we had found.

Thursday, September 10th
No class on Thursday, so yet another nice morning to sleep in! After Annika got back from class, and I had done some reading, Annika, Becca, Katya and I went to a sandwich shop, that we call J's and have become extremely fond of. I had a WONDERFUL tomato and mozzarella sandwich. I could eat them everyday! Then I went down to the train station, where I met Molly (another Tri Delt) who was coming for the weekend as well. So many tri delts in Maastricht! We walked around the city for a bit and then had Molly and Katya rent bikes, since that is the best way to get around the town. That night we made a big salad for dinner and then showed the girls out on the town that night. It was so much fun to be with familiar faces in a place so far from where we usually are.

Friday, September 11th
I woke up early, early, early, for my first 8:30 am class since I've been here! Once I got to class, we were talking about different poems that we had studied on our own. We were supposed to talk about "analytical shapes" and "meaningful patterns", but apparently I didn't analyze the poem correctly. I was asked to talk about the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken". It talked about what I thought to be "analytical shape" and all that garbage but apparently I was no where near where I should be! The worst part is that the Dutch have no problem telling you that you are wrong, which is something I am not used to, but I was told I wasn't right. :( So with that, I decided to keep my mouth shut for the rest of class and hopefully next time we analyze a poem I will get it right.
After my class, I came back to the guesthouse and we had decided to bike to Belgium for lunch with our wonderful visitors. They were so amazed that you could do that, and frankly I still am shocked that I can just get up and bike my way on over to a different country! We found a cute place to have lunch in a small village called Kanne. Then we rode back home and put our feet up for a bit. Katya headed off to Amsterdam to meet up with some friends for the night, so Molly, Annika and I walked around the city a bit more that evening and got delicious french fries! We showed Molly the cute little "zoo" that we had found and then were off to bed early, because we were headed to Amsterdam in the morning.

Saturday, September 12th
We were up bright and early at 6:30, since we were going to try to make the 7:56 train from Maastricht to Amsterdam. We made some toast and headed off to the train station, which is about a 30 min walk from the guesthouse. We got to the train station with time to spare and found our train and hoped on...we were off on an adventure! There was a very long announcement on the train, but of course we couldn't understand it since it was in Dutch. However, a nice man informed us that we needed to get off the train, get on a bus, and go to another station, where we would get on another train that would take us on our way (how european?!)! Thank goodness most Dutch speak English and are extremely helpful. We got on the bus and were off to our next station, where we easily found our train and hoped on.
Finally, we made it to Amsterdam around 11:30. We met up with Katya and went to the Van Gogh museum which was really interesting. I really liked how they had the pieces set up throughout the museum, because it showed the different stages of his life and how his art had changed throughout each one. To begin with each of his paintings were muddy looking, since he used mainly dark browns and dark greens to paint, but then they began to be more colorful (these are the ones I liked best). There were so many different paintings and they were all beautiful. There was a lot about Van Gogh throughout the museum, and I learned that he kind of one day just decided that he wanted to become an artist..and voila he became the famous Van Gogh! He did not have much of any training and evolved over time and was able to produce magnificent pieces of work. After the museum we went to the Heineken Brewery, where we went on a tour. It is called the Heineken Experience, because it really isn't a tour (since it is self guided), but truly it is an experience! They showed us the vats that they used to use to make wort, which is water and barley mash. Once they have the wort, they add the hops and then the yeast, and a beer takes about 18 days until it is ready. We even got to taste wort, and its not so good! There was a section called "Brew U", where we all became beer! It was like a 4D theater where they splash a little water on you, when the water gets added to the mixture, and there was wind when we were bottles wiping around the conveyer belt, etc. It was really neat. Then we got to have a taste of the beer, and there was still more to guide ourselves around. We saw some of the bottles getting bottled and so much memorabilia from when Heineken first started.
We went off to find a place to have some lunch, and we found a cute cafe where I got the most delicious sandwich I have had since I've been here. It was a round roll that had some goat cheese, grilled zucchini, red and yellow peppers, and onions on it. And the best part, was it had been warmed, so the cheese was a little melty...YUM YUM YUM! We then walked around a bit more, and naturally had to go through the red light district to see what Amsterdam is truly about! Once we had had enough of that (which didn't take too long!), we headed back to the train station. We were going to try to make it back in time to go out with some DU friends and to celebrate one of their 21st birthdays. We got on the train at 7:30 and were told that we could be back in Maastricht around 10. But of course, the train that runs to Maastricht wasn't going all the way there since they were working on the tracks! So they sent us on our way over to Rotterdam where we would transfer and then be off to Maastricht. Once we got to Rotterdam, we changed trains quickly and were off! We were making a stop at a station, and we noticed that everyone was getting off the train, and we were kind of confused, so we went to the door of the train. We were about to get off, but were trying to check the boards out the door to see if the train was still going to Maastricht when all of a sudden the doors to the train closed, and they wouldn't reopen. We just started praying that the train would keep moving the way that we had been going...the train started moving...and we were going THE WRONG WAY! O NO! To make things worse, the two (Molly and Annika) that I was traveling with were freaking out. Annika was having what seemed to be a panic attack and Molly goes running through the train to try to find someone. So even though on the inside I was freaking out I kept telling these girls to calm down and that everything was going to be fine...even though we were the only ones on a train that was going the wrong way! While we were trying to follow Molly who was running through the cars, Annika was still behind me freaking out, when the train all of a sudden stopped. We were in the train yard, where the trains sleep. Im sure the same thought was going through all of our heads: We are going to be stuck on this train all night long. But then there was a man at the door we were at, it was a maintenance man, and we let us off and radioed to someone that three girls were on the train. Im sure the person on the other end got a kick out of that! He told us to walk along the tracks until we got back to the platform, which we did! PHEW! Once back on the platform, we were informed that we were going to have to get on a bus and then on another train to get back home. We finally made it home at 12:30am, and by that time were all exhausted. We came back to our rooms and passed out from the long adventure filled day!

Today: Sunday, September 13th
Its a gray day in Maastricht and Sunday, which is usually a homework and lazy day around here. I woke up this morning to see Molly off to the train station and then went to the gym, where I remembered to pick up lighter weights for my workout...I had learned my lesson! I have to get some reading done for this coming week, but I have tomorrow off as well, so maybe today will be spent being lazy! The only bummer about Sundays around here is that the markets are not open, so you better hope that you have things to eat! Well, I think I have written enough for now...hope all is well for all of you reading this.

XOXO
Betsy

First Day of Class and Thursday

Yesterday was my first day of class (Dutch Art History)! I was really excited about it, and then remembered that it was from 1:30 - 6! What a day full of class and art, art, art!
I woke up that morning, and Annika and I had decided to go to the square where the town hall is, because every Wednesday they have a farmers market. However, its much different from the farmers market that I am used to, because there isn't as much food. There is tons and tons of fabric...everywhere you turn there are different colors, designs, and patterns! But then once you get around to the other side where all the food is, its GREAT! There are so many bright colors...and everything just looks so fresh. We wandered around for a little bit, trying to decide what exactly we would buy...and what might fit into our fridge (thats crucial!). I decided on some zucchini and cucumbers. The zucchini are the biggest I've ever seen!! And it was quite a deal --two cucumbers, two massive zucchinis for two euros! YUMM! I enjoyed one of the zucchinis last night and when I cut it up, it looked like it was an eggplant (now do you have an idea of how big it was!). It was delicious!
So then...I headed off to class at 1:00. Off on my bike..to my first day of class! There are just kids from my program in the class, so it was a good start to classes, not being thrown into a class where I didn't know exactly what was going on. We learned a little bit about our teacher, Arvi, and he told us that he had just gotten back from Italy, because he is studying specific pieces of art that are in Italy. He seems like a great teacher...however, its a little hard to understand him! He lectured for about an hour and a half and then we went off to a church that is in the middle of the town. The church is called St. Servatius (who was sent to Maastricht by St. Peter). St. Peter gave St. Servatius a key (which I got to see in the church), to come to Maastricht and look over it. There were many relics in the church, including the grave of St. Servatius, which is right under the alter. Not only did we get to walk around the church, but we also got to go and see the grave! The church is much larger than I expected it to be, and apparently it kept getting remodeled in order to keep up with the changing architecture and in order to challenge the church that is right across the river. So there are parts of the church that are from the 2nd century (when it was first built), as well as 13th - 17th century (the add ons). We went back to the classroom after the church tour and learned a bit more about some other Dutch painters, and before I knew it..it was 6! Guess I really do enjoy art!
Today, Thursday I had no classes, so I got to go exploring. However, it was raining really hard this morning, so I had to wait for a break in the clouds so I wouldn't get completely soaked! Once it cleared, I hopped on my bike and headed down to the train station, in order to figure out exactly how to book a train and all that fun stuff. After that, I was on a mission to find some postcards to send to people and just to have as souvenirs...NO LUCK! I guess, Maastricht really isn't a touristy town, which is kind of neat...but not so neat when you are searching for postcards! All the other places that I have been in Europe seem to have places to buy post cards and little knick knacks every turn of the bend....but o no..not Maastricht! O well! But I did find some cute stores that had some little things in them that were fun to look at. No class tomorrow either...so more exploring shall be done!

Laundry

First attempt at foreign laundry = FAIL
I didn't translate the words, so i just guessed for the washer...then it was taking too long and I thought it was done so I turned it off...and clearly it wasn't done, sicne my clothes were soaking wet (first mistake). I just wrung them out and threw them all the in the dryer together (second mistake), because there was only one open. Now after 2 hours of being on what I thought was extra dry, I still had wet clothes that were a million degrees hot. Currently I have turned my room into my own drying rack.
Result:
All pinks are faded
White shorts are blue
White shirt has a tint of blue

Lesson 1: Translate words
Lesson 2: Wait the entire 12345 hours for the washing machine to finish
Lesson 3: Don't dry together

:(

Update

RABBIT RABBIT! Happy September!
So after the study trip, we came back and had a couple more days of orientation. We were supposed to get our class schedules...but apparently the school isn't too good with organization and getting the schedules out on time...so I still dont know when one of my classes is for this block! O, and they cancelled class this week, since they couldn't get their act together! GREAT! I still have my CES (center for european studies), which is the program I came here through, class and that starts tomorrow. I am really excited about it, because it is a Dutch art history class and we pretty much go on an excursion to a museum every class. The only bummer is that Wednesdays are going to be long days...the class starts at 1:30 and we don't get out until 6. EEEK! But, I am pretty sure that I will love it, seeing that I loved my art history class my senior year. We also get to take a trip to a museum in Rotterdam, which will be a whole day excursion on the last saturday of September. 

On Sunday, we tried to go to the St. Pietersberg caves, which are supposed to be something that everyone should see while in Maastricht, but we got kind of lost since we were in a rush trying to find it and were on our bikes too, so we gave up. We decided to bike to Belgium instead! Its only like an hour bike ride away, and the town, not sure what it is called, but it is darling! I can somewhat understand the signs too, since they are in french! So we stopped at a cute cafe and just got something to drink and headed back. The bike ride is beautiful too, so much open countryside with cows left and right and old, crumbling homes! On the way back, we also tried to find a winery that we had heard about, but failed too! We started walking up a dirt road that looked like it led up to the vineyards and what looked to be a winery but realized that it was more of a dirt road that led no where! 

Yesterday, Monday, was a warm day so we took advantage of the sun and laid out in the sun and enjoyed a book! I also went to the market yesterday, and us girls bought things for dinner - tofu, teriyaki sauce, saffron rice, and vegetables! YUM!

Today the sun has yet to come out and the clouds have opened up and it has been drizzling off and on throughout the day. Seems like a good lazy day, to sit back have a cup of tea and maybe watch tv...o but wait, our tv is in dutch! (looks like I'll be learning dutch!)

I'm excited about tomorrow, not only because of starting class but also because there is a farmers market that happens every Wednesday morning in one of the big market squares. I am going to go to that and get some fresh veggies and such before I head off to class!

Thats all for now!

Lots of love from Maastricht