Amsterdam!

I had the most amazing time visiting the Netherlands and going to Amsterdam. The place was gorgeous. It was absolutely freezing but I didn’t let it bother me because walking around the town completely took your mind off of it. I saw so many things I wanted to see while I was there –including the Anne frank house, The Heineken brewery experience, the Van Gogh museum, the red light district, and last... The coffee shops. The red light district hits you out of nowhere as you are walking down the street. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I was walking through it, it was so sad to see some really young beautiful girls standing in those windows, and also to see some really old women sitting in there. Some girls that looked my age were actually sitting there talking on their cell phones. I really want to walk through it again, I feel like I didn’t really allow myself to grasp what I was really seeing that night, I guess it was just so interesting to stare at, but hard to really understand the reality of it all. The line to the Anne frank house was really long, but we decided we would regret it if we didn’t just wait in it. It was a really sad museum, but I really enjoyed actually seeing the place where she had been hiding – I wondered how she managed to stay in there without going crazy, although it was a lot bigger than I pictured it would be. Looking out the window from one of the rooms up in the house was weird – I felt like the canal and streets of Amsterdam hadn’t changed a bit from when she was standing there looking out that same window. After Anne frank’s house we went to the Heineken Brewery, we got 3 free draft beers with our ticket which was actually really cool to have after watching the exact process of how their beer is made. The beer tasted really fresh and they told us the proper way to sip it too. They say that taking small sips of beer will only give you the bitter taste of the barley, but if you take large sips you get the sweetness of the hops as well. The museum was pretty cool, but I think I’ll enjoy going to the Guinness Brewery a lot more when I visit Ireland over Saint Patrick’s day. I wish my sisters could have been with me to see the Van Gogh museum, the whole time I was in there I kept on thinking “I bet Katelyn would die to be here right now..” but I really liked being there too, some of my friends were idiots and starting taking pictures inside the museum, lets just say we had visited a coffee shop a little earlier that day. I really liked this one coffee shop we went to, it was called Dampkring (I heard a scene from the movie Oceans 12 was filmed in it.. I gotta check that out). I could tell by the atmosphere of the place that it was definitely a local place rather than the first one we went to. At Dampkring I had the most delicious hot chocolate (with whipped cream) I have ever had. It was basically steamed milk, with a huge piece of Belgium chocolate on a stick that would slowly melt as you stirred it. One of my favorite parts about Amsterdam was how everyone rides bikes, walking around it was crazy how many bikes would pass you – everyone was in such good shape. I also noticed that because everyone has bicycles to get around with, the place has barely any city noise, it was almost silent. I will definitely be visiting Amsterdam again over my spring break with Abbey and Brittney. I don’t know if this will change after traveling over spring break, but as of now Amsterdam is definitely the coolest most amazing place I have been. I loved it there.

Night Sea

I went on a walk really late last night along the sea with a friend – I don’t mean to over exaggerate, but it was breathtaking – I have honestly never seen the stars like that before in my life. I wondered if they were the same stars I see back home. That could be a stupid question, but I still wondered it. It was so cold out walking down to the beach but the cold doesn’t seem to be a big problem for me here. My friend walks down there a lot before he goes to sleep at night; he says it makes him sleep really well. I slept really well last night.

Some nights out

Here are some pictures from one of the greatest nights I have had here so far. It was a silent disco at a club in downtown Swansea. Basically you would get these huge headphones right when you walked in the door and when you went downstairs there was no DJ. Everyone could pick what type of music they felt like dancing to and would just wear the headphones the whole night! It was so much fun. When I took my headphones off for a minute it wasn’t exactly silent in the club, people were all singing along to the music they were listening to. It was real sick - I want to bring this idea back to Wilmington. I’m sure everyone would love it just as much as I did!

The other pics are from a night out where we were to dress up as school boys and girls. That night was a really fun night too. I surprisingly had all the clothing I needed, so I didn’t need to go out and buy stuff like mostly everyone needed to do. I did need to borrow a tie from my house mate Sam Buka though.

I forgot to mention that I live with 10 girls and guys (mixture of British and Americans) I love my living situation so much. I was lucky.

Day Trip to Bath.. The place

A group of us (mostly Americans) were given the opportunity to go to Bath, England a few weeks back with the University. It was a really nice trip – we just went for the day. I enjoyed walking around the town. In my eyes, it was exactly what I have always pictured England to look like - it was so beautiful. We saw the Roman Baths, which were also real cool. Something I noticed, and found a little distressing was how the museum was so modernized. Much of the ancient architecture was still there, but it was all built over and almost hidden with more modern architecture. I wish it could have just stayed in its original form. I assume this has to be done to in some way protect the original form from completely falling to pieces.

Quick last note: I am so grateful that I decided to travel here with Abbey, and that I have her here with me. She has been such a good friend to me. I honestly feel like this trip wouldn't be nearly as amazing without her here to experience it with. To have just one person you feel comfortable around can make such a difference when you are surrounded by thousands of new faces.

Ani-ball

So there is this absolutely huge club here called oceana. The other night my Friends and i went to an event they were having called ani-ball. Basically all of Swansea University goes to these events and takes the outfits ridiculously serious. It was actually really fun - my Friends and I dressed up like flamingos. Don't ask how we actually convinced the boys to do it, haha i was shocked when they agreed. The outfits turned out really cool though - Abbey and I made dresses, and then made the boys some weird looking outfits. It was a good time - There was a bull ride there (I guess to go along with the animal theme.. I rode it.) I never thought I would ever bring myself to get on one of those things, but i couldn't resist that night for some reason.. I didn't think i was going to be into the whole "fancy dress" thing here at all, but I am enjoying it - I'm sure it will start to get old as the semester progresses though. The people in the picture from the house are my freinds Abbey (amazing Friend from Wilmington), Steve Harris, Ryan Kramme, And Steven Rose (all new Friends from Iowa), and I. I don't think ill ever forget this night. The other shot was taken in the club with Abbey, Ryan, and two other dudes that dressed up as flamingos as well - I guess it was kind of a guy thing too.