Nether-Leiden

Today, I visited the town Leiden to see Leiden University with Ashton's mentor teacher. She attended Leiden University and received her bachelors and masters there. Now she's back as a student taking classes in Italian, and she encouraged me to visit Leiden University to see if I like it enough to go to grad school there. 

We took the train to Leiden from Rotterdam Blaak. She purchased my ticket so that I could get a discount. Once we got to Leiden, we walked to the University and she pointed out different places that I could go to while she was in class for four hours. We went to the old academia building, and she told me stories from her past. The tradition in Leiden University is fascinating. 

When she went to class, I walked around the town. It is such a college town, and I really liked the atmosphere. I went to the Museum of Antiquities, where there were tons of information about Egyptian history. I saw a lot of mummies. It was awesome. 


Then, I grabbed lunch at McDonalds, of course. I really like exploring by myself. After lunch, I found a street full of stores, so I wasted time there. I bought Anthony a really cool bday present, and I hope he'll like it. I really need to stop spending money. Ugh. 


The rain started. :( I went to a cafe and ordered a hot chocolate and apple pie both with whipped cream. Yum. My two favorite things. The wind is crazy in Leiden - much worse than Rotterdam. 


We took the train back at 3, and she saw one of her former students who also works after school at Calvijn. I got a chance to talk to him, and he seems really cool. He's going to Leiden for German Language and Culture. He also told me that the students he worked with at Calvijn said that I talked too fast, and it was hard for them to understand me. I didn't think I talked fast, but it's a good thing to know. I'll make sure to talk slowly from now on when I thought I was doing that. I also make sure to ask if they understand and they say that they do. I don't know. 


Also, the principal from my former middle school emailed me asking when I was getting back to the US so he can interview me. I guess I have to keep my hopes up. We'll see. 


The wind is ferocious today! I saw a couple of people falling off their bikes because of the strong wind - me being one of them. It was way too intense. 


Then I took a nap that lasted forever. Ugh. I have to stop taking naps.