Adventures in The Netherlands

Nethergorgeous

2010-04-26T03:44:00.000-04:00

My weekend was eventful to where I am now exhausted on Monday morning.

Saturday:
At approximately 10am, Roger came to pick me up from my apartment to head to Zeeland! Zeeland was about an hour and a half drive - long distance for most Dutch people and very short distance for Americans. However, I did end up napping on our way there. I'm just a horrible passenger driver - I ALWAYS doze off.

We arrived at Neeltje Jans - a Delta Park where there are different exhibitions, shows, rides that deal with the water. Dutch people are definitely creative when it comes to dealing with water. I'm quite impressed actually. Roger and I first slid down this awesome slide, played at the water park for kids to show different ways of pumping water and controlling water. Then, we went inside this massive aluminum whale where there were abundance of information about whales. After the whale exhibition, we went inside an aquarium. I love aquariums. I sometimes wish that I was a fish - they look calm and content with their lives.

After the aquarium, we had lunch where Roger had mussels (I was craving oysters but they didn't have any) and I had some kind of meat with french fries. I can't get away from meat and french fries. One of my favorite dishes. :)

We also watched a seal show where four seals showed tricks and made me extremely happy. We also went to this other exhibition where I saw how people prevented major floods from happening again. It was pretty neat. Then, we tried to get on this ride at the Moby Dick site, but it was closed. We rode the train around the park as well. :)

To end our day in Neeltje Jans, we slid down the big slide again. The second time was definitely way better than the first time.

We stopped by Zierikzee, another island. Since it is a small town, the stores were already closed by 17:00 on Saturdays! We did grab a drink - I had the white beer again and yum. We also walked around the town, took pictures, and stopped by Albert Heijn so I could grab some beer and milk. Great combination, huh?

Before we got to Rotterdam, we stopped by Barendrecht where my interview will be. We figured out how to get there by finding the nearest bus stop. It was really nice for Roger to take me there to show me where it is. When we got back to Rotterdam, we had dinner at a Chinese-Indonesian restaurant that was really nice. I ordered the chicken soup and some kind of steamed meat ball.

And after a long day, I finally got home exhausted. I checked my bank account, still nothing there, and my heart dropped because I felt that I was lied to. :(

Sunday:
I arrived at Annemarie's right at 9 am and we headed to Efteling with the whole family and Borris' friend. It was a 45 minute drive to Efteling, an amusement park. I don't know what I was expecting, but I sure wasn't expecting a lot of people. As it turned out, Efteling is like Disney World. It was great. On the way there, Borris taught me the numbers 1-100 in Dutch. It was great.

Efteling was huge. I was greeted with three guys dressed up in costume, and we had a great time taking pictures with each other. The boys wanted to take the bigger rides while us girls went to the fairy tale theme rides so that Rosa who is 4 years old could enjoy the park.

It was really nice being with Annemarie and her family- and it was refreshing to think that I had great people to occupy my last Sunday. I rode a roller coaster - nothing compared to the US - and it was so much fun. I did get a headache after though. We also rode this water ride all together, and I ended up buying the picture that was taken of us - just as a reminder.

While at the park, I noticed that little kids had numbers on their arms. I thought that Annemarie was the only one that did this, but apparently it's a Dutch thing. In case, a young child gets lost, someone can call their parents. if they are found by someone else. It's a good strategy, I think.

I also received interview tips from Annemarie's husband because he hires a lot of people. I found out that starting teachers here make 1600 euros a month after taxes. That's equivalent to $2000 a month, and sadly enough, that won't be enough for me to live off. My dad told me to be smart about my finances and write down all of my expenses. It's either I work in the US to pay off my loans or work in The Netherlands to take out more loans. Ugh, we'll see what happens.

When I got home, I cooked myself dinner. :) I really do enjoy cooking, I have to make sure not to leave the kitchen or else I forget about cooking. I also talked to my mom because apparently a check was sent to my house from Anthony. Since I didn't know what was going on, I called Anthony. He never picked up before with my Skype number, but apparently he picked up now because it said unknown number. Ugh. We discussed the check and other things. I ended up talking to him for an hour.

I don't know anymore. Within that hour of my life, I've realized things that I don't want to accept. I'm torn. I'm ready to sit down with him and tell him everything. It bugs the crap out of me that because I talked to him, in that one hour, I turned into my old self again. Insecure, self-conscious, judgmental, jealous, and full of accusations. I lost focus. Anthony became the center of my life in that one hour, and God was put aside. I'm still weak. I still haven't let it all go, and let God. I still have a lot to work on. :(

Netherinterview/wedding

2010-04-23T17:11:00.000-04:00

Today was an amazing day.

I started out by visiting a primary school meaning from age 4 - 12. The teacher that I worked with, Laura, was amazing. Although Annemarie has been emailing her to remind her that I wanted to observe, she just now answered. Like I always said, better late than never. I was super excited about being with students that I'm used to in the states - the age level that is.

When Annemarie finally introduced me to Laura, I was more than thrilled because Laura taught 10-11 year olds and it reminded me of Mrs. Bailey's class last semester. The whole class was so excited that an American teacher is with them. We started the morning with a group talk where I talked about where I was from and answered questions they had about me. The students were so eager to talk to me in English and they understood most of what I said - and this was their first year learning English. It was impressive! They barely made mistakes and it was the fact that when Laura teaches them English - she teaches them IN English. The questions they asked were really good too like "How do you feel not knowing Dutch and not understanding?" and "Have you lost a close friend" < - that hit me hard.

The most impressive thing though is the respect and interest that I received from the students. It was just super nice, and I've missed that. Even when they couldn't translate their questions in English, they looked at me while asking a question in Dutch while Laura translated. When we went outside, the students started showing me tricks with their skateboards, and I had a couple of girls follow me everywhere. It was nice to be wanted. :) I took pictures with the class because I absolutely loved them. I gave them my email address to keep in touch and I've already received an email from one!

One of the students also helped me try a wave board. Kids here make it look so easy, but it was sooo hard! It was fun, though.

There was also a smart board in every classroom and I was super excited. There are 550 students in the school, and they also have another building/school. Well, when the students were asking me questions, Laura can just bring up pictures/videos/etc on the smart board. It was amazing, and I've missed technology so much.

Then, I had lunch at Annemarie's. We ate our lunch outside in her garden. It was another beautiful day, and I loved the sun's warmth on my body. We had a nice chat about everything, and she said that she was glad I was here another week. She's really something else.

After that, I went back to my apartment because I was super tired. I originally wanted to go to Mag's son's bday party at this park, but I was just too tired. Well, instead of sleeping, I checked my email and I received an email from Calvijn Groene Hart (a bilingual school!) saying that they wanted to interview me! I was super excited and I called my parents and everyone I knew! It seemed that I was the only one excited though. Oh well.

Then, I went to the post office to send another box home. I have no idea how I ended up with so much stuff. My goodness. I went home, cooked food, and got ready for a Dutch Evangelical wedding with Mag.

I took the public transportation to Oud-Beijerland to attend the wedding. I thought about backing out on that one as well, but I couldn't miss a wedding. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. Mag translated everything for me. There was this woman that was sitting beside me who wasn't very nice, as Mag would say it. She wouldn't scoot over for us - rude.

The wedding was completely different than Catholic wedding. There was a live band, tons of music, people raising their hands, etc. The groom even washed his bride's feet to show her that he wants to serve her as Jesus served his disciples. It surprised both me and Mag.

After the wedding ceremony at church - the reception! However, our reception is completely different than the Dutch reception. The Dutch reception is where all the guests get in line to congratulate the groom, bride, and their parents. They also hand their presents, and grab coffee/tea and a little snack. Then at 10, everyone who wasn't invited to the "party" is kicked out. Whoa, right?

Now, I'm home and I'm feeling weird. I've had a good day then I get home and I feel weird. I don't even know how to explain it. We'll see.

Nethertwodays

2010-04-22T03:00:00.001-04:00

So I kept forgetting to update all of you with my lives. Two days have passed, and you haven't read about my life. How sad, right?

Well, the rest of Tuesday was both relaxing and stressful. I rushed to the school to meet with Magdalena and try to come up with a plan B for Romania. Since my flight to Cluj from Milan wasn't cancelled or at risk, I was trying to catch a train to Milan from Rotterdam. After stressing about the price, I received an email from my airlines about a risk of the flight being cancelled. So I just decided to cancel my trip overall, and just rebook another new flight on a later date.

Hm. For a while, I just put the thought of missing Romania aside. I was really bummed about not going, and I was so negative about being in Rotterdam for another week. I thought that I just wanted to sit in my room and sleep the rest of the time I was here.

I had a talk with Annemarie while she was doing canteen duty. She invited me to an amusement park on Sunday. I denied because I thought I would be intruding. Then, I waited for Magdalena to be finished with classes to check out the park that her son and his friends will be playing at. It's a really cool park - kids can play in the mud, sand, run around, have a campfire, build things with branches, etc. It's only .50 for kids and 2 euro for adults. It's a nice place to sit and relax - and that's what Mag and I did for the rest of the afternoon.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was a bit windy - like always - but it wasn't too cold to sit outside for an hour or two. Mag and I talked about friendships, Romania, life, God, and everything else that came to mind. I will truly miss Mag's companionship and kindness. It's weird how attached I became with both Annemarie and Magdalena - I would consider them as two of my closest friends and they're both older and have families already. Steven kept forgetting that Mag and Annemarie have families and kept wanting me to invite them to go out. Ha.

I was really glad that I spent the afternoon outside and not in my room sulking about my missed trip to Romania. When I got home, I couldn't help but search for flights to Romania at a later date. I did find one for a cheaper price than I paid before but I would have to catch the train to Germany since the plane takes off at one of their airports. I was really excited, called Mag, and told her what I discovered. I would have to leave on Thursday night to catch the Friday morning trip to Romania, and Helen was super excited about it. However, after all the discussions and debate with my parents, Mag and Frank, and myself, I decided not to go because
1) I didn't have enough money (although Mag and Frank offered to help)
2) there's a chance that my flight to Romania would be cancelled because of the volcanic ash
3) there's a chance that I might get stuck in Romania because of all the chaos and miss my flight to the US

So for the first time of my life (haha), I listened to my parents and decided to play it safe. I dreaded telling Helen that I will NOT be coming to Romania, after she already showed my picture to her students, after she set up a program to have me give a speech about the importance of learning a foreign language as a young student, after she already made arrangements for me. I just hated disappointing her and I felt like I shattered her hopes. :(

As you can probably tell, I'm very disappointed and upset that I didn't get to visit Romania like I planned.

Wednesday:
I was very productive. I bought wine, groceries, and a box to send home to the US since everything wouldn't fit. I bought so much food for the next week that it's a bit ridiculous. Sometimes I wish I didn't eat so much, then I would save a lot of money. Eh. I do cherish my relationship with food, though. And for the wine, I originally just wanted to buy boxes to put the wine that I already bought - but the guy said he only sells the boxes with a purchase of wine. So I ended up buying three bottles of wine - one for my Costa Rica group for our get together, one for Mag, and one for Annemarie. Then I used the boxes for my Polish wine and vodka. :)

As I carried all of these things in my hand (groceries, wine, and big box), I realized just how much I missed my car. I had to take the public transportation and everyone could tell that my hands were def full - and I kept hitting people with the box. It was a amusing but a bit embarrassing. When I got home, I cooked spaghetti and took a nap.

When I finally woke up from my 2 hour nap (only supposed to be 30 min), I decided to go to the shoe repair shop to get my black boots repaired. I've worn it so many times that the heels were so worn out. I took the metro and right when I exited there was a shoe repair shop. It wasn't the one I originally wanted to go to but it was closer and cheaper. I paid 6.95 euros to get my shoes repaired! I will have to take my other boots to get repaired as well.

As I waited for my shoes to get repaired, I walked around the center of Rotterdam to look for a souvenir shop or a shop that could fix my glasses. My glasses is so ghetto now - it's all taped up. It broke like this before, but I was hoping that someone could fix it and not say 'we can't fix this.' That's exactly what happened though. :(

I also ended up going to HEMA, this store that sells almost everything. They have really good apple pies and I thought that it would be expensive. Well, it was only 5 euros! So you know I had to get one. That makes two apple pies for me - one from Albert Heijn and another from HEMA. Whoa.

As soon as I picked up my shoes, I went home to eat my apple pie. I finished half of one and soon felt happy and disgusted at the same time. I have to take advantage of eating as much Dutch apple pie as possible during my remaining days.

The rest of the day was spent on talking to people on facebook, calling my parents and my family, sorting out souvenirs, packing my box, and just being lazy. I debated about going to the school to pick up my bike, and ended up not going. However, I did go to the gym to do weights and cardio. I always forget just how much I love going to the gym until I get there. I also bought my little sister chocolate chip cookies because that's what she wanted.

After working out, I bought laundry tokens and washed my dirty clothes. I was just going to pack it in my suitcase and wash it at home, but it'll save me time at home to do laundry now. While I waited for my clothes to wash and dry, I watched movies, cleaned the apartment, ate, etc. It was a good day.

Thursday:
Today, I'm at school. I will be teaching at least one class today. It's a bit embarrassing to see all the of people at school again after telling them good bye. It was already hard enough to say good bye, now I have to do it all over again next week. Roger, a Latin teacher, offered to take me to Zeeland this Saturday so that gives me something to do! How exciting! Then, Mandy, an economic teacher, told me about a program that was going on for the day. There were different activities for the 6th years gymnasium level.

I surprised my 4h4 class, and they were excited to see me at least one more time. :) They had a literature test, so I couldn't really talk to them. I did go to Zumba class at school! Taught by Mandy and another teacher. It was simple. I've decided that I want to be a Zumba instructor during my free time. I want to dance and get paid for it - and it's appropriate!

After that, Mag and I talked about the lesson plans for the next 8 support classes that's left in the school year. We were very productive and I was surprised that I could come up with such good ideas. Then, a teacher came and told us that there are drinks and treats in the canteen.

Sure enough, the drinks were alcohol. How I love this school - not because I'm an alcoholic or anything like that but it's just nice how relaxing it is to drink with colleagues and talk. I sure did take pictures.

I also had to teach my support class at 2:55 and there were only 4 boys that showed up and we had a great time together. I really like the small class setting. We get a lot done and everyone gets the attention they deserved. I was also very relaxed while teaching.

Then, I went home with Mag like usual Thursdays. When we got to the grocery store, she realized that she forgot her purse at school. Luckily enough, her husband got it for her. I helped her cook food, and talked about everything. This night, Mag was the one that put the kids to bed, and I finally went upstairs of her house. Her house is huge compared to the other Dutch houses that I've been in! She has so much room, and the kids' rooms are super cute. While she put the kids to bed, I cleaned up after dinner. It was the least I could do.

Then, we finally relaxed and talked about everything. My conversations and discussions with Mag can go on for days. Goodness.

I got home pretty late and I got on the phone with my family. My mom is hilarious. She had me changed her password so that nobody is commenting without her knowledge. Ha.

Polish Days :)

2010-04-20T06:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday:

I woke up early to get ready for Auschwitz Tour. The breakfast served at Hostel 70's was neatly served since there were only seven of us staying in the hostel. The employees were also super nice and called Krakow Shuttle for me to confirm my Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour. At 9 am, I waited outside for the driver to pick me up from Hostel 70's. At 9:10 am, I became very nervous but I found the driver in front of Zodiakus Hostel - my original hostel.

So the drive to Auschwitz began - an hour away from Krakow. There were two other people in the van with me. The driver has only worked for the company for a month, and he seemed nice enough. On our way to Auschwitz, there were cops everywhere and people on the side of motorways. People were also pulling over to try and see if they can get a glance of someone important. Yes, Sunday was the burial of the Polish president so it was chaotic. I was a bit worried that I would be the only one at Auschwitz but there were plenty enough people. The other two people with me were very intrigued by each other's company that I was invisible to them. One was from Canada and the other one from Australia - yes, I can understand every little thing they talked about.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous to be spending it at such a depressing place. We watched a short film first, then on to the English tour guide. There was an English tour guide at 11:30 and my group joined them. However, the tour guide kicked us out because we were in the wrong group - not once, but twice and stated that it was impossible that we were supposed to be with her.

So we went with another tour guide. Auschwitz I is incredible. It was so surreal to see those words in the entrance gate "Arbeit Macht Frei." I took tons of pictures, but none with me because I didn't know what kind of facial expression I should have. We went in the different block buildings where the hospital used to be, the "death building," and so much more. We saw proof of evidence such as lots and lots of hair from the prisoners. It was disgusting. I took pictures even when we weren't supposed to. We also went into the basement where the first experiment of Cyclone B happened. The basement also included tons of torture rooms which really creeped me out.

The last thing we visited in Auschwitz was a crematorium and a gas chamber. I couldn't even take pictures inside because I thought it would be disrespectful. In that gas chamber, you could see the small openings on the roof where the SS put in the Cyclone B to kill the prisoners.

Then, we went to Birkenau aka Auschwitz II. I never realized just how big it was, and it surprised me that there is a neighborhood full of houses next to it. Of course, those houses didn't exist during WWII, but it's still creepy to think that you are living next to a camp where millions of people died. There are no words to describe the feelings I had while walking around Auschwitz II. Our tour guide took us to what used to be the bathroom and where 400 people lived in a barn. The living conditions were devastating. Then, she also showed us where the SS did their selections, where the moms, kids, and older people walked to their death, and the destroyed crematoriums. There were four of them in Auschwitz II.

I also had a chance to go to the building where registration took place - where the Jews were tattooed, shaved, disinfected, etc. For the first time during the tour, I felt really uneasy and scared as if someone was with me. Nobody died in that building but the feeling I got while inside was plain creepy.

The tour took 6 hours in total and it was worth every penny that I spent. It was also a good decision to go to Auschwitz instead of going to the funeral of the Polish president. When I returned to Krakow, I did manage to stand with tons of people waiting for the burial to take place in the castle. The crowds of people were amazing. I took tons of pictures.

Ooh, I had a really hard time distinguishing between still and sparkled water. I am disgusted by sparkled water and that's what I kept buying because I didn't know how to tell the difference. Ugh.

As I was walking home from the center of Krakow, I got pooped on by a bird. It was a great sign to show that I would not be having a great night in Krakow. When I checked my email, I found a cancellation email from my airline. My trip to Romania was now cancelled due to the volcanic ash. I frantically tried to look for alternative (but cheap) ways to get to Romania and there weren't any. I was beyond upset. This was the third time that my flight has been cancelled while traveling in Europe. Ugh. I spent the rest of the night trying to see if there were any way that I could go to Romania --- epic fail.

Monday:

I woke up early looking forward to the breakfast. After the delicious breakfast, I went to the post office to mail my family a postcard from Poland. I also explored other parts of Krakow that I hadn't had a chance to look at. I went into this church - by far my favorite Catholic Church that I have seen. It was absolutely breath-taking. I also walked through a park, bought chocolates and souvenirs, and walked back to the hostel. I got on Tram 19 to go to the bus station, and did not have to pay for my ride there. I don't know how people are checked if they paid or not. I know it's wrong, but I was totally out of Zlotys.

Since I still had an hour left before my bus leaves, I went to the mall. The mall was three stories high and it was huge! Nothing compared to the malls in the US. When I wasted enough time at the mall, I headed to the bus station. My back was hurting because my bookbag was so heavy - full of liquor to bring back home. :)

My bus back to Rotterdam was of course late. There were a couple of people freaking out about the bus. At this point, I was just over Europe and wished I could go back to the US. However, with all the volcanic ash from Iceland - it seems impossible. I did meet this really cool girl on the bus. She's from Hong Kong, but studying in the UK. So the trip to Berlin wasn't as bad. We did take a lot of breaks, and traffic was horrible in Poland. Oh, and the roads are really bad too.

When we finally arrived in Berlin, I transferred to another bus where I met a girl from South Africa who is working in the UK. It seemed that almost everyone on the bus was riding the bus because their flight was cancelled.

Riding the bus isn't bad at all. I don't mind it a bit. I was really uncomfortable but whatever. Travelling these past couple of days was very stressful. Everyone and everything were chaotic and everyone seemed to be complaining.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm ready to go back to the US.

My flight to Romania is cancelled over all - there's nothing I can do. That leaves me with one week left in Rotterdam - I wonder what I'll do.

Polish adventures!

2010-04-17T15:32:00.000-04:00

I don't feel like writing in sentences so here goes:

Friday:
- went to school to say goodbye to teachers and finish my portfolio
- got talked into by Hans to stop by on Tuesday when I get back from Poland
- Roger, the Latin teacher, gave me a tea set
- ate Mcdonalds with the Turkish girls that I tutored: one did really well in English while the other not so much
- was a fat ass again by ordering too much food
- called my mom, took a nap, and rushed to the bus station
- looked forward to the 20-hr bus ride to Krakow

Saturday:
- arrived to Berlin
- bus to Krakow was two hours late
- rumors that Krakow would be closed due to the burial of the president
- one guy offered me a ride to Krakow: thought it was sketchy
- glasses kept breaking: really need new glasses
- ate at Mcdonalds again: very much disgusted at myself at this point
- met Slovakian couple who were all over each other
- the bus drivers spoke only Polish when making announcements
- the bus ride turned into a 23-hr bus ride: ugh!
- when i finally found my hostel, the hostel was full and had to go to another hostel down the street: Hostel 70's
- after putting everything up, went for a walk around the city center
- lots of people mourning the president's and his wife's death: their pictures are everywhere and everyone is holding a Poland flag
- Obama is supposedly coming tom for the burial
- went grocery shopping for food tom
- bought Polish wine :)
- bought souvenirs, hopefully can send the postcards
- everything will be closed tomorrow
- Hostel 70's is a very small hostel, but nice enough
- looking forward to my Auschwitz tour tom
- multiple overdraft fees charged to my bank of america account: have no idea how i'm paying for it. :(
- apparently bars here in poland close at 12 due to prohibition on sundays
- Polish language is very intimidating, I can't even try to read it
- slept all day but yet so tired
- "bubbles or no bubbles?" this mcdonalds employee asked when i said water to drink...haha.
- thank God i didn't ride with that guy who offered

Netherblessed

2010-04-16T05:51:00.000-04:00

Thursday was my last day teaching at Calvijn, and boy, was it busy! The day started out pretty slow since I didn't have to teach until 11:05, 11:55, and 2:55. Yep, three classes on my last day.

In the morning, I just worked on more paperwork and making sure that everything is completed. Anthony emailed me about his placement - he's going to be in Massachussetts! How exciting, right?

I wasn't feeling well in the morning, this whole getting sick before traveling is not working for me. However, the classes that I taught did make me feel better and it was a great closure to an amazing teaching experience. Since it was my last day with 1mh2, Magdalena gave me the opportunity to do something fun with the students. Of course, we played musical chairs. It's just so much fun for both me and the students. When the student was out, they had a worksheet that covered grammar rules that they have learning. And guess what? The students actually did the worksheet. Whoa, right?!

1mh2 class was a difficult class, and they misbehaved not because they didn't respect me but because they couldn't understand some of the things I was saying. Although it was a tough ride with them, I couldn't be happier. They always cheered when they found out that I would be teaching them, and they always compliment me on how I look, how I teach, etc. I thanked them in the end of the class, and told them just how much I will miss them. They said the same thing.

Right after 1mh2 class, I had to teach a new class of 2nd years with Ted, a History teacher. The class is learning about the Holocaust, and they are sharing and communicating with students from Poland. Since the Dutch students didn't speak Polish and the Polish students didn't speak Dutch, they depended on English...and that's where I came in. I helped the students with their grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and guided them through sentence structure and vocabulary. Since some of the students couldn't pronounce my name, they called me "Miss America" and it definitely caught me off guard. It was kind of nice.

Then, I had a break in the teacher's workroom where Annemarie, Magdalena, Roger, and I took pictures. It was unbelievable that I haven't had any pictures with Annemarie or Magdalena so we took advantage. At 2:55, I had to teach the support class where half of 1mh2 class was there for "punishment." It was a bit of a distraction because I'm used to the 8 or 9 students that I had on Thursdays. It was a bit chaotic with 15 students.

After class, Magdalena filled in my COST evaluation. She made a comment about how I dressed too sexy for school. It caught me off guard because how I dressed would be how I would dress in the US. Dresses, skirts, pants, etc. It frustrated me a bit because I covered every thing, no skin was showing except for my neck and my arms, yet I was still too sexy. Should I just start wearing baggy clothes? I think things would be different if I wasn't as pretty. I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but there's this other teacher who dresses way worse than me - her clothes are way tighter, she shows a lot of skin - but she just doesn't have sex appeal (other teachers commented on it) so it doesn't really matter. I've changed my wardrobe to more conservative - I even wear tights and underclothes to make sure that I didn't show excessive skin or anything. I don't know...

I also said a few good byes to a couple of teachers, and it makes me sad to think that I will no longer walk through the doors of Calvijn and say good morning to these wonderful teachers in Dutch.

When Magdalena and I finally left the school to go to Oud-Beijerland, I was super tired. We picked up her kids from school, and we visited Jelma, one of the girls from my religious group. We walked from the school to her house, and it was a beautiful day. When we got home, Frank, her husband, took over cooking while Magdalena finished my evaluation and I took a nap. :)

At 6:45, we were off to Happy Wok where my religious group and I celebrated being together and also combining it to be a goodbye dinner for me. Happy Wok was a buffet, but they didn't have much to choose from. My first plate was full of food while the other girls had very little food. The American side of me glowed. Anyways, the buffet had cooked food and uncooked food where you can either grill it or make a wok.

At Happy Wok, I met two new girls, Dehlia and Tinca. Karen, Thirza, and Fay were also there. We had a great time talking about food, life, etc. Then, we had a debriefing of the 40 days that we participated in. After that, the girls gave me presents. Fay gave me a mug full of Dutch tea and Dutch jelly. Karen gave me a wooden shoe keychain and stroopwafels. Thirza gave me a card and more stroopwafels (aka Dutch cookies). Magdalena gave me glass wooden shoes, and the whole group gave me a children's book that reminds me just how special I am to God's eyes. The girls all wrote in it - and it brought tears to my eyes. Not only did they give me presents, but they also paid for my dinner.

That night in Happy Wok, I was overwhelmed by the kindness that the girls have shown me in just 8 Thursday meetings. We were open to each other about everything, and everyone has their own story. I admire these girls for sharing their stories with me, and also that they try to live like Jesus and serve God. To have these girls my age surround me was just such a refreshing feeling. Because of them, they made me feel redemption and that God is an all-forgiving God and that he loves me no matter what. Their prayers about me touched my heart, and I will forever be grateful for them. They changed my life forever.

Netherhang

2010-04-15T02:50:00.000-04:00

I had a really busy day today. :( And I'm sick again. I think my body knows when I'm about to do some major traveling. Ugh. Two more days until Poland then Romania.

I arrived to school early to finish more of my paperwork. My day started out really slow since the time is winding down, and there's not much for me to do anymore.

While I was sitting in the teacher's workroom, a Math teacher talked to me about a former American teacher in Calvijn coming to visit him. Apparently this American professor taught in Calvijn for six months, and he taught himself Dutch. Anyways, the entire time the teacher was talking to me about Bill, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful this teacher is. He's not fully Dutch, but his facial features is just astonishing. I couldn't help but stare. He has been teaching in Calvijn for over 10 years, and he is a foster parent of 5 kids. How amazing, right?

Anyways, I met a student to practice his verbal skills. He told me 10:30 but he showed up 10:45, It's ok, at least he showed up. We went into a classroom and got to talking about a WASP Reporter article that he read for me. :) He made mistakes like "much people" and a couple of subject-verb agreement. We did talk alot about himself, his experiences, etc. It was a nice chat.

After the meeting, I left right away because I was invited to my first Dutch birthday party by my mentor teacher, Magdalena. Joshua, her son, turned 7 and was having a birthday party at 14:00. I went home at around 11:15 and heated up spaghetti sauce and boiled some noodles. Yum. I felt really crappy afterwards, though. I talked to Ashton (yay!) and the cleaning people came in. This time there was a guy with them. I caught him staring at me - awkward.

I tried to take a nap before the bday party, but that didn't happen. So I caught the metro to zuidplein and the bus to Oud-Beijerland. I didn't know what to expect of the party, so I made sure to get there on time. I was the first one there - people didn't start coming until around 3. I didn't know what to give Joshua for his bday so I made him a bday card and gave him an American dollar - figured that would be cool to a 7 year old. When the first guest showed up with her two kids, Hanah, Joshua and I were blowing bubbles. When one of the kids went outside, I accidentally smacked him in the face while making bubbles. Oops.

During the birthday party, only a couple of people came which was stressful enough for Magdalena. She had two friends come over with two kids each, her sister-in-law with three kids, and her neighbor with one kid. Her parents-in-law were there also. Her father-in-law really made the effort to talk to me about everything. He did comment about how Dutch people in Rotterdam don't really like all the immigrants coming in. Interesting because I have met Dutch people who feel this way. The guests really did try to include me in the conversation. I met Magdalena's Romanian friend also.

The party wasn't as different than US bday parties. I think the only difference is that hot tea was still served even though we were outside in the warm weather. Magdalena bought an apple pie, a chocolate pie, and a cake for Joshua. (She gave me a doggy bag full of treats when I left.) She also had snacks like chips, tomatoes, olives, candy, fruits, etc. It was a mixture of healthy and junk food. :) When the cake was out for Joshua, the guests sang a birthday song in Dutch, English, and Romanian. It was awesome.

On my ride back to Rotterdam, the bus scanners weren't working and I got home for free. :)

As soon as I got back to Rotterdam, I got my bike and rode over to my other mentor teacher's house, Annemarie. We had planned to have dinner at her place. Since her husband wasn't home, she decided to cook sauerkraut because her husband didn't like that. She cooked a traditional meal - mashed potatoes, pineapple, sauerkraut, bacon bits all mixed together with sausage. It was an interesting taste. I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't one of my favorites either. Easy to cook, though. :)

After dinner, Borris (her son) and I went to Albert Heijn and picked up some ice cream. It was a very short walk, and I was a little nervous being with Borris alone because we didn't understand each other. However, we recited the alphabet in both English and Dutch and we taught each other different words. It was precious.

When the kids finally went to bed, Annemarie and I had tea and graded the 4th year students' letters. I love grading. We also worked on the re-sit literature test for the 5th year. I ended up staying until 10. It was a nice evening.

I came home exhausted, however. I called my mom and dad just to check in. John, my little brother injured his thumb. Goodnes..

Netherplay.

2010-04-14T00:35:00.000-04:00

Tuesday: Fun

1. Got to school early and looked forward to sitting in for the English verbal exam - ended up not making it in the morning
2. Helped Magdalena grade papers
3. Got my scrapbook turned into an actual book - yay.
4. Taught my last Tuesday session
5. Watched a play by the 6th years - they annually put a play together about a Greek myth and make a modern story - it was very entertaining - a bit promiscuous and I was shocked - but completely entertaining although it was all in Dutch
6. Had a class with the 5th years
7. Individual tutor with Rick so that he can practice his verbal skills - he wants to meet again
8. SCMS principal emailed me
9. packed my other suitcase - my luggages can weigh 23 kg and both are under and I still have an extra carry on bag that's empty. yay.
10. tried to wash clothes but stupid washer took my money - hate this building I call apartment
11. My parents are the greatest. :) I can never say that enough.
12. I can't believe that Friday is my last day at school. :(

Nethernew!

2010-04-12T17:54:00.000-04:00

Today started out really slow. I got up, got on facebook, and found my little brother engaged to his girlfriend. What the heck!? This is one of those times where I don't know what to say, and I'm upset that I'm not home to talk some sense into him.

Anyways, I was late for school because of that discovery. Annemarie and I only had the 5th years and we just had to do paperwork and all that jazz to get them ready for their exams that I'm helping to make. :)

So, I talked to Hans about contacting Barendrecht and getting me an interview before I leave for the US. Barendrecht just said we'll see. Ha. It's a little disappointing, but I have hope that God has a better plan for me than the plan I have for myself. I really do miss my family though so it is time to go home.

I sat in on the English verbal exam of the higher level 5th years. It was an interesting procedure, just a really casual conversation to check for grammar, pronunciation, fluency, etc. I was with Annemarie and Michel, and it was very laid back and amusing. Michel has such a British accent that it made me smile. He criticized America a lot too about introducing fast food restaurants and saggy pants.

Then, it made me realize just how much the adults here really dislike America and look down on America. Not everyone, of course, but I've just heard plenty of negative comments about America. I mean I sometimes dislike it but it's okay, I'm from there. However, I do find it offensive when older Dutch people criticize my American accent and makes unnecessary comments about America. It's kind of like me making fun of my sibling - it's ok but when someone else does it - it's not ok.

Needless to say, I kept a smile on my face and played off the comments. Back to the verbal exam, the students each get 10-15 minutes to speak with the teachers. The questions can be about their interests, etc so it's like grading the students but also getting to know them. It was amusing.

I also received my evaluations from Annemarie and Hans. :) How exciting. I also witnessed my first process of accepting a new student in the school. Hans had a meeting with the student and their family to discuss the school expectations, fill out paperwork, etc. The student was so excited to be accepted in the school. The student was with her sister, who took interest in me and asked a lot about America.

The weather was beautiful today, by the way. I cycled to Lillian's house to take a picture with her and just to say thanks and good bye. She gave me more insight about everything that I've done. The resume and cover letter that I was so proud of, she butchered and said it was horrible. I mean, I took a class and everything to put the resume and cover letter together. Oh well. She did find me another English teaching position that I can apply to. I just have to revise my resume and cover letter to the Dutch way.

Then, I went home and cooked dinner. I'm really so proud of myself. I have to make sure that I eat everything before this Friday when I leave for Poland then Romania.

I packed one luggage already! I think I might have extra room in my other luggage. I'm so excited! :)

And my parents are the greatest. They make me laugh. I can't wait to see them.

Netherlands is absolutely beautiful

2010-04-12T03:20:00.000-04:00

Saturday:

I woke up early like every morning to start my daily routine. I didn't do much, just more paperwork and organizing my life. I did finish the book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and I recommend it to everyone. It's such a devastating story, but yet grabs your attention to where you cannot put it down. Well, that's what happened to me anyways.

I also cycled around parts of Rotterdam that I haven't seen. I intended to go to this park that my mentor teacher recommended but I couldn't find it so I just kept cycling. I cycled for 90 minutes around the city, and stopped and stared at the river for an hour. I really am going to miss this city. The weather was pleasant, and the sun made Rotterdam sparkle. :)

I also went to Zumba class since it has been a while since I attended a Saturday session. I wanted to go to the shoe repair store to get my shoes fixed, but I decided to wait until I get back to the US. I had tomato soup and cheese sandwich for lunch, and spanish rice with meat and mushrooms for dinner. I was proud of myself for cooking such wonderful meals.

I also contemplated whether I should go out or not since it was my last Saturday. I ended up just watching Eurotrip and Blood Diamond. It was a great way to end my Saturday night. I just couldn't imagine going out by myself and going home by myself at night in those dark streets of Rotterdam.

I also looked up different things to do in Poland. I'm super excited about the trip, but sad that the Polish president died in a plane crash.

Sunday:
I woke up early to shower and get ready for Keukenhof. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting - maybe just tulip fields for free. But this is like a botanical garden kind of deal. Annemarie came and picked me up at 8:30 am, and the drive to Keukenhof was 45 minutes away. Her daughter, Rosa, came with us. :)

When we got to Keukenhof, I paid 14 euro to get in, but it was definitely worth every penny. The gardens and greenhouses were full of stunningly beautiful tulips and varieties of flowers. I was amazed and overwhelmed at the beauty that surrounded me. I took lots of pictures to try and capture the atmosphere and the beauty of it, but it was nothing compared to what I was seeing.

We only spent 2 and a half hours at Keukenhof, and you can easily spend 5 hours there. There were tons of people! The weather wasn't as nice as the day before, but it wasn't raining. I heard lots of English being spoken by Americans, and I quite enjoyed it. Goodness, I wish I could fully describe Keukenhof. Because of this trip, I'm convinced that The Netherlands is absolutely gorgeous, and I understand now why The Netherlands is known for tulips.

When I got back to Rotterdam, there was a marathon going on right in front of my building. The crowds were full of vivacious cheerleaders, and the surroundings were very relaxing. I hope to complete a marathon one day. For lunch, I had a hamburger with cheese and mushrooms and fries. It was great. For dessert, I had my leftover Easter chocolate. Yum.

Then, I took a nap and headed to Oude-Beijerland to visit Magdalena and her family. I'm truly blessed to have them in my life because they have guided and supported me in getting closer to God. Just to have them around me makes me feel like I'm a good person after all. They've done so much for me, and they keep doing nice things. Magdalena's kids adore me, and I adore them. It was really nice to be with a family with so much love for each other. After the kids were put to bed, we had one of our long discussions about God, family, and the past. Magdalena and Frank told me all about how they met and the blossoming of their relationship. I love hearing stories from happily married people. They've been married for 12 years, and they assured me that it's not easy all the time. I needed to hear that.

Frank also ceases to amaze me. He helps out around the house, cooks, cleans, etc. He reads the Bible to his kids every night, and sings a song with them before putting them to bed. I love watching this whenever I'm over.

I got home pretty late because of the great conversation we always have with each other. I ended the night by calling Steven and him making me laugh.

Netherfun

2010-04-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

Today was so much fun and relaxing! It reminded me just how much I love teaching and why I do what I do.

I got emotional today because I'm so torn about coming back to the US and having discussions that might just change my life. I lost sight of God, and pushed him to the side. Therefore, I started to worry about everything, but He gave me a sign that reminded me everything will be okay. How I love how He works.

Anyways, I cycled to school. The weather was gorgeous. The only reason I came to school is because the girls I tutor took their English writing exam today, and they wanted to meet with me before their exam.

After I met with one of the girls, I felt rewarding. Her English was much better than it was. She wrote three letters for me, and the third one had very little mistakes! I'm so proud of her. The other girl couldn't come because she was studying for her History exam. I really hope they did well.

I worked on my portfolio, almost done! After the meeting with Seyma (my student), I had nothing else to do so I decided to hang out with the concierges because it's been a while. We sat and talked about everything, and I really do enjoy talking to them. They all have many stories to share, and I love listening to them!

I also got my scrapbook printed which was awesome! I love the color printer here and all the cool stuff that the concierges can do with the printer!

Then, I had a long talk with my 4h4 boys about everything and anything. I enjoy talking to those boys, and they make me smile with their silly comments. They always make sure to greet me when they see me and they also huddle around me. They keep telling me to stay and how much they'll miss me.

I'm so frustrated with the service here in Rotterdam. I shipped a box to the US and the post office didn't have tape, stuffing, and didn't take credit cards. It was upsetting, and it cost me a lot of money. :(

I'm broke, and I still have to go to Poland and Romania. Uh-oh.

I cooked dinner! I had spanish rice, meat, and mushrooms. It was great. I really like cooking.

Netherfieldtrip

2010-04-08T17:50:00.000-04:00

Today, I said good bye to my roommate. I dropped her off at central station at 5:45 am. Now my apartment is so lonely.

I went on a field trip to Vught where an old prison camp was located. The prison camp had 50,000 prisoners during the second world war. Being in that environment made me really sad.

First of, I got to school early in the morning to do more paperwork. I also had a class with 5h3 where we reviewed for their upcoming English test. After that, at 10 am, Ted, the history teacher, came and got me. I met an intern, Brenda, and she's doing an internship like me in History. She's a student in Rotterdam working on her Bachelor's. She was a really nice girl.

The ride to Vught was an hour and a half, and we took a bus with 26 students. It was ridiculous how some of the students were getting sick in the bus. A couple threw up - I'm guessing from being car sick. The smell of tomato soup throw up was completely disgusting.

When we finally arrived at the camp, the whole tour was in Dutch. I should have known, and the guy did not translate at all. I really should stop expecting people to translate for me. I felt so out of place, and not informed, but it was still a great experience. Ted did translate some stuff for me, but he was too occupied with the other students, which I totally understand. Another thing that made me feel at a disadvantage.

However, the field trips are really awesome. The students are sometimes hard to handle, but they really do learn through experiencing and witnessing some of the horrible things that happened in the past. The students were loud while in the bus but paid great attention when the tour guide was speaking. Ted also told me that parents do pay for these excursions. The parents receive an invoice during the beginning of the year, and it's all voluntarily. It's a little unfortunate for the students who couldn't afford it.

Anyways, the most touching thing at the camp was the Children's monument. My heart just went out to all the kids, and I started tearing up just from the thought of what happened to them. The most interesting thing about the camp is that they only saved a building for exhibition and the rest is used as a prison currently. The prisoners are the worst you can get - the toughest prisoners - like murderers and terrorists. The thought of being so close to them scared the hell out of me.

We also went to a monument for the resistance army who were shot and killed by the Nazis. Just being there and imagining what happened made me shiver. This makes me nervous about visiting Auschwitz in Poland next weekend.

Then, I tried to catch Magdalena before she went home, but as it turned out she went home early because her daughter was sick. I cycled to KFC because I haven't eaten anything all day (this was 4pm) already, and then went grocery shopping so that I have food to last me the rest of the week. Then, I caught the metro to Zuidplein and bus to Oude-Beijerland to have dinner at Magdalena's and to meet with the religious group.

Like every Thursday, it was a nice discussion about ministry and evangelism. I really like that I have a support group who encourages me and motivates me to become closer to God. It's a nice feeling, and I'm hoping to find a support group when I come back to the US.

Hm. I really want to stay here in the Netherlands. We'll see how that goes. I miss my family and dogs like crazy. :)

Netherforgotten

2010-04-08T02:41:00.000-04:00

Oops. Completely forgot about updating my blog.

Time to catch up on Toni Rose's life! :)

Monday:
> did absolutely nothing
> almost everything was closed because it's considered 2nd day of Easter

Tuesday:
> went to The Hague with Annemarie, my mentor teacher
> weather was absolutely beautiful
> took a walk around The Hague, saw the government buildings and the royal palace, went through China Town, window shopping, had coffee and apple pie (least favorite apple pie), grabbed lunch at Dudok, and grabbed a beer at a terrace (white beer/wine beer?) I really need to check my hearing
> spent 7 hours with my mentor teacher - realized how much I'm going to miss her
> great day
> packed just to see if everything will fit - have to buy a box to ship back to the US
> Mom makes me laugh. :)

Wednesday:
> Ashton's last day at school
> worked on my COST portfolio, almost finished
> met with the two girls that I tutor - very motivated and determined to do well in their English writing exam (love those kinds of students!)
> bought a box to send to the US - TNT post employees aren't very much help
> celebrated Ashton's last day with apple pie and ice cream - (ate this instead of meeting with my personal trainer)
> felt really sad and lonely for some odd reason
> talked to Anthony's mom to wish her a happy birthday
> my madre is awesome :)
> started reading "A Thousand Spledid Suns"
> I love reading :)
> applied for an English teaching position at one of the schools here
> a teacher, Roger, is so helpful when it comes to looking for a job here :)

Nether-Amsterdam - chill

2010-04-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

On Friday night, I only got 4 hours of sleep. I've been having problems sleeping, and I'm not quite sure why.

I woke up early to get ready for Amsterdam on Saturday morning. I cycled to the station while Ashton took the tram. There was a special in ticket sales. If you travel in two, you can buy a return ticket for 45 euros and you can travel anywhere as much as you want for that day. It was a sweet deal.

When we got to Amsterdam, the clouds were already threatening to pour rain on us. For 10 minutes, it held up, but then it started raining, and that was how our day went. We went souvenir shopping first so that I can go ahead and get that out of the way. Then, we went to several museums in Amsterdam using our Museum Card. We went to The Old church, The New Church, Amsterdam Historical Museum, Biblical Museum, Foam_Fotografiemuseum, Museum Geelvinck, Jewish Historical Museum, Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, and The Willet-Holthuysen Museum. We didn't get to go to Van Gogh because it was so far away and the rain was really killing us.

We picked up plenty of brochures, and loaded up on information and maps. In the Amsterdam Historic Museum, there was a Red Light District Exhibition which was so interesting. This guy tried to hit on me while we were looking at pictures that dealt with porn and nudity. It was awkward. (It does amaze me how open The Netherlands is about sex. I kinda wish it was like that in the US.) The Old Church was massive but not that impressive inside. The New Church was used for exhibitions. The shopping mall was breath-taking. there was rain and sun at the same time. We ate at McDonalds for lunch, and I grabbed KFC before we went home. So American, but I can't help it.

We also went grocery shopping at Albert Heijn since it'll be closed for Easter and the second day of Easter which is Monday. Then, we grabbed coffee (hot chocolate for me) and Dutch apple pie at illy. I'm absolutely in love with the apple pie, I cannot say that enough. On our walk back to the central station, we were caught in heavy rain and hail! Needless to say, we were soaked when we got in the train. We also rode first class (b/c of the ticket) and a guy commented on me eating fried chicken with bare feet. (I had to take off my shoes and socks because they were soaked and the ride was an hour and 15 minutes long. I didn't want to be uncomfortable!)

I rode my bike on my way home, and it sprinkled a little. I ate my leftovers and went to bed. I finally finished the book, Catcher in the Rye. I'm not sure how I feel about it, though. The use of the curse word, 'gd' bothered me way too much to enjoy the book. Oh well.

Sunday:
I was exhausted and didn't feel good at all. I got ready to go to church since it is Easter! However, after I got dressed, I looked outside and it was raining. My only transportation is bike and I would be soaked by the time I arrive at church, so instead I prayed and did the Catholic sermon myself. It lasted 30 minutes instead of an hour like it would at church.

I was also supposed to go to Magdalena's church today, but I wasn't feeling well. I also had this feeling that it would be a bit like betraying my church if I went to another church that wasn't Catholic. I dunno, I'm weird.

The rest of the day was spent organizing and updating my life. I talked to my wonderful parents. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this Women's Leadership Institute that I was accepted in because I don't have $500 to pay for it. Finances are really stressing my parents out, and I wish I could help out. My dad kept apologizing for not being able to give me money. It's not their fault...

I organized my souvenirs also. Man, I have a lot of souvenirs and I still have to buy just a couple more. Er. I still have Poland and Romania to go to. :)

I also started working on updating my scrapbooks. I just chose the pictures from my junior year and there's 415 pictures. Whoa.

Nether-Utrecht

2010-04-03T02:46:00.001-04:00

Who would've thought that Utrecht would still be fun after the third time of visiting it? My overseas coordinator invited Ashton and I to Utrecht once again to visit him, and also to show off his new paint job at his house. He was very excited about it. He's too precious.

We arrive at Utrecht Centraal at 1, and the first thing Ashton and I did was go to Burger King and order food. I feel like such a bad Catholic (being Good Friday and all) and didn't realize that I wasn't supposed to eat meat after I ordered chicken nuggets. They were only a euro! Hans didn't get to the station until 1:15 so we enjoyed our food while waiting on Hans.

For the first 20 minutes that he arrived, he just talked to us about why it was so busy in the station. There were people everywhere! After we finished eating, we started walking and Hans still had so much to show us. We went into this store, Xenos, where they sell really cheap things. Xenos had everything you can think of. I really liked the store. Then, we took a different route than the last two times I was in Utrecht, and he talked to us more about The Netherlands. We walked to the city center where people enjoyed the canals and the sunshine. We stopped for coffee, and sat down next to the water. I witnessed boats passing by, ducks playing, people sitting on the ground eating, and these three girls littering. It annoyed the hell out of me.

After coffee, we went to the Museum of Clocks and Organ Music, and it has to be one of my favorites. We waited until 3 for the guided tour, so we wasted time in Bruna, a store like Hallmark in the US. Then, we did the guided tour in the museum. Oh yea, we had our museum cards so we got in free. However, mine didn't work. :( The girl still let me in though. I still have to call customer service about my card.

Anyways, the tour was awesome. We listened to a lot of different tunes and chimes when the clock strikes every hour. We also learned how the whole thing works, and it was fascinating. The tour guide was very good at explaining everything in Dutch and English. She always had a smile on her face, and the museum attracts lots of young children. She also sang for us and made us sing this really cool Dutch song. My favorite organ/instrument was the one for dancing halls. The organ/instrument is massive, and played a swing-type song...and I absolutely love swing dancing. When I told Hans, he got my hand and we started swing dancing in front of everyone! It was great!!!!!

One of the organs/instruments also played Thriller by Michael Jackson, and of course, I had to bust a move. The Dutch people seemed to enjoy watching me dance. Ha.

After the museum, Hans showed us the first department store ever in Utrecht that turned into a cafe/club. It was huge and the atmosphere made me want to sit and have a drink. We also went inside "The Beehive" store which is an expensive department store. Hans also showed us the main post office (where I bought stamps) and it was massive! My camera unfortunately died and I couldn't take a picture of it. :(

Finally, we took a different route to go to his home. We saw lots of green and flowers, which got me really excited. It's still a bit chilly here, around 40 degrees Celsius but it feels so good compared to below zero weather. Hans showed us his new paint job, and it did look good. He talked about dusting everything, and putting away a lot of his things. We sat down, had coffee and "Easter cake," and talked about everything. It was like a debriefing since Ashton is leaving next week, and I only have two weeks left in Rotterdam before I travel some more.

We had dinner which consisted of corn, salad, potatoes, and fish. We also had ice cream for dessert. Hans mentioned the public television stations and the more people who subscribe for the program, the more time they get on the television. It's a really neat system. Hans also surprised us with a huge Easter egg filled with chocolate.

When I finally got home around midnight, I rode my bike while Ashton walked, my card to get in didn't work. It was a great way to end the day. :( I stood outside for a while because the intercom didn't work, and I also had to wait until Ashton got home. It was a pain in the butt. I honestly dislike this apartment very much.

Utrecht made me realize just how much I'm going to miss Hans. He's such a wonderful person, and because of him, the trip here is much more enjoyable. He always has a smile on his face, and he loves having us here. I can't even describe him fully, he's just freaking amazing and I wouldn't know what I would've done without him. Unfortunately, he's retiring next year. The teachers and the students absolutely adore him...

Oh, and Hans's hobby is collecting money from all over the world. It was such a fascinating hobby, I think I might pick it up. He gave me Polish money for my trip to Poland. He also gave me the money that Philippines used when the Japanese took over my country. I can't wait to show my family!

Netherteaching

2010-04-02T00:43:00.000-04:00

Thursday was my last day teaching my 4h4 class, and it went really well. My overseas coordinator also observed me. Since I had chocolate eggs to hand out to students, the students participated and I kept their interest. First time ever. Ha.

I also took class pictures today. My camera is acting up, and the pictures aren't coming up clear. :(

The 5th years had a review today for their upcoming English reading comprehension exam.

I was also super tired today because I wasn't able to sleep last night. I took a nap again that turned into 3 hours and I was up late at night. :(

Oh yeah, with my support class, I didn't play games with them, and the lesson turned out well. It seemed that they learned a lot which is always exciting.

I also went home with Magdalena for the religious group get together every Thursday. Karen wasn't there so the group seemed so little. We had a great discussion about discipleship, and it was great like always. God loves me and He's so good to me. We all made plans for next week about how we can be closer to God.

Magdalena also ordered Chinese take out, and for 25 euros, we got tons of food....like tons. Magdalena's kids were adorable like always. They invited me to go to church with them on Sunday for Easter. I'm a bit nervous about attending another church, but they have translations in English so I would know what is being said.

My group planned out a goodbye dinner for me at a Wok Restaurant. I'm pretty stoked. :)

Nether-Leiden

2010-03-31T16:53:00.000-04:00

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.

Netherpullover

2010-03-30T16:19:00.000-04:00

Funniest thing ever: I got pulled over by a cop on my bike. He was on a scooter, and to get my attention, he was yelling at me.

It was my fault, I guess, but the fact that it happened still makes me smile. I got on the sidewalk for like 2 seconds (I've seen people do it all the time) and apparently crossed the road when the light was red when I thought it was a blinking green. Whoops.

I just started shaking my head. Luckily enough, the cop didn't give me any ticket. It was very interesting because you hardly see any cops in Rotterdam, and I could've argued with him (cause you can and it'll be fine) but I think the fact that I didn't speak Dutch made him leave me ticketless.

I didn't have to teach today because I went on a field trip with the History class. We went to a museum that provided information on how WWII affected The Netherlands. It was very interesting. Of course, we took the public transportation with 22 students and 3 teachers. It still blows my mind how public transportation is taken when there are field trips - it's just too chaotic.

I also met with my two girls that I tutor every week. They're adorable, and I'm going to miss them so much. Their English writing exam is next Friday, so we'll be meeting almost every day next week to just practice their writing skills. I really hope I've done a good job tutoring them. I'll be grabbing dinner with them on my last day in Rotterdam. :(

Also, I finally tracked down where my package was with the help of my mother and two awesome ladies from the museum. I was getting frustrated because the TNT post here couldn't help me track my package and tell me where it was. Every number I called led to another number I needed to call, and it made me realize just how much service sucks here in Rotterdam. I guess they don't get paid being helpful...

My family is the greatest! In the package were food, medicine, prayer books, and little things that I needed. They also included a card where everybody wrote in it and told me nice things. Ha.

I can't believe that Ashton is leaving next week. I'll be lonely for a week, then I'm going to Romania, then I'm going back to the US! Whoa. How unfortunate. Ha.

I'm going to Leiden University tomorrow and asking lots of questions about possibly going to grad school there and extending the deadline for the application since it is due this upcoming Thursday...

Netherevaluation

2010-03-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

So today, I handed out evaluations for my students to complete about me. Here are some of the answers that I received.

Question: What is one thing that your teacher does well?
Answers: "She dresses attractive." "She's taking good care of herself." "Try to learn Dutch."

Question: What is one thing that you can suggest to help this teacher improve?
Answers: "Don't wear your glasses anymore. This looks great (without)." "Saying my name." "Get more experience in handling fights." "Spend more time with me." (one of the boys) "There are things but not important things. You will do great in the US." (I guess I'll never know what those things are.)

So yea, what an entertaining day! :)

I also took a picture with 4h4 class.

I taught the 4h4 class, which always goes very interesting since they never want to listen. I don't dislike them though, they do make me laugh.

Since I wore my contacts today and dressed up, the boys in my classes went crazy with compliments and comments. I finally realized why I wore my glasses and not my contacts - to prevent all the drooling from the boys. Not being cocky or anything, it's just strange...

After teaching, I worked out at the gym. I talked to my mom about my package and apparently it has been sitting at the post office for two weeks now. I have to go pick it up. :) I also talked to Kristen, whom I haven't spoken to in quite a while.

Then, I went to my mentor teacher's performance. She sings for a band, and she's really good! We watched the other performers - it was a free jazz show. And we cycled home together. It was a very nice evening - except that I went straight from the gym to the performance. I'm sure I smelled something not pretty. Ha.

:)

Nether-Delft

2010-03-29T00:09:00.000-04:00

So the time changed today - an hour ahead. And so, once again we're 6 hours ahead from the US.

I didn't realize the time changed until I got to church. I arrived on time (10:30 am) and was so confused at church because they already started taking the collection. It was bad enough that the mass was all in Dutch, so I sat at church sooo confused.

The Filipino woman I met a while back saw me and introduced me to another Filipino. The lady asked me if I wanted to go to the Vatican City for Easter weekend for 220 euros. I would have gone because I would have seen the Pope, but I don't have any more money. :( Anyways, the Filipino lady told me that the time changed when I asked her what time the mass started. Whoops.

I also felt really bad since i haven't been going to church because of all the traveling that I've done. I really have forgotten almost everything which scared the crap out of me. :(

That was my morning.

Another thing that I think is really funny is that I have a phone, but I don't have any more minutes which means that people can call me and text me, but I can't respond. I have at least 8 voicemail, I just refuse to buy any more minutes because I won't use them. So people are probably thinking I'm ignoring them. Oh well.

At two, Gene and Marcel came and picked us up at our apartment. Gene is one of Ashton's mentor teachers, and I really didn't know much about her, but she's awesome. :) They don't have any kids, and they look so happy together. The more I stay here, the more I don't want any kids.

Anyways, we arrive in Delft, a college town. A famous technical university is located there so it is a college town. Most of the students are boys, so Gene told me that Delft is the place to be if you're looking for a Dutch man. Ha. Anyways, Delft was gorgeous, of course! Apparently, lots of tourists visit Delft. We were also introduced to the Royal Delftware, which is beautiful and very expensive. The weather started out a little icky, but turned beautiful with the sun out and everything.

Gene and Marcel gave us a free walking tour around Delft, and it was very nice. I'm starting to really like the Dutch culture. They love getting coffee and apple pie. Yummy. We sat outside because the weather was great. After walking around, we went to this bar where they played live jazz music. It was such a nice atmosphere, and we had beer and bitterball. It was so much fun hanging out with them.

Gene also exposed me to Leiden University in Leiden. I'm seriously thinking about getting my master's there if I get a scholarship. I'm visiting the university on Wednesday, something I'm so excited about!

So needless to say, the weekend was a success, and I started missing The Netherlands more even though I'm still here...

Nether-Dordrecht & Kinderdijk

2010-03-27T19:18:00.000-04:00

Today was amazing! I realized just how much I'm going to miss The Netherlands. It's such a great country...

Anyways, I woke up at 5 am this morning to 6 voicemail messages from my parents freaking out about Duffy biting my little sister's face. I was livid. There should be no reason why Duffy is biting anyone. Ugh. I'm so disappointed in him.

Well, I went back to sleep and got ready for the trip to Dordrecht and Kinderdijk. We arrived at the fast ferry stop near the Erasmus bridge and got on to get to Dordrecht. It was only 4.40 euros for an hour boat ride, and it was a pretty satisfying ride. We arrive in Dordrecht and met up with the teachers, Frank and Roger.

First, of course, we went to a cafe to have a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie. Yummy! :) Way to start a day off! Then, we walked to the windmill in Dordrecht and went up the windmill! Apparently, you can have a party inside or even have a wedding inside! It was too cool, and I was too excited. I also bought several souvenirs that I think my cousin and my aunt would love! This windmill was used to make flour. :)

After looking at the view from the top of the windmill, we went to a second-hand store to look at antiques. I really like just looking. There were a lot of cool things, and the owner was super nice. Then, we walked through Dordrecht, and received more information about the city from the two wonderful teachers.

We stopped by at this restaurant where they specifically sell poffertjes which are small pancakes drowning in butter and powdered sugar. Whoa. I like fatty foods, but this was a little too much.

All Ashton and I could think about was walking off the million calories that we just ate, and we ended up at the tower of the reformed Catholic church. The stairs were so narrow and it seemed to go on forever, but the trip upstairs was definitely worth it. The view of Dordrecht was absolutely breath-taking.

Windmills was our next stop. Everyone has been telling us to go to Kinderdijk where there are 22 windmills. And as you all know, Netherlands is known for their windmills. Well, people actually live in the windmills which I thought was very interesting! The weather and the view was perfect. We took Roger's car to get to Kinderdijk.

Oh, before we went to the windmills, we made a bathroom stop at Roger's place. Roger's house is huge for one person, and the kitchen was downstairs! We also went to Frank's house where he showed us his hobby, miniature train station with towns all around! It was impressive!

To end our day, we ate at a Chinese-Indonesian Restaurant where we ordered a lot of food! Of course, i stuff my face and was the last person eating, and I impressed Frank and Roger with my ability to have a bottomless pit and keep eating. Ha. I was a bit embarrassed, but I couldn't stop eating! Very American! Haha.

On our way home, we took the train because it was too late to catch the fast ferry. Frank ended up buying our tickets back home, and we felt bad because the two teachers already paid for everything the whole day. So Ashton and I have decided that we're putting the money in his mailbox at school. :)

So yes, I had a very relaxing day. I spent the whole day outside enjoying the weather. It was more than I could ask for.

:)

Nethermuchbetter :)

2010-03-26T17:23:00.000-04:00

Knowing that I have so many people who care about me makes me really happy.

Today was a very productive day. Although I wanted to sleep in, I promised a student that I would come and meet with her at 9 am.

So off to school I went at 8 am, and organized my life while I waited for our one-on-one session.

The student that I met is a very bright student, and she has dyslexia. It was a new case for me since I've never worked with a student who had a learning disability. I tried my best to help her, and she seemed so thankful. :)

After our 50 minute session, I worked on my unit lesson plan and all the assignments that are due for my class....and I finished putting everything together. Finally. I'm also halfway done with my COST portfolio, which makes me really happy. I am nervous about carrying two heavy binders with me, but oh well.

I also had lunch with the American woman that I met earlier. She had pizza and salad for me, and we briefly talked about how my experience was going. She's a very intense and outspoken woman, but I love listening to her. She's full of life and opinions. She definitely gave me good advice about getting a teaching position which led to me working on more job applications. I'm getting really discouraged about getting a job. :(

I went back to school to observe Ashton and take a picture of her with her class. It was amusing that at age 17-18, the students still separated themselves - boys and girls.

I had an appointment with a personal trainer today, but since he realized that I'm the English-only girl, he couldn't work with me because he didn't speak any English. But then again, you don't really need to talk to get me to work out. Once again, another slap on my face that I should have learned Dutch. :( I did have a good workout though. :)

Then, I just had roomie time. We planned on going out, but we've both become hermits. We like each other's company. :)

Oh yea, today in the teachers' workroom, there were apple pies and whipped cream! Two teachers had their birthdays today!

Another thing that I think is really cool here is that a parent can give a teacher/administrator alcohol and there are no problems.

I miss home. I miss my family and friends, especially my puppies. However, I'm not ready to go home yet...I can't believe I just have one more month left. :(

Nether-hit me hard

2010-03-25T18:42:00.000-04:00

Worst. Day. Ever.

I finally hit rock bottom. I thought I could keep on going with a smile on my face, and how my patience seemed unlimited. I haven't kept a negative thought in my head for more than 3 seconds, but now it seems that I cannot get the negative thoughts out of my head.

I love teaching. It has nothing to do with teaching or my students. It has everything to do with teaching in a school where they teach in a different language. I thought that I could go on not learning Dutch, and ignoring the Dutch comments that my students had about me.

Well, as it turns out, I finally broke down. My thick skin finally broke and left me bare. I was teaching my 1mh2 class when suddenly the students went crazy because a student said something about me in Dutch. I didn't catch it because I didn't understand and I told the class that I would handle it after class.

When I handled it after class, the student had a hard time expressing me his thoughts and comments in English so I had my overseas coordinator translate for me. That's when I felt my own faults of not trying to learn Dutch and it hit me hard. I was at a disadvantage yet again. Apparently the students were talking about "my voice being horny while teaching" (which makes no sense at all) and also how I'm apparently having sex with a biology teacher (I don't know where they got that since I don't hang out with any of the teachers outside of the school).

The biology teacher approached me about what the students were saying, and asked how they could have come up with it, and I answered him with an "I don't even know."

How awful and awkward.

I broke down, Cried my eyes out because I was so upset.

I couldn't pull myself together.....I was so frustrated at myself, upset that I had no idea what was being said all around me.

Oh God. what happened?

Thankfully, I had my small group meeting today to help me focus on the important things, and what God has in store for me. I can't give up now even though I really want to. I've given my all to this student teaching experience, and I feel that my payment was students cursing me out in Dutch. As much as I want to call it quits, I know I can't.

I also haven't been able to find a job back in the US, and it disappoints me so much since I've tried to do everything to make sure I stand out. It's frustrating.

And it also hit me that I might lose one of the most important people in my life because of my dishonesty.

Ugh.

Other things:
- taught my 4h4: amazing lesson plan, not such a great lesson
- taught my steunclas: review
- my mentor teachers are the greatest
- :(

Nether-speakDutch!

2010-03-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

Hm. Two people spoke to me in Dutch, and I smiled at them hoping that was the end of it...but they kept going. It was embarrassing for me since I pretended to know what they were saying, and later tell them I only spoke English. How amusing and frustrating at the same time.

Anyways, today was very chill. i cycled to school today, and the weather was amazing! All of my thick coats will have to be packed already. :) The flowers are coming out!

I finished my book contract today, and did some other paper work that is needed for my classes.

I had a meeting with my overseas coordinator about him observing me, and he will be observing me next Thursday while I'm teaching the 4th years. Whoa. Hopefully, they behave for me at least this one time. :)

The girls that I normally tutor on Wednesdays didn't show up, so I don't know what that's about. I have to email them and find out.

I worked out today, finished my laundry, the usual. Nothing too exciting today, my days are winding down. I'm pretty bummed about it. :(

Oh, one of the teachers showed me the fast perry to Dordrecht! It's an hour boat ride, but it should be fun. I get sea sick, but hopefully this boat ride will be fine. :)

Tom will be a busy day. How exciting. I think I'm going to start reading "The Book Thief." :)

Nethersleepy

2010-03-23T18:56:00.000-04:00

"Your shoes are sexy."
- a compliment from a student

Since I only got 5 hours of sleep last night, I was super exhausted today.

I got up at the same time every morning and started off my day. I have been dressing up a lot just so that I can make sure I've worn everything that I brought with me. I'm really worried about packing. :( Anthony packed for me to make sure everything fit, and now I have more stuff to bring home. I shouldn't have gone shopping.

Anyways, I taught 1mh2 class, and we had a good time reviewing past simple, vocabulary, reading aloud, etc. The students participated and actually attentive. When I told them that I would be teaching them again on Thursday, they were so excited!

For my steunclass (remedial English class), we played Jeopardy, and for the first time, I felt that the computer room was useful since every student can see the questions and answers in front of them. We had a great discussion about grammar rules, and the students were really interested. They did really well with subject-verb agreement as well. Yay!

My 5h3 and 5h4 class had to do their book reports so my mentor teacher and I saw 4 groups of students where they verbally report about the book they read either in English or Dutch. The students had choose a genre they wanted and read at least 2 or 3 books in that genre. Then, they have to compare the books. The teacher asks questions about the plot, characters, setting, hidden message, etc. It was a very interesting process. My mentor teacher and I also graded the essays that the 5th years wrote during their testing week.

As I was grading the essays, I was slightly falling asleep. I was so tired. :(

I got home, called my mom, ate, and took a nap. I only intended to take a 45 minute nap and go to the gym. However, I woke up 4 hours later, and the gym was already closed. :(

So, once again I'm up late at night.

Netherfight!

2010-03-22T19:01:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day: "Please dutch me there!" hahahaha

Today was eventful, to say the least.

1. no 5th years classes because they still had tests
2. applied for teaching positions and emailed principals
3. modeled for a drawing class (awkward, and I realized that I could never be a model)
4. had a lovely discussion with Ashton about weird things
5. looked at my schedule with Annemarie - time is going by so fast, it makes me really sad
6. realized that next week is my last week with my 4h4
7. fight in my classroom - shook me up big time - between two big boys
(here's the story: W has always been disrespectful to me and when I was talking to the class, apparently he was saying bad things about me in Dutch. S told him to shut it and W said something about S's mom, and they started fighting) I was so bummed, I felt like I should have prevented it. I was so close to tears, but I kept it in because I still had to teach.
8. personal talk with my mentor teacher
9. have to teach my other mentor teacher's classes
10. talked to my mom about principals in Sumter County being fired
11. found out that dining out with Anthony got moved to the 29th and I won't make it
12. God's way of telling me to hang out with my family first - Thank you God. (I always lose sight of everything when Anthony's around, not a bad thing but not a good thing either)
13. I finally worked out today! Zumba is awesome!
14. my family and friends are the greatest - they know how to make me smile

Irish luck!

2010-03-21T17:15:00.001-04:00

Dublin, Ireland has become my favorite!

3.19.10
Actually, instead of having luck during my trip to Ireland, I had everything but.
1. I got on the train and completely missed the memo that I had to transfer trains to get to the airport. (I was upset that I couldn't understand Dutch and know what the announcements in the train are.)
2. I had to take a taxi to the airport and it cost me 35 euros. I was stuck with a taxi driver who talked about smoking hash everyday and how he's quit -- this past Monday. I didn't really believe him after he accidentally said that he smoked on Thursday. Ugh.
3. After I finally arrive at the airport, it was too late to check in so I had to wait in line for 15 minutes to finally get help. The lady was super nice to run with me to get me past the passport check before I missed my flight.
4. So I was one of those people who ran in the airport ---- it was at least a 10 minute run, who would've known Schiphol is huge?! I had to take a break in between!
5. When I finally arrived at my gate, there was a long line still. I got anxious because the line wasn't moving so I asked it was going to Dublin. Of course, it is!
6. Our flight was delayed because of security reasons. Whoa.
7. I did talk to a really nice Irish woman about all the fun things to do in Dublin.Apparently a huge rugby game was playing in Dublin, and the weekend is supposed to get crazy.
8. As I went through security, this really cute guy tried to flirt with me, and I completely overlooked it and just smiled. Whoa.
9. As I approached my window seat, I realize that this man already took my seat. :(
10. I finally arrive at Dublin - supposed to be raining so I only wore and brought my rain boots. (Didn't rain at all the whole weekend!)
11. The first thing I see is a Scottish man playing his bagpipes with a kilt on!
12. I got on 16A bus to my hostel and it took more than an hour to get there. (the whole time I was sitting, a guy had his crotch on my face. Ugh) Delay, delay, delay!
13. I grabbed food at this store, checked in my hostel and got told to wait because my room wasn't cleaned yet.
14. I walked around the other side of the city and bought four books! Push being one of them! I also mailed postcards to my family and H130 guys.
15. Met two Asian girls who invited me to go out with them - didn't do it. I'm such a lame now.
16. Boys in the room were obnoxiously loud.
17. Girls came in at night and complained about how dirty the room was.
18. Read Redeeming Love for the night. :)
19. Ireland lost the rugby game against Scotland

**bought a converter....completely forgot that Ireland's outlets are like UK's---oh yea, got my passport stamped! and the guy complimented me saying I was too pretty to be teaching and that he wouldn't be able to focus. whoa. ***

3.20.10
- woke up early to walk around and explore
- found a souvenir shop and bought some stuff
- also went in a couple of thrift stores (for some reason, I always go in those kinds of stores to see if I could find something)
- took pictures of lots of lots of buildings
- Free Walking Tour at 11am - amazing! (I actually stayed the whole 3 hours!) I learned so much and completely fell in love with Dublin.
- bought three dresses! :)
- had a sausage roll and hot chocolate for lunch
- loved walking down Temple Bar: absolutely amazing atmosphere
- went window shopping :)
- received prayers from this Christian group: very touching prayer
- went to a Cathedral to pray and got interrupted by a homeless person for money (it confused me because I didn't know if I should give him money or not since I was in a godly place...i ended up being more annoyed than helpful. oh no.)
- went to Guinness Storehouse and poured my own pint! also got a hotdog
- bought souvenirs at the storehouse
- went to a market and had a conversation with a man who claimed that he knows all nationalities (he didn't think I was Filipino because I was tall and skinny. according to him, Filipinos are short and fat. If he only knew...)
- went back to the hostel and made more new friends (1 from Russia, 1 from France, 1 from Canada, 2 from Brazil, and 2 from Germany)
- got asked to go out that night and turned it down: instead, I read :)
- very busy day

3.21.10
- woke up early to go to the airport through air coach
- Irish man sat next to me and we talked the whole way - he was on his way to watch the rugby game between manchester and liverpool, if I'm not mistaken
- arrived an hour and a half early to prevent missing the flight
- breakfast at mcdonalds :)
- finished Redeeming Love
- bought a lot of liquors and more souvenirs - for who? I don't know.
- made it to the gate, one of the first ones to get on
- after 20 minutes, got told that there was something wrong with the plane and we had to get off and switch
- so once again, the flight was delayed by an hour
- when I finally arrive at amsterdam, i try to buy a train ticket and i couldn't use my debit card
- so instead of worrying about it, i went to eat at burger king
- got home, talked to Ashton, unpacked, and started reading Push by Sapphire
- heated up food, finished my apple pie, and finished Push!
- so glad to be home!

Observations:
> Irish people do love to drink and talk about drinking: definitely live up to their reputation
> I loved the Irish accent, and all the red-heads!
> Lots of young students I saw had school uniforms: it reminded me of attending a Catholic school in the Philippines
> the lanes for driving are the opposites
> People were really friendly...like giving their seats on the bus to the elders.
> Dublin had a euro menu like the dollar menu at Mcdonalds.
> I really liked traveling by myself --- it was definitely a great first experience. :)

Today, I'm gonna try to mend a broken relationship with an ex-best friend of mine. We'll see how that goes.

Netherworship

2010-03-18T18:14:00.000-04:00

What an exhausting day.

- woke up early to start my lesson plans for the day
- teaching my 4h4 class was a blast today (taught them a little about The Troubles" in Ireland)
- my mentor teacher brought her daughter to class, and let me take over
- taught my other mentor teacher's class because she was ill from 11:05 - 12:45
- the lesson was frustrating but nice! (only because they acted out b/c they had no idea what I was saying)
- my 2-4 pm class was also great - musical chairs!
- the students loved the musical chairs - other students came in to try and be in the class (that's just how much fun we were having!)
- found my way to Oud-Beijerlaand
- Zuidplein was very interesting: got whistled at by one guy and hit on by another---whoa----nice ego boost
- feet hurt because of heels
- dinner at mentor teacher's place - she got me a bday present!
- my other mentor teacher gave me a Dutch recipe book - yay! I'm gonna start cooking!
- small group discussion: about worship - very nice :) - absolutely love my group
- finished another book - Yay!
- super exhausted
- still have to pack for Ireland

Netherbirthday!

2010-03-17T17:52:00.000-04:00

First of, I'm so blessed to have my family and my friends. I want to thank God for giving me another year to live my life through Him.

This birthday was probably the chillest and most relaxing birthday I've had. There were no parties to arrange and set up, no presents, and no expectations. Birthdays are supposed to be like this, not like what I've had in the past where I worried myself sick about throwing a party and expecting all kinds of presents.

Man, how I love being in Europe and gaining a totally different perspective of how life should really be. Not saying that being in the US is bad, it's just nice to experience another lifestyle and culture.

Anyways, I went to school today to tutor the two girls that I've been tutoring. I came in early with a smile on my face although I was exhausted and worn out. Some of the teachers remembered it was my bday (through facebook) and greeted me which was nice enough. Some of the other teachers even sang me their Dutch birthday song, and a couple more teachers approached me to wish me a happy birthday. It was very sincere.

I had fun with the two girls. My mentor teacher provided me with these books that are so much fun to work with. The two girls and I worked on word order, vocabulary, grammar, prepositions - all dealing with shopping! - their ultimate favorite thing to do! I even got hugs from them (totally out of Dutch culture) because it was my birthday. They also want to meet with me more during the week! :)

All of the people who cared the most called or emailed just to wish me a Happy Birthday. I do have to give a shout out to Clayton for being the first one from the states to call me on my birthday (Netherlands time).

Since I started on the journey to get a closer relationship with God, I feel much happier and content. Everything is falling in place with God guiding me. I do sometimes wonder if I'm doing things right. I don't know, it's weird to explain.

I also found out that I have to teach more classes tomorrow because one of my mentor teacher is sick, and I'm taking over her classes. Late notice, but I'm excited.

Great news! Anthony got accepted as an OSI agent in the Air Force. I'm really proud of him. God is constantly blessing us.

Netheryum

2010-03-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day. :)

- woke up pretty early
- read my book - chapter today was all about love and relationships
- dress up nice
- come up with a quick lesson plan for two classes
- tried Spin the Bottle strategy with my students (they loved it! and i was amazed! thank goodness they've never heard of the game.)
- was supposed to only come up with an activity but ended up teaching the whole lesson
- had a great conversation about God and his blessings
- one of my mentor teachers had to go to the hospital this past weekend (fainted and stopped breathing, whoa)
- was finished at 2 instead of 5
- didn't have to tutor the two girls because of schedule changes
- finished unit lesson plan
- booked Romania trip (teaching there for a week!)
- changed my flight back to the US from May 5 to Apr 29
- received my refund from the flight to Athens, Greece (which was unfortunately cancelled)
- thinking about canceling my Germany trip (really don't want to be there for 5 days, too long of a trip and I know I'd be exhausted)
- started a new book, The Atonement Child
- called the principal again and he didn't pick up :(
- emailed another principal and no job opening at that job although she's keeping my resume and letting me know of a job opening if there is one
- discovered how amazing the books are that her mentor teacher let her borrow
- has the best roommate ever! (provided wine, ice cream, apple pie for my bday! even though we didn't really make it to midnight - my actual bday. ha)

***from last night, Anthony and I chatted on google. Great chat. We caught up on stuff. He finds out about his OSI position on my bday. I'm his date for his dining out!***

(I feel nauseous about going home early and I have no idea why. I'm also very excited about going to Romania!)

Netherexhausted....

2010-03-15T15:45:00.000-04:00

So after traveling for several days, I'm exhausted. I finally recovered from the tummy ache that I had in Rome. This week is the exam week for the 5th years; therefore, we don't have classes.

Anyways, I woke up early today to clean up my room, organize my life, and shower. :)

It turns out that I didn't have to come in early because my 5th years don't have classes due to exams the whole week. Anyways, I worked on my portfolio and I finally put the finishing touches on my unit lesson plan. I had to teach the 20 minute class today, meaning my 4th years, and we just had a discussion about my trip to Italy and some embarrassing things that happened to me. Then, we shared stories about our most embarrassing stories. They actually paid attention to each other which was shocking.

Then, I also stayed for the 4th years to take their WASP exam. 8 students showed up during the early time. Originally, my mentor teacher was going to leave early to pick up her son (it's his bday today) and let me handle the rest of the group who wants to take the test later during the day. However, since only 8 out of 28 students showed up, she stayed. The students said that they didn't get to study because they couldn't log in on the website. It aggravated me a little since I feel like they should have said something about it earlier - but I understand, I did the same thing when I was in high school. However, I do think that US schools are much stricter than my school. I do think that even with that excuse, the teacher will still say, "your loss, you should have told me sooner."

Anyways, we just went on to the new WASP and assigned them some assignments to complete. Three guys also skipped today to avoid the test that they didn't have to take today.

I rode the tram today because I'm exhausted from the traveling. I didn't get to go to the gym today because it was raining and I didn't want to get sick again....or maybe I'm just being so lazy.

I've lost the motivation today. Although, I did do a lot of paperwork, I'm still so unmotivated to do anything which is really bad. In four days, I will be going to Dublin, Ireland. I don't know whether to look forward to it or dread it. I really just want to lay in bed and do nothing. Whew.

Anyways, I almost completed everything on my to-do list. I gotta go work out in my room. I have to do it.

I still can't find cheap flights to Romania....I really want to go. I might cancel one of my other trips to be able to afford Romania. I don't know, we'll see.

I'm super duper tired....

Italian Adventures!

2010-03-15T03:53:00.000-04:00

March 9, 2010
- cycled to school with Stevon
- Stevon met one of my mentor teachers and some of my students :)
- went home to pack and get ready for Italy and Greece! (or so we thought)
- got lunch at the train station, waited at the platform, confused our platforms, and missed our train by 2 seconds ---- whoa
- finally arrived at eindhoven, had to take a bus to the airport, arrived at the airport, very tiny airport, security took a while (had to buy a ziplock bag for my liquids), ordered wine while waiting to board
- free seats on RyanAir = chaos
- worst landing ever in Italy!
- rainy and dark already, got on a bus to get to town, got on the metro, and found our hostel (Art in Accomodation)
- Paolo met us at the door, very tiny hostel but very nice and clean, we were the only ones there, they gave us maps and phone number
- went to dinner (Italian food is awesome! cheap wine, great pasta and pizza!)
- went on a night walk to the colosseum and the arc (massive but also very pretty!) --- also grabbed dessert (not so good)
- raining the whole time, my feet got soaking wet, not a happy camper --- our bright yellow umbrellas were the best investment yet!

March 10, 2010
- woke up early to explore, grabbed breakfast (included in the hostel price), breakfast was way too sweet (pastries!)
- the weather was rainy then sunny then rainy then sunny the whole day
- feet were wet once again, very uncomfortable
- went to the colosseum and the forum, gladiators were tourists trap, saw me with my camera and knew that I wanted to take pictures with them === charged me 10 euros ==== ugh, never again
- walked everywhere! found almost everything on the map! very productive! :)
- went inside of Pantheon for free: massive and oh-so gorgeous!
- had lunch beside H&M, waitor didn't give us back any change, ordered a liter of wine
- went to get my haircut (18 euros), Asian cut my hair! cut off split ends and side bangs
- took a nap after a long day
- woke up to use the internet, found out that flight to Greece was cancelled due to a strike - couldn't find another flight so had to cancel the whole trip, very very disappointed
- very hard to find a phone card, a woman shooed us off when we spoke English to her
- internet cafe is full of Filipinos, kept cursing in Tagalog, bothered me a lot but was very interesting that I could understand it all
- Stevon got pushed into another tourist trap with these useless bracelets
- more people in hostel, nobody to ask in hostel
- dinner was great! so much food! :)
- sent postcards to my family and H130 guys

March 11, 2010
- woke up early to grab breakfast at the same place, breakfast was better this time!
- went to the metro station where nobody helped us out even when we were standing in front of them waiting for them to stop talking
- went to train station and lady was screaming, she was just very loud
- another internet cafe, searched for other trips, found Pescara, Italy!
- bought train tickets to Pescara (a whoping 4 hour train ride through the mountains!)
- walked around in Tiburtina (nothing too pretty, nowhere nice to eat), gross restroom in train station,
- ate at a cafe, pizza and wine
- finally got to Pescara, nobody spoke English
- got on a bus, very frustrated because we didn't know where to stop
- it was getting dark and we were still walking around, finally found the bed and breakfast and nobody is there; Stevon and I got very agitated and anxious
- had to search for a phone to call the guy (phone card was another great investment) and finally his sister and mom let us in the bed and breakfast
- Brezza Marina (B&B) absolutely gorgeous!
- dinner was very cheap and the best yet! broccoli was amazing!
- took money out of the bank
- met 2 Italians who were also staying at the bed and breakfast

March 12, 2010
- breakfast, pastries! very awkward since we couldn't talk to anyone in English
- the housekeeper was super nice, though
- walked everywhere! took pictures of everything Montesilvano had to offer
- hiked up a hill where there was a big cross
- gorgeous view! so worth the hard hike
- went to the beach: absolutely gorgeous: learned how to skip stones: picked up shells
- even the weather was cooperating :)
- had lunch at this restaurant where they didn't speak English and the language barrier was super hard
- feet were hurting after so much walking
- walked on the beach again and found this restaurant that had the best seafood ever
- the waitress spoke English! and picked our wine
- we misunderstood her and thought she said the wine was 50 euros after drinking it but it was only 15 euros so we ordered another one
- sat on the rocks on the beach feeling good --- talked about everything
- walked to a supermarket to buy another bottle of wine (that Stevon ended up drinking by himself because I was asleep)
- Stevon went to a bar by himself....hahaha

March 13, 2010
- woke up early, grabbed breakfast, the owner didn't show up so we didn't know how to pay
- we gave the money to the housekeeper and called the owner, he was disappointed that we didn't meet each other (supposedly, he sounded hot on the phone. ha.)
- grabbed the earliest train back to Rome
- train worker walked up to us and started speaking to us in Italian: we didn't speak Italian and he didn't speak English: it was very frustrating: he kept repeating and it was very frustrating so he just gave up on us
- the guy came back with a sheet of paper in English and he took care of us the rest of the train ride
- he was cute :)
- apparently, we had to get off the train and transfer to a bus, we don't know why but we got back to Rome
- had lunch near the Vatican City, went back to the internet cafe
- the guy at the internet cafe spoke to me in Tagalog (really he was flirting, whoa)
- booked a room with Alessandro Downtown: huge hostel, not bad!
- bought an awesome jacket :)
- went back to Vatican City, stood in line forever, then this man goes "oh, this is just a private tour." you clearly saw us standing in line, why couldn't you tell us earlier?!
- saw another entrance to the Vatican City, and was just amazed
- went to the post office to mail postcards to my family and my aunt and uncle
- went on a night walk again, souvenir shopping - spent so much money on religious things! :)
- dinner was great except I ended up throwing up all night because of the food I ate
- last night in Rome = throwing up in the bathroom and all over myself and my new jacket = super gross
- seemed like the longest walk of my life back to the hostel
- the metro stops are so out of the way, might as well walk

March 14, 2010
- woke up early to grab breakfast
- I still couldn't eat because my stomach felt like crap
- went to the Vatican City again to go to mass, but didn't happen that way
- went inside St. Peter's Basilica, absolutely gorgeous
- I confessed my sins inside: after many years of not doing it --- a bit emotional
- rushed to catch the metro and bus to the airport (literally ran down the streets of Rome)
- the bus took forever, we were scared that we would miss our flight
- but got there just before check in was closing....whoa
- the flight was uncomfortable, pretty view though, there was a leak above my seat, the flight attendants were really loud talking about boy problems (quite annoying)
- caught the bus to the train station back to Rotterdam
- talked about life, stomach still felt bad
- dropped off everything in the apartment: great to be back home!
- cycled to go shopping in Rotterdam b/c Stevon needed to spend his Euros
- went back to apartment, watched the new Gaga video (ridiculous!)
- watched more music videos (music makes me happy)
- ordered food, still couldn't eat
- watched Ally McBeal with Stevon: great way to end the night :)
- super exhausted

Observations
- lots of couples making out, no shame in their game
- Italian language is amazing
- Italian boys are pretty
- lots of Filipinos! everywhere!
- Pescara, Italy = no English but gorgeous
- food is great
- can't eat pizza and pasta anymore
- wine is yummy!
- :)

Netherexplore!

2010-03-09T02:24:00.000-05:00

Mondaylicious:

- got up to go to school and teach!
- lesson went well! students had a lot of put in
- Steven slept in instead of helping me :)
- finished most of the paperwork that I need to
- planning a trip to Romania to teach Kindergarten students for a week: English, of course
- taught 4h4: mini debates
- mentor teacher moved up the class time an hour and a half in advance
- didn't get to meet with two students b/c of the class time change
- tried to pick up medicine but no record of me at all: weird
- did a boat tour with Steven: amazing view!
- got a bottle of wine, hotdog, and apple pie on the boat
- explored more of Rotterdam by shopping - found a lot of nice things
- all of the stores close at 6: whoa
- restaurants don't open until 6: another whoa
- ate at 't Fust - calamari, fries, veggies, and a bottle of wine
- wanted to go to Bagel Bakery: closed. Ugh
- walked back to apartment, and stopped at a "night" store
- took tons of pictures of the Erasmus bridge
- tried to put in my hoop ring for my nose: epic fail
- took pictures pretending the hoop ring was in my nose: awesome
- Anthony emailed: whoa
- ugly weather: pretty clouds
- subtle hook up: yes!!!!!!!!

Netherridic-

2010-03-08T05:43:00.000-05:00

Having Steven here is so much fun!

Saturday:
- went to fish market at 8am and bought everything that caught our attention
- weather was super cold
- got Steven to cycle with me :)
- explored the cube houses: it's like being in a different place, it had little stores and it's just a really cute place to be - one is for sale, and we want to buy it
- Dudok: tried the famous apple pie and it was delicious! also ran into one of the teachers
- cycled back home to organize our life and drop off everything we bought from the market
- got locked out of the apartment because my key cards aren't working again
- cycled to park and beside the water - the bike ride was relaxing
- Euromast: saw Rotterdam in a complete way
- had a glass of wine and pea soup! (very yummy!)
- went home, Steven took a nap while we got ready for dinner at my mentor teacher's place
- had dinner: Indonesian food, fruits for dessert, and her son playing with words: very amusing
- Museum Night!!!!!!!! started at 10 at night until 2 in the morning: went to the photomuseum, worldmuseum, Kunsthal (where we fell asleep on the big orange pillows), architect institute (my favorite!), art museum, 3D video/game, and strolled through Witte de With!
- supposed to go to Plan C (on the list and everything) but we were too tired :(

Sunday:
- let Steven sleep in while I worked on lesson plans :)
- cooked lunch: hamburger, mushrooms, and rice (so easy to cook mushrooms, I'm super excited!)
- went to Media Markt to buy battery charger then went to H&M to go shopping!
- hopped on a train to Amsterdam: had to change trains three times!
- exchanged dollars to euros - totally charged me 60 euros to exchange :(
- walked around Amsterdam, ate at an Italian restaurant then a bar/restaurant for dessert
- rode the trams, asked for directions to Anne Frank's house, and everyone had a different answer
- finally found Anne Frank's house three hours later and explored some more
- bought a hoop earring for my nose----so exciting!
- got home at 11: had a great time hanging with Ashton and Steven when I should've been sleeping

NetherAmsterdam!

2010-03-06T01:58:00.000-05:00

I finally went to the doctor and the diagnosis is: throat infection and fever

I am now supposed to take antibiotics 3 times a day for a whole week....and my voice will be back! Yay!

The doctor's office was in a really cool building that is shaped like a paper clip! The doctor was super nice, and I only waited five minutes! I also didn't have to pay for anything...which I thought was a little weird. I think my mentor teacher picked up my medicine for me since I was going to Amsterdam for the rest of the day.

Amsterdam - first impression: really dirty....like no one believed in taking the trash out so the trashcans are all full and trash is everywhere. :(

Ashton and I explored in the morning, bought souvenirs, saw really cool things - Amsterdam is such an awesome city. It's very touristy - and there were lots of Americans --- I thought I would be excited finally knowing what is being said, but instead I found it annoying....

We went on a free walking tour - it is known as one of the best walking tours. The weather was horrible, meaning it was cold and rainy. We went through the red light district which was not as bad as I thought it would. In the middle of the red light district is a huge church! After committing sins, you can go repent it at church. The famous windows with girls weren't very impressive. It was interesting seeing prostitution in that kind of way - and the girls weren't very pretty. They were hmm...ok to say the least. There were also tons of smart shops and coffee shops. All of the souvenir stores had marijuana things on them. It was like being in a different world.

By the way, the ages of the prostitutes are from 18 to 73 years old! Crazy, huh? Oh yea, the tour guide was from Australia and was amusing! His accent was kinda hot. Ha.

Then, we picked up Steven at the airport - we waited 30 minutes for him because we were early and we caught happy hour at the bar! Buy 1 drink, get 1 free! So of course, I got my wine, and Ashton got her beer. The atmosphere was great. After Steven arrived, we just sat and talked and watched people.

On the way to Rotterdam, we accidentally got on the hispeed train and had to pay 6 euros extra. Ugh. It sucked.

Also, I got asked out on a coffee date before I left for Amsterdam by this Dutch guy. It was flattering. :)

Needless to say, we were hot messes for the day and night. We ate so much food....

Netherrreligious

2010-03-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I've always had a relationship with God but never really wanted anything else. I was satisfied with the fact that I believe in God, and that's all that really mattered to me.

However, I was fortunate enough to meet people here who made me face what I've been avoiding - accepting God fully. Today, I took my first huge step towards a better relationship with God and learning how to trust in Him. It'll be a lot of work and it'll take a lot of strength but it's a journey that I'm willing to make, no matter what.

I just hope that I don't go back to my old ways after this journey. I met some wonderful women today - ones that listened and prayed for me. I've never had so many people pray for me at once, and I just felt refreshed. It's a nice feeling.

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord." My mom sings this verse all of the time, and I actually never listened to it until I recognized it in the Bible.

Anyways, I've had a rough Thursday. Very busy and frustrating, but very grateful for it. I'm exhausted as a teacher and teaching has overcome my life. I have so many things to do, but I'm not complaining because I absolutely love what I'm doing.

I was told an hour before that I was teaching a class and coming up with a lesson plan was an awesome task for me. I've had to be creative so many times, and I absolutely loved it. I have my own master key for the school, so I do feel like a teacher.

The students are asking for me more and more in the teachers' workroom, and the teachers are finally talking about me asking if I wanted to stay. :) I've made my mark.

I also had to teach my 2-4pm remedial English class and we had so much fun. It's a very interesting class because there's always new faces. We had a market today, and they had to ask me questions in English when buying candy from me. I even made fake dollars for them - something that they were so excited about. :) (Hey, look at that - incorporating Mathematics with English class! Go me!)

My overseas coordinator went to Poland during the break and brought back Polish chocolate for me and Ashton! Yay! He also said that I've been doing a great job teaching and such. I really like nice compliments.

Hm. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, and I'm hoping that the doctor will make me gain my voice back. My overseas coordinator did tell me to over exaggerate so that they'll give me medicine for my throat. Nothing like the US - doctors give you pills for everything!

Steven gets here tomorrow. How exciting except that it's raining tomorrow...

Nethersick---again!

2010-03-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

Today, I woke up NOT feeling like P. Diddy, unfortunately.

I didn't have any classes today, but I do have tutoring sessions with students. I have a lot of paperwork to do, but I just haven't found the motivation to do it. I have to do it before I leave for Rome and Athens.

I met my mentor teacher at the bank and tried to change dollars to euros and the bank told us that the only place that does that is the airport. Ridiculous. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. I did find a place to change my money, but I would have to pay $75 just to change it. Ugh.

Also, my mentor teacher set up a doctor's appointment for me for Friday morning. Right before Ashton and I leave for Amsterdam to explore and later pick up Stevon!

Then, I looked at my finances and BAM! I'm broke. No more money, like zero account. :( I'm a bit nervous because I have two months left and five trips to make. Eh. We'll see what happens.

I rode my bicycle today which was awesome. I was cruising to make sure that I wouldn't dry out my throat or anything. I also did Zumba and that made my throat hurt really bad.

I took an antibiotic with my lunch, and that's when I started feeling bad. :(

Nothing too exciting. Worried about money. The students I worked with today could tell that something was bugging me. I felt bad that I wasn't more energetic for them.

I'm ready to get my voice back....

NetherGRRRReatday!

2010-03-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

Today was absolutely amazing. I love this kind of days. :)

First off, I decided to dress up and look cute. I received lots of compliments from both teachers and students. At first, I thought that there might be something wrong with the way I dressed because of how the teachers all looked at me, but it was all good. I didn't break any UGA dress code or anything. I guess I was just dressed really nice.

The first thing I did today was videotape Ashton teaching. I've never seen her teach and our teaching styles are the complete opposite. I videotaped her for 30 minutes and I also have to fill out an observation form for her. She was really nervous because I was recording. It's for her class. Maybe I should get someone to record me as well just to put on my online portfolio (coming soon!).

I also had a meeting with two students from my 4th years. I found out that one student is great at speaking English but has troubles with writing because of dyslexia. Er. Learning disabilities aren't my specialty at all. The other one had problems with grammar. Easy enough, right? They both want to meet once a week for 30 minutes. I told them that I will be emailing them different things to look at just because I didn't feel like 30 minutes is enough.

I met with one of the teachers I worked with and exchanged stories about our breaks. She really wants me to go to Romania and I do too. The flight ticket is more than $300 though. I wouldn't have to pay for housing. I would stay for a week and teach a Kindergarten class. It would be an amazing opportunity. We'll see if I can come up with the money.

For the past two days, I haven't been riding my bike because of my throat. I can't get dehydrated or else my throat will hurt really bad. So that means no cardio for me for a while unless I have a constant stream of water going down my throat. My mentor teacher called the doctor today to set up an appointment, and the doctor called back asking if it was still necessary for me to go see him! How ridiculous!

Anyways, I taught two classes today even though my voice is hoarse and my throat sore. Fortunately, both classes went smoothly and I had so much fun with my students. :) Since I am working with a new set of 1st years, we did a lot of getting to know you activities. With my 5th years, I got another student to teach while I gave him my notes. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lesson plan. It was great.

Even my mentor teacher was surprised at how attentive the 5th years were at 4:30 in the afternoon. I was very excited that I actually got the students to stay focused and work on their letters! Yay! Maybe I should lose my voice more often. Ha. Not.

We also got a new microwave! The other one just stopped working, but I'm so glad our caretaker responded quickly!

Oh yeah! I got invited to participate in this project about WWII. Oh how I love WWII! We're going to different museums and this old prison camp. I'm so excited!

I also sat and talked to an English teacher (I will be observing one of her classes on a Wednesday) and a History teacher. We just talked about everything - mostly the "American Dream" and American culture. They had lots of questions for me. Then we started talking about Latino men (the English teacher is from a Spanish background), and how awesome they are. I shared my story of dating a Puerto Rican and it was such a great conversation.

Talking about Puerto Ricans, I emailed him today about a ticket that we credited last year. I wanted to go ahead and book my trip to Vegas and I needed the confirmation letter. And as silly as I am, I wrote on the bottom of the email that I still loved him just in case he was wondering, and if not, disregard and ignore. Ha. I just expected a forwarded email, and no message with it....but guess what? There was a message with the forwarded email. Oh, how I miss him!

Steven gets here in three days!!! I'm so ready for him to get here already!!!

Nethernotsomuch

2010-03-01T12:09:00.000-05:00

Eh. My weekend's been really chill.

Friday:
1. I went to City Hall to try and get residency in Rotterdam, and I waited for an hour and a half and decided it wasn't worth it.
2. I went grocery shopping at the big Albert Heijn, and was super thrilled to be eating on a budget again.
3. I did work - meaning I did my lesson plans for the following week and updated my whole life since I've been gone for a week.
4. Ashton and I had dinner at Annemarie's, and she fed us this really good and really healthy soup. It was delicious!

Saturday:
1. I did my Zumba and lifted weights. It was awesome to be back in the gym.
2. I finally turned on my TV after days of not touching it, and watched America's Best Dance Crew all afternoon while reading and finishing off The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Great book, btw.
3. I started on a new book, Girl with a Pearl Earring - all about The Netherlands and I'm absolutely loving it. :)

Sunday:
1. I couldn't get up because I didn't feel well so I stayed in bed until noon. I didn't get to go to church, but I did feel better after resting and drinking lots of water.
2. Ashton and I went grocery shopping again because we've been eating nonstop since we got home. We spent a lot of money compared to what we've been spending.
3. The weather has sucked all weekend in Rotterdam. Rainy and cold - not a good combination for a sick person.
4. However, I did cycle to the gym to get my swole on. I had to.
5. I started reading The Purpose Driven Life - the first chapter is just so hard to accept. I've committed myself to reading a chapter a day for 40 days and going to group meetings to discuss this book. Yes, it's religious, and yes, I'm doing it. There has to be something better for me, and I know God is guiding me. Now, I just have to put all of my trust in Him.
6. Oh, and I got mail from my baby sister and a wedding invitation from Melanie! Yay for mail!

Monday:
1. Teaching yet again. I can't too much complain, it's what I'm supposed to do.
2. I'm not sure how to manage my 4th years. It's very difficult, and I'm losing hope. :( I had this awesome verbal practice assignment for them - WAGON WHEEL but they still refused to stay on task.
3. Individual tutoring on Mondays and Tuesdays - 2 students on Mondays, 2 students on Tuesdays.
4. My voice has gotten worse.
5. Presentations have started for the 5th years - good luck to all of them.
6. Paid off all of my bills. :)
7. Started an online portfolio for my experience in Rotterdam = very frustrating.
8. Cannot wait until my bestie gets here!
9. Oh yea, microwave is not working. Ugh. I hate my apartment.

I miss all of my family and friends so much, but I dread going home...

Netherabsence - due to traveling!

2010-02-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry blog readers for not keeping up with my blog while traveling. My internet time was limited. :(

Thursday:
My voice went missing, and I had a read aloud planned out. Needless to say, the read aloud was horrible due to my voice, but we did Reader's Theater leading to the students having a blast. We didn't have enough time to finish it but we will next time we meet. My 2-4 class went awesome, and some of the students stayed the entire 2 hours! That's just how much fun they had with me. I loved every minute of it except for my voice. The students did cooperate with me though. We also had more students show up which was exciting. :)

Then, we had dinner with the teachers. This day was the day for parent-teacher conference, and the school had dinner for the teachers who had conferences and had to stay at the school during dinner time. I got to eat sauerkraut, and it wasn't one of my favorites.

At 11pm, Ashton and I caught the bus to Paris - a whoping 7 hours drive! We arrived in Paris at 6 am. :)

Paris, France
1st day:
• checked in Friends Hostel
- clean, rooms are very small, 4 beds in a room
- roommates were Corny and Max (both were Germans)
- toilets clogged, showers small
- no hot water
- no breakfast, wifi is not free
- bad location/neighborhood
• Eiffel Tower!
• picked up Paris Pass (89 euros)
• bought souvenirs (should wait until the last day for cheaper souvenirs)
• Free walking tour for 4 hours!
2nd day:
• Used Paris Pass
• Montparnasse Tour
• Conciergerie
• Notre Dame
• Bateaux Parisiens (1 hr. cruise)
• Grevin Wax Museum (dropped my camera in the toilet)
• tried crepes with chocolate and whipped cream 
• Arc de Triomphe
3rd day:
• planned on going to Versailles – never made it
• Louvre – ate at McDonalds 
• Sewage Museum – poopy water!
• Dome church where Napolean’s tomb is
• Army Museum – realized that we dated our museum pass wrong
• Grande Arche
• Montmartre – where all the painters are – amazing atmosphere
• Espace Dali – where the melted clock from Alice in Wonderland is located
4th day:
• traveling
Observations:
• lots of homeless people (esp. ones that ask if you speak English, then hand you a note to read asking for money)
• went to the slums and sketchville of Paris
• lots of artists on the metro – metro makes it really easy to travel around Paris
• boys like to stare – very creepy
• people spoke English

Barcelona, Spain
1st day:
• checked in Hostel Maritima
- not very clean, rooms are ok, 8 beds in a room
- roommates were British boys and Italian couple (very loud)
- good bathrooms, scared of showers
- hot water, great breakfast, free wifi
- great location
- no heat/air
• walked around La Rambla and surrounding neighborhoods
• Barcelona pass wasn’t as great as Paris Pass – didn’t purchase
• saw one of the many cathedrals, narrow alleys, tons of stores, and happy pills!
• saw Casa Battlo
• people watched – lots of lesbian couples in Barcelona
• tapas and sangria at Ideal Restaurant
2nd day:
• grabbed a map in the room that the Italian couple left
• walked around Barcelona
• found Sagrada Familia, Arc de Triomf,
• bought souvenirs for friends – all souvenirs are priced differently and can bargain 
• tapas, paella, and sangria at Brasil Restaurant
3rd day:
• found a free walking tour by Masaar!
• learned all about the history of Barcelona
• met a family of five who is on a world tour – they plan on traveling for 8 months
• lunch at Travel Bar 
• dinner at Pollo Rico – big plate of chicken and fries (very greasy) and of course, Sangria!
• flight was cancelled because of French Civil Aviation strike – had to rebook flight
• slept in the airport 
4th day:
• traveling
Observations:
• night life is great!
• late dinners
• witnessed prostitution
• 85% chance of getting robbed
• hardly anyone spoke English

Netherrelax!

2010-02-17T15:57:00.000-05:00

Today was very relaxing! I didn't have to come in to teach, but I did have to tutor the two girls. :) The two girls loved the activity I did with them! They had problems with past/present simple, continuous, and perfect. I printed out their favorite songs' lyrics and got them to rewrite the lyrics. :) It was awesome. They also showed me their letters, and they're having problems with prepositions - isn't everyone? So next time we meet, we're working on prepositions. They also invited me to go watch a movie next Sunday. I'm excited about going.

So I planned my lesson plans, created the worksheets and everything else necessary for the classes, and just sat and waited until it was time to meet with the girls. I rode my bike this morning to school with a flat tire. However, the amazing caretaker/mechanic fixed my bike for me! No more flat tire, and my light is working again!

Hm. Tomorrow is my busy day. I teach nonstop from 9 - 4. AH! I wanted to get my hair cut today, but it was way too expensive. I might wait until after all of my trips. If not, I'll just get it cut in the US. I did go work out today! Finally! However, I just did weights, but better than nothing. I consider cycling to and from school today my cardio. :)

I went to church at 7 for Ash Wednesday. I really wish I could understand Dutch. I'm sure my life here will be more enjoyable.

Anyways, I did talk to some people today on the phone, and it made me happy. I talked to one of my fav professors, and she made me happy like always. I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow for Paris. I haven't packed. I don't want to pack right now.

I have to have lots of energy for tomorrow. I have to focus on my lessons before Paris. I have to keep my priorities straight. Ha.

Oh yea, I did get my two laundry tokens that I lost the first time I tried to do laundry. Yay for complaining. :)

And I watched Will and Grace today for the first time in a while, and I remembered just how much I missed watching that show and how happy my gay friends make me.

Netherpop

2010-02-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 2nd day of teaching

1st years: It was my last session with this group of kids so I wanted to go out in a bang - we had a pop quiz! I bought balloons and treats for all of them since there were only 12 students. We went over everything that I've taught them - short/long vowels, voiced/voiceless /th/, the sounds of /ch/ /sh/ and /wh/, silent letters and /c/ /k/. I glued more handouts in their foldables so that they have something to look at after. The students also did an evaluation and all of them gave me a 5 - which is really good! I was super excited!

5h3: I played a game with them concerning common mistakes in English. I divided the class up in 5 groups and got the groups to tell me what they thought the answers were. They participated for a while, but the last ten minutes, they got off task. The statements seemed too easy - they did have problems with spelling though.

5h4: I played a game with them also, but changed how we played it. Instead of dividing the class into five groups, I divided them into two groups. Instead of me writing the answers on the board, I got the students to do it for me. It was a race - the first person to write the correct answer on the board got a point. It was great although I had one student who said why the fastest one got the point and not the person who got it correct - and I told him, it was just a fun way to learn quickly.

With both classes, I also gave them a handout with all of the common mistakes and wrote an explanation on the back. Hopefully, they look into it and do well on their writing exam coming up in March.

My mentor teacher really liked the fact that I changed the game because I had problems with the first one. Since both 5th years are learning the same thing, I could teach the same way, but I never do. I have to give myself extra work, you know. Ha.

I rode Ashton's bike today since my bike is dead right now. I have to get it fixed. I also had to hurry and go to the store to buy balloons and candies.

I'm super tired. I didn't get to work out. I passed out at 7. I've been so lazy with working out. Not good.

Netherhurry!

2010-02-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

Monday: the beginning of my 2 week unit teaching = exhausted already

So here's my schedule this week in the classroom:
Monday - WASP Report
Tuesday - Grammar
Thursday - Literature

I've realized a long time ago that my 5th years love discussions and engaging activities so I sat on the computer planning a lesson plan for 2 hours straight. I wanted to make sure that the students will be engaged the whole entire time.

5h4: We read Mix-n-Match. I did a chalk talk with them, agreement circles, hot seat, pairing, and dividing up the questions. They loved it! They had the same reaction as my 10 year olds when I did hot seat with them. They were so excited! The students got my sense of humor, and we had a great time discussing things.

5h3: We read The Numerati. I did number tricks with them, group work, presentations, adverbs, give me an answer (don't know what else to call it - I gave answers to five students so that they will participate when I call their name). The Numerati wasn't as exciting, and the students didn't really like the article much. I don't blame them, I didn't like it either - BUT they didn't know that.

I gave both classes an option of either taking a test and going over it or playing a game, participating, and leaving class early. :) Of course, they chose the second option. So game playing on Tuesday for grammar - here we come!

4h4: Verbal Practice: Moving Questions where I provided controversial topics for students to ask each other. It actually got a lot of them talking and participating. +++ For the other class, we read How About Hugs? and had a discussion. This class is a little rough on the edges, and there are four students that ruin it for everyone. I got a little bit upset with the class, and I told them that if they wanted to act like children, I will treat them like children - meaning the next person to say something inappropriate will stand in the corner with their nose in the corner. I normally hate doing this but it got them to be quiet. I've literally tried everything I can to deal with classroom management, but nothing seems to work. :( I've tried at least 7 different things with them already.

I also worked on my other lesson plans for the remedial English teacher because I'm also teaching her 1st year students. I enjoy these classes because the students are still super excited about everything. I did get away from teaching the 4h4 class to teach my adorable 1st years.

Hm. Enough about classwork. Apparently, I'm giving off the vibe that I'm the party girl because I talk a lot and am very friendly. Ashton is the mommy figure - the responsible one. Ugh. Maybe I should just stop talking to everyone.

My bike apparently sucks at life. My lights won't work because the battery is already dead, and my tire is flat. (That's why it hurt so bad to cycle today. Ugh.)

The weather was pretty today, and it's supposed to get warmer towards the end of the week.

Lazy moment of the day: I planned on taking a 30 min nap (because I'm just so tired for some reason) and ended up sleeping through my ZUMBA class. I also just stayed in bed for a while and waited until later to do my ab workout and pushups.

I'm off to read before I go to sleep...

Netherbusybusybusy!

2010-02-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

Saturday:
1. Open School Day - 9:30-12:30
*Open School Day is when the school tries to persuade perspective students to choose our school for their secondary education* Every subject had a room, and teachers decorated it to make it more appealing. I was with the English teachers, and the parents loved the idea of having an American student teacher in the classroom. :) I even spoke to some parents and students in English - one talked to me in Dutch, and I got to practice what I knew. It was awesome. After 12:30, there were food, wine, and drinks for the teacher. Calvijn definitely takes good care of their teachers. (Also, I've been telling everyone I talked to and meet that I'm looking for a teaching position.)

2. Oud-Beijerland - the whole day and night
*Oud-Beijerland is called a village and one of the teachers I worked with invited me over to meet her family and have dinner with them. Amazing family + amazing food + religious = awesome time. We went to the center to go food shopping and show me around. Then, my teacher cooked Romanian food (she's Romanian married to a Dutch man, and they have precious kids!) She got me to try out a lot of new things like old cheese, French cheese, and healthy Dutch snacks. (I'm definitely bringing some back home to the US.) We talked a lot about education issues, God, and life in general. I stayed until 11:30pm just talking with them. It was such a great time.

*NOTE* For Lent this year, I want to have a better relationship with God and to try and live the life that he wants me to live. I finally found the support system that I've been needing. I'm scared and excited at the same time. :)

Sunday: Whoa!
1. Original plan: work out, church, grocery shopping, carnival

2. What actually happened: work out, church, hung out with new people, grocery shopping, carnival

3. New people - Filipinos - I don't want to jump into conclusions or make any assumptions, but I seriously think that I just hung out with two former prostitutes and their pimp. He was called Big Daddy. Whoa. The lady I met at church answered my question of "why the Netherlands?" by saying "well, you know how the stories go." The only story I've heard about Filipinos here are that a lot moved here because of prostitution. *holds breath*

4. The food they gave me was good, though. Hahahahah. I miss Filipino food.

5. Ashton and I went to Breda for the Carnival for the experience, and it was crazy!!!! Lots of costumes, floats, people, beer, and confetti everywhere on the streets! I would hate to be the one to clean up...I did partake in the parade which was awesome!!

This was my weekend in a nut shell. Good stuff, and definitely the most interesting Valentine's Day ever...and I got a cute email from the one I love most. :)

By the way, I think I'm adding Romania in my list of countries to visit. :)

Netherraw

2010-02-12T23:56:00.000-05:00

****NOTICE****
I ate raw herring today rolled in onions.

The weather today was absolutely beautiful! The sun was out, the skies were clear, and the snow was starting to melt. I cycled to school - and it was really nice.

I was at school for a while working on my lesson plans for next week because I'm taking over all of the classes for both my mentor teacher and the other teacher I'm working with. It's going to be a really busy week but I'm coming up with lesson plans that hopefully will motivate the students to work.

I had individual meetings with different students, and I was a little worried that they might not show up, BUT they did! The two Turkish girls that I'm working with showed up at 11 and we worked for an hour. They took this pretest for me so that I could see what needed work. I also set up a penpal for them with my brothers. My two little brothers are 18 and 16 - same age as the girls. They were really excited to be contacting someone in America.

Also, the guy from my 5th year also showed up! He's having problems with subject-verb agreement, so I've been giving him exercises to work on. I thought that he would want to work on it together so that he didn't have anything to do during the weekend, but he wanted to work on it over the weekend! I was impressed. I did tell him that I wanted to sit down with him and go over some things with him. :)

Anyways, about the raw herring - one of the caretakers of the school thought it would be nice to buy me raw herring since I told him I wanted to try it. I wanted to take my time with trying the raw herring - meaning I was not ready for it, but since he brought it to school, I couldn't say no! I was so scared and nervous...but I actually liked it! The teachers were impressed. :) However, I did smell like fish and onions the rest of the day.

I also helped out with setting up for Open School Day on Saturday - it's a way to persuade new students to choose our school for their secondary school. I put up posters with English words that the 1st years did, and put proverbs around the school that had Dutch translation as well. I talked to one of the English teachers and he said that if I was serious about working in Holland, I need to meet with the Ministry of Education in De Haage while I'm here to see what all I can and should do to be able to teach here. I will definitely be doing that while I'm here.

***Exercise***
I realized that I cycle two miles back and forth to school so 4 miles everyday. :) I also lift weights everyday for 30 min, do cardio (hour of ZUMBA, 2.81 miles on treadmill), and been doing ab workout twice a day. I really want a toned body, if you couldn't tell. My diet is a lot healthier as well, which excites me. (Don't worry, I do take at least a day off from working out for rest.)

Oh yeah, I had a bad dream about Ant again. :( It makes me really sad that all of my dreams about him are bad, never good. Then again, they are just dreams right?

I have a busy weekend ahead of me - lots of hard work and of course, lots of play as well.

NetherAmerican

2010-02-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

Quotes of the day:
"That's the American way..."
"Well, Americans..."
"Here are the hungry Americans..."

Btw, Ashton and I are on the school's website, and it says in the end of the paragraph that our English isn't the preferred British English but the American English. Whoa.

What's up with that?!

i had a really long day today. 7:35 - 5:00. My 4th years received their new literature book today, and started on a poem. One of my 4th years gave me his dialogue journal - that makes 7! I'm so excited about it! I taught my 5h3 class over Mix -n- Match article. We had a chalk talk and an awesome discussion about mixed races and interracial dating. It was awesome. However, the students weren't motivated to answer the questions, sadly enough.

Funny story: One of my students is Filipino and she knows Tagalog. Well, there's this other student who is outspoken in the class, and he said "Maganda ka" which means "you're pretty" in Tagalog. I blushed like a teenager because the last person who said that to me was my ex-bf, and it completely caught me off guard.

I also taught the 1st years today who needed help. We did Find Someone Who and Charades. It was fun. I also picked up another project: teaching two 4th year Turkish girls English grammar. They will meet with me at least three times a week, and both are very excited about learning English, which makes me really happy.

Today, my mentor teacher and I talked for a long time. It seemed as if we hadn't had a chance to really sit down and talk. She gave me Dutch/Indonesian recipes that I have to try - so excited about cooking!

My mentor teacher wants me to work with a group of students with their English from the 4th year class - which is completely fine by me. :)

I'm also working with this 5th year student with his grammar, and I think he finally knows that I do care and want to help him. He's paying more attention in class and participating. I love it! I wish I could have taken a picture of the chalk talk today. It was great.

Problem of the day:
Most students have lost motivation to do their school work - or at least in my English classes. There is no reward system here like in the US, and so students just don't want to do anything. My mentor teacher and I talked about possibly incorporating some kind of small rewards for the students to get them motivated - and I was talking to the other teacher I work with about this. Another teacher butted in and started saying "Well in America, that's how you do it. This is Netherlands. Competition will make mean people." Of course, I said nothing. I told her I understood where she was coming from but she kept saying how the reward system is the "American" way - but other countries do it too...

There was also a parent information meeting today for students who are interested in attending our school. Ashton and I arrived at 7:30pm for dinner when dinner was at 5pm. Whoops. We got left over though! Chinese/Indonesian food. :)

Instead of seeing the presentation, the janitors kept us occupied in their office by talking to us and entertaining us. Anto, who is an amazing man, cycled from Rotterdam to Paris! AH! He doesn't have a license and he's been cycling since forever.

When we finally caught up with my overseas coordinator, the presentation is over and the individual meetings started - all in Dutch. We talked to one of the English teachers, and asked him about applying for a job. He also told us that teachers get 14 paychecks a year - a bonus during Christmas and one in May (for vacation money). Whoa right?! He told me that I would have to learn Dutch to be able to teach and get my teaching certificate approved by the Ministry of Education here in Rotterdam. I swear, if they offer me a job, i will learn Dutch as quick as possible.

...I have hope. We'll see. I also contacted Macon County for a job. Ugh. I'm missing out on teacher fairs and such!

V-Day is coming up....I'm dragging Ashton with me to Maastricht to attend the carnival during V-Day - kind of like Mardi Gras in the US.

I'm ready to start traveling. One more week until Paris and Barcelona with the roomie! YAY!

Nethernothing

2010-02-10T16:34:00.000-05:00

Funny moment of the day: I was riding the tram and this lady walked up to me and started talking to me in Dutch. I'm so tired of telling people that I don't speak Dutch so I just went along with it. She laughed and I laughed and nodded my head. It was quite amusing. Ashton was laughing her butt off.

So today was uneventful.

1. There's snow outside!
2. Took the tram to school because Ashton talked me into it.
3. Made a checklist - everything is checked off except portfolio
4. Looked up awesome posters that could be printed out.
5. Got home and took a nap.
6. Woke up and started working on my portfolio! Yay.
7. Talked to Danielle.
8. ZUMBA! And weights! Btw, zumba is amazing - it amazes me how older women are willing to shake their hips and do the whole popping dance moves. I love it!
9. Been eating good dinner the last couple of days.
10. Finally booked my trip to Athens, Greece! How exciting!
11. Organized my life.

European countries that I'm planning on visiting:
1. France
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Greece
5. Ireland
6. Germany
7. Poland

European countries that I've already visited:
1. United Kingdom
2. The Netherlands
3. Belgium

.....I think I might want to go to one more country.
Austria or Czech? I love having options!

Summer 2010 plans:
1. Vegas
2. International Student Volunteer - I want to volunteer in Ecuador for a month! (also to learn Spanish)
3. Take online courses so I can travel! - Start on Spanish classes!
4. Try and get a minor in something.
5. Possibly work at McDonalds again? Eh, probably not, but we'll see.

Netherteaching

2010-02-10T00:31:00.000-05:00

Teaching is like a rollercoaster - there are high points and low points - but it's never boring. Everyday is different, and I love it.

Monday, I had one of my days but Tuesday was absolutely one of the greatest days I've had. Granted, I did work with a different group on Tuesday - I was with the younger groups, and I just remembered again why I loved teaching.

One of the teachers I worked with had to substitute a 2nd year math class, and she wanted me to introduce myself to them. I had so much fun talking to them, and the class enjoyed my sense of humor.

Some of the questions that I was asked today:
1. Are you going to Amsterdam to go smoke weed?
2. Are there a lot of hookers in America?
3. What kind of boys do you like?
4. How old are you? (I always tell them to guess b/c normally students say 18, which I love, but this time someone said 28...whoa.)
5. Are you rich?

We had such a lively discussion. It was soo much fun talking to them.

**Note** When someone is a substitute, normally they are in the classroom and the teacher leaves an assignment or whatever. Here, you do watch the students but there is no work. The substitute has to find something for them to do. This 2nd year class that I visited was a math class, yet we worked on English. Ha.

Also, this teacher found out that two teachers from the English department are quitting (including my mentor teacher) and she told me that I needed to take over one of the spots and work there. That's pretty awesome that she thinks that. I really want to, but I think me not knowing Dutch is a huge problem.

Remember when I wrote about the English program that I'm working on with a teacher after school? Well, apparently our letter has already been distributed to teachers, but they still haven't told their students about it. The teacher and I wanted to personally invite students to come after school for help, but my overseas coordinator opposed the idea and wanted the teachers to do it. It's so frustrating when we're doing so much work and nobody wants to take advantage. Ugh.

I taught one of my pronunciation classes today as well. Before we started, I got the students to make name plates so I can start remembering their names. I just started teaching this class so the students are new to me. We worked on /th/ - voiced and voiceless..../sh/ /wh/ /ch/. They took notes on their foldables, sang a song with me, practiced, and played bingo! It was fun. The students were so attentive.

I started my dialogue journals today too with my 4th years. I only have 6 students participating right now, which is completely fine by me b/c I think all 28 students might be too much work. I also talked to the Spanish teacher and she will be giving me a list of things to do in Barcelona!

My bicycle light won't work anymore, and I don't know why. I ate a ridiculous amount of french fries and mayo - their mayo here is totally different.

And, Stevon and I are having a hard time booking a flight to Alghero, Italy in Sardinia...our cards won't work and we don't know why. It's so frustrating. As long as we have rome to go to, I think we'll be fine.

Netherbusted - Ha

2010-02-09T00:24:00.001-05:00

Story of my life: can't tell a lie worth a crap

Everyone is so liberal here. Goodness....I kinda like it.

Anyways - Monday: I was having one of those days. Just didn't want to put up with the students' ridiculous behaviors. I was so upset that the students aren't giving me the time of day to pay attention or pretend to be interested. I'm incorporating all the fun things that I've learned to do, but my students just don't have the motivation or the determination to work hard - well some of them anyways. Am I doing something wrong?

I checked some essays - and several students didn't even finish when they had 75 min to do the essays! And it was about interesting topics (increasing drinking age, use of condoms leading to irresponsible behavior, sports participation keep teens out trouble, and age in relationships)....or so I thought.

I had a venting out with Ashton - she makes me smile. I seriously don't know what I would do without her. I also talked to my mom and she's hilarious. She knows how to make me feel better. I've finally figured out what I'm doing with my relationship/ex-relationship.

I went to the gym and did ZUMBA - how nice it is to shake your hips and feel good about being able to. Ha.

Oh! And I booked my trip to Rome, Italy! Stevon and I decided it was too expensive to go to Athens, Greece so instead we're flying out to Sardinia for a couple of days. It's like a romantic getaway except with a gay guy. I'm sure we can make it romantic somehow. Ha. I'm super excited!

My aunt and uncle are the greatest - they sent me a care package full of food! So my dinner is covered for a week or so, at least. :) And it's so nice to have the instructions in English. My mom sent me an email with two recipes that I can cook - I have to start cooking, for real.

The temperature is dropping. It's cold. It's supposed to snow later this week. :(

Netherawesomeness

2010-02-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

So best weekend yet. :)

Saturday:
* watched Manila Skies - a Filipino movie - wanted to start speaking Tagalog again
* did laundry (finally! after a month of rewearing everything...ha) I absolutely love doing laundry....
* worked out (30 min of cardio and 30 min of getting my swole on)
* grocery shopping (more bread and cheese! ha)
* ate french fries with mayo and chocolate with the best roomie - best combination - :)
* cycled to town with a skirt and heels on (shake your head if you knew this was a bad idea, b/c I didn't even think about it - results = hahahaha)
* Coffee Shop Nemo - tried a "Snow White" - coolest place ever - we were in an aquarium!
* Plan C - finally! after being so eek about it b/c the outside looked a little sketch - 3 drinks for the price of 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! talk about someone who was really happy
* retired at 12 - cycled home - another bad idea - could've died
* got home and decided to order pizza - closed before we could order - went to the other restaurant
* didn't realize it was 12 and restaurant stopped serving food
* owner was drunk and welcomed us! also showed us a dead pig - raw ----- EW.
* owner got the servants to cook us food - hahaha - for free!!!!! and we got hot chocolate!
* hallucinated that my hair tie was pearl earrings that i couldn't manage to lose while i was sleeping
* had a really bad dream about Anthony --- ugh

Overall: Successful! Didn't get to dance, but def found a hot spot. :)

Sunday:
* church at 10:30 - priest talked forever - meaning 25 minutes plus lighted seven candles and talked about each - all in Dutch - I just wanted to give money during collection and get my communion
* had to leave church early b/c couldn't miss the train to Utrecht
* really tired...cycled really fast home - realized that i'm a better driver than a cyclist - i've almost killed myself along with others
* cycled to Rotterdam Centraal and bought tickets to Utrecht and got rid of all my coins! yay!
* finally got to Utrecht and walked around - stores were open b/c it was the first Sunday of the month - rest of Sundays, stores are closed
* loved the atmosphere - 60 roses for sale for 5 euros - whoa
* grabbed hot chocolate at a cafe that used to be a hidden Catholic church - still had pipes for organ, a statue of Virgin Mary, etc.
* dinner at my overseas coordinator - amazing food - apple pie with ice cream for dessert
* talked about WWII
* made a friend!!!!!!!!

The End. :)

Netherminustwodays

2010-02-06T02:19:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting to write every night. Ugh.

Thursday: I taught my other 5th year class about argumentative essays, and I was very impressed with the lively discussion we had with some of the most controversial topics. The other 5th year class participated but not as much as this one. My activity - four corners - turned into a discussion that was amazing. I love that class! For my 4th years, they had a literature test over the different things that they've been reading. My mentor teacher reviewed with them the different terms they needed to know - and basically gave them the answers. You would think they'd do well, but no. Almost none of them studied - one of the students told me that he had a religion test so he studied for that one instead. I'm a bit frustrated because these students won't give me or my mentor teacher a chance to get them interested in English. They underestimate the English language and say that it is easy, but they have so many problems. For my other 5th year class, we gave them back their argumentative essays with comments and suggestions. One student used "bullshit" and others contradicted themselves. The level of English was just a bit frustrating. One student had problems with subject and verb agreement, and I promised to help him. I'm doing everything I can to show them that I care about them learning, and I'm not giving up on them. One of the students was absent that day and I have to come up with a good deal for him to write an essay at home. It's ridiculous how they refuse to do homework - and I can't force them.

Anyways, on the bright side, I booked my Ireland trip! I'm officially going to Ireland for my birthday weekend ALONE! The thought makes me nervous but so excited about visiting Europe by myself. Today is our two week mark until Paris and Barcelona!

I also had to babysit for the American woman that I met. Her and her husband went to a concert. She has two daughters, 6 and 8...and they were hard to put to bed. It reminded me exactly why i DON'T babysit. I can handle kids I know, but kids I don't know is another story. Ugh. My roommate came with me and she knew how to handle little kids so she took over most of the time. Thank God the girls were scared of her. Ha. It was our first night also to eat junk food! The American woman took out snacks for us. We didn't get paid - instead we got a box of Belgium chocolates - better than money. :)

Good news! I emailed the assistant principal (ex-teacher at my high school) of SCMS and told him that I was interested in working for their school. He told me to send a cover letter, resume, and application. I really want this job so I can be closer to my family.

Bad news: I didn't work out today. :(

Friday: Took forever for me to wake up. I went to go watch another movie - Ante. It's a Filipino film in Tagalog and I was soooo happy that I could still understand everything they were saying. The movie was a little bit over an hour, and it wasn't bad. I guess I just suck at criticizing. Ha. But I did go through another part of the city that I've never been in so that was exciting! There are so many theaters in Rotterdam!

When I got home, I cleaned up my room and organized my life. :) Then, my roommate and I went to school. I had a checklist to do, and I checked off most of it besides starting on my portfolio. It's taking me forever to start on my portfolio. Ugh. Anyways, I worked on my cover letter, resume, and the application. I also worked on my resume online. I'm trying to apply to as many school as possible. I've decided to stay home for 2 years and later try and teach abroad.

I also booked my Germany trip over Easter break, and Poland trip for another weekend. My original plan was to do both over Easter break, but the transportation to Poland was insanely high. All I want to do is visit Auschwitz, so I just decided to dedicate a full weekend for Auschwitz. :)

My mom had a test today. I hope she did well. I've been talking to my parents a lot. I miss them...and my dog.

Oh, and I tried to do laundry for the first time and the washer took two of my coins. I was pissed to say the least. I wrote an email of complaint to the company that owns the building asking for a refund and how they should have a "not working" sign on the washer. Ugh. I really don't like this apartment...at all.

Netherbust!

2010-02-04T02:36:00.000-05:00

I woke up in the morning feeling like P.Diddy. :)

- cycled to school to get some more work done
- had a meeting with my overseas coordinator about the school
- paid my expensive rent
- talked to one of the teachers about the film festival
- looked up trips to Ireland...will book it within two days
- bought another movie ticket - VAHO - Mexican film for the night at 10:30
- pretty, pretty, pretty day!
- cycled home to mope about not having a job yet
- freaked out about possibly not having a job when I get home, ate like 5 slices of bread with peanut butter - ugh
- called my mom so she could calm me down
- Zumba!!
- bought laundry tickets - can only buy 5 at a time - washer for .90 and dryer for .25 - both machines are in Dutch and very tiny!
- don't recommend the building I'm living in, we pay way too much for rent - the location is great, but totally not worth it
- VAHO: interesting movie, but way too long - 2 hours
- my mentor teacher was right, the atmosphere of the film festival in the heart of rotterdam was amazing - lots of drinks and food :)
- filled in most of the paperwork I needed to get done

Ta-da.

Netherrainy!

2010-02-02T17:06:00.000-05:00

Today, I looked hot.

The end.

Lol.

Wait? What? You're not satisfied with that? Ok, fine.

1. I looked hot.
2. I wore amazing shoes. (The teachers and students complimented my shoes.)
3. I looked hot.

Ugh. Fine.

1. It was rainy, so my roommate and I didn't cycle - Thank God because there was ice everywhere and we would have busted our booties.
2. I graded the argumentative essays, and it was interesting to say the least. I had to grade according to this - grammar, repetition, and not contradicting. Whoa, right? I'm all about the content so it was very hard for me to turn that switch off.
3. I taught the 1st years today! Pronunciation - it was great. The other teacher I work with told me an hour before class that I needed to teach two lessons today and not one- and it got really hectic really fast. I was a bit stressed because I left my stuff at home but I conquered and my lesson was a success!
4. I sang to my class - another Whoa moment for me!
5. My mentor teacher cancelled her two out of three classes today. So short day for me!
6. I've been doing this ab workout thing twice a day now, and hopefully by the time Stevon gets here, I'll have a toned stomach so I can get an awesome tattoo. The tattoo is a reward for myself.
7. I'm planning a trip to Ireland by myself for my birthday present! It's exciting to know that it will only cost $300 to visit another country - transportation, hostel, and dublin pass card included. Whoa, right?
8. I went to the gym today and did 3o min of awesome cardio and pumped up the rest of the time. :)
9. I cycled to and from the gym and got attacked by rain and wind. I had to keep telling myself that I'm having fun in the rain. Ha.
10. Duffy had a vet appointment today to make sure he tests negative for heart worms and to get medicine! I miss my puppy.
11. Shout out to my parents: They are amazing. I told my dad that since I don't have a bf anymore, I'm just gonna call him all the time now. Ha.
12. I'm getting a haircut soon - or a trim - or I dunno,
13. I played catch up with my friends today! How exciting!
14. I have a new nickname from the students - Toni Montana - great. They know my first name. Ugh.
15. My roommate and I listened to old songs. Actually I listened while she sang. Thank God for an awesome roommate.
16. I bought one movie ticket so that I can finally say that I did participate in the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.
17. I paid my bills!
18. I tried to call this dance center so I can take Modern Jazz Dance classes, but our communication lacked understanding. :(
19. Tomorrow is going to be pretty. I'm excited to be outside and cycling! Yay!
20. I really need to start taking pictures daily. Goodness.

Netheranniversary!

2010-02-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

Today is my one month anniversary with Rotterdam! How exciting right?!

Stupid moment of the day:
Get excited about goodies in the teachers' workroom, ask one of the teachers if he brought it, and happily ate the goodies....without wishing him a Happy Birthday. Ugh.

Lately, I've been having such a hard time getting up in the morning. I'm so sore from all the working out, and my bed isn't the most comfortable thing in the world. I cycled to school this morning, and ended up sweating by the time I arrived there. I haven't been layering as much either. I guess I'm getting used to the weather! Yay!

I arrived to school at 8, and just printed things out for my next class. My 8:15 class was canceled due to a German listening exam. So for my 9:30 class, I had the chance to review Thursday and get the students writing an argumentative essay! It was hard to motivate them at first because their work will not be graded, but I finally encouraged some of the guys to start writing. :) My mentor teacher complimented my presence in the classroom - how the students are only 4 years younger than me but I still get their attention and respect like a teacher. :)

Now I just have to look at the papers and make suggestions. The essays were very basic, and grammar is what really matters, not the content or style. Since English is a foreign language, writings don't have to be in-depth or amazingly structured. They do all that fun stuff in Dutch classes. So I have to turn off my what more can you do with this paper switch and turn on just my grammar switch. We'll see how it goes.
My 12:20 class (which is only 20 mins long), I am in charge of coming up with little activities to practice their verbal skills. Today, I introduced dialogue journals and made them sign a contract saying they abide by my rules and expectations with the dialogue journals. I'm hoping it will be as successful as I'm thinking. We'll see, I guess.

My 1:55 class is the same as my 12:20 class, but we read from the WASP report about Skateboarding in Kabul. It was very interesting for me since I just finished reading the Kite Runner which was all about Afghanistan. I love all the reading that I'm capable of doing now, since I do have plenty of time. I'm starting on Bridget Jones's Diary tonight. :) Since I only bought two books to read, I'm checking out books from the library!

I cycled home with my mentor teacher and she took me to this bike route that was really nice and relaxing. Then we parted our ways. I talked to my parents today, and it was really good to hear their voice. I was upset about a couple of things, but I didn't allow myself to be too angry. I love and miss my parents like crazy.

Then, I cycled to my gym and did Zumba!!! It was a great workout and I couldn't help but laugh at this lady who was beside me. She just couldn't get the rhythm or the moves so she just did her own thing. It was hilarious to watch. There's also this girl that works there who seems so interested in me, I'm guessing because I'm American? I'll approach her next time and see if we can be besties. Ha. I can never say no to new besties.

Anyways off to bed I go. :)

Nether-gay

2010-01-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

And here comes the weekend...

Saturday was a beautiful day! The sun was out, there were no clouds - and it snowed overnight. The sight of Rotterdam was gorgeous. :) I love these days.

Anyways, I went to a Zumba class - and I got to practice all the hip moves and popping while getting my cardio on! The class was taught in Dutch, which by this time, I'm already used to it. (I'm known as the girl who only speaks English in my gym. Ha.) The gym is owned by Mister Universe, btw. (who has the cutest little girl and puppy!) I came home feeling good because I ran to the gym and back to my apartment and up the stairs. Great stuff, I tell you. I'm determined to impress myself by the end of this trip. It should be rewarding.

As the day goes on, my roommate and I went cycling around town and went into two museums - Wereldmuseum and Museum van Boijmans Beuningen. We also went through Witte de With, which is a very hip street where apparently everything happens. We also went to Hotel New York, where in the past that was the stopping point for people migrating to New York. Yes, indeed it was a very productive day, and we took advantage of the nice weather. :)

Be proud. We went out Saturday night...finally. Guess where we went? Gay Palace, of course! I was literally in heaven being surrounded by gay boys, and then it made me miss all of my gay friends. :( My roommate and I are taking turns with the night clubs - went to the gay bar for her (yes, she's a lesbian) and going to a straight bar this coming Saturday! How did we get to the club, you ask? We cycled of course! It was great. Ha. We dreaded it, and tried to talk ourselves into staying at home - BUT we've been here for weeks and we still haven't gone out!

Gay Palace - you can't miss it, it's got the name in huge and bold letters outside of the building. Not only did we dance the night away, but I got hit on (by a guy!). Whoa, right? So for me to get rid of him, I sat down next to my roommate and told him that she was my girlfriend. Caught her off guard and she sucked as my girlfriend because he didn't leave. Haha. I also met a drag, her name is Nichole and she was interesting to look at. She spoke to me (in her guy voice, of course) in Dutch at first, and it was cute because she saw me yawn. I was exhausted and it was only 2am. The club is open until 5:30. Whoa. No, we didn't stay out that late. Bad idea. This night, I was also reunited with my best friend, Jose Cuervo. :)

The International Film Festival is still going on, and I still haven't watched one movie! I will watch a movie so that I can say that I went to the film festival! Maybe tomorrow.

Sunday was also another productive day. I finally went to church! Everything was in Dutch, but I understood what was going on and even read along the readings in Dutch. The songs that the choir sang were in English though. It's a huge church, and there were plenty of empty pews. :( I cycled to church - yet another beautiful (and cold!) day. After church, I went to the gym and ran my life away until I couldn't anymore (meaning 30 minutes later...haha). Then, I went to the grocery store to buy bread, milk, and a big bag of french fries! Dutch people shop at least once a week. In America, we buy in bulks and there are times where we wouldn't go grocery shopping for weeks.

Last night, I was eating a peanut butter sandwich when I realized the bread had mold. By that time, I already ate two slices. Ew, right? Oh well.

I also think I'm getting sick. All the cycling and running outside is giving me a cold which sucks because here, they don't have cold medicine. We just have to suck it up.

Oh! And I finished my lesson plan for 11 days over verbal practice and 4 days over pronunciation! I'm in a good mood. I hope this lasts a while. :)

Nether-lackin

2010-01-30T03:15:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I've been failing at writing on my blog everyday - I honestly don't have much motivation to do much of anything right now. Oh, no, I'm fine...just being lazy.

Thursday: I woke up late, been doing that a lot lately. I thought that I had to teach at 9:05 so I got dressed quickly and ran to the tram stop. As it turns out, I didn't have to teach until 12:20, and the 9:05 was cancelled due to French listening exam. I had a class at 9:55 and we just went over the answers for their literature test next Thursday. My lesson at 12:20 went well. We talked about argumentative essays, played four corners, discussed controversial topics, and started filling in the web I made for them. Some of the students did really well, while some I just don't know how to get them to care and participate. Ugh. I'll work on it. After that class, I went to an after school kind of thing - where students who are having problems with English came in for extra help. It was from 2-4 every Thursday. The only problem is only one student came, and that's how it's been. So I'm working with one of the teachers to make this class more productive and try to get more students to come. I have to come up with 5 lessons on pronunciation to teach on Tuesdays - same program, just different day. I also have to write a letter to the parents and students about the importance of English. Before I do all of this, I have to email my overseas coordinator to see if he approves. So I have my own project! The same teacher also wants me to help out with "Open School Day" and she wants me to make posters with English proverbs, riddles, etc. I'm psyched about it.

After all that hassle with the class, I met up with my roommate and my overseas coordinator to take pictures for the school website. We also received our bikes later on in the afternoon! My O.C. wants to take pictures of us riding our bikes. Ha. We also met some of the primary school students who attend this after school program at our school. The students meet once a week for six weeks and take classes that our school offers - like Latin, Greek, French, etc. It's impressive how some of the students are just so motivated to attend and learn. They're mostly 12 year olds...my favorite. :)

Friday, I went to an American International School who has 258 students. It took me 50 min to get there through tram and walking - and it was raining. :( I followed 7th graders around and there were only 9 of them in the grade. It's that tiny. On the other side of the school is the Japanese school where the Japanese students are taught in Japanese. All the books in the library are either in English or Japanese. So of course the setting was nice because it reminded me of home. But this school is more like a private school, and the tuition is a bit pricey. The English teacher that I met was very impressive, and I loved sitting in her class. She is certified to teach high school but for some reason she's teaching 7th grade....so for her sake, she challenges this grade and introduced Shakespeare to them....and the kids loved it. We also watched Supersize Me in Health class which was very interesting and made me not want to eat fast food ever again. For real. When I told some of the teachers that I finally got a bike, one looked at me and said they didn't ride bikes. Ha. Another funny incident was that some of the teachers taught I was a student who repeated. Keep in mind, I'm 21 years old and I know I look young, but not as young as a 7th grader. Whoa. When I told one of the students that I had to catch the tram, she goes "Oh you ride the tram?" Well, I don't have a car. Don't we all love rich schools?

Needless to say, the experience was an eye opening one. It made me realize just how lucky I am to be in the school that I'm at. Everyone is super nice and friendly, and I actually get to experience their culture, instead of being surrounded myself with all of the familiar things.

Friday was another one of those days. I needed a picker upper - I found out that my dad and my ex-bf was in contact, and he told my dad that he has a chance of being sent to Iraq. I don't even know how to react to that. I told my parents and friends never to mention his name so that it doesn't upset me or bring me down. It's hard, not gonna lie. But thank God for a roommate who keeps my mind off of things. We went cycling into town, and it was a workout! We went grocery shopping and stopped by a coffee shop.

When we got home, I felt better. I ended the night with an 8 min ab workout, and went to bed.

Now, off to a new day! We have lots of plans for this Saturday so we'll see what happens. The International Film Festival is going on right now!

Nether-catch up

2010-01-28T06:08:00.000-05:00

Monday was a very short day for me. I taught the 5th years at 8:15 am on the text about hugging. Like the other 5th year class, they enjoyed all of the hugging that I demonstrated. For the next class at 9:30, they had a listening exam (because the exam is tomorrow!), but I read more of the text in the WASP report for words and idioms that the students might have trouble with. It's more like a Vocabluary Word List where students will be tested after reading the different articles. Since the 4th years had their volleyball tournament this day, they didn't have class and our day ended at 10:45. However, I did help my mentor teacher grade some papers. She was stressing out about all the stuff she did, and I told her that my job is to make sure she's not as stressful so throw everything at me. :)

Tuesday was yet another short day for classes but a long day for me at the school. I taught another teacher's class at 9:05 about healthy food vs. junk food. The class was for 1st years, and two students were very uncomfortable with their English - therefore they acted up instead of listening. This was another success story - the students seemed to enjoy themselves, and the other teacher complimented me on my directness (which comes as a surprise for me since I'm never direct or strick with students.) After teaching that class, I had to teach another lesson for the 4th years. We had to finish the short story because we ran out of time on Thursday. Like expected, the students didn't read so I actually had two lesson plans - one for which they read and one for which they didn't read. I was ready. :) I also brought in my iHome and iPod and had music playing in the background as a way to manage classroom talking. Students loved it, and I had a couple of requests. :) After those two classes, both of my 5th year classes were cancelled due to teacher meetings.

The first one was about incorporating more sports in the school and the second one was a meeting about the HAVO students. My mentor teacher advised me to skip the first meeting so I did, and attended the other one where they talked about Project Day, Christmas Activities, Year Planning, students' personal problems, test week, and what else teachers could do for the students. This meeting happens once every 6 weeks. :) So I was at school until 5:30. However, I did find out that the school already ordered our bikes, so it should be coming any time soon! Yay!

Tuesday, I also joined a gym to get my swole on. I have to keep my mind off of a lot of things that bother me. I let myself listen to other people, when I should have trusted him all along. I turned into psycho ex-gf which was a bit embarrassing. So now, he doesn't even want to talk anymore. I have to take it day-by-day. That was the reason for my last blog.

Wednesday, I decided to take the day off and just relax. I worked on lesson plans, and booked the trip to Paris and Barcelona. I realized that I had problems committing to booking things because I couldn't change my mind anymore. Another realization is that this little thing led me to think that I am scared of commitment, period. I went for a run to Tattoo Bob, because I've hit rock bottom and needed to get a tattoo to cover up one of my stupid tattoos. Come to find out, the tattoo I want will cost 250 euros ($351!). So probably not. The run was great though...I got lost so my run was a bit longer than I suspected.

I got home, and worked out in my room. I worked on my abs and buns. For the next three months, I will be working on feeling good about myself. :) I'm also planning on joining this dance class to meet more people. I just have to keep myself busy and entertained.

Wednesday night, I went out to dinner with the English Department, and it only ended up being 5 of us. It was a great night though. The restaurant was gorgeous, and the waitors were very pretty to look at - all of them were Dutch boys. Finally! Ha. We each had four course dinner with wine - so I had this salade van krab, scallops, lamb (I've never had lamb before), and white chocolate dinner! Yea! I also rode with my mentor teacher on her bike! Very Dutch! It was pretty exciting! The weather was rainy, but it was a great ride. I can't wait to have my bike....

I was also supposed to go see the caretaker for laundry tokens, and I thought that her office hours were from 10-11pm...apparently it's from 8-9pm. I'm still getting used to the military time here. So no laundry for me...which means I have to buy more underwear and socks. The caretaker is here only once a week. AAAHHH!!

So that's the gist of my week so far. I will write about today later....

Nether....

2010-01-26T15:47:00.000-05:00

I'm a mess right now.

I don't even know what to do with myself.

I miss my family like crazy.

And my dog.

I'm shaking.

I can't stop.

Maybe sleep will cure everything....

Netherrelaxed

2010-01-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

As crazy as my Friday was, my Saturday and Sunday were the complete opposite. On Friday night, we did end up going out to dinner with the teachers. Little did we know that we would be so tired from the field trip that we went home right after dinner instead of going out dancing.

Anyways, Friday night was a total adventure because we didn't know exactly where the restaurant was that we were meeting the teachers at. We ended up walking for an hour and a half trying to look for this place. We stopped to ask for directions twice, but it was useless. So by the time we finally found the restaurant, we were both a little grumpy and way too tired.

Saturday, the weather wasn't as nice, but we had to go see at least one museum and go grocery shopping. We ended up going to the Maritime Museum, and the brochures were all in Dutch. We did get a really cool pin. Then, we walked some more and found a coffee shop! It's really interesting how some drugs are totally legal here, and I was pretty amazed at how this coffee shop did business. I felt like I was in a really bad place, so it was definitely a new experience. We went grocery shopping for the week also. :)

Sunday, all we really did was go to dinner at my mentor teacher's place. She cooked Indonesian food, and like always, it was amazing. :) Her kids are adorable. Rosa, who's turning 4, actually sat on my lap. Roommate and I are planning a trip to Barcelona and Paris for our Spring Break, but it's a bit frustrating because we can't figure out exactly just how much the trip will be.

As far as my boyfriend and I. we have a mutual agreement that we still have a lot of growing up before we can really get back together. So for the whole duration that I'm here in Europe, we won't be communicating at all. Which is kind of nerve wrecking because I've talked to him everyday for almost three years. It's weird, but I know it's for the best. It does make me wonder though if we'll greet each other on our birthdays...

Eh. Everything happens for a reason, right? :)

Netherfieldtrip!

2010-01-22T13:03:00.000-05:00

CRAZINESS!

My roommate and I woke up at 5am so that we can get ready and catch the 6:33am tram to school. We were expected to be at the school at 6:50am. The bus that we took had two levels, and the bus ride to Belgium was only an hour!

The first thing we did was go to Central Station where the fast trains are, and the buildings are absolutely gorgeous. Everything is old school - not like Rotterdam where everything is modern. There were about 100 3rd years, and I had no idea how the field trip went. Everybody received a map, and students had this book with questions they needed to answer - kind of like a scavenger hunt. I thought that the teachers would lead a group of students but to my surprise, the teachers let the students go by themselves, and the teachers all went to go get coffee at this really nice place. I was impressed at the system! Later, the teachers did have to be at certain spots so that they know students are actually going there. Also, the teachers got 15 euros each for lunch! Teachers were well taken care of!

First stop: Diamond Center and when I say Diamond Center, there are at least four streets of just diamond stores, and it's heavily protected by security and such. It was pretty intense. The Jewish community mostly handled the diamonds, but lately people from India are also starting to be in the business.

Second stop: Jewish community! I literally felt like I was in a different world because all the men wore a top hat or head coverings....and they had the curls on the sides of their faces! It is believed that they cannot cut it! There are two types of Jews in the community: Liberal and Orthodox. It is a very closed community and they don't talk to strangers. Almost everyone wore black with long black coats. The men had long beards and we didn't really see a lot of women. I even saw a synagogue that was bombed because of Anti-Semitism. They even had a street that only sold Kosher!

Third stop: Shopping center of Antwerp. It was absolutely breath-taking because they mixed the old with the new, and it was just a pleasant view. The mall was absolutely beautiful with gold trims. If we had a mall like that in the US, I would definitely go just to admire the building.

Fourth stop: Ruben's House. Ruben was a well known painter in the 1600s, and his house is just amazing. We couldn't take pictures, but everything looked so expensive. His wall paper was made from leather! He had several paintings by himself and tons by other people. He had his own herb garden! I bet it's beautiful during the summer. He married a 16 year old when he was 53 years old! Crazy, huh?! Ashton and I had headphones to listen to stories of the different paintings and sculptures.

Fifth stop: Wagamama. Originally, Ashton and I wanted to eat sushi for lunch but since the sushi place was a bit confusing, we just went to the restaurant next to it, which was Wagamama! It's an Asian restaurant, and we both ordered rice dishes. We had 30 euros to spend on food, and surprisingly we still had enough money for desert! The food was totally yummy!

Sixth stop: Ben and Jerrys. Yes. :) Ashton got herself some chocolate ice cream, and I got a Belgium waffle! Both were very happy and satisfied! I highly recommend the waffles - I had apple cinnamon. Yum!

Seventh stop: The Cathedral. It was a bit overwhelming because it was just so big and so pretty. I took lots of pictures! I lit two candles for my grandparents, said a prayer, and was totally excited about everything to look at. I even bought my mom a magnet of the Cathedral, a ring rosary, and two postcards! :) Apparently at this Cathedral, rich people can be buried under if they pay enough. On the floor of the cathedral, you can see the names of the people buried there. Also, this cathedral cost people a lot of money to reconstruct and keep it going. It apparently hurt the middle class and poor...

Eighth stop: Chocolate store: I didn't even get the name of the store. :( Ashton and I had to try the chocolate because everyone kept saying how good it is...so we did...and we fell in love. :)

Interesting thing that happened today: student was unable to walk by herself and had to be carried by two of her friends. The rumor is that she did some kind of drug and was totally knocked out. Whoa, right?! At a school function. Oh, and the kids totally smoked right after getting out of the bus this morning. Really different from the US.

So yes: Belgium: check. Totally amazing. I'm tired, but I have to go out with the teachers still. I can't wait to see just how much they party here. It should be entertaining.

Netherturnaround!

2010-01-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Ohemgee.

I had the worst day yesterday, and I didn't think today was going to be better because I had to teach two different classes. I couldn't help but dread it because I was afraid that my students wouldn't give me a chance to prove that I am a good teacher.

BUT....

I had an amazing day! I woke up pretty early to work on one of my lesson plans since I couldn't get the motivation to do it last night. I was having a hard time putting it together because of everything that was going on, so I called one of my friends to cheer me up...and he did. :) Thank God for friends.

I arrived at school at 8 am, and the class I had to teach didn't start until 9:55 am so I had plenty of time to print everything out and go over everything.

For the 4th years, I went over the elements of a short story with them. I planned out a rap song I found online about the different elements, guided notes, fishbowl activity, and find someone who. The guided notes took a little longer, but it was ok since I found out that most of the students didn't read the short story anyways. We started on find someone who and the students were so confused because I wanted them to walk around the room and find the answers -- my mentor teacher loved it!

For the 5th years, I went over the article, "How About A Hug?" -- which was totally about the American greeting - hugging. I demonstrated to them the different types of hug, provided them with a video about different greetings in different cultures and how it sometimes clashes. We listened to the article on CD, and talked about the pros and cons of hugging. Then they had to do assignments.

And guess what ---- I'm finally learning the students' names! There was only one that I couldn't pronounce and this other student tried to help me out, but instead he was really just making me say an inappropriate word in Dutch. Whoa, right? I learned to laugh it off -- I even got the nerve to tell these students not to curse in front of me. :)

Then, my overseas coordinator comes up during my break and tells me that the school is buying my roommate and me a bike so that we don't have to pay for public transportation to and from school! That saves us $30 a week for tram and $100 for a second-hand bike! Yay!

Life is good. :)

Netherchaotic

2010-01-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

I was invited to go visit this university with a group of 3rd years. Little did I know that I was actually going to lead a group of students whom I've never seen and had little respect for little ol' me. I guess looking young and looking like one of the students mean I don't get looked at as a teacher. Grrreeeat.

Anyways, there were 125 students that were with us, and surprisingly we took the public transportation. My only concern was that students could just get off anytime....and some did. We took the tram, then the subway. Subway was chaotic! The way the system works is that you scan your card and go through the gate, one person at a time. What the students did was push each other to go through and not pay. Shockingly, I was pushed hard by one of the students so they can enter the same time as me. Not only did she not apologize, but she laughed and told her friends. It all happened so fast, that I didn't have time to react. :(

Finally, we arrived at Hogeschool Rotterdam where the 3rd years had an orientation about the school. They choose which group they want to be in like - like Economics, Art and Culture, subjects that they're interested in. They had three sessions about classes that were offered. The presenters complained about the students, which made the other teachers embarrassed.

One good thing is that I made a friend, and of course, she likes to go out and have a "nice" time, as they would say it in The Netherlands. We exchanged phone numbers and we have to make an "appointment" with them, another phrase used a lot here.

Breaking news from home life: My boyfriend and I broke up. I really don't know what else to say except that I'm still madly in love with him, and I'm scared of losing him forever. It was my decision - to give me time to really want to be in the relationship with him. I felt like all he did was reassure me and persuade me to be with him. He wants me to take this time to really want to be with him. It makes sense, but it's such a bummer. Almost three years later....and I just don't know what to do.

"In the end, everything is going to be alright. If it's not alright, it's not the end."

Nethercrap!

2010-01-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

Crap #1: I had to pay 433 euros for a 6-month visa when I had the impression that it would be a year visa. So I'm going back early tomorrow morning to get an explanation.

Crap #2: I have already spent $1700 in three weeks.

Crap #3: I have to provide a 10-session lessons on pronunciation - um, I still have a hard time with pronunciation. ---- definitely a challenge.

Crap #4: The school has no bikes that my roommate and I could use, so we have to buy a bike ourselves...which would cost close to $100 or more. (It'll be cheaper than spending $120 a month for public transportation.)

Crap #5: There was this huge pile of crap on the sidewalk of Rotterdam...the poop really takes away from all the beautiful scenery. Blah.

Now on to different things!

1. The classrooms have no technology in the room because the money is spent on field trips. They only have one room with a smart board so far. They do have computer rooms though that teachers have to book in advance. This just means I have to be extra creative with my students.
2. The way Dutch people give directions is this: "You go left, then you keep walking and walking, then you turn right, then you walk some more, then turn left, and the store is right there on your right." No street names, it's kind of funny.
3. I'm teaching 5th years, and this is an exam year, so that means that students don't get grades which leads to no motivation to do their school work while in the classroom. I really have to catch their attention.
4. I'm teaching two classes on Thursday and getting my first evaluation from my mentor teacher. I'm also teaching about junk food vs healthy food on Tuesday and will also be getting an evaluation from one of the teachers that I'm working with. I'm super excited. :)
5. I'm going to observe an American International School here in Rotterdam next Friday, and hopefully teaching and networking. The American woman that I met my first week here pushed for me to be able to observe and teach. She's got some major skills, and is well known here. Yay. :)
6. Today, I got asked by a student if we had clogs in Georgia. She made me smile.
7. I absolutely love my mentor teacher. She teaches both of my areas and her favorite color is green! She's so much fun to talk to as well. Again, I'm super lucky.
8. I looked up intensive language classes so that I can learn Dutch -- and it will cost 685 euros -- I'm scared to convert it to dollars. Ha.
9. I HAVE TO STAY POSITIVE. EVERYTHING WILL BE JUST FINE. :)

10. I miss my family and dogs.

Netherteaching

2010-01-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

I'm at a disadvantage.

I taught today for the first time, and I wanted to take advantage of my first day teaching by getting to know the students, talking about rules and expectations, and showing them the difference between social English and academic English.

Everything is going well, I got most of the students' attention, except for two. Even the 18 year old student kept quiet, participated, and totally respected me. In every classroom, there will always be that one or two students that make the teaching experience really frustrating and hard.

I say that I'm at a disadvantage because I don't know Dutch. A student decided that he would speak to me in Dutch knowing that I didn't understand the language. Another student made side remarks in Dutch, and my mentor teacher had to send him out. I didn't even know he was making rude comments until my mentor teacher told me the reason she sent him out.

It's just disheartening, and I'm highly disappointed...in myself. I feel like I can't ask these students to just speak English, because I am in their country. I kept my composure the whole class, but after, I broke down. I always do this though, after first time of teaching. I'm too much of a perfectionist, and expect everything to turn out perfect. How am I suppose to control high school students who dislike being at school?

I'm teaching again on Thursday, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm nervous, but I do feel that once I understand and get to know my students, they'd want to do good work for me. I guess this is how I know I'm destined to be a teacher, I refuse to give up...and the feeling of teaching is just amazing. :)

I have to stay positive. I've been looking at plane tickets to Malaysia, and it's quite expensive so the trip might be postponed which is a bummer. I'm going to keep looking.

Oh yeah, be proud. I cooked dinner Sunday night, Hutspot - traditional Dutch food! Today, I ate leftovers of Hutspot and Grilled Cheese - I also had tomato soup and cheese bread! So, Kirk, I am eating more than peanut butter. Lol.

I've talked to my bf, and he makes me smile. He just refuses to fight with me, and I tell him that we're too happy. Lol. Eh. I was bored. He loves me, so it's all good. I miss my pups like crazy. I wish I could fly them here.

Tomorrow, I'm getting my VISA. I was so excited when I could take out 500 Euros out of the ATM. I really want to take out all of my money from my bank in the US and just have cash with me. My bank charges the hell out of me every time I use my debit card or withdraw from the ATM. :(

Hopefully, I get a bike soon. Yay.

Netherweekend

2010-01-17T03:48:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling lonely. I don't know why, but I just am. *sigh*

Here goes my not so eventful weekend:

On Saturday, all of the ice and snow have melted away. So I was thinking it would be warmer, but it wasn't. It was cold and rainy. I think I prefer snow rather than rain. In the morning, I worked on my lesson plan and grammar tests for Monday. :) My roommate and I tried to look for the farmer's market but didn't feel like walking all the way so we turned around and instead went to a Photomuseum! We finally bought the Museum Card which allows us to have free entry in a lot of museums in the whole country of the Netherlands! :) Hm. We also cooked spaghetti and ate it with cheese bread! It was a break from eating so much peanut butter.

We were supposed to go out last night, but I passed out. Instead of hitting snooze on my alarm, I hit ok and didn't wake up again. Ugh. But I did get plenty of sleep. I woke up to the sound of my amazing boyfriend. He called right after he got off work, and it was nice to hear his voice in the morning. Now I've been up working on my lesson plans for Tuesday....and I'm finished! I'm excited about teaching, and I really hope everything works out well. *crossing fingers*

Today, none of the stores are open - some open at noon or sometimes until 4 -8. I'm seriously considering joining a gym to keep me sane. I have so much free time, and I really would like to occupy myself with something. I considered taking tango lessons, but the location is on the other side of town, and I can't afford to ride the tram that far. I really need a bike....

I think I might go to the grocery store today to buy more variety of food. As much as I love peanut butter, it's getting a little old. I've already switched to cashew paste, and I'm tired of that too. It means I have to cook, but oh well. :) Good practice for when I live by myself (or get married.)

Nether----decision.

2010-01-15T19:22:00.000-05:00

It's decided. I'm staying. Forever.

(Well when I find a job...)

Teachers are awesome.

A couple of interesting things:
1. It's illegal to import weed, but legal to buy it.
2. Restaurants don't have a doggie bag. It's just rude to take home food you didn't finish -- found that out the hard way.
3. Gays are widely accepted here, and it's not an awkward topic AT ALL.
4. Teachers go to a pub/bar near a school...something that is rare in the US.
5. It's very Dutch to steal a bike and sell it. Lol. I think that we might have to just buy stolen bikes. Bikes here are super expensive.
6. The ice is melting! Yay!
7. During class today with the 12 year olds, one of the reading selections talked about Irish coffee and getting tipsy at fifteen. Whoa.

There are more. I just can't think right now. It's 1:20 am. AHH!!!

Good life. :)

Netherforgot.

2010-01-15T02:44:00.000-05:00

Oops, I forgot to write on my blog last night about my Thursday.

Well, I was at school from 9 am until 7 pm. Yes, pretty intense.

I did the whole class thing. I found out that my fourth years (the 9th graders) really liked me. I also found out that the 1st year students were quite fond of me too. I'm pretty excited. They all want me to teach them English.

Exciting piece of information for the day: My roommate and I were invited to go out....as in for drinks and just a good time. Who invited us, you ask. Well of course, the other teachers! Some of them are quite young, only like 2 or 3 years older than us and they invited us out after school today.

Another much older teacher came up to us yesterday and also invited us to dinner and drinks next Friday. So now it seems that we are booked. :) And she said, "We stay out until 4 am so be ready." Whoa.

Then at 3:30pm, my roommate and I went to this good bye ceremony. The head lady of all 7 buildings is moving to Amsterdam to be with her husband. The other teachers and administrators brought along presents, the students performed for her, and there were lots of speeches given. Lots of giving away paintings and art sculptures too. The interesting thing though is that during this ceremony in our cantene at the school, alcohol was served. There were red wine, white wine, and beer. Keep in mind that some students were present. That would never happen at the schools in the US.

During the ceremony, another teacher (who teaches Biology) came up to us and asked about our night life. She said that she will give us a list of places to go in Rotterdam that are safe and legit. Needless to say, Ashton and I will be hanging out with our colleageus.

The relationships here between the teachers are phenomenal. Everyone seems to get along well, and they actually have fun together outside of the school. They make sure to go out with each other at least 3 times a year.

Anyways, I'm off to start doing my lesson plans. Yay for teaching next week!

Netherproductive

2010-01-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

Checklist for today:

1. Get my roommate a phone.
2. Buy a wireless router.
3. Explore downtown Rotterdam.
4. Find the public library.
5. Try the "best" french fries.
6. Set up wireless router by myself. :)
7. Take some more pictures.
8. Planned the weekend.
9. Bought insoles (?) for my shoes to keep my feet warm. (YAY!!!)

Today was productive, but not in the way that I wanted it to be. My roommate and I went to the school thinking that we would settle all of our meetings with our overseas coordinator. She was going to talk to her mentor teacher about her requirements and we wanted to sit down with our overseas coordinator to talk about expenses.

However, that didn't happen. We only stayed at the school for a short time, and I didn't get to work on the lesson plans that I needed to have. We did explore and got more settled in. The internet is charged per room in our apartment and we decided to be smart and get a wireless router and split the bill. Now we just had to figure out how to set it up. :)

When we got home, I found out that my CD-ROM drive doesn't work, so I had to call Dell to fix it. We needed to have the drive so that we could install the wireless router. Anyways, I was on the phone with this Dell technician for two and half hours, had to pay him $49, and didn't fix my problem. After doing all kinds of things to my computer, this was his solution: just get better quality CDs. What the crap.

Anyways, we have wireless now so it's all good. :) I also set up skype and have a phone number that people can call me. :)

I will be up doing my lesson plans tomorrow, and emailing them to my mentor teacher to see if it'll work.

I guess that's it. Nothing too exciting. My overseas coordinator did say that I have the initiative to step up and do what I need to do, and that they like people with initiative. Maybe a step closer to getting a job here? Ha.

NetherOMG

2010-01-12T11:13:00.000-05:00

Funny stories:
1. I wanted to apply for a bonus card at a grocery store and the application was in Dutch. I took forever so the lady was just like, it's ok...here, just have it. Lol.

2. After my roommate and I picked out our groceries, the cashier thought it would be smart to not give us our change that we desperately needed. ---- So I complained. The lady couldn't understand me, and I couldn't understand her, but I showed her my receipt and she understood. What is that?!?! I don't want to jump into conclusions, but uh...do you think it has to do with my roommate and me being foreign? Hmmm....I just couldn't believe it.

Thought for the day:
If anyone can answer this, I would greatly appreciate it.
"Why is it that public schools in the US don't talk about religion and sex?"

One of my students wanted to know...and all I could say was, well it has everything to do with preventing arguments and parents screaming at teachers. And he still didn't understand...so someone please help me with this.

I went to a remedial English class today, which means students who are very limited with their English. The teacher (who is amazing) wants me to work with the students and do everything and anything that I want (I have the freedom to do whatever I'd like!) Also, they are 12 year olds so on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have them to teach!

Also, next week, I start teaching! I'm teaching 16-17 year olds. Whoa, right? Hopefully my lesson plan isn't too middle age-ish. We'll see.

My mentor teacher is my hero. She called the internet company, and she got my internet working at my apartment! Hopefully, anyway...I'm not home yet. I'm still at the school.

Well, wish me luck! :)

NetherMonday

2010-01-11T10:23:00.000-05:00

Question of the day: "Do you know where the Philippine Islands are?"
Answer of the day: "Of course I know where it is, I'm not American."

Whoa. A student today asked me where I'm originally from, and that was his answer. Smart kid, right? He's got so much angry feelings towards America...and I did talk to him about it. He's pretty intelligent, and I respected his opinion, although I did encourage him to go to the US and see how it's really like.

Today has been really hectic. Just full of classes and meetings. I have to attend every meeting that my mentor teacher attends..unfortunately it's all in Dutch. I really want to learn so that I can understand. Today was a training kind of meeting, to give more instruction on how to become better language teachers. The bit that was translated for me was interesting, but my mentor teacher decided that I shouldn't stay the whole time because it was pointless. The teachers didn't feel like they were getting anything out of it.

I went to the grocery store and bought more bread, and I think I might cook tonight. I learned this Dutch recipe which is really easy...but then peanut butter sandwich is easier. I really have to start learning how to cook.

I forgot to mention in my other blog that last night, I walked home from downtown Rotterdam, and had to cross the huge bridge. I was scared at first because it was 10:30 at night, but the view was absolutely breath-taking. And there were people walking as well, so I wasn't alone.

....I really like walking. I feel like that is my exercise. I just have to get some soles for my shoes to keep my feet warm. All the shoes that I brought were wrong...but hopefully I can wear them during March or so when it is warmer.

I will start teaching next week, which is really exciting! I will teach high school students so it's nerve wrecking, but I'm up for the challenge!!!!! However, I will still teach middle school students on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Fridays. My schedule is so different here.

Also, I was invited to go to Antwerp, Belgium on the 22nd of this month with an English class! So I'm going!!!!!!!!!!! How exciting!

My roommate is arriving in less than three hours! AM will be picking me up at 6:30 to go to her band practice, then at 7:45, we'll be heading to Rotterdam Airport!!!!

Yay!

NetherOverload!

2010-01-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

What have I done the last two days?!?!

Well let me tell you.

Friday night, I had dinner at AM's place, and had an amazing dinner. Stayed to talk -- apparently, my jeans with holes did not make a good impression last weekend. So advice to all Americans: jeans with holes is not cool everywhere!

Saturday:
!!!! Weather Forecast !!!!
Stay at home, because it will be unbelievable cold with the strong winds and all that good stuff ---- I still decided to explore. I went to this store that sold outlet converters (so now I have three! And I charged everything I had!) Then, I tried to explore more...and almost got knocked down by winds. My feet were freezing, I was upset because I got on the wrong tram looking for an adventure that only led me to the same place--
..........so I went home after two hours of being outside. And what did I do? Watch The Hills! (which is a complete waste of time, btw) However, I did cook tomato soup and had bread with cheese. Woot woot.

Sunday ~~~~
My overseas coordinator invited me to visit his city (which is 40 miles away from Rotterdam---a city called Utrecht) --- amazing city! I bought a train roundtrip ticket. 17.50 euros..not bad.

Took pictures, appreciated the scenery, watched people ice skate (so jealous btw), stopped at this cute little restaurant for hot chocolate and apple pie, then went to a Cathedral reformed into a Protestant church --- very impressed with the Cathedral, I want to get married there...for real. All of my friends will have to fly to The Netherlands for my wedding. Ta-da.

Had dinner --- amazing, I was stuffed! Red cabbage, mashed potatoes, beef stew...I've never eaten this healthy before! I kinda like it. My overseas coordinator's house was absolutely gorgeous!

My train was delayed because someone decided to be smart and jump in front of the train. I guess, it's the quickest way to die. Um. Ok.

Dutch people love wine!!! And I do too!

Great weekend, now I have to go to a training thing that'll be in Dutch. I'll be back to write about today...

I'm hoping once again that I have internet by the time I go home today.

Oh, and my roommate is arriving today! I finally get to meet her! I won't be so lonely in my apartment anymore. :)

Nether-American Assumptions

2010-01-08T08:23:00.000-05:00

Today was eventful (like every day) and I got a lot of classroom experience with the grade levels that I am accustomed to.

Students learn English through instruction at school, but also from watching tons of shows and movies and listening to our kinds of music. You can only imagine what the students think about America.

I introduced myself to the students (I was in four different classes today), and the students had a chance to ask questions about the American culture. And whoa, their assumptions just sprang through!

Most students asked if the US was just like the movies, about bullying, the metal detectors, the different places, racism, and the curse words. Students thought that that was how we spoke...just a lot of "fuck" and "shit." Which was totally demeaning to me. I was so upset about what they thought about us just from watching movies and listening to music.

I'm scared to ask what they really thought about my country....the assumptions were disheartening and the English teacher I was working with told me to emphasize that the media is NOT how the US is.

I mean, sure we have lots of problems...but we are not a bad country who talks so vulgar and offensive. I loved the students, and I wasn't upset with them...I was just upset about how media makes us look.

It also got to me when they asked if I spoke another language, of course I couldn't lie to them and say yes...but it just upset me so much that here I am teaching them another language when I don't speak more than one.

I feel so much better with teaching because it is the age group that I am used to, but it's just an eye opening experience today because of the assumptions they had about the US. I'm always so used to Americans having assumptions about other cultures that I completely ignored what other people's assumptions are about Americans.

I'm finished with my day. I think I'll go to the supermarket again. I was a bit frustrated this morning about the public transportation. I started out with 20 euros in my card on Tuesday and now I don't have any, and it's only Friday! I have no idea how I could have spent all of that in a matter of four days. If that's the case, I will be broke by March just because of transportation!

I'm hoping to have internet in my room sometime soon. Hopefully, today when I go try it out.

Netherlikin'it

2010-01-07T11:02:00.000-05:00

Ok. So I'm super tired.

Here's a summary of my day.

1. Went to Hogeschool Rotterdam with the American woman, and observed her class. She taught in English and her students presented in English. (her students are also my age--yay for making friends!)
2. Her school is the college-level which was totally interesting to observe and look at and all that good stuff.
3. I was supposed to meet up with my mentor teacher at this other college, but didn't leave the other college til later so I just met up with her at our school.
4. Had no classes today because my mentor teacher didn't have any today - she was like a chaperone to this college trip that the students had this morning.
----attended a meeting with my mentor teacher...meeting was in Dutch so I learned a lot...not really. I paid full attention to them as if I understood----
5. My bread that I bought from the supermarket was super delicious. I only spent 8.11 euros. Groceries are cheap!! Woot woot! Now, I gotta learn how to cook. Grrreat.
6. I got my $1000 that financial aid forgot to give me. Ugh.
7. I am mailing my internet form today! YAY! And my mentor teacher has an ethernet for me to use because her husband is an IT...or works with computers if that's not right.
8. I talked to the lower level teachers (which is basically the 11-12 year olds' teachers) and they want me to work with them! Super excited since I'm more comfortable with that age group than the older one.
9. The toilet in my apartment doesn't have an exhaust fan or whatever you call it so it smells horrible in there.
10. I think I finally have an idea on how my days are going.
11. I'm hungry.
12. I need to buy toilet paper but it's expensive so I'll just "borrow" from the school for right now. Lol.
13. My roommate gets here on Monday night! Woot woot!
14. I'm just blah-blah-ing. :)
15. And you keep reading.
16. Yup! Super excited about teaching!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17. Missing everyone terribly...

Netherdedication

2010-01-06T08:37:00.000-05:00

My mentor teacher definitely deserved a dedication on my blog.

Not only has she made sure that I feel welcome, but she´s also doing several things that are way toooooooo nice.

1. Cooked me dinner all weekend long just so that I wouldn´t have to do it alone.
2. Let me use her internet to keep in touch with all of you.
3. Took me around downtown Rotterdam.
4. Gave me her transportation card which already had some money.
5. Guided me through putting more money in my transportation card.
6. Complained to the main office about my apartment for lack of pots and pans, and how the kitchen was not as clean as she wanted it to be.
7. There are more, but the most important thing...

8. She´s letting me use her bank account so that I can have internet in my room. Finally! How nice is that?

If we had a Grammy´s for amazing teachers, she would definitely get the Most Supportive Teacher EVER.

I´m thankful for her.

Netherlaughs

2010-01-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

Question of the day: ''Oh you can just heat up the soup from the can."
Answer of the day: "Have you not heard of Campbells in America?''

Whoops. So I totally had my first tomato soup today, and I have to say...it's one of my favorites. :) Today is my work day. I just had to come in and research different activities I can do with the different classes concerning English grammar of course.

So as I was searching and doing work, I get a phone call from my mentor teacher telling me that she got an email back from the American woman and that I have to call her before 12.

Ok, so I did. And she gave me directions to her house and said "Come on over." But I had things to do, but of course, I couldn't say no. And if you're my friend, you know that I just hate dropping things...you have to let me know in advance.

I had to find her house by myself, and at first I was thinking, Man this woman is pushy. Great. But she's absolutely amazing. Of course, she knows what she wants. She told me that I needed to grow balls and hair on my chest. Lol. Whoa, right?

Anyways, we picked up her two adorable daughters from a Montessori school, and she's hooked me up with that school. I met the English teacher, and I can drop by anytime. I have to email the English teacher my schedule. :) Also, I'm going to class with this American woman tomorrow (she teaches Nursing at college level in English). Her students are all my age, and she wants me to meet them. She's also planning on introducing me to the education professors there.

Then, she told me about this American International School in Rotterdam...and BAM! She's giving me another opportunity to work at another school. She wants me to teach at different schools so that I'm definitely gaining new perspectives on education and all that good stuff. How freakin exciting!!!!!!!!

So now, I have Calvijn (my main school), Montessori school, College, and AIS...not even including the primary school that my mentor teacher´s son attends, and her husband´s contacts with another school!

I´m super excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now off to the cheap supermarket that this American woman showed me. Goodness. Americans can be so helpful....and she gave me a hug! I miss hugs! They don´t hug here, they shake hands. And it takes a while for them to do the whole three kisses on the cheeks...

I´m turning in my paperwork for internet tomorrow. So hopefully by the weekend, I will have skype!! Ah!