Finally Here

Waar is de WC?,

Wow it has been only a week but it seems like so much more. I have met many new, amazing people in this small space of time. There is a long story to be told, so you must be forewarned. The journey begins with goodbyes and ends with hellos, but there will always be hellos to be made so this is not irregular.

I left Minnesota on Saturday the ninth of August with only a suitcase and a backpack, fearing the unknown. During the day that I spent in either airports or planes, I had a lot of time to think about life but not as deeply as it may sound. I was routed through Chicago first where I met a German who was headed for Iowa, but I only had to wait for an hour to go to Washington DC. I got my last Five Guys burger and then met the other American- Madison, to get on the plane. To shorten a long story, I slept no more than 45 minutes and it turns out that some people don't think that Minnesota is the best state, who knew?

Meeting my host family was a scary experience at first thought, but seeing them for the first time was the perfect interaction, "Hi", "Hallo", "Let's go home, you can sleep." I made it until we made it home and then I crashed and my plans of avoiding jetlag went down the drain. After my sleep was over, we had to get ready for a barbecue/camping trip to the backyard. The barbecue was really fun but when it came time to sleep, it began to pour and the tent turned out to be not exactly waterproof but it was still fun!

Orientation was an unknown in coming but it turned out to be both helpful for my dutch and for meeting all the other exchange students. At first, everyone was timid and only stuck to the people they already knew but it blossomed into a great time. We would wake up and eat breakfast and then learn dutch/dutch customs with coffee breaks, lunch breaks, sport breaks and even regular breaks. At night it became the time to meet friends, dance and if old enough, drink. Today was the day we went home, and I really didn't want to leave all of the new friends, but I also missed my host family.

Well school starts Tuesday, which I am looking forward to, so I can meet some dutch people who are my age.

Taken by Kokoro Tanaka

Tot ziens,

August

The Beginning

As this is my first post of what should be many on this blog, I should introduce myself. My name is August and I am five days away from beginning the journey of a lifetime. On August 9, I will be saying my goodbyes to my family and boarding a plane to get to the Netherlands and more specifically, a small town in Noord Braband called Deurne. This blog will function as a way for me to share pictures, stories and memories of my exchange year and to try to keep in touch with everyone back in America, so feel free to comment and ask questions.

So far, I have had two going away parties where I have said many goodbyes so far, but there are so many left to say. The packing has started as well as the scrambling to get everything done before I leave and it hasn't set in yet that I am leaving so soon. While all of my classmates going to school here in America are worrying about who will be in there classes, but that is not possible for me, I'm just excited for the adventure and the friendships and even the struggles. 

More posts will come in the future with more memories and pictures, and less background info.

The Cousins

-August-