I'm coming home this Christmas break. That's it, I thought about it. I made my choice as of right now. Unless some huge miracle happens that convinces me to stay longer, I won't be here.
Yea it's Europe. And it's Bakersfield. That obviously won't be changing unless the rapture happens. I'm only a junior once in American high school where I can do what juniors get to do.
Europe will be here always, as long as I work and get money the option of going back is not a big deal. Especially since now I have friends all over the place here. I've already had enough experiences to last me a long long time. In college it's way easier to do exchange programs anyways, and I have friends who want to get an apartment and student visa, or just travel. So I have the friends, I can get the money, Europe isn't running away. It's obvious I'll be coming back.
High school only happens once, and my mom still talks about all her high school experiences, and I know a bunch of other adults who talk about their experiences as some of their best. I'll have already been in Holland for months, that's more than most of the people I'll meet in my school and throughout my life. As a junior, I get to do things that I've waited the past two years of high to do. There are people that are going to college that I won't be able to see again in high school. I don't want to miss that. This year I'll have the perfect mix of exchange and being who I want to be with my friends in a place I know. Oh and I really don't like high school here. I understand so little, they hardly do anything fun, and the people just irritate me sometimes. I just want my friends and the fun back.
My mom kept saying all these negative things about Bakersfield. I know that obviously, that's why I left in the first place. But like they say, you never know what you have until it's gone. I'm feeling that now. I'm still a teenager and there's things I need and want. I'm strong, but not for a whole year. I'd rather come home and regret leaving than regret not coming home. Because I can always come back.
Since so many people don't want me to come home in the winter I now don't feel welcomed home. I know everyone loves me, but I've formed my programs that now if I come home people will think that I'm not strong enough, or that I gave up. I feel like I will fail them and disappoint them. That's enough to make me want to come home right now. I hate disappointed people, but I hate the idea of staying five more months even more. I know that there will be some people who will be thrilled to see me come back, so that gives me more incentive.
As a side note. So much stupid shit has happened to me since I've been here. The first week until present something has been wrong. Unless that changes soon, I will not be fully happy here. I've been sick, had my things stolen or broken, and had to spend so much money on things I shouldn't have had to. So much has happened, and I just throw on my happy face and try to get over it. But getting hit with this stuff over and over and over is wearing me down. Trying to handle it all overseas just makes it even worse.
So please, I was raised not to listen to peer pressure, so I'm not going to now. I'm homesick now and all the comments and messages about me staying longer just make me more homesick, sad, and irritated.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
So I have the option of staying in Holland for an extra 5 months until summer holidays. The choice is completely mine, so I have to choose. At the moment I feel like I am closer to just coming home sooner than staying. I sorta made a list to look at and think about.
Coming home:
I get to be a junior for at least a little bit.
Prom.
A great guy.
My friends.
Family.
I can actually understand school.
No more cold.
I can start working earlier to save up for more world trips.
I will have better health.
I have more people to talk to about things I like.
Sweats to school.!
Staying in Holland:
I'll learn the language fluently.
More trips around Europe.
More over all experience.
Carnaval.
Once in a lifetime opportunity.
I'm sure there's more reasons for both choices, but those are the ones that I think of most at the moment. I suppose I have just gotten so used to the idea of coming home in January, that it's weird to think of possibly staying so much longer. I've already thought of what I want to do when I get home. And if i stay here I would have to change homes, schools, villages, and all that. At this point I'm not completely comfortable with the organization in charge of me, so that also worries me a bit. This all seems like I'm pretty biased on coming home. I just don't know if I could handle the extra time. I wish it was easier to make a choice, and adapt. But then again, I've been pretty homesick this past week, so that might be affecting my choice. I'll give it more time. For now though, I think I'm almost set on coming home....
Time will tell.
Coming home:
I get to be a junior for at least a little bit.
Prom.
A great guy.
My friends.
Family.
I can actually understand school.
No more cold.
I can start working earlier to save up for more world trips.
I will have better health.
I have more people to talk to about things I like.
Sweats to school.!
Staying in Holland:
I'll learn the language fluently.
More trips around Europe.
More over all experience.
Carnaval.
Once in a lifetime opportunity.
I'm sure there's more reasons for both choices, but those are the ones that I think of most at the moment. I suppose I have just gotten so used to the idea of coming home in January, that it's weird to think of possibly staying so much longer. I've already thought of what I want to do when I get home. And if i stay here I would have to change homes, schools, villages, and all that. At this point I'm not completely comfortable with the organization in charge of me, so that also worries me a bit. This all seems like I'm pretty biased on coming home. I just don't know if I could handle the extra time. I wish it was easier to make a choice, and adapt. But then again, I've been pretty homesick this past week, so that might be affecting my choice. I'll give it more time. For now though, I think I'm almost set on coming home....
Time will tell.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Rants.
So far I've posted only the good, happy, wonderful things about Holland. There's tons of them, don't get me wrong. But I want this to be an honest blog, where you can feel everything I feel through reading this. that being said, I will have some posts explaining my crappy parts, such as homesickness, trouble, sickness bla bla bla.
Up until this point things have been great. Tons of stupid shit has happened, like my unending sicknesses, all my Apple stuff breaking or stolen, having to spend money that normally I wouldn't. Just little things that all end up to a point that most would freak out. Since I'm here it's a lot harder to deal with everything, but I've been in a state where I have just been ignoring it the best that I can. After a while it gets tiring. Sometimes I really just want to go home, or cry, or something. It sucks, I really want to be happy here and enjoy everything, but it gets hard when I have to deal with so many unnecessary misfortunes. This is pretty much just a small rant about the bad side of it all, there it probably be more, but I was just feeling emotional tonight.
As a side note, if you can't handle things I post, or don't agree ect...Don't read it, or just don't complain to me. Thanks sooo much.
Doei! XXX
Up until this point things have been great. Tons of stupid shit has happened, like my unending sicknesses, all my Apple stuff breaking or stolen, having to spend money that normally I wouldn't. Just little things that all end up to a point that most would freak out. Since I'm here it's a lot harder to deal with everything, but I've been in a state where I have just been ignoring it the best that I can. After a while it gets tiring. Sometimes I really just want to go home, or cry, or something. It sucks, I really want to be happy here and enjoy everything, but it gets hard when I have to deal with so many unnecessary misfortunes. This is pretty much just a small rant about the bad side of it all, there it probably be more, but I was just feeling emotional tonight.
As a side note, if you can't handle things I post, or don't agree ect...Don't read it, or just don't complain to me. Thanks sooo much.
Doei! XXX
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Paris
Just for now my blogs aren't going to be in order, but I'll still get better at keeping everyone updated.
So for the beginning of my trip I had to navigate the train system alone, and I was very terrified! But I asked some people for help and everything turned out being just perfect. Then we had the seven hour bus ride to Paris. I got to see friends I made at camp, so that was really fun and the ride wasn't all that bad. Once we got to France, the traffic was horrid so we just skipped the planned boat tour and went to the hotel. To be perfectly honest, it was the most boring night ever. The hotel was in a very secluded location with only a restaurant and a bar. Soooo that being sad, that night wasn't the funnest.
The next morning we all loaded back onto the bus for a tour of all the main monuments, streets, bla bla. Now i know we've all seen movies and heard things about Paris, but nothing can compare to actually being there. It's magical. All the buildings are so old and so so beautiful. The streets are huge, just watching people drive is scary and interesting, there's almost no limit, just go when you can. It was such a surreal, amazing moment. Anyways, so we spent a few hours driving around listening to the tour guide, learning everything he had to tell us about the city. We had a few minutes at some places to step out and take pictures and get a better look. We stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre Palace, Eiffel tower, and the Pace de la Concord. They were all just breathtaking and amazing. At the Eiffel tower however, something pretty unique and crazy happened. We were all just taking pictures being all touristy, when some lady came up to us with a stack of cardboard cards with pictures of men and women on them. They were there as a part of a revolution. The men and women on the cards were people in Venezuela who were put into jail because of their different views on the government. So then she asked us all to hold one of the cards in front of our face and then follow her into a group as she talked to created a video. It was pretty cool, until the police came. They were trying to talk to her, and she was super frantic, our coordinators were freaking out, it was a mess. But in the end, she gave us some candy and as far I know she still has her video. That was pretty insane and interesting. After that we had some free time to shop and do what we wanted. First some of us all ate together, the best pizza I have ever had. After that we spent hours looking for one store, never found it. Gave up and went back to the bus. We then went on the boat tour on the Seine river. It was beautiful, the bridges all had amazing carvings, we passed some of the monuments we had seen earlier, so it was nice to see them from a different point of view. The boat itself was gorgeous, with vines, flowers and old lamposts with all glass ceiling. It felt very good after walking for so long. After that we went to eat dinner with some of our friends. Of course we had to eat snails, we were in France after all. It was horrible and I hated it, but Katie loved it sooo... Then we had some very pasta and completely pissed off the French waiter and had to run back to the bus. That night we all just hung out with each other, talked about our homes here in Holland and what we have all done. It was a fantastic day over all.
The next day we went off again on the bus to the Eiffel tower, this time we were going to go up. We waited for an hour in cold cold cold, but I had the best croissant with chocolate creme ever. After waiting forever, we finally went up to the second floor. It was amazing, I know I've said that about a lot of things so far, but really. Paris is very white, with a golden monument sticking up here and there. We took a ton of pictures, looked at all we could, and had a good time. After that we had free time so we all went to eat again and a cute little French cafe. The food was yummy, but I think it made me sick because the rest of the middag(afternoon) my stomach was hurting. We walked around, shopped, got some of the touristy gifts for people at home. The street just went on and on with antique books, posters, and other little knick knacks. I bought an old Doors poster since I didn't get to see his grave. ): I would just have those moments when I would look around at the large streets, the trees, parks, and the people think of how surreal and amazing the moment was. I was in Paris, walking with people from all over the world, just enjoying it all. Nothing will be able to compare to that feeling. After that we ended up getting lost and I was sick, so we had to hurry to the bus without me throwing up. We took the metro, which wasn't the best part of Paris, but you still saw some very interesting things... There are people everywhere with Eiffel tower trinkets for sale at very cheap prices, but it's illegal. So the police will come to arrest them, and suddenly they all run to the metro, jumping over the gates. Heaps and heaps of them would come out of no where and just hide everywhere. It was just so odd, I had never seen anything like that before. We finally made it back, and went off to the next stop. We then went to the Sacre Coeur church. In the street there was a parade of music, dancers, and people in costumes just going through the city. There was some sort of festival, but I never heard of what it was exactly. To get to the church we had to climb up tons of stairs just to get there, but once we did, the best night of my life began. We saw the steps to the church, long and wide, covered in people everywhere. Just sitting, drinking, smoking, dancing, singing and talking all together. So of course we all found a spot and started to join in. We met a man who had come from Africa to play music, so he started playing for us, we shared some of our food and drinks with him. We soon were all singing with him, some of the boys were playing and singing with him and everyone was up dancing. We had Russians, French, Brazilians, all sorts of people dancing and having a good time with us. Now the situation was amazing, but if you took a second to look around, it got even better. One direction you could see a beautiful church and tons of wonderful people, then you turn around and you could see all of Paris. The most beautiful view, almost as good as the Eiffel tower. It was such an amazing and unique experience I did not want to ever leave that place. We finally did though, and we went back to the bus and back to the hotel. Nothing really special happened, we went to dinner at the Hippopotamus cafe and had some deep fried yumminess. Since everyone was either missing or asleep Katie and I decided to go to sleep, and this is where the whole weekend is amazing ruined.
We were in a room with another girl, we asked if she was sleeping there tonight, and she said yes. So what we had been doing all the time we were in hotel was to keep the door open. From the outside the door looked like it was close, but if you pushed on it, it would open completely. Katie and I fell asleep around 12, and at 2 one of our friends were knocking on our door to ask us something. The girl wasn't in bed at this point. Since we had both fallen asleep we wanted to know the time, I asked Katie to check my phone when we said it wasn't on the charger. I had remembered setting the alarm and plugging in my phone, so I was positive it was there. We both jumped up and started checking all of our stuff. My iPhone was definitely gone, all of Katie's euros were taken out of her wallet and her credit cards moved around. Her dutch phone was taken, and so was mine. As far as we know nothing else was taken. For the person to get all of those items, they would have had to walk across the entire room, around my bed and past Katie to unplug and search everything. Things were scattered all over the floor, moved and touch, but not taken. Thankfully our passports were not taken. If they had wanted to, they could have hurt us. So we have to be thankful for our safety. After I realized what had happened, I went running around the hotel like crazy. I asked the other students who were awake if they saw anything, then I went to the concierge, but of course he didn't speak good english and was no help at all. There was a computer to use, but you had to pay for it, so I used that for only 10 minutes, the only coins I had. At that point I was crying and had given up. But, a Russian couple noticed my distress and asked what happened, I tried to explain in simple english. They offered me 50 euro and change, but I said all I wanted was to talk to my mother. The man then went off and got his Ipad for me to call my mother. He was seriously one of the nicest people I have ever met. After I let my mother know what was going on, he said they would stay up with me and cheer me up. So he started talking about how stupid George Bush is, and about all the other silly people. He showed me his friends, his travels, some french and Russian music. It was actually a really nice time to just relax and laugh rather than freak out about what was going on. We stayed with him for a while and then went back to sleep at around 330. In the morning we told our coordinators what had happened, they reported it to the front desk, then the police. Katie and I had to go to the police station to file a report to look for the guy to get our stuff. Sandrina was very nice and translated all of the French for us, so I'm very thankful for her. I will always be creeped out about some random person seeing me asleep, seeing my pictures, reading my notes, and pretty much knowing my entire life, and I'll probably never meet him. Oh well, after that we rode the bus back home and we all ended our trip safely.
Paris was amazing despite the creepy ending. I love it so so so much, and I will be back before I die.
So for the beginning of my trip I had to navigate the train system alone, and I was very terrified! But I asked some people for help and everything turned out being just perfect. Then we had the seven hour bus ride to Paris. I got to see friends I made at camp, so that was really fun and the ride wasn't all that bad. Once we got to France, the traffic was horrid so we just skipped the planned boat tour and went to the hotel. To be perfectly honest, it was the most boring night ever. The hotel was in a very secluded location with only a restaurant and a bar. Soooo that being sad, that night wasn't the funnest.
The next morning we all loaded back onto the bus for a tour of all the main monuments, streets, bla bla. Now i know we've all seen movies and heard things about Paris, but nothing can compare to actually being there. It's magical. All the buildings are so old and so so beautiful. The streets are huge, just watching people drive is scary and interesting, there's almost no limit, just go when you can. It was such a surreal, amazing moment. Anyways, so we spent a few hours driving around listening to the tour guide, learning everything he had to tell us about the city. We had a few minutes at some places to step out and take pictures and get a better look. We stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre Palace, Eiffel tower, and the Pace de la Concord. They were all just breathtaking and amazing. At the Eiffel tower however, something pretty unique and crazy happened. We were all just taking pictures being all touristy, when some lady came up to us with a stack of cardboard cards with pictures of men and women on them. They were there as a part of a revolution. The men and women on the cards were people in Venezuela who were put into jail because of their different views on the government. So then she asked us all to hold one of the cards in front of our face and then follow her into a group as she talked to created a video. It was pretty cool, until the police came. They were trying to talk to her, and she was super frantic, our coordinators were freaking out, it was a mess. But in the end, she gave us some candy and as far I know she still has her video. That was pretty insane and interesting. After that we had some free time to shop and do what we wanted. First some of us all ate together, the best pizza I have ever had. After that we spent hours looking for one store, never found it. Gave up and went back to the bus. We then went on the boat tour on the Seine river. It was beautiful, the bridges all had amazing carvings, we passed some of the monuments we had seen earlier, so it was nice to see them from a different point of view. The boat itself was gorgeous, with vines, flowers and old lamposts with all glass ceiling. It felt very good after walking for so long. After that we went to eat dinner with some of our friends. Of course we had to eat snails, we were in France after all. It was horrible and I hated it, but Katie loved it sooo... Then we had some very pasta and completely pissed off the French waiter and had to run back to the bus. That night we all just hung out with each other, talked about our homes here in Holland and what we have all done. It was a fantastic day over all.
The next day we went off again on the bus to the Eiffel tower, this time we were going to go up. We waited for an hour in cold cold cold, but I had the best croissant with chocolate creme ever. After waiting forever, we finally went up to the second floor. It was amazing, I know I've said that about a lot of things so far, but really. Paris is very white, with a golden monument sticking up here and there. We took a ton of pictures, looked at all we could, and had a good time. After that we had free time so we all went to eat again and a cute little French cafe. The food was yummy, but I think it made me sick because the rest of the middag(afternoon) my stomach was hurting. We walked around, shopped, got some of the touristy gifts for people at home. The street just went on and on with antique books, posters, and other little knick knacks. I bought an old Doors poster since I didn't get to see his grave. ): I would just have those moments when I would look around at the large streets, the trees, parks, and the people think of how surreal and amazing the moment was. I was in Paris, walking with people from all over the world, just enjoying it all. Nothing will be able to compare to that feeling. After that we ended up getting lost and I was sick, so we had to hurry to the bus without me throwing up. We took the metro, which wasn't the best part of Paris, but you still saw some very interesting things... There are people everywhere with Eiffel tower trinkets for sale at very cheap prices, but it's illegal. So the police will come to arrest them, and suddenly they all run to the metro, jumping over the gates. Heaps and heaps of them would come out of no where and just hide everywhere. It was just so odd, I had never seen anything like that before. We finally made it back, and went off to the next stop. We then went to the Sacre Coeur church. In the street there was a parade of music, dancers, and people in costumes just going through the city. There was some sort of festival, but I never heard of what it was exactly. To get to the church we had to climb up tons of stairs just to get there, but once we did, the best night of my life began. We saw the steps to the church, long and wide, covered in people everywhere. Just sitting, drinking, smoking, dancing, singing and talking all together. So of course we all found a spot and started to join in. We met a man who had come from Africa to play music, so he started playing for us, we shared some of our food and drinks with him. We soon were all singing with him, some of the boys were playing and singing with him and everyone was up dancing. We had Russians, French, Brazilians, all sorts of people dancing and having a good time with us. Now the situation was amazing, but if you took a second to look around, it got even better. One direction you could see a beautiful church and tons of wonderful people, then you turn around and you could see all of Paris. The most beautiful view, almost as good as the Eiffel tower. It was such an amazing and unique experience I did not want to ever leave that place. We finally did though, and we went back to the bus and back to the hotel. Nothing really special happened, we went to dinner at the Hippopotamus cafe and had some deep fried yumminess. Since everyone was either missing or asleep Katie and I decided to go to sleep, and this is where the whole weekend is amazing ruined.
We were in a room with another girl, we asked if she was sleeping there tonight, and she said yes. So what we had been doing all the time we were in hotel was to keep the door open. From the outside the door looked like it was close, but if you pushed on it, it would open completely. Katie and I fell asleep around 12, and at 2 one of our friends were knocking on our door to ask us something. The girl wasn't in bed at this point. Since we had both fallen asleep we wanted to know the time, I asked Katie to check my phone when we said it wasn't on the charger. I had remembered setting the alarm and plugging in my phone, so I was positive it was there. We both jumped up and started checking all of our stuff. My iPhone was definitely gone, all of Katie's euros were taken out of her wallet and her credit cards moved around. Her dutch phone was taken, and so was mine. As far as we know nothing else was taken. For the person to get all of those items, they would have had to walk across the entire room, around my bed and past Katie to unplug and search everything. Things were scattered all over the floor, moved and touch, but not taken. Thankfully our passports were not taken. If they had wanted to, they could have hurt us. So we have to be thankful for our safety. After I realized what had happened, I went running around the hotel like crazy. I asked the other students who were awake if they saw anything, then I went to the concierge, but of course he didn't speak good english and was no help at all. There was a computer to use, but you had to pay for it, so I used that for only 10 minutes, the only coins I had. At that point I was crying and had given up. But, a Russian couple noticed my distress and asked what happened, I tried to explain in simple english. They offered me 50 euro and change, but I said all I wanted was to talk to my mother. The man then went off and got his Ipad for me to call my mother. He was seriously one of the nicest people I have ever met. After I let my mother know what was going on, he said they would stay up with me and cheer me up. So he started talking about how stupid George Bush is, and about all the other silly people. He showed me his friends, his travels, some french and Russian music. It was actually a really nice time to just relax and laugh rather than freak out about what was going on. We stayed with him for a while and then went back to sleep at around 330. In the morning we told our coordinators what had happened, they reported it to the front desk, then the police. Katie and I had to go to the police station to file a report to look for the guy to get our stuff. Sandrina was very nice and translated all of the French for us, so I'm very thankful for her. I will always be creeped out about some random person seeing me asleep, seeing my pictures, reading my notes, and pretty much knowing my entire life, and I'll probably never meet him. Oh well, after that we rode the bus back home and we all ended our trip safely.
Paris was amazing despite the creepy ending. I love it so so so much, and I will be back before I die.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Belgium Camp.
So school went on pretty much the same. Nothing too exciting. Then we had a school camp off in Belgium. It was only a 3 day camp, but all of it was packed full of things the entire day. Most schools have this sort of event; their purpose is for the students to get to know each other better and become comfortable with them. I talked a lot to some of my teachers, as well as got a lot closer to some students. It was very interesting to see the student/teacher relationship. The students mostly led the way on most of the events, while teachers also did each and every one along with. That was a difference I noticed, because most at home the teachers would just take complete leadership and leave little to the students, or just instruct and not participate at all. I appreciated the way this school worked in those means. Every student also had their own responsibilities and were expected to achieve them without any guidance or checking up. So far, I really enjoyed the way everything was being run and operating.
First off, we just took the bus 3 hours into Belgium to a drop off point. We then set off on a 7 hour hike across the fields, through villages, past tons of animals and corn, to finally arrive at the camp location. It was all so so beautiful, things that you would see on tourist post cards. While it was long and after a while painful, I really did enjoy it. One of my favorite moments would have to be when we passed a farm and saw two little Belgium boys, one around 2 and the other maybe 4. They were just watching with wide interested eyes, asking us questions, all in French. I promise you that a french accent is 100% cuter when there is a child speaking it to you. Then we left as they followed and yelled "au revoir!" It was so precious, almost worth walking for so long, just for that. Once we all arrived everyone was dead tired, ready to sleep for years. The location had a beautiful river running alongside it with a little beach, and a high pretty bridge across. The building seemed to be an older fashion, it sort of reminded me of a castle, although others disagreed. Maybe it's just my worldly ignorance. There were tables, a field, a BBQ, and playground areas, all in a surrounded by a circle of forests and mountains. Being from Bakersfield, I can tell you that the stars are not the best sight, if they even come out for you. The sky I saw from the window in our room and by the bonfire was magical. Endless, more than I have ever seen before. There was only one person I wanted with me at that moment. Only some of you will know who ;)
The next day we went to a site where we would do a bunch of activities in our groups. The first was a zipline from the edge of the mountain down to the base. First we had to climb all the way up the mountain and wait on the edge. The sight was so so pretty, especially when you jump off and practically fly down to it all. It was one of my favorite zipline experiences. After that we went mountain biking. I was getting used to the Dutch bikes, these were completely different, and sort of scary. We were only our for an hour, but it felt like so much longer. We went through the village for a bit, then started in the forests. I made a very failed attempt at going over the large bike jumps, but it was still fun. Then we were going down mountain sides at speeds I never thought I could go on a bike. I thought I was going to die half the time. Only wiped out once, and not that badly. It was fun, but scary at the same time. From the combination of the hike and biking, my legs were jelly. So I was almost jumping with joy when I heard that the next activity was kayaking. I love kayaking, and my legs could rest. I did a double with my friend Sam, we started last, but in the end finished as one of the first. The river was very shallow and we got caught so many times, but it was all good still. Some of the guys could catch other and flip or dunk them, it was quite funny. We stayed safe though! It was so nice to just float and look at the beautiful country side. At one point we were only a few inches from a cow taking a drink. By the time that was over everyone was tired at every part on their body. So we all went back, took a shower and rested for a bit. In Holland, at camps it is tradition to have a BBQ on the last night. Sooooo, we had one too. They ordered me my own veggie plate, and I made everyone try a piece, not their favorite. I talked to my mum for a bit, then went to sleep early. I don't know how the Dutch go on with such busy days with such little sleep.
The next day we went back to the same area. First we scaled down the side of a mountain. I loved that. You just had to let yourself go over the edge and walk down horizontally. It was so fun, the view again, was amazing. Next we went on a climb across the edge of the cliffs. We had to go up, down, over rocks, with lizards and all that. Half the time I thought I'd fall to my death again, but then I relaxed and pretty much ran across the side ha. Then we went in a cave. Not a big nice cave where a bear could live. No, it was hardly big enough for us to squeeze through, huge spiders everywhere, and it was wet. You would have to slide in between rock fixtures, go up into the dark, somehow manage to fit your helmet through the crevices. It was probably the worst place for anyone with claustrophobia to be. At the end they told a 'scary story' which of course I couldn't understand. The climb back up was so much worse, climbing up what we slid down. At the end we lost the group, so we have to make a choice at a fork in the cave. Luckily I was right and I saw light and started freaking out. It was a looonngg time in the dark. After that we did a sort of ropes course in the trees. First it was just some thick wires you would walk across, then it became random. One was a bunch of hanging ladders, a mini zipline, tree trunks, stepping pieces, long boards. That was one of my favorites too, especially to see my teacher doing it all as well. We were finally done with everything and ready to go home. I tried to sleep, but I suffered horrible from homesickness. But it went away, thankfully. Then I was back home, sore, tired and hungry. Those are the moments I thank God that Nel is such a fantastic cook.
First off, we just took the bus 3 hours into Belgium to a drop off point. We then set off on a 7 hour hike across the fields, through villages, past tons of animals and corn, to finally arrive at the camp location. It was all so so beautiful, things that you would see on tourist post cards. While it was long and after a while painful, I really did enjoy it. One of my favorite moments would have to be when we passed a farm and saw two little Belgium boys, one around 2 and the other maybe 4. They were just watching with wide interested eyes, asking us questions, all in French. I promise you that a french accent is 100% cuter when there is a child speaking it to you. Then we left as they followed and yelled "au revoir!" It was so precious, almost worth walking for so long, just for that. Once we all arrived everyone was dead tired, ready to sleep for years. The location had a beautiful river running alongside it with a little beach, and a high pretty bridge across. The building seemed to be an older fashion, it sort of reminded me of a castle, although others disagreed. Maybe it's just my worldly ignorance. There were tables, a field, a BBQ, and playground areas, all in a surrounded by a circle of forests and mountains. Being from Bakersfield, I can tell you that the stars are not the best sight, if they even come out for you. The sky I saw from the window in our room and by the bonfire was magical. Endless, more than I have ever seen before. There was only one person I wanted with me at that moment. Only some of you will know who ;)
The next day we went to a site where we would do a bunch of activities in our groups. The first was a zipline from the edge of the mountain down to the base. First we had to climb all the way up the mountain and wait on the edge. The sight was so so pretty, especially when you jump off and practically fly down to it all. It was one of my favorite zipline experiences. After that we went mountain biking. I was getting used to the Dutch bikes, these were completely different, and sort of scary. We were only our for an hour, but it felt like so much longer. We went through the village for a bit, then started in the forests. I made a very failed attempt at going over the large bike jumps, but it was still fun. Then we were going down mountain sides at speeds I never thought I could go on a bike. I thought I was going to die half the time. Only wiped out once, and not that badly. It was fun, but scary at the same time. From the combination of the hike and biking, my legs were jelly. So I was almost jumping with joy when I heard that the next activity was kayaking. I love kayaking, and my legs could rest. I did a double with my friend Sam, we started last, but in the end finished as one of the first. The river was very shallow and we got caught so many times, but it was all good still. Some of the guys could catch other and flip or dunk them, it was quite funny. We stayed safe though! It was so nice to just float and look at the beautiful country side. At one point we were only a few inches from a cow taking a drink. By the time that was over everyone was tired at every part on their body. So we all went back, took a shower and rested for a bit. In Holland, at camps it is tradition to have a BBQ on the last night. Sooooo, we had one too. They ordered me my own veggie plate, and I made everyone try a piece, not their favorite. I talked to my mum for a bit, then went to sleep early. I don't know how the Dutch go on with such busy days with such little sleep.
The next day we went back to the same area. First we scaled down the side of a mountain. I loved that. You just had to let yourself go over the edge and walk down horizontally. It was so fun, the view again, was amazing. Next we went on a climb across the edge of the cliffs. We had to go up, down, over rocks, with lizards and all that. Half the time I thought I'd fall to my death again, but then I relaxed and pretty much ran across the side ha. Then we went in a cave. Not a big nice cave where a bear could live. No, it was hardly big enough for us to squeeze through, huge spiders everywhere, and it was wet. You would have to slide in between rock fixtures, go up into the dark, somehow manage to fit your helmet through the crevices. It was probably the worst place for anyone with claustrophobia to be. At the end they told a 'scary story' which of course I couldn't understand. The climb back up was so much worse, climbing up what we slid down. At the end we lost the group, so we have to make a choice at a fork in the cave. Luckily I was right and I saw light and started freaking out. It was a looonngg time in the dark. After that we did a sort of ropes course in the trees. First it was just some thick wires you would walk across, then it became random. One was a bunch of hanging ladders, a mini zipline, tree trunks, stepping pieces, long boards. That was one of my favorites too, especially to see my teacher doing it all as well. We were finally done with everything and ready to go home. I tried to sleep, but I suffered horrible from homesickness. But it went away, thankfully. Then I was back home, sore, tired and hungry. Those are the moments I thank God that Nel is such a fantastic cook.
And a month later....
So to start off, Ill explain my tardiness with the blog updates.
At school I had four free hours, so I thought it's be a good idea to take my computer to blog and whatnot. On the way home Holland decided to throw both my Mac, and my Iphone on the ground. Therefore breaking them both. So I had to drop off my Mac for a while to get it repaired. Now it's home and happy. Maud and I have decided to name him Klaas.
So now I have tons and tons to write about, so I think that I will split them up into events that have taken place since September 6th.
Everything has been fantastic, lovely, and so much fun. The only issues I seem to be having are minor sicknesses, wounds, and my broken belongings. The most important thing though is that I'm experiencing tons of things I never would have thought of. I am so grateful to everyone who encouraged me and helped me get here.
And now I'll fill you in on the past weeks.
At school I had four free hours, so I thought it's be a good idea to take my computer to blog and whatnot. On the way home Holland decided to throw both my Mac, and my Iphone on the ground. Therefore breaking them both. So I had to drop off my Mac for a while to get it repaired. Now it's home and happy. Maud and I have decided to name him Klaas.
So now I have tons and tons to write about, so I think that I will split them up into events that have taken place since September 6th.
Everything has been fantastic, lovely, and so much fun. The only issues I seem to be having are minor sicknesses, wounds, and my broken belongings. The most important thing though is that I'm experiencing tons of things I never would have thought of. I am so grateful to everyone who encouraged me and helped me get here.
And now I'll fill you in on the past weeks.
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