introductions and frustrations...

people. parties. those two words sum up the last week here in holland. in the last week i have introduced myself approximately 150 times to people from all over the globe: argentina, australia, italy, ireland etc. i'm definitely having a hard time remembering their names, but i'm told that by the time two months have passed i'll know everyone on exchange by name.

the best way for a whole group of people to get to know each other? parties. and there have been a lot. everyone wants to meet everyone else and everyone wants to have a good time. the people living at verbs host numerous parties. the latest by two spanish girls who made AMAZING sangria!

the unfortunate thing about having so many parties is that you inevitably return home at a late hour. with the weather how its been (near constant rain), biking home for 20 minutes at 2:30am isn't the greatest thing for ones health. every monring i have woken with a terrible cough and feeling groggy.

i have come across some frustrations this past week:

1. lack of english when you need it: most everyone speaks english in holland so usually the language barrier is not a problem. however, this week it was time to set up my bank account and being unable to understand the dutch language became aggravating. i need two numbers in order to receive a wire transfer. the whole website is in dutch which means i'm pretty much clicking around hoping to find what i need. i enter it into help, but lo and behold, the instructions on where to find it are in dutch.

2. the early hours: i know in a previous blog i praised the dutch for their "content, simple way of life." i still really admire this. however, for a north american, switching to this way of life is difficult. i would like to get groceries from the store, yet the supermarkets close at six. i need a costume for a party this week, but the clothing stores also close at six. maybe i can go tomorrow morning? no! because the stores don't open until 1pm on mondays.

3. the weather: rain. rain. rain. i knew it before i came. holland is rainy. its not that i didn't believe that it would be true, i just figured it wouldn't be so irritating! i don't mind the rain. in fact, i actually enjoy it. but when you live a 20 minute bike ride from the university, it's incredibly depressing to have to take a second shower in order to make it to your class on time.

the past two weeks have been my introduction to holland. i've rested up from my flight, i've settled into my room and i've completed all the administrative things. now all that's needed is to actually LIVE in tilburg.