Weekend #1

I've been putting off writing more the past few days, not because I'm overwhelmed with classes but because I'm actually homesick. I miss Boston and everyone there terribly. But the really shocking part is that I actually miss North Carolina. I miss my mom, Liz, Sophie, Jasmine, Angel...even our tiny town. This is a very new feeling for me since I never got homesick in Boston. I don't really know why I'm feeling homesick or how to cope with it. I'm hoping that once I get into the swing of things with classes and everything I'll be much more comfortable here.

The Netherlands vs. USA
First of all I want to say that I am not at all surprised that people say they lose about 20lbs. at the castle. The food we are given definitely leaves much to be desired. Our dining hall is open from 8:30-9:30 for breakfast (classes don't start until 10 so in order to get breakfast before class you have to wake up much earlier than you would in Boston), 11:30-12:30 for lunch, and 6-7 for dinner. I have yet to see eggs for breakfast. OH MY GOD I MISS EGGS. I never thought I'd miss eggs! Lunch is very light, today it was tomato soup. I don't mind soup but I'm not a tomato person so I had a salad. We have a tiny salad bar, a necessity with all the vegetarians and vegans at Emerson, that is greatly lacking in salad dressing. There is balsamic vinegar but no olive oil, that mayonnaise the Dutch put on their french fries (but no french fries to be found), and some things I could not identify. Every meal there is plenty of bread available, along with nutella (yum!), some sort of deli meat (I'm not sure if it's ham or turkey), something that looks like salami but isn't, and fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, or CLEMENTINES!). Dinner is everything I just listed plus whatever dish is being served. Last night it was fried pieces of fish, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies. Writing it all out like this makes it seem like a lot, even to me. But when it's only been 4 days and I'm already tired of the food, I think there's a bit of a problem. Thankfully there is a well stocked grocery store in town called Spar where I purchased these delicious snacks (with no clue what I was buying) earlier.

Left to right: Eierkoeken, Sate Kroepoek, Cassave Kroepoek, and Nibb Its

After a few second of googling, I figured out that the "cassave" crackers (which I'm munching on right now) and the "sate" crackers are a type of Indonesian shrimp or prawn cracker! Wow. Doesn't taste like shrimp at all. Eierkoeken is a Dutch egg cake (I knew they looked good) that is apparently "a nice dessert, or can be eaten in those snacking moments during the day" (http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Eierkoeken). And Nibb Its are kind of vegetable flavored sticks that remind me a little of crunchy cheetos. I also got a bottle of some sort of fruity drink. It reminds me of a berry fruit punch. So I will not starve at the castle. At least not this week!

Today the sun actually came out, which was a treat. I walked around the grounds with friends and took some better pictures of the castle. Enjoy!

The baby goats in the village petting zoo.

The first courtyard between the VB and New Wing and inside the first moat.

The castle

The second moat

Second moat again

Fountain, castle, and VB

The back of the castle

More castle

The first moat with fields on the opposite side

Hobbit hole!

The first moat with the town of Well in the distance.

Partially crumbling tower

It's still Emerson!

This weekend we go to Amsterdam. Expect many more pictures!!

Kasteel Well.

It still hasn't completely set in that I'm living and going to school in a 14th Century castle. I love it here. The castle is beautiful and the grounds, while somewhat lifeless since it's winter, are lovely. There are two moats here that are home to a small flock of black swans.

So fitting for Emerson students. Ahhhh Black Swan! 

I'm certain one of these swans will be nicknamed "Natalie" or "Nina" at least by the end of next week. 

We took a short walk through the town of Well as a group today. The town is so tiny, about 2,500 residents, and it consists of basically one street. I love it though. We're very close to the border of Germany, about 3 miles, and Belgium, about 10 miles. There's also a river nearby. I'm thinking about splitting the cost of renting a bike with a friend so I can bike to Germany. Just for kicks, you know?

I'm feeling much more awake now, I had some bad jet lag earlier. I felt like if I stood still for too long, I'd end up falling asleep on the spot. But thanks to a cup of "wiener melange" (a German type of coffee drink with coffee, mocha, and steamed milk) I was able to wake up and enjoy the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to exploring Well a bit more tomorrow. That will probably take less than a half an hour, to be honest. But I think it's adorable. Almost as adorable as the baby goats that live on the main boulevard in a petting zoo. I'll post a picture tomorrow. 

Goede nacht!

And so it begins!

My very first photo from the camera that Johnny so generously loaned to me for this adventure! Of course it had to be of Boston, my home away from home. I absolutely love this city and I'm so happy I decided to come to school here. I could not have made a better choice. I've had opportunities here that I never thought would be available to me. Like living in a castle for three months! Where else would I get an opportunity like that?! I'm going to miss Boston dearly, even with the disgusting weather we've been having lately. I'll miss my friends more than anything. I wish I could bring everyone in my luggage so we could all explore Europe together! Unfortunately, my bag just met the weight restriction so there's no way I could possibly smuggle anyone in. But I'm definitely bringing them with me in my heart.

So I guess this is it! Goodbye snow, public gardens and the Common. Goodbye Boylston and Tremont Streets. Goodbye Boston. I'll miss you. See you in three months!!

And hello Netherlands!!

24 Hours.

In about 24 hours from now, I will be crossing the Atlantic ocean for the first time in my life. I'm a bit nervous because I don't particularly like flying over water. However, flying with a huge group of friends is always fun so I'm looking forward to the flight.

Pretty much everyone who is going is back on campus which has helped my nerves a lot. I'm able to get excited along with everyone else instead of feeling guilty like I do when I'm with friends who aren't going to the castle. I'm so glad I get to go to Europe for the first time with some of my best friends.

I've heard that our orientation activities are designed to prevent us from sleeping all weekend since we'll be so jet-lagged. So I doubt I'll have much time to post right away. But get ready for a photo tour of my new home! I'm so psyched to be living in a castle!

The Beginning.

Departure is now about 4 days away. Part of me is looking forward to this experience with great excitement, while part of me is still extremely nervous about being across the ocean for 3 months. I mean, it's the Atlantic ocean. It's not like I can just hop on a plane home. Not that I do would do that when I'm in Boston anyway. I think it's just the fact that it's a giant body of water and I've never been to Europe. Plus, not having access to my cell phone will definitely take getting used to. But so many people have done this before me so it can't be too difficult.

My Worries
The average Emerson student's financial situation is very different from mine. Money is definitely my biggest concern. My freshman year of high school I went with my Civics class to Washington, D.C. and ended up spending most of my funds during the first two days. It was so bad that my mom had to wire money to my cousin so that I would be able to get through the rest of the trip. Granted, that was about five years ago and I've learned a lot about budgeting myself since then. I've lived away from home for about a year and a half now and I'm used to not relying on my mom for money. And honestly, I'm so glad that my mom isn't the kind of person who can or would supply me with unlimited funds. I'd much rather be earning my own money. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to save as much money as I wanted from my job this past semester. The recommended budget for the 90 days is $4000. I have less than a quarter of that in my account at the moment. Mom has assured me that she will help me out which is a great relief but I'm still quite concerned. I know I won't end up traveling every single weekend like some people but I'm going to try and make the most of it anyway.

Travel Plans
Since I won't be able to travel as much or as extensively as some of my fellow castle dwellers I hope to explore Well and the surrounding areas as much as possible. I know I want to go to Amsterdam several times since it's easy and cheap to get to. And I do want to be able to explore at least one city in depth so I'm hoping that Amsterdam will be that city. I'm almost 100% sure I want to do Spain for our travel break/spring break. I was able to get a EuRail pass for The Netherlands, Belguim, Luxembourg, France, and Spain so that will definitely come in handy over travel break. My friends have suggested Dublin for St. Patrick's Day which would be a lot of fun. Other than that I know I want to go to several places in Italy, Bruges, Paris, possibly Athens, London, Switzerland, and Germany. Just to say that I want to go to these places is overwhelming yet exciting since they're places I've only read about or seen on TV and in movies. The school takes us to Amsterdam for our first weekend and Prague before the travel break, so that gives me two guaranteed weekends. I haven't booked anything yet but I hope to do that in the next few days.

Wow. I really can't believe this is actually happening. This will be a wonderful adventure, full of new friends, new places, and hopefully not too many bumps in the road. I hope you enjoy reading about all of them!