Okay, now that I have my computer I guess I don't have much of an excuse not to post, especially once you add up the fact that I barely have 2 hours of class a day (excluding Mondays and the weekends) and an extremely little amount of work. Believe it or not, I actually get bored! Who would have thought that I wouldn't know how to use up all this time... I think I got way too used to CONSTANTLY working at school that all of a sudden I am at a loss. A girl can only go on so many bike rides. That being said, does anyone have any good tv recommendations for me? It might be the only time ever that I can watch as much tv as I want so I figure I might as well take advantage of it. Who knows when it will happen again.

Today I am actually going into Amsterdam to meet one of my friends from school to hang out and walk around. Its so bizarre to me how I can just casually go to Amsterdam for lunch quicker than I could go from my house at home into NYC for lunch. "Bye, just running out the door to Amsterdam. See ya later." (Although, I guess technically speaking I would be biking not running but you get the picture).

These past few days have been quite the roller coaster when it comes to the weather; one day its sunny and 45 and then yesterday its high 30's and the sun was no where to be found. I have yet to open my curtains but I think there is some hope for the sun today. I have to say, having the sun out here makes a HUGE difference. For one, it is way nicer to ride your bike on a sunny day, no matter what the temperature, than on a cloudy/rainy/tornado day. At least if its sunny, you don't entirely want to kill yourself biking back and forth and back and forth and back and forth....

Speaking of needing to know Dutch...

I desperately need to do my laundry but the machine in my apartment is in Dutch. As is the detergent I bought. Houston, we have a problem. 

Woooooaaaaahh

On Tuesday I had my introductory lesson at the Olympos Sports Center, which is ultimately the campus athletic complex. You would think that when I wanted to spend my 80 euro to join the gym, I would graciously be handed the forms to sign and be on my way. Well, you and I both are wrong on that one. Instead, I had to sign up for an introductory lesson so that I could "learn how to use the gym". Of course, I couldn't even get into one of these lessons until a week after I first inquired about signing up for the gym, thus leaving me to wonder what exactly was going to go down.

Enter Johan. Johan is the 50-something skinny Dutch man who was in charge of introducing me to the gym. Johan's english wasn't exactly perfect, to say the least, which made it all the more hysterical as I followed him from machine to machine to machine so that he could show me how to use them. It really didn't matter that I knew how to use the dumbbells, and run on the treadmill, because Johan was set on making sure he reminded me. If something were hard, he would look me in the eye and say "Wooooooaaaah, sdat es Haard" and then proceed to demonstrate. Rachel and I could barely keep our laughter in. He also caught on quickly that Rachel was the strong athletic one of the two of us since every time he made her demonstrate how to use a machine, he would look down at me (he was very tall... obviously) and say, "Wooooooaaaah, sheee es stroong". There was a lot of head nodding going on since I didn't really know what he was saying half the time. Side note, I think that by the time I leave here I am going to have mastered the head-nodding/pretending you know what is going on movement. I have to use it way too often. Whoever said you could come to the Netherlands and know no Dutch was a bit mistaken (cough, cough WashU Abroad Department cough). 

Regardless, I passed my introductory lesson and can now pay my 80 euro. Sigh. 

1st weekend adventure to Amsterdam

Almost exciting as getting a bike....


I FINALLY have a computer! And even better... My dad hand delivered it to me in Utrecht (No, he didn't come all the way to Europe to give me my computer but I am going to just go with that...)! But first, I must tell you about my weekend in Amsterdam.


This weekend Rachel and I left on Friday afternoon and took the train to Amsterdam. Thinking we had at least an hour train ride in front of us, we both bought some snacks for the train and were ready to sit back, relax, and enjoy the train, so to speak, only to pull up in Amsterdam Central Train Station about 25 minutes after we pulled out of Utrecht Central Train Station. So much for that relaxing train ride! Regardless, our weekend trip to Amsterdam had officially begun, and we had little time to waste as we were meeting up with our friends from school who are studying abroad in Paris. Without any convincing, we immediately became tourists in Amsterdam.... Lets just say it was a highlarious weekend.


We went to the Red Light District, the coffee shops (both coffee shops and coffee shops, if you know what I mean), the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank museum, the Reijks museum, and of course, a pancake house called "The Pancake Bakery". The Pancake Bakery was reccommended to me for both their pancakes and their omelettes and it was even better than I was told-- a must if you are intending to eat your way around Amsterdam, as we did. In fact, the candy man across from the Marriott probably deserves a shout-out since we visited his stand ever few hours; Thanks so much for getting us fat!!!!

one of the many delicious pancakes that we ordered at The Pancake Bakery. YUM.

The funny thing about being in Amsterdam was that there were bikes everywhere (obviously) but the girls I was with were coming from Paris, as I said, and found the bikes to be annoying/ they almost got run over or caused someone else to get run over multiple times. Regardless, while I did agree that the bikers speeding at us were unnecessarily in our way at times, I couldn't help but sympathize-- I AM ONE OF THOSE BIKERS! eeeeeeeeeek. Its like if you are a skier on a mountain where snowboarders think they have the right of the way... No one ever likes the snowboarders. Well, tourists in Amsterdam don't really like the bikers. Can I blame them? No. But still, I figured I should at least try to stand up for my fellow bikers! 

Pimp Your Bike

Last night we went to an activity that was planned for the international kids called "Pimp Your Bike"... yes, you can laugh at me. Anyways, I spray-painted some gold on my bike and then got bored of decorating but as you can see from the picture below some of my friends bikes are now neon and beautiful.

Just Pimping our Bikes.. 

Although, if you look closely you will see that I have a new basket on my bike and that is because my other one completely broke off mid-bikeride. It was a bit traumatic to say the least but luckily it was only Rachel who was around so when I screamed "FUCK" on the top of my lungs and came to a screeching halt, no one gave me dirty looks! And, now I have a new and improved basket. The funny thing is that when I went to the Bike King to have him fix my basket, he told me he also put air in my front tire since it was almost flat... Who knew? Not I.

Ari, where are you going?

You know how you will often hear someone trying to speak in a British accent or an Australian accent or really any other accent than an American one? Well, my world was flipped upside down last night when I was waiting to cross the street with some of the Aussies and they started mimicking what I was saying. "Oh my God, at college, I was dying when..." was said about 5 different times by the three girls I was with. I never ever thought anyone would want/try to sound like a New Yorker, or a Long Islander for that matter but apparently it is quite an entertaining accent to try out. I personally think the Australian accent wins any day, but for now, its pretty amusing to hear the girls speak the way I do.


And by the way, I am ''Ari'' to all of the Aussies. Haven't heard that nickname in a while, but whatever works!

My Butt Hurts

I made it back at night on my bike (I know, I know, you all must have been dying to hear from me today). It is actually easier to ride at night as there are less people around which means less chance of me running into someone or something. I also don't think there is much of a difference in my riding skills when I have a couple of drinks or none at all as I pretty much have issues stopping and going no matter what the case is...

I definitely already dislike the fact that cars are even allowed on the streets as it just makes for much more of a potential dissaster. Rachel gracefully rode into a parked Mercedes Benz today and the owner of the car was unfortunately still in it. Lucky for all parties involved, Rae was totally fine and his car did not have a scratch on it. In her defense, she was biking while on the phone... baby steps I guess!

It was a beautiful day today-- our first sunny day actually since we arrived. I don't actually know what I will do when it gets hot here though because I sweat even in the 40 degree weather while I am riding. You pretty much sweat no matter what the temperature is when you are on your bike. Deodorent is hands-down a must have. OH and my butt could not hurt more. You would think that someone would think of selling those super-comfortable seat covers in Utrecht. But no. So instead, I woke up this morning wondering why I felt so bruised...

Dont worry though, I was reminded right away once I got back onto my bike to go into the center. Ouch.

For any of my friends who are Soul-Cylce devotees-- if you want to mail me a nice comfortable seat cover, feel free.

My Bike!

I got a bike! I can't decide if this is a good thing or not because I feel bad for those who are near me... but it can't get any worse so thats good (unless I fall or hit/get hit by a car but I am going to try to avoid doing all three)! Although, I think I feel the worst for the owners of the cars that are parked on the side of the roads that I bike on; I am a bit wobbly to say the least. 

Rachel and I went to a second-hand shop called "Bike King" (that is the English translation) and we got sized for our bikes. However, this was easier said than done due to the fact that there are not many bikes for people my size as I learned today. Luckily, they managed to find one bike that fits someone who is barely 5 feet 1 in. AND, I managed to not get a child's bike as someone had said might happen, just one for "smaller people" as the Bike King himself said to me (aka the owner of the store who referred to himself only as the King of Bikes... whatever works I guess). 


My bike, as I learned, is a Classic Dutch Bike that was used years and years ago by the Nannies and thus is nicknamed the Nanny Bike. The Dutch loved the bike so much that they discarded the tradition of only Nannies using them and now "normal folk" can often be seen riding them. Of course, my bike wouldn't be complete without a basket and a bell. And, most importantly, my ridiculously heavy lock. 


I will keep you all updated on how the bike riding goes. The actual ride into the center of town, where most classes are/bars/clubs/restaurants etc, is 15-25 minutes depending on the speed that you are riding. For now, I have decided that I am going to try to completely avoid rush-hour (on bikes!) as there is no way I won't kill myself, or someone around me for that matter. If I get brave enough, I will let you know. Reference the video below to understand why. 


OH and our first class, and only one for tomorrow, just got cancelled! Time to go out... which means I must ride my bike into town... check back to find out if I made it there and back in one piece. 

Fun Facts

Things I have learned about Utrecht in my first 72 hours:


1. The Dutch do not believe in credit cards. 
2. Utrecht is not pronounced YOU-TREK as I have been telling all of you. But then again, I was never good at languages... 
3. The Aussies are great. In my next life, I will go abroad to Australia.
4. Dutch people cycle while listening to their ipod, usually eating a sandwich and/or having a drink, while someone sits on the back of their bike to go along for the ride which the Australians refer to as "dinking", or giving someone a lift. You could say, for example, "I can dink you if you'd like". 
5. NO ONE IS ON THEIR PHONES AS MUCH AS AMERICANS, and by Americans I mean all of us who have blackberries, more specifically all jewish girls who have bbm (I am of course guilty of this)! The other night Rachel and I were at a party and we took out our blackberries for a hot second and were immediately asked if we were having a bad time. Imagine if every time anyone took out their phone at WashU you were assumed to be having a bad time; it would get awkward real fast. 
6. The International kids call the Spanish kids the Spanish Mafia. Apparently, the Aussies are next to gain Mafia status as there are so many of them. Maybe one day Rachel and I will be privileged enough to be referred to as the American Mafia... but until then we are merely known as being from "the States". One can dream. 

In Utrecht!

Finally got to Utrecht! A day late thanks to the endless storms in New York but I am finally here. Although  landing in Amsterdam at 5 am (an hour early due to 100 mph tail-wind..) was a bit jolting. Lucky for me, Rachel was already here and saved the day so that when my old cigarette-smoking cab driver dropped me off, I actually knew I was at the right place. 


We are staying in a building called Cambridgelaan which is where a TON of international students are. Our apartment has 7 people in it total: two Americans (guess who...), 1 girl from the UK who we have yet to meet, a girl from Belgium, and then 3 awesome girls from Finland with bleach blonde hair. If you can imagine, I stick out as the Finnish girls think Rachel is practically brunette. For those of you who know Rachel, in America we most definitely would consider her a blonde!


We've been having orientation and we have one more day of it in front of us which is good because it gives us more opportunities to meet people. We have definitely met really nice people its just such a culture shock being here-- we are DEFINITELY in the minority as Americans. Although people think its so cool to hear us speak. Whoever thought my Long Island accent would be considered cool?! 


We have yet to purchase a bike although that shall get done sooner than later as it is quite obvious bikes are the way to go here. I just don't really see how I will be biking in the tornado-like winds that have been going on at nighttime here... but I will save that post for another day. 


Pictures to come! (once I take some...) And get a computer... as mine crashed the night before I got here. Once again, good thing for Rachel!