Magical Happenings

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my next post.

"Gee," I bet you say over dinner conversation, "I wonder what intellectual discovery Abby will reveal to us next!" Or perhaps you wonder, "What new exciting thing is she going to tell us about today?"

Well, I'm sorry, but this post is about my shower. It was originally going to be a heartfelt letter to my shower, declaring my un-dying hatred for it. But now, this post is about how I have conquered the shower. Seriously guys, I was in need of a Gandalf staff, solely so I could dramatically declare my superiority over it in defense of human kind. But I succeeded in defeating the balrog that was my shower without falling into a dark fiery pit of doom.

I'm a huge nerd. But have you noticed how no one has clean hair in Middle Earth? Exactly. You did.

Anyway, so my shower was horrible. Even if it had pressure, it ricocheted between boiling and freezing. But I've finally figured it out, how to get HEAT AND PRESSURE! I pressed a few buttons on something in our closet. I am magical.

Another recent finding of mind is that along with my registration at Skoll, I get many e-mails in Dutch that even Google Translate doesn't understand. While this is problematic, this is not the craziest part of these e-mails. The craziest part is what I did understand. When I went to the boathouse to register, I spent a little time wandering through the ridiculously large building looking for people. During this wander, I walked into a large, wooden room filled with tables and a dance floor. Against the wall? A BAR.

Today, in an e-mail, I found out something also magical. While my debit card had provided them with my launch fee, it also registered me for a tab at said bar. A TAB. I thought tabs only existed in worlds in which Humphrey Bogart delivered pithy lines and people smoked in black and white. Of course, I can track my tab online, which is useful, but seriously guys.

What kind of world am I living in? THE BOATHOUSE HAS A BAR.

I am also amused that I was informed about this and still have yet to find out when I'm actually going to...you know...row.

Still....MAGIC.

Light bulbs (Alternative Title: Win)

I undid the fail, guys.

I'm registered to row! But let me tell you, this experience blew open a whole new point of view for me. Talk about light bulbs.

I e-mailed asking for some specific directions since I got turned around with the others. The director responded giving me a tram line. I stepped off at the stop I needed and looked down. At my feet, sprayed in red paint, was the word Skoll and an arrow. I followed the signs and found a massive, multi-story boathouse.

AHHHHH

I was super early so I poked around the town and bought myself some stroopwaffels in celebration of my success. I will discuss the awesomeness of stroopwaffels at a later date.

When it was time, I headed over.

And then I learned what it was like. To walk into a place and feel like your own little island, surrounded by words you don't understand but need to hear. Forms you can't fill out correctly without flagging someone down for help over and over. Feeling like a burden when all you want is to just be one of the bunch. Yeah, most people speak a little english. But they're not speaking it to each other. My intro packet is in Dutch. All my e-mails are in Dutch. I'll run it through translators and get help when I can.

But sitting there, taking the good part of an hour to fill out a stupid registration form, made me feel ashamed. I know it was irrational, but for once I understood what millions of people deal with every day in the United States. People throw hissy fits that signs in our grocery store have spanish on them. I'm about to throw a fit that there aren't more.

I finally understand the hidden tensions we so often feel in cross cultural and lingual relations. Frustration seeps in so easily and its cause isn't the actions of other people. It's us. It's our fear of not being in control, and not being informed.

The funny thing is that I should have felt at home. I was surrounded by tall, blonde people. But I have never, ever, felt that out of place or that disconnected.

Light bulb.

I Am Pretty Sure I Walked All the Way to Germany Today

Today started off with some serious win and ended with some serious fail.

And the fail took up a lot of my time.

So I woke up early for the first day of class (Labor Day...not so celebrated in the Netherlands, you see) and left insanely early to bike to class. It's only about a twenty minute ride, but I was nervous about finding it. I biked past it without realizing. I turned around, biking slowly back, thinking "Oh God, is this building like the Room of Requirement? Please, please please show up." I thought I'd gone too far back. I pulled over in frustration and went digging through my backpack for my map. I glanced to my right. And right there was the sign for my building.

It's official, Amsterdam is secretly the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter.

I was actually forty minutes early. I know I'm crazy.

My class, Public International Law, seems great. The professor is really charismatic but tough. We're also set to go on a field trip to the Hague, which I planned on visiting myself anyway. I'm thrilled. The only thing is the class is THREE HOURS. I think I'm going to be nice to myself and just buy a damn coffee pot, because I'm not getting through those three hours on enthusiasm alone.

Then I wandered around, getting a feel for my surroundings. It's just the type of thing I have to do by myself. After that, I biked back with no problems. I was so ridiculously pleased with myself. After wolfing down a peanut butter sandwich, I planned out my adventure to the Skoll rowing club to sign up.

Prepare for the fail.

I'd gotten some directions from an IES advisor and combined them with directions I google translated off the website. I decided to walk because it didn't seem too far and I wasn't exactly sure what the traffic would be like. How wrong I was. I got lost about fifty times. I asked for directions that many times. I found a boathouse. I rang the bell. An old guy showed up, carrying oars. He didn't speak english. It wasn't Skoll. All he said was "Niet studenten"which I knew meant, no students. After three hours of wandering, I gave up. I took the Metro and a bus back to my apartment, defeated.

But I'm going to the positives. I walked about a million miles, ended up in the semi-sketchy southeast part of Amsterdam and never panicked. I got lost, and figured it out. I was fine. Frustrated, but okay. I'm going to go back to google maps and figure out what the heck went wrong and try it again on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I just have class from three to nine. It's only two classes.

I have to buy that coffee pot.

Day 3 Successes

Readers, I blog to you while drinking a cup of tea with a mug with two tiny handles that even has its own little dish. It's very relaxing and very European. Let's forget that I carried said tea down two flights of stairs after using a microwave that has not been cleaned since the university was founded in 1632.

Not so glamorous. But, oh friends, I bring you good tidings after the insanity that was Day 2 of Operation Amsterdam. I ACCOMPLISHED things today. Orientation has thus far been hours long lists of have-to-do-immediately-or-will-never-succeed-in-Dutch-life things, with no time left to do them. Hence, panic. But guys, it's going to be fine. Really.

Today we learned all about our classes and got our schedules. I am so excited. Reason 1: my classes sound incredibly interesting. Reason 2: I only have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thus, my weekend in longer than my week. However, Dutch classes are structured as lectures in which the main education and learning is done independently, outside the classroom. So don't think I'm going to be strolling leisurely along the Amstel on all those free days.

After that, we went on a boat tour of Amsterdam. And as you all know, there is just something about the water. Sitting on that long boat, staring up at crooked row houses and ornate bridges, I took a deep breath. I felt the boat rock. And I calmed the hell down. I haven't taken many pictures, but here's one, with the boat we rode in. It's turning around in a VERY TIGHT space:

Afterwards I was finally able to get my phone issues sorted out with the help of a few Euros and a lot of gesturing. Now I will actually know what time it is and be able to contact people if anything happens. Then my roommate and I wound around the city, looking for the used bikes we so desperately need. In the fall Amsterdam is flooded with international students and all of them rush to get used bikes. It's like a dog fight, trying to get a decent bike at a good price that you can hopefully sell back at the end of the semester. Once again, my height helped me out. The Dutch, the tall ones, all buy legit bikes they use for years, so I'm not competing with them. So while there were absolutely zero bikes for my friends that would actually fit them--they're competing with normal sized internationals-- I was able to look around. I wasn't fond of the prices I was getting, though, so I walked away. Then, on our walk back home, we accidentally came upon a used products store. And I found him.

He is Barney and he is MINE.

Fingers crossed I still love Barney in like a month.

I'm Here. I'm Really Here.

And it's exhausting.

The past few days have been a whirlwind of orientation and just figuring out how to do simple things in a whole new way. There are things like:

1. I can't read what it says on the shampoo and none of it is the same. Therefore, I choose one with someone very happy on it. Hey, her hair looks good, right?

2. WE CANNOT OPEN OUR FRIDGE. Last night my roommate and I bought groceries, finally, which is an ordeal in itself. Then, our fridge was like suction closed. Luckily some friends let us store our stuff in their room.

3. Lighting our stove necessitates a lighter or match. Of which we had neither. Another success.

4. Realization? No one eats cereal in the Netherlands. So they don't really sell it anywhere. Who knew that was a thing?

5. Oh my God, you really do have to ride a bike everywhere at an extremely fast pace. Now go find one and don't get ripped off.

And much, much more.

This is normal, though. The foreign adjustment, I live in a sketchy apartment panic.

Here are the things that are flat out amazing:

1. I can literally see an old windmill (part of a brewery) from my window.

2. Everyone is tall. It was actually shocking, getting off the plane. It was like I was related to everyone.

3. And that means everything is my size. A lot of the people in the program can only see their eyes in the bathroom mirror. For me? Perfect.

5. The have wine and beer at the university cafeteria. That is awesome.

6. Yesterday morning I had Dutch coffee (best ever) and a croissant in a cute Dutch cafe for breakfast. It was kind of an out-of-body experience.

7. I successfully set up internet! Me. A wireless router. No problems. Guess I was more of a techie than I thought.

8. We wrote down a list of goals for ourselves as an activity. Number 3 for me was "be mistaken for a local." I thought this was good because it meant I didn't have a constant look of confusion on my face. I met this goal an hour after I wrote it.

9. Amsterdam is beautiful. And I live here.

Shipping Off

I called this blog Shipping Off because I started it right before I headed off to my freshman year of college. The name stayed the same, of course, as I settled in and turned the scary unknown into a place that felt like home.

The name applies again. Today, I'm shipping off to Amsterdam.

It doesn't seem real. But my bags are packed and my mom has already talked me down from my "OH MY GOD I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING I'M NOT READY I'M NOT PREPARED WHAT IF WHAT IF OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" moment. I have Euros and had my first "wow, I magically have far less money" moment.

I have one goal: take every opportunity.

Watch this page to see me follow through.

10 Things I'm Going to Miss About Ithaca

Can you tell I'm really lazy and have resorted entirely to blogging with lists?

1. Telling Ashley the weather every morning.

2. Walking into Lauren and Caity's room and not being able to tell if Caity is actually asleep under the mound of stuff on her bed.

3. Rachel's awesome stories that typically make no sense. Or make sense but are just ridiculous.

4. Riding in the front seat of Ashley's car. I feel like I have amazing amounts of power because I AUTOMATICALLY WIN SHOTGUN! (Rachel, enjoy. Just think of me every time you sit there.)


5. Hearing my crew ladies discuss food and inappropriate topics behind me between drills.

6. Lauren taking care of me...except for those times she made me eat things like wheatgrass and squid.

7. The unsubstantiated and totally untrue rumors that the Campus Center dining hall puts laxatives in the food.

8. The random protests I can stare at on the way to class.

9. Kristen's crazy dance parties.

10. The classroom arguments. If there's anything Ithaca politics students know how to do, it is argue. We will do this at an given moment, even if we completely agree.