First Week in Holland

Although my flight out of O'Hare International Airport was delayed about 2 hours, it didn't at all dampen my arrival to The Netherlands. I arrived a little over 2 hours late, but greeted by my Rotarian host and her son.

Since I am not able to move into my room until next week, I have been able to stay with another Rotarian and his family. Mr. Leo and his wife have been very gracious and generous. They have shown me around Holland, helped me find necessities, and directed me in the right direction on how to do things in Holland. The first night in Holland, we all enjoyed a very delicious Indonesian dinner in Den Haag (The Hague). They live in a suburb of The Hague ... Voorberg. In America, it takes appropriately a half hour to travel from the city centre to the suburbs, depending on the city. In Holland, it's totally different. Everything is very close here. Bicycle is the main form of transportation, and don't complain about gas prices, because gas costs about $7.00/gallon here in The Netherlands.

In America, when you drive for a half hour, you only make it to the other side of town. Here, in a half hour, you have already gone through 5 cities and towns.

I also went down to Leiden, the city where my university is located, and registered with the school and walked around. It's a beautiful city. The city streets are lined with canals and shops, plenty to do, eat and drink.

Yesterday, I spent the day in Noordwijk, a beach town. Meeno, my Rotarian host's son, picked me up and we enjoyed festivities in his hometown. There was a beach party where there was a stage set up and a DJ. There were thousands of people at this beach party, and it was lots of fun. I have been able to meet lots of Dutch people, and all have been very nice.

The first week couldn't have gone any better. I look forward to the rest of the year, and don't forget to make plans to come and visit!!