A wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.

When I woke up this morning I did not feel like P. Diddy. I had Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" stuck in my head, which is a wonderful way to start one's day. On the way to pick the children up for lunch the flawless Dutch radio played Cyndi Lauper blended into "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight." Its been a great day so far and, with eight days left until I leave, I'm trying to savor all these moments. I'm already starting to sense how much I'm going to miss the children. I spent Saturday in Amsterdam (adventure post pending) and felt the first wave of what it will be like to say good-bye. But, if you read on, you'll see that my adventures will not end when I leave Holland.

Less than 24 hours after I land in Atlanta my dad and I are flying up to Minnesota to join my mom and brothers, who fly up on the 21st, for Christmas. My time will be split between our hotel suite and both grandma's houses. Guess who else is coming up?



Brandy is taking a Greyhound bus up from Kansas City to join me for New Year's in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." (Thanks, Mom!) As you can see, we're incredibly excited. To celebrate the fact that we'll see each other for the first time in person since New Year's 2008, we danced around to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and quoted a good portion of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

But that isn't all. I'm roadtripping back to Atlanta with Erica when she drives down to Florida to start her internship in January. The big open road, excellent company, and more great music? Yes, please.



I'll have a lot on my plate when I get back to the States. School loan payments and unemployment. I'll have a lot to figure out. And there are some other special people I want to see and spend some quality time with. So much to do and think about. But Holland has definitely helped me transition from being a "thinker" to a "doer." I'm sniffing out opportunities, savoring my last week here, and looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Now, instead of Bruno Mars, I have Ferris stuck in my head.

I love technology.

With only a few weeks left here, I'm on the home stretch. It seems like it will go quickly when I count just the weekends. I will take Rosa to preschool only six more times. Roland has school every weekday but some afternoons (Wednesday and Friday) he doesn't go back after lunch so that is usually when we do crafting. I've looked up some little Christmas projects we can do together and I'm excited because I love that stuff. Seven crafts for seven afternoons. Only three more Saturdays for adventures. Only three more Sundays to be lazy.

I'm going to try and post every other day until I leave. I'm never really sure what to post about but at the same time there is so much to tell you and show you about my time in Holland. We'll see what I can come up with. For now, this is all I've got...

I've been Skyping much more frequently than usual. I appreciate the magic of technology but I can't wait until I get to see these people face-to-face.


A surprise call from my cousin, Joe. I still can't believe that this kid, my little cousin, is in college. When did we all get so big?


Watching my parents read my blog.


Erica's camera often has technical difficulties. This is just one of the many silly screencaptures Erica and I have collected.


My personal favorite. Owen and I watching the season 5 finale of Doctor Who. Priceless because all three of us have the same facial expression. I'd tell you what we're reacting to but SPOILERS!

Love long distance

The goal of this blog is to chronicle my experiences while in the Netherlands. The good, the bad, and the ridiculously embarrassing. What I am about to share with you is rather silly but it is a pretty significant part of my life here: staying connected with my friends and family. Especially the latter. It is very important for me to stay in touch with the special people in my life, even though my life has changed so much. Thanks to Skype I can talk and see them pretty frequently even though we are hundreds and hundred of miles away from each other.

Whether I'm watching while my twelve-year-old brother plays video games or listening to my mother ramble on about what she read in People magazine about The Real Housewives of New York City, it is so nice to spend time "together." Sometimes they like to tease me by enjoying a pan full of brownies between stories about their day. Holding each piece in front of the webcam just long enough to make my mouth water before they devour it. Sometimes they like to be sneaky and take screenshots of me making weird faces unknowingly and then send them to me unexpectedly.


Mother and said 12 year-old brother, Owen.

A French exchange student, Paul, has been staying with my family for the summer. In my room. I must admit it is a little weird and hard not to feel like he's filling up the space I left behind, especially since they're doing all sorts of fun things with him. Things that I've always wanted to do whenever I was home for the summer or holiday breaks. And then they took him to Harry Potter World and I contemplated giving them the silent treatment to convey how betrayed I felt. And then I noticed how perfect the whole situation actually is. Here I am living with another family in Holland. I was home barely two weeks after graduation and then I jetted off across the ocean. And there Paul is living with my family in America. It is great for my brothers to have another guy to hang out with instead of a sister who still thinks making them tag along to shop at Target is fun. And I'm sure he's a much better video game player than me.


The sign they held when they picked him up at the airport.

It is funny how things work out. Life is strange. And my family is really, really great. Excuse me for being overly sentimental but if it weren't for them I'd never have the courage and the drive to do something like live in another country. All that stuff about doing what makes you happy and following your dreams is something I totally believe in thanks to them. Especially my parents. Sorry, mom and dad, that it took me twenty-two years to figure that out.

Hello from Holland!

As I begin typing my first entry from Holland it is 8:41pm. I have been in the country for almost exactly twelve hours. My first day is nearly over but I feel it will be a very long night trying to adjust to the time zone. I slept for most of the plane ride, save the first hour during which dinner was served. Then at about 1pm I took a two hour nap. I can't really tell if I am tired but I am definitely sore from being cramped up in an airplane seat. It will probably hit me very suddenly so until then I'm going to unpack and try to settle in.



I don't think telling everything about today would make a good blog entry because there is so much I could and should say. For now, I'll keep it simple and over the next few weeks as I become better acquinted with life here and with the family I can share it bit by bit with you.

Robin picked me up from the aiport this morning with Roeland, 4, and Rosa, 2, in tow. Roeland shook my hand right away but Rosa hid behind her arm for the first thirty minutes while we sat at one of the aiport's cafes biding time until traffic cleared. However, once we arrived at their charming house in Middelie the three of us played on the swirling desk chairs in my room. Then we played outside with bubbles. Then we played with magnetic letters at the kitchen table. Robin guided me along the children's daily schedule. Snack time. Bath time. Dinner. After we picked Anna up from the train station she showed me where I can find the basic necessities such as the shower and towels. Tomorrow she'll show me the more complicated things such as cell phone and TV.

I can't say what I'm feeling exactly. I was too busy watching, listening, and learning today to think of much else. But now that I have some time to myself it feels a bit like summer camp. Of course, I'm older now and I'm not sleeping in a bunk bed with my friends only a whisper or giggle away. I'm going to be relying on Facebook much more than I'd like. I love old-fashioned letter writing but what one writes in a letter is very different than what goes in an email or wall post. It takes longer to get to the addressee and it takes even longer to recieve a response than it does to simply click 'send' and 'reply.' My survival will also depend on Skype dates as it did in Italy but sometimes that is what makes me realize just how far away I am from everyone I know and love. Even though the phrase is somewhat cliche, distance really does make the heart grow fonder. In fact, one of my three very best friends, Elizabeth, and I became close by writing letters while I was in Italy. We had only known each other a few months before I left. Being so far away from each other and living such different lives made us connect in a special way and I don't think we will ever drift apart.

I think I'll end on that sentimental note. Yes, I'm thinking of home but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Or what I have to say next week. Next month. Many months from now.