No pictures today from me, sorry! Too overwhelmed by the city/ residence permit/ meeting so many new people/ keeping a tight hold on my bag. I've been checking ISN's Facebook, so I'll see what I can scrounge up there.
I met up with a couple of kids on my floor (a girl from France named Juliette and a guy named Jonathan from Canada) and we walked to the tram stop. They knew how to use the trams and got us to the registration location. We were split up into coach groups, which is a group of about 30 kids from all over with two coaches. The coaches led us to Westerkerk, a huge beautiful church, for our Official Welcome. This consisted of higher-ups in the school reassuring us about grades and culture shock.
Credit: Vincent Cieraad
We then ate a quick noodle dinner in UvA's cafeteria before some of us went back to our places to change before the party of the evening. I got on the wrong tram and had to ask for directions, but made it back to my place eventually. I sent some quick emails to my mom and my exchange counselor about my residence situation, and completely forgot to change into an outfit that represented my nation (the theme of the party). I missed my tram and had to wait for the next one at another stop, but found some girls on the tram who were also going to the party and seemed like they knew where they were going. I got off with them and we all got lost together but somehow ran into one of my coaches, who led us to the larger group.
The club was called the Odeon, and was really nice, probably. I made the mistake of telling my fellow group members that I am almost 21, live in a city, and have never been to a club (so really I have no way of judging quality). After thus labeling myself as a dweeb, I bought a glass of Hieneken and tried to forget my troubles and have a good time. One guy from Norway cheers'ed me for it being my first time at a club, and everyone danced to the electro music the DJ played. After about 30 minutes of trying to swallow the skunky liquid I knew would give me a headache and the voms due to my lack of adequate of food/ water that day and worrying about getting to the tram on-time and about the permit, I decided to peace out.
Credit: David Huli Hendrych
I asked the bouncer for directions to my stop, still got lost, but again made it to my final stop in one piece. I don't generally like being out at night for many reasons (sleep and safety, primarily), so walking through my neighborhood was a little intimidating. It is well-lit and there were cars and some people out, so I didn't feel too scared. The Netherlands has a "stupidly low" crime rate (Libby's words, haha), but living in Richmond has made me fear the dark anyway.
After running around all day worrying about paperwork and listening to accents from Italy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, France, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, New York/ Jersey, Russia, Japan, South Africa, and Ireland, I was feeling a touch overwhelmed and just needed to see familiar faces. I got to Skype with my parents, which really helped because they know what to say/ do to make me feel better. This 6-hour difference has its perks (no way Mom would naturally be awake at 2:30 a.m.). My uncle has also been suggesting potential meet-ups for us while I'm over here, since he and my aunt live just over the channel in Bristol, England. It looks like I'll be hanging out with them around the 14-17 of September!
In other very exciting and comforting news, I just recieved this email from my UvA exchange counsellor:
"This should not pose a big problem, it is just a case of reapplying again. Please email my colleagues of the immigration office if you need help. [their email]
"If you wish to see me for help, please visit my office hours on Tuesday and Wednesday between 11 and 12 o'clock in the Service and Information Centre. If you report to the front reception, they will direct you to my office."
Availability and comfort from a reliable source, perfection.
Today I'll try to take more photos as we are going on a canal cruise and I will have a much better opportunity to do so.
Peace out, lovelies! Keep those emails coming, you have no idea how baller it is to get word from my peeps back home.
xoxo
C
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