After a frantic morning of lifting up my bags and having Alex help me decide what to get rid of (sorry, Dr. Bronner's), we set off to BWI around 12 p.m. Thank goodness we left so early because traffic was crazy! We did not get to the airport until 4 p.m. when we should have arrived around 2:30 with time to go to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Alex helped me to check in and get my boarding passes, and then we scrounged up some Subway. It was around this time that my eyes started to get prickly and more wet than usual.
When we finished scarfing down our sandwiches, Alex took me to security and made sure I got through okay. I had to take a moment by some vending machines to compose myself after we waved good-bye over the barrier. I didn't realize how soon/ much I would miss him and all of you! I've been having lots of little moments like this ever since, but they're happening less intensely now.
On my Condor flight, I sat next to a man from Germany who was going over to celebrate his mother's 101st birthday. His girlfriend was sitting in the "Premium" area, where the flight provides a pack of goodies like toothbrushes and socks. He went up to visit her and came back with a pack for me! I'm using it to store all of my cords and chargers (and boy did that toothpaste come in handy).
Navigating through Frankfurt airport was a little scary because it's huge and they are quite tight on security. I had to ask a lot of people a lot of questions, but I found my gate and landed in Schiphol Airport with enough time to grab my luggage, pick up the credit card with my stipend, and find the meeting place for the bus to De Key housing office.
The bus ride turned out to be quite informational. This was partly because the bus driver gave us lots of cool facts about Amsterdam, like that Schiphol Airport is flat because it used to be under a lake and that its name comes from "Ship's Hell," the nickname of a particularly dangerous area of the lake. I also got plenty of helpful info from Inga, the girl who sat next to me for the ride. She is from Poland/ London, and has been to Amsterdam enough to know how to get around. She told me where to buy groceries and household goods, and confirmed some questions I'd had about the city and procedures for signing in and such.
We got talking about our backgrounds, so I don't have any pictures of the city itself yet. I did see plenty of coffee shops, and even prostitutes in the windows of some storefronts. A man walked by and pointed at one before entering the establishment, and she responded by putting a towel over her head. A friend from home told me that this is a sign that she has been selected, so anyone else walking by will have to pick another girl to sleep with. I also saw hooks sticking out above the topmost windows of buildings, which are used to hoist furniture since the stairs are too narrow. Someone was trying to get a refrigerator into their apartment via this method today.
We picked up our keys at the housing office, but arrived too late to register with the municipality or open a Dutch bank account. Luckily, we can go back on Monday to complete these tasks. Another bus took us to our housing facilities, and I and a student from D.C. (whose name, of course, is Alex) lugged our bags around Funenpark until we found our building. I got to my room to find no roommate, and no sheets. After 36+ hours of not sleeping, this realization took its toll and I spent a good few hours trying to leave the room without red eyes and quavering voice to find an RA to help. I got control of myself and wound up with this bucket o' goodies the RA found in another room. She told me it sounds like my room has not been cleaned, and she arranged for some people to come out on Monday to clean and bring the necessary supplies. Phew!
I spent the evening unpacking in my room, video chatting/ sobbing with Alex (just me crying, Alex has it together, God bless him) and questioning whether or not I should have come here. Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing. I feel much better today, and will be uploading another post shortly.
Peace and Blessings,
C
oh my geeeash you are the cutest. i love your lace ups.
ReplyDeletexoxo sus