Friday, August 28, 2009

Holland-ness

Hello everyone! Jessica and I are in Hoogeveen in the Netherlands right now staying with Linda, Iwan, Iwan's parents, and his brother Edwin (who picked up an Australian accent a couple years ago). This place is beautiful! They live out in the country, and there are cows everywhere. Trees line the roads on both sides, and the roofs on the houses are very steep. Everyone rides their bikes everywhere. I never thought that a toilet could have such an interesting flusher, and I stop and consider the lightswitches before entering or leaving a room--not because I like to ponder them, but because some are confusing. There are two separate rooms for the toilet and shower. I figured out how to use the shower, but when I turned the water cold to rinse out my conditioner, the water pressure went up and the shower head shot to the side and soaked my towel. The food here is very good, but apparently they love rye bread, black licorice, and other things that taste like those... which I abhor. I am willing to try everything, and I tried really hard to keep a straight face when I ate their super intense black licorice, but they burst out laughing at me. Must be an acquired taste. I'm not too anxious to acquire it though.



There was a change of plans, so Therese and I ended up taking the Metra to Union Station (on which a European couple displayed the epitome of eros love) and then a five-hour Amtrak to Ann Arbor. We stayed at the Weavers' house for a night and then flew out the next afternoon. I'm so happy that Therese came with me, not only because my friend, but because she helped me lug my awkwardly large suitcases onto trains. Both of my suitcases ended up weighing 49lbs each--and the limit was 50lbs. (Thank you, Dr. Weaver!) People had told both Jessica and me that we should watch the movie "Taken" before we come here. Neither of us had gotten the chance until we dared to see it on the plane... so we have decided to be very careful and to not share a cab with an attractive guy named Peter who invites us to a party. No way. Peter--back off. We checked our two suitcases and brought our backpacks and guitars on the plane. Someone asked Jessica if we were musicians, and she didn't understand what he said right away, so she said yes. Oops. I'd like to say that the reason I didn't sleep at all on the plane is because I was very excited, which is true, but I also love airplane food and didn't want to miss it if I fell asleep. Plus, by the time we finished "Taken" it was probably 5am (11pm in Michigan), and I just couldn't miss the sun rising over England. Jetlag owned us for the next two days. We then lugged 234098lbs of luggage around the airport in Amsterdam until we found lockers in the basement where we checked everything except our backpacks. We took the train from the airport to Hoogeveen (which we had no idea how to pronounce). Jessica kept pointing to her ticket to the guy across the aisle to ask if we were there yet. It feels good to feel independent and know that we can take care of ourselves.

Linda, Iwan, and Edwin have been so much fun, and they've been such great tour guides and chefs. On Thursday Edwin took us to a small town in Germany about a half hour from here. I don't remember the name of it, and if I did I probably couldn't pronounce it. We wandered around through the stores and noticed that the American brands are a billion times more expensive. We then went to a town in Holland called Emmen, where we also looked around (I would say that we went shopping, but we didn't buy anything) and ate lunch. In the afternoon, we all went on their boat down this... my words are escaping me... man-made body of water smaller than a river that opened up into a man-made lake that connected to a canal to Little Venice. In Little Venice, the streets are, of course, water. Eventually we got food and ate it in the boat, and a family of swans came and chased after us for probably a half hour. They kept craning their long necks into the boat trying to take our food. It must have looked pretty funny because some people at a restaurant we passed took pictures of the wannabe pirates and us. I kept trying to convince Linda, who was very nervous, that we should just feed them and they would definitely go away when they got what they wanted. :) One of the swans actually bit Iwan's arm really hard, and it didn't go through the skin but it broke some of his capillaries. They said that swans are very strong and that their wings could break someone's arm. Linda, Iwan, and Edwin are so much fun. Edwin is really funny, and we're actually teasing Jessica right now.

I love hearing little kids speak Dutch, and I am so astounded by them, thinking, "Wow! Those kids are so smart. They speak Dutch!" and then I remind myself that Dutch is their first language, just as English is mine.

Apparently Dutch has that hacking/coughing sound too, and everyone here has reaffirmed that I need to work on that before even attempting to learn Arabic.

Sunday we're planning on meeting up with Krista, another SM who is coming from Southern, and then going to go around Amsterdam. We're planning on visiting the Anne Frank Huis and hopefully some other places before we catch our plane to Cairo. It hasn't really sunk in that I'm not coming home soon. It will probably hit me in a month or two when Egypt becomes moderately normal. I'm looking forward to spending this year alone with God--there's a lot I have to learn. When better than when I am 6100 miles away from home and away from everything and everyone I know but Jessica?

Feel free to read Jessica's blog as well: jessiejean.blogspot.com

Sorry this blog is so sporadic. Thanks for the prayers. I love you guys!

6 comments:

  1. Therese LassandrelloAugust 28, 2009 at 6:44 PM

    sara thank you for finally posting! i'm always going to be really looking forward to hearing about everything you are doing. it sounds like you are having an amazing time! i can't wait to see pictures.

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  2. Yes! Pictures!! How very exciting for both you and Jessica. To embark on such a life-changing experience. Yeah, I'm envious and everything, but you are DOING it! And when will that moment come when things seem normal for you there? I can't imagine taking anything for granted while living in Egypt. To be somewhere I've only read about ....okay kinda seen in "The Mummy" and the movie about Joseph. Wow! You'll be learning so much just being in a different culture, but the memories will be forever!!

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  3. Brown you stay away from Peter, you hear me?!?!

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  4. Sara, i love you. :) Im praying for you.

    -Em

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  5. Sara I love your stories they are hilarious. keep writing because ill keep reading sista! love and miss you. take care love.

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  6. I'm glad I discovered this blog...I was an SM at NUA too! Looking forward to reading about your adventures! God bless, and I'm praying for you, even though I don't know you (yet).

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