I got the best of both worlds

A short note: sorry for not blogging for so long, I can come up with a million excuses but I've just been lazy. Sorry. Here I am again! You should thank Steve, a good friend of my parents, who I've known for many years now, for reminding me to update my blog. Thanks Steve! :)

School is over. I made honor roll, all 3 terms, which is really exciting because this has been my first year at an American school! So i've studied hard, made new friends, faced difficult times (oh tell me about it), and had an awesome first year!

I've had he roommate issues, the bad grade, the annoying teacher, the bitch that gossips about you. Yet I also had the awesome roommate technoparty, the awesome grade, the lovely teacher, and the best friend! So it all evens out. I'm thinking about (don't get your hopes up yet!) writing & publishing a book about my boarding school experience. Exciting or what? This will not happen soon though, think about a couple of years.

So, to give you a heads up: this summer I've been everywhere! Prague, Vienna, Holland, USA. I made tons and tons of pictures, I selected a couple and posted them on my Flickr photostream, check it out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauradelight/ :)

What have I noticed lately? The difference between my Dutch and American friends.

I've grown up in a city, independent, and not sheltered at all - this is the way most of my Dutch friends grew up as well. I'm not scared of traveling by public transportation alone, going to a city alone, biking at night alone (maybe not the smartest thing, but oh well), etc. Most of my American friends grew up very sheltered; driven by car everywhere, not exposed to certain types of people, not very independent.
Conversation topics differ a lot depending on what continent the friend is from. Let's put it this way: I can talk about religion and politics with the Dutchies without having it to end up negatively. Oh man, I remember sitting at dinner tables at school and people walking off as if they were ready to burst out of anger.. I guess my Dutch friends don't really care as much. My American friends have a different sense of humor, are more relaxed and laid-back. Oh, and a tiny detail about my American friends: I live with them. I know them very well, and they are all amazing people.

Another thing that people ask me a lot: Do I feel like a foreigner in my home country after having been gone for SO LONG? The answer is no. It feels as if I never left every time I see the grim, rainy sky through the window in the airplane. It's all the same, nothing changes, but I am confused. I feel at home in America and The Netherlands now! People then ask me: "But if you had to pick one.." I say: "Hannah Montana didn't have to choose, she had the best of both worlds, and so do I!" (smile).