Goodbye Again

This week went so fast. Way to fast.
And I am writing this blog from the USA again, while munching on a *stroopwafel.
I'm glad I bought 7 packs of stroopwafels, so I'll be fine on those for a while. What I did notice when stepping off of the plane yesterday, is that its not as cold here in the USA !! :)
Happy me. I hate cold.

When thinking about it, I have done a lot this past week: I've seen a lot of my friends (not all, unfortunately..), I saw **Sinterklaas, I had a lot of ***pepernoten, and yes: I rode on my bike.
I felt like a real Dutchy again :). And now I have to adjust on being an American. O well, best of both worlds! I love my school, and my friends here. I love the donuts. I love the weather. I love my music lessons here. So I am glad to be back as well.

After going back and forth for the first time between the two countries, I feel that I have two nationalities, I feel completely at home in both countries, and I miss them both when I am not there. It's weird, but every place has its ups and downs. I'll keep all of you posted more then ever on my adventures in the USA !



* stroopwafel: dutch syrup cookie
** sinterklaas: it's a dutch saint who comes to holland for two weeks in november, (+ beginning of december), and he gives presents to all of the dutch children and hands out candy.
*** pepernoten: the type of candy sinterklaas hands out, it's delicious :)



p.s. Don't you guys love the fact that Christmas is coming closer every day? I loooooove CHRISTMAS!!!

My favorite YouTube vid's

So, me and my best friend Megan are being kind off bored at my house in Holland. So we decided to pick our 4 favorite YouTube video's of all time. Just funny video's that make us laugh everytime :)
So the first one is.................



SUGAR DADDY

We were watching this makeover show called "Style By Jury" and the artist of this song, JU-JU was on it. She wanted a makeover. In our opinion this is a really funny music video, you know what, just watch it. Oh, and who knows what she is saying at: 1.47 ?????? Bwabel???? If u know, please let us know.


WAZZUP
So we love annoying orange, not everyone thinks it's funny, but we definitely do! Just watch it, and tell us what u think!!!


SCARLET TAKES A TUMBLE
What a good voice.....Mmmm........Just finish the entire video, something HILARIOUS is gonna happen!


BABY POOPING
I bet everyone makes facial expressions, while doing....yeaaah.... but, this baby is really funny when it comes to facial expressions :) :) :)


We hope u enjoyed the video's!
Comments are highly appreciated!

Lots of lovee,

Laura & Megan

And I am back, after a fantastic fall term.

I’M BACK.
Not only on my blog (which I have sadly abandoned for a little while, due to school, exams and other time consuming business), but I am back. IN HOLLANDIA!
I have been dreaming about PEPERNOTEN and STROOPWAFELS and even mills. And tulips. And wooden shoes (although no one wears them). I was just looking forward to come back. I love the states too though, and I got all of you a lot to tell about my experiences up till now.

So I have finished my Fall Term. I just had my final exams, which I am not really sure about… They were all pretty difficult.. And a lot has happened: I had my first Dunkin’ Donut, I learned 2 new sports, I discovered that I actually love to draw, I made new, wonderful, awesomely cool friends (which I will tell you a lot about!), I increased my piano and harp skills, and many more things!

So I just want to emphasize how much I LOVE the school system and spirit here in the USA! Every one is proud of their school, and wears their school’s shirt everyday, or sweatshirts, sweatpants, stickers, caps, scarves, shorts, etc. Especially at sports games everyone is crazy about their school. I absolutely love football games. There are so many hot guys running around the field and you meet new people, plus cheering on your favorite team is fun too. I just love how everyone supports each other at my school. When our Field Hockey Team, for example, loses, we stick together, and the next game, even more people will cheer them on!! That’s how we help each other, and it definitely keeps the school spirit up.

I also love how we get the opportunities to try new sports. I learned how to play Volleyball, and recently, I have started playing squash, which I absolutely LOVE!!
I love how, even if you are not that athletic, you have choices too: Rock climbing, Outdoors, Yoga, Zumba, Fitness And Weight Training, etc. I also was in the fall drama production: “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, in which I got to express myself as so many different kinds of characters! I played a 1920’s girl, a cleaning lady, a guy, and.. The New Millie. I had so much fun being so many different characters, and I got really close to the cast. Which makes me think about something else I love: how kind and open everyone is! Although I am a Freshman, I have Sophomore, Junior and Senior friends! No one really cares that I am a couple of years younger. I so much appreciate everyone’s kindness, which makes me feel so much at home at school. Instead of school being boring, or a struggle, it’s fun, exciting, and the teachers also really want to help!!!!

This term I also took an arts class. During this class, I discovered that I really do have a passion for art. I will post some pictures soon, of all the works I’ve done so far. I really love that I am discovering new things here, which I might not have discovered anywhere’s else.

And my friends. I could go on and on, I love them all so much. A, has lived in Holland for like 6 years herself, and whenever we talk about it together, we both agree on the thing we miss most: STROOPWAFELS. No really, we love them. V, who is going to be my new roommate in the winter, I love this girl. M, I HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH HER IN FRENCH! U guys don’t even know… She’s so funny. E, who is going to take a Dutch language course in order to be able to talk in Dutch with me! E, who gives the best hugs ever ☺ And so on and on.

I do miss all of my friends in Holland a lot. I really do. I just love it in the USA, but I am missing certain things about Holland too.

I promise, and I really do,

I’ll update this blog way more, with photo’s, vid’s, funny quotes, links to other great blogs etc.

The start of my life as an American girl.

Hi everyone!
I haven't blogged in a while because of the big move and because I have been away for a while.
Now the big news: I have been here in America for almost two weeks now, and I've tried to start living the American life & finding the differences between my Dutch life. To be honest: the first week here, I have just been unpacking stuff, reading my summer-reading-list books (which are great!), figuring out how my new laptop works and being mad because there isn't any phone reception in our house. GREAT! Other than those things, I have discovered some differences in the American culture already.

1. THE PEOPLE
In Holland people tend to be quite reserved, it's not a bad thing, at all. But it is different. Because when my family and I came to live here, neighbors and other people living down the street immediately came to introduce theirselves, invited us for a drink (or at least my parents) and were very open and kind. Even when you are walking your dog in our street and you come across someone else, the other person will start some small talk with you: "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" , "Sure it is." BLABLABLABLABLA. You get it. Even in shopping facilities people will just walk up to my dad and say: "Four girls, ay? Must be hard." And then they both crack into a laugh. (-I've got three sisters.) And so on. I adore the people here for doing that; it make you feel welcome; at home and brings a smile to your face. It really does.

2. THE FOOD
When you think America, you think food. The endless McDonald's, BurgerKing and Taco Bell signs along the road are really tempting and I believe that it is quite easy to become fat in America. When I walk through the aisles of the supermarkets, you just can't believe the amount and variety of JUNK products there are available. Things I've never heard of like: Klondike bars, Oreo-Dippers, Fried Oreo Cookies, and so on. But there also is a selection of healthy products, of course. But what really tastes horrible in the local supermarkets is BREAD. Dutch bread is delicious and so is the cheese. Also lunchmeats taste a lot better in Holland. Or maybe it's just what I'm used to. But to say shortly: I'm not very enthusiastic about the food here. The Netherlands deserve a point for their food selection in supermarkets.

Fried Oreo's.

Endless McDonald's signs.

3. SHOPPING
In the Netherlands you walk to the inner city - or drive somewhere's else. In the US, you drive to a mall. When I came there at first, I saw a beautiful, big building, with two fountains before it. The shiny steps to the entrance also caught your eyes. When the sliding doors opened, you landed in a SHOPPINGMANIA. There were so many shops! It was three stories high, and filled with beautiful stores. Clothing, coffee machines, computers, FOOD. Everything was there. I love - the mall. And on this field, America deserves a point.

Not the mall I visited, but this is what malls look like!

Those were my three cultures differences for now!