Getting to Know My New Home

      I arrived in Maastricht on Friday, January 13th. It feels like ages ago now. I arrived and immediately had a welcome meeting where we met everyone. There's 12 of us. 6 guys, and 6 girls. 8 from UC Berkeley, 2 from UC Santa Cruz, 1 from UC Irvine, and 1 from UC Davis. 6 from Southern California, 5 from Northern California, and 1 who is originally from Germany. We are a good group. Lots of personalities, lots of differences, but we mesh pretty well and I enjoy their company, which is good because I've spent my entire last 2 weeks never leaving their sides.
     First things first, they showed us where we could go to the grocery store thats super close to our dorms. Then we came back to set up our internet. A few of us were STARVING so we set off to find some place to eat. We hadn't seen anyplace but the grocery store and were too hungry to try and figure out which direction to walk to find food so we settled and got expensive, not very good Chinese food. I went with Kheng and Erica. It was nice to start to get to know them. Then we came back and hung out in one of the communal kitchens in the other building and met some people from last semester. I was still a little jet lagged so I peaced out around 11 but it was a great first night in my new home.
     Next day we went on a practical city walking tour. It was great to see how to get to more places. Maastricht is lovely. I really like it. It's the perfect mix between old and new, and quaint and "metropolis". I knew from the first day I was going to like it here.

Park in the middle of town

The "Hellpoort"

It was a little shocking walking around the stores and everywhere and realizing that everything was new and nothing seemed familiar, except the occasional H&M. I expected it but I guess I didn't expect it to the extent that it is. It's been fun trying to figure out what things are, deciphering labels, ordering vegetarian food. I'm definitely getting the hang of it though!

The City Hall

Sunday everyone was jet lagged so they all slept in. I unpacked and started to get settled and finally relaxed for the first time since I left home. It was quite pleasant. Around 4 we decided to stop being lazy and we all went on a walk to explore Maastricht a little bit more. Get used to it. It was nice to get to know everyone a little better.

The old Bridge and the River Maas that runs through the city center

Monday we had our first real day of orientation. We had another welcoming where we met the rest of the staff in charge of our program. And they fed us this weird jelly cheesecake. The crust was amazing. Then we had Dutch Lunch, which is, as our Program Director Severiene explained, bread with stuff on it. They LOVE their baguettes and sandwiches here. I've had more baguette sandwiches in the last 2 weeks than ever before. They have great sandwiches though. Yum. Then we went on a historical city tour and got to see more fun sites like...

This old bread mill. Still need to go to this bakery.

Tuesday was more orientation. We had our first lecture on Dutch Culture. It was pretty interesting, and in the afternoon we went on a biking tour. Our tour guide, Cor, was the same guy from the day before. He's quite old but has so much energy. Very entertaining. He showed us the rules of the road in Maastricht and then took us to the outer bounds. Which is amazingly beautiful. I unfortunately don't have any pictures cause I was too busy being amazed and biking. But it was lovely.

Sunset over the Maas.

Next it was off to Amsterdam!

Belgium

Well it was off to my next adventure! I left london in the afternoon and took the train to Brussels. Yes, there is a train that goes underneath the channel. It was pretty dang cool and SUPER fast. I got to Brussels around 4 and somehow managed to find Claire in the hoards of people with out any way to contact her. I was thoroughly surprised we found each other. Luckily she was there to help me drag my stuff all the way to her Dad's apartment. We made it in one piece and then decided what to make for dinner. So exciting to cook. I missed it. We decided to make pizza. However we didn't have mozzarella cheese, nor could we find it at the local corner store so we decided to go out on a limb and try gouda. Result? Actually pretty great. I had dinner with Claire and Cyrille and heard some great stories about Grandfather and Grandmother. After dinner I called my pops. It was nice to hear his voice after so long. Then Cyrille drove Claire and I to the city centre so we could explore. Brussels is very pretty at night. We saw some prime spots like the Mannequin-Pis. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures. But it's a great  city. We then went to this crazy pub called Delirium that has about a million different beers. It was fun trying to choose. And by fun I mean impossible.

The next day we woke up and went to breakfast. Then Claire gave me some pointers of some more things I should see downtown and off I went. Claire had to go to practice so I was on my own. I somehow found my way to my destination while running into some cool things like...

The Royal Palace. It's pretty.

And some other cool buildings

Before I got to the Musical Instruments Museum! It was so cool. They had thousands of instruments and by most of them you could put your headphones into the headphone jack and listen to the instrument being played. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

A view of Brussels from the museum

Then I wandered for forever.

Saw the Parliament,

the Cathedral,

the Grand-Plac

It was cold and raining but beautiful. Eventually my feet were tired and I was freezing so I found a cozy place to sit down. The cozy place happened to be a tea room where I enjoyed some tea and a belgian waffle. So yum. Except it was SO sugary and sweet it was a bit much. Then I went back to Cyrilles and ate some amazing chili that Claire had made earlier.

Brussels is soooo pretty at night!

Claire and Cyrille came home from practice around 9 and we spent some time together then Claire and I played cards for forever. We were a pretty even match for speed. It was a lot of fun. I really liked having a home to come home to while in Brussels. Claire is the nicest girl ever and made me feel so welcomed and Cyrille was a great host as well. Having home cooked meals and my own room and bed that wasn't a bunk bed to sleep in at night was much needed after so long in hostels. It was a great way to end my exploring before reaching my final destination, Maastricht!

More of London

After Elise left I got to walk to the train station and wait for the fabulous Sam Harrison and Jax! It was so exciting. I still can't believe we were in London at the same time! It was also great to finally meet Jax after hearing soooo much about her for sooooo long. We met up at the waterloo station and the adventure began. Jax used to go to school in London so she knows her way around quite well. She also used to work at Madame Toussauds so thats where we started. Got to go fo free which was great. It was a lot more cool than I expected a wax museum to be.

Some of the most beautiful people ever

After the wax museum we went to Picadilly Circus for lunch.

The mini predecessor to Times Square. (Also Harry Potter was here, so its cool)

Then we went to the London Dungeons (also for free!) and it was scary and fun and creepy and gross and amusing all at the same time. Sam almost died, I was terrified for her life. For reals.

Then it was dark! Crazy how time flies when the sun only stays up for such a short time. Sam wanted to see Big Ben so we went and wandered a little before Sam and Jax had to leave to see a show.

Love her

They went on their way and I went back to my hostel then met up with Lauren Deaderick (?!) So crazy. She is currently studying abroad at the London School of Economics and she found out that I was in London so we decided to catch up. We went to a pub with some of her flat mates and caught up the last 3 years of our lives. It was really great to see her. 

The next day I woke up early and went to the British National Museum. It was free and way cool. I wish I had more time there.

The Museum

I saw the Rosetta Stone! So cool

And I got to see the Olympic gold medals for this summer.

Then I went to meet up with Sam and Jax to go on a free tour of London. It was interesting... definitely could tell why it was free, but I learned some cool things. 

Buckingham Palace

Saw the changing of the guard

After the tour we were starving so we went to Convent Garden for lunch. Then explored around there a bit, then we went to Leicester Square to get show tickets to see Legally Blonde that night. Then we went to the Aquarium, also for free. Score. Saw some great fish.

Sea Turtles are magical

Finally we went and saw Legally Blonde. It was fantastic. Loved it. After we said our sweet good byes til June! Can't wait to hang out with them for 9 weeks straight :]

London was great. A little overwhelming with all the people all the time but I enjoyed it.

Last Hours with Elise

We left Wales and headed back to London for a day before Elise left to go back home. We got to our hostel around 11, checked in then went to go be Harry Potter geeks. We had to. 

Now, if only it actually worked... One can dream

Then we continued and went to Camden Market to get some souvenirs and gifts. ITS HUGE. Imagine the biggest flea market you have even seen and times it by 200 and you have the camden market. I swear, it never ever ends. You just keep walking and theres more and more stalls. A lot of them had the same touristy things, but some had some very cool items. I wanted to buy so much, but I was good.

Just a smidge of a smidge of the market

canals!

such a cool idea

more of the market

By the end I wasn't sure if my feet were working properly anymore, they were so tired. We then went to explore some famous sights, like the...

London Eye (unfortunately closed for maintenance)

and the Olympics countdown in Trafalgar Square

Also in Trafalgar square.

Oh hey there Big Ben

stone work baffles me. its so impressive!

We then got some dinner and headed to pick up my huge suitcase that my first hostel was so kind to let me leave there so I didn't have to lug it to Wales. I heaved and lugged it back through the tube station to our hostel, with a minor change of plans. We were SO CLOSE and then all trains on our line were stopped because someone had fallen or something underneath the train at a future stop. I hope they are okay... because they made me have the heave and lug twice as much as I should have had to... but we made it eventually and I almost slept through the night for the first time in awhile!

Where When Wales: Day 3

Day 3

Wales is beautiful. Day 3 we went on a tour. it was great. The tour included the tour guide, Jan, the driver, John, this girl from Australia, Elise and me. Personal. First stop was Big Pit mine. We went 90 meters underground into an old coal mine and ducked around, trying to not hit our heads on the low ceilings or slip in the mud. It was way cool. The tour guide was this old welsh guy and it was sooooo hard to understand him. I didn't even think he was speaking english half the time. But he was. 

Then we went to the iron works across the way. It was old and crumbling but very interesting.

Then we drove through Brecken Beacon park and stopped to hang out with some sheep.

He's so regal.

And we drove over a 16th century bridge.

And went to this adorable little town called Crickhowell for lunch. And we ate in this 15th century pub. This side of the world has so much history.

Then we went to Treetower Manor. Built in the 14th century. It was huge. I could live there. It was beautiful. And they do weddings here... I would definitely be allright with getting married there. One day?

The gardens, must be great in winter!

Cool old window

SO BEAUTIFUL

Oh, and there was a 12th century castle ruins chillin in the backyard. NBD

WALES IS SO BEAUTIFUL. green and lush and i loved it

We got back from the tour and we were exhausted. But all in all, Wales was wonderful.

Where When Wales

After giving Elise a minor panic attack, we headed off to Wales! Taking the train through the english country side was beautiful. And super fast. We got off and walked about 5 minutes to our hostel to check in. Nicest hostel ever. And it was still decorated for christmas.

The river right by our hostel. And a rugby stadium.

Elise was about to die from starvation so we set out looking for food and then walked around the city center. Which is like a big outdoor shopping mall all new and fancy, with some old buildings thrown in the center. Its pretty nice. Then we wanted something sweet, and I spent forever trying to decide what to get cause there were so many things I wasn't used to seeing. Then we headed back to the hostel to plan day 2 and watched friends until I literally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer at like 9 pm. Stupid Jet lag...

Cute Hostel Kitty

Day 2!

Woke up at like 5 am and could not fall back asleep. Also, my legs hurt SO bad from all the stairs and dragging suitcases, especially since I hadn't like moved much in the prior two weeks thanks to my tonsils. My muscles needed some extra stretching to get used to walking so much again. Day 2 we started with the most amazing hostel breakfast spread possible. I wish I had a photo. It included welsh cakes. Which might be my new favorite breakfast goodie. They are like squashed scones, but better. Then we went off exploring. Starting with the Cardiff Castle which is within 5 minutes from the hostel.

The Castle wall had super creepy animals starting at you as you walked past...

Pretty Clock Tower

The castle was really cool. Old and sturdy. Lots of history in those walls. 

The Welsh Dragon thing

View of Cardiff from the tippy top point of the castle

The House. It was pretty on the inside. Very elaborate.

Our family history!

Then we went to this exhibit in the Library called the Cardiff story. It was interactive and made reading about Cardiff's history way more exciting. It was fun because I had really no idea about any Cardiff or Welsh history. And they had cool things like the worlds coolest doll house, the dolls moved when you pushed a button.

Then we continued to wander, went to the city hall and the national museum. Then our feet needed a break and we needed to be caffeinated so we went back to the hostel and rested and figured out how to get to the bay for dinner. Its actually called the mermaid quay (key). We walked around trying to get hungry and finally decided to get chinese food which wasn't even that great and it was way over priced. But then we went to this thing thats like a grocery store and got these amazing cadburry molten chocolate cakes for £1. Such a good deal.

SO GOOD

I messed up mine so it looks like crap, and obviously Elise knows how to follow directions and hers looks exactly like the one on the package. Epitome of ourselves.