Good Bye Kirsten Goes Dutch

Well, the truth is I've been home for a few months, things have been up and down and all around town. If you want to keep following my Canadian adventures go to www.sandalsandalukulele.blogspot.com

Now

I'm having one of those moments. No one reading this is going to Understand this but I'm gonna write it anyway cause well it might be useful...
I know that the circumstances of my exchange were not always the most pleasant or happy, but recently I just keep aching to go back. I talk to my friends from Carleton who are still on exchange and I want to go back, I talk to my friends from Erasmus and I want to go back. I just ache for it sometimes, like somethings missing now. And what worries me is the frequency that this happens is increasing rather than decreasing. I really want to be able to travel more right now and I totally can't afford it. I want to go somewhere warm, or exotic or somewhere where I can visit a far off friend.
On an equally random note, I also keep wondering why the hell I didn't just go somewhere warm on exchange. I mean Holland was warmish, and actually in comparison I'm finding Ottawa frigid compared to its usual freezing.
I know there's still no "Since I've returned update" A lot have things have changed since I've been back, some nice, some not so nice. I've found friends that I'd thought I'd lost, and I've lost friends that I thought I've had. I have some really good courses, but some really crappy assignments. All in all this semester is absolutely flying. I think I might write my "Since I've been back" entry at the end of the semester once all of the craziness is over.
There is one thing I would like to share now though. I got into a play at Carleton (I know are you as excited about this as I am?) It's called In the Dark and it's being performed on March 8th and 9th at 7:30 p.m. at Carleton. So if you are in the vicinity of Carleton or you can come to the vicinity of Carleton on either of those days I fully expect you to Come!!!!
That's all for Now!

Eggs Benedict

What did the Dutch Egg say to the English Egg when he started Cracking up?

"Relax I was only Yolking"

"Really Funny Benedict" replied the English Egg "I almost wisked myself"

"Well next time" retorted the Dutch Egg "You should try to be a little bit more over easy!"

This Joke derived from more of my insane ramblings with Jenny. It was originally the first two lines, then a comic, now it might become episodes, that's right, episodes about eggs. Well that's probably a little unrealistic considering how lazy I've been with this lately but perhaps one day I'll write some more rediculous, or not rediculousness about Holland

Finding My Way Home

So, here is a long promised entry. My next to entries will discuss my experiences on my way home and what life's been like since I've been home. So I'll start with My Trip home.
I made my decision to come home very quickly, obviously under very strenuous circumstances. I hoped to be able to get a flight home on the Tuesday or Wednesday so that I had time to make arrangements with Erasmus, clean my room properly and most importantly say goodbye to all of my friends. However, a snippy British Airways employee informed me that the only flight they could put me on was on the Monday, so I changed my ticket. The next two days were spent saying goodbye to Rotterdam and cleaning my room. Which never ended up being fully cleaned, which I'm sure Stadswonen Appreciated SO MUCH! Oh well.
So early Monday morning I turned my keys in and headed for Central Station, with Hui by my side. Hui so kindly offered to come with me to Schipol for which I am so eternally grateful! On the train I started feeling a little sick, but I attributed it to not having eaten breakfast that Morning. Besides there was a very fine looking young man (sorry Chris) sitting across from Hui and I on the train who talked us all the way to the airport.
Once at the airport I sadly said goodbye to Hui, and made my way through the terminal to my gate. At one point I stopped to buy some Belgian chocolate . At the chocolate store where I stopped there was a very rich American who had alredy racked up a bill of 210 Euros and readily paid for my 10 Euro purchase (which was really nice of him).
My Flight from Schipol to Heathrow was a little bit rocky and after I had eaten my lunch I started feeling more and more sick. Once Landed I had a hot coacoa to pass the time and thing eventually progressed to the point where 30 minutes before my flight departed for Toronto, I vomitted in a trash can by my gate, which did not make the girl sitting next to it very happy!
The Second flight, was less rocky and I spent most of it trying to recover from my illness. On the plus side this relieved me of my fear of flying since I was so worried about getting sick again. I was only a little bit dissapointed because I missed out on the open Bar and Dinner Boo! Coincidentally though, the young man sitting on the plane next to me was from Denmark and hd been an exchange student at U of T and was returning to visit his Canadian girlfriend! (So Sweet!)
Arriving at Pearson Airport there was a suprise waiting for me, my best Childhood friend Karen had come with her mom and was waiting with my mom to welcome me home. We then had Swiss Chalet, and all was right in the world!
Only one other notable thing happened on my way home. On both of my planes, luggage had to be offloaded, on the first one, because the passenger did not make it to the airplane and on the second one because someone had tried to get on with an invalid passport.
As always, Alls well that ends well!
Cheers!

The Club House

So I vowed that I would tell a few more nice stories on my blog before I called it quits with the blogging untill my next set of adventures. One of the experiences that I will hold most dear to my heart about my stay in the Netherlands was the experiences that I had with my volunteer position at The Club House. Every Wednesday elementary school Children would have a half day at school with the intention that the children should get to spend some quality time with their families. However, not all of the Children were so fortunate to have parents who could get the time off work for this to be possible so they would come to the club house from about 1 to 4. So I guess I should start from the beginning with how I found this volunteer opportunity, so here goes.

The Beginning
I had noticed that there was a Red Cross in the main shopping area of Rotterdam, and as my course load lightened I decided that it would be nice to volunteer with the red cross for the Christmas season. However, upon my arrival at their office I was politely informed that they really only needed people with a better understanding of Dutch than mine. So I asked if they new of anyone who would take me, so they directed me to a volunteer agency CVD. The VD was very enthusiastic to find me a position, and as soon as I mentioned that I had previous experience with Children, we were off to the races. The co-ordinator found the Club House in their system, and sent me off to meet it's co-ordinator Monique who enthusiastically welcomed me to her team of Social Workers and volunteers, and all it required was a hand shake and a promise that I would try to speak Dutch, none of the usual paperwork and police checks which are so standard in Canada were necessary.

The Club House
Given my previous experiences with the Dutch population, I was overwhelmed and surprised by the enthusiasm which greeted me on my first day. There were many volunteers and workers of different ages and backgrounds who I honestly must say were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Upon being introduced, the staff and volunteers at the clubhouse were constantly encouraging me to practice my Dutch and more than happy to help whenever I had a question.

The Children
In All I only got 3 opportunities to volunteer with the children, missing out on a 4th because of my early departure. The first day I was asked to help supervise the older group who were watching a movie that day. This gave me an excellent opportunity to meet some of the Children and better get to know the workers and other volunteers. The second day was the day that Sinter Klauss came to visit the younger children, that day was indeed a test on my ability to speak Duth, as all but 2 of the Children spoke no English. However, I really enjoyed this second day because of being exposed the the Dutch tradition of St. Nicholas' eve. My third day was really quite amusing. On this day I was put with the intermediate group who ranged from 6 to 9. My first job was to supervise the children in the change room before they were allowed to go into the gym. I had been warned that they found it fun to try to escape into the gym. Initially it was okay, however, one they realised that my comprehension of Dutch wasn't the greatest, one of the Children went out the door they came in and when I followed that Child 3 more of the Children escaped into the gym through the door I was blocking, but I managed to to heard them all back in to the change room, just in time to be rejoined by my colleagues. At this point I got to practice my Dutch with some of the children as we played games. My favorite moment of the afternoon was when one of the Children asked me in Dutch if I could speak French, so I replied in French that I could in fact speak French and asked if she could to. The girl then proceeded to look totally bewildered as her friend whispered in her ear that she thought that I was speaking French. The rest of the afternoon was spent having snack and making Kerstdagen (Christmas) Cards.

All in All
I am so greatful that I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Club House. Suprisingly, in the three short sessions it greatly improved my Dutch. I went from being unable to understand anything that was being said to me in Dutch to understand at least half of what was being said (if I was listening) and from knowing only single words, to be able to speaking in full sentences in a conversational setting. In addition it gave me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and it also showed me a very different way of interacting with and caring for Children. (The Dutch are surprisingly less militant than Canadians!)

Until Next Time!
Cheers

As requested

Sooo, one of the people who I randomly met in Rotterdam recently sent me a very angry msn message demanding to know why I hadn't written about him in my blog. so Ahmad, this one's for you. So an evening in early October, shortly after the housing incident which came to be known as Anonymous took place, my friend Joan and I were trying to find a legal aide office for advice about the housing incident which came to be known as Anonymous, and we weren't entirely sure where we were going so we stopped to ask a kindly young man for directions. Well this young man was Ahmad, who gave us very good directions and told us a little bit about himself, like the fact he's a Med Student at Erasmus. I never saw Ahmad again, but he'll live on forever on my msn list.

Keep reading, more planned updates coming soon, once stupid exam crap is worked out...

Return Home

Okay so I've been back on Canadian soil for 24 hours now and I'm really having quite a bit of mixed emotions. I should probably elaborate on why I left the Netherlands early, those who were in the Netherlands were aware that about a week ago Sunday one of my muggers followed me home on the tram. I was very worried about my safety at this time so I decided to go into the building across the road from mine to evade the mugger, who was not discrete about following me. At this point several of my family and friends at home indicated they thought that it was a good idea for me to return to Canada as they feared for my safety, however I was very determined to stay. With the support of Carleton and Erasmus Universities I stuck to this decision however I did decide that if I were to see the man who followed me home again, in the vicinity of my apartment building, that I would return back to Canada. Well on Friday night I was leaving my flat to visit someone else within the building when I noticed the mugger, or at least someone who appeared to be the mugger half way down the hall and he started walking towards me. I quickly went back inside and watched through my peep hole as the man came to my room, paused for a moment and then returned the way he came. I quickly called my friend and we searched the building to see if the mugger was still around but he had obviously gone. I did not phone the police as it was obvious from my previous interactions with them that they were not interested in helping me unless I was being physically attacked, although I did report the incident the next day, but as per my earlier decision, I decided that it was in my best interest to return home. So I spent the weekend packing, making arrangements and saying good bye to friends and returned back to Canada on Monday. I will add another post about my return home shortly. But what I would like to say now is that having had some time to reflect on it now, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to go on the Exchange in Rotterdam. Despite the challenges which I faced after being mugged and evicted, I am eternally greatful for the education which I recieved in the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to take courses which were not open to me at Carleton and that have really broadened my horizons. In addition I have made some wonderful new friends who I intend to remain in close contact with far into the future and to eventually visit. I am also delighted to have had the opportunity to experience a new culture and begin to learn a new language. Looking back, this has truly been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. More entries and pictures to follow...

Going Home on Monday

It is with a heavy heart that I report that I will be returning to Canada on Monday Dec. 11, 12 Days earlier than I intended as a result of further encounters with my muggers. My plane is BA 99 arriving at Pearson International Airport at 7:05 p.m. (19:05) I'm really so happy to have had the opportunity to make so many new friends here and learn so many new things. I'll miss that.