Monthly Report 1: August 30th-31st

I arrived at 8am Wednesday morning, the 30th. My host family greeted me with a flag and we all had coffee together at a Starbucks before taking the drive from Amsterdam to Lelystad. I understood my first Dutch sentence, a whopping 5 words, ``Dit koffie is niet lekker”.  My family talks to me mostly in English, but I listen in when they speak Dutch and I am able to recognize some words, and very very basic sentences.

That first day we went to the grocery store that my host family owns, and stopped at a toy store to buy a gift for my host parents’ niece. I have two host siblings with this family and I am glad to find out that the extended family also lives near by. After the shopping I met with the long-term inbound coordinator, Barbara Tusveld, and her Canadian exchange student (Abbi). It was a good bolt of energy I think. That night I watched some Dutch TV with my host family and I was able to stay awake until 10:30 (10:30!). Jet lag wasn’t a problem at all.

I have my own room in the attic here, which is nice. I was able to find room for all of my things. My host family seems very nice for the few days I’ve been here, very accommodating and laid back. On friday my host sister Jasmine is taking me into Amsterdam, so maybe that will be in September’s report (I imagine September's will be much longer).

The second day my host brother showed me where the school is and around town. It was really nice to have a relaxed day meeting some relatives and settling in. In September I think I’ll be setting up a new phone, a card for discounted train tickets, and maybe even Kung-Fu!

A good first “month” I think, not much to report yet so we will see where September takes us! I really hope to be able to see as much of this country as possible, and hopefully some other countries too (though I won't be greedy).

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