This year I've been making a list of American expressions that I've heard casually thrown into an otherwise Dutch conversation/TV show. I've heard/overheard all of these expressions used within a Dutch conversation at least twice in these past nine months: Wait a minute Welcome to the real world Drop and give me twenty Do [this] they said. It’ll be fun they said. Trust me I’m an engineer You go girl Kick some butt Bullshit "That is" the spirit What’s up? Karma’s a bitch In "de" middle of nowhere Worst case scenario Dream team "Voor" no reason It takes two to tango Just in case Take one for the team
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Val Thorens: Skiing in May
The last week of April and first week of May were school vacation weeks. From April 27th-May 6th I was on a skiing vacation with a group of friends from school. We traveled (by bus) with a local ski club. I was able to borrow everything except the skis and poles (which I rented for a cool 70 Euro). We traveled 14hrs to Val Thorens, the highest European skiing village. It's 2300 meters (7546ft) high in the French Alps, with the summit being 3420 meters (11,220ft) high. For this week Val Thorens was hosting a Dutch themed event, with Dutch music and food readily available around the mountain. Basically everybody skiing was Dutch, which I found really funny. Even though I was in France I was still surrounded by Dutch culture. The six of us stayed in a small apartment with 2 bedrooms and a pull out couch. It was the first time I had ever gone skiing for a whole week. Usually I just schlep up to Bristol Mountain, ski for less than a day, and come home. I thought that...
Monthly Report 9: April
April was filled with trips, and it began perfectly: with a visit from my parents. They arrived the afternoon of the last Friday of March, and left that Tuesday morning. Just like my sister coming to visit, it was a short trip. I have been so lucky with the availability of my family. When I left I thought that I might see my parents once, but since being here I've seen my mom twice, my dad, and my sister. I feel like it was a good time for my parents to come. A nice push through the last few months. The first day they were here we went grocery shopping and made dinner for my host family. I had only been with this family for about a week at the time, but it was great to see them enjoy each other. I know it makes my parents happy to see me in such a nice host family. The three of us spent Friday and Saturday night in an Air B'n'B here in Lelystad, rather than crowd my host family's house. On Saturday morning we drove to Giethoorn, which I knew they would like. We al...