*Insert Great Blog Title Here*

Soo.. The last few days have been REAALLLYYY tough… I’m just super stressed about this exam thing. It’s pretty crazy guys!! Some pretty intense stuff, I mean.. WOW.. I thought my MBA entrance exam was hard! *whew*!! Good thing I am one smart COOKIE!!! *WOOHOOO*
Well other than that I found out I won’t have to take another class during the second half of this semester! AWESOME!

*NEWS FLASH* OMG This is the best coffee I’ve had in a long time! GGGgggggooooooOOOOO Coffee Mate!*

Yeah so back to the story… Instead of having 3 classes now I’ll only have 2. EMU said that will be full time classes for me! So that freakin rocks! I’m planning a trip to England and Scotland with my gf Traesa. We’ll see what happens, not sure yet but I will def let ya’ll know! It will be in about 2.5 weeks.

I’ve been thinking about writing this in my blog for a while—Wanted to tell you that Holland is DOG HEAVEN! People can pretty much bring their dogs anywhere – anywhere outside, in any stores, in bars, and even on buses. It’s rare to see a dog on a leash even… The only bad thing is that they crap everywhere!! And the owners don’t pick it up! So if you come and see me make sure to watch your step. This is also true in France. I will let you know about the rest of Europe later.
Also- I got a new bike! Its one of those big b
ikes so I feel like I fit right in! But I only got a chance to ride it once and THE TIRE IS FLAT! So yeah, tomorrow I will go shopping in the city for a bit with Matthias, and we’re going to try to get my old bike there for some mula, as well I will take this one back and try to get a new tire or some crap.. :p I kinda want new handle bars too but we’ll see what happens.
Mk well yesterday
I was a bit slow and didn’t study much. So today I will make up for it and study a bit harder. I’m suppose to make tacos tonight, but I dunno if I will..
Sorry I’m lame people but after Monday I will FEEL GREAT!

*kiss kiss*

J*MonEy

Disko Disko Partizani!!!!

Today I stayed home to study.. although I was highly contemplating a trip to the Vismarkt.. I need to get a new bike! And I wanted to do some shopping. Seeing as how I will be in the city tomorrow.. today I decided to forgo the opportunity cost of traveling there and stayed home to do some reading. Actually, I am experiencing guilt and having a difficult time in justifying this blog entry.. Every time I look up I see a BIG HUGE DARK EXAM cloud hovering over me. : /

On a lighter note… Sunday night was quite exciting! I saw a REAL GYPSY BAND! No joke.. it was great! Here is the music video of one of their most popular songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gViaOYgV8yI

What made the concert so FREAKIN awesome… !!!! ..was that it was a last minute, spur of the moment, spontaneous kind of thing.. we didn’t know the band, weren’t planning on going out.. we just decided to go! So Matthias and I hopped in the car and headed into town to a small local theatre. It was the bday of a German girl I had met at a party a couple weeks back. So we met up with her and in the meantime met some other interesting people. The music was so eclectic with many Eastern European influences. IT WAS SOOOO COOL. The theatre was small so it was comfortable and we had a GREAT view. The band was very entertaining and really got the crowd involved. I recorded some video but it sounds like crap so I’m not going to upload it : o(

But here is another link … so you can see what I mean by gypsy music, as well as kinda get a feeling for how the concert was. I didn’t take this video but it’s live and similar to what we experienced!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoI0rO1ujfk

Ok sooo anyway—last night I went to a SIB meeting where I was officially inaugurated!!! WOOHOO!! Even got a nice little official certificate in DUTCH! I like SIB because I’m getting to know some really cool local Dutch people. It seems like every other part of my existence here has been a bit segregated. I often find myself mixed up with other international/exchange students and not meeting any true locals.
MY BIKE- is a piece! Like I said, it was stuck in 3rd gear.. and being a mountain bike alone made traveling difficult. All these Dutch people on their big ass grandma bikes in 1st gear are always zipping past me while I’m out of breath feeling like I’m biking up a steep hill. So other than that, the chain finally fell off and we can’t seem to fix it. –good reason for me to get a new bike!

And uh--- still haven’t uploaded that video of the club we were at ! SORRY! But I need to get back to studying~!!

Auf Wiedersehen!

COokiEzzzzzz

Corporate Social Responsibility

At the library reading some mildly interesting articles.. For a change. Went to the vismarkt and bought some gooooodies YUUM. Hoping I will find a bus that runs late enough to get me home.... Otherwise it will be a looong lonnneeellyy and COLD walk :/ My bike is completely trashed and no longer opperative no thanks to the events of thursday night. Hope temptation wont get the best of me later this evening. *kiss kiss* Jaypoo

Imaginary Craaaazaaayyynessss

Hay blog fans! Today was such a lazy day! I went out last night to a REALLY cool club. It was insane! (see video below). Its called the palace and I went with some good friends. I can home really battered and bruised, literally. I have a really bad cut on my finger and bad bruises on my hand and hip (don’t ask). So today I felt like crap and just lay around. Actually my neighbor Matthias finally got his TV fixed! So we got to watch TV today!! WOOHOO!! They actually play a lot of American tv shows like Myth Busters, Family Guy, South Park, the Simpsons, and ANIMAL PLANET!! YEESSSS it felt good to watch tv :)

We also made hamburgers and Mac n Cheeeeeesseee!! OMG it was yummy! So today was very comforting and I felt like I was back in America. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m here. And I think to myself how lucky I am to have made the decision to come. Its really amazing and I’m glad that I’m staying until summer. If I knew that I was coming home in December like some of my other friends… I would have a different feeling about the whole thing. It was have been like an extended vacation.

MANY of my friends will be leaving soon.. It will be really hard when that time comes. I’m not looking forward to it… But I guess that’s life eh? I will make new friends: o) Exams are November the 2nd. I have 2 in one day which is really rare. You have to register for exams separate from classes and they me be on a different day than your classes are. One of my exams is in the middle of my class. So on the 2nd I will be taking exams for like 8 hours or something horrible UUUGGGHHH!! Send me some smart vibes on that day please! :D

I will try to come back tomorrow and upload the video. At night everyone is online and so the internet is really slow.

By the way~~ My bday was amazing. I got many gifts and felt very spoiled. I indulged myself with ramen noodles and mac n cheese and it felt awesome. Matthias carved me a pumpkin and it reminded me of home a bit :pp Thank you family for the awesome gift and cards. I even got a couple of gifts from some good friends here~ chocolate, flowers, and nice body wash. I had a VERY good bday. Afterwards I went to a party at Winsho and we went out to the Pacific and of course everyone was buying me drinks.

Come back soon for the vid!

Ciao~~

Bday Girl

OK OK I’ll write in my blog :D hehe…

Been missing America a bit… I’m so sick of riding my bike!!! hehe.. sometimes I really just wanna jump in my car and drive to the store… or drive to the mall.. or to my friends or ANYWHERE.. and then I’m like oh wait… I don’t have a car!! Jjjeezzeee..

In about a day I will celebrate the coming of my 26th year of life (HOLY CRAP).. I know I’ve been saying I’m getting really old for a few years now, but now I really am.. it’s so sad :/ people actually AGREE with me now!!! Instead of telling me I’m still very young.. they say ‘oooh 25? Wow, yeah you are getting old’.. really I’m not joking.

Aaahhhhh.. I’m old.. ¼ of a century… like.. a third of my life! AAAHHH omg.. how weird.

On my bday I have many presents to open : ) yay! Matthias is spoiling me with presents and a special bday dinner as well.. I am looking forward to it. Then I have a SIB meeting with a lecture.. and after that some friends at winsho will have some drinks with me. So it will be a nice day.

Last night I had a wonderful time with some friends from winsho.. I dunno why but I know a lot of people that live there and I like them all a lot : )

I was with a girl from England, guy from Germany, and France.. and a girl from Hungary. They were all very sweet and we had a wonderful time. We had some fancy cocktails.. I even tried a spicy chocolate martini (oouuuu) .. Then we went to a kind of Dutchy bar.. and then Enzo for some crazy dancing..

By the end of the night I was stumbling home with Matthias.. heh.. somehow, even if I’m really hammered.. I ride my bike like a CHAMP! But then, when I get off I can barely manage to stand… how that works I have no idea… but it’s really a great thing!
Other than that I have been busy with studying. I was working on a report last week and was really stressed out. I’m glad I got it over with, however now I have even more studying to do.

I have exams in a couple of weeks and I really need to hit the books. So this coming week, and next I will study very intensely. Not looking forward to it, but I do like learning German : ) When I can say something really great I will let you know.

I went out and took some pictures around the city the other day. I found some new stores close to my house. I realized recently that the layout of the city here is very different from home. At home there are lots of houses and shopping malls in spread out rather far. Here, there are lots of tall buildings and apartment complexes with lots of little stores spread throughout the neighborhood. There is a nice little café at the end of my street which serves delicious french fries.. YUUMM with mayonnaise.. even better!

Its really pretty just biking around and seeing some new areas of town. I also found a nice ‘thinking spot’ on a pretty bridge in a quiet place. I went to see my friend Patrick yesterday and met his friend from England/Holland. Patrick lives in an area of town where there are actually HOUSES!!! It seems like all I see lately are apartment buildings or town houses aka big buildings with many residences.

Sooo now I just got finished with a long German lesson and my brain is feeling a bit fried. My bday is in 7 minutes lol! NNNOOOOOOOO!!!! I want to stay 24 forever!

Comments? ! Patrick n Studies

Patrick ~ You are amazing! After reading your post.. I realized I should have definitely given more props to you! What was I thinking!?

I was just consumed with making my video I think.. and telling everyone how awesome Marseille was :p

Patrick took amazing care of me. He is a true friend and SUCH A SWEETHEART! Really a good friend I feel that I will have for life.. as well I feel like he would take care of any of my friends and/or family!

I hope we make many more travel plans and I know I will have a good time with him whatever we do, wherever we are! He is extremely positive, caring, and all around FUN! Patrick~ Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I dont think I could have dreamed a better trip!! It was all worth it! And even though we had bumps.. in the end.. it made the trip so much better! PARIS BABE, YEAH!

Studies~ I'm really hoping that one of my classes will transfer to EMU.. after I've had problems registering.. my EMU professors are expressing some potential problems with one of the classes I chose last minute.

I am working on a big paper for that class and it will consume the next few days.. I don't have a lot of time to go out, but perhaps will sneak in a few drinks tomorrow evening as there are LOTS of parties going on and things to do!!

I don't think I will be going to Germany next weekend :( boohoo! Buuuut.. I really want to plan a trip there soon and think I will have an opportunity to travel there with a German guy.

I am going to have a big party for my bday tho; either way :p

Comments~ Hello!? Has anyone (besides Patrick) read my last blog post!? What about the video. Its too sweet for you people not to leave me some comments! I know you want more so.. tell me what you think! I need motivation!

Personally, Patrick I agree with you. IT IS AWESOME!! MUAHAH!~~

Je Ne Parle Pas Francais *VIDEO*

So… where did I leave off??

MMmmkkk. Patrick bought us the train tickets, I think there were about 3 or 4 different trains we had to take. We stopped in Brussels for sure, and Paris as well. As I said previously, we arrived in Paris late, it was somewhere around 10PM. We stopped and ate some Chinese (Patrick was apparently craving it), and then hopped on a TRAM to the Eiffel tower.

I bought some souvenirs, had a crepe (mmmm) and took some pictures. It was very beautiful, yet I suppose a bit cliché, or perhaps commercialized, or maybe.. yknow what I mean. It was pretty but .. not as pretty as Marseille.. Marseille was literally breath-taking.

Ok I will come back to that in a moment. In Paris we --walked on the Avenue des champs Elysees (famous shopping street known for expensive designer shops), strolled along next to the Louvre, saw cars buzzing around the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, and stopped for a beer or two. Actually at one bar we went to, we ordered 2 beers. The waiter came back and set them down with the bill, 23.50 EUROS!!! OMG!! For 2 fricken beers?!! WOW! Yeah that’s like 34 US dollars!! LMAO.. its great..

So basically we just walked around all night and never slept. I was pretty tired by morning… so we went to the train station and began the next part of our journey to Marseille. I was able to catch maybe an hour or so of sleep.. The train ride was really beautiful from what my droopy eyes could make out.

Marseille--

It gave me chills; one of the best parts was standing on the Notre Dame de la Garde. It’s a beautiful church which overlooks the city. The view was amazing and I really must say my camera could not capture its essence. The warm French sun, sparkling water, Mediterranean breeze, sound of various languages all around.. all while surrounded by amazing architecture and buildings dating back to 600BC!!!
Not only the view and surroundings were interesting, so were the people as well.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to engage in conversation with every person I met. In France not everyone can speak English. Apparently they are known for that. From what I gather they are very proud of their culture and not interested in speaking English fluently, nor catering to those who can only speak English. As opposed to being in the Netherlands.

However, I did enjoy some conversation with Patrick’s friend Ali. When I first met him I was surprised at how hard it was to understand him, because he didn’t know much English (by the end of my trip.. in only a couple of days.. it seemed that he had greatly improved, but maybe it was just me). It was slow and painstaking, he asked his brother to translate words often… But he was very passionate and interesting.. he is an actor and really into the theatre scene. He enjoyed talking about different cultures and asked me a lot of questions about being American, what I thought of Europe and really had some unique ideas and things to share. I’m so glad that I met him and he really made my trip so much more interesting…

It was priceless to have the opportunity to talk to an interesting and intelligent person who wanted to exchange information about culture, and even had a passion for it. Marseille is actually a really big melting pot, with many immigrants from Italy, Spain, Morocco, Vietnam and Cambodia among others. Still though, everyone spoke French and very little English at all. It was difficult to communicate but I was speaking a bit of French by the end of my trip. Mostly just Bonjour, and Merci. Hehe.. But I did learn the line ‘je ne parle pas francais’ as well :p

Ali and Sliman are brothers, as well as gracious hosts and good friends. I think they were excited to show us around their city, and really wanted to ensure we saw the best parts. They took us to a delicious café and I got a really yummy salad as well as tried some awesome Crème Brule. Sliman showed us the ‘monkey face’ a rock formation which, at night, REALLY DOES look like a monkey face!! It was cool..

Patrick and I had plans to go to Château d'If, but when we arrived to the boat they informed us there are no boats going there on Mondays, go figure. So instead we went to the island of Frioul. We had mussels and FRENCH fries (REAL ones) at a small restaurant on the island and watched the sparkling water, I felt so relaxed.

Then we walked to the beach and drank wine and talked about various cultures and places. We waded in the water…. and collected some rocks.. Are you still with me? Sounds amazing, right? Don’t be jealous.. come see me! We can go back! Pretty soon I’ll be a pro at traveling.. I mean.. I traveled all the way back from Marseille, France to Groningen, Holland-- BY MYSELF! How awesome.. wow.. I’m still in shock and can hardly believe it myself.


Patrick was trying to get on the plane and actually somehow made it through security after initially being denied. But when we got to the gate, they stopped him and I had to go on alone. I was a bit scared, but remembered how we traveled there so knew I would find my way back.. well I hoped anyway.. (hehe)

It was great, I loved it. I feel so alive and .. I dunno if I’ll ever want this to end! Right now, I’m thinking of perhaps applying for an internship after I graduate. I’ve been considering Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, or Germany (If I can speak it well enough by that time). I suppose this is a bit far in advance though, so I will play it by ear and see what happens.

Ok well believe it or not, I could have written like.. 10 more pages about my trip, but at least I highlighted the most amazing parts. I have a paper to write over the week ahead and a German lesson in a bit.. I should really hit the books my blog-loving friends..

Next week there is a small chance I will be in Hannover, Germany for my bday with my friend Matthias. I’m not sure yet and will let you all know as soon as we decide. If not, I hope to have a bday party at Winschoterdiep – the international student house. I have some good friends there and know it will be great either way.

Till the next adventure

~NetherJen~

P.S. I was going to up load a video with this post. Unfortunately its taking a long time to upload. But its REALLY SWEET!! Seriously you will LOVE IT!! So make sure you come back tomorrow to check it out!
Ciao~

HERE YOU GO!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Pe00Tx9vk

Don't Dish it if You Can't Take it

SOOO!!! Yes I'm alive! I'm safe! I'm 'HOME'...!!!

FRANCE WAS INSANELY AMAZING!!! I loved it! It was indescribable.. it was... outrageous... it ..it was.. it it... it.. it wassss..... SOOOAAAPPP PPPPOISSONING!!

jk :p

I have really so much to tell.. And I would love to sit down and poor my heart into my little blog here.., but I'm so very tired and have class in the morning as well a bit of studying to do before..

For now I will tell you a couple of amazing things--

We arrived in Paris Saturday night probably around 10pm and walked the streets until.. 10am.. we saw the Eiffel Tower,,.. while it was sparkling : o)

Marseille was absolutely gorgeous, more gorgeous than Malibu Cali FOR SURE! The people there are VERY diverse.. the city was founded in 600 BC.. OMG!!!

I have many great pictures and perhaps a couple of videos to share, which I will upload tomorrow and write out a story for you all to enjoy.

~Welcome to my blog Jenny C.!~

Thanks for the nice blog comment and I'm glad you enjoyed reading. I think you should for sure come and visit me here! You would love it and perhaps we can do some traveling together, we can go somewhere you haven't been yet.. not sure where that is but :p

I hope everything is going well for you back in MI, and I also hope your students are not too obnoxious this semester.. hehe..
~~~~

Everyone else, be patient and check back tomorrow night, or should I say afternoon for you guys.. I'm sure you will enjoy my next post.


Gnite ~ Jen

next stop Paris

this is me on the train right now.

so, get this... Patrick and i finally make it to eindhoven airport in holland... We make it to the gate and he mentions that he doesnt have his passport??!! Im thinking... What the hell, right.. But he must know what hes doing cuz he travels a lot... No. They wont let him board the plane! So he says just get on the plane and i will calll my friend he will come get u.

Omg ??!! Flying to marsielle france; in europe; by myself and some GUY i dunno is picking me up!? I was freakin out and had to make a decision quick cuz the plane was leaving!!

I was like no fuckin way! Lets go... So were thinking about what were guna do::: travel 3 hrs back home to TRY to find his passport, then back to the airport to catch a flight tomorrow and pay 160 extra euros?? Or go back to the train station and go that way to avoid a passport check..??

We get back to the train station and i think patrick payed something like 500 euros on train tickets. Now we will arrive in marseille at 8am tomorrow after a few train changes, but the best part is we have a stop in Paris!! Sooooo... Im okay with it!

I really am glad were still on our way there because i didnt want to go all the way back home.

Tuesday i will fly back by myself and have to catch a couple trains and buses to get back home. So im a bit nervous, but not too much... Its all a so exciting!!! A REAL adventure!!

I think its pretty cool that i can blog from my phone! I will try to blog again but am unsure of the additional charrges for being outside holland.

Ciao,

We We!

~Sorry I was supposed to post this last night but ended up in a hurry~

SOOOooo!!... Everything isn’t so new anymore : o) I’m still having a great time but I’m really settling in now and perhaps I’m not as enthusiastic. I’m kind of molding in with the Europeans and.. I’m just getting used to everything here. No cool stories about how small the stairs are.. or how many bikes there are.. But I still have some cool stuff to share.. like pictures and things I’m doing so here it goes---

The last week has been a bit stressful. I had a presentation to give and a paper to write as well. So of course being me, I procrastinated until the last minute. Here was my schedule for a five day period:

Saturday: Party my ass off again until 6am. Go to bed and wake up at.. mm.. 11am.
Sunday: Lay around and screw off all day, go to bed at 8PM cuz I’m so pooped.
Monday: Wake up at 6AM to read stuff, study until 6AM!! (first all-nighter)
Tuesday: Wake up at 12PM, light studying.. sleep at 12AM.
Wednesday: Wake up at 6AM, prepare for my presentation, sleep at 1am.

As you can see my sleep schedule has been a bit varied. I was stressed out for my presentation. I hadn’t given one in more than a year, so I felt a bit rusty. As well, I believe the European education system is more advanced than the American. It seems that the students here are very sharp.. and let me see.. I WENT TO BAKER COLLEGE PEOPLE!!! COME ON!! (LOL!!!)

Any who, so as well .. I was partnered up with an EXTREMELY COCKY AND ARROGANT Dutch guy.. Peter Slooff (SLOFE) JEEZE he was something else. He was very sharp tho- I gave him some crap about being a dick to me, and so he settled down.. we had a nice dinner (it was delicious) and he told me some things about crazy parties at his Fraternity, what the people were like in France, and India, and that Dutch people are very nice.. hmm… He turned out to be a pretty cool guy : o)

I’ve been hanging out a lot at home.. Matthias (neighbor) and I spend a lot of time together.. giving each other German/English lessons.. partying.. cooking food, and talking.. Right now he is on his way to Munich to go to Oktoberfest : o( I’m sad I’m not going but.. I might go with him to Germany in a couple weeks! It will be my bday!

I’ve also been spending time with Patrick, he is so sweet! He doesn’t have a good bike (neither do i) and so he rides me around on mine a lot.. which is VERY difficult because my bike is stuck in 3rd gear.. I really could go on and on about that.. but maybe another time hehe

So guess what I have some amazing news!!! I’m going to the SOUTH OF FRANCE!!!!WOOHOOO!!! I know, ITS FABULOUS!! MUAHAHA!!! Marseille here I come!!

I leave in 2 days with Patrick! He has a friend there who can show us around! I’m so excited!!! I hear there are some beautiful shops and food- both with African influences. So I will be seeing some amazing things, I cant wait. I will arrive back home on Tuesday just in time for my class 8*)

Today was the first day I smelt FALL. It was incredible and I just kept sniffing the air… I miss fall,, I miss cider and donuts.. I miss Halloween stuff.. I miss pumpkins I miss leaves.. and… I miss it all! No Halloween here, boo : ( (pun intended)

Later I think I will be going out. I’m going to Winsho (Winschoterdiep) It’s a student house, where I know a bunch of fellow international students. My good friends Jamal (Belgium) and Adam (Eastern Michigan U) Will be there and I think I’ll hit them up. Then I will have to wake up semi-early and work on a paper I have to turn in before I leave for France. I’m taking a plane, its called Ryan air and its really cheap flights all over Europe.

I have another cell phone that’s really pimp. Now I can use my crappy one to call home, my Dutch one to call friends here, and my blackberry to keep info and as an alarm. Hehe..
Almost forgot – the Presentation went well and I got an 8.5 which is an A. : o) The teacher said it’s the best grade he gives. Also the teacher asked me if I was Dutch, lol.. he said some girls really work on their American accents.. I was like uhh.. no I’m from Michigan BIATCH!

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call-- I think about calling a lot but then I realize the time difference and that most of you are at work etc., then I plan to call later and usually forget—I hope all of you enjoy your cards and gifts--- If you haven’t got one, expect something soon—can’t tell you where it will be from, Germany, France, Holland..?? WHO KNOWS :p

Also I wanna give props to My Amazing Aunt J, and My mom.. Thanks for the letter mom and AUNT J—Thanks for the Ranch! : ) She sent me a package full of ranch packets which was SAWEEEET!

To Everyone: For my bday I would like a taco bell kit..

I don’t think I will be coming home for Christmas, I’m going to try to get people together for a trip to go somewhere : o)

Ok I have to get ready now—So I don’t have time to upload photos.. perhaps next time
Till then-

Ciao Bellas

-Cookie