Fijne verjaardag!

Well even if I thought it wasn't possible, my weeks here in Amsterdam seem to keep getting busier and busier.

There definitely doesn't seem to be enough time in a day as I am trying to adapt to returning to school and having hundreds of pages to read in just days. I find it rather interesting in my program as it really is multi-disciplinary. Some students are from law backgrounds and some from political science backgrounds. We are really training are minds to think in a different way and to see conflicts or case studies in a different paradigm.

This past week I met with my host Rotary counsellor here in Amsterdam and he provided me with some resources and contacts to involve myself in the Rotary world. This is another learning curve as Rotary is different all over the world and seeing how all the different clubs and districts works is really interesting. This coming weekend I will have the chance to meet with other Ambassadorial Scholars, in a town called Amersfoort.

My dutch language course is also going well and my fellow students and I are learning how to introduce ourselves and others. The new phrase of the week is Fijne verjaardag! or Happy Birthday! I celebrated my 24th Birthday yesterday and I enjoyed celebrating it in a new city surrounded by new friends (even if I do miss all my family and friends from back home, thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone :)

Saturday night was the big party as around 30 people came over to my residence building with all different sorts of international food. We had Chinese dumplings, bean dip, potato fritters, curry...and I made some Tiramisu for dessert. It was a great evening with people from all over the world and it really brings into perspective the large international community in Amsterdam, though there were a couple of Dutch friends as well.

Saturday I also visited the Zaanse Schans, which is an area just outside Amsterdam with lots of Windmills. I am sure you will find some of the pictures really interesting. The dutch are quite resourceful and this is not more evident than when looking at the concept of the windmill. It was another gorgeous weekend and even though it rained a little bit on the morning of my birthday, anytime I was outside I managed to stay dry. I am still on the hunt for a nice pair of rain boots and I am starting to get the impression that the Dutch don't wear them much. Instead they have the dutch clogs :)

Well I will leave it at that for now. I am going to go finish my dutch homework, a short story about myself.

All the best :)

Laura