All right, so I had my informational meeting for the Netherlands today, and I'm insaaaanely excited now that I learned a bit more! I'm not even sure where to start, so I'm making a list. Lame, but I think it'll be funny to look back months from now and see all the things I thought were 'soooo cool' in comparison to the things that I'll actually experience!
Things I discovered that psych me up like whoa:
~"Toasties" better known as grilled cheese are one of the most commonly eaten foods! (To anyone who truly knows me, you'd understand this tidbit of news in itself is exciting beyond belief!)
~EurRail passes have gotten MUCH cheaper, and you can pick which countries that you specifically want to go to visit as a 2/3/4/5 country pass..for even cheaper! Paris...here I come!
~It doesn't even get dark until nearly 11:00 pm over there...the night will always seem young!
~We only have class from 9 am- 3pm Monday-Thursday...the weekend is left for travelling....yesss!
~Amsterdam is only an hour from our hotel, and it sounds like the 4 other girls in the program and I are going to get there early and go craaazy our first night before the real deal starts 2 days later! : P
~Penn State is going to rent us bikes to have while we're there....we'll be biking 3-4 miles to class everyday and it's perfectly flat. So fun!
~Our hotel has free breakfast and wireless internet!
~"Classes" include basically all guest lecturers with topics such as drug trafficking, prostitution, sexual orientation, euthanasia etc etc as WELL as numerous field trips all across Holland to detention centers, juvenile delinquency centers, Nazi concentration camps, courts, Redlight District, etc etc!
~People are extremely tall in the Netherlands! I found out online that the average height is approx. 6'1" and my professor informed me that everyone will think I'm Dutch because of how tall I am. Apparently his wife, (who's around 5'10") is constantly being asked by tourists how to get somewhere. Haha, they'll figure out pretty quick how clueless I am.
~People are wonderfully friendly and nice! That'll be a pleasant change, ha!
~Even if I choose to stick in the Netherlands on the weekends, there's an awesome beach along the North Sea, an AMAZING casino, (where i can bust out those 3 card and blackjack skills), a famous amusement park, Anne Frank's house, Van Gogh's house, Rembrandt and sex museum...all within reach! PLUS we are hopefully getting special travel cards that gives us 40% discounts on all railways throughout the netherlands...woo!
~To them, Heinekin is like our Miller or Natty lite. it's no big deal and cheaper than soda in most cases. Claaaasssy!
~The two faculty members leading the trip are incredibly cool and amazingly nice. They'll be wonderful to have in charge! : )
There was so much more....including hilarious stories from kids who have gone in the past, but I just had to share my new info! Granted, grilled cheeses pale in comparison to the knowledge, history and beautiful scenery I will encounter, but all the little things add up! Can't wait!!
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