"Sorry, I'm rude & don't speak Dutch."

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I'm blaming it on the jetlag, but it could quite possibly be just a side-effect of extreme laziness, but I didn't get out of bed today until 3:00 PM. YIKESSSSS! I'm fully aware that that was a total of 14 straight hours of sleep, & yet I could have continued to sleep if I didn't drag myself out of my nice little IKEA bed. Because my day was essentially wasted, I didn't do too much exciting this afternoon.

First, I went to try to find the law school. It's pretty close to where I am & semi-easy to find (despite my aimless wandering for about 10 minutes because I missed a turn the first time). The school itself is massive (& it has a tower which is pretty cool). It's way cooler than Advantica, that's for sure! (I haven't seen the new building yet, so I can't make any comparisons there). After that, I just walked around to see what kind of stores were around. There are a lot of cute clothing/shoe stores, but I'm trying to be conservative with my spending (shocking, I know) at least until I figure out how much I need to survive on a monthly basis in terms of food & life essentials (i.e. not shoes, clothes, & accessories).

I also had another grocery store experience today. I found the larger supermarket that's under a H&M. I remembered to buy a bag to put my stuff in this time, so that wasn't a problem. I definitely learned from my mistake from yesterday! I also found a pharmacy to get a hairdryer. However, to get them it was like an electronics department at Best Buy or something where you have to take a ticket up to the register & they bring the item out of the back to you. So I picked two tickets & took them to the register; however, they didn't have the dryer I wanted & the cashier attempted to tell me all of that in Dutch. I responded with a blank stare (& I probably had a single tear run down my face because I was so confused) & just said, "I'm sorry. I'm rude & don't speak Dutch. Could you say that again in English?" & she just laughed, said it was no big deal, & explained again. That was my first real run-in with not knowing the language in a conversational context. Luckily, she was so incredibly nice & didn't make too much out of it. (I'm sure that if this was France, that would have been a different story!)

I bought a hamburger from a street vendor who asked where I was from. When I told him the east coast of the US, he threw up a Westside symbol & goes, "Oh. I only know the WEST COAST!!!" I immediately cracked up. Probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen - it's so nice to know how the American reputation precedes us abroad.... hahahaha. He then said that he's never been to the US, but he has family that owns a trailer park in Toronto, Canada. He apparently thought that it was practically the same thing. What a character.

Also - note to self. Do NOT walk around with camera turned on in your pocket. I only managed to take 4 photos today before my battery died.

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Comments

[Ashley F.]

West sideeeeeee. LOL I misss youuuuu