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Published: February 4th 2009
Some things are universal
Dad wished the Super Bowl was that day.The next few days were spent getting more settled in and used to the fact I would actually be living here for the next six months. It's something I'm still not used to, even all these days later. It hits me randomly. I will be walking next to a canal, or go grocery shopping. The fact definitely hits me when it is raining, although at those moments I'm usually not celebrating my being here, haha.
The day after we arrived in Den Haag was for shopping. We wandered in and out of stores, just trying to get used to shopping in Den Haag. Again, knowing Dutch would have made things a lot easier. But at least in shops the object is right in front of you! Grocery stores showed I would not starve (or be lacking candy bars and peanut butter) while drugstores showed I wouldn't die of a headache either. I'll admit that before I came I was a bit paranoid, afraid that the Netherlands would not sell anything like what I had back home. I was
Enough Kaas?!
The Dutch like cheese...a lot. wrong, and actually a bit ridiculous.
The most exciting thing was the purchase of a cell phone. The cheapest one we could buy, it will be useful for talking to other students and calling around The Hague. It is so tiny! And it is definitely the baby of the cell phones: no flashy applications or neat design. But it will work, and that is what matters. I'm trying to apply that sort of philosophy with all that I am buying. It is only going to last six months; it doesn't have to match or be beautiful. Euros are tight!
My dad and I went to all sorts of different restaurants during this time as well. I was worried about Dutch food before I came here, and to be honest I still don't think I could handle
traditional Dutch food. The diversity here is so widespread though that there seems to be very few restaturants that offer that sort of Dutch food, although I have seen (and successfully avoided) them. We ate at several sandwich shops, a French cafe, Bagels and Beans (like Panera), an Italian restaurant, and an Indonesian restaurant. I've discovered some great dishes and
Look familiar?
I need to buy these at some point! some not so great ones. The variety amazes me. There are simply tons of places to go!
One thing my dad and I didn't accomplish was a lot of sight-seeing. The city was revealed to us as we rode trams around, trying to get used to that system. We saw little streets and unique shops. But I would have to say we weren't really
tourists . We just had so much to do so I could live here! We did manage to go to the Mauritshuis, an art museum full of Dutch masters. It was only one floor of this old house, but it was amazing. I will go there again.
The museum was a nice place to go that Thursday because it was
nasty outside. Rain, and it was coming down sideways. I don't know how the Dutch survive such weather (apparently it rains a lot) but I guess I'll learn!!
Next stop on Dad and Teale's grand adventure: Paris! Stay tuned...
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Allison
non-member comment
Amazing!
Hi Teale, it looks and such like such an amazing place. I love following your blog and hearing about all of your adventures...looking forward to hearing about Paris. Take care!