Canal Life

Hello There Internet. Sorry for the lack of posts this week. It's been pretty busy, in the sense that I actually have to go to work all day like a grown up. Boo. (Except yay because I actually like my job and my fantastic coworkers).

Anyway, this week has been pretty good, if busy. Besides work, I participated in a bar trivia night with my coworkers. Except everyone here calls it a "Pub Quiz." Seriously, if you say trivia no one knows what you are talking about. But then again, I wouldn't have had any idea what a pub quiz was a few weeks ago....SO while our team didn't win, we also didn't come in last. Which is a victory for any team that I'm a part of. We also had the best team name, Which is what REALLY matters.


Since I'm pretty sure that you all don't just read this because you want to hear about my week (except maybe my mom)......

Canals! There are a lot here!

Actually, there are fewer canals in the Hague than in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has over 60 miles of canals! Canals in the Netherlands have been used for transportation, defense, and also for effective water distribution. 

Also- did I mention that canals are pretty necessary because a significant amount of the Netherlands is below or at sea level? Between one fourth and one third of the country is below sea level. The Amsterdam Schipol Airport (where I landed) is 11 feet below sea level. Lost city of Atlantis much?

 

As you can see, the canal life here is pretty sweet. 

Dutch Digs

Goedemorgen (Good Morning) Internet!

Actually it's afternoon here, but I can actually see a breakdown of my readers when I update (science am I right?) and most of you are in the U.S. 'MURICA! Also, I anticipate that most people are reading this are a)related to me b)Facebook friends of mine trying to waste time on the Internet c) people whose cats sat on their computer and accidentally clicked on this and now the cat won't move so you can't get away. That last one only applies if the plan I've been orchestrating with the cats of the world has started to pan out.

Anyway, for those of you who are not related to me (Hi Andy and Kate) my family is ridiculously close. Most of us live in the same town, or at least the same timezone. Except me. I went rouge and am now hanging out here in the future. But, considering our sitcom-like family closeness, I promised several family members that I would post pictures of where I am living here in the Netherlands. Because nobody escapes The Family. 

 So as promised, here are some pictures of my room. It's WAY more spacious than my room in NYC. It also has a sink, which is more useful than you would think. Sometimes you want to dance around your room while brushing your teeth and those extra three steps to and from the bathroom really ruin the mood.

 This is my desk, yet another thing I have here that I don't have in NYC. Yaay desks! Don't worry- I do pretty much no serious work there. I just like having it. I also have a very nice window.

And here's the view from my window....just kidding, I don't live in the middle of a canal. (Someday)

This is the actual view. As you can see, I live across from a state-of-the-art basketballing facility so call me if you wanna shoot some hoops.  

My room is part of a lovely house that I share with three awesome roommates from Belgium, China, and Norway. We go on bike outings together occasionally and have "family time"- eating dinner or drinking wine together. Mostly the wine. Like a normal family

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We have a nice kitchen, dining area, and living room. There is also a garden/ patio but I don't go there because that's where the spiders are. Like BIG spiders. Not that it matters. I am equally opposed to all spiders.

Anyway, this concludes our virtual tour. Please return your headsets to the attendant at the door and get out of my house. 

Prinsjesdag (Prince's Day)

Goede Dag (Good Day) Internet!

So today The Hague celebrated a federal holiday called Prinsjesdag- which translates to Prince's Day. Unfortunately it is not the day that they give out Disney Princes to everyone (believe me I would have skipped work for that). It in fact doesn't have much to do with princes at all. The holiday celebrates the annual opening of Parliament. Which, I guess is kind of weird for Parliament. It's like a giant first day of work party for them, only they're not invited because they have to go to work. But it's probably cool with them because they work in this place.  

You'd be a little more excited to go to work if your work had a sweet fountain. 

So on Prince's Day the King (or Queen depending on who is the monarch. Women can inherit the throne in the Netherlands because apparently they got the memo that it's the 21st Century) addresses Parliament. The current monarch is King Willem-Alexander, who inherited the throne last year when his mother Queen Beatrix stepped down. Most likely so she could fight crime as a superhero.  

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The fun part about the King going to Parliament (besides the speech- because political and economic goals am I right?) is that to get to Parliament he rides in the Golden Coach (Gouden Koets). And there's a parade. Which means so school! Unfortunately I stupidly became an adult at some point so I  had to work. No parade for me. Which means no pictures of the parade for you. But trust me, it happened.

Here is another picture of that cool fountain to make up for it.

And one more.

Views from the Hague

So I've spent the past couple of days adjusting to the time difference and walking around this lovely city. In Dutch, the Hague is called "Den Haag." It officially became a city in 1806 and it is currently the third largest city in the Netherlands. Den Haag has about half a million inhabitants and hosts numerous international tribunals. (for more info check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hague or http://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/introducing-the-hague/history-of-The-Hague.htm)


















I find the city itself to be very charming. It reminds me a lot of Boston, in that it's small with kind of a quaint old-world feel in places. It's small enough to walk most places, and definitely bike friendly enough to bike most places.










There's plenty of street parking








And other ways to get around!

Also some interesting shopping.




All and all I think I'm going to like it here.

Exciting Travel Times 2: The Travelening/Electric Bugaloo

For all of you reading this in real time- yes I have made it to the Hague and my sweet new digs. But more about that later. Because chronological order.

PILOT-TO DUBLIN PLEASE!

So my flight to Dublin was pretty uneventful- EXCEPT FOR THE COOL/AWESOME THING THAT HAPPENED. An by that I mean I got to spend most of the flight listening to a mixed tape/going away present from my friends. Remember those tunes the cat put on my computer with a little help from Andy? They were an awesome compilation of songs made into a 90's style mixed tape-complete with personal recorded messages from my friends on each track. Orchestrated by the lovely Val Bell. It was a great way to start off my journey-more than just for the fact that it reminded me of some pretty great people. It also reminded me of why I'm making this journey.

Here-'s the thing about law school -*SPOILER ALERT*- it's impossible to get through three years there without getting jaded at one point or another. At some point, you'll look around, realize you're working harder than you ever have, and you'll still feel like it's not good enough. It's not because of any particular person or thing- it's just an environmental hazard of being in a place full of people who liked getting gold stars on our kindergarten finger paintings a little TOO much. Anyway, lately, despite having this amazing opportunity, I've been pretty jaded too. And every track and every word you guys chose for me helped remind me why I'm doing this in the first place. (To get sweet mixed tapes from my friends.) So, as the Dutch say (but no one has said to me yet so I can't confirm)- dank u wel. And YES, I did cry/ laugh out loud a little while sitting on a plane next to a total stranger. He seemed cool with it. He also helped me glare at the couple in front of us for putting their seats back more than a socially acceptable amount. Cheers 15J!

DUBLIN AIRPORT: ONE GUINNESS PLEASE!

So after my lovely nostalgic flight I got to hang out in the Dublin airport for a few hours.

 I checked out the different snacks/candy.






I found something to remind me of someone I miss terribly. (Though I did not find a "Colleen" Coke bottle. Come on Coca Cola Co., not even in Ireland?!)

    

And yes- I did have a Guinness, and yes it was BEFORE noon. So everyone who was worried that I'm not cultured can relax. Here is a picture to prove it.











FLIGHT TO AMSTERDAM: SHEEP!

It was a very short flight. The highlight was when I looked out the window flying over the Netherlands, saw little white blobs and thought: Those are sheep!!

AMSTERDAM AIRPORT/TRAIN TO THE HAGUE

The highlight for everyone else was how funny it was to watch me try to move two suitcases with four months worth of clothes, etc. in them. And also watching me literally lean on them on the train the keep them from falling over. Free advice- if you ever have to pack for four months and travel by yourself, don't. Material possessions are silly anyway.

The highlight for me was passing sheep while on the train and thinking: I saw you from the plane!! I was badly in need of sleep at this point. Luckily I found my landlady and landlord (well they found me) after only some mild panic on my part. They are a super sweet Irish couple who were nice enough to drive me to my new digs and only tease me a little about how much stuff I had. But come on- a girl's gotta have sweaters. Anyway- I finally made it to my new abode without crying, getting kidnapped, or SERIOUSLY embarrassing myself. All and all a win for me.

Exciting Travel Times

Well I have successfully made it to the airport and I am now waiting for my flight to take off. I got to the airport all by myself and everything. And by that I mean my boyfriend (hi Andy!) helped me and carried the big bag. After about 20 minutes of trying to lighten my luggage right next to the ticket counter, I decided that not bringing my winter coat or rain boots to a country that is known for being both chilly and a little bit underwater was not a good trade off for avoiding the overage fee. I'd like to exist in Europe much the way I do in the States, dry, warm and poor.

Anyway, now I am hanging out at this little snack counter where you can charge your electronics and order food the be brought over to you- all without ever talking to another human being. Good to know that I have arrived in The Future.  The Future, alas, still has miserable wi-fi, so who knows when you will be reading this. Probably never. But I understand because there is probably a really good marathon of the Real Housewives of A Geographical Location on right now that you can't miss.

Thanks to all my friends and family for the safe travel wishes!


For everyone foolish enough to read on, here is a picture of Andy loading some pre-departure tunes on to my computer while the cat monitored the sound quality. Those two are so good to me.

I'm Blogging! Look at Me! I'm Doing it!

Hello there Internet! Aren't you looking nice today? Anyway- I'm Colleen and I thought I'd give this blog thing a try since I actually might be doing some things of interest in the coming months. Or not. I guess it depends on your definition of "interest." Most of you reading are probably my friends and family so if I were writing about watching paint dry, you'd still have to read it. Lucky you. For everyone reading this who doesn't know me- you probably clicked on this by mistake. By now you will have realized and you'll want to click on what you were really trying to look at. I understand. Enjoy your video of kittens and/or puppies.

For all the people who are still here (hi Mom!)- as I said I'm Colleen. I'm an American law student and for the next few months I'll be living/working in the Hague. I'll possibly be traveling to other exciting places on the weekends. Or I'll be sitting in my PJs eating Dutch ice cream and watching Dutchflix. Either way I'm going to write about it. And post pictures. So enjoy.