Wow! 3 weeks, a dozen trains, 20 relatives, many museums, many parks, one long bikeride, two great football games, one disappointing (and ugly) football match, many family memories and stories, a few attempts at a difficult language, one more (in a long series) of frustrating and ridiculous situations for my working-holiday visa. Now do you want to read on?
Holland is a very easy place to travel. The train system gets you pretty much everywhere very quickly (except when there are problems with the tracks = not fun!) and when you arrive, the local transportation card you used in Amsterdam also work in the Hague. Its probably an easier time too when you have a couple dozen charming and welcoming family members to put you up for the night. Over the last 3 weeks, I've met relatives from one and a half years old to eighty-six years old and I've been really pleased to enjoy the warm feeling of affinity that comes with family (even if you've never, or almost never, met them before).
I've done so much so what shall I highlight?
-This is graduation season for students finishing highschool and they don't just have one party to celebrate. It seems like every student who finishes school has a party and invites all their friends resulting in a couple weeks of continuous partying after their studies. I was fortunate enough to attend my second-cousin's where I met a lot of her family who I had never met before.
-Visiting my dad's eldest cousin (65 years old), we decided to take out racing bikes for a little spin. 70 kilometers later watching the Dutch countryside roll past, I was very happy to relax and chat with someone so full of memories and insight into my family. There was one little catch though as my ego took a tumble after she made this comment at the beginning of our ride : "If I'm going too fast, just let me know."
-I spent a bit of time with a relative a little closer to my own age the night of the semi-final with Uruguay. Hoping to study stem-cells at Harvard in a not-too-distant future, she is actually leaving to study in Toronto for a semester. I had a great time celebrating Holland's success in reaching the final with a couple thousand other students in the streets of Utrecht.
-One of my relatives has a partner who's Turkish, immigrated to Holland, learned Dutch, but never learned English. The three days I stayed with them was the first situation where I was actually forced to speak Dutch and I was pretty impressed with myself! I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm already making sentences and holding minor conversations almost all alone. I'll come back to Holland later in my trip to study it a little more seriously.
-I enjoyed many conversations with the great aunts and uncles regarding my grandparents. I learned many things I never knew before and feel an even greater sense of affinity with this country and the history my grandparents were a part of.
-I've had the opportunity to observe some pretty extreme weather during my stay. Most of the time it has been very hot (30+) and this is coupled with crazy thunder and lightning storms.
To come : a trip to the region of Paris, a visit (and hopefully a couple hikes) in the French and Swiss Alps, checking out the international city of Geneva, a bunch of touristy stuff in the rest of Switzerland, some relaxing in Italy, a quick tour of Germany before exhausting my Eurail pass in Copenhagen. After that, who knows! Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Chad
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