Woo!!! Stayed up late to watch the game, it just finished and it is now midnight!!! Even though I had to watch the game alone... on a fuzzy tv.... and all the commentary was in German.... It was still one of the best games I've ever watched! YAY CANADA I feel the pride from over here!! That last goal by the states got me a little worried, but we won!! Woo!!!
Have a good night Canada!! :) :) :)
█ ♥ █ Susie
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Having no friends can be kind of lame
Soo as the title suggests, having no friends is very lame. Well I guess I made one friend here, I talked to this guy from Munich in the kitchen here at the hostel for a few minutes today but that was it, and he's leaving tomorrow so I am friendless again haha. Its usually not so bad, but this town isn't really touristy, and this is the only hostel in the city... so not a lot of people come through the hostel. Its pretty deserted like 99% of the time, its almost erie. Sometimes I feel like I'd be safer at a really busy hostel with every bunk in the room filled, like the one I was in in Amsterdam. Thats just because I know that people are around, and say if anything happens people will be around to help, or nothing bad will happen there because there are so many people around. I guess there are pros and cons to both types. The other thing is that in busy hostels it is pretty easy to strike up a conversation with anyone, because many people are travelling/backpacking like you and are looking to do the same thing. Especially in my hostel in Amsterdam it was really easy to meet people because there was a bar area. But here so far there have only been middle aged men here for one night at a time in my room, and I haven't seen a single soul in the kitchen or living room every time I've gone. So my point is, I guess the next two days are going to continue to be lame until I can move into res on Tuesday.
Today was a slow start, I ended up waking up at noon which means I slept 12 hours again :| Hopefully my sleeping patterns will be back to normal soon! And it was raining again! And sooo apparently my umbrella is a piece of crap, because every five seconds it flips inside out, and two of the bar things on the inside are already kind of broken! I just bought it yesterday! I'm so use to this though, everything I own always breaks. Oh and I forgot to mention, that the day before my flight my iPod decided to just give up on life. Its been going for three years strong, but now nothing. I brought it along with me just for the hope of it coming back to life one day soon. But! The worse thing is that because my computer crashed a couple months ago I lost all the music that was on it, so the only place that it was being stored was on my iPod and now it might all be gone too! So ridiculous!
Okay where was I... So I just went out today with my lame umbrella and explored the town a bit. I ended up going to see where my residence is and it looks really cute! Its looks small, and I think there are three people to every flat from what I could tell with the mailboxes. Its really close to town and just up the street there are two music stores, which I visited today and they have SO much trumpet music!!! Woo! I was kind of lost but eventually made it back into town. I guess the most exciting part of my day was buying super glue. And you can imagine me with super glue. My boots were talking so I had to fix them, and even though I was being super careful, I still managed to get a patch of it on my arm and on one finger. Let me tell you, that stuff is not easy to get off. And then when I went to wash it off, because I was in such a rush I just kind of threw my boot on my bed, and when I came back sever parts of it were stuck to my red fleece blanket which was just lovely.
Oh, and I think that my children's book idea was kind of a fail. I haven't looked at it since yesterday.. I think I got discouraged when I couldn't get through the second sentence. But on a lighter note! It turns out I can use the phone that I used in Ireland here! It will only cost 15 euro to get it unlocked, and that also includes 10 euro credit on the phone, so sweet! :)
Anyways, thats it for now. Maybe tomorrow something will happen thats more exciting than buying super glue.
Thanks for reading!!! :) :) :)
Susie♥
Today was a slow start, I ended up waking up at noon which means I slept 12 hours again :| Hopefully my sleeping patterns will be back to normal soon! And it was raining again! And sooo apparently my umbrella is a piece of crap, because every five seconds it flips inside out, and two of the bar things on the inside are already kind of broken! I just bought it yesterday! I'm so use to this though, everything I own always breaks. Oh and I forgot to mention, that the day before my flight my iPod decided to just give up on life. Its been going for three years strong, but now nothing. I brought it along with me just for the hope of it coming back to life one day soon. But! The worse thing is that because my computer crashed a couple months ago I lost all the music that was on it, so the only place that it was being stored was on my iPod and now it might all be gone too! So ridiculous!
Okay where was I... So I just went out today with my lame umbrella and explored the town a bit. I ended up going to see where my residence is and it looks really cute! Its looks small, and I think there are three people to every flat from what I could tell with the mailboxes. Its really close to town and just up the street there are two music stores, which I visited today and they have SO much trumpet music!!! Woo! I was kind of lost but eventually made it back into town. I guess the most exciting part of my day was buying super glue. And you can imagine me with super glue. My boots were talking so I had to fix them, and even though I was being super careful, I still managed to get a patch of it on my arm and on one finger. Let me tell you, that stuff is not easy to get off. And then when I went to wash it off, because I was in such a rush I just kind of threw my boot on my bed, and when I came back sever parts of it were stuck to my red fleece blanket which was just lovely.
Oh, and I think that my children's book idea was kind of a fail. I haven't looked at it since yesterday.. I think I got discouraged when I couldn't get through the second sentence. But on a lighter note! It turns out I can use the phone that I used in Ireland here! It will only cost 15 euro to get it unlocked, and that also includes 10 euro credit on the phone, so sweet! :)
Anyways, thats it for now. Maybe tomorrow something will happen thats more exciting than buying super glue.
Thanks for reading!!! :) :) :)
Susie♥
Friday, February 26, 2010
Germany!!
I have a little catching up to do! Well I'm finally in Osnabrueck! I'm stuck in a hostel for a few days, but more on that later...
Okay so yesterday was my last full day in Amsterdam, and it was a good one at that! So after my late wake up I was still able to make the tour & buy my train ticket to Osnabrueck for today. The tour was reallly great, I learned a lot as cheesy as it sounds! Like that the canal water doesn't smell because every three days the water in every canal is changed, or that the oldest prostitute in the red light district is like 74 years old and has a waiting list! I even actually saw a man approach one of the windows and negotiate with a lady! I ended up meeting a girl from Vancouver on the tour (who was a little strange) but anyways we chatted and ended up sharing a space cake afterwards haha. only in amsterdam! :P I also met up again with my friend that is living in Amsterdam and went shopping with her and her friends. It was actually really neat because her friends are from all over like Romania, Czech Republic, and Russia.. but they are all studying in english in Amsterdam, so when they talk to each other they all talk in english, but they still all have their own accents it was kind of cool to hear. Anyways, last night I ended up having a couple of Beers in the bar in my hostel with a guy from Montreal and then ended up going to a coffee shop. It was really great! Everything is so casual there, like we felt like we should be secretive ahhaa but like say you want a 'space cake' they're like 'Okay one space cake!:)' SO non-schalant about the whole thing its great! I swear only because I was in Amsterdam :P
Anyways, so I had such a good nights sleep and then this morning actually saw the Aussie girls and say goodbye to them :) and then had enough time to buy some souvenirs.. a couple postcards, magnet for my mom, and shot glasses for both my brother and I. It has been raining actually nonstop since I arrived on Tuesday, but I (being the cheap person that I am), refused to pay 5 euro for an umbrella. And well, sometimes I'm too cheap for my own good because it was raining SO hard when I got to Osnabrueck today. So I finally decided to get an umbrella and it ended up costing more than 5 euro! ridic.
Okay, so just when I thought having the brightest pink suitcase in the world couldn't get more embarrassing... having to carry it up flights of stairs and in and out of trains tops it all. Maybe I'm just weak but I struggle SO much to just lift it up, let alone carry it up two flights of stairs by myself to get to the train platform. And then, when the train doors opened I noticed that it was basically just one big leap. One big leap that I just knew was going to be a fail. And its worse because there are people waiting behind you to get onto the train as well. So it is basically a full body thrust and praying for success to get my suitcase on the train. I think I would rather have a backpack actually, because even though it gets really tiring carrying it, most of the weight is put onto your legs... and when getting in and out of trains there is no chance of falling on my face along with my backpack.
Okay so after the train ride adventure, I made it to Osnabrueck!!! Its almost surreal to be here, because I've read quite a bit about the city its almost like I thought the day would never come. I met my friend who had been studying at Laurier for exchange last term, and she picked me up from the train station and brought me to my hostel which was really nice. So I'm stuck in a hostel for four nights! Ugh this is the only one in the city actually, but its not so bad with wifi and a kitchen. So I got here around 5 and for about an hour and a half I just went wandering & exploring the city. My main mission was to find a grocery store, because it is SO much cheaper to just cook for myself at the hostel, and usually healthier as well. So anyways I bought an umbrella and found a grocery store eventually, AND I had this glorious idea of buying a children's book in German to motivate me to study the language more, but I even had to look up some of the words that were in the title hahah. So after having to ask directions of how to get back to my hostel, I decided to start to read my book, which my German-English dictionary by my side. And then in walk these two girls who were definitely german, and here I am struggling to read my book about a mouse go goes searching for love. haha How embarassing for me.
So that brings me to now :) Oh! I actually got to see some olympics today, but I had to follow along only by the video because all the talking was in German! Even german interviews at the games. Ugh! So lame, maybe I'll have to test out watching the olympics online.
Thats all for now! Thanks for reading! :)
lovelovelove
Susie
Okay so yesterday was my last full day in Amsterdam, and it was a good one at that! So after my late wake up I was still able to make the tour & buy my train ticket to Osnabrueck for today. The tour was reallly great, I learned a lot as cheesy as it sounds! Like that the canal water doesn't smell because every three days the water in every canal is changed, or that the oldest prostitute in the red light district is like 74 years old and has a waiting list! I even actually saw a man approach one of the windows and negotiate with a lady! I ended up meeting a girl from Vancouver on the tour (who was a little strange) but anyways we chatted and ended up sharing a space cake afterwards haha. only in amsterdam! :P I also met up again with my friend that is living in Amsterdam and went shopping with her and her friends. It was actually really neat because her friends are from all over like Romania, Czech Republic, and Russia.. but they are all studying in english in Amsterdam, so when they talk to each other they all talk in english, but they still all have their own accents it was kind of cool to hear. Anyways, last night I ended up having a couple of Beers in the bar in my hostel with a guy from Montreal and then ended up going to a coffee shop. It was really great! Everything is so casual there, like we felt like we should be secretive ahhaa but like say you want a 'space cake' they're like 'Okay one space cake!:)' SO non-schalant about the whole thing its great! I swear only because I was in Amsterdam :P
Anyways, so I had such a good nights sleep and then this morning actually saw the Aussie girls and say goodbye to them :) and then had enough time to buy some souvenirs.. a couple postcards, magnet for my mom, and shot glasses for both my brother and I. It has been raining actually nonstop since I arrived on Tuesday, but I (being the cheap person that I am), refused to pay 5 euro for an umbrella. And well, sometimes I'm too cheap for my own good because it was raining SO hard when I got to Osnabrueck today. So I finally decided to get an umbrella and it ended up costing more than 5 euro! ridic.
Okay, so just when I thought having the brightest pink suitcase in the world couldn't get more embarrassing... having to carry it up flights of stairs and in and out of trains tops it all. Maybe I'm just weak but I struggle SO much to just lift it up, let alone carry it up two flights of stairs by myself to get to the train platform. And then, when the train doors opened I noticed that it was basically just one big leap. One big leap that I just knew was going to be a fail. And its worse because there are people waiting behind you to get onto the train as well. So it is basically a full body thrust and praying for success to get my suitcase on the train. I think I would rather have a backpack actually, because even though it gets really tiring carrying it, most of the weight is put onto your legs... and when getting in and out of trains there is no chance of falling on my face along with my backpack.
Okay so after the train ride adventure, I made it to Osnabrueck!!! Its almost surreal to be here, because I've read quite a bit about the city its almost like I thought the day would never come. I met my friend who had been studying at Laurier for exchange last term, and she picked me up from the train station and brought me to my hostel which was really nice. So I'm stuck in a hostel for four nights! Ugh this is the only one in the city actually, but its not so bad with wifi and a kitchen. So I got here around 5 and for about an hour and a half I just went wandering & exploring the city. My main mission was to find a grocery store, because it is SO much cheaper to just cook for myself at the hostel, and usually healthier as well. So anyways I bought an umbrella and found a grocery store eventually, AND I had this glorious idea of buying a children's book in German to motivate me to study the language more, but I even had to look up some of the words that were in the title hahah. So after having to ask directions of how to get back to my hostel, I decided to start to read my book, which my German-English dictionary by my side. And then in walk these two girls who were definitely german, and here I am struggling to read my book about a mouse go goes searching for love. haha How embarassing for me.
So that brings me to now :) Oh! I actually got to see some olympics today, but I had to follow along only by the video because all the talking was in German! Even german interviews at the games. Ugh! So lame, maybe I'll have to test out watching the olympics online.
Thats all for now! Thanks for reading! :)
lovelovelove
Susie
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Jet Lag?
I only have a couple of minutes, but I just came out to get my free breakfast (that is offered from 8 to 10 am), but then I walked out here & there was no breakfast & no one here. I was soo confused! I was sure that it was just past 8am. So then I looked at the clock and it said 11:45... ! What! That means I missed breakfast annndd the free tour I was planning on taking today that began at 11:15am . Well good thing for me there is also one that starts at 1:15pm. I guess when I closed my eyes for those extra five minutes it was actually 4 hours? I thought I was over the jet lag for the most part because of my first night's sleep, but apparently not. So now I'm off to the train station to buy my ticket for tomorrow! Exciting!!! And then shopping tonight with a friend I have living here.
Have a good day everyone! :)
Susie
Have a good day everyone! :)
Susie
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day two
So today was my first full day in Amsterdam. Its weird, I feel like I have been here for much longer than just one night! Today was slow starting. Some things never change because like I usually do, I woke up about 20 minutes before the free breakfast ended. I had to rush out of bed and attempt to get ready in the dark, I've gotten pretty good at that though. So I made it to breakfast and I swear and drank half a litre of orange juice, but like ALL I could think about when I first woke up was orange juice! It was like a miracle at the time that they orange juice!! Today was pretty relaxed, we went to the Van Gogh museum, but didn't actually end up going in because it was 14euro!! So expensive :| Instead we went to the sex museum. :) A pretty relaxed day which was nice. I then met up with a friend I have living here in Amsterdam, meeting up with her again tomorrow for some shopping! Aaaand I got some exciting news! Well last term I met up with the girl who was on exchange from Osnabruck at Laurier, and she is back in Germany and has offered to pick me up from the train station on Friday & take me to my hostel! :) Whoo! I really have no idea how I would have found my hostel in that city! I get lost really easily. When I first got here I went to the tourist office and asked for exact directions to get to my hostel ahha. Anyways, tonight is just a night to relax, I'm still so tired from last night's festivities. I was considering going on the pub crawl here with some of the people I had met, but I can't just yet justify spending 20 euro on it! Maybe last summer I would have, but this time I have to be pretty strict with my money, which is probably for the best anyways. :)
Well thats it for now, I hope everyone is doing well back home! ttyl!
Susie
Well thats it for now, I hope everyone is doing well back home! ttyl!
Susie
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Red Light District!
Soo tonight was such a good night!!! Okay, well I had a nap from 2 til 6 today, but then I woke up and decided to grab something to eat in the bar we have here at the hostel. I was being kind of lame and just sitting by myself eating, having a beer, and on my computer in the bar. The beers were buy one get one free so I decided to have two, but when I started my second one I decided to not be so lame and actually go to the bar and try to make some friends! So within like 10 seconds of sitting at the bar, this guy introduced himself and he was from Canada too! New Brunswick actually. So we chatted for a long while and then ended up meeting these other two Candian guys and these three Aussie girls. So we all drank for a while and then went to this little bar, which you could smoke in. There was a sign on the wall that I found quite amusing that said "No Smoking Tobacco"... so just about everything else was welcome! It was SUCH a good night!! Like sooo fun. I got quite drunk (and still am right now) but its not so bad for me, because right now to me it is still 9pm Toronto time, but it is actually 3am!! So hopefully this will help me to get over some of the jet lag.
So after the bars I was walking back to the hostel with a Canadian guy and I decided to pick up a baguette sandwich & him a metre long baguette, then we decided to walk the Red light district. I honestly had like no idea what to expect! It is absolutely insane, you just walk down the street and there are windows upon windows with a lady in each one dressed in lingerie in front of a bed. My innocent eyes! Canada does not prepare you for anything like this! OH! And I forgot to mention earlier, that The Netherlands is pretty much the easiest country to get into of life!! I got into the line that said "non-EU passports" and I swear the lady didn't even check my picture, she just stamped my passport & I was free to go into the country!! I didn't need any of my paper work at all! So so far everything has been going according to plan :)
Anyways I should be off to bed, I'm exhausted and technically its 3am! Night! I'll write again soon :)
Susie
So after the bars I was walking back to the hostel with a Canadian guy and I decided to pick up a baguette sandwich & him a metre long baguette, then we decided to walk the Red light district. I honestly had like no idea what to expect! It is absolutely insane, you just walk down the street and there are windows upon windows with a lady in each one dressed in lingerie in front of a bed. My innocent eyes! Canada does not prepare you for anything like this! OH! And I forgot to mention earlier, that The Netherlands is pretty much the easiest country to get into of life!! I got into the line that said "non-EU passports" and I swear the lady didn't even check my picture, she just stamped my passport & I was free to go into the country!! I didn't need any of my paper work at all! So so far everything has been going according to plan :)
Anyways I should be off to bed, I'm exhausted and technically its 3am! Night! I'll write again soon :)
Susie
Amsterdam!
Well I made it to Amsterdam safe & sound! The flights weren't too bad at all. I flew Air Canada to Chicago then United Airlines Chicago to here... and I got to sit beside this nice kiwi fellow on the long plane ride.
Okay so before I checked in for my flight at the airport I weighed my suitcase to see if it was overweight, and it was 64 lbs!!! :| Wtf did I pack!!! So I had to give my mom a whole bunch of things to take back home.
Anyways, I'm just at my hostel now, and its actually really nice. I can't get into my room until 2pm, so until then I'm just kind of hanging out, maybe I'll go for a walk, explore the city a little. :)
Okay so before I checked in for my flight at the airport I weighed my suitcase to see if it was overweight, and it was 64 lbs!!! :| Wtf did I pack!!! So I had to give my mom a whole bunch of things to take back home.
Anyways, I'm just at my hostel now, and its actually really nice. I can't get into my room until 2pm, so until then I'm just kind of hanging out, maybe I'll go for a walk, explore the city a little. :)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tomorrow!
So here I am again... my bag is (almost) packed and I'm Europe bound!
I really don't know what to expect in the next few months. Not very many music students go on an exchange... actually only one music student went last year. And what is even more intimidating is that I am the first music student to exchange to Fachhochschule Osnabruck in Germany. I'm not sure what to expect of my classes, teachers, school work, and just everything in general. I'm just hoping that it is all worth it. :)
My flight is at 2:05 tomorrow! I fly Toronto to Chicago, then Chicago to Amsterdam. I have to switch terminals in Chicago which is kind of a pain and hopefully my luggage makes it to the next plane! Speaking of luggage, this time I'm taking a suitcase instead of a big backpack. I have more stuff to take this time, like bedding and books. However, what is kind of embarrassing is that the only suitcase I own is pink! But not just any pink... hot pink! Any hope I had of not looking so touristy in Amsterdam is completely gone! I just weighed my suitcase too and I'm pretty sure it is very very over the max weight of 50 pounds, which is not good at all! I'm also kind of worried about the new carry on luggage restrictions, because I have to take two things on as carry on: my trumpet & my laptop. Last summer I had no problem because I didn't bring my laptop, but this time I'm a little worried, and I found the descriptions about the restrictions online kind of vague. I guess I will just have to find out tomorrow!
I can't even believe that I leave tomorrow! I never actually thought the day would come! Its a really strange feeling I have. I'm excited to go, because I know it is going to be quite an adventure. But its hard to leave so much behind at the same time. Luckily there are things like skype to help with the pain of being so far away! I'm soo nervous though. Like sickly nervous. I can't even think about tomorrow. I try to avoid things like organizing and packing by watching the Olympics (and Canada's loss to the US :( ) and playing tetris! Its hard though when my mom is asking me questions like every 5 seconds about every possible thing to do with the trip! She covers every possible topic from having my passport to packing underwear. I think she might actually be more nervous than I am!
I kind of have a general plan for the next week. I'll be in Amsterdam for 3 or 4 nights before hopping a train bound for Germany! I'll be living in the city of Osnabruck, which I heard is really beautiful! I don't really have a plan for Amsterdam, just kind of go with the flow of things. My flight is arriving at 9 am, and I have directions to the city centre from the airport as well as these really awful directions to get from the train station to my hostel. I hate to admit it, but I know that I am going to get lost in the 5 minute walk to my hostel and it is probably going to end up taking an hour to find it! I just get use to these kinds of things happening to me! Anyways, knowing me I will probably just end up sleeping the entire day on Tuesday, because I arrive at 9 am Amsterdam time... but they are six hours ahead... so with the jet lag and the lack of sleep on the plane I bet I will be exhausted! But the thing with hostels is that you can't usually get into your room until the afternoon, so I'll have to find a place (coffee shop? ;) ) to hang out in during the morning. I've heard that Amsterdam is a really beautiful city, so I'm sure there will be lots of things there to keep me busy with. :) And then either Friday or Saturday I will take a train to Osnabruck.. which mind you isn't cheap! Like $85! But even with the cost of the train, Amsterdam was still the cheapest city to fly to that was relatively close to Osnabruck.
So I guess thats it for now. I will be posting as often as I can over the next 4 to 6 months!
Thanks for reading!!
ttyl!!
Susie ♥
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