Day 9 - Avoiding The Snowpocalypse

First of all, I'm very jealous of all the people back home in Michigan who get to deal with this epic storm that's apparently on its way. I love snow, and what could be more fun that crazy dangerous amounts?! Stop complaining (funny coming from me, right?).

Today I finally rolled out of bed around 3 pm after once again not being able to sleep. This time, however, it was because I was awake thinking about all the fun I'm going to have here and across the continent. Quite the difference a day makes. I was up late thinking about travel plans to see Cory (Belfast), Rachael (Copenhagen), and Matt (Prague), and Adrian has talked about going to Dublin in June, which would be a lot of fun. My family is coming in June and I can't wait for that either. I also think I'll have friends in Spain in June, which would be amazing as well (and come to think of it, Chris K. is in Madrid this semester too!). I also looked into music festivals, and found one at the end of June in Luxembourg that features Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire, amongst a few others, and might be a lot of fun if I don't bump up my flight. I was also looking into attending some soccer matches, but will probably have to confine myself to the Dutch Eriedivise because Arsenal tickets look to be astoundingly expensive. Either way, at the very least I was staying up because I was excited and not because I wanted to book it over to Schipol and hop on a direct flight home.

I got my student card today, which was good, and ended up making a cheap quiche I got at the grocery store for dinner, which was yummy and filling. I met new friends Chase and James at a sports pub called Bad Habits to watch the Arsenal match, and despite them not being big soccer fans, it was great to hang out with them in a surprisingly relaxed setting and watch a come-from-behind 2-1 Gunners win over Everton. There's a Super Bowl party at Bad Habits this Sunday (starts at Midnight!) that I can't wait for. The big discovery of the night was that James has all of the same classes as me, which is a huge relief and also awesome. Looking forward to that. First class is Thursday (have I mentioned I only have classes Thursday and Friday?!).

Dumb name, nice place.

Since I've been putting things off I've got a fair bit to accomplish tomorrow, but hopefully when pressed can get it done. There's a dinner + pub crawl event tomorrow evening I'm going to that I'm really looking forward to, as most of my new friends are going and it should be a good way to see other bits of Leiden with good company.

The biking is really growing on me. It's becoming less and less of a chore, even when raining as it was today, and I kinda like it. It's got a peaceful component to it as I hit the home stretch back to the Rijnfront, and it's definitely healthier than slothing around. I took some pictures of the bike racks at the train station to give an indication of just how crazy the bike culture is here.

BIKES!

BIKES!

BIKES!

BIKES!

I keep being reminded every day just how loving and supportive my friends and family are. I got a really awesome and unexpected Facebook message from Ellen today that brightened my day and was really reassuring. I Skyped with Jordan, Adrian, and Cory last night, which was nice, and I've been talking to my Gumbgloo crew every day so far. It's also great to hear from Adam, who Matt and Jack and I have abandoned in AA, and then the aforementioned gentleman - Matt as he gets ready to head to Prague and Jack as he does his big time White House internship in D.C. If I can make great friendships here and not have to slow down with the contact with home that'd be ideal, but we'll see how it goes. Right now, every single person I've talked to has been there for me and patient, understanding, and supportive, and I really cannot thank you all enough. You mean the world to me.

I'll try to fall asleep now but will inevitably not be able to sleep. See you guys on Facebook in a couple hours? :)

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