I have finally arrived in Holland after a very stressful 2 month period of organising temporary accommodation, access to money, flights, enrolment at the host university and a million other things! The flight was a very emotional one – saying goodbye to my loved ones was extremely difficult. I had a major dilemma when I arrived in the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – I arrived 12 hours earlier than I expected because I didn’t read my flight itinerary correctly (I blame the stress). So at 5.55am I had to figure out how to get money out of my account, buy internet access as well as phone access so I could somehow contact my hotel to let them know I would be arriving earlier. Although Holland is known to be a very good English-speaking country, it was still very daunting knowing that everyone around me was speaking Dutch and I felt terrible for not being able to communicate in their first language. Eventually I figured out how to get to my hotel, where I dropped my bags off and wandered around the city centre of Amsterdam until my room was ready. By this stage I was thoroughly exhausted and quite upset with the feeling of homesickness. I called home and cried like a baby! A tip for any new international travellers: DO NOT USE PUBLIC PHONES TO CALL HOME! I learned this the hard way – my credit card was charged over 70 dollars for a 2 minute phone call. I made a few of these, so my credit card has really been hit hard. The best thing to do is to buy a cheap mobile phone with a local sim card and call home from that.
I chose to arrive in Holland at a very exciting time – the whole country was celebrating Queensday. This is a day where the locals dress in orange (their national colour) and party from when the sun rises to when the sun goes down. I celebrated by purchasing myself a bright orange wig and t-shirt, drinking local beer, dancing to the deejays set up on every corner and wandering through the narrow streets of the city centre. I have never seen so many people in my life! It was a great day and and excellent way to see the city in full swing. Amsterdam is a very beautiful city with lots of old buildings and quirky shops and you could spend days there and still not see it all.
The next day or two was spent checking out some of the Amsterdam sights including the must see Red Light District. Amsterdam really is a place that cannot be described in a way that gives you a true perception of what it is really like – you have to see it to believe it.
After my partying weekend, I took a train to Delft where I will spend the next 5 months of my life. I thought I would be more emotional, but I was actually quite glad to finally start this journey. Delft is an incredibly pretty city, and I am enjoying it much more than Amsterdam. It is much quieter and peaceful and the bike riders are less chaotic! At the moment I am staying with members of the ‘Couchsurfing’ community (Google this if you don’t already know what it is!). They are a lovely young Dutch couple who have been so friendly and helpful to me. They took me sightseeing and even helped me purchase a second hand bicycle, so now I am a true local! Now the biggest challenge comes – finding a permanent place to live. I am searching online and I have checked out a few places, but they have all been a disappointment so far.
Until my next blog, I will be madly house hunting and trying to meet some locals and make some friends to keep me company for the next 5 months!
Amy
Amy Roach – “Arriving In Holland”
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I have finally arrived in Holland after a very stressful 2 month period of organising temporary accommodation, access to money, flights, enrolment at the host university and a million other things! The flight was a very emotional one – saying goodbye to my loved ones was extremely difficult. I had a major dilemma when I arrived in the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – I arrived 12 hours earlier than I expected because I didn’t read my flight itinerary correctly (I blame the stress). So at 5.55am I had to figure out how to get money out of my account, buy internet access as well as phone access so I could somehow contact my hotel to let them know I would be arriving earlier. Although Holland is known to be a very good English-speaking country, it was still very daunting knowing that everyone around me was speaking Dutch and I felt terrible for not being able to communicate in their first language. Eventually I figured out how to get to my hotel, where I dropped my bags off and wandered around the city centre of Amsterdam until my room was ready. By this stage I was thoroughly exhausted and quite upset with the feeling of homesickness. I called home and cried like a baby! A tip for any new international travellers: DO NOT USE PUBLIC PHONES TO CALL HOME! I learned this the hard way – my credit card was charged over 70 dollars for a 2 minute phone call. I made a few of these, so my credit card has really been hit hard. The best thing to do is to buy a cheap mobile phone with a local sim card and call home from that.
I chose to arrive in Holland at a very exciting time – the whole country was celebrating Queensday. This is a day where the locals dress in orange (their national colour) and party from when the sun rises to when the sun goes down. I celebrated by purchasing myself a bright orange wig and t-shirt, drinking local beer, dancing to the deejays set up on every corner and wandering through the narrow streets of the city centre. I have never seen so many people in my life! It was a great day and and excellent way to see the city in full swing. Amsterdam is a very beautiful city with lots of old buildings and quirky shops and you could spend days there and still not see it all.
The next day or two was spent checking out some of the Amsterdam sights including the must see Red Light District. Amsterdam really is a place that cannot be described in a way that gives you a true perception of what it is really like – you have to see it to believe it.
After my partying weekend, I took a train to Delft where I will spend the next 5 months of my life. I thought I would be more emotional, but I was actually quite glad to finally start this journey. Delft is an incredibly pretty city, and I am enjoying it much more than Amsterdam. It is much quieter and peaceful and the bike riders are less chaotic! At the moment I am staying with members of the ‘Couchsurfing’ community (Google this if you don’t already know what it is!). They are a lovely young Dutch couple who have been so friendly and helpful to me. They took me sightseeing and even helped me purchase a second hand bicycle, so now I am a true local! Now the biggest challenge comes – finding a permanent place to live. I am searching online and I have checked out a few places, but they have all been a disappointment so far.
Until my next blog, I will be madly house hunting and trying to meet some locals and make some friends to keep me company for the next 5 months!
Amy