Bastion Hotel Zoetermeer

July 4, Saturday

We head into Zoetemeer to find Roger's place. We park in an underground parking as he says he lives on a pedestrian street. We find the street and just had to look for the apartment number.

Roger looks as handsome as ever and I think just as thrilled to see us as we him. We met his beautiful bride Olga. We sat on the balcony and chatted until Olga had to go for her driving lesson. We had an enjoyable morning ...

... one of my biggest fears have always been loneliness, or maybe it's because I'm still just a kid, thrust into an adult world. I'm supposed to be finishing my senior year of high school right now, with my familiar friends and my familiar neighborhood. Instead, I'm taking online classes and I find myself here, on a train, with no plans as to what I will do exactly when I get there. I actually don't really mind the loneliness, except for the fact that tonight ...

... to work, we need a SoFi number (a sin number equivalent). And in order to get that, you needed to be registered with immigration counsel. But before that you needed to register with the municipality you live in. But to do that you needed an apartment. Whew! But we got great news yesterday ( a week and a half late, really), that working holiday visas fall under a different category and that it was unnecessary to first find a home. So! We ...

About two weeks ago I joined Robin's sister's soccer club (voetball), DWO Zoetermeer! Its a womens team so the ladies are from all ages, but the majority are studying or just finishing their studies and its been a ncie way to get to know some people here. I play for the second team but we practice together with the first team (like A & B teams). The club is pretty well-supported by ...

... between a few different ships, their risk would be less, and therefore the first corporation was born. And as the poor sailors would spend months at sea, would arrive into Amsterdam looking for some womanly loving, the redlight district was also born. its all about supply and demand. Even though I hadnt been impressed by the central city, the canals, even around the red light district are really quite beautiful. Normal people actually live in and around the red light district ...

The Final Countdown After ten months of preparations, I am now counting the final hours in The Netherlands. Travelling with United and landing at Dulles International will signal the end of a lengthy procedure. Travelling to the USA on a student visa and studying at Georgetown requires patience. More importantly it requires three letters of recommendation, a transcript of records, a number of student ...

... your seat so plan accordingly. We arrive in the furor of Centraal Station, find a phone to call the apartment owner to meet us at the apartment, and jump into a cab to get to our apartment on Westerstraat. Years ago I fell in love with belly dancing and Middle Eastern music so when the cabbie turned up the radio and Middle Eastern came out I knew I was going to have a good time. I rarely take a cab but I find it ...

... else. A small area at the end of one of the diamond halls explained what blood or conflict diamonds were and told how very few of them are in circulation today thanks to the Kimberly Certification Scheme, which certifies the origin of the diamonds. I wondered how true this was, considering Dutch corporations where the ones buying all the conflict ...

I arrived on time and in good spirits having been upgraded to economy plus (Thanks nice guy at the airport!). Maybe I'll get lucky again on the way back. I landed on time and sailed through customs without a problem. I picked up my bags and was out the door without a hitch (piece of advice, go to the bathroom before you get your bags - much smoother than struggling with a big suitcase). My next job was to find the ...

... we managed to find one amazing home store (I don't believe I am actually saying that Toni and I ended up eagerly shopping for towels and toothpaste only for the sake of being able to buy something decent). So as an ex-tourist of Amsterdam I am convinced that buying a pink towel and a funny looking toothpaste are a must and do pop in to Hema home store if you are desperate to spend a few Euros on anything - they do sell everything you would ever think of (or would not perhaps).