Goede avond, all. I apologize for the radio silence - my computer charger was fried in a power surge while I was in Amsterdam, and there is no Target here for me to quickly visit to replace it!

My journey to Rotterdam was not itself without surprises. I left my AirBnB early Wednesday morning to pick up an OV-Chipkaart (a pass for rail, bus, and tram travel in the Netherlands). I had no problem paying cash for the card itself... but was unable to load any funds onto it as I didn't have a chip debit card yet!

Luckily, the Dutch are notoriously friendly and helpful, so my host ended up driving me to Amsterdam Sloterdijk so I could load the card paying cash. Once in the station, a lovely woman helped me find the ticket counter, after I failed miserably trying to use an automated machine, despite the fact that she had a broken wrist and was already pushing her bicycle. She even helped me with my bags! This turned out to be a theme, as several people helped me getting on and off the train to Rotterdam.

Once safely at my new apartment (thanks to the great support staff at RSM for the ride!), my first order of business was to open a Dutch bank account. I briefly greeted five of my new classmates in my rush toward the bank - I was too stressed with the feeling of being stranded without access to funds to make proper introductions. As it turns out, opening a bank account in a foreign country can be an uphill battle. Luckily for me, I didn't run into any issues, but for many others, this was quite a challenge. Different branches of ING (the best option for those without a BSN, which is akin to a Dutch SSN) had different requirements, and some seemed to have a quota for how many student applications they would process each day - obviously, policies that would not fly in the US. Because I had success at the branch in Kralingen (the neighborhood I live in), I advocated visiting that branch to several people. Basically I was a banking expert before my program even started. HA! 

The rest of the week basically consisted of spending my days wandering around Rotterdam trying to figure out just exactly how stores work here to purchase necessary apartment items as what has been provided is pretty basic. There are no one-stop-shops here like Target or Meijer. Europeans tend not to use a top sheet, just a duvet with a cover, so I had to find a duvet cover I am comfortable sleeping under for the next several months, as well as several other household items. I ended up discovering H&M home, which I'm not sure has made it to the US yet or not. The other standout store for me is HEMA, which I recall my cousin Sarah mentioning. This is the closest model to Target that I've found, with a large product assortment (clothing, home goods, cookware, paper supplies, food, etc.). Luckily, there is a sort of lifestyle center about a 10 minute walk from my apartment with a HEMA, Aldi (which is similar to, but not the same as, the US stores), Albert Heijn (mainly groceries but with an wider selection than Aldi), and Kruidvat (CVS/Walgreens-style store without the pharmacy component).

Each evening was spent meeting the day's new arrivals at a bar located in a hostel/apartment situation called the Student Hotel, which is roughly equidistant to the two school-affiliated housing locations. Saturday night I had my first exposure to European clubbing (although apparently we didn't pick the best place). This is also the first time I have ever "gone out" in flats, which turned out to have been a great decision. It was located in an old roadway underpass, played decent music, and stayed open until SIX AM! Only one of our group stayed that late, but I didn't arrive home until around five because the tram wasn't running by the time we left, so we ended up walking home. Let me tell you, with the amount of walking I have done so far, I am not kidding when I say I have probably lost five pounds already. My pants are seriously getting a little baggy! I'm sure it also helps that I'm still not exactly sure what I'm doing food-wise (although I now know to look for vegetarisch and glutenvrij).

Saturday, we also visited the farmer's market near Markthal (which I still need to visit and document!), which was just enormous and featured tons of fresh produce, fish, meat, cheese, and various garments, textiles, and electronic goods. I can't stop talking about the kilogram of tomatoes I got for just €1! I was nervous to leave Michigan aka the Fruit Belt and be stuck with just canned produce - boy, was that unnecessary worry! The Netherlands is actually the second largest agricultural exporter after the US, supplying a quarter of Europe's produce. Plus, it seems like the cheese is super cheap, so this seems like a match made in heaven for me.

After my first week, my main takeaways are this:

• The toilets here have altogether far too little water in them. I'm not going to elaborate, but know that your business is not covered until you flush. Yuck.
• I'm still getting accustomed to paying, relatively a lot, for every beverage, even water. Except beer. That's always cheaper than water.
• Everyone in my class is so supportive of and open to each other. We have 106 students from 35 different countries, so many different cultures and languages, and yet everyone is accepting and respectful of each other, right from the start. I am already learning so much from and about my classmates! 

Saturday I went to the bank with my roommate Avneet (from India) and Adil, who had arrived that day from Pakistan. While waiting for my roommate to wrap up opening her account, a slightly deranged-looking man wandered into the bank, overheard Adil and I talking, and interrupted us to ask if I was American. When I replied that, yes, I am, he proceeded to ask me why I was bringing hunger to the world (which I deflected with my own brand of humor telling him I didn't think I was personally responsible) and went into some diatribe generally about his dislike for President Obama and what he'd like me to tell him (which I said I'd tell him next time I saw my good friend Barry). After he wrapped all this up and left, Adil acknowledged that I was a little uncomfortable and said, that on paper at least, and as reported by the media, he and Avneet should hate each other, but the fact was that they, of course, didn't hate each other immediately upon first sight! This incident really set the tone for this upcoming year for me - overcoming stereotypes, past injustices, and cultural differences to come together to lead the world into the future. Just as I had hoped when I started this journey, I am already learning just as much outside the classroom as I am within. I am so excited to have this opportunity to learn and grow with some of tomorrow's brightest minds, working toward one common goal, in the ever changing and ever growing global economy.

xo,

L