In Patria Mei

So I have been really busy and tired and haven't felt like blogging everything, but as Jess mentioned to me, I'd better post something so you don't think I never made it to Holland. We've been here three days now, and I am so happy. As the plane was descending over Amsterdam, I stared out the window at the land, and I couldn't stop smiling. The old guy sitting next to me, who never said a word during the 45 minute flight from Heathrow to Schipol, must've thought I was crazy. And the first morning here, I woke up at 7:00. I was about to try and go back to sleep, but then I realized that I was in the Nederlands and I got too excited and couldn't sleep anymore.

The travelling here went very smoothly. Our only problem, which didn't turn out to be a problem, was that 30 minutes before we were supposed to board our first flight, from Chicago to London, the person at the airport announced that boarding was delayed due to a water leak in the plane, and engineers were now trying to figure out if the water made it's way into the hull, which it didn't. So half an hour after we were supposed to board, and after the plane's water pipes had a final flush, we were able to board. We made up the lost time during our flight. Everything went well in London and Amsterdam. Actually, a very funny thing happened around our connecting flight:

The incident with the Hope sweatshirt lady
Jess and I are approaching our gate at Heathrow, scanning the rows of chairs for two empty seats. "Hey look! A HOPE sweatshirt." I point to a girl, sitting between two guys, in a gray sweatshirt that has big blue Hope letters on it. "Do you think she's from Hope College?" "I don't know, I mean Hope is just a regular word." I am thinking that she could just be a really inspirational person and has a sweatshirt that says hope on it, becuase really, a hope college person in london at the same time we are? "But it looks just like all the ones from the bookstore. She's gotta be from Hope." So Jess and I find some seats and sit down, but we are too tired and shy and I don't want to be the loud, intruding American, so we stay put and keep glancing at her. Maybe we will have an opportunity to approach her while we are in line, boarding the plane. But she slips ahead and I don't see her on the plane. While we were weaiting for our suitcases to come around on the baggage claim belt, we see the girl again, standing a few feet away. Jess asks bout the sweatshirt. "Oh yeah, I graduated in 2004." "Cool! We go to Hope right now. Well, we're studying abroad in Aberdeen this semseter, and visiting family right now." I look down at her pants, and I point to the Dance Marathon picture. "Hey!" But she thought I was pointing at her hand, which she brings up, a sparkly ring on her finger. "I'm on my honeymoon right now. I'm half dutch (yay!) and I've never been to Amsterdam, so we came here." We congratulate her, smile and nod at each other some more, and go our own ways.

Today Jess and I went to Haarlem with Gert en Joke Hartsuiker to go shopping. It was excellent. Yesterday Marten en Cody took us to Delft, and Jess and I went on three walks and one bike ride. Annnnd I am getting really tired. So more details later. Tomorrow Jess and I are going to Amsterdam!