Today was a grand day of adventuring. I woke up and got ready to go downtown - today was going to be devoted to learning how to use the buses and getting a bike. As it so happens, I now have not one, but two bikes, which is just fine by me, as I wanted a second one for when friends come to visit anyway. One bike was free:
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| This bike came to me from a previous Fulbrighter. Which was very nice of him. |
While waiting for aforementioned man to get home, I stumbled upon this incredible graveyard/park:
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| Yes, her name was Wilhelmina Hamburger. Delicious, delicious family. |
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| I just thought that little sun was so pretty. |
Today also included a delightful adventure using the buses (if you are the only person at the bus stop, apparently you have to flag the bus driver down or they will just keep going...), getting a bus card (which I feel so super sophisticated using, because you just like, tap it on the little pad thing when you get on and off the bus, and it's like, "Hallo Mevrouw Lupas!" "Tot ziens Mevrouw Lupas!"
I wandered around the center of Utrecht for a while today, looking for the first bike. It was...interesting. Oh, and it was raining all day long. I was thrilled, THRILLED that I had the foresight to buy a rain suit. My pants and my top all stayed nice and dry. It was like a small miracle. And it was WONDERFUL. Hopefully there will be some actual sun this week.Because otherwise, I'm just going to look like this all the time:
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| Hot. Literally. It's like being a human sausage. Dry but stuffy. |
I'm thoroughly enjoying my stay thus far, and look forward to many more excellent adventures in the weeks to come. :)
I cannot believe the bike the other Fulbright guy left you was still there! And you are hilarious. In every single way possible. I am so glad you bought that rain suit too. I wonder if you are seeing those everywhere you go now. And you had a conversation in Dutch? Really? Wowza! That is truly amazing! All those many hours spent on Rosetta Stone are paying off. I thought all you learned on Rosetta Stone was how to say, "The dog sits on a cloud" and other useful things noun-centric things. Kelli, keep up your blog as much as you can. I love reading it and I'm sure everyone else will too! ;--)
ReplyDeleteI feel as though the rain suits are things worn only by old people, but that just means everyone else is stupid, because, you know what little lass, your cute tight jeans and your leather jacket are real fashionable, but I don't think anybody relishes the idea of wet leather and soaked jeans. Just sayin'. I'm going to try to post regularly! Like, I'll def want to let everyone know how my first day in the lab goes tomorrow, and Siri invited me to Disneyland in Paris with her family this weekend, so that will be a whole huge other adventure!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you got a bike, Kelli! And also that you have new new friends who are helping you out and are already learning your way around Utrecht. Good luck on your first day at work! Let us know how it goes.
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