These streets are becoming my own.

Hmmm week three of work was interesting. Definitely my toughest week. Partly because I was fully acquainted to work, so it started to seem a bit boring. And I definitely was not made for an 8-5, sit at a computer all day kind of job (I can barely sit still long enough to watch a two hour movie…). But God's been using work to teach me lots - patience, surrender, working hard for Him even if I'm not loving every moment of work (because somehow I love every moment of school). It was still a fun week though: I got access to one of the top secret labs and got to fly drones around it! And got to see an octo-copter fly (think helicopter, with eight rotors instead of one). And watch a 3-D 'movie' with these fancy glasses. 

On Wednesday of this week I went out to dinner (for the first time) in Amsterdam with my roommate and a friend from Hillsong church. Ordered a pizza, and ate the ENTIRE thing. Guess I've been living off p.b. sandwiches for too long…I forgot how good real food is. 

Afterwards, we went to a Bible study with the church which I really enjoyed. It was all about church - how church means a people, not an event that happens on Sunday, or a building. Good stuff. I was quite surprised to here everyone ask me if I was joining them for drinks afterwards. Coffee and doughnuts - ya sure that's what Americans do after church. But go to a bar? 

It turned out to be a ton of fun! It was my first bar experience in Amsterdam (although I only ordered a fancy hot chocolate). But it was a blessing to get to meet more people from the church and just joke around with them. Even when they are all speaking Dutch, I still feel included. Without Hillsong church, I'd be a friendless foreigner, sitting at home, well, probably blogging. So all you faithful readers who've been waiting for new posts - you've got all these cool friends I now have to blame ;) 

Random side note: The fourth of July means nothing in other countries. Every city in Europe may have a "Kennedy Lane", but Thursday was just a Thursday. My advisor emailed me pictures of fireworks in Washington D.C. - I guess that's slightly closer to fireworks than my past 4ths have been the past few years (in Kenya, the DR, and Jamaica). 

My weekend following this week was absolutely delightful. Praise #1: the sun came out. It was warm (note: NOT hot). But when the sun comes out, so does EVERYONE in Amsterdam. Families have dinner outside, the parks are full of people in bathing suits, the canals have more boats than I thought could fit safely. It is a sight to see, it is glorious to be a part of. 

My Friday night was relaxing - started playing piano after stopping so many years ago. Turns out I could muster through the Dutch level 3 book sitting by the piano pretty well!

My Saturday was organized (and payed for :D) by the MIT MISTI program (who sent me here in the first place). Started off by going to the Rijksmuseum early in the morning. Although museums aren't really my thing, I enjoyed seeing the models of ships, old Renaissance works I studied in AP European History, Rembrandt's night watch of course, and the newly renovated building itself! I had forgotten I had even been there before until I stumbled upon two big giant dollhouses that I remember falling in love with as a 9 year old girl. To be honest, I had thought those doll houses were from a dream or something - so it was pretty crazy to see them again, and have a flood or memories rush back to me. After the museum we went out to the gardens, and they had this awesome fountain that stopped squirting water for a few seconds so you could run inside it! I love water, and with such a sunny day, I longed to be like the little girl running through the fountain in her bathing suit. Eventually, I couldn't contain my longing any more - and ending up running through it. I was completely soaked afterwards, much more than I expected. But it was completely worth it. 

After the museum we went out for Dutch pancakes (pannekeok). With MIT footing the bill - we feasted. We all got poffertjes to split, and I finally tried the chocolate milk here! I then ordered an apple raisin pancake with cinnamon ice cream and peaches. Incredible - absolutely determined to have another before I leave. It was also fun because seeing Oma get a huge pancake last time I was here is one of my most distinct memories from my trip 11 years ago. My friend's chicken and cheese pancake was quite good as well :) 

To end our day together we took a canal cruise through Amsterdam. Hanging out the side of the boat and soaking up the sun was the best part…until we got yelled at. 

Afterwards I did some exploring by bike. I went to the museum of science and discovered you could go on its roof, where there was a terrace with a waterfall going down. It was almost like a little beach - and you could overlook all of Amsterdam. Checked out the Amsterdam library too. It was such a nice building - very new, with a view of Amsterdam as well! I almost wished I had homework to work on so I could sit in that building for a few hours…

My Saturday night was extravagant. Mark, a friend from church, invited me over his house. He had a private chef over to cook for a group of us that night. We started dinner at 8pm, and finished around 1am. Guess that's what happens when you have an ELEVEN course menu. The chef was awesome - let us see how he cooked everything, and even let us help out a bit. Got to meet more awesome people, and eat more protein than I have since being in this country: salmon, duck, clams, shrimp, veal…I'm starting to appreciate good food :) Oh - and I got to go on Mark's roof and overlook Amsterdam and see the boats passing by (full of drunk people at midnight). So, so beautiful. And turns out biking home at 1am alone is completely safe and normal! 

My Sunday was a continuation of such a great Saturday. I went to church early, and got to serve on the hosting team! It was a blessing to be able to serve, to greet people, to meet people, to be out in the sun, to be filled with the joy of the Lord! And the message really hit me - kept me thinking all day. 

From church, I headed to Zaandvoort aan Zee aka THE BEACH. Took my bike on the train, so I could bike to a less crowded beach. Slept on the beach for a few hours, and took a dunk in the North Sea. Then biked through the sand dunes on my way back to the train station. Found a cool lake, with weird wild cow things, and swans, and birds. Parked my bike and journeyed off the trail a bit, where I sat on a  bench for over an hour just talking to God. Exactly what I needed. 

That feeling of salty, sun-kissed skin, beach hair, dirty feet, and a peaceful, rested mind - finally had the summer day I've been longing for :D 

The smell of waffles, lots of diamond stores, an interesting mix of French and Dutch...such is Belgium.

For my third weekend in Europe I awoke quite early on Saturday and headed to Amsterdam Centraal for Antwerpen, Belgium! Biking to the station at 6:30am was quite interesting actually - the city was dead,  except for a few clubs that were just finishing up parties from the night before. And there were HUGE herons just standing in the middle of the road! I ended up missing the 6:55am train I wanted to take, which actually ended up being a huge blessing. Namely because the only planning I did for my weekend involved which cities I was going to and a hostel reservation. I had neglected to figure out which train connections I would need to make - so missing my train (twice actually), forced me to go to the information desk and ask for help. Two train connections later, I successfully arrived in Antwerp at 10am. My only plan for when I got there was to go to the tourist office in the train station and get a map. God changed those plans too - because the tourist office was closed...

So I did what I love to do - explore! I walked down random streets, through the fashion district I believe (fashion is something Antwerp is known for). I stopped in a hotel to get a free map, but it turned out to be pretty useless/inaccurate. I immediately smelt those Belgian waffles, and added getting one of those to my to-do list for the weekend! I started following signs towards the old historic district, where I stumbled upon a big church, a city hall (and saw THREE wedding parties come out in a row), and a tourist office! YAY! There I got three free maps for the three cities I would visit, and made some quick plans for my next few hours in Antwerp. 

Some cool things I saw:

-A castle/fort like thing, which overlooked the major river in the city.

-I walked underneath the river through an infinite infinite tunnel 31 meters below ground (it definitely beat the MIT Infinite). When I came up on the other side there was a great view of the city skyline, so I found a bench to sit on and eat my lunch. At this point the SUN CAME OUT. My weekend was made complete at that point. 

-Some cool murals/graffiti alleys.

-Walking past a cafe I heard someone yell my name - turned out to be a friend from MIT who was working in Belgium! With her and another MIT student, we explored a local market, which had lots of yummy free samples, interesting fruit, cheeses, breads, teas etc. AND they had chappatti! Got one of those with some nutella :) 

-The diamond street! A street with about 25 diamond stores, that had guarded entrances. Never thought I'd walk through so much money. Unfortunatley the stores were closed, so I didn't get to see the armed guards and busy exchange of big money happening, but it was still pretty neat. 

Getting back to the central station around 3pm, I figured out where to buy tickets for my next train after some thourough searching of the station (man I wish I knew more Dutch...). I then had to ask a few people about what train to get on since the signs don't make sense here. In the meantime, peddaled for about 10 minutes to charge my phone (ain't nothing free in Belgium, not electicity (unless you provide the energy), not bathrooms). And finally boarded a train headed towards Bruge, my next destination! 

Bruge is a really old village that has basically been preserved/stuck in time. Old castles, churches, small homes, lots of canals, and very touristy. Its known as the second most romantic city in Europe behind Paris. It was fun to walk through. But I really fell in love with Bruge when I escaped the tourist scene, walked through a neighborhood, and found two big windmills on the edge of the village. I climbed up to one of them, and had a view of the whole city. It was beautiful - to sit there and just be. To talk to God, rest, thank Him for His blessings,and  enjoy another gourmet peanut butter sandwhich. After an hour or so, I started walking towards my hostel. I chose to walk along one of the big canals through the grass, even though it was longer. With shoes off, worship music playing, and a peaceful heart, I slowly made my way down the river, smiling the whole time. It was glorious. I even had a guy stop me and ask me if I had a bad day. Replying that no I actually had a good day, he commented that I looked like I was in love. I replied by saying in fact I was, in love with my Savior Jesus, and had enjoyed a whole day of walking and talking with Him. 

The hostel I stayed at was cute, secluded, and peaceful. I shared a 6 person dorm with an older lady, although I only saw her in bed. What do you do when your hostel doesn't provide towels? Use the pillowcase they do provide of course! 

I was the first one to check out of the hostel the next morning - even beat the receptionist to the front desk. Grabbed some food from the hostel breakfast even though it hadn't opened yet, and made my way back to the Bruge train station. An hour later I arrived in the center of Brussels. 

The hostel I stayed at. 

Brussels was probably my favorite city out of the three I saw. The fact that it was warm and sunny the day I visited maybe (definitely) is influencing that statement. When I got theere, the city was quite dead (it was a Sunday morning). Ended up finding a really nice park, church, palace, etc. Then made my way to the European Parliament building, where I got to go in and have a free tour through their little musuem. It was really neat! 

After that I walked to the Grand Place - the center of Brussels. And ended my Belgium adventures with a long awaited Belgian waffle smothered in chocolate, gazing out at all of the old buildings and towards of the Grand Place. I walked past the peeing statue (I don't know why thats famous...) and ran into a huge market outside of the train station. Didn't find any free samples, but it was so crowded it made me feel like I was in Kibera's Toi Market in Kenya!

The EU Parliament

I dominated the 3 train connections I had to make on the ride home, and even helped a few other tourists, and an African man get on the right trains. The guy from Burundi gave me a bag of coffee too - too bad I don't like coffee, even if it is from Africa. I got back to central station around 4pm, and headed straight to Hillsong Amsterdam church - just in time for their afternoon service! It was delightful. And I got to see a lot of the people I had met the previous week. Such a blessing to be surrounded by so many people who love God and have welcomed me in. :D 

FLYING!!

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." 

-Psalm 19:1

My mom says she sees a face?

The most exciting part of work week two: I got to go flying in the company airplane! NLR has two planes they use to do research, and a few of my colleagues fly about once a week to acquire data for a number of different things. The plane we went up in seats five, and they had an extra spot, so invited me along (props of being an intern). The flight was to do testing of a beacon for the military, so not anything I am working on, but interesting nonetheless! It was cool to see the Netherlands from that perspective - quite a bit different from exploring on a bike! And we flew over the Rhine and into Germany for a bit. The clouds were incredible. Even seeing the planes before we flew mesmerized me. The entire time I was like a kid in a candy store. Once we took off, they let me get up and sit right behind the pilots (who fly with no hands for the majority of the time). 

Looking back at my seat once I was sitting up behind the pilots.

The Rhine!

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

 -Ephesians 3:20-21

I would have never imagined I would have been given the opportunity to go flying. In fact, when my advisor told me about it, I thought he meant go look at the planes and I got pumped about that! To actually get to fly in them…now that was a gift from my Father, my Father who knows my heart, knows my passions (He put them in me), who knows exactly how to captivate me :D 

Post flight :)

Other news for this week: 

-I finished a jar of peanut butter after being here a week - getting all the food groups in! 

-There's a new French intern in the office! Which means 1) there is someone else younger than 50 and 2) I'm not the newbie anymore! In fact, I had to help him get set up with everything. We've made a deal that he will practice English by speaking to me, and I practice French by speaking to him only in French. 

-The sun came out for about 5 minutes this week - and it made my day. This whole 50s/60s/clouds/rain ALL OF THE TIME is killing me. A girl just wants to wear a sundress for a change! 

Soaking.it.in.

-Got to Skype family and friends from home. Yay! Miss you all! 

-I did laundry!

-I went to a prayer night put on by the church I visited - and loved it! I got to meet a lot of cool people! I then went to a church Connect Group - which included dinner, talking about the church sermon, dessert, and just getting to know people more. I'd been praying for God to surround me with community here since before I came; all praise to Him for answering that prayer in my second week! 

-I'm getting better at grocery shopping/being slightly more adventurous! Haven't gotten sick from cooking bad chicken or anything (thanks mom ;P ). 

Most egg yolks here are almost orange. I got an American looking one and a Dutch one in this carton.

Paris - une ville très belle, une amie que j'adore beaucoup

Exactly one week after landing in Amsterdam, I was off to another European country: France! I hopped on a bus at 10pm Friday night, and by 6am the next morning, I was pulling into une gare a (a station in) Paris! As I do in every form of transportation, I slept most of the way, only waking up for our 1am stop in Belgium. When I got to the station, I headed to the Metro info counter, to get a map and an unlimited metro/train/bus ticket for the weekend (which was ridicouslouy cheap for students - if you want to travel Europe, do it when you're under 26!). 

The Paris public transport system is very organized, and very easy to understand (the Netherlands needs to step up their game…). After a few minutes of looking at the map, I had pretty much figured the system out, and made it to the other side of Paris in an hour. There, I met up with Nicole, one of my closest friends throughout high school and to this day, even though I hadn't seen her since Christmas! Paris was on my list of places to visit - but she was the real reason I went! Couldn't have picked a better date to spend a weekend with in la ville de romance :D

Side note: the minute I got off my bus, I became thankful for all of those years I studied french. Suddenly I could read again! I didn't even realize I was understanding what I was reading until I passed by a few advertisements in the station, and then it hit me. And I could understand people around me, and communicate with them - not perfectly, but well enough. This was an added excitement to being in Paris. 

Our first destination: La Tour d'Eiffel

We took the elevator to the top - and man was it beautiful. At that moment Paris amazed me - I was already thinking, "now this is why millions of tourists come here each year". Parks, buildings, La Seine, bridges, L'Arc de Triomphe et Notre Dame in the distance - all those things you've seen a million pictures of but never thought they were actually real. 

Next up: L'Arc de Triomphe et Les Champs-Elysses

I really enjoyed seeing L'Arc de Triomphe - reminded me of all those AP Euro and World history classes from high school. Also made me think of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, probably my favorite thing I saw there a few years ago. Les Champs-Elysses is basically a street lined with the fanciest stores you can imagine. It was neat, but slightly out of my budget ;) 

We continued walking, and got crepes avec la nutella et une banane! C'est tres très bonne. And they were warm - exactly what I needed on such a cold, rainy day. We walked through a beautiful park, and then through the Louvre! Didn't actually get to go in the museum and see that famous Mona Lisa, but the palace itself was stunning. We ended up at La Cathedral de Notre Dame. It was huge! And those flying buttresses - gotta love em - especially after studying them in art class :) 

We also visited the Luxembourg Gardens. There was a little pond/fountain in the middle, where children could rent little sailboats and then push them around the pond. It was adorable. Being in Paris felt like being in a movie: we just sat, in a beautiful garden, with a beautiful fountain, and watched adorable children speaking french, run around and chase their sailboats. 

One cool thing we did that no tourist would no about: go to a French Bible Store. It was so cool to see Christian books Ive read in French, and other languages! They had copies of the Bible in multiple languages - even Arabic. And French Christian music. It was encouraging to see, since most of Europe thinks God/the Church is dead. 

Jumping on the metro to northern Paris, we visited Montmarte. We went to a big church there, that overlooks all of Paris, and was built after the revolution as a sign of hope. 

We then went to une maison du chocolat - with an overwhelming aroma of cocao and the most expensive chocolate Ive ever seen. Didn't buy any chocolate, but did get some fancy French macaroons! 

For dinner, I got a Croque Madame - which was basically like a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top. It was delicious! Afterwards, I dropped Nicole off at her place, and then headed to La Cite Universitaire to meet up with a good friend Teri from MIT, who graciously let me crash on her floor. 

The following day, I met up with Nicole and we went to a French church - another time when I was thankful I knew French, and reminded that God is a God of all nations and tongues. 

For lunch we had our own little date at a nice restaurant - with cheap three course meals. I got vegetable soup with bread, salmon and pasta, and chocolate mousse. Nicole had french onion soup, moussels, and an apple tart. So romantic :) 

With happy stomachs, we headed to La Musee d'Orsay - a museum full or Impressionist artwork. So much Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir, Seurat! Made me want to have art in my house one day. 

The museum eventually kicked us out to close, so I went back to Nicole's hotel, and said goodbye. That was tough - but was so so so happy we got to spend an entire weekend together, catching up on life, her wedding plans, and all the things God had been teaching us for the past few months and years. 

I then met up with Teri and Stas (one of the first people I ever met at MIT, who also lived next to me for two years). We had another delicious dinner - ham and cheese crepe, white fish with rice, and un crepe avec le chocolat! Together we did some more exploring of the city. Every corner you turn in Paris you end up at some beautiful palace, the beauty just never ends…it definitely is a city worth visiting, a city of romance, a city of fine cuisine, a city that makes no accommodations for english speakers, a city built by a royal family, and a city I'd love to go back to someday.

By 11 pm, I was boarding my bus back to Amsterdam. Slept lots, saw some fancy European rest stops, and made it back to Amsterdam by 6:30am. Praise God my bike was still safely at the station! Biked home in less than 5 minutes, showered, and headed to work - happy Monday! 

Becoming Dutch

I am officially a working woman! I successfully made it through my first week of this 9-5 deal, and for the most part, enjoyed it. Through this process of starting work, I think I also became more Dutch. I now have a Dutch social security number, a colorful Dutch stamp that takes up a whole page in my passport, Dutch health insurance (its mandatory, them socialist),and I now know what the average Dutch man eats for lunch everyday.

But what has made me most Dutch is simply, a bicycle. Starting work meant starting to bike to work everyday. The bike paths are incredible, and everywhere.  Think of "Finding Nemo" and the scene of the ocean highways with fish swimming in every which way, but in an organized manner. Or think thousands of NYC drivers, just on bikes. The bike paths even have their own lights, so when they are red, a load of bicyclists/mopeds builds up. And when they turn green, its like the start of the Kentucky Derby, and we're off! My entire ride to and from work feels like a race; everyone is trying to pass each other, and they are always on the offensive. I've seen moms with a wheelbarrow on the front of their bike with rather large children in them, in addition to another kid attached to the back in various ways. I've seen infants attached to the front of a bike as a mom wizzes by. I've seen tiny little cars that use the bike paths, along with mopeds that think they are bikes, but just go way faster. I've seen girls bike past with 4 inch heels, men in full suits…nothing really gets between a Dutchman/woman and her/his bike! I've even seen a littler motrorized wheel chair 'put' down the path.

My path to work is quite pleasant. A little bit of busy roads, a lot of paths through parks, and I even cross a bridge that retracts when big boats come through. I've only got caught in the rain once (the guys at work have educated me on all of the radar websites), and didn't get lost at all after my first day. I have yet to talk on the phone/text while biking as many people do, but I have mastered the "hold your phone in one hand and use it as a GPS while biking" technique to get to different places thorughout the city.

I don't think I'll ever take public transportation in Amsterdam again.

The company I am working for is called NLR (http://www.nlr.nl/ if you're curious). I'm working on a project that is basically putting a brain on a parachute. So when the military wants to deliever materials to a base or a humanitarian site, all they have to do is plug in a target point, throw the parachute out the plane, and the device NLR is developing will direct the parachute and payload to land on target, while calcuating the wind and its own mass in the air.

To perfect this, a lot of testing has to be done. And since planes and fuel and parachuets are not cheap, they have created a simulation of the whole process on a computer program. But it has lots of errors and is basically unfinished, so my job, is to do some finishing. I'll be doing lots of coding, problem fixing, user-manual writing, testing etc.

The office I work in is great. I guess my biggest fear coming in was that it would be stressful, terrifying, and impossible work. Its quite the contrary, and one of the most stree-free environmnts I've ever had to work in (aka NOT MIT). People get their work done, but on their own pace. There is unlmited cofee/tea/hot chocolate, and people are always at the machine taking breaks. I've got a fancy two-desktop set-up and share an office with one other guy who is pretty legit. He's told me all about his paragliding adventures across the world. He's already helped me a lot so far, taught me some Dutch, and eats lunch with me every day! My advisor is also very nice. I think he enjoys showing me around instead of working, and likes to talk about his house and dogs and the touristy stuff I should do in Amsterdam.

It's actually pretty hilarious I am in the Aircraft Systems department. All of the other departments have younger student interns/women. My department is made up of about 25 men at least over the age of 50, if not older. Most of them are a little nerdy, have been working here since I was born, and talk about coding languages with each other and then laugh how I've never heard of them. If you looked in our cafeteria at lunch, you'd see an entire table full of old guys, with me (I am also the only woman), stuck in the middle. There are 3 men's bathrooms and 1 women's bathroom in our division, and I'm pretty sure I am the only one who uses the women's bathroom. Sometimes I wish I was working with some younger people...but most of the time I enjoy standing out, and getting to hear all of their crazy life stories. It's almost like I get to hang out with a bunch of Opa's each day :)

The Dutch love bread and milk, more than I ever would have thought. When they told  me the mlik was free in the cafeteria, I didn't realize that was because the workers would go broke if it wasn't. Every single man eats 2-4 sandwiches a day, with regular bread, with baguettes, and with big rolls (usually one of each), alongside 2-3 glasses of milk, and a cup of soup. The sandwhiches usually consist of butter (always), and then a slice of cheese, or some kind of liquified meat (liverwurst?). And depending on the type of bread, they eat it with a fork and knife. My peanut butter sandwhich, piece of fruit, and WATER bottle is quite shocking to them.

falling in love with my Savior

Sunday did not go how I planned at all, and yet it was spectacular.

I had planned to wake up early, take my own little adventure on a bike for the first time to church, and then spend the rest of the day exploring Amsterdam on my own. But when I went to look for the bike my 'landlord' had said she dropped off for me, I couldn't find it anywhere. So I frantically headed to church by foot/tram, and arrived 30 minutes late (missing my stop didn't help). Annoyed with my situation and myself, I decided to just sit on the canal for an hour and a half until the next service started. Surely my Father knows how to captivate my heart - all I need is some water and warm sunshine and I could feel His peace, His love. 

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" 

-Psalms 46:10

He wanted my heart, my attention, and He changed my plans in order to stop my busyness and get me to fall back in love with Him. To see Him in Amsterdam, His hand in everything thats happened and will happen in my life. To pray (for many of you!), and to listen. That's what my heart needed before I walked into church.

Like in most other countries I've been too, church ended up being the favorite thing I've done so far. The people were inviting and friendly. The worship was powerful. The message, about being present in each moment, was exactly what I needed to hear. Please pray I can get connected to a weekly small group Bible study from this church soon! 

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Since I didn't have a bike to go exploring on, I just went grocery shopping, and back to my apartment. But, I enjoyed a relaxing day with the Lord, blogging, and getting ready for work!