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January 27, 2014

Planes, Trains and...Jet-lag

Hello, all!

Today marks one week since I've arrived in Middelburg. Wow. Has it really only been a week? It feels like so much longer. Or maybe it just feels that way since it's my first experience with jet-lag. I'm still not sure if I'm completely over it.

Thomas, Lindsey and I had agreed to meet up at the Omaha airport at 5:00am on January 19 for our trip. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to get our bags checked in and get through security before boarding our flight. My mom had brought Thomas and I down to Omaha the night before so we wouldn't have to get up at 2:00am and drive to the airport in the dark. The hotel we stayed at had a shuttle service that took us directly to the airport, though, so we didn't have to worry too much about actually getting there. We got through security in plenty of time and waited to board our 7:08am flight to Charlotte.

From left: Thomas, Laurie (that's me!), Lindsey try to stay awake enough to take a group photo before heading upstairs to go through security at the Omaha airport.

Mom and I at the airport just before going through security
This trip was my first experiences with both planes and trains. To get to the Netherlands, we flew from Omaha to Charlotte, NC. After a four-hour layover we flew to Philadelphia, where we had a 4.5-hour layover. Finally, at 8:50pm we boarded our last plane of the day. We flew overnight to Amsterdam's Schipol Airport...and in the process we skipped seven time zones. Hence...jet-lag ;)

Shortly after taking off from the Omaha airport. What a beautiful sunrise!
The sky is such a perfect shade of blue! The water streaking across the windows froze the higher we flew. It was fun to watch it slow down as it became minute ice crystals.

Somewhere over Charlotte, NC. We're in the descent - the ground is that close. I didn't use zoom.
When we got off the plane we had to go through customs in order to get to the baggage area. Lindsey and I voted to have Thomas go first since he had the only experience with such a process. The customs officer seemed nice enough, but also slightly wary...

Officer: "Where are you going?"
Thomas: "Middelburg."
Officer: "Why are you going there?"
Thomas: "I'm studying abroad."
Officer: "Do you have your residence permit?"
Thomas: "I was told that I'll get it when we get there."
Officer: *sighs and stamps Thomas' passport* "Alright."

Lindsey went next. The officer asked her the same first question, and when she gave the same answer, he simply asked, "Same reasons as the first guy?" She said yes, and he stamped her passport. When I got up to the window he looked at my passport book, then back at me and said, "Are you with the other two?" I replied that yes, I was. He stamped my book and we proceeded to the baggage-claim area.

Amsterdam Schipol Airport baggage-claim area
Once we retrieved our bags, the three of us walked over to the service desk and asked where the train station was. The lady at the desk directed us through a couple sets of doors. Turns out...the station was connected to the airport. On the flight we had decided to take the first available train to Middelburg. We got our tickets and had about 10 minutes to find the correct platform before our train arrived. The ride took about 2.5 hours. I actually used my iPad and took a video of part of the trip, but when I loaded it onto my laptop, the video plays upside-down. If/when I get it fixed, I'll make sure to post it. The landscape was relatively open and agricultural. Some fields had standing water because it rains so much. The sky was completely overcast, as it has been for much of the past week. But one of the students from here said that Middelburg is actually "the sunniest place in the Netherlands."

I think the sun has been out once. Maybe twice. *wink*

We contacted a couple students from UCR so they could meet us at the Middelburg train station. Marius and Inge were there, as arranged. We had a 10-15 minute walk from the station to the street where my house is. I live on a street called Bagijnhof. Lindsey is just around the corner from me, on Pluimstraat. And Thomas is in a new student dorm called Sint Willibrord that's just across the street from campus. Lindsey and I both live in buildings that are basically large houses. There's a total of 10 people in my house. It's community-style living, and every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening we have a house dinner. There will be a "house elder" who assigns chores and who's cooking for the dinners.

The culture here is different and will take some getting used to, but I'm eager and excited to learn more and experience new things. Tomorrow I officially start my first classes at the University College Roosevelt. I just hope the after-effects of my jet-lag don't mess with my concentration too much...