Sorry that I have been so slack writing recently - as you will pick up soon, I have been a very busy wee kiwi. To begin with, from the 19th-23rd June, I was in Amsterdam and Belgium with my best friend from New Zealand, Miss Cassidy Sykes and her angel of a mum, Adrienne.
When I first received Adrienne's email inviting me to come and visit them, I instantly thought that there was no chance in hell of getting permission. Rotary in Germany made it very clear on our first weekend that we were not permitted to travel out of the district, let alone the COUNTRY without Rotary permission, and that we are only permitted to leave the country with host family. And here am I, wanting to travel by myself, out of the country and, might I add, missing out on school not to meet family, but a friend. When I asked, and received the daunting white form, I thought all hope was lost - not only did I require signed (in BLUE INK) permission from my Mum in NZ, I also needed signed permission from my Rotary Club in Christchurch, my District in New Zealand, my host family, my Club in Luneburg and my Germany district, and I have heard too many times to not even bother asking the district - they always say no. But for some unknown reason, everyone gave me the green thumbs up to go (I had to promise to not tell any exchange students I had gained permission, and keep the whole thing on the downlow...so of course, I am sharing this around the internet.)
I arrived in Amsterdam Airport at 4.30, and had to catch a taxi to the hotel where we were staying that night as Cass and Adrienne's Europatour didn't finish until later that evening. I showered, ate and watched telly until Adrienne came upstairs and exclaimed "What are you doing here in your pyjamas, hurry up, everyone's waiting to meet you!" and dragged me in pjs downstairs to meet the whole tour group. When I saw Cass, I burst into tears, as did she. Everyone else seemed rather relieved I was there, and it was a little "so YOU'RE Emma, we've heard SO MUCH about you, Cassidy has told us EVERYTHING!" - we had a hot chocolate at the café and went to bed (I say 'bed' - Cass and I had a little bit of catching up to do however!)
The next day we woke up at 6.15 to go and say goodbye to the rest of the tour bus, and have our breakfast buffet - muesli, bacon, croissants, cake, hash browns. Emma was more than content! We then left our bags at reception and caught a taxi into town. We walked through the famous flower market and Adrienne bought us each a Belgium Chocolate as well as a beautiful top for me and a dress for Cass. Then, we met up with Adrienne's friend Evelyn, who Adrienne and Cass had come to visit and stay with in Amsterdam in the first place. We had lunch - I ordered the pancake with apple pieces baked into it - yum! We then wandered around more shops, and Cass and I ate heaven - Reeces Peanut Butter Cups Ben and Jerry's icecream. Ughhh. We then met up with Ev's partner Joost, and did even MORE shopping, and they took us through the Red Light District - it was certainly...interesting!! We then went and had dinner - Cass and I ordered Ravioli and Fries (everyone said we had to try them!) and also shared a brownie. We then drove with Ev and Joost to our hotel to collect our bags, and then to another hotel near Ev's house where we stayed the night.
The hotel was not...fab, so we woke up early and left rather eagerly and briskly the next morning. Ev was not yet awake, and as we were to have breakfast at her house we had no choice but to wander around in search of a café that we could sit in to pass the time away - sadly, we couldn't find any, but we DID find a supermarket, so we had plenty of things to look at and keep ourselves occupied with. It is here I tried a new love of mine - Chocomel. It is a chocolate milk drink unlike no others, and my life is now empty without it, as it cannot be bought in Germany. Or Austria. Or France.
Eventually it became an acceptable enough hour to go over to Ev's, where Joost made mini pancakes for us (a Holland specialty) in a little muffin tray looking dish that sat over the element. They were delicious. We then walked around for a while and met up with some friends of Ev's. For lunch we found a rustic café that made fresh sandwiches on homemade dark brown bread - Cass and I had chicken and avocado and tomato sandwiches and hot chocolates. Then, it was time to drive to Belgium (just casually, as you do!). We arrived at the home that Adrienne and Ev's friend Els had organised for us - it was beautiful. The whole house was wooden and warm (important - considering it was supposedly summer, it was bloody freezing!), and Cass and I slept in the Attic. We then went to El's for dinner, where she had made cauliflower soup, meat kebabs, potato, cooked capsicum and a delicious dessert with meringue/marshmellow, berries and yoghurt. Needless to say we slept stuffed and happy that night (after Cass and I 'caught up' some more!)
Els bought breakfast to us the next morning - fresh bread, Chocomel (in Belgium called Cecemel), spreads for bread including an amazing chicken curry spread and boiled eggs. We drove to a village called Durby, and walked around the very typical French boutique shops. We had crepes for lunch, followed by the darkest chocolate icecream I have ever eaten. We walked around some more, before driving to two more other villages. We went out for dinner again that night, after driving around for hours in search of a restaurant that wasn't full. Eventually we found one, and I ate the first steak I've had in six months. We also had chocolate fondants for dessert, but they weren't as amazing as we thought they'd be, and Adrienne said she would make them for us when I get back home, the sweetheart. Cass and I were also shocked at the cows in Belgium - they were round and muscled like bulls, but with no hip bones and actually rounded buttocks - Adrienne told us that they were genetically made that way, and that they were so unnatural that all births must be caesareans as the mother cannot push the giant calf out, and normally doesn't survive.
I had been dreading the day that I was going to have to leave, and sadly, it came too fast.
Els supplied us generously with breakfast again - this time pancakes as well as the incredible array from the day before. We packed up and headed on our way back to Amsterdam. Evs bought us a Holland classic ' gherkin flavoured potato chips that were actually delicious. On the way we stopped at The Hague, where we walked around for a bit before heading to Amsterdam Airport. There, I cracked. The whole day I had been keeping my emotions under control, but as soon as Adrienne asked the dreaded question: "You alright, hun?" I cracked. Then, it turned out that my flight was booked for the 23rd JULY, not JUNE, and then I really lost it. Adrienne, the angel that she is paid for a ticket for me, and then the waterworks turned into a monsoon. Not only was I a blubbery mess, but so was Cass and we got everyone started. Reluctantly, I dragged myself away and headed to my terminal to fly home. Before I got on the plane I bought myself one last Chocomel, but sadly, just like my perfect trip away, it was finished too soon.
I will never forget these days with those two angels, and everything they did for me. I truly needed those few days away, back with very dear friends of mine. These perfects days spent with the Sykes was the start of the turnaround of my exchange - when I returned it was school holidays, and a new family. But that is for the next update, until then, (which is very soon), goodnight!
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