Will call this one, a really long journal entry.

So I haven't had much time on the Internet the last week or so. I feel so disconnected with the world, and in reality it should be the other way around. Here I am, immensing myself in a new culture, a new place, awakening my senses and yet I feel distant to the world.

So lots has happened in the last week. Tuesday night was international night at a local pub. The theme was Spanish night, so they had specials on sangria. It was a good time and just funny. I've come to realize that all these people I meet I probably will never see them again so why not dance (something I pretty much refuse to do at home). On a whole, I'd also have to say Americans in general have better rhythm than most europeans. I've also noticed the Spanish seem to have the most fun. In addition, I also wonder now and then what happens as we grow old. Here were people from all over the globe having a good time. A smile is universal. Maybe Sadam and Bush should get together and just go out. I realize the issues there are more complex and one I might not have a full understanding of. I would just like to see a peaceful resolution.

One thing I like about here is when I leave a pub. Instead of seeing parking lots and gas stations, I walk down cobblestone roads and see buildings older than America itself. A dislike is the 30 minute walk back to Guesthouse. Taxis are here, but cost way too much. A trip from the train station to Guesthouse which is a few miles was over 10 euros. Ridicolous.

Maastricht has also made me realize how great Febreeze and Woolite is. Since cigarette smoke is just about everyone, it gets old smelling like the Marlboro man himself. Speaking of Marlboros, I thought of a quick profit scheme. Load my suitcase with them here and then sell them when I get into the States. They are dirt cheap here. It seems being the typical American that I am, I brought way too many clothes, but not enough underwear or socks. This is where Woolite comes in. Instead of paying 4 euros a load for laundry, now I just use a lil woolite.

This weekend I went on a Discover Holland trip. We went all over the country by bus and I do mean all over. It was a group of about 60 kids and from this I knew the trip would have its faults. We get to Rotterdam that night and go out for dinner. It didn't even feel like Valentines, but that is fine by me. We then went to a pub, and then to dance club. Now this club called the Baja Beach Club was exactly the kind of place you wouldn't go to at home. It looked like a beach on the inside with both guy and girl bartenders wearing bathing suits. If you wanted to, you could do a body shot off of them. Didn't really interest me, but it did for most of the others. Definitely a good laugh though. A guy and I were like this is too much lets go find some culture. We decided to head back in the direction of the hotel and find a local pub. Instead what we got was a tour through Rotterdam. Did you know if you take a wrong turn, keep walking down it and don't realize it you can end up lost. Well we got lost, and eventually found our way back to the hotel by 4 in the morn. A little side note, guess who was the only one kicked out of the club. A drunk American in our group who thought it would be fun to jump on stage.

Next morning into the bus and to the beach. Its below zero celsius. Beach wasn't much fun. Next stop, some town I can't pronounce. It was a typical Dutch village or as like to say a typical Dutch tourist trap. Here you could buy cheese, see wooden shoes being made or see some windmills. It was alright, but again very cold. So now I decided to be the stupid American with another guy. The little creeks/river was frozen, ducks can walk on it. Can humans? I kind of tested it near the shore and it felt solid. So a guy and I get out on it. We are about half way and then the ice cracks. We had panic stricken faces, but knew we couldn't move fast because it's ice. We ended up making it back on the land and dry thankfully.

Next stop was Utrech, which is a pretty big/young town. We had a cool little hostel. Went out for some dinner, then a city tour/pub crawl. I don't quite know why the Dutch like to take us on these tours when it is so cold. Anyways the pubs were ok, I didn't drink all that much, but my coaster collection keeps getting bigger. I've decided I needed to collect something while I'm away. That night we ended up at another club and made it back by 4 in the morn.

Next morning I wake up to hear the guys from North Carolina discussing how many "space cakes" they should have for breakfast to get messed up on with. I never found out their answer, but instead did some sight seeing in Utrech. We climbed the Dom Tower, which was built a really long time ago. It had close to 500 some steps, but the view was worth it. I'm always amazed at what people were able to build in the past. We also took a little canal tour. Our guide didn't have the best English, but that was fine by me. Back on the bus we head to another Dutch town to go visit a small brewery and distillery. If you haven't noticed the trend, the Dutch like to drink or take us exchange students drinking. It was interesting though.

However on this trip I came to realize a few things. Never travel in groups, people become really indecisive. Also if you are abroad and someone is loud, it most likely is an American. I also realized its fun to play up your stereotype with others when you all realize its a joke. I was having a coffee with a french guy and he was like where is my bread, where is my wine. Pretty much everything I said, I would reply along the lines that we do it better than anyone else back in America. I came to the conclusion that I most likely won't pick up on much "Dutch, but improve my Spanish. I constantly try to use it when talking to people from Spanish speaking countries.

A marketing major, a possible position is that of a brand manager. In doing so you usually try to create a brand through the use of media among other means. In practice I understand how it works, but my personal opinion was that it doesn't work. I was talking to a Dutch girl who was telling me where she was thinking about studying abroad. She mentioned a few including Canada, but no America. I told her that Canada is nice and in ways very similar to the US. She said she wants to see America, but doesn't want to live there for the people. She said she understands there are geniunely nice people, but as a whole it is something our country lacks. I asked her how she came to this conclusion and the reply was movies and TV. Maybe we do need to become a little more aware of what we do broadcast. First thing that crossed my mind was kids and violence on TV.

Anyways a lot of people over here don't like America. I picked up some postcards I felt were interesting. One was the US flag in the shape of Pac Man eating drops of oil and leaving behind white crosses. Made me think.