Week six marked the end of the first session and many things that we had started to finally be comfortable with! Whether that be friends, professors, or classrooms you get the idea...things, as we knew them, were about to change. For those of you who know me well, you know that I HATE change, especially sudden changes that I have not had time to process and figure out all the possible outcomes. This was a week of preparing for changes that I knew were coming and unfortunately also dealing with changes that I was not prepared for in the slightest.
Day 36:
Monday was a very easy-going day, I had class and then my normal routine after I finished. Then Piper and I went to coffee at a cute bookstore. I knew that Piper was a big reader, so I surprised her with where we were meeting up and that was so fun. For one of my assignments for the job that I have for the summer, I have to make a video of people's experiences while studying abroad and why someone who is trying to decide if they want to should do the same, so I got a chance to video interview Piper for this. She is a journalism major so she understands the struggle of getting people to sit down and answer a few questions in front of a camera. I spent the rest of the afternoon booking a couple more things for our upcoming trip, went to the beach with Charlotte and that was really it.
Day 37:
This was our last day of instruction! We came back from class I had lunch and took a nap, made a Quizlet, and then met up with Skylar to study for our finals at Luceros Coffee. We had plans to go out to dinner that night as an adios dinner with our first session friends so I just hung out at Skylar and Charlotte's place and watched The Bridge to Terabithia until we were ready for dinner. I had amazing pesto pasta and a glass of wine. It was so good!!! and from where we were sitting, I could see the castle so that was cool too! After we finished eating, we went down to the beach to watch one of the last nights of the firework competition. It felt like the fourth of July, just on June 28th I guess hahah. 
Day 38:
Finals day!!! I honestly was not really stressed about this final but I think even tests that you are confident in are slightly nerve-racking. I went in and we took the written part first, and then when we had finished that, we went outside and had thirty minutes to prepare for our oral exam. The oral portion could be one of 2 different interactions that we were supposed to play out based on whichever card we drew. Of course, there was one that we were more confident in than the other so we wanted that one, but neither of us wanted to be at fault for picking the wrong one. After hesitating I finally drew one... and it was not the one we wanted:( We cannot really complain though as we both got 95% on it. On the written portion I got a 99/100 for an overall score in the class of a 99%. So not too shabby if I do say so myself lol. After class Skylar and I walked over to the mall that is really close to campus just to see what it was all about. It looked and felt very similar to a mall in the states, nothing super special. We even got Dunkin' Donuts while we were there. After I got home and had lunch, I was originally supposed to meet up with everyone at the beach, but then after going back and forth for a bit, Skylar and I decided that it was time for her to learn how to play Nertz and then she taught me a card game as well. I went home for dinner, finished packing my things, and then I wanted to go to bed early because we planned to meet at the bus stop at 4:50 the next morning to go to the airport.
Skylar and I met up at the bus station about 10 minutes before it was supposed to arrive. We started to get concerned when it wasn't there on time as it was the first bus of the morning, but eventually, it showed up and we hopped on for the 15-minute ride to the airport. When we got to the airport, it was honestly not that busy so it was just a quick trip through security, and then as we waited for the plane we got to watch the sunrise. Not too bad a way to start off a trip. We flew into Brussels and immediately had to start trying to figure out the public transportation system, once we found the station we had 5 mins to catch the train, or we were going to have to wait an hour for the next one. We managed to pull it off though and we're definitely very proud of ourselves for that. We went and dropped off our stuff at our hostel and then went exploring. Found a cute specialty coffee shop and had some great cappuccinos and conversations. We had lunch plans to meet up with a girl from Spain that had spent the summer with Skylar's family when she was in high school. She currently is living in Brussels because she works in the European Union Parliament as an assistant to a Spanish politician. After lunch, she gave us a special behind-the-scenes tour of the parliament building in which we got to walk on a floor not open to the public, take a picture where all the politicians from all over the world do when they come and have a special view of the room that they vote in. We definitely felt pretty special. We stopped at a coffee shop in a park on our way back and split another cappuccino and a lemonade. Then we walked to the Grand Palace. while walking there it started to sprinkle, but really wasn't too bad, but before we knew it the downpour started, and we were not prepared. We sought out shelter in a waffle shop where we got our first waffle of the trip and attempted to dry off a bit. After finishing up here we knew that we need to head back to check into the hostel and find dry clothes. It was quite a ways back so we stopped at a souvenir shop in which Skylar bought a plastic rain poncho and thus turned into a smurf, but at least she was a less wet smurf. Running through the streets of Brussels, dying laughing we eventually made it back. We spent the next while unpacking and then hanging out downstairs playing cards and Skylar even taught me how to play chess. I lost, but I wasn't too bad at it for my first go around. We found a place to grab some dinner after this and I got my first Belgian beer and some sort of meatball dish with "frites" and mayonnaise. We finished up here and went back to the hostel where we met a lady from Singapore, I believe, and talked with her for a while before going to bed early because we had a train to catch the next morning and we had been awake since like 4:15 that morning.
Day 41: Day 39:
Day 40:
We got on a train this morning and went to Bruges which is a small medieval town in Belgium about an hour by train from Brussels. We immediately headed to a breakfast place that I had found online before, called Brunch & Books. It was the cutest little restaurant full of books and the most amazing waffles that I have ever had covered in maple syrup, whip cream, bacon, and bananas. We walked around town and saw everything that we planned to which included the most picturesque town square full of beautiful buildings and horse-drawn carriages. We walked slightly out of town and found some windmills where we sat in chairs getting slightly drizzled on, made a bird friend, and talked about who knows what. Contrary to Skylar's belief, it started to rain so we headed back toward town and tried to stay as dry as possible. On our way back I found the most beautiful lace shop and museum. It was absolutely gorgeous. We also meandered our way through various secondhand shops enjoying the many different things they had and the coverage from the rain. Skylar gave in a bought a second plastic poncho at some point during this as she didn't think that she was going to need her other one. We went on a canal cruise and it was breathtaking. we went under some bridges that if I had straightened my posture completely I probably could have hit my head on, and saw graceful swans swimming in what they refer to as "lovers lake". When we returned to the dock, there was a flea market happening just on the edge of the canal so we had fun looking through all the random things and trinkets that each booth had to offer. We made our way to the chocolate shop next and then got a snack at the shop next door and spent a while talking with the owner who was from Nepal. It was very interesting, though it did not seem like he thought very highly of the United States so that was kind of awkward. On our way to find a bathroom, we saw signs for a free harp concert that was starting in 20 minutes, so we figured why not and went on in. It was soooo cool. The guy not only played a classic concert harp but played a multitude of different harps, a lyre, and other instruments that he had designed and built. We grabbed a light dinner and played Rummikub at a pub before catching the train back to Brussels. It was a magical day!
Woke up and grabbed some pastries on our way to catch our train for Amsterdam. This was about a three-hour train ride but it honestly went by pretty quickly. We got into Amsterdam around 1:30 went to check into our hostel and then figure out where we wanted to eat. Skylar found this place called Social Box and after a bit of hesitation from me, we went. It was sooo good! I got a breakfast sandwich that was a sausage patty, thick-cut bacon, a hash brown patty, a fried egg, and house-made ketchup all on a brioche bun. It was amazing! We hung out there for a bit and then started to wander around town. We saw the Auschwitz memorial and the separate Holocaust memorial. I honestly had not even thought about the fact that we would be sanding on soil that had so much history although I should have because I did know that Anne Frank was from there. We walked some more and made a stop at one of their local flea markets just as they were starting to pack things up. Next, we stopped for me to get a fresh stroopwafel. Then we found a cheese store that had some free samples and a giant Lego store/ museum. Later we stood in Dam square where we watch a street performer that did some interesting stunts like juggling sharp objects while standing on some sort of scary contraption. That night neither of us was hungry and I was really tired and did not really want to do anything so we sat in the hostel lobby and then eventually went to get food and when the place that we wanted to go was closed, ended up in a Chinese restaurant. One thing I did learn while we were there was how much of an Asian influence there is in the Netherlands. This is because in 1602 the Dutch East India Company was formed. The Dutch people were so taken with not only the spices but also the beautiful artwork and textiles that came from Asia. Anyways, I had fried rice with pork and chicken on top and it really hit the spot. We went to bed pretty soon after. It is a good thing I was really tired because sleeping in the sketchy-looking hostel would not have happened otherwise. As a whole, if I'm being honest, I was ready to leave Amsterdam and never come back, but that was not an option.
Day 42:
Woke up this morning with a game plan! We had tickets for the Van Gogh Museum at 11am, but it was a good 30+ minute walk there from our hostel so we broke up the walk by stopping at a coffee shop (and not one of the ones that sell weed but is just disguised as a coffee shop) and I got my new go-to apparently of a cappuccino and an oh so buttery good croissant (which by the way I have decided that I am going to learn how to make croissants when I get back to the states)! We also stopped on the way for Skylar to get a stroopwafel as that was what she was craving for breakfast. The Van Gogh museum was so interesting! We also paid the extra 3.50 each to have the audio tour guide and that was so helpful and interesting for background on some of the main pieces and facts about his life. After this, we walked to an open-air food market where they have a bunch of permanent vendors serving up all kinds of yummy dishes. I even go to meet up with my friend Demetri from high school as he is studying in Amsterdam for 5 weeks. It was so nice to see him for the first time in almost three years and catch up on so many things. Kind of wild that we would meet up in the Netherlands, of all places!! Demetri and I split a flight of 5 different kinds of bitterballen which is really just the Dutch version of croquettes and we each got a falafel wrap and a beer. It was all so good and flavorful. After lunch, Skylar and I walked to Vondel Park where I sat and people-watched for a couple hours and Skylar took a nap. On our way to dinner after the park, we ran into a random concert that was doing a bunch of Bob Marley covers. It was honestly pretty entertaining. For dinner, we went to a restaurant that served classic Dutch cuisine. I got in English terms, mashed potatoes cooked with different things in them including sauerkraut, carrots, and spinach with a smoked Dutch sausage on top. I'm not even going to try to write the actual names of these dishes. Then Skylar and I shared dessert of Dutch apple pie and poffertjes. Then, surprise, surprise we walked some more. This time we were headed to our evening canal cruise. We learned a lot of fun facts and had a great time just taking in all the views. On our walk back we stopped in the same spot in Dam square and there was a man playing the piano this time. We are really confused about how he got the piano there with all the cobblestone ya know, but it was beautiful nevertheless. Then off to bed, we went. 
Day 43:
Last day in Amsterdam! We knew that we wanted to grab breakfast and then really just head straight to the airport as we knew that it would likely be very busy. We went and got some classic Dutch pancakes that fill the entire plate! Mine had bacon and apples cooked into it too! It was amazing! We took our time here and then headed to the train station to begin the travel back home. We arrived at the airport about 4 hours before our flight thinking that we were really on top of things, but this is where it all came crashing down. The flight that we had scheduled was no where to be found on any monitors or in any system. Turns out that this flight didn't exist...this airline doesn't even fly out of this airport... we were really screwed (sorry for my language lol). So we started searching for our next plan. We knew we needed a new flight, but the question became whether we should fly to where our connecting flight was in Birmingham or fly straight to Spain and take a bus from Valencia back to Alicante. We ended up deciding to book the tickets to Valencia just to make sure that we didn't have to do this all over again. Then just when you think that things are all good and well even minus the many euros that those plane tickets cost, we got in the line that was about two hours long just to get through security. Luckily, we made friends with a pair of sisters from the Netherlands in this line and just spent time talking with them about random things which honestly helped the time pass so much faster. In the back of our heads though, we knew it was still possible that we might miss this new flight as well so we were just doing our best not to cry and to think of all the good parts of the last 4 days that we had had. When we finally got through security we had to RUN and I mean RUN to our gate. The flight had been delayed and thank God for that, but we just made it in time to line up with everyone as they entered the plane. We booked our bus tickets as we stood in the line to board the plane and could finally breath a sigh of relief that we were going to make it home. We landed in Valencia and had time to charge our phones and grab some food at the airport before catching a taxi to the bus station. We hopped on the bus and then 2.5 hours later pulled into our beloved city only 15 minutes later than our original flight plan would have gotten us there. I walked in my apartment to a very tired host mom who had made me a sandwhich and asked how my trip was. I immediately said thank you of course and then hopped into the shower to wash off a terribly stressful day and went to bed as I had to catch the tram at 8:08 the next morning!
This is where I will stop for this week even though it is technically halfway through the next week, I know that this post has a lot going on!
So, now you see why I started off this post with change...change is not something that I avoid entirely, but something I deal with in my way (well if possible). Saying goodbye is never easy, especially with people that you really aren't sure you will ever see again, but just took some major life steps with. Dealing with places that are uncomfortable or honestly just full of things that hurt your heart, is also not my first choice. Having to make quick decisions about how the heck you are going to get home that cost a lot of money, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But you know what all these changes have in common??? They force me to not rely on my own strength, but that of the Lord. I cannot and will never be able to handle life on my own and sometimes against my greatest pleas, God chooses to remind me of that. So turns out that change ultimately can be good, just depends on your perspective!
That's all for now!
Love y'all!
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