Three weeks in

Tomorrow marks my third full week of living in Nijmegen. Classes are in order. (Minimal) work is there to be done. I'm finding my way around. Trips are planned. Parties are...constant. I have met some great people from interesting places and I have a regular group of friends. And now I sit at my desk with my mug of tea and...well, there is nothing else to do.


We had a roommate meeting and bonding session tonight, complete with pizza and some kind of party game. I only stayed for the pizza. I felt so incredibly out of my element, surrounded by 10 or 12 people laughing at jokes in a language I can't even begin to understand, that I felt sick to my stomach and just couldn't stay there a second longer. I'm trying to beat it, but culture shock is a tenacious little creature.


Twenty-one days in Nijmegen (and twenty-seven in Europe!), and I still don't know where I am when I wake up in the morning. The time has flown: not because my time here thus far has been all rose petals and sunshine and cute Facebook pictures, but because every day is like learning how to function all over again. You need to block out hours for things as mundane as making copies of documents for class. I feel like a toddler. Maybe that's too extreme...okay, I feel like a freshman. Yuck.


I'm also in the midst of applying for my Dutch residence permit, which is a vastly less complicated process than any of the pre-departure emails would have you believe. I keep putting it off, though. Making it official that I'm a legal resident of the Netherlands is a daunting prospect. It's taking a deep breath and putting all the cards on the table and saying "okay, let's just freakin' do this."


"Sweet Caroline" just came up on my iTunes. Just what I needed. I can't wait to see Matt and the chorale kids in just over two weeks. I miss life at BC so much. I miss wasting hours in the green room. I miss the challenge of balancing class and 4B and theater and VagMons and ASTEP and the multitude of little things that crop up in the margins, and I miss feeling worthwhile because of that challenge. I'm missing all this cool activism that's happening with Women's Health Initiative and sexual health amendments. And Lupe Fiasco, apparently. I miss SINGING! I miss having a place to sing. I miss walking around and seeing people I know and knowing that they're part of me and I'm part of them. You don't get that feeling here. School spirit doesn't exist. You go to class and you go home. In America, your college is part of your identity. Here, it's just something you do.

Off topic, but nonetheless relevant: Skype is the greatest invention. Ever. I can't even wrap my mind around how I can talk to--and SEE--someone thousands of miles away on a 6-hour time difference...in real time. Straight trippin', yo.

I'm going to go back out there and attempt to bond with my roommates again. Wish me luck...