somebody pinch me...

.... I think those are the first three words that are deemed most appropriate at this point in time. Ah yes… miraculously I made it over a few states, an ocean, foreign countries and I am now perched in my cute little dorm room in Maastricht, Netherlands at 4:30 am here unable to sleep. Let me catch you up in the most entertaining and only way.

{disclaimer: this post is going to be super boring and is mainly for holls to know exactly what I have done in the past 48 hours… I’m trying to sprinkle humor as much as I can..}

First of all, I stayed up all night before I left the next morning. This caused me to feel loopy, not real, and very much in a dream. I also slept on the way to the airport, at the airport, on the flight to Houston, and on the flight to Amsterdam. In the course of the 8 hour flight, I was awake for maybe 30 minutes.. And of course those 30 minutes were spent eating. Naturally. I got the middle seat {because I’m just so humble and lovable} between Hannah {rooms} and Kristen {from Arkansas as well.. woo pig.} We had a baby in front of us… oh hot jam of course we would. And I drank ginger ale. I never crave ginger ale unless I’m on a plane and that’s the only think I can bring myself to drink. Fun fact… I never once got up to use the bathroom because I was too busy asleep with my head plopped on the tray in front of me.

{{hannah and me on the bus from amsterdam to maastricht.}}

Then, we arrived. We traversed through the Amsterdam airport like we owned the place… all 40 of us Baylor kids. It was very much like we were a 4^th grade class in a museum and everything looked as foreign to me as if I was walking on Mars for the first time. McDonalds had an advertisement of this creepy looking oyster sandwich thing. I saw a GIANT woman who I stared at completely impolitely for the longest time. I got my passport stamped. And then I got my first taste of reality…. I walked in front of an old man and he looked at me and said… “look, you’ve got to wait.. yeah.. I was here first.” Then I realized.. he spoke perfect English. Freaking Americans.

{{awkward brochure we received on maastricht.}}

Alas, we arrived at the bus we were taking from Amsterdam to Maastricht. At this point I was still uber {meaning “very” in German for all you commoners back home..} exhausted. I tried to keep my eyes open for as long as I could. I admired the incredible architecture of the buildings… very modern.. Everything was built very slick with cool sharp angles and funky furniture. Then we started getting into the countryside which was completely opposite. It went from modern design to precious little moss-covered cottages with pigs and sheep outside. I saw two swans bathing in a little creek and that’s the last I remember until we hit a “truck stop.”

{{photo i took at the "square" we walked around.}}

I was expecting said truck stop to be like a flying J’s but it was oh so much more than that. I ate a salmon sandwich with some garlic butter that turned out to be around a buck which was totally worth it {still wincing at my failed savviness} and fresh squeezed orange juice… no but really… I put the oranges in myself. I never want to leave.

We ate, I fell asleep on the bus again, went to get our Eurail passes stamped and all jazzed up and then we headed to the dorm. Between that the Dutch bus driver kept walking by Hannah and obnoxiously touching her waist and I about died laughing. He did it like twice… They’re so grabby and she was so helpless and I about wished I had gone to the bathroom on that plane.

{{first euro toilet encounter. it will forever haunt me.}}

Our dorm is in an old converted Japanese hospital. It’s name is Teikyo. Rad. It’s so suped up with locks and security that I can already foresee lots of failed attempts to get in my room. We lounged in our impressive dorm—furnished with two beds with cute comforters {we got the cutest ones on the floor} a mini fridge, closets, desks, drawers, dinner table, sink, stove, cabinets, and a pretty view… yeah, that’s what’s up. Basically a penthouse suite. Hannah and I both cant wait to put flowers in a vase on our dinner table. Our souls are so old. But our bodies are fresh and young and that’s exactly what we did next…. Nap. Of course. Because once you’re on a roll with sleeping for 11 hours solid, the next thing you do is keep on doing what you do best.

{{beautiful chapel i had to steal a shot of.}}

We walked from our dorm to the local inside mall full of fun dollar stores and random places and I bought my first bottle of wine because it had a pretty label on it… and it was 2 euros. I can shake that. Don’t know how I’m gonna open it but it sure is pretty to look at. I also got some hot black leather gloves.. my icicle fingers thanked me profusely and I tried to wear them for as long as possible.. even indoors. I definitely had a few Dexter moments.

{{walking around down in the square.}}

So we got back from grocery shopping, yada yada yada, went down for dinner way too late and all I ate was a popsicle, got my wifi set up on my computer… saw the clouds of heaven open up and had a hallelujah chorus moment when my internet worked. I’m lame. Then we decided to get ready and go out on the town. At this point… I asked the Dutch front desk clerk and the computer tech guy the best place to go because friends who went last year said the Highlander was the best. Looks like the Dutch dudes agreed. So I scrambled around to find direction and led a group of about 10 of us. The walk was about 1.1 kilometers away {so euro...} and as the walk grew tiring, so did the kindred spirits behind me and I started getting nervous. I am actually fantastic at directions… Rainman good at them. I knew this was my first and only attempt to prove my worth. Did we find it? Duh. Turns out we were the only ones there... 9:30 pm on a Saturday night is not a cool time to be at a local pub. Happy hour wasn’t even for another hour and a half. But we had so much fun and walked around downtown and went back to the Highlander for some closing remarks and then headed back to the dorms to shower and pack for the group trip leaving at 7:45 am this morning. Yeah we go hard or go home and we are definitely not going home until April.

{{clearly the guy taking this has never taken a photo in his life.}}

Even in the short 24 hours of being here… this is the most incredible adventure I have been on in my life. I miss my family and I miss my friends… more than any of them can probably imagine. But this adventure is more liberating and thrilling than anything I’ve ever done. I’m secretly excited about starting school. I’m excited to explore Maastricht when we come back from our trip and I’m excited about seeing Stonehinge and seeing a play and other lovely things in London. What I’ve realized, as dorky as it may be, is that I just love to learn. I love new places and challenges and stretching myself to overcome them and to make them into something beautiful. This place is beautiful and my time here so far has been beautiful. As far away as I am from home and everything I know, I know my family and friends have instilled within me their love for my happiness. And that warms my little heart. Life here will be hard and challenging… but nothing is worthwhile without a little umph. I have a deep happiness… maybe happiness is the wrong word. Maybe a better word is… joy. My life right now is not where I expected it to be but for some reason my heart is calm—wiling to accept the things the Lord will show me while I am here. And I’m ready to get started. So as the Dutch say it… tot ziens.

Bloggin noggins out.

{all photographs taken by me. except the ones with me in them. clearly. this won't happen often though.}

i'd have to agree with this quote. observe the world around you as if you've never seen it before. i think i'm gonna take that to heart and see where that takes me.

so this is the louvre. i'm still very skeptical about how to say it out loud. "loo-vray" "loo-ve" "loo-vruh." it's just so euro. anyway, it houses lots of rich history. and by rich history i mean soaked in it. can't wait to get my grubby hands on all those artifacts and paintings and touch them. jokes.

the great blasket islands in ireland is for some reason, on the top of my list to visit. i have no idea why but i stumbled across a story about this island and it is so magical. i'll sum it up: inhabitants around 150. no church, cemetery, or doctor. they would row into the mainland for all resources. around world war II inhabitants dwindled to 23 (um talk about annoying neighbors.) little boy died on island when a storm came through and they couldnt row him to a doctor. during the early 1900's, irish authors would flock to this island for "literary inspiration." many books were written on this island. anyway, in 1953, the government of ireland made all the inhabitants clear the island and has now turned it into a "national park." houses were left in ruins and an "eerie" demeanor has been documented by several sources i read. talk about a fun adventure. oh hey and maybe i'll blog an inspirational post from the side of one of its cliffs and it will be in irish limerick mermaid language. yeah, maybe.

this is the castle of Hohenschwangau . i bet they have a golden peacock feathered pillow in there.

i think flying etiquette is very important. therefore, i will probably take after marilyn monroe and dress up euro-fancy with trendy glasses and snuggle up to a professionally dressed older man. i may not have any friends after that. but inspiration...right?

i've heard mixed things about paris. that it's dirty, people are snobby, and they're too skinny for their own good. however i'm gonna give it a fair chance. probably because it just sounds really cool to say.. "why yes darling i think i'm going to paris for the weekend..."

this is a sheep ram thing on one of the blasket islands. i'm thinking my photography will be way better. on center photos are so last season.

i'm going through a possibly overly obsessive pattern of freaking out every time i see a map. and this one just happens to have all the countries i plan on invading and taking over. it's a beaut.

ah yes, this is the "outdoor camping," "roughing it up," backpacking i imagine i will be participating in. right?

strange and lovely nonetheless. it's in paris. french people are coo-coo. they're gonna love me.

a tiny little house settled in the middle of an island off the coast of iceland is exactly where i'd love to plant my future house one day. except you get trapped in the winter. and you can't see off the ledge. and you're stuck. did i mention that? yeah i changed my mind.

jimi, you speak truth.

why look at all those tele-booths toppling down on top of the other... blasted, how did that happen? (focusing on adapting to the language is key in my transition to europe. perfecting accents and then repeating them back to the native people is gonna really assimilate me.)

little feather, fly me to my next adventure. and i will be forever grateful.

you can't end a blog post admiring europe without pluggin in a classic mr. darcy quote now can ya?

this is the new year.. and i don't feel any different.

i can already tell you this is going to be a long post. and. a. weird. one. bare/bear (i never know which is correct). with.

1. i'm going to europe. in 21 minus 9 days. you do the math. i'll keep typing. i'm leaving for 3 months. and i have a feeling im about to embark on the most travelicious trip of my life. with some of my best friends. sorority sisters. arkansas sisters. bible study sisters. ok so there are only 6 of us but i'm categorizing a few into many of them. actually all. anyway, we get a bike when we get there.

notice: there is a secret suh-um suh-um on the bottom of the seat. yay for secret compartments but two thumbs down for drinking and bicycling simultaneously. europeans are like martians.

2. as enlightening and epic as this trip will be, it won't be unless i have communication with reality back at home. and there's something you need to know about me. i visualize and picture things in my head that generally (ok actually never) happen in the way i thought they would. but all i keep thinking about is retrieving little brown packages tied up with strings. (thank me later for getting it stuck in your head.)

3. i keep thinking about random instances over there when i'm gonna need something random i havent thought of. good thing my mom has thought of everything and then some. hence the random plug in ma-jig-er.

4. i partially visualize myself in a lush palace wearing big hats like Prince William's girlfriend {fiance}, sipping tea with the Queen, and laughing at all the preposterous and petty woes of yesterday and looking forward to the masqued ball the following day. inset: my envisioned boudoir.

however, i said partially visualize. the other half is the gritty reality of the whole thing {and i'm secretly excited about it. what?} think of eat pray love {minus all the sappy zen stuff and lots of money} with an oversized backpack, 1493 degrees colder, and mainly in europe... and you've got yourself a girl's adventure into pure womanhood. seedy hostels {inset: i put up a decent one so mom wouldn't empty my bank account and lock me in my room until april.} eating bread morsels, sore back, numb toes, cramped legs, and you've got yourself an actual picture of what most likely is going to be me here very soon. and i can't wait. planning in my head the worst is going to help me.

i refuse to be that girl. the one that complains about the weight of her backpack and the questions about where the majestic castle is so she can lay her princess head down on her golden-feathered peacock pillow. yeah, that wont be me. swear.{i wore my backpack to the dinner table and proceeded to keep it on for an hour around the house. once. i'm golden.} i'm picturing a novel coming out of this... one of those classic indie novels about self-discovery through trial and tribulation. ny best seller. yeah or i'll keep dreamin...

5. im gonna close on 5 and the crowd goes wild. calm down. i don't really have a 5. just a few random pictures i've collected over the years that are dying to be blogged up. amateur bloggette. i know. pipe down. my crowd base will consist of my mother and grandmother. hi mom. and lala.

i would much rather have this ring than a big bulky class ring when i graduate. just sayin. its totes approps.

this is a handmade swing necklace. i picture myself reading books in it. strike that, attempting. until it hurts my bottom or i crash to the floor. nonetheless, its on the christmas list.

it's snowing outside my window. this is lovely. sunshine in all that cold.

so if i can find a random swedish hut on the world wide web, i bet i can find it in its actual stompin grounds. double dog dare me?

words of wisdom dosage uno. more to come.

--bloggin noggins out over here. peace. xoxo