I really should be asleep right now considering I did not sleep last night before coming back to the Castle this morning. It’s been an incredible weekend. I am absolutely knackered and this week will be insane with school work but I don’t regret going to Tallinn one bit. It might be difficult for me to explain my adventures in detail without scaring some people. (Especially with my previous post about hitch hiking) I arrived in Tallinn the afternoon of Friday February 4th and soon began to do a little bit of sight seeing. As I walked around, snapping my camera as to pretend I’m semi professional. An Australian guy on a business trip began to converse with me. We got along really well right from the start, talking about one thing after another. Not long after we met, it started snowing so we went into a British sports pub at around 4pm for a drink.

The Six Nations were playing and there were tons of rugby fans in the bar. I was quite excited to not only have really good company to hang out with, but also to watch some sports at the same time. Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s true, don’t ever doubt that for a second because the next time we checked the time, it was past midnight and the pub was getting busier and busier. Long story short, we sat in the same seat in the same pub, having a drink after another until around 5am when we decided we’ve been there for way too long. We then headed to a bar just around the corner for another drink because at that point, I had no where to sleep and he had to head to the airport later that day anyways. We decided to pull through it and stay up. We were having a good time anyways.

Him and I hung out until mid-afternoon when he had to go to the airport, thus I decided to find myself a cheap hostel and get some rest after a night of drinking and being out. I don’t think you’d be surprised if I tell you I passed out soon after until the next morning.

I took it easy Sunday, didn’t get out for brunch until around noon. I should probably add that I witnessed a fight between four British guys in my 10 bed mixed dorm room at around 4 in the morning. Long story short, one was asleep, and the other three decided to act like 12 year old school boys and take a photo of him. Everyone else in the room, I’m sure, was awake but pretended we were oblivious to everything. We agreed that it was more entertaining listening to the fight than to get up and tell them to shut up.

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday. The blue skies and bright shining sun reflected on the ice and snow I trudged through in the city. Old town in Tallinn is relatively small. The forts and walls that have been untouched for the last 600 years are incredible but sight-seeing only takes a few hours. Tallinn is listed as one of UNESCO’s world heritage site. Along with many of my friends and family, I have not heard of Tallinn until I found extraordinary cheap flights. I visited the City Museum and spent two hours learning about the history of the beautiful streets I’ve been walking through.

Not long after, I headed back to the hostel with plans to sit in the common room, watch movies and converse with fellow travelers. I thought about going back to the sports bar to watch the Six Nations but decided the hostel was too nice to not enjoy. The night then began to take a different turn that I had imagined. A few hours later, I found myself in a bar with 10 guys from New Castle, a girl from Estonia and a girl from Germany also traveling by herself.

Sevens hours later at around 4 in the morning, I found myself once again wondering how time simply creeped by. The next two hours consisted of cooking cup noodles in the hostel and trying to explain Quidditch. We would make an awesome team.  Soon after, I managed to get about an hour of sleep before tackling a full day of traveling, classes and school work.

I believe I’ve told you plenty what I did this weekend, I don’t want continue to bore you with my new philosophy of traveling alone but I believe it’s something everyone should do at some point. It’s not easy, it requires you to take a huge step of faith and trust in yourself to go out into an unknown world without any plans. Your family and friends will think you’re crazy, and worse comes to worse, make up a plan to keep them happy. Don’t tell them I told you to lie and no Dad, I didn’t lie to you at all.

With our daily lives as busy as it is, many have the fear of being thought of as a ‘loner’ when seen alone. Just as others are wondering why you’re alone, more often than not, you will also find yourself curious to learn their stories as well. At that point, since you have no friends to distract you from that particular thought, you have no choice but to start a conversation. And so begins a new friendship.

There’s no doubt I’ll do it again.

The land of the free as many know it. Many tourist go to Amsterdam for the drugs, alcohol and prostitution and it is definitely prominent everywhere in the city center. By no means is it all about those three things. It is a very historical city and I was blessed with the opportunity to attend some of the museums as well as a fantastic walking tour around Dam square lead by Dulcia. I explored the city at night as well as during the day.

 

Being the independent self I am, I struggle with group activities and group outings. Everyone has different opinions on what to eat, what they want to see, all the way down to little things such as how fast they walk. I’m not saying I get frustrated at how fast or slower someone walks, but I’m just saying sometimes it doesn’t make anyone feel good when you’re on holiday but arguing about what you want to see! Anyhow, I was with a few friends Friday evening exploring some bars and when they headed to the club, I decided not to go because I wasn’t keen on paying the cover charge.Call me a party pooper but I am okay with it.

After wards, I met up with a couch surfer and he bought me to a few local dutch bars. My experience in a local dutch bar? They are tall! Me being short and being in a crowded bar doesn’t really add up to be the best combination but nonetheless, the Dutch people were very friendly. I definitely got a few weird looks because that bar doesn’t normally allow foreign tourists to go in.

One of the most exciting part of the night for me was my trip back to the hostel. Embrace yourself, you might think I’m a little crazy after hearing this story. Firstly, I took the night bus which was very simple and fast but it does not drop me off at the tram station I’m familiar with close to the hostel. I was sure I was only a few streets away as I got off the bus but after walking for about 15 minutes in the cold at 3 in the morning, I did not want to keep walking.

There was no one on the streets to ask for directions. I waved down the first car that came my way, and tried to ask for directions. The driver did not speak any English except for “address?” He eventually motioned for me to get in the car, I got in and we drove down the street. He drove aimlessly for a few minutes as I tried to explain in hand motions the surrounding area of my hostel. The next word he said that I understood was “hotel?” I said yes, and thought to myself ‘this area is not big, my best bet is for him to bring me to the closest place he knows.’ Two streets down, I spot a worn out basketball hoop and knew we were in the right place. I reassured him that was where I needed to go, said thank you and got out of the car. “Goodbye” was the third and last English word he said, then he went on his jolly ol’ way. As I walked up the stairs to my room, I was quite in awe of what just happened.

I hitch hiked in Amsterdam.

It’s been exactly 5 days here at Kasteel Well although it feels a lot longer. Perhaps in a small town like Well, it doesn’t take long to feel comfortable. Orientation weekend was full of meetings, but we all settled in pretty quickly. If I took one thing out of all those meetings, it’d be the importance of responsible drinking. I got pretty tired of them telling us the rules and what punishment might occur if we did anything drastic, my professor even spent the first 15 minutes of class yesterday reiterating the rules.I do understand, however, that alcohol and drugs is such a touchy subject that if anything were to happen, this program could be in danger. With that being said, I was pretty entertained at some of the comments and generalizations I heard about Americans. I’ll leave it at that.

The last two mornings, I was able to wake up early, have breakfast and go for a bike ride after wards. This morning as I was out biking, it began to pour down on me. It has been drizzling the last few days but never had it full on rained yet. I most definitely got soaked by the time I decided the rain was too heavy and I should turn around. There’s something about biking in the rain, listening to a sermon and enjoying God’s creation all around me. Those who know me can tell you I have never been much of a country, small town person. Being born and raised in Hong Kong, I’ve always felt more comfortable and amazed at the city life; the very talented Hong Kong construction workers God created to build these hundred story buildings. There’s nothing like standing on the streets surrounded by buildings that could crush you if it ever toppled over.

Anyway, this is a different lifestyle and it’s one I have yet to experience. Biking around, there are goats, cows, horses, trees everywhere and one hostel or restaurant every 10 minutes or so. In the town of well, there is one super market, one fruit store, one bakery, and one “everything under the roof” store, Linden – the one and only bar, and a few restaurants here and there. When they’re closed, there’s not much you can do but to sit, meditate and enjoy the sound of the tree blown around by the wind.

Will there be difficulties? Of course, I am already starting to get sick of the food. I am looking forward to going to Amsterdam this weekend and having Indonesian food with the group, as well as other food that I will eat myself. There is no much to eat on a daily basis other than bread, cheese, cereal and salad. It will also one of the first time I will be traveling around as a back packer, planning everything from transportation to what I will do. It’s a little worrisome at times, but much of it is all a part of the learning process and exactly what this program is about.

For God said: ” Therefore, I tell you. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Matthew 6:25 NIV

I’m heading to Amsterdam for an academic excursion this Friday and the following weekend I’ll be heading to Tallinn, Estonia. It’s currently snowing, and it’s about 1 to -7 celcius. I might have gone crazy booking tickets to a place that cold but Tallinn is the European capital of culture for 2011. Estonia is also the birth place of Skype, I bet that’s something you didn’t know!

READ ME.

Okay now that I’ve got your attention. Please save this link on your bookmark, whether it’s one of the main bookmarks or whether you have a sub-group of the many blogs and tumblr sites that you keep track of. In the next few months, I will promise to be better at writing. One of my main incentives, and it could very well be yours (to read my blog), is that I will be living in Limburg, the village of Well, in the Netherlands.

That, is the exact place I will be living in for the next three months. This castle belongs to Emerson College since 1986 and since then there has been a study abroad program every semester. It is about two hours away from Amsterdam, and a 15 minute bike ride to the German border. I’m currently still in Hong Kong but I leave in three days on an incredible adventure of a life time.

It will be my first time in Europe, and most definitely not only Netherlands. On the weekends, my friends and I will travel to various places in Europe. Every day is going to be an adventure, and every weekend is going to be a new amazing experience. With that being said, I’d like to share all those emotions of angst, nervousness, excitement, happiness, and so on… with you every step of the way.

Of course, on top of writing for my own keeps sake. Unlike most of my previous posts, I will be adding photos along with my writing to give you a more visual look  into my life during these three months. Please feel free to comment and leave me messages, they really do make my day knowing someone other than myself looks at this place on a weekly basis. As for the next post, I will most likely be writing from a castle surrounded by beautiful moats and trees wondering how I got there in the first place.

Here’s to a semester of absolutely incredible experiences and the documentation of it all.