An interesting week...

Hello again
I hit 800 single page views this morning! Thanks mom.
No but really, it makes me happy that someone is actually reading what I have to say out on my adventure. Though, this  will probably be my most thought out post.
I debated whether I should recount this last week or just slide into next week's adventure. I settled on somewhere in-between.
So here goes. I have left the farm I was scheduled to stay on for two weeks. I will not divulge any identifying details as WWOOF is starting an "investigation," regarding the owners of the farm. Sounds more nefarious than it actually is. I arrived Monday morning after a great weekend in Sweden, excited to get to work and learn a lot about farming in the Netherlands. What I found was not to expectation. There were four other WWOOFers on the farm already, three Italian guys and an Irish woman. All of them in their early twenties and understanding the reputation of the volunteer program we had signed up through. The men had been on the farm for two or three months, one being promised a hiring position but never receiving one, another with a PhD in agriculture, and the last here because there were not enough jobs in Italy for his profession. The Irish girl informed me she had cut her stay short with an early flight back home on Saturday. They told me over dinner how grueling the hours were and how the work wasn't always to their liking. I dismissed this because I assumed they were not expecting the work required on a farm (this one is not subsistence). We had a great dinner of pasta and cake, telling stories in short english sentences and learning about each others' lives. I was excited to spend two weeks with this crowd. But the next morning after waking up in the tiny yurt all five of us slept in, I discovered they did have something to complain about. We were told to work 8 hours a day, from 8am to 5pm, with an hour lunch and 15 minute breaks every 2 hours. The agreement through WWOOF is between 4 to 6 hours. There were many other agreements that were not observed, including the lack of food provided, any sort of accessibility to the farmers if an issue arose, and the promise of consistent shelter. The last straw for me came at approximately 8:45am my first and only day when the farmer confronted me while retrieving my water bottle from the yurt. He told me there would be no "leasuirely" walking about once work has started, even to get water. When I replied with disbelief he told me very sarcastically that I could go back to Amsterdam. So I did. The Irish girl came with me after she agreed how unfair it was to stay on this farm. We caught a train back to Amsterdam in the pouring rain (seemed fitting) where I am so grateful to have friends that I could stay with. They were so great to put up with me staying a week longer than planned. I have been here at the apartment, waiting to be placed at another farm which I am finally heading to tomorrow morning.
I decided to write about this experience because of the continuity of my timeline on this blog, but most importantly because I learnt something. I learned that it is very easy to get stuck in a difficult position by running out of money with a low-demand degree. I learned there are very large cracks that people slip through all the time. And I learned that when faced with an injustice, no matter how small, I can stand up for myself and will not endure it. I have my family to thank for that characteristic. I also realized how grateful I am to have that same family support me through circumstances of being between degrees and having many part-time jobs just to go on this unnecessary adventure.
It is hard not to compare this with our issues with immigrants in the United States. The comparison is not exact since the WWOOFers are citizens of the EU, but the cracks are the same. I mean c'mon, one of them was a doctor. How does that happen?! A hypothetical question that has bothered me all week; it has led to a reimagining of the type of farm I will run.
It made me very sad while I was leaving that the men staying behind did not have the same choice. I was disappointed with myself that something so small had offended me to the point of leaving when they had dealt with it for much, much longer. I told them this, and they said that once they had the means to leave, a very large curse word would be spray painted on the gate as they exited.

I, of course, refuse to let this be my only contact with WWOOFing in the Netherlands. The program has led several of my JMU friends to great experiences and I do not want to miss out on that. The farm I am going to tomorrow has a foundation for Autistic children on the premises, which is a perfect match for my two interests. I have a feeling it will look very similar to the education farm idea a rowing friend and I hatched one night after winter workouts. We both have passion for agriculture and psychology, so I will be sure to take notes!
Stay tuned for yet another adventure next week.

Stockholm

Stockholm is not so great when you arrive at 2am, after navigating the subway station in Swedish and almost not having a place to sleep. Stockholm in the bright sunlight after a large breakfast however is dazzling. The uncles decided we would to go to Stockholm while I was still in Philadelphia for Stotes so I was not a part of the discussion. But then again, why not go to Stockholm? It was a two hour flight and not too expensive so we went for it. The city rewarded us well.

I had to keep reminding myself that we were not in Russia or Italy because of the architecture. Mind you, I haven't been to either Russia or Italy so I'm not sure why I got that impression. Saturday we spent walking around the city and using our Stockholm cards (buy them when you go!) to visit museums and palaces and churches. During the weekend we made it to the Nobel Prize museum, the winter royal palace, many cathedrals, the old town center, and City Hall. The last was by far my favorite, even though we got ice cream in old town! The city hall was finished by 1923 but has a certain medieval and very Scandinavian feel to it. It is massive and gorgeous. The building is still in use for political council and offices. We of course asked most (all) of the questions but it resulted in seeing that the building is asymmetrical. Which when asked for a reason for not having equal sides by less than a meter, the guide did not know... 

The blue hall (shown above) is where they host the Nobel prize reception. It's called the blue hall because the architect originally wanted it covered in blue painted plaster but changed his mind; luckily I think, and the name stuck,

The tower plans were changed as well. It was supposed to be 106 meters high but when the city hall in Denmark built theirs at 106.5 meters, the plans were quickly made to have it 107 meters. Sweden and Denmark apparently have a very friendly rivalry going on. 

The canals here are much more aggressive than in Amsterdam. But just as beautiful. 

This is next to the royal palace.

So tomorrow I head out from Amsterdam to my first farm; near Deventer, east of here. It's going to be amazing and I almost can't sleep from excitement. Lots of photos to post, which I set aside the tab "where the wild things grow" for.

Still haven't figured out how to end these, so until I do...

Amsterdam Continued

Today was my fourth full day in Europe. Pretty exciting right? And it's great that I'm just starting out. 

It was a bit stressful though, today was heats at nationals. Most of you know I've been coaching at my high school this past season and that my boat qualified for nationals. So great! What's not so great is that I couldn't be there with them today. I skyped with them before the race but then had to wait several hours to hear the results. They did surprisingly well and I got to watch a bit of the race on the USRowing YouTube channel.

Yesterday was interesting as well. We rented bicycles to see more of the city, which was the greatest idea ever! In theory of course.

We started out with a plan to see the main square market, the university and then wherever else struck our fancy. Walter started in front but immediately stopped in an intersection trying to read a sign which forced me to swerve and bump into oncoming traffic. I decided to lead after that. Once we made it to the main street there was discussion we were heading the wrong direction and should go onto the other side of the canal. Done. I crossed the street with the light and turned left just as Ray called to go the other direction. Heavy traffic forced me to keep going but I went down a street and back over hoping to meet back up. No sign. Back to the intersection. Nothing. So that was cool.

I ended up having a pretty great day by myself though. Explored the market square (nothing too fancy) and admired the hundreds of house boats. Might be my new calling; to build energy efficient house boats. 

I even made it back to the apartment without a map! Amsterdam is starting to feel a bit like home. Not in the sense of being familiar with the city, but as in I can definitely see myself living here. 

And now we have arrived in Stockholm. Because why not? 

Amsterdam Day 1.5

Welcome to Amsterdam!

The uncles and I finally arrived in the warm and sunny city after a confusing layover in cold Reykjavik. It was 30 degrees! Hardly any sleep on the plane but we were pumped to finally make it to Amsterdam. Our lovely hosts, friends of the uncles (because who isn't?) picked us up from Schiphol and drove us to their amazing apartment. The architecture in Amsterdam is interesting in the fact that they built so high as to create ladder-like stairs, but the city has survived on top of a foundation on swamp for this long. As Uncle Walter keeps saying, "the Dutch have been civilized for much longer than we have." But it makes for doors that don't quite fit and slanted buildings.

While out getting our bearings, we discovered that you have to pay attention to five lanes of traffic no matter where you need to cross the street. First there's the sidewalk, then the bike lane, then traffic going in one direction, then the streetcar, then the other lane of traffic, and the opposite bike path, until finally you reach the other sidewalk. It makes it seem chaotic at intersections and anyplace with more than two lanes for cars. Although, biking is the smartest way to get around a city and it disappoints me how slowly the U.S is catching up. Bikes are the way to travel in Amsterdam. People ride by on their way to work drinking coffee, with their child sitting on the front handle bars, or a dog running alongside. If there is a space you could possibly chain a bike to, it has a bike chained to it.

It's pretty amazing. Yesterday we had dinner at an Italian restaraunt around the corner from the apartment. The neighborhood we are staying in is not unlike DuPont and everyone speaks English so I did not feel like I had left the country until we crossed the canal into the old town. Today we went to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh collection, both of which turned out to be better than the flower market. Since tourism has decreased in the Netherlands, the market has moved to just outside of town, further to go on foot than we were willing following the rijks. I'm not much of a museum person but there were several exhibits that interested me. Especially the art book collection which is a museum in and of itself. Beautiful library to keep such important books in. 

So tomorrow we are renting bikes 😬 to venture our radius further than past walking distances. And then Friday we leave for Stockholm! Hopefully the mouse behind the bookshelf and the clock tower just outside can let me catch up on my jet lag tonight. Until next time!

About to board

Welcome to my third post!

I'm at the airport waiting to board the first flight to Reykjavik and then on to Amsterdam. I have received tons of texts and calls from everyone wishing me luck and safe travels. Thank you so much to all who have sent anything today or anytime in the past few weeks! It has definitely helped me stay relaxed through the past few days. Being in Philly with the 

team helped distract me sufficiently and was super fun. My boat medalled at states last weekend so it was a great chance to celebrate and get some good racing in before nationals next week. 

Aren't they great?

Today was probably the most stressful day, but of course Greg was there with me the whole time running errands and last minute packing mishaps. He got me Chipotle for my last meal and made me stop looking at my watch throughout the day, which were both very helpful. I found a better pair of spandex capris at target along with some emergenC since I will get 6 hours of sleep before arriving at noon in Amsterdam. The uncles arrived at the house today in matching outfits they claim was an "accident." But we said our goodbyes and got to the airport on time. It's a bit surreal, no scratch that, definitely surreal leaving for two months by myself. At least I'll be with these great guys for a week before heading out.

Maybe...

See you in Amsterdam!

Packing?

Welcome to my second post!

If you know me you know I like to plan and organize ahead of time; but I'm not sure anyone would be reading this if they didn't know me because I'm assuming the only people who would be interested in my trip are friends or family, but if you don't know me and found this blog on your own I hope I can keep you entertained. I digress, since I prefer to plan ahead I have done a TON of research about what I need to bring. So following the travel bloggers' theme I have laid out everything I am taking. I bought an awesome convertible pack from the great people at REI. Love that place.
So here's everything:

                      

Jeans                                            Flip flops

Socks (5 pairs)                             Running shoes

Capri Spandex                             TOMs

2 tanks                                         Earplugs

2 nice shirts                                  Disposable face wipes

4 tshirts (1 long sleeve)                Pillow case

2 shorts                                        Sleep sheet

Running shorts                            Money belt

Sweater                                       Passport

Rain jacket                                  Phone charger

2 dresses                                     Assorted toiletries

Book light                                  Assorted meds and antibiotics

Packing cubes                            Confirmation pages

Bathing suit                                Soap bar

Universal sink plug                    Locks, TSA approved and locker

Waterproof iphone case             Pack rain cover

I packed only the essentials, which ended up being only 21 pounds. So I got to add another book to eventually trade!

Everything in their place:

The packing Cubes are the green and pink boxes. They're basically little drawers for your pack and I am so excited to use them on the daily. Also, gallon ziploc bags are a huge space saver!


The day pack attaches to the front of the main pack, and the straps in the back zip up or tuck into a compartment in the back on both of them. So you  get either a backpack or a duffle bag. So awesome!

 

My flight is Monday night, but I don't get back into town until Sunday night (Stotes!) so I made sure to have everything packed and ready to go. All I have to do is put in my toothbrush and passport and go. I am still afraid I forgot something, but I'm buying most of my shampoo, toothpaste etc. when I arrive so not too worried. I'm just glad my rowers are keeping me busy and entertained this weekend or else I would be flipping out about everything. More on that tomorrow!

Welcome!

Welcome to my first post!

The first is very important, it sets the mood for all the following posts right? 

So I'm just going to get this out of the way:

I am leaving Monday (this Monday!!) for the Netherlands to begin a trip I have been planning for the past year. I am traveling with my awesome uncles for the first week in Amsterdam, and then starting off on my own. Following what I know will be a great trip galavanting around Northern Europe I will move on to the first farm I am interning with through WWOOF. It's a great organization that matches farms that are willing to host, teach, and need extra help from people that like that kind of stuff. I interned with a few farms when I was at JMU which is what turned me onto WWOOFing. This farm is southeast of Amsterdam, it's owned by two women that also run a B&B. From there I am stopping in Barcelona and Paris before heading over the Channel to visit family.

This trip has taken a long time to plan, and I have been very lucky to have supportive family and friends. My uncle W was the first one to suggest I go for it and has set me up with some awesome (and sometimes famous) people to crash with along the way. My cousin Jett has been giving me great advice throughout this year, and initially inspired me to travel on my own after college. Of course my parents have been more supportive than anyone. Letting me live the year after graduation at home was the only way I could have done this. My dad spent countless hours researching financial options for me, and mom found a ton of traveling necessities I will no doubt absolutely need when I get over there. And I have to give a shoutout to my best traveling companion, who will be joining me in Dublin for 10 days. We have gone through a lot together, mostly mishaps involving keeping our rowing team from going belly up. The boyfriend of course has kept me from freaking out for the past three years and this has been no different. When I told him I wanted to do this, he did not hesitate in telling me I absolutely should. 

So basically, even though I will be by myself for most of my time abroad I won't be alone. Corny right? But really, FaceTime is about to get a lot of use.