First Weekend in Zwolle

On Thursday, my journey began with a flight delay in Omaha, a rebooking to detroit, a delay in detroit, a missed flight in Paris, a rebooking in Paris, a 9 hour late arrival to Amsterdam, train delays on our way to Zwolle, and finally an arrival to my host family in Zwolle. After 27 hours of travel and only a couple hours of sleep on the plane, I was so thankful to be there! My host family, although I had kept them up, were so welcoming! They warmly greeted me, offered to carry my heavy suitcase up the winding stairs, greeted me with a clean, cozy bedroom and a gorgeous bouquet of tulips, and gave me several Dutch gifts including my first souvenir, a delft coffee cup! Throughout the weekend they've treated me as a special guest, yet as part of the family! I couldn't be more thankful for them! It's been so enjoyable to get to know them and hear about their background. They've also given me wonderful tips on travel and explained differences in their culture and language. Their two daughters are beautiful and full of energy; unfortunately they haven't studied much English, and I don't know any Dutch, so we communicate through gestures and smiles....being able to speak with them will be a great encouragement for speedy learning :)

Yesterday, I had my first look at the city of Zwolle. I didn't think such a historic, adorable, yet modern city existed; I think I could walk through the bustling, brick streets for hours and not get bored. We rode our bikes to our meeting site with the other students and host families...the bike riding is enjoyable, but something to get used to. Apparently bikes have the right-of-way, I'm still pretty apprehensive when I meet a car at an intersection and am sure I'll get lost several times before I know my way around. Yesterday morning we were greeted with the cold, rainy weather we were warned of ( which is why I didn't take too many pictures of the city-my hands were so cold!)..although today is beautiful outside, sunny and 40 F. I love the amount of time the Dutch spend outside, walking and riding their bikes everywhere. 

Yesterday, I proudly thought I was one of the few people who quickly overcomes jet lag, as I slept a normal night from 11:30 pm until 9 am (which is 4:30 pm until 2 am Iowa time) and felt pretty rested most of Saturday. Waking up full of energy at 2 am ( 7 pm Iowa time) last night reminded me that I most likely have more adjusting to do. 

Besides the time adjustment: other things I'll need to get used to: hearing Dutch around me everywhere, most people I've met know and speak English to me, although they're all speaking Dutch to each other. The skinny, steep winding staircase ( I've only mis-stepped once, and have yet to fall). 

Overall, this weekend couldn't have gone better (after the traveling difficulty, that is). I've been blessed with a wonderful, hospitable, godly host family and a great group of fellow Dordt students. I haven't been the slightest bit homesick yet, (although that doesn't mean I don't miss family and friends very much!) and am so excited to continue to learn and explore in the upcoming week!! We begin with orientation and becoming better acquainted with the school, students, Zwolle, and the Dutch language for the next two weeks; then we begin our normal classes.