Massive update

Okay, so because I'm terribly behind on everything that's been happening in my life (I'm having trouble keeping up with my life sometimes, let alone write to all of you about it), this might be a big one. So brace yourselves if you're planning on reading it all :) (If not, no worries, I wouldn't blame you. I appreciate it though!!)

So where I left you last time I wrote a proper blog, was in my exhiliration over the Ani DiFranco concert and my absolute excitement about my long weekend to Berlin the following day.

What can I say... Berlin was awesome. A breath of fresh air to my normal routine, and a very fun-filled and laughter bringing break from everything in my normal day-to-day life. Also very exhausting and I had totally underestimated the amount of energy it would cost me to be one of the leaders on this AFS trip, but it was well worth it :) The group was a lot of fun, and though they were of course constantly trying to see how far they could bend the rules, they were a really good bunch of crazy AFSers :) And the city... I was amazed by the beauty and the history of the place. I had not expected the city to be pretty at all, but it seemed so grand and I don't know... I just loved the atmosphere of it. We saw so much during that one weekend, I probably can't even name it all anymore without checking the official program we followed :) My personal highlights as far as sights go would probably be Reichstag (Parliament House), which gave you a beautiful view over Berlin. Seeing the wall also left a big impression, though that was also due to the history of it and the way it is still so much there seperating East from West even almost 20 years after it has been pulled down. We also had a day trip to the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, which also left an impression with the importance of the place in history. And just being in Berlin made me so happy :) I had been wanting to go to Berlin for ages, and having been there once now, I know I'll be back there some day. Not in the least because this time I didn't get to see my friend Henni who lives in Berlin, as it was such short notice and I was packed in activities with all the students. I just loved the trip. Very little sleep, but lots of good new memories :)

So Berlin left me sleep-deprived (I wasn't very approachable the first day and it took me about a week to fully recover, haha) and it also put a lot of pressure behind uni stuff. End of term was up pretty soon after Berlin, and because it was short notice about me going, I hadn't planned it in at all. So basically, the weeks that followed right up until the actual end of term about two or three weeks later can pretty much be summarised by lots of studying. Far beyond the point of it being any fun at all... Was a bit off-balance for a while with all that stress and winter and other stuff. But all the hard work paid off in the end, coz I passed both my subjects and I'm used to winter again by now :) Yay for me :D

Long weekend off before the next term started, and that first week of term also brought along my 21st birthday!! I am now officially legal enough to drink and gamble my life away in Vegas. How's that for excitement :) But seriously, I had a really good birthday. My roommates even surprised me with a very special breakfast in bed!! They are the best :) My sister and her boyfriend also dropped by in the evening, which of course was very nice. And I ended my day with cake and the absolute worst (but therefore so good to watch) Dutch TV series ever with my roomies :) A good way to start 21!!

Since then it's all been pretty cruisy. Busy planning and organising stuff for my impending exchange to Adelaide. Lots of forms to fill in mainly. For everything. Housing, visa, uni... it's crazy the stuff they want to know about you. Got my ticket booked a few weeks ago, as you could see from the photo I added with my last blog. February 8 I'm off to Melbourne, and then Feb 17 I'm off to Adelaide. I'm excited and scared and excited and stressed and more excited :) It gets a bit confusing at times. But mostly I'm looking forward to it, and I can't wait to see you guys again. And it's weird that it's already in less than two months, but weird in a good way :)

We also had our Sinterklaas (Dutch version of Santa) celebrations last week. When I said last time I was busy creating the world, I meant it in the most literal sense: I was making the world out of fabric as a surprise for my aunty. And hand-sewing all the continents on the globe took a lot of time!! Basically spent every night of the week before Sinterklaas with a needle and thread in hand. Apart from one night of going out for dinner & coffee with my friend Coen :) Good times... Anyway, eventually it turned out pretty good, and my aunty loved it, which is what matters really :) It was a good night anyway. Everybody had put in so much work into the poems and the surprises, it's always amazing to see how creative everyone gets :) Renske made me a back-pack (coz according to her I'll end up backpacking and not really study all that much) and a really good poem. And I'm just a sucker for traditions like Sinterklaas :) And then last Wednesday, on official Sinterklaas day, we also had Sinterklaas celebrations in Utrecht with the roomies. Also a lot of fun, and also again the creativity :) Loved it!!

That's it!! My massive update. I've kept it as short as possible, without leaving out all the good stuff :) Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you're well and having a good time. Would love to hear about it.
xxx
Love Carine