Alex & Mandy : Rose, Thorn & Bud

As you may or may not know, Alex & Mandy had the magical experience of getting to be together for 4 glorious days in wonderful Amsterdam. As much as seeing each other was a dream, this weekend has definitely has had it ups and downs. Because of these life altering experiences, we have collectively decided to share our Rose, Thorn and Bud of studying abroad thus far.

Rose (Alex): As you have seen from my past blog posts, I love Amsterdam. I do believe it is a magical place and the awe of it all has not worn off yet. I am really bonding with my host family and have come to love my homestay situation as well. Lastly, my peers in this program have really made a place for themselves in my heart. It feels like some of these people have been my best friends for a lifetime. So while everything was externally perfect I knew that something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Mandy & I have been roommates since Day 1 of knowing each other. We have never been apart for longer than 3 weeks since we have met. So week 5 of being apart, I knew that I was not homesick, but Mandysick. When Mandy sent me the impromptu message about visiting this past weekend, my heart skipped a beat. I was so ready to share the city & the people that I love with my roommate. It was not an easy experience for Mandy, but I am so so grateful she was here. It was exactly what I needed to finish this semester stronger than ever.

On Saturday, I had to go on a solo excursion to Haarlem (for homework) and Mandy accompanied me. I. LOVE. HAARLEM. I. LOVE. THE. NETHERLANDS. We had an exhausting day of shopping at the Grote Market,  antiquing and trying to find the museums on our self-guided walking tour (only for them to be closed when we finally got there). But Haarlem (which Mandy found out IS what NYC’s Harlem is named after) is a more modest version of Amsterdam. It’s old & beautiful & full of wonderful sites.  How lucky was I to have such a great excursion buddy?

Rose (Mandy): So for several months, everyone has been talking about how great it will be abroad, because then you can just take a spontaneous trip to a different country for the weekend. And so I did! I knew if I didn’t see Alex that weekend, it would be another month, and I just wasn’t ready to handle that thought... then realized I didn’t have to!

It was so amazing to be with Alex in Amsterdam. We kept saying, “This must be a dream”. We started our reunion as every reunion should be started - with a running embrace in a train station followed by Karaoke. And I can’t describe how full my heart was. I am so grateful that I got to meet the other students in Alex’s program. We had a great time and it made me happy to know that Alex is with such smart and fun people! I had the pleasure of meeting her host family as well and they were very welcoming. I am extremely thankful they let me stay with Alex. It was also amazing to see how different mine and Alex’s programs are!! We are both immersed, but in such different ways.

I LOVED Haarlam and Alex and I had the perfect day together there. We also visited the Anne Frank house the next day. Then while Alex was in class on Monday, I took a free walking tour of Amsterdam and learned so much about the city! So many fun facts!

Thorn- (Alex) I lost my Iphone. I didn’t realize how much I truly used my Iphone while abroad until I lost it. By losing my Iphone I lost my GPS map of Amsterdam, my easy communication back home and my Spotify. And oh how boring those long morning metro rides are without my Spotify. I’m still trying to figure out a way to fix this situation. Stay tuned. Update: I’ve been chatting with representatives on the Sprint website for the last 50 minutes. Still no progress. Final update: I was going to spend a lot of money buying a new phone, but I have decided I just can’t commit to that right now. I will decide post- Morocco if I really need the new phone right now. Spotify and I will just have to take a break.

Thorn- (Mandy) I had to learn a very tough lesson about booking spontaneous trips...in all of my excitement for the trip, I clicked the wrong dates for my flights without realizing until it was too late (the days of). So I made some pricey mistakes while planning everything, which led to a miserable day in the airport and a combination of missed flights, delayed flights, missed class, and a very lonely/embarrassed Mandy. Lesson learned, right?

Also, remember how Alex got sick with a cold a few weeks ago in Amsterdam? Yes, well she warned me to bring NyQuil and DayQuil to London, however I did not think I would need it for this weekend. So as my meds were safely in my London flat, I was in Amsterdam with one of the worst colds I’ve had in awhile. Good thing there is so much tea in the Netherlands

Bud- (Alex) TOMORROW WE LEAVE FOR MOROCCO FOR TWO WEEKS. I REPEAT, IN 36 HOURS I WILL BE IN RABAT. We have a packed schedule of traveling and lectures in Morocco that I will be sure to keep everybody updated on. I’m gonna start studying my Arabic flashcards and see if the 4 semesters of Arabic classes did me any good. GUYS. IM GOING TO MOROCCO. PLEASE PLEASE DONT WAKE ME UP FROM THIS DREAM PLEASE.

Bud: (Mandy) I had my first class (that I wasn’t stuck in an airport for) today! It was the Evolution of Modern Business. It seems tough, but interesting. Next week I’ll have my first full week of classes, and I am looking forward to having a routine. I also got to see my first London theater tonight - a show called Pride. This weekend I’m doing lots of touristy things, but tomorrow I am going to attempt to tackle the, now, mountain of laundry I have. And Monday night is the Fresher’s Ball to welcome all the freshmen at King’s (and study abroad students). It’s Great Gatsby themed, so I am headed to Camden Market tomorrow to find some fun accessories!

Side Note: (Alex) We do not have a dryer in my homestay (most homes in the Netherlands do not). Today, I have officially accepted the fact that not only will my underwear be hung up on display, but my host mom will also insist on helping me hang it all up.

Final thought: (Mandy) The weekend was a whirlwind: full of roses, thorns, and buds. But more than anything, I got to see Alex in her favorite city in the world, and that was worth any obstacles.