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| View from a bridge in Maastricht on our walk to church last Sunday |
This first week
of class was eventful, to say the least. When I say ‘eventful’ I really mean the strangest experiences of my life happened back-to-back-to-back. From
getting lost trying to get to the grocery store DOWN THE STREET, to making friends with the local rugby team at
The Shamrock, to getting
locked out of my dorm room in my towel, and being informed by our dear chef Frank that the name 'Anna' is synonymous with large farm girls in the Netherlands – each day held its own surprise. I
have some great stories under my belt now, but this one deserves the most
blog space:
Tuesday night a group of us went to the Shamrock and had a
great time. I got in at about 2 and crashed right away. About 3 hours later,
Lainey and I wake up to a blaring alarm. We jump up totally confused, stand there for a minute trying to process what was going on, and finally
Lainey (she’s brilliant) opens our door and checks the hall, turns around and
yells “THERE’S ACTUALLY SMOKE!!!” I’m in boxers and a t-shirt, absolutely
unfit to be seen in public but can’t seem to find sweatpants or shoes
anywhere... But there was smoke! I needed to get out! so I grabbed my cowboy
boots (naturally), threw on a trench coat, and literally SPRINT down our hall
to get downstairs. A ton of other students were rushing out to
the lobby where we were told to sit inside (praise God, it was probably
2 degrees outside).
Fifteen minutes later, the Dutch firemen roll in and take
care of the problem. One of our hall-mates had charred some rice, triggering the smoke alarm. Our hallway reeks now, thank you very much, but the whole
scene was hilarious… My sweet friends Kristen and Taylor thought a gunman was holding them hostage and triggered the alarm to get them to
come out, so they came downstairs shaking after realizing it was just a fire
alarm. Lainey and I were absolute shambles… I looked ridiculous (cowboy boots
and a trench coat… c’mon).
The best reaction out of everyone, though, goes to
the one and only Brady Desko. He made it to the lobby about 10 minutes after
the rest of us. Fully clothed, relatively composed. He then described how he
woke up enraged and smashed his roommates phone in the ground, thinking it was responsible for the noise. Realizing it wasn’t the phone, he decided to stand up on his bed, break three ceiling tiles and ultimately the
fire alarm. He has no idea why he woke up so angry, but has decidedly earned
his nickname ‘the Hulk.’ He’s normally not prone to anger fits, and sadly
is now indebted 300 euro to Teikyo Guesthouse. What a night.
Our first self-planned trip begins tomorrow! Eight of us are taking a train to
Munich early in the morning… it’s going to be a quick trip, but I’m so excited! I'm sure I'll have more stories to share come next week.
Until then, auf wiedersehen!
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| Kristen and Elizabeth at our favorite study spot in town |
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Lainey and my first dorm pet - appropriately named Mr. Maas...
He passed away this morning.
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P.S. - A special shout-out this week to my wonderful sister Krista, my mom Julie, and my roomie Meredith who's holding the fort down back in Waco. You all are such an encouragement to me and I don't know what I would do without you! Thanks for everything! "She who refreshes others will herself be refreshed." - Proverbs 11:25
