Take Care...I didn't

An asbestos scare, a black eye, and another run in with Netherlands authority later, I have become an official citizen of Hengelo and have been 'hengin' strong for 2 months now! Finally feeling like our new spot was home, it was time for the renovation of our kitchen and shower to begin, so off to a temporary home 'Cashley' went. We were excited about the newer, bigger, two story house, and even posed the idea of making this temporary a permanent. Finding youtube a great source to occupy our time and bond upon, Caitlin and I spent time sharing favorites such as; Hot Pocket, The Yes Dance, King Curtis, and Muffins. Quoting lines from various skits, the Muffins skit became a daily go to in conversation. (For those who haven't seen it...look it up? ha! It lists any muffin you can think of from basic blueberry, to a little more fancy choco-choco chip, to paper clip muffin, there is even an asbestos muffin!) Now, the asbestos muffin was a popular fav between the two of us, I must of heard that word more times in one week then I had in my entire life. Yet, contrary to the humor we had found in the word, it was not so funny when it was used as one of the key words in the update of our apartment's renovation process. Apparently, someone had 'baked a whole batch of asbestos muffins' in our kitchen and we added another week to our stay in the temporary palace.

School Orientation Group Winners...first prize, Apple Pie. 

During this time of multiple trips from house to house transferring necessities, life was still moving on, waiting for no one as it never does. A solid soccer training schedule had been built and each day we were looking more like a team. We had played some boy teams and held our own against them no matter how rough it got. Classes at the Universiteit of Twente were in session and what better of a way to start the school year AND make new friends then with a black eye :]. Except this black eye looked more like going to the club smoky eye make-up on one lid and standard day wear on the other. I got a lot of looks that first week of class and kept thinking 'gosh, do I really look like that much of a foreigner?' or better yet, 'hm they really like me here,' Then as they'd pass I'd remember, sweet, black eye. But black eye or not, it did not impair the excitement of the first days of class at a new, and very different from USC, University. Twente's beautiful campus in the middle of trees upon trees with big ponds around campus has more of an east coast feel I have always wanted to experience. Although, I must say it is very strange not having a football team at the school or any competitive sports teams at that to go watch and support, but I guess the loss of football isn't a bad gain of the FC Twente men's futbol games in the stadium...and hey, their mascot is even a horse. Now I don't feel so foreign knowing we have a "Traveler" of our own ;).

Bikes!

FC twente Futbol Game

I guess class is canceled for the day? ;) Artsy, Universiteit Twente!

Speaking of Traveler, the Americans finally got bikes! We have been riding our bikes the 15-20 minute route to school, (yeaaaa, a little different then the 5 minute straight shoot to campus at USC...there is no rolling out of bed and making it on time to class with this distance!) to the market, to the futbol stadium along with the rest of the Netherlands to watch some quality soccer, and even over to Dutch Mommy and Daddy's for a cup of tea (well, water party in my case), but the best ride Caitlin and I have taken on our bikes is non debatable. Waiting at the training center for the dream bus to head to one of our games, Dutch Daddy appears from the shadows rolling out a very 'handsome' black bike. "Where did you get that?!" 'Cashley' exclaimed, while calm as ever he simply replies,"I found it. It is yours now. Go lock it up." And just like that, we had ourselves a second bike! By the time we got home from our road trip victory, it was dark, damp, and cold, and we were ready to hop in the car and head back to our temporary place, only one problem, the new bike... But! being the Netherlands, this was no problem at all. Caitlin volunteered to ride the bike while I drove behind her slowly in the car the 3 minute trip back to the base. Flipping around the stations it was no surprise that Sky Radio 101 fm came through with a money hit to blast the ride home. Shining my lights on Caitlin I cranked Gloria Estefan's Conga as loud as Foxy would allow and we were on our way. Singing at the top of our lungs, shimmying our chests and moving our head and arms to the beat, we were rolling at a snails pace back to the apartment. As the beat would shift, so would the brights on the car, providing a strobe like affect, we were in our own music video world and Caitlin was owning the stage. Timing the arrival perfectly with the end of the song, I rolled up to the perfect situation; only a parallel parking spot left, in a stick shift car, and the whole neighborhood sitting on their porch providing an audience (mind you it is around 11pm). I turn down the music a tad to hear myself think and execute a textbook parallel parking maneuver with the help of Caitlin's direction on the right side of the car. Pleased with my performance I clasp my hands together and throw them over each shoulder saying "bravo, bravo." Laughing at myself, I look over to Caitlin for some feedback and see her clenching her lips pointing over the car back in my direction. I look to my left expecting to see the neighbors praise, wrong, Netherlands police. Apparently, they not only saw the "bravo" action, but they had been following us for 2 of the 3 minute ride home. "Were you aware your music was up too loud?" ( HA really?! it was?? Using my better judgement I decided to wait to see what they said next before I answered) "We could hear it 500 feet away." I then explained it was for safety reasons to make sure my roomie got home safe on her bike..and thank goodness we were in our red Twente color because they just said "Well, if it happens again we will tell your trainer and have her make you run." and they drove away. Phew! Another encounter, another a warning. And as we walked back into the house (dying of laughter) I reflected upon my recent happenings, and all I could hear was the ever present advice of Dutch Daddy, and that is to 'take care!' ...and well, I didn't.

Soccer Stuff.

Because what would a blog posting be without a picture of food, and this being the grand Daddy 'Symphony' of them all, it made the cut.

"Cashley"

    "Cashley, will you be coming to dinner?" "Try and find the heads of Cashley on corners." "dutch, dutch, dutch, Cashley, more dutch, you understand?" Cashley, it has a nice ring to it. Over the past few weeks Anouk, one of our teammates, started to call Caitlin and I "Cashley" followed by laughing from her and the rest of the team but the name has stuck. Sitting at a team dinner we were discussing a clinic we were attending when the name became ours. All Caitlin an I could hear was Cashley being thrown around the conversation like a hot potato, although this time there was no laughing, they were really organizing the details of the event and including the American unit in the game plan. Embracing our joint name and our classification as 'The Americans' we were interviewed for the news paper along with a television station  interview that will be broad casted to all of Holland...questions about why we came, how we like the country and if it was what we thought it would be, yadda soccer stuff yadda yadda, interests, favorite: flowers, movies, hobbies, turn ons, turn offs....yeaaaa....we kiiiinda used the TV interview as a dating profile...we thought hey, what better time to introduce we are on the market then on Friday night television to all of the Netherlands?...Ha, unfortunately Caitlin and I were not the ones conducting the interview so it was not set up in a match making format...regardless, the message has been sent. What door we have opened by doing so, we don't know, but the good news is this door was not kicked in...we are holding our keys ;) .

Hanging in Hengelo

Jeannette and Roel ( Two of the sweetest, Dutch Mommy and Daddy)

     Time really does fly when you're having fun...kicking in doors, getting pulled over by the police, and experiencing countless 'handsome' moments. I have been in the Netherlands for almost three weeks now and it feels like the days have flown right by. I was more homesick going 30 minutes away for college then I am now in another country. A big reason for the easy transition, aside from all the helpful people in the Netherlands, is skype. Getting to not only talk, but see my friends and family has been nice and actually, the conversations have been better since there is no text messaging going on in the middle of a convo (sorry for being the queen of rude and doing that from ehum time to time ha) And unlike going away for the first year of college, Caitlin and I have a car to take us to explore the world...the tricky part is getting it to take us.

     It was time to conquer the stick shift. Dutch Daddy had taken the position as my personal driving instructor with an appointment time of 9am every morning. Mind you, I have been sleeping until 1pm daily, and that's only because practice is at 1:45pm. 9am was a tactically planned time to help the final transition out of jet lag. "Check your mirrors, breath, shift into second gear when turning, relax, listen to the engine to shift to 3rd, and relaaaax" Dutch Daddy was more confident in my driving then I was, but it was a huge improvement from the first experience of the 5 minute trip around the Stadium parking lot. So, we headed to the main roads...oh gosh...all was going well until I nascar riled up the engine to transition from a stop sign...stall, dang. Roel said no other then no problem and I was back on my way. Checking left, checking right, rear view mirror check, Netherlands police with their lights on, double dang. While the officers we running my license, I'm now drenched in sweat from this wonderful outing, I look over to the nudge of a grinning Dutch Daddy -"Give me your camera! We must document this 'handsome' event!" Waiting at this point for Ashton Kucher to pop out and say I was on Punked, the cops let me go and wished me a wonderful stay in Holland, thank goodness for "no problem". I drove Roel and Jenneatte around the rest of the day and the cops must have made an announcement that an American was on the roads because around every corner there was a cop! But it was too late for them, I had the driving down, and the relaxing part was coming along too. The Dutch parentals and I spent some time walking around the town of Delden and window shopping since most businesses are closed on Sunday. After a cup of tea and coffee, we headed home for "7 o clock dinner in your lap" which is when the streets are empty because everyone is watching the men's futbol highlights from that week, and eating. Lekker (I like). I also learned about the eleven city tour (Elfstedentocht)  which only takes place when all the rivers, canals, and lakes freeze in the 11 cities. The last time the ice skating tour took place was in 1997 and it is uncertain when the next tour will be yet people train every year for it. Maybe it will be this year, along with the coldest winter for the ultimate winter experience for Caitlin and I...ha..ha...oh. 

     After a wonderful evening with the fam, Caitlin and I were alerted by a psssst. Outside our window were two teammates ready for a late night McDonald's Mcflurry run, we were down in seconds. Finally, for the first time I understood the girls Dutch conversation completely (apparently profanity is universal) they had locked their keys in their apartment. After a lot of jiggling and jamming of objects in hopes to force the door open, their new neighbor came flying through the air and kicked the door in! We rushed to Micky D's and unfortunately this story has a sad ending because we didn't make it in the Golden Arches that night, BUT it was some quality team bonding if I've ever seen any! We laughed about it the whole ride home and it turned out to be a very 'handsome' night. Handsome night? ...Roel's favorite word is handsome and  he uses it to describe everything..."that meal was handsome," "Oh yes, what handsome scenery," "The new vacuum will be handsome for the apartment." And although we understand the idea behind it, along with our Dutch tutoring appointments, Caitlin and I are also helping our 'handsome' Dutch Daddy with English. 

HA! Mastered.

Easing riiiight into things

    Hallo allemaal, Ik hoop dat alles goed is! (Hello everybody, I hope that all is well!)... okay, I totally used babblefish language translation for that, but I don't feel wrong about it at all because, in the week I have been here I have already learned some Dutch! Nothing that can be strung together to form a sentence...or logical thought for that matter, but just enough to begin communicating direction on the soccer field. Left, right, turn, back, push up, counting from 1 - 10, change, and bye. Oh, now wait, it looks like I do have enough vocabulary to give a local directions to my apartment...but to those of you who know my direction giving skills, I think it will be best for all to stick with just one of the new words I've learned "Doei Doei" when asked for directions... "bye bye". (Doei rhymes with chewy)

    In the midst of moving, three teammates birthdays, and adjusting to the 9 hour time difference of living in the future (which I can already help you in saying, today is going to be a great day ;)), we played in our first tournament and visited another country. After an hour bus ride in our portable house on wheels equipped with wireless internet, tvs, tables and chairs, and a mini fridge, we were in Germany. (It only takes about an hour and a half to drive from the east coast of Holland to the West) Not knowing completely what to expect, the complex had four fields and food stands just like tournaments in America. The difference with this tournament was 6 games of two 12 minute halves would need to be won to win the tournament, short and sweet. There were tons of people there and as I naturally scanned the complex looking for someone I had played with or against before, I remembered I was in Germany and recognizing someone was not going to happen. Making my way over to the changing room to put on my new number vier (four, pronounced like fear ;)) jersey in my very foreign fitted and feeling pencil leg game shorts (which we all know without even having to see, fit my 'pencil' legs just naturally right...haha! The shorts are a bit different from the short, rolled, and tucked shorts I have grown accustomed to... but hey, "no problem") I squeezed by a team exiting the changing room and had to take a double take! I recognized a face! Not just one, but two girls, who we would later face in the finals, I had played with at some point in the U.S. Just as excited as I was to see a familiar face we decided we would definitely get in contact and show each other around one another's new home countries. I guess there are alternatives ways to planning and touring countries then relying on SinterKlaas to take us to our desired destination! After less then a week of practice together as a team we pulled off the victory and won the cup! Woohoo, it wasn't the hardest of competition we are going to face, but nonetheless it was definitely a good and exciting start. Along with the cup and the "cash money" prize, came the most important word I have yet to learn, SNOEP. (pronounced just like SNOOP dogg meaning candy...which heyyy by the way, one of my best friends is in Snoop Dogg's music video entitled Candy...what better a place to reference that for the 100th time then how perfectly it fell together now. Love you Hondro :)) Yes!! I could get used to these new awards for winning reeeeal quick...and German gummies are delicious, I mean just look at the facial expression of Suz, who is above my left shoulder in the picture atop, holding the container of Snoep as if it's the championship plate at Euro Cup! Lets just say it's a good thing the bus was close and the cup didn't get traded for more Snoep! 

    I am awaiting my first item in the mail from my most wonderful Mom containing my cord to upload pictures so I can show you important things such as; Dutch Daddy. Pictures of everything I have eaten. And my new city and home...which could potentially bring up directional questions so it leaves me with nothing else to say but Doei Doei! 

    

"No problem"

     A recent study listed the Netherlands as the 5th happiest country in the world and just being here a few days, I already know why. "We need about a few hundred different things for our apartment - no problem." "Car just stalled - no problem." "Can you help me with... - no problem." "Can I get a refill of my ice cream? -no problem" (oh yea, ice cream refill, it was AWESOME.) "Will you take another picture for us? -no problem." "Thank you - no problem." The answer to near everything, no problem. Transitioning into a new place can be tough, but my new teammates and Dutch family have made the transition as stress free as possible while our apartment is really starting to take a homely turn.

     After a day of shopping in local Hengelo shopping spots to a familiar IKEA, Caitlin and I had almost everything we needed to fill our new home, even a new coffee maker which  Dutch Daddy and his daughter Jeltje insisted was a must if we ever wanted them, or anyone else to come over and visit. Apparently the only problem in Holland is no coffee maker! After a successful day of shopping we headed to Jeltje's beautiful home to have some pizza. Now, I must note that a previous night Caitlin and I went out with the team for a pancake dinner. Hmm maybe it was going to be like a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles setup? not quite. You could have fruit, meat, vegetables, cheese, you name it baked in that pancake (maybe not all in the same pancake, but hey, to each their own!) The pancakes came out looking like giant pizzas and they were delicious! I got an apple and banana one which I split with Caitlin's veggie pancake. Thumbs up, we like! While waiting for the pizza to be delivered, which was a normal pizza, just in case you thought this story was leading to their pizza is actually an American pancake ha, Jetlje enlightened Caitlin and I about Holland's celebration in December with Sinterklaas. At the beginning of December Sinterklaas sails over on a boat from Spain and then travels on his white horse along with his helper, Black Pete, and fills the shoes of good children with candy...but if you are bad, he takes you back to Spain with him. I could see the wheels turning in Caitlin's head..'If we wind up on the naughty list, this could be our trip to Spain!' But with further thought we realized a shoe full of candy is much better then Spain, beside, we definitely didn't want to be Sinterklaas 'sticks in the mud'.... "Stick in the mud?" Not a saying the dinner table was familiar with but after a brief explanation we had taught our Dutch Family something new! Showing their understanding of the phrase, Jeltje was telling us all about Amsterdam, Oktoberfest, and jazz like that when Dutch Daddy chimed in saying "Whaaaat? None of which you will be doing, we have games to win!" and with perfect textbook application, Jetje's husband looks over at Dutch Daddy and says, "Hey! It's me. Stick in the mud!" Phrase mastered.

Pancake

                                                                                                or   Pizza ?

    "Um, we're here in Holland researching ice cream...so we must try every flavor, 3 times." Yea, that sounds       good.

    Oh, speaking of sticks, along with our new apartment came our VW Fox car 'Foxy'. Foxy was ready to tour the country but there was just one problem, stick shift. Caitlin had some experience before so we decided to head over to the stadium parking lot with a few of our teammates to work on our driving. "Maybe don't push so hard on the gas.." Stall. "Brake while you are turning in 2nd gear..." Stall. "Ease off the clutch..." Stall..."It's ok, no problem." After a a few laps and stalls, I was driving! Much to do with how calm Marlous stayed while I took 5 minutes to make it just once around the parking lot. Her positive tone did not change except to snicker a few times at the ridiculousness that was me driving. Thank goodness everything is walking and biking distance, but when the weather changes and we want to do some further exploring, driving will be, well, no problem :)

"Foxy"

Stalling.

The journey begins...

     After a night of folding and cramming everything I deemed essential for my year in Holland (into to my beautiful new purple luggage ;)).....an even later night followed with rethinking, refolding, and re -cramming the final cut of essentials to make the 50 lb. traveling weight limit. Sweating all the way to the airport wondering if the airlines were going to bust me for my 3 carry on items, cleverly disguised into the allotted "2 personal items," I cleared security and was on my way!! (*None of which could have been done without the expert packing of Sir Joseph Hu and Momma Nick, Thank you :) How you fit all my socks in that one pocket, I will never know...which is why they are not making the trip back to California ha.*) 
     
    Exhausted from watching my friends and family pack my stuff, naturally I slept the entire plane ride to England. I quickly awoke with excitement for my short flight into Düsseldorf. Wandering over to baggage claim the thought crossed my mind that I was not here for a short ODP camp or a vacation, I was on my way to my new home for the next year, and I could not wait to embrace my new life. Rolling my 48.5 lb. and 49 lb. bags out to meet Henny, the team manager and his wife, I was greeted with a big smile from the 'other American', Caitlin. Just as curious and nervous as I was, Caitlin and I had a good hour drive to the Netherlands to introduce ourselves and it didn't take long to realize I would be in for an adventure with a wonderful new roommate, teammate, and friend. I mean for starts, our birthdays are only four days apart, hers falling on Halloween, how cool is that?! ha. The drive to Enschede where Henny and his wife live was beautiful. The rodes are surrounded by big trees and greenery, and the homes have huge glass windows with cute bricking and flowers in the yards. A liiiiiittle different from driving around downtown L.A. but I thiiiink I will deal just fine. After a nice stay in a hotel where Caitlin and I both had our own rooms (not too shabby) we were greeted by the happy whistling of our "Dutch Daddy," Roel. "I will be your Dutch Daddy and if you need anything, I will take care of it..oh and womanly needs, um my wife will, ok, no problem." I couldn't wait to email my parents to calm their worries, I had a Dutch Daddy! along with a warm and welcoming family that was more then pleased to help make Caitlin and my stay comfortable. 

    


     We headed to the city of Hengelo where we will be living for the next year and straight to the Stadium we went. Henny introduced us to the most important people we needed to know (coincidently he introduced every person as 'this is the most important person you need to know.' good to know they only hire the best of the best around here!). The eyes would squint while Henny introduced us to each person in Dutch, but as soon as we heard the word Americans come out of Henny's mouth, the reaction was simultaneous among the important of  importants, "Aaw The Americans, welcome!" The awaited Americans had arrived and we were more then pumped after touring our stadium (which is near the size of that of an American Football stadium) and learning some club culture, to be a part of FC TWENTE. The clubhouse, the locker room, the training facilities, and team store were all very professional and admirable and we could not wait to spend our time there. Filled with inspiration, it was time to play the role that earns one all those wonderful perks, Futbol. I just hope somewhere among the cramming and re-cramming of 'essentials,' my cleats made it in with my year supply of socks, bathroom bag, coloring book, and snacks. :)