Life's About The Journey, Not The Destination

We made it! Our flight left Fort Worth at about 6:30 on Friday afternoon and we landed in London at about 9:30 Saturday morning. I have to say, it was by far the best international flight I have ever flown! I had an empty seat next to me, so I had lots of extra room and I slept almost the whole flight. After landing in London and going through customs, the girls and I headed to a restaurant to find some traditional English food. After a brunch of fish and chips and eggs benedict, we found our next flight out and settled in to wait out the rest of our layover.

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful (I'm pretty sure most of us slept) and then the adventure started :) When we arrived in Amsterdam we discovered that it had snowed! Flying into the city was absolutely beautiful! The snow did cause a few problems though :( Holland is currently experiencing the lowest temperatures they have had in 25 years and the snow has completely thrown off their public transit! Our contacts in The Hague ended up driving into Amsterdam to pick us up because we couldn't get out of the airport by train.

Once we finally made it into The Hague, they took us to our apartments for the next month. They are really nice, although not close to the city center. They are however right on the beach and in their own little resort, with a restaurant, grocery story and small theater! After getting settled in, we all went to dinner with a couple of education majors from Leiden. The girls were so nice and it was lots of fun getting to talk with people who live here! They introduced us to several Dutch words and a couple of fun, traditional Dutch snacks.

Today after doing a little grocery shopping, we got to actually go into the city center and see The Hague! Brian, a student here in The Hague who came to study at TCU last year, took us all over the city! He was so nice and we had a blast wandering around the town. We went to see the government center and the main shopping mall (not an indoor mall, but a series of streets lined with shops) and had a great lunch in town. We also got to figure out the Dutch bus and train system and learn a little more about where we will be teaching while we are here!

After a long day of walking and learning, we came back to our apartment and made dinner for Brian. I don't know what we would have done without him! He was so nice and really helpful! We start teaching tomorrow and I know we are all anxious to get into the schools and meet the kids! Wish us luck :)