Touched Down in Amsterdam
January 30th, 2019 -- perhaps the longest day of my life! I slept so poorly the night of the 29th because I was nervous, anxious, excited, and so much more for 1/30. This was the day I would arrive in Amsterdam and officially start my study abroad experience. So many unanswered questions I had - I was going to a new city and I was by myself. Where would I go when I got off the plane? I had to take a train from Amsterdam to Maastricht, the city I will be studying in this semester. Where do I buy my train ticket? What if I miss the train?! When do I get off of the train? When I arrive in Maastricht, where do I go? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. But hey! I survived and live on to tell the story:
3:00 AM - My alarm wakes me up in Iceland to get ready for my flight to Amsterdam (YAY!). A shuttle picked me up from my Airbnb at 3:30, and I said goodbye to my mom (She's gonna cry again when she reads this😉) and off I was to Keflavik International Airport -- about 50 minutes outside of Reykjavik. I arrived at the airport a little before 4:30 AM and once I was all checked in, I sat there and anxiously waited for my flight to depart.
7:40 AM - Finally, take off time! I boarded the flight, popped in headphones and tried to catch up on lost sleep from my time in Iceland and messed up sleep schedule. I was pretty unsuccessful, but I did get a little rest. On the plane, my nervousness turned to excitement. I knew I would figure things out when I arrived in Amsterdam and was so excited to get off the plane and get to it!
11:50 AM - After a 3 hour and 10 minute flight (+1 hour time change), we landed in Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport! After getting off the plane, I snatched my luggage from the baggage claim. Okay, now I'm nervous again. Where to now!? I grabbed some food at the airport to feed my famished self before I made my next move.
1:18 PM: I got on a train to Maastricht! But before this, I had some difficulties (as I anticipated). After finishing my food, I went to buy a train ticket. The first credit card I tried didn't work -- uh oh. I eventually figured it out with a different credit card and got my ticket. There were 6 different train platforms -- I had no idea where to go. Keep in mind, I had no data or Wifi to use this whole time! I saw a man who was monitoring platform 2 and asked him if this was the right platform to go to Maastricht -- and he LAUGHED at me. I knew the Dutch were blunt, but I didn't expect to be laughed at during my first encounter with them! Welcome to the Netherlands, Macy! (**DISCLAIMER: I have been here for only one day and have already learned that the Dutch are extremely nice but yet straightforward; they don't beat around the bush with anything and tell you straight up how things are. I think I will really like it here!) Anyway, back to my day -- the man told me which platform I had to go to, so I hauled all of my luggage over to the correct platform. I had no idea what any of the signs meant and didn't see the word "Maastricht" anywhere so I asked a young lady from Bangkok who was waiting for the train to help me out. She told me which train I had to get on and then asked where I was from; she said she could tell I wasn't from the area since my English was "very fast"!
2:18 PM: The first thing I noticed on the train was how green the grass is. I think it might be greener than the grass we have in Wisconsin in mid-summer! I stared out of my window for the longest time just looking at the pretty green grass. After riding the train for an hour, I had to transfer trains at a different station. This was pretty confusing, but I figured it out. I was always offered help with my luggage when getting on and off the trains -- maybe the Dutch aren't so bad after all ;)
4:00 PM: After a crazy day, I FINALLY arrived in Maastricht! This is where it gets interesting... I figured the easiest (but not cheapest!) way to get to campus from the train station was by taxi since I had all of my luggage with me. I got in one of the taxis waiting in the front of the train station and told him I was going to meet with Dutch Immigration at a Student Services Building where they had to take a headshot photo and scan my fingerprints to complete my VISA. Dutch Immigration was leaving campus at 4:30 and if I didn't make it there in time, I would have to travel to a different city at a later date to complete this process. My taxi driver pulled out of Maastricht Centraal Station and got in an ACCIDENT. He was t-boned by a motorcycle driving pretty fast down the road. I was fine, no injuries, but just when I thought I had it all figured out, this happens! Welcome to Maastricht, Macy! A different taxi driver had me switch into his car and at this point I was cutting it pretty close to 4:30. I made it there just in time.
4:45 PM: My first stop after meeting with Dutch Immigration was going to pick up my keys. I am staying in a Guesthouse (it is like a crossover between an apartment and a dorm), which is what just about all of the exchange students do. So far, I have met students from Penn State, USC, and Washington University in the United States and other students from Australia, Italy, Taiwan, Germany, and China. I should mention that I am here with 5 other students from UW. After getting my keys and getting all checked in, I had to find my building! Luckily, I was offered a ride there by Maastricht Housing. I eventually arrived around 6:00 or so and had time to unpack, catch my breath, get on WiFi and reach out to my family back home (!!!), figure out how to activate my new European phone number, and read what seemed like 200 brochures and pamphlets they gave me. Shortly after, I was fast asleep to get some rest before an Introduction Day the next morning.
I think the toughest part of my journey is over -- now comes the fun! :)
