Spring Has Sprung

Spring is in the air and it has brought the sun and great moods. We often find people sitting outside in groups soaking in the rays or even bringing out the ping pong table out to play. Although, it is hard to be a good student with the warm weather tempting you to stay outdoors. It's only been around 50 degrees, so the best has yet to come. We're planning to take a trip to Ahus (a coastal city only 20 mins away) to spend a day on the beach! Of course we'll have to wait til it gets a little bit warmer :)

-Shanda

Boots&Capris

What do we do in our large amounts of free time? Make music videos of course! Enjoy.

Three things that make Amsterdam's old houses special:

Firstly, those decorative tops of the houses (gables), each house having its own pattern.
Secondly, some houses are so incredibly narrow that it's hard to imagine that you can actually live in them.
Finally, most buildings are built to lean forward with a big hook attached at the top. Why? Because all the furniture you want to move in or out of the house needs to be lifted through the windows, the staircases are far too narrow and too steep to allow any maneuvers. The hook at the top is for the rope on which the furniture is lifted and the leaning front helps you move things up without damaging the home or furniture.

*Some of the older buildings have started to lean sideways as well; this is because there foundation is layers of wood, which has started to rot. Nowadays the foundation is based on concrete. –xoko

Red Light Suprise

So Amsterdam is well known for a couple things, but one being the famous Red Light District. Yes at first we were a little skeptical on going, but I mean come on, we had it see it for our own eyes.  Accompanied by our lovely Dutch friend Nieky and her parents (trust me, it was nice to walk around with a couple adults), we walked the streets of the Red Lights. I personally thought, "oh there will be like 10-15 red light slots"....uhmmmm no. There was probably closer to 100 if not more. They were everywhere. You walk down a little ally way and there is at least 15 on each side. Because you are curious....most of the girls are from Germany and Poland and are mostly in their 20's. It was just crazy to us that something like this actually existed on the streets. Plus, in between the different red light slots are bars and clubs with "dirty" actions going on inside. No we didn't go inside!

So yes people, everything you have heard about the Red Light District in Amsterdam is most likely valid. It was a crazy thing to see, but was necessary to see it for your own eyes :) We didn't take any good photos, but feel free to google.

-Mariah

The Netherlands.

The second day of our Amsterdam trip we set out to be full blown tourists. We grabbed some local pastries from a bakery for breakfast and hopped aboard a canal cruise which you can get on an off at varying stops around town. We passed many well known sites such as the Anne Frank house, took pictures by the I AM-STERDAM letters, shopped for souvenirs, and learned a little more about the canal make-up—2 meters water, 1 meter mud and 1 meter bikes. –xoko

No Longer Illegal Aliens.

We recently traveled two hours to a town called Växjö, Sweden, which has around 83,000 inhabitants to finish our residence permits. After arrival we quickly found our way to the migration office, after asking for directions of course, and took a number behind many people. We literally got there in the nick of time, because after taking our photos (tip: which do go on your visa for everyone to see) and fingerprints they closed for lunch. We stopped for DELICIOUS kebabs for lunch, shopped the streets for an hour or two and headed back to our new found home Kristianstad. –xoko.

My Nebulous Neighbor

Today is the day I risked death. Not only did I rebelliously burn my tortilla; I then placed it at the bottom of “Fruit Man’s” dead tree. The way I see it, I’m supporting his weird practices and for that he should like me……or he’ll kill me in my sleep tonight. Wish me luck! –xoko