Here Safe and Sound!

Hey! So in order to avoid repeating myself to family and friends daily about everything that is happening I figured why not blog about it!

We flew up over Canada and then almost hit Greenland I think... ? Went over Ireland and England on the way down! Flew right over Manchester and it cleared up so we could look down and see the lights!

Looking down and seeing this from the plane flying into Amsterdam certainly set the mood!  We walked out of customs and thankfully there was out dutch "buddies" waiting for us in the crowd of people. Then we took about an hour train to Zwolle. One of the major things I noticed was how small all the cars were... I don't think I have seen an suv of any sort the entire time I have been here! trying to fit all of our luggage into the little car our host family had at the station was quite humorous!

"The Ugly Duck" This is one of our families small cars.. notice the motorcycle that is almost as big. Honestly though the cars here our crazy! They need to be to navigate the roads though. A few hours after arrival our family took us on a bike ride.. one speed.. but equipped with a sweet lock, bell, and lights!

Surprisingly, neither Michael or I fell into the water on the ride.

My Grandma Den Besten had showed me a photo album before I left, and one of the pictures was of Hattem's city wall. Imagine my surprise when I saw the spot my very first afternoon in The Netherlands! Hattem is an old city so the wall still stands with the moat from.. way back when:P

Saturday we went on a city walk in Zwolle with everyone. The first thing we did was climb the Peperbus Tower... taller than any lighthouse I have ever climbed! Originally a church? over 200 steps and 75 meters high  and we were able to walk around at the top! http://www.peperbus-zwolle.nl/index-eng.html

Ill have a lot more "nice" pictures later.. but for now this will suffice! Ill add some better ones of everything when I get time. The town is certainly not built in squares. 

The man who plays the bells.. and the bells. Pretty spectacular to watch him play that like a piano. 

 Certainly a lot of awesome buildings

 And really really really small houses built literally anywhere they can squeeze them. Noone here has to worry about mowing their lawn, as the only space they have is about a foot of the sidewalk that the city allows them to put a garden in.

Our awesome tour guide!! Telling us stories about WWII. 

Downtown Zwolle is amazing to say the least. With the markets and all the small shops.. lots of canals and boats.. apparently there is even a boat you can go and just listen to stories. 

Its extremely cold right now.. the coldest week of the year. Biking 30 miles a day.. Michael and I live a ways away from everyone.. is pretty bitter cold but we are getting in great shape. 

And its certainly safer than driving! and cheaper.. getting a license here is insanely expensive. There are biking lanes in some spots other times its right with the cars.. I have had a few close calls already with cars and buses whisking within inches but the whole group is still uninjured! 

Us practicing riding bike in the park before the buddies showed us around town. 

The amount of bikes is just astounding. 

Michael and I have to go up a long hill and cross the "red bridge" from Hattem into Zwolle every day. Its getting easier but our muscles still burn going up that hill. 

Lasko! My host families dog.. laziest dog I have ever met! 

All in all I am so blessed to have come on the trip so far. Church was a challenge with both services in Dutch.. but the group does a Bible study so that helps a lot. My host family rocks, having Steven who is also 21 is a major help. School is going well. We all feel like the foreigners but are loving it! We have an awesome group of people on SPICE. Michael and I have gotten lost more than once... because the roads here randomly change names.. but we have always found our way eventually. Im always tired from the biking but there is plenty of authentic Dutch food to keep me going. No pizza cookie dough and not even a Mt. Dew yet! I miss all of my friends more than they realize and was I admit quite a bit homesick the first few days. God is doing great things here and Im eager for the rest of the semester!