just another wednesday

So lately I have not had much inspiration to write on here. Mostly because my weekdays here really are not that exciting... except Tuesdays ;)

I mostly just sort through all the home work I have to get done - papers, presentation, research etc. for my classes through Dordt. It takes discipline but I have been able to accomplish at least one thing a day because I do not have anything else going on. Not having anything else going on is another problem though because if there is no schedule to work around... work rarely gets done efficiently.

I have tried breaking up my day though with a workout and drinking coffee and tea :)

Last Wednesday I had a Bible Study at my "house" and two of the SPICE girl buddies came along with two other SPICE girls. It was really nice to discuss a Bible passage and also get to know the girls a bit better.

I went to Groningen on Saturday with Kaitlyn and it was so nice to spend time with a great friend. We got a free ride with my host parents because my host sister lives there. We left around 9am and when we got there we went to where my host sister lives. We had coffee, tea, and little cup cakes :)

Then while my host parents went to an open house for my host sister's work, Kaitlyn and I went to a museum and shopped. The museum was strange. It had a lot of different random exhibits. The first was couture dresses that used to be on the runway and then there were paintings of course. The picture is of us and a couture dress. They were all very unique looking.

Groningen is apparently the "place to be" for shopping and going out.

We ended our day by meeting up with my host family for dinner on a pannenkoekship to eat some "pancake pizza". The photo is of me and my host sister.

I had chicken, ham, pineapple, and cheese on my pancake and it was very delicious.

After dinner we went to my host-grandparents for coffee -

It was nice to meet them but I do not think they said a word in English to me. Its very difficult for them. They were so sweet though and I got a picture with my host-grandpa who participated in Elfstedentocht in 1958. Its a 200km skating tour through 11 friesian cities. Amazing!

On Sunday I ice skated 10km and I was sore ;)

Sunday I woke up and I did not feel very good but I took it easy and did some trip planning for Prague this weekend. Then my host parents took me to Kampen, a city nearby, for our last time ice skating because the temps are going up and the ice is melting.

It was difficult to skate on the ice this time because it was getting soft and all the skate blades made cracks in the ice - I almost fell 10 times and my body hurt from getting so tense but I did not fall! After skating my host parents dropped me off at an International church - it was something I wanted to check out because the service is in English. I met another SPICE student there and she was with her family. The service was a little different than what I am used to but it was great to hear worship in English again. I was very blessed by the speaker as well. The speaker works with YWAM (Youth with a Mission).

In the evening my host family and I played Rummikub and later I skyped my parents.

I received a funny Valentine's Day card from my family and some yummy Hershey kisses :) I really appreciated the mail!

Yesterday was Valentines day and we celebrated with a get-together where we ate delicious brownies and had some rose beer along with wine (pink beer) :)

It was fun to see the SPICE gang because it had been a while since we had all been able to get together! We watched the movie Valentines Day and after we headed out for another eventful night at the Joffer!

This weekend I am looking forward to going to Prague! We leave Friday and return Monday. Then I will have a lot more to blog about! :)