Commencing of the Travels

Wow I have a lot to catch everyone up on.  I realize this now sitting in my room in The Hague with everything more or less taken care of and I finally have time to sit down and write.  First a little about the last 40 days to give some context:

40 days ago-

  I woke up after a sleepless night shortly after Thanksgiving to find a long awaited email that I had given up on, receiving  news about my application to the UN internship.  I was so happy to be accepted but I realized I had very little time to actually get ready.  Spending spring semester in Europe means that I can't afford to keep a place in State College, so I had to find someone to replace me.  On top of that finals this semester was going to be rough, I had to make sure I had all the vaccinations, submit paper work to the UN, check for visa requirements, purchase a hitch and rent a trailer to move back to California, find a place to stay in the Netherlands, and make sure other loose ends are ready.  It was going to be a hectic last month of 2012.

17 days ago-

  Somehow I made it through most of finals and made all the arrangements I could reasonably make.  I was packing up all my stuff with help from my State College friends.  My last final was going to have to be submitted while I was on the road.  So I packed everything up and started my cross country road trip back to California with my life in a 4x9 trailer and had a few good friends with me to enjoy the ride.  We really had an amazing trip.

3 days ago-

  I spent a few days with my family and a few with my friends in California.  It was amazing to have a rare heart to heart moment with my dad and even nice to see that he worries a little about my trip.  Before I know it I'm jumping on a plane from San Francisco to London.  While I wait in the massively growing ticket counter line I watch a British couple struggling to keep track of their three little children and having little more success then trying to herd cats.  I was already in the front of the line with three hours till my flight and I felt sympathetic to both them and their kids so I gave up my place in line for them.  I have never been called chivalrous before but it was a nice compliment to receive, plus it's never too early to build up an early store of good karma on a long trip.  The flight was rough, the seats were cramped and it was a long bumpy ride.  I arrived in London with a long lay over with only Euros and US Dollars in my pocket I was really thirsty and hungry but luckily I found out that Pret A Manger accepts USD so I was able to buy a few things to hold me over!  On the flight from London to Amsterdam I sat next to a cute elderly British couple on holiday to Amsterdam.  When I tried, and failed, to order an ice tea they called me out as a yank. Lol, I have never been called a yank before but I found it entertaining and it finally started to sink in the idea that I was going to spend some significant time over seas.