Day 2 (August 16)

Day 2 got off to a late start- jet lag is a stinker! We didn't wake up until 1pm! and I was still exhausted! So we ate a lovely breakfast consisting of one egg each (that's all we had in the house!) and some rice that didn't come out very well- I tried to use my rice cooker that I brought with me from the states, but since the electricity runs twice as strong here and I wasn't using a converter, the cooker got too hot, the water started boiling over, and a strange smell of burning electricity started wafting from the cooker! So we finished boiling the rice in a pot on the stove and will refrain from trying to use the cooker (or even seeing if it still works!) until we get a converter!

After breakfast we cycled over the the outdoor market that we have on Saturdays and Wednesdays- just a few streets over from our apartment- and then walked through all the kaaskramen (cheese stands), viskramen (fish stands), fruitkramen (fruit stands), groentekramen (vegetable stands), bloemenkramen (flower stands), and many other kinds of "kramen" at the market.

een notenkramen (a nut stand)

een groentekramen (a veggie stand)

On our way home we went to the supermarket to get some food since we ate the eggs for breakfast which were basically the only substantial food items that we had in the apartment (and we didn't actually BUY anything at the market!) But they have these really cool machines there where you put your fruit or vegetables on a scale, and then on the screen touch the icon that indicates what kind of fruit or vegetable it is, and then after it weighs it and tells you how much it is, you press another button that spits out a sticker with the price for you to stick on the bag!! SO WEIRD!!

The cool sticker machine!

So after shopping we brought everything home in the bicycle sack that is velcroed onto the back of my bicycle and then cooked dinner.

The rest of the evening was filled with just trying to get things organized and settled, although we've barely made a dent in that and it feels like it will be forever before things are finally settled. Perhaps buying some furniture so we have a place to put things might help! I'm trying to put all my clothes in piles according to kind on the bedroom floor so that I no longer have to dig through all my suitcases to figure out where something is. It's slow going, though, and I still haven't gotten it gotten too far!

the bedroom in it's current state

Homesickeness is still pretty strong, and it was especially hard when I got to see/talk to my parents via the webcam. I'm so thankful we have this technology (and my parents are willing to learn how to use it!), because I don't think I could survive if we weren't able to do this!