Homeless in Holland

Where do I start?

Well, to make a long story short, I'll say this: things fell through.  

Shortly after arriving in Holland my host mother began processing the necessary resident's permit in order for me to stay and work for a year as her aupair.  It takes a few weeks to process things, and

as it turns out, I am too old by Dutch law (I must be under 26, not "26 or under").  It was a huge oversight on the part of the agency I hired to place me because I checked and double checked that exact question. Needless to say, I'm mad, and very disappointed that my overseas experience got cut short so abruptly over something so small. 

The last week I've been couch surfing with some very generous friends, and I plan to do that for one week more while I chase a job here... but chances are good that I will be back in Portland by September.

Cheers to adventures in Europe!

Barcelona Beach

After spending an entire week in Barcelona, I felt incredibly happy just to be alive.  I saw so many amazing buildings, met a lot of people, ate great food, and soaked in the sun at the beach.

Jackie and I - our first trip to the beach!

The Barca beach is not like any I've been to in America.  The beach is packed with people and it's very lively!  There are restaurants, bars and clubs all along the beach, and lots of people wandering around in the sand selling things.  

There's something of a song with all the people selling things.  And forgive the blatant stereo-types, but it's unavoidably noticable that certain ethnic groups are selling certain things.

First, there's the ever-present beverage seller.  Indian and Middle-eastern men walked up and down the beach with small coolers and refreshing beverages, "cerveza, beer, agua, water, fanta"  that just keeps repeating as if it's a programmed voice on a loop. The list of their offerings gets much longer if and when they stop to proposition you personally.  "Beer? Water? Fanta? Hash? Weed? Cocaine? "...wow. 

The next ever-present player in this landscape is the massage ladies.  Asian women walked around with their oils and a medical diagram to show you that you can choose a back massage or full-body.  "Masaje? Masaje?"  If they paused to ask you directly, it's not unlikely for them to tell you "very nice masaje" as they rub your shoulders to talk you in to it.  For 5 euros, my answer was "Si, por favor!!!"

Add to the choir of voices the coconut guy!  An old man with fresh coconut in a basket shouting "Co-co nut! Co-co nut! Co-co nut!".  Awesome.

And my favorite: the doughnut guy.  He's a French dude who carries a triangle, and sings little ditties as he runs (yes runs) around the beach with a pyramid of doughnuts on top of his head!  

Doughnut guy with his huge stack of doughnuts!

I loved it here!  The Mediterranean Sea is salty enough that you're super buoyant.  So when I got tired of the crowds, I just went and floated in the clear blue sea for a while!