Further Adventures

So this blog is no longer about Joy in Japan, and yet I keep posting. I'll stop, I promise as I will have no more exciting things to share because I am now in my last stop, Ireland. (maybe one more about Ireland though). I spent 6 days in Holland visiting some family and friends, after spending 7 hours wandering Copenhagen on my layover from St. Petersburg. I feel as though I've gone through a careful process of leaving Japan. I went to Russia, a country where I didn't stand out as much, but still couldn't read or speak. Then I went to Holland where I blended in perfectly, could read, but couldn't speak. And now I'm in a country where I can read and speak! Instead of working through all the details since I last wrote you, here is a short list of the highlights! (which is sure to be as verbose as always).

Copenhagen: It's full of beautiful people, Scandinavia lives up to its reputation. A place I think I'd like to live (if I had money).

Holland: Arrived on my 2nd cousin Rob's birthday, so went out all night, the next day went to a Coldplay concert. Spent 1 day touring around the city on bikes (of course!) and I think part of my brain was just confused about the amount of English I heard (so many tourists!). Spent one day up in Massdijke, where my mom's cousin lives (Rob's mom), walked along the shore of the North Sea and spent a relaxing evening playing rumikub. Sunday went to an Ajax game, where they destroyed the other team 6-0, and then went to Utrecht to visit my friend Sara-- a Canadian. 2 nights in Utrecht, enjoying cobblestone roads and canals, shopping and a few Heineken of course. I got mistaken for being Dutch twice by Rob's friends which was fun.

Ireland:Just arrived-- got picked up by my wonderful friend Caoimhe and her mother, had a cup of tea and some brown bread, went for a walk along the shore and am about to have dinner shortly. Looking forward to doing some sightseeing and enjoying great company.

And for good measure, more Russian details: roller-blades! Everywhere! Memo to Russia, it's not 1993 anymore. Also, at zebra crosswalks, cars would actually stop! Not fly by ignoring you. A further detail about Ana, who helped us out in Moscow-- she seemed like an average girl, but once we got near to Moscow she got out of her train clothes (a t-shirt and pair of track pants) and into super tight jeans, a belt buckle that read "open for business" (Paul and I debated if she knew what this mean, we think not?) and tight white tank top... with no bra. Still as lovely and wonderful, but quite the transformation!