Misconceptions

It was a rough morning.

It started out by saying goodbye to my dad, so that's probably what ruined it for me. After I said goodbye, I got ready for work and started my commute. When I left the house, it was raining, but as soon as I started pedaling, it started hailing. The hail was maybe bee-bee (sp?) sized, which seems small, but when you're biking through it in the dark, and it's 30 degrees, it really sucks.

After getting to the hostel, I couldn't really do anything because my shift-mate hadn't arrived yet, so I waited... And waited some more... and some more. Until someone informed me that she had overslept.

During the shift, the pan that catches the oil from the grill overflowed. I swear, we mopped for like 5 years. But after everything was clean, 2 million pancakes had been flipped, and every guest had been served, we had some down-time to talk and get to know each other.

Since I had only met Ellie, my shift mate, one time, our conversation was mostly small talk like, "How old are you?", "How did you hear about the YHM?", "How long will you be staying?", etc. When we got to the question of "Where are you from?", she told me that she was from Ireland, and I told her, "The US, in South Carolina," to which she replied, "Oh, that's where all the rednecks live, right?"

I had to explain to her that South Carolina has really great parts that are not redneck-infested and that it really is a great place to live.

Thank you, rednecks of South Carolina, for ruining it for the rest of us.

Thankfully, my day changed for the better after that. My fellow new staff member, Sara, invited me to go walking with her. We walked to Dam Square and into the Hema (the equivalent of Target in the Netherlands) where we bought our "secret Sinterklaas"gifts for the exchange on Wednesday.

Our walk back to the house was really pleasant. We talked and walked in and out of bookstores and small gardens, and then... get ready for it. Really, prepare yourself.

THE SUN CAME OUT.

That was the view looking south onto the canal, but this is the north view! I thought it was too pretty not to share. Even though this side wasn't sunny, it was still pretty.

Anyways, I have to write a poem for my "secret Sinterklaas" and I'm not one for poetry! Wish me luck. I'll post how it goes soon. Goedenacht!