going on a date with myself

12/1/22-12/2/22

hey! this thursday, I went on a date with myself to Utrecht. I had to go shopping because all I brought to the Netherlands were tank tops, shorts, and short sleeves. To my defense, I did not own long sleeves or winter clothes, so I'm currently making a winter wardrobe. The past few weeks have been hard and I've definitely felt homesickness and seasonal depression kick in. I have a feeling that not having enough warm clothes contributes to me not wanting to get up in the mornings and go outside. So, I decided on Thursday to take the train to Utrecht and go shopping. This is very new for me. When I was in Houston, I was really nervous to do things on my own, sometimes even nervous to order food at a restaurant. I still don't know if I can go out to a restaurant on my own yet, but I can for sure go shopping on my own.

I went to Lush and picked up a bath bomb and bubble bar at Lush for my host mom's mom because I have her for Sinterklaas. We're doing a Secret Santa activity. I went to some clothing stores, browsed around, and bought a few long sleeves. Not much happened, but it was really nice to be by myself and do exactly what I wanted to do. Also, a Cinnabon opened at the mall there, and the line snaked down the hallway. The weirdest American chains are popular here. Like Five Guys and Dunkin Donuts are really popular here.

The next day, I went to Utrecht again with two exchange students. We walked around and shopped. We went to a candy store, and the girl from Finland got so excited because there were a bunch of American candies there. She's never had sour patch kids before! She bought Mike and Ike's because she said she's seen them on tv a lot haha.

We went to Five Guys for dinner. The girls left their bags at the table and went to the line. I told them that someone could take their bags, and they were like "no, it's fine, we're in the Netherlands." But still! We were in the city and they just left their bags there. No one took their stuff though. There were also those soda machines that are from Coca Cola and you press the screen to pick your drinks, like the ones that were at Jerry Built if you know. The girl from Chile had never used one, so it was so fun to watch her try it out for the first time.

Those were my two days in Utrecht. Honestly, I liked the day where I was hanging out with myself more, which in a way, is a good thing. It means I like myself.

Okay, bye!

Amelia