Relaxed And Productive

My Fridays are filled with only three classes. The blessing and curse of that is the fact that the third of those classes is in the last hour. So that meansI have five free hours. I have made sure during this time that I don't have homework over the weekends. But one problem is that I am completely bored by the my fourth free hour. Fortunately in my fifth hour, Max and I go to the football club and practice Lacrosse.


We are updating the family computer to windows 7 tonight and I will be testing Mac OS Lion this weekend. Im still very cautious about the whole thing, there are way too many mixed reviews.

The Sideline

In gym today I had to sit on the sidelines and watch as my classmates ran as far as they could in twelve minutes. I really wish I could have joined them because I am going insane not running. My knee is doing better, it has stopped swelling so much and when it does its much less than before. The only problem left is that the muscle above my knee seems to be too thick and hard when i flex. Which doesn't allow my kneecap to move freely when it flexes. Tomorrow I hope to try and jog a bit to see how it feels. Gym was my second class of the day.

My first class today was Biology which consisted of the cell structures of animals and plants. Then after gym I had English, which was focused on tenses and being able to read a text and have a conversation about it afterward. So today my brain was able to focus on Nederlands leren. The weather is continuing to be perfect, bringing everyone out into the school courtyard during the lunch breaks.

I Can Read Again! -ish

Today I was partially shocked because I was reading some of my text books' questions and understanding them! It wasn't much but it's a start! I can't say I'm fairings so well once I start getting tired in the evening, so I have to do as much of my homework early as possible which is a little difficult.

My knee is acting up still. Tineke and I think it's due to the cold nights and warm days. I really hope so, because I really need to be able to run again for my sanity.

Good Weather Equals Groggy People?

Today was very odd to say the least. It felt like a Monday, even though it was tuesday, and everyone including the teachers were half asleep! To make it more weird the weather was perfect except for in the morning which was foggy, but that cleared up rather fast. We have changed topics in both Physics and Biology now and I have tests beginning next week. In Nederlands I was actually reading some of the text we were given and I was able to answer some of the books questions!

This morning my knee was already feeling a little out of it ( i think due to the weather), and I was better during the day but not perfect. Then this evening at Fencing it really told me to stop. Before we could even move onto the second set of drills I had swelled up and hurt as soon as I sat in "On-Guard". SO i had to call it quits early. I'll take it easy over the next few days and I just have to keep exercising it with the weight I have, try and walk for a good distance each day with Louis (the family dog) and cross my fingers.

Also I have noticed a slight trend in viewings of the blog, when would be best for my to update (remember i'm six hours ahead)?

Monday Monday Monday, Or Was It?

Although today was technically a Monday. Which almost by definition is supposed to be dreary, awful, and pure bad. Today was a different bread of Monday. It was decent weather, or good weather for Holland, and my classes weren't all that bad. In Physics we have almost shifted into Electric Currents and I am more comfortable with that subject than Mirrors & Lenses because there is less text. Nederlands is still a challenge, but I am trying. The only other class today was the Mentor lesson which doesn't really count as a class. Tomorrow is Math, Physics, Netherlands and Biology so it may be more interesting.

Aside from school, today I really invested time into understanding how Google+ works and It leaves Facebook in the dust! Just after a few days of exploring, one of research, and one "Huddle" im hooked. It took me five years to get a Facebook! I would suggest it for anyone who wants a cleaned up more streamlined and useable (for daily life and work) social network. You can find me via my name or gmail: gregoryrobben@gmail.com

Brownies! Brownies by the hundreds!

Today the entire house smelled heavily of chocolate even with the windows wide open! Wouter needed a gift to repay a few friends with, after using their house. And the rest of us just wanted some chocolaty goodness. So we used my moms old recipe and backed around 200+ brownies, nothing big. Most went towards repaying Wouters friends but the rest were for us! So now I can't look at chocolate for a little while.

Tomorrow is another week, I hope everyone back home isn't too hung over or tired from Deadmau5, The Block-Party and The After-Party!

The Cohen Brownie Recipe

Brownie Carnage

In goes batch #3

Slaap Uit

Today I slept until noon, and even then I stayed in bed until one. I clearly needed sleep, and I was also mourning the fact that I missed Deadmau5 performing at the Festival Pier. Today the weather was beautiful and I spent some time out doors walking my knee. It is really improving, although it still creaks if I forget to exercise like I did last night. Im sure going to Deadmau5 wouldn't have helped it haha.

Tineke, Wouter, and Jelle are playing Nederlands Scrabble right now while Jan is in Oudega for the weekend. I am here trying to reconnect with people back home, I've barely talked to anyone! I'de really like to hear how Jr. year is since I'll have to go through it next year. Also, im sure I haven't covered everything people would like to know so please leave a question or two!

Happy Birthday Again!

Two birthdays in a row, and a nice movie get together for the second. I got to meet a few familiar faces, and unknown faces. While sharing our music tastes which blended well.

In school I finished all of my house work and I only need to look over my physics to better understand it. Also I am no longer taking French thankfully. The class made no sense since its was French 4 taught in Dutch by a teacher who has no control over his class what so ever so there is nothing done.

The weekend will be a nice break and Wouter is back for a few days. Also lacrosse has really kicked off at school and maybe I will successfully introduce it to the area.

Happy Birthday Jan

Today was a relaxed day at school and everyone enjoyed lacrosse. There isn't too much house work for me to do so i will leave that for tomorrow since I have just gotten back from a long dinner for Jans (host father) birthday. We ate out at a Thai restaurant.


Tomorrow is my first Dutch birthday party, and I cant wait. Also for Meik, Max, and Mike we need to figure out when our break hours meet up tomorrow.

Ooo HTML and other Homework

My computer sciences class is going well and I am picking up how to write HTML quickly. My other classes are progressing and I don't think I am too far behind if not ahead of some people in the classes. I need to learn more and more dutch in order to do well on tests though.

Yesterday the Queen gave her annual speech and it spawned an interesting realization that i am living is a constitutional monarchy! Speaking of anual dates it is my host father's birthday tomorrow so we will be treating him to Dinner.

That is all for today. There hasn't been much to report. Tomorrow looks to have nice weather and a relaxed schedule so it should be nice.

Im back baby!

No not back State Side but I am back in the world of Fencing! Oh man it felt so good to suit up and kick some dutch ass (I also was kicked a bit)! I have to scrape many layers of rust off myself but that is to be expected after so long of doing nothing at all! So yeah, i'm fencing again and life is good! Also one of my class mates is in my fencing club! Onward to doing nothing all of Biology, besides talking about fencing...

Other than the best night so far, today was pretty good i am continuously feeling myself being immersed more an more and mijn nederlands is beter and beter! So with that I have some physics homework to look at, talk to you all tomorrow.

1,000? 1,000?

Wow over one-thousand views. I know I sound like the typical youtuber but hey, one-thousand is a lot and I havent announced every hundred views. I have to admit that I kinda didn't really expect people (or at least this many) to follow me while I was away. In my mind there was a thought of where I just disappeared from Haverford and no one really gave a care. I hope I have done a good job so far! Also to anyone who has a downer mind set...there is the chance that my mom and her friends dont know how to use computers and reloaded the page a million times. BUT, that is unlikely seeing as I know my mom and most of her friends to be competent with the intwebs.

So, back onto the regular daily post! Today was my second monday and I can already feel the improvement. I have figured out the OSG system (for the most part) and in my opinion I think I have settled nicely into the student body. I have even been invited to a birthday party on friday and another in November (more to come I hope). Also my musical taste fits in very well here and its thriving, Jack S. you should be jealous, and so I may organize another USB circle to increase my Itunes ten fold. This time I will make sure I get them back, *cough* *cough* you know who you all are.

My classes today weren't bad and I am understanding physics. Nederlands is a challenge and I am considering dropping down a few levels to learn things that I may be able to use. But any who, tomorrow I have my first project due ( I need to finish that) and yeah, just another day in many many days. Lets see how it goes shall we?

My Books

Another Week Past

Tough long and wet. Week one was as much an initiation week as there gets. My homework is done and my English books are nearly done. Tomorrow is Physics 2X, Dutch, and Mentoring so it shouldn't be too straining. I am going in early though to seek out help for learning Dutch and also to try and fix a part of my schedule. The rain that was here this weekend is all gone, though Holland being Holland that won't last very long. So, I need to kick myself into bed or I will look like the zombie I was this morning courtesy of Bengt and Erik via Skype. If anyone wants to talk, send me a request to grobbin95 on Skype and we can arrange a video call or just IM'ing.

Hmm....

So probably because yesterday was a very lazy day I forgot to give everyone an update! Well today will have two, this one is all from yesterday.

Today there was on an off showers the entire day and it was the perfect day to sit inside and read my books for english and to do nothing of true importance. I did finish my homework that I didn't do on friday though.

So tomorrow has more rain predicted, so I am plan to try and get ahead in a few classes while I can.

Much Much Better

Today was much better than the rest of the week. Not only because it is Friday but because finally many lessons from over the week finally clicked in my head and also because I think I am almost completely settled into OSG. My number of friends and acquaintances is going everyday and it ceases to amaze me how helpful everyone has been when it has come to homework translations and learning dutch phrases in general. To all my new friends reading now heel erg bedankt! Without all of you I wouldn't be able to speak Nederlands like I do now. I think in a month more I will seldom use Google translate!


Now it is the weekend and I have done nothing school related at all. Tomorrow I plan on finishing my homework that is left over, and to go out and buy a few computer parts and begin planning the keyboard and mouse drawer I want to build into Wouter's desk (which he is fully behind, the idea came up when he visited). Other than that there are no plans for anything at all which is rather nice considering the high pressure week I just had.


Oh and if there is anyone from Homeroom 353 reading, I just emailed back an forth with Miss. Mortland about Skype, and it looks as if our homeroom will be Skype enabled sometime in the near future. I can't wait to call and see everyone again!


How has everyone's first full week of school been?

Swamped

All the work is feeling like too much right now. Because I have to translate almost everything in order to understand a topic it takes me nearly four times as long as it would for someone who speaks dutch. Also because  I have to translate so much, it is hard to understand what questions are asking or since there are many large sections of text which would take far too long to type up and translate. Which leads to me missing key information and becoming stuck on questions that ask for information from the text. Tomorrow I am going to try and track down some of my teachers to ask for help, and I still have homework to do over the weekend which is the homework that I am having trouble translating and understanding in general.

Ah Hello There Homework

Well we have meet again. Homework and myself have made are re-acquaintance a long one. By staying up all night together. We were joined by our dear friend the Internet who brought with him some music and an update to a game which I looked at while homework disorganized itself. Finally after a long night homework and I have parted and I am ready for bed. The day has been a decent one and I can feel my feet gripping the surface of Nederlands more and more.

I Could Be Worse

So today wasn't as awful as I had predicted but it did start out pretty bad with French., I had a splitting headache half way through winch was an hour due to the back to back french today...The class has a bunch of students who could care less and talk the whole time. To make it worse the teacher doesn't even try and control them. But the worst part is that I am trying to learn French taught in Dutch, see my problem? But the day brightened a little and I made it. Math is at the same level that I had last year so at least I have another class that wont be too hard. I now have the chance to brush up on what I didn't completely learn or didn't learn.

The weather today has not been much better than yesterday with high winds and a thunderstorm which sent my knee into a brief shock and scared me half to eath thinking that I had retorn my meniscus some how. But my knee is doing better but not as well as before, due to the fact that there is another storm passing overhead.

Tomorrow I have all eight hours of school with no breaks so its going to be a bit of a marathon. But there lessons are not all intensive core lessons thankfully. Also I start the day with English so, no headaches for me!

"Its All Too Much"

As an addition to yesterday's post I want to honor all the lives lost from 9/11/01 to the present. Between being completely innocent to risking their lives in the war zone, these men women and children all deserve a moment of silence and remembrance. It is because of them that we have regained our patriotism, bettering our country in every way. When an American flag waves it star spangled banners, reflect on whom and what they represent.

On a lighter note; school kinda, sorta, really sucked today. At least two of the hours were decent. My brain is totally fried, and is slowing down like an overloaded computer. Which it very much is. Instead of dealing with the usual new school material it is dealing with an additional three more new "things": new people, new land, new language (by far the highest card on the table). I'm sure it will get better as I grasp more and more of the language, but for now it's an uphill battle.

On a much lighter note; Coming home from school today was a challenge! The wind was so strong, when it gusted I felt myself either slow down or almost stop even though I was peddling furiously! But when I got home I noticed that A: my hair was straight back and more importantly B: my knee didn't hurt and it wasn't creaking (it has been for the past few days)! The only thing was that it felt weak which makes sense because there is still a difference between my legs. So I'm hoping for it to stay like this!

Another busy day at school tomorrow with almost all of my least favorites ( I still luckily have one favorite tomorrow). Let's see if I make it.

Kites Kites Everywhere!

Today was made up of homework reading a bunch, finishing up covering all my books, learning more dutch and hanging around with Wouter. Wouter and I went to go pick up an old TV from the family's second garage, and while we were there I meet a nice horse who I did not catch the name of but seemed nice. On the way to the garage we had seen a ton of kite surfing kites off the beach, so on the way back we stopped by and there were close to a hundred people wind surfing and kite surfing (or sailing i don't know the right name)! It was pretty cool, but so was the wind, so we hopped back into the car and headed back home. I don't have any classes for the first two hours of school tomorrow so I will be able to either sleep in or try and decipher more dutch from my textbooks (homework is really long and boring now that I have to translate nearly everything). Also last night there was a very strange thunderstorm where there was almost constant lightening, according to the local meteorologists there were an estimated 800 separate lightening flashes! I had a front wrong seat from my room because I have two large windows facing where the storm came from.

Homework? What if I cant read it?

So I have my first dutch homework and its taking quite the effort due to my need to translate everything for the moment. I have Biology, Dutch, and I finished my english homework quickly. Also we are reading the Boy in the Stripped Pajamas in English. So its off to homework land, and Ill chat with you all tomorrow!

First Weekend

I have made it! I made it through the first three days of Dutch school! I have made friends and figured my way through the school and student habits. My classes seem okay, like I said before they will be tough but I will make it through them. Wouter is over for the weekend, and Kees was supposed to but he had too much studying to do. Good luck to Lotte with her weekend races before her surgery on Wednesday!

School Is Awesome

Yes this year will be incredibly difficult but I have made great friends and Haverford just got buried, and also American schools in general. School here is eight classes all year but you don't have all of them in a single day, also there are days where you only have three classes and can sleep in get out early or have long breaks between classes. In Gym class, oh my god its different. Believe it or not america but did you know gym has physical activity in it? Here there is soccer without and stupid school rules and with full size goals, field hockey (all out), javelin, shot put, dodge ball, ping pong, basketball, and on and on. All with the official rules, with the exception of rugby because people seem to like their limbs.

My teachers seem alright and I have found a solution to Biology through my nature sciences teacher, which is a life saver. So far the classes I fear are Bio, Dutch, and I'm anxious about physics because apparently this is their second or third year.


Of course I am biking to school with almost everyone else (that's about two-thousand and five-hundred bikes), and my knee is letting me know that its not a total fan. Though I think its still complaining about lax...

First Day Of School

I probably was shaking when class began I was so nervous, but my class is amazing. They were very receptive of having me in the class and my mentor (adviser/ homeroom teacher) is a really cool dude. Since it seems like OSG is a bit like HHS Dhr. Molenaar couldn't log into his computer so we had a nice break in the middle of our day (which was only "homeroom", nothing else). During the break I quickly made friends and now I have a torn meniscus buddy, someone who also moved to Holland from the United States although she moved when she was six, and just friends in general. There are a ton of book for Dutch school, you receive all of them for all eight classes at once and its quite the bundle. Fortunately you never have eight classes a day, depending on scheduling its usually only four! So tomorrow is my first day of real classes, and I think I will enjoy this year. Of course there will be times such as when I have to take tests in Dutch, when I will want to shoot myself, but for the most part I have the feeling im going to enjoy this year.

How were everyone's first days?

Google Image of my new school