Settling in.

So, I've been in Holland for just over a week now, and despite being here for such a short time, I think I can comfortably call it home (for now, at least).

My journey got off to a pretty ugly start, with mammoth additional fees at the airport with a certain unnamed "budget" airline, slight delays and floods of tears for my parents, boyfriend and an unsuspecting friend to contend with. It was pretty scary, as I've never negotiated my way through an airport alone before, but I managed to survive the short flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam! Success!

After that it was just a case of collecting my luggage and finding my university pick-up service. The pick-up service was incredibly helpful, as me and one other international student got a free taxi to drop us off at our accommodation. They also gave me my key - which was handy.

All of this was a huge time-saver and allowed me to dump my bags and rush out to the shops to find myself a few essentials.

Settling in has definitely been the theme of this week. I haven't quite got everything that I need yet, but my room is certainly looking a lot less bare. I have a duvet and bed covers for one thing - so that's a start!

A few home comforts make all the difference!

One thing I have loved about this week has been the social activities and the Dutch course. It's been an amazing experience meeting such a range of people, from all different backgrounds. And I'm really struggling to get my head around such a variety of nationalities and life stories. Everyone is just so different from one another. It's lovely.

It has been a hectic week and I've be struggling through the Dutch course every morning. Sometimes I understand it and others I spend the whole morning in utter confusion. But I'm glad that I decided to learn the language, however little I actually get from it. I'm really determined to pass the class though!

The ESN buddies have been great at arranging activities for us all, and I feel like I haven't stopped all week. They are a great bunch of people and made us all feel very welcome!

Monday was a kind of "getting to know you" lunch, where we were able to meet everyone and start recognising people's faces.

On Wednesday we had a "Getting to know the Netherlands" workshop followed by a social dinner which might have turned into a night out. This was probably my favourite day of the week because, although I was shattered by the end of it, it was when I first began to properly get to know all of the other students. It was excellent.

Thursday was a guided tour of Rotterdam South Bank and a great opportunity for taking loads of pictures.

And finally, we had a Pubquiz on Friday.

So it's been a busy week (and a lazy weekend). It's been fab! :)