Walid.... in Amsterdam

So here it is. After a 14 hour flight I'm here in Amsterdam. So let's narrate the happenings a little.

I arrived and received a message from Steph, a fellow student from NUS doing her exchange here, that she and the other students will not be fetching me from the airport, instead they would wait for me at Amterdam Central. I took a train there, and waited for about 1 and a half hours before they finally reached. We were to go collect our hostel keys tgether, but we got really lost and walked non-stop for quite some time, with me carrying about 40kilos of stuff. Getting lost, as I found out, was to be a feature of the day. And oh, one of the first things Steph said to me was, "I hope you are not a staunch Muslim, coz It'll be hard to find food here." Haha.

My hostel is pretty far from the other 3 Singaporeans, so it's safe to say I won't see them much this semester. Anyway I got to my room, not before getting lost, and settled down and stuff before leaving for orientation. Looking for the place, again losing my way, was a bitch. I don't understand why they can't have the bloody uni in 1 place. The concept is pretty much like SMU, only difference is it's much worse and the buildings are much more scattered. Oh, the other difference is at SMU, I have my bike! And even still I get lost!

I arrived pretty late for the orientation, and after a series of boring talks, they brought us to a club. Yup, a club. Everybody was drinking and was getting ready to party. After 10 minutes insideI kindly excused myself and went off. I'm really not into these things (anymore) so I wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway. And looking at the orientation schedule of events, looks like I'm not joining it anymore, I'd rather learn my way around Amsterdam.

Which reminds me, on the way back from the club, I spent about 3 hours taking buses and trams all around Asmterdam, before I finally got back. Even the locals didn't seem to know where Funenpark, the place where I stay, is. I desperately wanted to avoid taking a cab because from what I've heard, it's too damn expensive.

Anyway it's going to be a difficult few months for me. Loneliness, food, finding my way (literally), away from my loved ones, it's really gonna be difficult. But that was what I came here, to go out of my comfort zone, and challenge myself. Of course at the same time, I need some encouragement from you guys, dropping the occasional (or regular!) email or so, which I'm sure I'll get. =) When I arrived itself my sis and Mas'uud had emailed me to give me some motivational words, knowing fully that I need them.

The good thing about a bad start is, it can only get better from here. =)