Monday, I started talking about the effect that possessions have on some people's decisions to move, especially abroad. Today, I want to touch on my own personal attachment to things. 

For me, I have never been terribly sentimental. I don't look at photos from my childhood that often and I prefer to look towards the present rather than the past. I think that people tend to equate stuff with having it all and want people to know that they do. For me, my show items were always my cooking, art and books, I wanted people to know how well read I was.

I think my upbringing has a lot to do with they way I feel about things. My mom has collected flamingos for her entire life. Every time there is an occasion which calls for presents, she gets something with a flamingo. Because of this, I think I have decided never to collect anything. My grandmother is also a borderline hoarder. Don't get me wrong, I love her and I inherited her messiness, but I have no problem throwing stuff away. If something of mine gets ruined, I either don't replace it, or I get a new one. I'm also incredibly cheap, unless it comes to food. So I never want to spend my money on too many things.

Of course, there are things that I love and have felt like they were worth packing away in boxes to move across town. Books mostly. But with the high cost of shipping things to Holland and the constraints of air travel, I have had to make some serious choices. As I mentioned on Monday, when I was in Holland, I left 4 boxes worth of stuff at Loek's current apartment. I took with me a bunch of clothes and boots that I knew I would not wear again before it was time for me to move. What also made the cut: All 7 seasons of my favorite show, Gilmore Girls,  a peacock print I got in Venice,The New York Times Essential Cookbook by Amanda Hesser, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Like I said, I love to cook! 

Of course the Lorelei's made the cut. 

As of now, I have packed one of the duffels I mentioned in my last post. (The smaller one), In it, I have packed my mother's jewelry box that my real dad gave her. (We don't have a relationship and this is the only thing I have that he gave anyone) As well as, my K stamp and calligraphy pen that I got in Italy, the new bike bedspread I bought, some clothes I won't wear in the 76 days I have left here, and my copy of The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis. 

My next post in this series is going to be about what else made the cut. Stay tuned. 

 Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Loek and I got engaged in April while I was in Holland. We had talked about wanting to be engaged before I made the big move across the ocean, so I had an inkling it was coming. Before I left, both Loek and my mom were acting a little suspicious. I spent the entire time in Holland waiting for it to happen.

Flowers at the Keukenhof

After we finished looking at everything, Loek announced that it was time to leave. Leave! Maybe I was wrong, it doesn’t happen often. Loek then informed me that he wanted to show me more of Lisse. We had already been there earlier in the week to see his parents, but had really only seen the street where their house is. Loek took me up the street to the opening of the forest. The trees were pretty spaced out and while I have an obsession with trees, after the beauty of the Keukenhof, this forest was slightly disappointing. After about 5 minutes, we came to a clearing where there was a quaint little farm, complete with ponies and two giant pigs. I remember thinking to myself at the moment we came upon it, that it was an odd place for a farm to be, in the middle of the wood. We walked a few minutes more and suddenly standing in front of us was a small castle. Kastel Keukenhof and we had the grounds all to ourselves. Loek suggested that we sit and rest on a bench for awhile. It was there that he got down on one knee and proposed. That’s right at a castle! Apparently, I asked Loek if he was serious. It all happened really fast, but was the best moment of my life thus far.

It seems that, Loek and my mom had been conspiring because he had asked her permission to ask for my hand. A few weeks before I left for Holland, my mom and I went ring shopping just for fun. I had seen the perfect ring and my mom had apparently taken a picture of it and sent it to Loek. My mom went back, got it and sent it to him. I mean he paid her of course. Now let’s talk about this ring.It is a cushion cut peridot, my birthstone, surrounded by small diamonds. It is unique enough that I love it, but also not very ostentatious. Which is good because, the Dutch are not very ostentatious. I love it. And, it didn’t break the bank.

I am very excited to be getting married to quite possibly the sweetest man on the planet who I know loves me, . Loek and I have not started wedding planning yet, because we have so many other things in the immediate future to figure out. All I know is that it will be taking place in Holland, and I promise to keep you updated on the plans as they unfold.

I just wanted to stop in for a quick moment to say that I have my ticket! I am leaving Atlanta on October 4th at 10pm. Everything is happening so fast! I am leaving in 83 days! I miss Loek soo much so I am super excited that in 84 days I will get to see my fiancee again! I never want to be in another long distance relationship again, it is really hard. So freaking excited! 

This amazing flickr photo was taken by: caribb

Today is the 4th of July, also known as Independence Day here in the United States of America. The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, when fireworks go off it instantly reminds me of days spent going to downtown Lawrenceville with my two best friends. We would all pile in the back of Christy's moms Surburban and arrive hours before the festivities. Us girls would walk around, but when the fireworks began it was magical.
This is the last 4th of July I might ever spend living in the United States. I put this enormous amount of pressure on myself to really due it up right. Last week, I was so worried about what I was going to do because it is my last that I completely lost sight of the true meaning of the holiday. That people fought and died so that we could be free. That freedom includes my ability to move clear across the World to be with the love of my life.  
In case you were wondering, this is how I spent my Independence Day weekend:  
Saturday, I spent a long day in bed. Then I watched the food network all day long. Sometimes it feels fantastic just to enjoy the art of doing nothing.  
Sunday, again I woke up late, then The Lord of the Rings was on tv, and I am a girl who loves Middle Earth. I also went suitcase shopping with my mom, lets just say, I came, I saw, I dropped some cash, but more about that later. I then went with my mom to meet some friends at the fireworks in Old Town Norcross. They were pretty good but they didn't have my favorites. What I call spermies, because after the burst they go off in white little curly cues. Yes, I'm kinda gross. Oh and, I had a freaking awesome snow cone. Mango and lime!  
The 4th: I woke up freaking early and went with my mom to go see Larry Crowne. It was both adorable and inspiring. I left with 2 things, one, I want to go back to college, I never actually got my degree so maybe the University of Utrecht is in my future and two, I really want Loek and I to get a vespa! I then went and got the suitcase I had my eye on yesterday, because I was still fawning over it today. We had some family friends with their 4 year old come over. Oh, and I forgot, I made cupcakes! and of course I talked to Loek. All and all, it was a perfect weekend!
How did you spend your 4th?        

 People have all sorts of stereotypical ideas about other cultures: The French are rude, Germans are militant and direct, all Russians are mobsters, Americans have a crappy education system-Hey one of those is unfortunately true.  you get it, I don’t need to go on. Most of the time, these opinions are based on word of mouth or what we see on television. A lot of these stereotypes come from ignorance for other cultures norms.
It is my opinion that if you go to a place thinking that its people are a certain way, you will never be disappointed by lack of evidence. If you go with an open-mind you will be surprised about how most of the assumptions you had were wrong. When I met Loek’s friends for the first time, I was extremely nervous about what they thought about Americans, (Would they ask me about the Bush years? Would they think that I talked like the Jersey Shore cast? Yes, that show has even made it to The Netherlands.) I was arming myself for what stereotypes I would have to overcome, after all, I was an American.
Much to my relief, the only questions I was asked were about dining habits. I was asked if I ate pancakes everyday like the Americans on tv. To which I answered that I haven’t had a pancake in probably a year and that I live in the South so I eat a lot more waffles, because of Waffle House which is open 24 hours a day. (Man, am I going to miss the hashbrowns)They also asked me if in America it was polite to eat with a hand in your lap. That one threw me for a loop. They explained that was how Americans ate on tv. It wasn’t until later in the week that I realized that when I was eating my left hand in my lap. I noticed that everyone around me was eating with both their knife and fork and I was using only my fork unless I was cutting something. Hence the assumption that it is polite to put your hand in your lap. Because I can’t really put it too many other places.
As I live in The Netherlands, I am sure I will encounter many cultural differences. I will do my best to describe them to my readers not from a place of ignorance but from more of an anthropological study, it was one of my 9 majors in college (some habits die hard)
Do you believe stereotypes about other cultures or do you make your own opinions when you travel?