Almost 3wks in Holland and still counting!

WEIGHT: 54kg!!

It's a very cloudy and windy day today so I decided to postpone my cheese market visit hopefully til next Friday and laze about indoors all day today whilst my relos are all at work or at school.

Well, my original plan was to visit my relos for 1 wk here in Holland and then go back to London to work but its way off the charts now! There are still lots of small events I want to attend to (such as my cousin's final soccer match, selling spring rolls in front of my relos store during art week, checking out Madurodam a miniature city of Holland and checking out some interesting houses and buildings around the cities) SO we've decided, and as much as I NEED to go back to London t work and save up, I'll leave here on the 29th/30th, after the Long Weekend.

I've been practicing and have improved on riding the bike, yay! I can even ride with one hand!- but just for a short while though ;)

Ooh! The other day my cousins insisted that I go outside and play soccer with them after dinner. I really didn't want to play at all but they kept on insisting and I ended up giving in and giving the sport a go. You know what they taught me?!!! To kick the ball with my forehead! At first I was reluctant to do such a thing but they kept on pushing me to give it a go and so I did- It really hurts! It was hilarious. We decided to take a pic and capture the moment of me jumping up and whacking the ball with my head. My elder cousin had the camera and was ready to take the pic after my other cousin had thrown the ball at me to whack BUT my cousin could never take the pic in time and kept capturing the moment just before or after I whack it (Can't blame him, I gave it a go myself later and it's just impossible)! I had to whack the ball with my head over and over again so he can get it right but it never worked out and so after like the 10th go, I gave up! It was probably a good thing that the pic never worked out because looking at the pics of me after I had whacked the ball, it ain't pretty!! But i'll share it anyways...hehe

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SNACKS SNACKS SNACKS: This is mainly where I gained my 1.5kg from!! I don't think I've ever loved french fries as much as I love it here!! They call it "patat" and it's sold for approx. 1.80Euros and it's wrapped in paper, in a cone-like shape and it's just delicious! They use mayo instead of ketchup here but it's not the like the mayo we have back home- it's less sweet which makes it easier to eat with the patat. I've practically had it every day I've been here except for the days I never went out. Yummo! I gave their specialty snack "Frikandel" a go (sounds like Freaking hell!) and I didn't like it. It's a big sausage made up of horse, pig and chicken meat! yeah... not too appetising hehe. I tried their pancake as a snack and it was just delicious! I had the one with syrup in it but you can choose toppings of jam, chocolate, cinnamon and all these other flavours! I'm starting to get those ulsers inside my mouth from eating too much junk.... but I can't help eating 'em all!! =)

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I've been to my relos delicatessen a few times and helped out a little (mainly with the dishes which is the one thing I can do well). It's a food chain-store and it has a range of cold food that had been cooked prior (e.g. fried rice, meat balls in some special sauce, a range of noodles, marinated chickens etc) where the customers just needs to buy, bring home and heat up before serving (saves them time from cooking dinner). So I'll be here at their store on Sunday 28th to help fry and sell spring rolls in front of their store where the art event is held. Should be fun!

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6 years ago when I was first here we visited Amsterdam so my relos decided for me to check out ROTTERDAM this time round. I don't remember much of Amsterdam just that many of their buildings were historical and here in Rotterdam it is quite the contrast. More contemporary buildings because of the restoration of the city after WWII. Well, as usual we went shopping!! I think I saw more of the insides of the shops than the city of Rotterdam! heheh I managed to take photos between the going outs and going ins of stores and walking to and fro from the car to the shops and to the restaurants. It's really beautiful here.

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It's Women's Week this week and with my aunty and her 2 best friends, we had a day out at a festival held specifically for women. It was jam packed and you just knew it was going to be sofrom seeing all the parked cars at the entrance- though it was beautiful It was a very looooong day but very pleasant since the event was held beside the beach. It was overwhelming to see so many women at one place and so tiring to check out any clothing store since ALL the women are looking at the same thing you are! Anyway, I so envy my aunty's friendship with her 2 close friends. It made me think of us girls and I so hope we'll grow and stick together when we're older just like them!

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ALKMAAR: The area where my relos lives in is just beautiful. There are lots of canals/rivers around the area and some houses are lucky to have it connected to their backyard. You can see people canoeing through these rivers and people bike-riding at the side of it. Wow, it really makes you want to join in and be active! No wonder my cousins are always wanting to DO something. Jimmy, my elder cousin here plays Soccer whereas Danny plays tennis. It's so great to see people be so energetic because they encourage you to be the same!

**Ooh.. my aunty's not feeling so well today (food poisoning from the dinner we had after the women's week festival) so I'm going out to help at their shop. Time to get ready...