Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Katie interviews Katie

Q and A with Katie

SPICE 2016 group
Are you still alive?
-- Yes

Are you done yet? 
-- No

Are you fluent in Dutch yet? 
-- Nee, Ik spreek Engels. Although I did speak Dutch in my dream the other night... zo, ik spreek Nederlands een beetje

What has been the hardest thing so far? 
-- Not realizing how fast time moves. I mean we are already over halfway! I feel like it was just last week that I was stepping off the plane thinking "Alright... I can work with this... They have peanut butter thats a good sign." Everyone always say that time moves fast, but you don't realize how fast it moves until you reflect, and with SPICE we reflect a lot so its pretty clear how fast time moves.

How have you dealt with homesickness?
-- People interaction!! If I'm alone, I'm left to my own thoughts too much. Getting connected with people here whether that be the SPICE group, my host family, or making new friends at church. But, I am a processor so I also needed to talk things through with people who understand my word salad, so Skype dates are a must for me.

How have you dealt with having everything that is familiar 7 times zones away?
-- It feels so strange to say this but things here feel familiar now. I came back after spring break and realized just how familiar it is to hear dutch in the train station. But, I do miss the familiarity of buying things at and walking around Walmart. Spending Saturday or Sunday grocery shopping at Walmart was familiar and that was part of my weekly routine. Now I make my way around Hema or Jumbo after school and that has become as normal as my Sunday afternoons spent in Walmart

What has been the easiest thing to get used to so far? 
-- Having to do my Dordt homework all online. I spend my Monday's at home finishing almost all my assignments for the week.

What do you wish someone told you about studying abroad?
-- How much it will feel like home. How fast time moves. That you'll hear all this advice before you leave and not actually think its true until you get halfway and then you have your realization moment.

What is your favorite memory? 
-- See Dinner Time (My Study Abroad Recipe) blog post.

What do you still want to do in the next two months? 
-- I want to connect my two families. My sisters are visiting at the end of the month and my mom and dad are visiting at the end of the program. It will be exciting to be able to share this experience first hand with them.
-- I also really want to visit the Scandinavian countries!

Why do you blog? 
-- It's another way for me to process things and to see where things have changed along the way. Also, this way I don't have to overload everyone back at home with 4 hour long summaries of my 4 months abroad when I go home in May.

Has anything changed since you've been here?
-- A lot has changed. I've changed, America has changed, my home has changed. My home church NHLC shut its doors, which was heart breaking for me especially since I could not be there for the last service. Elections are happening so thats a big deal! And, I've changed. I think that I've become more independent. I've traveled all by myself and had to realize just how strong I have to be (to fend off the 80 year old marriage proposals), but I also have had to learn to rely on God more than ever.

Do you follow the news back home? 
-- Did I ever really follow news even when I was home? Lol! I think I follow it more now that I'm across the ocean. It's strange to me, but American news makes it in the Dutch papers and on the TV.

What is your favorite thing about the Dutch culture?
-- Hold the phone! I only get to choose one thing? Hmmm... Well, it's a tie between stroopwafels and Hagel Slag.

What other questions do you have for me?


Lord Jesus, Thank you for this opportunity. Please continue to walk with me and bless my time here in the Netherlands.

#katiespiceurope

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