Free Week Adventures

It's me! A selfie to show off the winding path behind me and the grey of the sky. I'm wearing an orange beanie and black and grey hoodie, smiling reservedly at the camera.

Hello! It's been a productive week for being "free week," the period between class blocks, when there are no lectures nor exams to attend. I know with certainty I've passed one of my two courses, and am confident I've passed the second as well. I'd have had to do astronomically terribly on the final to fail, but I suppose until our grades are in, I can't say I'm certain I've passed. I have one chapter of a textbook to read in preparation of classes beginning next Monday. I've peeked at it already, but haven't yet gone through it thoroughly to take notes and study the material closely. Part of me is really hung up on getting my final grade, and it's making it difficult for me to invest in my next courses.

Regardless, the week has been productive in other ways. The task that weighed the heaviest upon me was putting together a financial snapshot for me and my husband to reference as we progress in our immigration efforts. For those of you who don't know, I had a major surgery two years ago that insurance initially said would be 93% covered and which was later denied completely, through several appeals; resulting in a five-digit bill and no further options to appeal. Thank you, American "health care." That experience - so much stress leading up to the surgery, the immense relief of being told it'd be covered, and then the whiplash of being plunged mercilessly into deep debt - really caused some fundamental fears to take root in me, and I haven't been able to dislodge them, even after all this time. So, when I say I dreaded opening the hospitals I owe and pulling up my remaining balances, please believe me. I was nauseous for a good period leading up to it and a good period afterward, too. But I managed, and I successfully added that final piece of data onto this spreadsheet of all of my savings, all of my expenses, all of my debt, and all of the expenses we can foresee knowing what we do about the immigration expenses ahead of us. I should mention I'm in an even greater sum of debt to finance my first year of education, but that was an expected debt and one which is beholden to a private lender, and which can, ideally, be refinanced in a few years' time. Being unable to fund a second year of studies is a real possibility, but until tat bridge comes into clear view, I'm certainly not going to cross it.

For a much more enjoyable experience, I also attended an SCA event over the weekend . Because it was cold and quite rainy for a time, most people gathered indoors to enjoy a multitude of fiber arts, myself included. There was a great deal of tablet weaving both novice and expert, some finger weaving, and some cross-stitch and embroidery. I met with a few Americans as well, both of whom had emigrated here under different visas at different times, and as have been most of the other Americans I've met here, immediately on the same page about my reasons for emigrating. There's an understanding there that is shared, despite the vastly different years and methods by which we've moved. It's comforting to meet people who have successfully made lives for themselves in both Amsterdam and the Netherlands at large. Being away from family and friends is incredibly lonely, but it is encouraging to meet others who have tread the path before me, and see how far they've come.

A lovely forest path surrounded by tall trees and lush foliage

Another part of the path, this section littered with yellow leaves and winding through yellowed trees

I also took this week to make an incredible soup from a recipe shared with me by a friend in Canada. The weather has been cold and windy, with spats of frigid rain almost every day. Hot soup is such a joy in miserable weather (even when you're like me and love the weather cold and grey). My only regret is that I purchased a big ole pot specifically for it, but misunderstood the Dutch label and later found out the hard way that it's not compatible with induction stove tops like the one we have in the apartment. So I now have one very large pot I can't use, and a soup I made in a pan almost too small to fit it. Oh, well. Live and learn. The soup is fantastic nonetheless.

A full-to-the-brim pan of homemade soup. Clearly visible are chunks of carrot, celery, potato, onion, and strips of chicken in a yellow spiced broth.

The pumpkin friends on the porch are growing in number, by the way, and they are an absolute joy. I'm seriously considering picking up a kit of my own and making a mess of the apartment to grow the jack-o-lantern family. We'll see.

Two smiling jack-o-lanterns peeking in from a porch

Three jack-o-lanterns now; the third as a scary face rather than a cute one

Five jack-o-lanterns now! The additional two are very small; one is cute, the other is mean

I've also now officially eaten Indonesian food! The Netherlands is full of excellent Indonesian places, from high end restaurants to street food and everything in-between. One of my classmates comes from a Dutch-Indonesian family, and this week she made good on a promise to show me her favorite dishes. We went out with a group of classmates and had a variety of excellent food. We ended up at a nice restaurant to have the largest variety of options, so next time I'd like to try a street vendor, which, according to our pal, is definitely the place to get awesome satay. We went out for drinks afterward, only to realize the bar was having a Russian-language trivia night, so we had fun guessing the answers (and questions) based on the slideshow and playing rounds of cards in between. Amsterdam is a city known for its nightlife, and it was pleasant to dip a toe into it. That we didn't end up visiting a museum was entirely my fault - I volunteered to help with a research project for the uni on the one day everyone had time off - but we've simply postponed the museum day for another time. Museum outings make for excellent cold winter weather anyhow, so perhaps waiting for the winter months is ideal.

Between social and volunteer functions, I've been working away at my crafts, growing stock in preparation of opening shop. It's something I can do with media playing in the background, or on a voice call with friends, and the art helps me stop fretting about the future or finances for a bit and just enjoy creating something. I found a costume party to attend this weekend, too, since Halloween is my favorite celebration of the year, and I'll be sorely missing getting to attend my brother and sister-in-law's Halloween party. Shocking no one who's ever seen me in a costume before, I'm going as a vampire. I'm nothing if not consistent.

Here's hoping the harvest season brings warmth, good food, good friends, and belly laughs for all of you. If you're a tea and blanket lover, find some time to curl up with a book or movie or sketch or loved one and know that somewhere, I'm doing just the same! Cozy vibes only.

---

Thank you for reading this and checking in. I appreciate you all, and wish you all a very happy Halloween! I'll see you in the next one.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, check out this link: https://ko-fi.com/woodsyl.

For other support options, see the Support page.