January 21, Home Base, Rotterdam, 2:12AM Local Time
Tonight, I ate 7-course (potluck) dinner with 12 new friends from around the world.
It sure beat munching on hummus and lettuce while poring over another novel.
Most of the other exchange students are MBA and MSC candidates, making me one of the youngest (if not the youngest) of the group. However, despite differences in age and culture, we all bonded over many similarities, love of food and drink, desire to travel, and sharing discoveries about the city we're starting to call home. At the end of the night, we each picked a song sung in our native tongue, and played the video for the others (I semi-cheated and picked a Filipino song). It's interesting how some lyrical themes and melodies transverse so many cultures.
It was so nice spending time with other people. Thus far, my days have consisted of running errands, shopping, and settling in. Though I've enjoyed exploring this new city, I haven't had a real conversation in a while, the extent of my talking being shyly mumbling back a response in English whenever a salesclerk greeted me in Dutch.
I had such a good time tonight, and feel so lucky to spend the next few months of this journey with such awesome people!