Hello!! So its been quite a while since I've updated my blog; things get so busy so fast!!
I will try my best to sum the last month up in a nutshell! :)
Still working at Boom Chicago and still enjoying it! The people I am meeting are great. I am definitely building a good friend base through working here! I plan on staying at Boom my whole time in Amsterdam (which, at this point, is up in the air how long that will be!)
Working at Shelter Jordan was a great experience. I met two girls who are now like sisters; definitely be in touch forever! I finished my work at the hostel on July 25th. It was hard; I met a lot of great people and had a lot of great memories from working there. It was an emotional time when it ended, but now its time to start new chapters for my adventure book!
After I was done at the hostel, Nohossat and I took off for England. We visited Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, and naturally, London. We did all of this in a week, so it was a very busy but fun week! We got to see Beatle things and places in Liverpool, Couch surfed in Manchester, stayed with a friend I met last summer from Australia in Oxford for 3 nights, and then spent a day and a half biking and exploring London (again!). It was a lot of fun, but it was nice to get back to Amsterdam! It was hard to fully enjoy the trip, as I had a lot on my mind, like, where am I going to stay when we get back to Amsterdam? Am I going to be able to stay longer than three months, will I have work? etc.
So getting back to Amsterdam, we stayed with Celia for the night and then wished Nohossat farewell as she journeyed back to her home in Paris and then off to New York. I stayed another night with Celia and her sister and friend who arrived from Spain. After that, I spent a night at another hostel, then moved into my friend's flat for the weekend, where I'm at now, while she left on a mini holiday. Its been SOOOOOO nice to have my own place for a weekend; I've actually been able to spend some time alone and start planning for the future! My next steps:
I move into a new hostel tomorrow, Cocomama (http://www.cocomama.nl/) where I will be living and working for the next two months. During that time, I will also be researching and possibly starting my own business here! (There is some treaty that allows US citizens to start a business and stay as long as the business is profitable!) I'm thinking a few options; either a language teaching company (Celia teaches Spanish and I could teach English), or a private counseling practice! (Another thought was doing some sort of contract work with the Universities, advising study abroad students). All of this is still at the early planning stages, so I will keep you posted as best I can! :)
Other than that, this past weekend was Gay Pride in Amsterdam which was amazing! The city was SUPER busy; street parties everywhere and an awesome canal parade! Tons of fun. Anyway, that is all for now! I am still enjoying every second of my adventure, and love the unpredictable-ness of life right now. I never know what's going to happen next! :)
I miss everyone dearly and love hearing from you! Until next time-
Casie
