amercian expat in the netherlands

I can't believe it, I have now lived in The Netherlands and with Loek for a year today! Soo much has changed in what could be classified by some in a brief amount of time. As, I reflect on the last year, I can't help but feel that although things did not go exactly they way I thought they would when I first moved, I am still incredibly glad I got on the plane with my cat and decided to make a life here with Loek. 

So, you may have noticed a little redesign including a title change here at the blog. Instead of being A Georgia Peach in Utrecht, it is now A Georgia Peach Abroad. The change happened for two reasons, the first is that everything else was already branded A Georgia Peach Abroad, and the other is that while I love living in Utrecht, for the next four years I will be enrolled in an International Tourism Management program at a Hogeschool that requires me to go to Amsterdam at least 4 days a week.

It had been unbelievably gorgeous here in the Netherlands this week. In fact, it might have even been a little too hot. This is coming from a girl who was born in Florida and grew up in Georgia. But in the Deep South, we believe in air conditioning! Which is something I've discovered Europeans do not take much faith in.  I've met some great new people, traveled a bit, hid from the world because I was sick of traveling. And, I took some great pictures.

I have a well documented love affair with books. Just check out this post and this one! While I love the Utrecht Library System and my kindle, sometimes you just want to own books. They are great for decorating and as conversational starters.

Monday was my first Queen's Day! For those of you who haven't experienced it, think of it like a giant block party, only every block in the entire country is having a party and a garage sale at the same time. Now combine that with boats, and the color orange, and epic levels of intoxication. Then you'll get the general idea. 

Alright, yesterday's post left me in a bad mood. To make up for it, here's another one of my famous list's of happiness! This is what I am looking forward to in the near future: