My First Ever Blog Post

So seeing as this is my first time ever having a blog, and this is my first time putting up a post, this is a new experience for me. Excuse my lack of blogging "experience," although I'm not that convinced that much experience is needed. We'll see.

I wish I had begun doing this earlier, because I've been in Leiden for a month now. Needless to say it has been very interesting and difficult for me to take myself out of my comfort zone in New Jersey to come out here. Nonetheless, I'm glad I did it. When I first got to the train station in Leiden I was scared, sleep-deprived, and carrying a ton of bags. I figured the Leiden Visitor Centre was going to be the answer to all of my prayers, but they weren't very helpful and I found myself having to completely take care of myself. Without food, a place to sleep, and not having showered since I left Jersey, I dropped off my bags at the Visitor Centre and tried to find my way around. It was exhausting without a bike (if you don't have a bike in Leiden you're lost, something I didn't learn until my first week here), but I managed. I stayed in Den Haag for three nights seeing as my apartment would not be available until the 1st of February, and the hostel I stayed in was actually very nice. I was afraid to venture away from it too far, but I had a good time and met a lot of interesting people, including two Brits and a guy from Germany.

Without having gone to the Universiteit Leiden orientation I would have been a complete lost cause here. I learned more than I could have hoped for, so much that after my first week here it felt like I had been in the city for months. I bought a bike and explored, and figured out where all the academic buildings are and how to get to all the bars. They like their bars in Leiden, which I'm very pleased about. There are a lot of cool places with live music, and also whole-in-the-wall places that are cool to hang out with a couple of friends.

I know I could probably write more about the last month, but I'd rather just catch up to the present. Last weekend I went to Antwerp in Belgium with Steph, Rachel, Mike and Brian. We had an awesome time enjoying the pub crawl and going to the Peter Paul Ruebens Museum. It was also cheap transportation and the train was fast, so I feel as if Belgium is a great weekend getaway spot from Leiden. I'll be going to Brussels in a few weeks, which should be a blast.

Anyway, I'll cut this short because I've got to be at Transhuman Epistemics in about an hour. Should do some work and stuff. Be well.