When I told Maria that I was thinking about coming to Barcelona this summer to study abroad, she could not have been more supportive and thrilled. Nevertheless, she gave me the heads up that she will be finishing up her study abroad experience this summer too, in the Netherlands. Maria has been studying abroad in Groningen, Netherlands for six months. Therefore, I have been equally supportive and thrilled about her journey studying abroad. I will be living with Maria's Mom, Esther, and twin brother, Oscar, for six weeks until Maria and I are living under the same roof (and room) again.
Okay, I'll admit that six weeks is a long time. There was no way I could be in the same continent without seeing my Maria girl; therefore, Maria's good girlfriends, Cristina and Silvia, and I went to go visit her! And, I am so glad we did! I learned and instantly loved the Netherlands. Obviously, seeing and spending time with Maria was my favorite part. In addition, I loved how everyone rode bikes to get to and from places. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. There were more bikes than people! Cars were rarely on the streets. In fact, the bike lanes, which were located on the streets, were nicer than the car lanes. Since I have not rode a bike since I elementary school, I had to get used to a couple of things. One of those things being the bike seat. I have done squats and insanity and yoga, but my booty has never hurt more! I had to get used to standing up on my bike when there were bumps and inclines in order to prevent my booty from hurting haha. Besides that little setback, riding the bikes were great. 
From the lake by day and to the pubs by night, Maria, Cristina, Silvia and I were riding everywhere on our bikes. Pubs? You heard me. Riding our bikes in a group to and from the pubs was quite the experience. May I remind you, cars are rarely on the streets, so it was safe. Plus, there were policemen on their horses to keep us and the town more safe. Horses and bikes. I definitely felt the culture shock, but I loved it!
In addition, I loved how one of the main languages in Groningen is English. Maria and her Gronigen friends are learning English at their school, so it was a nice change in pace to talk in my dominant language rather than Spanish. I was surprised to find out that Marc, Maria's friend and roommate, knew a lot of English. Being from Denmark, I was impressed by his English. Good job, Marc! I want to give another "good job" to Cristina and Silvia. The trip to the Netherlands was a lot cheaper than I expected because we, as in majority the girls, prepared every meal at Maria's house (Maria and Marc live in a house together with one other roommate, who was traveling that weekend, so I did not meet her). Cristina, Silvia and Maria made a plethora of meals, one including my favorite: tortilla de patatas. Yummy, was that good!
Moreover, the trip to the Netherlands could not have been possible without Cristina and Silvia. Thank you both for reserving plane/bus tickets and including me on the adventure to see Maria! I now understand why Maria does not want to leave Groningen because I did not want to leave either. See you soon Maria!
Besos,
RachRobes
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