The Netherlands has great Heineys

On Monday we all traveled from Amsterdam to Den Haag, Netherlands.  We are split into groups and are staying with Dutch lacrosse players.  Four of us are with a girl named Dieke—she is a nuts!  She was a standout at the tournament because she traveled everywhere with a sombrero and a horse’s head (stuffed, of course).  It’s interesting to stay in the homes with foreigners to see how they live.

We had a practice with some of the U-19 Netherland Lacrosse players and some other club team members from the area.  My favorite part of the day was when all the Dutch players sang “happy birthday” in Dutch to one of our players.  It was funny to hear such a common song sound so different!

On Tuesday morning we went to the beach.  Yes, a real beach.  I wasn’t expecting it to be so legit but this beach takes the cake over the Jersey Shore… sorry.  There were a ton of beach front restaurants and bars, a huge pier, and a lot of speedos—perfect.  At night we walked down the beach to a spot where we played 4v4 lacrosse games with more Netherlands players.  We played coed half-court basketball style with 2  fields made up of cones.  We then were honored enough to shower at “a club” as long as we promised to buy a beer afterwards.  This was no ordinary club.  It was a surf hostel.  There was a mini skate-park, a bar, hostel rooms, and a hut to shower in.  There were 30 of us going in and out of this hut with very limited supplies—it was a humbling experience to say the least.

Today we went to the International Peace Court and watched the trial of a man being arrested for sex crimes, sex trafficking, illegal distribution of weapons, and forcing children to become soldiers.  We wore headphones to translate the trial into English but had to leave when the court went on a “private recess.”  I guess we didn’t deserve exclusive access.  Whatever.

We took a tour of Den Haag, got lost for an hour and a half coming back our homestay, and now I have the most free time I have had all trip… 3 hours.  We are going to Cologne, Germany tomorrow.  I just learned that “hello” in German is the same as “hello” in Dutch—HALLO—so I am pumped about that.  As for the rest of the words, I have no clue… we’ll see what happens.

Adios!… why aren’t I going to Spain?