One month left.

Hey guys!

Update number 2 from the beautiful city of Pretoria, South-Africa. 

I've been here for a little over two months now and still every day manages to amaze me. During the weekends I get to go on the most amazing trips, during the week I get to work with the most incredible children and in the evenings I get to hang out with the best housemates ever. 

My time here is running out and every outing and every day is becoming more and more valuable. Slowly I start to realise that I'm here for a set time only and the last day is running towards me with a terrifying speed. The idea of going home is not appealing at all, so let's not go there yet. Only the past and near future matter now.

This weekend I'll set for Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with three Spanish friends, which will be absolutely incredible. But let's take a look back first. A throwback to some amazing events and lovely memories. 

Since my last blogpost in September I've said goodbye to my previous Spanish friends and welcomed a lot of new friends from various countries. I've been having a lot of fun with this new group and we've made some incredible memories already. To start with the chill evenings in the kitchen that are spend together. Then there was the night-drive through Pretoria our landlord hosted. We all went in the back of a pickup-truck and a lot of laughter, snacks and alcohol were involved. Driving through my current home city in such good company and in such a crazy atmosphere made me feel very blissful. A nice sense of peacefulness overcame me and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Then there are the weekends or days away. Shopping, going out for ice-cream, visiting the food-market. Some more small but fun activities I've done during the weekends (with my housemates). But let's not forget the bigger activities like a weekend in Kruger with two nursing friends from Cape Town. The road-trip to Nelspruit was already crazy funny and the weekend continued on that note. The safari's we had were amazing, we saw basically all of the big five! Let me add that we did have to use some imagination to spot the leopard. The night-safari was quite a unique experience as it leaves a lot of animal spotting to the imagination.We ended that weekend with a day-trip to the Blyde Canyon, which happens to have some really interesting history. Sadly the weather blocked most of our views but it made it more of a unique experience. 
Let's end on last weekend. Hiking in Magaliesberg, swimming in natural pools, having a make shift Braai/ BBQ during a thunderstorm, and playing some awkward drinking games. 

 All of these weekends made a massive impression on me, they all gave me this silent moment during which I felt so thankful for having the opportunity to be here on a university and a medical note. I am so thankful for the people who helped me get here, helped me arrange all that was necessary, no matter how many tears were shed I would not ever take them back if it meant not having this experience now. The kids on my internship only adding to this experience through the endless amount of happiness and energy they share with me. 

Yes you could say I love it here, because I absolutely do and I cannot wait to see what more South-Africa has in store for me!

Lots of love,
ThatDutchGirl96

Ps. If you would like some video material from my trips here in South-Africa here is the link to my latest vlog on the Kruger weekend: VLOG (beware it's in Dutch)

I went to Brighton!!!!!!! (part 1)

Hey!!!

As the title already kind of gives away, I HAVE BEEN TO BRIGHTON!!!! Yes, the caps are necessary. Last week my friend Charlotte and I left Holland to explore Brighton for a weekend. A city the both of us had never been to before but always wanted to visit one day.

The idea of this trip was born a couple of years ago and the idea started coming to life in April this year. Hmmm Renée what a coincidence, your favourite youtubers announced their book and tour that month too. Yeah skip the coincidence part that announcement was totally how the coming to life part started. 
So in April this year our favourite youtubers (AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire) announced they were going to publish a book AND go on tour this year. This news of course excited us enormously but there was just this tiny bit of a problem. The tour would be a UK tour and both Charlotte and I happen to live in Holland which is not in the UK at all (sad fact). WHAT SHOULD WE DO???????

After a lot of discussing, thinking and contemplating with each other and our inner fangirl we decided we were going to do it. We were going to buy tickets for the Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire and no not for the London performances no, the both of us had been to London multiple times already. We decided to combine the Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire with another dream of ours, visiting Brighton. With a lot of excitement the tickets were bought and us going to Brighton became a fact. WE WERE GOING TO BRIGHTON AND SEE OUR FAVE YOUTUBERS! It felt so unrealistic and I personally thought it was a dream for a long time. Well for a couple of months at least. 

Summer holiday came and ended, October started coming closer and I was still convinced I dreamt it all. Then the day finally arrived, not the day we were leaving for Brighton, no the day where all the adult, responsible and planning stuff would be done. Finding a hotel, booking our flight, deciding what more we would and could do in Brighton, printing all the routes from the airport to Brighton, from Brighton station to our hotel, from our hotel to the Pier, the Brighton Dome and all the other things we wanted to visits. It was an intense day on Google Maps. 
After the planning came the packing. We decided to make a list with all the things we would need which turned out to be pretty useful actually and since we are both 24/7 users of medicine these lists are a bit more complicated than your average 'to pack' lists. 

Then, after months of waiting, thinking it was a dreaming and slowly feeling my stress levels rise to a new limit, the time had come. The day we would wake up way too early to catch a flight to a hopefully unforgettable, absolutely amazing time in Brighton. Way too awake for this time of the day I got in the car trying my hardest not to burst from excitement. After we both got through border control nice and easy we headed to the gate, ready to board the plane. This nice and easy was kind of a new thing for me as either my insulin, insulin pump or blood sugar measuring device mostly catch the attention of border control and lead to me explaining I'm not trying to get drugs out of the country just a medicine that keeps me alive and I would die without. Oh the joys of being diabetic.

We were called to the gate and the boarding began. After the safety instructions were given it was time to take off. Charlotte started to become kind of nervous now as this was her first time flying. The view was incredible, the cities, villages, forests, endless fields of grass, rivers, North Sea, the clouds and the sun. All these things made the view from our flight amazing. Slowly but surely the plane started to prepare for landing and the city of London came closer and closer. The city that seemed to be made out of Lego from up high slowly got back to it's normal size as the plane came closer to the ground. Charlotte thought we had already landed and was kind of surprised you didn't feel the moment the wheels of the plane touch the ground but at that moment the wheels of the plane touched the ground. For me this was the most fun part because I knew this was coming and the look on her face was so funny I couldn't stop laughing for a long time. Besides this she handled her first time flying really well though. 


We had arrived, we were in the UK, in London. It was real and it was now. In a couple of hours we would be in Brighton, a city we had heard so much about and were so eager to discover ourselves. In just a day we would be seeing our favourite youtubers, two awkward young man who had played such a massive part in us becoming friends, live on their tour. The next three days were going to be amazing, full of feels and new things to see, do and enjoy. 

Lots of love,
ThatDutchGirl96

ps. The second and also last part of our Brighton adventure will go up on Thursday!