John's gonna help me go blonder

Or at least, so he says...

Hi everyone!

I recently took a little trip to my local drugstore to pick up some products that would help me get lighter hair for the summer. My natural hair is blonde, but the kind that will look kind of red-ish when paired with certain lighting or clothing. It's not that I don't like my hair colour, I just saw fun in changing it up a little bit for this year's summer. :)

Online I searched to find what product would help me best, and many people recommended John Frieda's Go Blonder product line. There are several products for this: A shampoo, a conditioner, a mask-conditioner (correct me if I'm wrong) and a spray. As I was on a budget, I thought it to be best to just to start out with the spray and see how things would go from there.

However, walking into the store I was greeted by a lovely sign stating that the second John Frieda product would get 50% off! Plus, a free cute totebag. You understand, I couldn't just leave it at one spray then.. ;)

So, I ended up getting the spray and the shampoo, so that I can still use the conditioner that helps enhance my curls. 

A short description for each of the products (as written on the package)

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo:

"Gradually lightens your hair up to 2 shades (when using all the products in the line). For all blondes." It is a formula with citrus and chamomile, which visibly lightens for a shimmery, sun-kissed blonde. The look I was searching for. :) It renews the hair's healthy look and feel. It does not contain ammonia or peroxide.

Directions: "Apply shampoo to wet hair, lather, rinse well." And then it says some things that are mainly focussed on marketing and on getting you to buy more products ;)

The product also has a lovely smell to it, which I really liked. It's a thick shampoo, and you don't need to use lots for one wash. I love that! With other shampoos, I need to use sooo much product to get enough for my long hair. This, I think, is concentrated, as it becomes a lot 'more' once rubbed into your hair with water. 

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray:

"Permanently lightens blonde hair. For blondes only." So, we have quite a different product here. Although it says, 'permanently', I don't think that should frighten you so much. It's not an intensive bleach. However, you should pay attention to how to use this product, as its contents are quite different compared to those of the product above. It is an exclusive peroxide lightening formula, with citrus and chamomile, and it will work best when combined with heating tools. It will lighten and brighten your hair, up to one and a half shades. Gradually lightens in 3-5 uses. The package claims that the maximum lightening occurs after no more than 10 uses. This product also contains thermo-protectant, which is really useful as it works best when paired with a hairdryer, straighteners or curling tongs. It clarifies that you should not use this product on natural brown or darker shades of hair, intensively bleached hair or platinum or white shades of blonde hair. 

Directions: "For best results, after conditioning, spray thoroughly on towel-dried hair, then style as desired. For optimal lightening, use a hair straightener or curling tong after blow-drying. Only use once between hair washings. Use only on clean, wet hair. Use no more than ten times between colourings. There are actually several ways you can use this product. Namely if you want an allover lightening, like me, or just root-blending or highlights. The package explains all you have to do to achieve these goals, so if you're looking to get anything for these purposes, there you go! 

I will update you all on what the results are for me, as I've only used the products twice. Personally, I see a little difference already. My friends say they don't, so the difference is probably minimal as of now. I'm excited to see how much lighter it will get still. 

I hope you liked reading a post like this, it's a little different from what I usually write about. Nothing wrong with changing things up a little ;)

Love you lots!

Eva

The End of a Journey

As I am writing this I am well aware of the fact that my journey to and in the United States has been over for quite some time. Especially my mother has been trying to get me to finish what I started: This series of blogposts. I completely agreed with her, and yet it seemed like a very difficult task. Looking back at it now that I'm able to sit down and write this, I realise that this is just as much a part of the journey as the actual trip was. Explanation will follow, first I intend to fill you in on my last days in Massachusetts.

The day after my 17th birthday was a Sunday, and I spent it in the sun. Yes, I had a lazy day, hence why I didn't exactly feel the need to write about it that night and kind of blocked myself from doing so the nights thereafter as well. I sat outside in the sun and read in my book, which, at this point, I have finished and will probably do a recommendation post on soon. :) I honestly don't think I did anything else that day, probably play some in the garden with Chloe. For dinner DeWitt and I picked up some nice Chinese food which I really enjoyed. He thought it would be fun to watch a movie together after dinner, so we sat down and watched Pitch Perfect. I loved that movie! I hadn't seen it before, for some weird reason, and right now cannot wait to go see the sequel. On that night there was a very special moon as well! It was so big and bright and you could see it rise above the town - it was really pretty!

That Monday would be the day I took off. Only, my plane wouldn't leave until nine in the evening, so I had some time to spare and enjoy myself! As everyone else had gone to school or work that day, I had the first few hours on my own. I spent it packing my suitcase, tidying my room and reading, again, as that was the best thing to do on a hot and sunny day (28 degrees Celsius out!!), until Amy and DeWitt came home from work early to take me out for lunch near the beach. It was a small beach-café where I ordered, once again, a plate of fish and chips. Who's gonna blame me? ;) For the rest of the afternoon we chilled at the beautiful beach on Plum Island, where the temperature seemed to be much lower due to the wind coming off of the cool Atlantic ocean. A couple of college guys played a fun game with a frisbee, which I hadn't ever seen in the Netherlands before. It included two plastic 'goals' which looked a bit like dustbins, that each had a slot on the side. Each team, consisting of two members, had 1 member on each side of the 'field'. You would need to try and get the frisbee inside the slot in the bin, to get the maximum points. However, your teammate on that side is allowed to help by either smashing it inside the bin through the top (for half of the points) or smacking it against the side (for a fourth of the points). It actually looked like a lot of fun, and I'll be looking around for it on Dutch beaches as well. :) Then the time came for me to finish packing the last things, and to collect everything that didn't fit in a separate plastic bag as my 'carry-on item'. Amy surprised me by saying that she and Carson would need to say goodbye earlier to me, because they had to leave for his game. I hugged them both, and felt incapable of describing my gratitude adequately in that short, surprising moment. I knew that these were people that I'd always want to return to. I didn't get to say goodbye to Deuce personally, which was a shame. He was out playing sports, so it wasn't a possibility. DeWitt collected CeCe from school, and they took me to the airport together. At this point I was starting to get nervous about the whole airport-ordeal again. However, once there, we discovered that my gate could be found in terminal A. This meant a terminal that is solely for Delta Airlines, and at a separate far-end of the Boston Logan Airport. DeWitt and CeCe took me as far as they could, and stayed waiting for me to get through security even after we'd said goodbye. I found myself doing the same thing I'd done to my family when I left for the United States: I kept on waving until I could no longer see them. Then I was alone again. It's a sad feeling, leaving new friends/family behind, only that sad feeling doesn't entirely kick in until about a week after. DeWitt had advised me to get something small to eat before boarding the plane, as it might take a while before you get your actual dinner in the air. Looking around at the menus of the different food stands, I knew immediately what to get. It wasn't exactly as small as I'd liked it to be, but my mozzarella sticks were delicious. I'm forever grieving the fact that I can't seem to find them in the Netherlands.

I was fortunate enough to be on a plane that wasn't as crowded. There were multiple free chairs, so everyone could just move around to their comfort as we were up in the air. There was one chair between me and a - I think - Polish lady. In the middle of the night she woke me up gently to say that she was going to the back, and that I could feel free to use all the chairs. So that I did. I spent the rest of my flight horizontally, trying very hard to get the most sleep out of my 8 hours flying in the air. Earbuds aren't helpful enough. During this flight I have realised how incredibly loud airplanes are, and how insanity starts to kick in about this sound after a good 5 hours. I woke up because of the bright sunlight, in spite of my eyeshades, and was immediately overthrown with a stomach ache. There were only about 2 hours of flying left, and breakfast came around soon. A bagel and yoghurt didn't help soothe my stomach at all, in fact it only seemed to get worse. That's when you really wish to finally get off the plane already. During the landing, which was a little rough and not the friendliest to my tummy either, I learned that the two women next to me were visiting the Netherlands as tourists. I really enjoyed watching them swoon over the views, and talking about all the things they wanted to visit. As soon as the tulip-fields came into vision, they were over the moon. I have to admit that I was, too, and I definitely want to visit those fields sometime soon as well! And then, finally, we were back on the ground.

At the airport I was annoyed by the extreme distance I had to walk with my heavy backpack in order to get to the right baggage-belt. It was ridiculous! Once there, I had to wait a long time for my suitcase to come into vision again. I was even starting to worry that it hadn't made it, after the announcements stated that the last baggage had been loaded onto the belt. However, there were several people still waiting, so that gave me some relief. And there it was! My blue suitcase which you definitely couldn't miss between all the others. I hoisted it off the belt and onto my trolley. I was good to go. I had previously received a text message from my mother, saying that she, my sister and a huge banner were there to collect me. Oh, God, is what I thought. They had better not! Appearing through the arrival doors, I was awaited by my mother, sister and a huge - uhum - banner. It was tiny :') I was so thankful! And glad to see them, of course! As we hugged, I apologised for my stickiness; as it was incredibly hot in the clothes I was wearing. The reason of which was my full suitcase ;) We drank some coffee at Starbucks and continued home, where I was ready to receive birthday wishes and presents from my family!

To get back to what I was saying in the first paragraph, I think that me not wanting to finish this series was partially because I didn't really want to admit that it was over. I had had such a great time, and met such great people, that I didn't want it to feel like that was all over and in the past already. I miss it all a lot, and I think that is mainly because I can't be in contact with my host family over facebook or WhatsApp. I rely on writing emails, which I'm super poorly at maintaining. I'm taking some time, but will definitely get into contact with them again soon! My biggest wish, is for one of them to come to the Netherlands as well. So that I can show them all the things I've been telling them about. Maybe someday that wish will come true. :)

So that was the end of my journey! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and will stick with me for other posts.

Lots of love,

Eva

Young and sweet, only seventeen

Yup, I've officially reached my 17th. Good job on me, right? I had such a lovely birthday here in America, that I was too tired to write about it at night. Hence why this post is a little late.. ;)

I started the day off with getting through so many lovely messages from friends and family. I will admit that it was kind of strange to be so far away from them on my special day, but it didn't hurt. After having tried to reply to each and every one message, I went upstairs to have some breakfast. Two boxes of Honey Dew Donuts were waiting on the kitchen counter, and I had one with coloured sprinkles. It was lovely, I'll have you know.

After breakfast I sat outside on the porch to soak up some sun as Amy, DeWitt, Deuce and Carson played basketball together. I had a little photo shoot with Chloe and caught her on camera just while she was yawning. This is the result: 

It looks like she's laughing at me :')


For lunch we had leftovers from the dinner-party the night before, meaning pizzzaaaa. <3 It was great, haha! After finishing up lunch I joined CeCe to the city centre of Georgetown for a pedicure. That was the first time I had ever let anyone touch my feet like that, and I couldn't control my laughter. I am extremely ticklish in my feet, so it took me all the strength I had not to pull them back every time the brush went up and down! My feet became super smooth, though! And my toenails look better than they've ever done. When everything was finished we walked over to Udderly Devine, an ice-cream/candy shop in Georgetown. It was just lovely sitting in the sun with CeCe like that!

When we got back home I sat in the garden for a while, reading my book and enjoying the good weather. Once everyone was back home we drove off to Newbury Port, where we walked around the harbor and the little city which was perfect in the afternoon sun! We had dinner at Michael's Harborside, where Jock had invited us to. Fish and chips was my dish and for dessert I had Strawberry Short cake. They sang for me in the restaurant which was great and embarrassing at the same time, haha! They even got me presents, which I'm so grateful for!

It was a terrific birthday!

xxx Eva

People

A recurring conversation I've had during my stay here in America, was about how special and strange it is that people can meet each other just in the right/wrong time, and affect each other so strongly. Today's mindset seemed to revolve around that a lot. People.

Today started off with a slow start. I made myself some breakfast, took a shower and got ready for Donna and Jilly to pick me up at 10:30. Jilly was going to pay a visit to her personal coach in exercise/dance in Cambridge, which is just a bridge away from Boston. Donna and I would be able to walk around in Harvard Square during the two hours which she spent there. It honestly amazes me, how easy it is to talk to some people. Donna is definitely one of those 'some people'. For some reason, and I have no idea what, nothing seemed too bold or embarrassing to say to her. She was so sweet, honest, caring and funny. It was just the most lovely day walking around the pretty streets of Cambridge with her, and sitting on a little bench in the sun just sipping coffee and chatting. Well, we walked around on the Harvard property and I took some photos.

We popped into a new shop on Harvard Square which had the most interesting summer collection, but most of the items weren't tagged yet. I was just looking around and searching through shorts, wondering what they would cost. So as I reached further into the back of the store, and found the labelled items, I picked up a little piece of fabric which you could wear like a bustier/croptop kind of thing, and it was over a hundred dollars!! So that was the end of that little adventure ;) We continued onto Urban Outfitters, which is like my favourite store ever, but it's sooo expensive! Like, not as expensive as the shop I just mentioned, but still pricy! But everything there is just lovely. From the dresses to the books to the sports-clothes to the jeans. Love, love, love! I found a pair of sunglasses that I really loved and it was within my price-range so I decided to buy those for myself as a little birthday gift. (photo will follow) At this point we had to start walking back to the place where Jilly had had her training, so that we could have lunch together.

We had lunch outside a precious little restaurant named (...) Luna. I wish I remembered the full name, it was really nice there! So we sat outside in the sun and I got to wear my sunglasses, which I was immediately complimented upon by the waiter. "Oh, my God! I love your sunglasses, are those vintage??" He was a very enthusiastic fellow. Especially about the specials of the day. Well, I had a caprese-sandwich, which was incredibly good!

Donna and Jilly

When we finished up we had to leave quickly, as the parking-time was about to run out and you really didn't want to get a ticket in that area. So we toured around Boston for a little bit more by car, as my music was allowed to play from the car's speakers. (yay!)

They brought me back home to Georgetown, all the while apologising for the amount of traffic. As if they had any saying in that! I thanked them for the lovely day I got to have, and we said our goodbyes.

At night the Purcell's had neighbours/friends over for dinner, which was a lot of fun! One of the guys who came was actually Dutch! He came from Utrecht, and had, astoundingly, even gone to the same school as my Mum. It's amazing!! Such a small world. When we walked Logan, one of the neighbours, home so that she could start her homework (she has school on Saturdays!!!) we saw a shooting star! It was the most beautiful thing! Like, nothing like I'd seen before. It lit up the sky super brightly and lasted longer than I'd experienced previously. It must have been a pretty big thing falling! It was so cool. I'm still ecstatic. :')

Tomorrow's my birthday, even though it has been in the Netherlands for a couple of hours now. I'm hoping to have a great time. :)

Goodnight!

xxx

Beautiful day

Does everything just become lovely instantly when the sun starts shining? Because I definitely believe so! I had the most terrific day today, out in the open air with Jock. Despite a very early start to my dismay, this morning was amazing! At the banding-station on plum-island, we caught a bird! Only one bird, but a bird nonetheless! It was a, correct me if I'm wrong, black-headed chickadee. Which is nothing exciting, according to the volunteers at the station, but to me it most certainly was!

It already had a ring, so that we didn't need to do anymore. However, we still needed to record some data on its health. I never knew, but it turns out birds have see-through skin, so when you blow on their feathers you can literally see into them! This way you can check its body fat, and you do that by the colour. I'm probably not so accurate in my explanation, but I believe that red fat on the wishbone of this bird was a good thing. It was hard to understand exactly, as I was just stunned by the fact that you can look into a bird. Yellow was negative, I believe, depending on where in the bird you looked. So for example, a chicken would have red in its legs because it's mostly a walking bird. And a flying-bird would have red closer to the wing-muscles. This is probably the most inadequate explanation, so I may have to do this again sometime ;) The bird is put into a small cone to be weighed, and this just looked adorable with its tail sticking out.

After jotting down all the data, Ben, who was holding the bird at that moment, asked me if I wanted to release it. There was no way I'd let go of that opportunity. So I took the Chickadee over in my hand, in a soft grip the way you see him do in the picture above. It was so incredibly soft! Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt anything as soft as that bird. In the palm of my hand I could feel its tiny little heartbeat, which was so heart-warming in some way. Then I had my most-anticipated disney moment; I got to let go of it by gently letting it slip onto my other hand and watching it fly back to its friends in the trees. Something tells me this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so I'm really glad I got to do it! Sad that there wasn't a photo of me with the bird, though, because they thought we would get another one... But the experience will be with me forever :)

After this Jock took me to something called News & Views, which is a talk-group for retired people. And by retired people, understand people who have been retired for a while. I think there were some people that could have been over 90 years old! Despite the fact that I was probably the only person, out of 32, under 70 in the room, I thought it was interesting to see that these people still spend their time talking about politics and current-affairs in a most-opinionated way. Truly, I don't believe something like that exists for older people in the Netherlands. Really something to watch, but the sounds I just couldn't handle. I'm terribly sorry, this is going to sound so disrespectful, but I cannot stand the sounds older people make. I cringe. I shudder. I just can't stand it. Snorts and coughs and heavy breathing, everything with just too much saliva. Certainly wish I was better at blocking all of that out and focussing more on what insights they shared in the group. Again, I'm so sorry. :']

When the News & Views meeting was over, and I'd shaken the hands of almost every member in the group, Jock took me out for lunch at Bob Lobster. A seafood snackbar just by Plum Island. Over there I wasn't quite sure what to get, so Jock recommended I would try a lobster roll, as it was very 'New Englandy'. I had never eaten lobster before, but I decided to just go for it and give it a try. As we were queueing up, you could actually see the live lobsters swimming around in a fishtank; ready to be boiled and eaten. A lobster roll is basically a tick slice of bread with lobster on it, including some slaw and onions. I have to say, I quite liked it! It tasted differently than I thought it would. Sweeter, although that could've been because of the onions.


At Bob Lobster, Jock gave me two books. He did so, because he was really excited about the fact that I wanted to become a writer, and he was certain that these two books would help me get there. One was more of a journalism guide from the New York Times, and the other a memoir and guide written by Stephen King, on (fictional)writing. I was ecstatic! I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful of him to get those for me.

Once I had finished my lobster, and he his clam-chowder, we went on a little tour of Plum Island. Plum Island is a National Wildlife Refuge here in Massachusetts. It is absolutely gorgeous! Especially the seaside! Boy, was it pretty! While Jock sat down with his vernaculars on the boardwalk, I took my chance to stroll down the beach by the atlantic ocean for a bit and shoot some photos. This one was my favourite:

And here I am on the beach!

Back in the car, we drove back to Amesbury, where we had ice-cream at an ice-cream shop by the road. I thought it to be normal to pick two flavours for an ice-cream, coming from the Netherlands and all that. Well, my eyes nearly popped out of my skull when I saw the gigantic snowballs balancing on a cone. I almost felt embarrassed for ordering so much! I had one scoop(!) of cookie dough, and another(!) of chocolate & marshmallows. Both were like heaven. After finishing it all, I felt like I'd eaten enough for an entire week!

Just after this we drove into the centre of Amesbury, because I wanted to buy my host-family some flowers to thank them for having me stay with them, and for taking such great care of me. The people in the shop helped me put together a very pretty bouquet, which I was glad to come home with later that afternoon. They loved them very much!

So that about sums up my day! Hope yours was as great as mine :) Write you all tomorrow!

xxx

Eva