Surviving at UF is no easy task. For groceries, I’ve tried going to Aldi by bus, which takes very long. I also tried going to the same Aldi by bike, which is perfectly doable, except for the way back… All food turns brown really quickly because of the humidity (bananas turn from green to brown in 4 days). At least shopping at Amazon has been made more easy, since there is a 6-month prime trial for students. The easiness of shopping at amazon is something I miss at Walmart/Target, these places are so big that even the employees have to use an app to find the right division where the products are. For now I think my best bet is to go beg to people with cars to take me with them when they go grocery shopping. 😅
The biggest difference that I notice now, is the luxury of eating whatever, and whenever you want. Daily egg/midnight yoghurt is no problem. I’ve also noticed that I have more time on my hands, since the academic level here is somewhat lower than I’m used to at TUDelft.

It’s the fourth week, and I haven’t found a single alligator. Even though everyone tells me they are everywhere. At least I have taken revenge on this matter, by eating an alligator tail (!!!) burrito at Boca Fiesta, downtown. It tastes like sea chicken. I also tried the Boba Mango milk tea, at Bento, an Americanized Asiatic restaurant. Which had gummy-like “fish eggs”, as a friend put it.

Dayglow Paint Party!! We decided to go since it is free entrance (in heart and kidneys I stay Dutch) and because it sounded promising. And it was! The only worry I had was that it would not be easily washable, so I brought my most expendable clothes and hoped for the best (it turned out to be washable of course).

Tuesday, all classes are canceled because of the hurricane Dorian, as well as the next day. Little did we know that Dorian decided to alter its course and not bother us at all. However, a hurricane goes hand in hand with a hurricane party of course! This party was not cancelled naturally. At my Weaver Hall, on the first floor, a party was organized with different drinking games (BYOB for legal reasons). And here I met the first American with the claim of having Dutch roots, who actually could speak Dutch as well. It is common to hear Americans talking about also being of another nationality but not being able to speak a word in that language.

On Thursday, I had the luxury of being able to hitchhike with a friend to the Aldi, this friend couldn’t stop making fun of the fact that I actually was willing to buy meat etc. at the Aldi, making claims as “are you actually gonna eat that??” or “Ohh that’s gross!”. She, and some other random person at the Aldi, recommended me to go to the Publix supermarket after, so we did. Where I also got to try a Pub Sub. Being back at 7.15PM, we tried to get free shirts before the volleyball game of UF-Stanford. Unsuccessfully, since they came 4 shirts short for us to obtain one. It is a nice feature that all games (except for football, for which I got the season ticket), are free for students at UF.

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for: Gatornights! This day we decided to stand early in the line (more than an hour before it starts) to get a stuffed gator. After standing in several lines we finally got one! Well, half of us did. On this event they had also a mechanical gator for us to try out, this is the first time that I get why you have to sign a waiver before such an event since I arrived to the States (ouch!).

On Sunday, an international food truck market was being held. Problem was, that the location would be at a walking distance of 45 minutes… The solution for me, and compromise for Gina (mentor), was going by bike. However, with Gina on the back of mine, something that was unimaginable for her. While everything went okay, she feared for her life (sorry Gina!) and we got there safely. It was a good thing we decided to go, because I tried a delicious Puerto Rican empanada.

The next day, I got to try a “high quality Subway” as a friend put it; called the Firehouse Subs. It indeed was delicious and a bit out of town (25 minute walk). Then, just when we decided to go back, it started raining cats and dogs, unbelievably bad. Remember those 25 minutes? We also had to walk it back since the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon. Also, the rain themed songs like “It’s raining men”, “Singin’ in the rain” etc. that the winkelcenter decided to put on, were really starting to annoy us ;). Of course, I had my nicest suede puma shoes on. So we thought: Fuck it, we’ll just put them in plastic bags (thanks to Target Copy) and walk barefoot to Weaver Hall (my dorm).

Sooo happy with the free food that is provided by different associations. Not yet really sure if it’s good for me though, on Tuesday we got free pancakes! Some of them with chocolate chips even.

It’s time to prepare for: Dorian. A hurricane of probably cat 3 or 4 when it hits Florida. Sandbags are already handed out and people are reinforcing their doors. This is a strange thing to see and even stranger to hear about when you ask what it will be like. Water and electricity could fall out, which is why I’ll buy a baseball bat to defend my turf of the toilets (jk). I did do some grocery shopping, now I have enough water and glow sticks to survive this hurricane party.

On Friday we dared to go to the GatorNights, a weekly event with various activities. Besides waiting in line, we also got popcorn here to watch an improv group Shamilton, who had an amazing performance which included rap, dancing and a lot of humor. Also, we felt what it was like to move in a giant hamster wheel, while racing one another on a track with bumps. And of course we also did some board games here.

Frat parties, a quick information guide about them can be found on Blue Mountain State on Netflix. I decided to attempt to get into one with my German floormember Leo. Our plan was simple, buy a six-pack of beer and use that as a bribe to get into the party. The six-pack became a 12-pack and it was 7 dollars each. At the fraternity house Delta Epsilon we sneaked in with another group, and we met nice people there. It was fun and way more relaxed than I thought it would be, we were the only ones that brought something and it wasn’t even needed, we were told. The party turned out to be more of a chill session (30-35 people) and it wasn’t “stroef” at all. However, several people asked me what I did to become a frat, apparently the beard does it all… I also taught them how to play stresspong, also called rage-cage for the people to the east of Utrecht. So all in all it was a unique and very fun experience.

All fun and games is over, now the academics begin. It’s Tuesday, and there are 2 classes on my agenda, ancient Greek philosophy and Programming fundamentals 1 (programming Java 101). But before all this I had to pick up my rental bike, I almost had to promise to use the helmet for my safety, a promise which I of course would have to break. The bike is a bit worrisome, since it apparently has the worst (peddle) brakes in history, forcing me to brake 3 meters before I actually have to stop. The helmet idea actually makes sense now.
I somehow managed to get late at my philosophy class (old habits never die), and was surprised about the amount of students (just 25) and the amount of papers I would have to write (both by hand and computer for no apparent reason). Java 101 did not turn out to be Java 101, it was a very confusing course with 650(!) students. Almost all of them freshmen and all of them very noisy/rude to the teacher. The teacher told us this was only required for the CSE Major and a course specialized in only Java should be taken if that was the goal out of this course. So I did. F*ck the disorganized class and their robbery of trying to get me to buy 50 dollar clickers. Which apparently is a device to answers in-class quizzes, to potentially get 10 points out of a thousand…

I joined the Navigators! Which, as it seems, is not a Christian organization at all, it’s solely purpose it to connect internationals with Americans and organize trips/events for them. I got paired up with Gina, a lovely and very social person, and I know for sure that we will have a fun time as a Navigator buddy group!

The next couple of days I had to focus on which courses I wanted to have, since the UF has a drop/add week in which you can switch those. I ended up with Greek philosophy, Java (related to programming fundamentals but more focused on just Java), Engineering Entrepreneurship and Engineering Innovation.

On Wednesday, I went out with the “We’re so Fucking Kind” group to Grogs, where I ironically drank too much. I would ask for a coke zero at the bar and get a spiked one instead. It was a fun night.
Back in my dorm, I decided it was a good idea to do two things simultaneously: brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. Which meant that I found myself a couple of seconds later outside my room, without keys (the doors lock automatically from the outside), and no roommate present. Luckily I could sleep (although I haven’t actually slept for a bit) at Christofer, a good friend of mine. After which I returned to my room at 8, to catch up my missed sleep, resulting in missing my first couple of classes.

Gina, as a good mentor she is, took me to several events (like Krishna, vegetarian food) and introduced me to many of her friends. I felt accepted and had a fun time at wherever she took me. Thank you Gina!