The nine scariest monsters ever!

I went to a party last Saturday and there were clowns, very creepy clowns. Since it's October A.K.A Halloween month, I thought I could write a post about the scariest monsters of all time. So prepare to be terrified. 

9. Wendigo

This monster, like quite some others, started out as a human being. Native American legend says that the wendigo turned immortal and evil after taking up the practice of cannibalism. Wendigos are often described as tall and lanky creatures with fangs, claws and glowing eyes. Their only goal is to devour as many people as possible, because without human flesh they cannot survive. According to most people wendigos reside in forests and mountains. 

8. Ghost

Call me old-fashioned, but a murderous ghost still manages to scare the crap out of me. I mean come on, they can walk through walls and they show up where and whenever they want, that's scary. Of course there are certain measures you can take, like protecting yourself with rock-salt and iron, but those tricks do not always work. Besides, if your spirit is pissed off enough, he might be able to possess your best friend. Ghosts are even scarier when they don't do anything and just look at you or suddenly appear out of thin air. You could have some creepy stalker in your house and you don't even know about it. There are lots of different kinds of ghosts, like poltergeists, but let's face it: they're all scary as Hell.  

7. Demon

For those of you that have seen American Horror Story, let me remind you of Sister Marry-Unis. This nun possessed by a demon was charming and terrifying at the same time. There are different stories about how demons are created, but I prefer the one where demons are human souls that turned demonic after spending a lot of time in Hell. The thing that makes demons so freaking terrifying is the fact that they can possess people. They can literally be sleeping in your house and you wouldn't even know about it. Plus demons have something with skinning animals and that is truly creepy. Demons are evil geniuses (that's why I prefer the version of them being former human souls) and they live just to watch the world burn, kind of like the Joker from Batman. They always seem unfazed when you're threatening them and when they get angry, they make sure you pay for it. 

6. Witch

Again, skinning animals, that's creepy. Oh, and I'm not talking about the tree-hugging Wiccans, I mean the evil witches that worship Satan. Or voodoo priestesses, those are even scarier. You all know about the fact that witches are able to preform magic, that's creepy in itself. The way that they acquire this magic, however, is much creepier. They use human sacrifice, blood spells, human remains etc. They basically need to kill a few people before they can start torturing you with black magic. A voodoo priestess can make you do things you don't want to do and she can kill you by whispering your name through the keyhole in your bedroom door. Brr, I'd lock my doors at night, if I were you. 

5. Bloody Mary

I know that this is a ghost, but Bloody Mary deserves to be mentioned on her own and that's not just because she has a drink named after her. Legend has it that when you stand in front of a mirror at midnight, with a candle in your hand and you say Bloody Mary three times, she'll crawl out of the mirror to gauge your eyes out. Some people say Bloody Mary is the English Queen Mary I that comes to kill Protestants. Others say she is an anonymous victim of a serial killer that had her eyes cut out. Whoever she may be, darkness plus mirrors equal scariness. I do however like the South Park version of the legend. 

4. Evil Children

Children are cute, but for some reason they become extremely scary, when they are evil. Maybe it's the fact that they look like soulless dolls (I hate dolls) or that they are exactly they opposite of what they should be. I don't know, fact is, they are creepy, super creepy. They just stare at you not saying anything and you just know that they are plotting to kill you. Plus they are always unnaturally pale, seriously, that's not healthy! Didn't your mom tell you to eat all your greens? I think we can all agree on this one. Evil children are terrifying. 

3. Weeping angel

For those of you that know Doctor Who, know what I'm talking about and I'm pretty sure you'll all agree on this one. For those of you that are not Whovians, let me explain it for you. Weeping angels are creatures that resemble statues, angel statues to be exact. They can move incredibly fast, but only if they aren't being watched. If you encounter a weeping angel the trick is to NOT blink, because they cannot move if someone is watching them. Blink or turn around and you will most definitely be killed. There is an upside, though, they kill you in a friendly way. They send you back in time and feed of the years that you could have lived. A bit weird, yes, but also very creepy. 

2. Psycho

No, I don't mean the movie "Psycho", I mean psychopaths. Humans can turn into the evilest monsters you've ever seen and they are scary. Just think of Hannibal the cannibal. The scariest thing is that psychos are a real thing and they roam the Earth as we speak. Whether they eat you or lock you up and skin you, they are weird and creepy. They are humans and they are crazy, but they can pose as a friendly mailman or teacher. 

1. Clown

Freaking clowns. I hate them, they are scary even if they aren't evil. They are supposed to make people laugh, but everyone is scared of them. They are serious nightmare material. The funny thing is that because of the new season of American Horror Story (freak show), the Union of Clowns (yes, this is a real thing) wrote an angry letter to the public, because they felt like they were being portrayed as creepy. It made me laugh, because everyone thinks clowns are creepy. I don't know, maybe it's the white face or the fact that they always have a way to broad smile, but they look like soulless killers to me. Yep, clowns are by far the creepiest thing ever. 

Yours truly,

Things in the US that are "different"

Haha, you didn't think I would post an update so soon, did you? Psych! No seriously, this is not like my normal updates, but after five (!) weeks here, it is now time for the differences between Europe (or more specifically Holland) and America. So here's a list of things that are "different" (because that's the political correct term).

1. Taxes

Freaking taxes, man. I think I should start off by saying that the taxes here are a lot lower than in Holland. It doesn't matter what you buy the taxes are always 7,89% and that is pretty cheap. One thing that our American friends don't understand, though, is that if you sell something you should show the price WITH taxes. Because right now all the prices (on menus, in the supermarket, etc.) are shown without the taxes, so when you go to the check-out counter you have to pay more than the price-tag said. For example: the first week I wanted to buy some water and the price-tag said two bottles for two dollars, when I wanted to pay, however, I had to pay more. It's the same in restaurants and that can get pretty annoying when you're with a group and you have to split the bill. You have to take the price of your food and add not only the taxes but also the tip. This has led to quite some discussions, because some people have completely forgotten how to do math since they finished high-school. (Not me, though. Because like some f-ing crazy person, I calculate exactly how much money I can spend each week). So yeah, that's different.

2. "Hi, how are you?"

At first this really bothered me. It's not that it annoys me that someone asks me how I am, but it bothered me that you have to reply with a really long line yourself. Most times you're walking and then it can be really awkward, because you either have to stop to reply (that's just weird) or you don't reply with all the lines and you risk coming across as rude. Let me explain this, this is how it's supposed to go:

A: Hi, how are you?

B: I'm fine, thank you. How are you?

A: I'm good. Thanks.

As you can see, that is a relatively long exchange and as I said it leads to pretty awkward situations. This especially happened to me a lot the first week or two, because it took some time getting accustomed to. Now it just comes naturally, but when you constantly have to remember what you are supposed to say, it can be very exhausting.

3. Food sizes

I recently saw a photo online of a pizza menu in Germany, the sizes where: small, medium, large, extra large, American. This might sound like an exaggeration, but it is not. You can order an appetizer and use it as your main course and with your main course you could feed a family of four. Seriously, I've eaten in a restaurant a couple of times and I managed to finish my meal only once. The sizes are ridiculous and I honestly don't know how people can finish their food. I can easily see why obesity is such a big problem here.

4. Cheap fast-food

Another factor contributing to the obesity is the fact that fast-food is a lot cheaper than healthy food. E.g: a bottle of water is around a dollar, a dollar fifty. A can of coke, however costs about half a dollar. And this is not the only example a salad in a restaurant is almost twice as expensive as a burger. I found the most extreme case here at the organic foods store. The chocolate coated cranberries cost two dollars. The cranberries without chocolate, however, were six dollars! I don't know what's wrong here, but that just seems stupid. The organic food here is cheaper than the organic food in Holland though, so that's a plus.

5. People are generally nice

This actually came as quite a shock. Not that I expected Americans to be complete bitches, but people here are a lot friendlier than I'm used to. In Holland it's a surprise when a cashier is really nice to you (not just the mandatory niceness, because you're a costumer), here it's the standard. People are warm and welcoming. I've got to say that I have yet to meet an unfriendly American. I don't know, maybe it's because of the "hello, how are you"s or the fact that they use a lot of big words (amazing, awesome, lovely, fantastic, etc.), but the people here just seem so full of life and it is really enjoyable.

6. The fear of Communism

We discussed this during class today and my teacher almost had a heart attack when I told her that we actually have socialistic political parties in the Netherlands. Apparently Socialism equals Communism here and Communism is the big evil. Our (SPIN)teacher grew up in Texas so she was thought to be a republican (conservative, about capitalism, etc.). When she was little she had nightmares about the Communists. She would dream that the Communists came to take her brother and sister and we were all so confused. People here view Socialism as bad and social security is for losers. Health insurance is for suckers and if you're poor, it's probably because God hates you. They think that if you give people social security, they'll get lazy. If you want to be rich, you've got to work for it. That is the main reason why the gap between the rich and poor people here is so big. People here only get one week of paid leave and most of the times they don't even take it, because they're afraid that they''ll be fired. You can just be fired if you're not part of an union, your employer doesn't even need a valid reason. So living here is great, if you're either rich or famous, or both.

7. A screwed up educational system

Now, this is a big issue here. Education has become a luxury for the rich only. A high-school degree equals a MBO degree. If you want to be a teacher or journalist, you have get a better degree, so you go to college. If you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you have to go to college and after that you have to go to University. So when you're finally finished you're about 26/27. That might sound O.K, but only then you can start repaying your debts. Those debts have gotten up to about half a million dollars. HALF A MILLION! You don't even have work, hell, you're barely out of your diapers and you have a debt of half a million dollars. How are you supposed to pay that back? Even if you only go to college you end up with a lot of debt and that's just ridiculous, because most of the time a college degree doesn't guarantee a job. Why? Because most entry-level working positions require two years of experience. Experience that you don't have after finishing college. So a lot of people with a college degree end up waiting tables or selling hamburgers, which is really sad. The meanest thing, though, is the fact that foreigners get payed to go to college or uni here. (Especially if you're from a county that's a part of the EU). I don't know America, but I think it's pretty hypocrite to try and kick all your immigrants out, while trying to coax other foreigners from Europe to come study here. Besides, it seems to me that your own students need the money more than we do. 

8. Diversity

On a brighter note, the US truly is a melting-pot and especially NYC. I've seen, Indian people, Muslims, Black people, Asians, Simpsons, painters, poets, business men and women, drag queens, gangsters, hippies, etc. You name it and it's there. I love the diversity and it makes me feel like I'm actually seeing the world. Of course, being a student of an international language school I see different people every day. During dinner I hear seven languages at the same time and surprisingly enough I can understand at least four of them!

So that's about it, if I think of some other points, I'll post them in my next update. Hope you liked it!

Yours truly, 

  

  

 

"I don't know man, I think they're called Purple Nurples or something..."

The quote above is from one of the awesomest TV-series I've ever seen. Why? Well, because Supernatural started its tenth season this Wednesday. It is a very fitting quote considering my new relationship with purple. Yes, I now have purple hair. (Just my bangs, not all of my hair). How did I come to the decision to dye my hair? Truth is, I didn't, my hairdresser did. When I first arrived here it was Fashion Week, so I got a promotion with which I could get my hair done at a "high-end" salon on Fifth. In desperate need of a haircut, I decided to cash in this Thursday. When I arrived, however, I found out that the "consultation" was a make-over. My hairdresser was pretty passive aggressive and she made a lot of comments about my old hair. (Soccer-mom hair, Country hair, Seventies hair, etc.) She was determined to make me look like a city-girl and she succeeded. She screwed me over too, because I had to pay a fortune afterwards, but let's not dwell on that. I arrived at the salon around two and left at 5:30. When I walked back to Grand Central a random guy stopped me and said the following:
"I love your hair, I gotta know your name."
"Er, Lisa."
"OK, cool, Lisa. High-five."
And that was that. A random stranger high-fived me on the street because of my hair. Weird, but also kind of awesome. All the people on campus agreed that I was now a metropolitan girl. We also saw "Scream 4" on Thursday. I didn't think it very scary because the story was pretty ridiculous. Come on, guys, seriously? We visited Brooklyn on Saturday and I absolutely loved it. Soho and Upper-East side have their charms, but Brooklyn is magical. I especially loved all the graffiti on the walls. And by graffiti I don't mean ugly felt-tip names. By graffiti I mean real street-art. Because of my newly found artiness people actually thought I was a New Yorker and I got asked where certain places were two times in a row. We just walked through Brooklyn and enjoyed the district that breathed art. We even found a street-poet that wrote poems with a typewriter. The houses were old, but pretty and the shops were small and all had their own character. As it started to get dark our group split up, because not all of us could appreciate the artiness and wanted to go to Soho to go shopping. The rest of us: Jullien, Charles, Lacky, Hannah, Marleen, Annie and myself decided to grab a bite. We ended up at a Thai restaurant and I ate delicious rice with chicken. After our dinner in the dark (yes, the restaurant was very dimly lit) we wanted to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Because of the cold we took a taxi, a real NY yellow taxi. The price was alright and it was totally worth it, because the view in the Park was amazing. We could see the skyline and took lots of pictures. Annie had an internship in Hanover and is practically a professional photographer, so she had a lot of gadgets that helped her take lovely group-photos. I will ask her for them and upload them soon. Today I skyped with Ilse and Anne and of course we had to take very creative selfies. I can't believe that this Wednesday I'm halfway through my course. You know what they say; 'Time flies when you're having fun!'

Yours truly,

  

whoopsy daisy

Whoopsy daisy, it's been more than a week since my last update. Truth is, I''m getting accustomed to life here and I don't really do a lot of mind-blowing stuff. I do fun stuff, sure, but that new shiny gleam is gone. So from now on, I think I will post an update every week or so. With that being said, I want to tell you guys about last weekend. We wanted to go to a concert in Central Park, and by that I mean that we wanted to see if we could catch a glimpse of the concert without buying tickets. We failed miserably, because Americans are masters in making sure people pay for things. There were fences everywhere and there was no way we could even hear who was preforming, because the bass was so loud. We did, however spot a mini Batman playing the guitar and it was the cutest thing ever. The weather was nice, so we didn't really mind that we had spent our day strolling through Central Park. We ate at a traditional diner called Bill's burgers and returned home. Sunday was laundry day, as usual and I managed to wash my colours without screwing anything up, so that's a bonus. On Monday I had my drama class and I had to play a cheerleader that had just heard that the president had been shot (the play takes place in 1963 and the murder took place in Dallas, if your catching my drift). One of my favorite lines was: "The president? Of the student council? But I just saw him in Algebra!" That play thought us that cheerleaders aren't the brightest apples in the bunch. Tuesday and Wednesday were just plain old school days and on Thursday I went to the mall with Hannah, Lina, Louisa, Annie, and Marleen. It was really funny because Annie had bought a mirror at Target without realizing she would have to take it with her the entire day. In consequence she ended up walking around with a mirror. She turned a lot of heads, that's for sure. I bought a thermos can and a dress. Because you can't party without a dress. We ended up having an unplanned dinner at a Japanese restaurant and I ate the most delicious food, I'd had in weeks. I had sesame shrimp with rice and some kind of greens. With filled stomachs we searched for a taxi. Eventually we found one, but after looking back I don't think it was a legit taxi. We had to sit in a five-person car with seven people! And that wasn't even the half of it, we also had to pay the toll (five dollars!!), something we had never had to do before. When we arrived at campus we payed him, but both Marleen and Lina had to get change. However, when he got all our bills he just drove off, without giving us the money back! Whoopsy daisy.Yesterday we had field day (which is similar to sports day in the Netherlands) and I was on the Mummies team. Of course being living corpses, we lost. We were second place during the first counting, though. We had to do games like Monster Maps (place the sticker on the right street in NY) a photo scavenger hunt (we had to take photos of a guy in a dress and a girl with a mustache) and a spelling B. Because I'm in the Cambridge program, I had to spell. But you all know about my Stopwatch Syndrome (I get nervous under pressure) and I spelled policy as P-O-L-I-C-E. Whoospy daisy. I, however, did manage to spell horrify correctly. So after being scammed by a taxi driver (we decided to split the loss and pay Marleen and Lina back), my shopping in the mall and the delicious food, I was pretty much broke. The consequence is, that I don't want to spent money to go partying tonight (because the average cost of going to a party is 50 dollars, which is a lot, because I need to pay to do my laundry, to buy water, to eat lunch etc.). So I'm staying on campus tonight, which is good because I'm really tired. And on the plus side, now I get to save money. I slept until twelve today, went to brunch and decided to go to the swimming pool. When I got there, I was told that I needed to wear a swimming cap to get into the pool. The sign, however, said that I needed a swimming cap if my hair was longer than shoulder-length, but as most of you know my hair doesn't reach farther than my shoulders. I told the life-guard (yes, there's a life-guard for those three people in the pool) but she wouldn't hear of it. Thus I was forced to buy an ugly swimming cap for two dollars. Of course, not expecting to have to pay anything I didn't have any money with me. Whoopsy daisy. So I had to give her my ID (it's practically the most important thing you posses here on campus, save for your passport and room key of course) and after I had swum for an hour, I had to go to my room, get my money and go back to the swimming pool to receive my ID. It was quite a venture. Tomorrow is Sunday and y'all know what that means, exactly: laundry! So excuse me while I go separate my darks and my whites.

Yours truly,