khigh

I'm obsessed with "Real American Hotdogs" on Museumplein and frites met oorlog. I also do like Nieuwe Haring, but I'm a fan of lutefisk too, so I don't know if I have real tastebuds, haha.

I've been working on my Italian lately and my 17th century Dutch is better than modern; I have problems still using hy instead of hij as one example. There's always room for improvement in language and now I feel like one of "those" Americans. Just means I need to get back to the Dutch!

I drive by the airport almost every day and I have that itch again. I haven't been able to leave the country since March and it's really bugging me. Maybe I'll take a trip as a reward if I get into grad school.

You would be able to go anywhere and do anything in the Netherlands in English, but older Dutchies will stare at you and make condescending remarks. I have spent many an afternoon on trips to A'dam sitting in a cafe off Museumplein with a group of old men talking about the horrors of American tourists that don't know how to speak Dutch or that the red lanes are BIKE lanes. TRY to learn some Dutch. It's really not that hard- almost like a mix of English and German. Albert Heijn is the main grocery chain there and you will find Dutch food to actually be GOOD. Het is veel lekker! <--that is phrase you should know (that is tasty) as well as Doen normaal! (be normal). Leopard print is huge in the Netherlands and Primark and Hema are the best places to shop. I could go on and on about stroopwafels, bitterballen, oliebollen, hagelslag, and nieuwe haring if you need me to. If you have questions about the Netherlands, I've traveled all over there- Utrecht, Amsterdam, Leiden, Den Haag, Nijmegen, Groningen, and Rotterdam.

Call everyone. Cry. Chug wine. Not necessarily in that order.

Gap year was done in part to save money for grad school as well as the 10 years between high school and undergrad. Can cash in part of my IRA and my parents started buying baby bonds 31 years ago that have now matured. And, I do feel very lucky to have a supportive significant other. He knows what it’s like since he has his PhD. Health insurance will be a big one. As long as you teach a 50% load, they pay 100% of insurance. You just have to use University sponsored health care facilities if you don’t want a copay. For everything else, I have tricare. Money is something more grad students should think of. My family is also supportive. We have quite a few PhDs in the family and my father’s aunt and uncle will put in a few grand for books and supplies if I get in.

I might have thought you were responding directly to me because you quoted me. I guess I took that wrong.

I had a long response typed out, but didn’t want to put all my financials out there. Let’s just say my cash reserve will cover any expense that comes up. We just aren’t going to be able to put $60k down on a house and do grad school and live the same lifestyle. We can do two out of the three in any combination, but not all three.

Unless you live near campus, Arlington traffic is miserable. They were insane and put all of the sports complexes in the same area, so game days are horrendous. Dallas itself is miserable. I grew up in southern Oklahoma, so I spent a lot of time in the Dallas area.

You’re right. The only other city I have lived in is Austin. Was paying about $700 a month down there, but traffic was a killer. Minneapolis is a wonderful city. The cold isn’t as bad as people make it out to be and the snow is great. Summer really makes this the city to be, though.

If you break it down, Minneapolis isn’t really expensive. Rent is on par with major cities. I pay $900 a month for a one bedroom in uptown, utilities included. Sure, it’s a basement apartment with street parking, but I’m blocks away from anything I need. There is no tax on clothes or groceries. It is the most bikeable city in the USA, even beating out Seattle, so you don’t need a car. Light rail and buses are on time. Ice skating on the lakes is free. There are tons of festivals in the summer, so always something to do. And then there is the Great Minnesota Get Together (state fair). It’s the largest by attendance in the US.

Loans wouldn’t be a requirement except to maintain the same living situation (trips, concerts, sporting events, new cars, buying a large house, maintaining horses, saving for private boarding school, etc). Boyfriend finally found a job here that starts in August, so that helps tremendously. The U also only requires teaching 3 years and you have two years of additional funding, so it’s not like you have to teach for all 5 years. What I’m trying to say, without saying how much we have saved and will make, is that if I don’t get an additional fellowship, we won’t be poor.

You don’t need to find a lot of men or date a lot. You just have to find one. You never know when that one will show up.

You’re guaranteed $18k a year for 5 years at Minnesota plus tuition and health insurance and research/conference stipend. It’s not enough to live off of comfortably on your own if you want to be in Minneapolis proper. Just wanted to add that I’ve also been saving. I have luckily had a really good job since I got up here and make really good money, but it’s not something I want to do forever. I’m in luxury car sales.

We will be a two income family and I’m already planning out loans to keep the house running. It’s not going to be what I make now, I know, but adding the second income will make it easier. I’d also prefer to TA. I want teaching experience. I guess what I’m saying in a roundabout way is that the money doesn’t matter, it’s the getting in that does.

Thank you. It was just the first moment of maybe I really won’t ever go to grad school.

I should have traveled over the last summer, but I will this summer. I had just come off of three European trips in 9 months, so I wanted a cool down period. I moved 900 miles and established myself here during my (hopefully) gap year. I do have to say that just working, walking around the lake, and watching sports ball events was fun for awhile. I promised myself one last fun week if I get admitted before buckling down and starting research- Super Bowl week will be the last fun week to have. I can't not participate when US Bank Stadium is 3 miles away.

My mantra this week is "If the Vikings can do it, I can do it!" I'm a Vikings and Cubs fan, so I know the ups and downs. If it's not this year, I will use the old Cubs mantra "Next Year is the Year."

Thank you for keeping me from opening the bottle of Drake's Organic Vodka tonight! It's a program I have been dreaming of going to for years now. Can you say who you put as your POI? I requested Reyerson and/or Shenk. Tracy would have been my dream prof to work with if he didn't retire. He is the reason I went into Dutch history. I've met Cosales and a few others and love the faculty. The Early Modern Consortium lectures has been fun attending and I love the community service project they do. They dress in Early Modern clothing and go to local junior high and high schools and teach them about life in the early modern period and have now added how to use an astrolabe. I don't know if you've been to the campus, but it's beautiful and you never have to walk outside in the winter. They have a tunnel system like real gophers! I live in Uptown, so I'm within biking distance of the campus and a few blocks from Lake Calhoun (Bde Maka Ska). I love Lake Street and going downtown. I'm a sports fanatic, so I love being in a city where I can watch baseball, hockey, football, soccer, and basketball (though I go to Chicago to watch baseball- I'm a Cubs fan). I'm a winter sports fanatic, so always downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, or ice skating. Traffic isn't too bad. I work north of the city in a suburb called Brooklyn Park, which is about 15 miles away. It only takes 25 minutes to get there. Look for an apartment in Uptown or Dinkytown, but Uptown is less undergrad. It's more posh, but not as expensive as Downtown. There are concerts and shows all the time. I'm going to see Dave Matthews on the 3rd of February and Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) on the 8th. I only applied to the U because I don't want to leave Minneapolis. They are right when they say that it is hard to get people to move to Mpls and even harder to get them to leave. There are a few things you do need to remember around here- Skol Vikings!, what a gjällarhorn is, and that high school hockey hair finals is in February. Minnesota Nice is passive aggressiveness to the core and it will take you an hour to leave someone's house after you say goodbye. It is HARD to make friends with Minnesotans. They don't care for outsiders, but as long as you don't get in their way and say "ope" if you run into them, you will be okay. Coffee is Caribou or Tim Hortons, not Starbucks. There are no Walmarts in Minneapolis (closest to me is Bloomington). This is Target country. Best Buy is king here. Amazon can deliver within hours or minutes if you use PrimeNow or Amazon Restaurants. Lutefisk isn't that bad, but lefse is to die for. Winter isn't too cold. -20 doesn't feel any different than -40 and it's a dry cold. Streets are plowed constantly and highways are cleared within hours of a good snowfall. Oh, and look for a cabin up north, even just to rent. If I get in, boyfriend and I are buying a cabin up north so we can get away to write. Sorry that was so long. I am passionate about the school and even more passionate about the city. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world and I've seen a lot of the world.

It's the only program I applied to. Good luck to you too!

I hope so. It looks like the past few years, they have sent out acceptances over a few days and then rejections after that. I want this more than anything.

It looks like, looking at the past years, that they do acceptances over a few days and then rejections later. So, it's going to possibly be a week of feeling like this. F5 is my friend.

Two people have posted acceptances for the one program I applied for and I haven't heard anything yet. It's more stressful than I ever thought it would be.

There are two on there now and I still haven't gotten anything.

My interest is in Dutch history and their Dutch historian retired. I want to do Mediterranean history, but I decided after sending in my app.