The international edition has arrived!

In 2017, SO and I continued our integrating our household and lives with the peace of an ocean between us from Bratty.  Of course, that doesn’t mean Bratty’s drama stopped – but it did mean I could sit back and just hear about Bratty’s mis-adventures from SO without being directly impacted J

First up – the cell phone.  The study abroad program required all the students to obtain a local Amsterdam phone number.  SO advised Bratty to buy a cheap flip phone when there, and only use her iPhone on wifi to avoid international data charges.  Bratty said sure – which in Bratty language means I’ll do whatever I want.  Bratty decided she didn’t want to get a local phone and that the program’s requirement was unreasonable.  Bratty also decided to keep using her smartphone but said she used it on wifi only.  When SO received the first bill a few weeks later, it was over $600.  So clearly Bratty was not using it on wifi only.  When SO spoke to Bratty about it though, she swore up and down that she had the phone on airplane mode with wifi turned on.  It wasn’t her fault!  Verizon must have made a mistake!  SO tried to dispute with Verizon but ended up just paying the bill, but did change the plan to block any international roaming.

Next up – the food.  Bratty had been experimenting with a vegan diet during the prior semester.  However, she was distressed to learn that pasta (the staple of her diet) was not vegan and mostly just avoided meat.  Prior to her semester abroad, Bratty decided she would not be vegan in Amsterdam.  She was looking forward to housing with a traditional Dutch family through the program and thought they would want to feed her meals as their honored guest.  When Bratty arrived in Amsterdam, she met her host – and it was a middle-aged American woman from Brooklyn.  She was ‘hosting’ students for some extra income and didn’t really interact with Bratty at all.  And just like that, Bratty’s dream of being the honored guest at a daily traditional Dutch meal was shattered. 

In Part 2 of Bratty’s Global Adventures, we’ll cover the Bicycle Incident which led to more shattered dreams for poor Bratty.  Spoiler alert:  It was SO’s fault in the end.