Read Daquan Holiday's blog about his experience so far in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The junior forward and his team will take on Meppel Red Giants Tuesday, August 20 at 8pm. Daquan, from Allentown, PA, is majoring in communications at NJIT.

Here is his first blog entry:

I was really nervous about leaving the country for the first time and had never been on a plane for such a long period of time.

Initially, the trip was going smooth. Everyone got their tickets and boarded the plane without any trouble. After pushing back from the gate and heading to the runway, the pilot made an announcement that we were unable to takeoff at our scheduled time (6:57pm) in a case that we would land before (7am) in Amsterdam, due to a noise restriction. 

As we were waiting, the pilot made another announcement, this time that a maintenance light had appeared and that were heading back to the gate for it to get checked out. As we returned to the gate, we were asked to leave the plane because there was a problem with the engine, after being on the plane for about an hour.

The scheduled 6:57pm flight didn't leave until Midnight. In the airport, tt was a good time bonding with the team during the wait. 

While on the plane I got some sleep and watched a few movies. The flight went great and I immediately got a taste of the culture when we landed and was exposed to some of the different languages.

People were staring at us as we walked through the airport. I actually found it funny and it gave my teammates and I something to laugh about.

We took a bus tour of the city and I got the chance wear a pair of clogs for the first time.

After we checked into the hotel, we got the chance to walk around the city on our own. I saw some street performers and met some of the people of the city.

There were many bicyclists on the street and trains that go by in the middle of the street. I almost got hit twice by the trains and clipped once by a bicyclist.

With all the new things going on around me, I decided to keep food close to home and had some McDonald's. 

After a long day of travel and sight-seeing, I got some well needed rest. I have enjoyed my time here so far and I am learning a lot about the culture and the city.

I am looking forward to learning more.