I left Holland because my parents had died. My father was a boat captain. He and my mom died in a boat accident.

My Aunt and Uncle mailed a letter when they found out my parents died. They said Matias can come stay with us in New Amsterdam, so I got on a boat. There were hardly any people there besides the crew and we set off to sea. It was a two month trip. It was very smelly and it made me seasick. i was feeling sad on the way. Because my parents had just died. I did not do much. I ate old salty fish that did not taste that good. I was often not feeling well and i did not do a lot. It was very boring.

I felt confused when I arrived in New Amsterdam. It was not like Holland. I had never met my Aunt and Uncle before. I saw lots of people in a small town. I saw lots of Lenape and I have never seen people like this before It was very interesting to me. I felt a little bit worried that my Aunt and Uncle would be mean. When I found out I had a cousin living with me I was a little bit surprised. I saw some animals in town. In my old home we never had pigs in the streets. I also heard something that I had never heard before, the town criers. They had a rattle and they yelled the time, the weather, and what was happening. I thought that was a little bit odd because that was not in Holland