The Closing of Year Two

We might have found the best ice-cream
place in The Hague

Well, if one ignores politics, the last week has been quite lovely. The intensive period came to a close and, I can safely say this now that it's over, I actually enjoyed it this time. Got to say that is completely down to my partners in crime (a.k.a. my class mates) who were both great moral support and great fun. Got to admit that our post-exam lunch was the highlight for me - you know, no work - but they were awesome throughout. And somehow I managed to take no photos... I have let myself down! Anyway, I managed to get an A grade for German which I am so happy with. I actually got an A for the speaking which is amazing considering last year I basically failed that part. Immensely grateful to my class and teacher for their enabling in that regard.

I then had a few days to attempt to catch up with friends and socialise a bit before leaving. I failed to see half the people but I did go to The Hague with Leonoor on Saturday to look at a potential apartment and visit a wonderful paper and bookbinding shop. I'd bought from them online before but oh my goodness, the shop is a treasure chest. We also found an amazing bookshop. I was kinda lucky that the pound had plummeted as it was a good motivation to not buy everything! We were joined by Ryan for a drink in the evening and it was thoroughly delightful.

We did also eat, in my defense!

Sunday was equally lovely as Dania, Leonoor and I headed into the centre of Amsterdam for brunch at one of our favourite places. As it was a celebratory brunch we might have decided that cocktails were in order. We had planned to go shopping afterwards as I had quite a lot to get for the summer trip but, let's put it this way, I didn't manage to get much shopping done afterwards!

And then it was back to England. I'm here for just over a week and I have so much to do before my month (!) on the road. Seriously, I have so much to pack into the next week. Today, for example, I had my trial with contact lenses and the weird lesson of how to put them in and take them out. Really excited that I won't have to choose between seeing the stage and taking photos/protecting my glasses when at events but my eyes are feeling it now! 

So yep, enjoying my not so relaxed time with my parents before the complete insanity of the summer really gets underway. Who am I kidding?I'm so excited... and maybe a bit nervous too ;-)

I brought back the lurgy from Venice and other stories

Featuring tales of holidays, kind people, museums, and deadlines.... why are there are always deadlines?

It's been almost a month since I posted here which is kinda weird considering how often I used to write but also to be expected considering the chaos that was last month. To give a very brief summary, and as you may be able to guess from the title, I managed to get ill quite literally the evening I got back from Venice and am only just about recovered. Did I mention that it's the last week of semester this week? Finals with flu. Yeah, that's been fun. So, as opposed to multiple detailed posts we're doing another of my favourite style smush posts but, this time, with pictures (yay!) and subheadings because I recon it's going to be a long 'un!

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So, we should probably start with Venice. It was an amazing trip. Truly.

Compulsory tourist shot.

I actually traded the week long Dutch summer for an overcast Italy so this was a major sacrifice, although it did warm up for the last couple of days, and still that city is quite magnificent. There are mazes of streets, so many bridges, beautiful churches. The other thing is - and it reminded me of Amsterdam in this sense - it's painfully busy in the touristy areas but you can go just a couple of streets along and be alone. It's a magical, magical place and you can kinda see why, if a film is set in Venice, it's either a romance or a horror.

The majority of my time was spent wondering these streets getting between different churches and the odd museum which is why I actually didn't take as many photos as one might have expected. Seriously, the museums I wasn't too impressed by,  generally, but the churches... we all know I'm a religious art nerd and I was so very much in my element. We, naturally, went into the St. Mark's Basilica and, when we went in, the doors to the basilica proper were closed so, instead of opening them, we, like sheep, followed each other up this uneven mountain of stairs. Anywho, this led up into the basilica's museum, something I hadn't really been too bothered with going round. After climbing those hellish stairs we were going round that museum whether we wanted to or not!! And, frankly, I would recommend it heartily, if only because you get to see the amazing mosaics up close. The song books were also a highlight for me. The other church that made a huge impression was Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. It's a bit more out of the way but it's worth making an effort to see. I wanted to go because the altarpiece is one of Titian's and, to be honest, I was unaware of just how much art is in this building. It's exquisite. There are also some rather impressive monuments that are quite striking, the most well known being a monument to the sculptor Canova.

Came out the church to be greeted by this - sat and watched for a while.
Couldn't have planned it but what a perfect moment.

Other than churches, it's got to be said, I ate quite a lot and also spent quite a lot of time sat outside restaurants having a drink and people watching. Both my mother and I really enjoy sitting down and watching the world go by. You learn so much that way.

I also ended up meeting up with quite a few people out there. Seriously, I had more of a social life in Venice than I do back home - what is this madness? It seems that half of my university had taken a trip to the city at the same time and also, against the odds, we bumped into each other on Murano one day. I was also lucky enough to meet up with the lovely Fietje for dinner which was delightful... although the food wasn't the best and the waiter was, quite seriously, the most miserable soul I've ever come across. I tried so hard to make him smile but I failed in my attempts!

And the other person I met up with was Jacopo who quite literally turned up in the city on the first evening I arrived even though he couldn't be sure I'd know he was there because I didn't have internet. Luckily, I did pick up his message and, unluckily for him, he had to socialise with an extremely tired from traveling me! He was also so kind and saw us off at the airport. Highlight of meeting up with him, other than the fact he's a lovely chap for sure, has to be that moment where he led us over a bridge that led to a block end accidentally and, in his annoyance/embarrassment/I don't know, threw sat himself down on said bridge. And this is where the stereotypes about those southern Europeans come from, you know! Yep, I know he'll read this and I am actively teasing him right now... should probably stop! But it's so much fun!! Anyway, you can read his version of events over on his blog here, scroll down for English.... he's probably been mean about me in the Italian part knowing I can't read that ;-)

With Jacopo on the first evening in the city, featuring tourists walking in sync

I am certainly going back to Venice in the not so distant future as there is so much I want to see there. I also want to go to a few of the other cities in the vicinity so it would be nice to book out a longer trip. Trying to talk Dania and Leonoor into going with me next year and, frankly, I don't think they need much convincing. If only it wasn't so expensive!

As a bit of an aside, I ended up having a paper on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice due just after my return so I did bits on it while I was out in Venice. I was writing, mainly, about the significance of rings in the text. I left my own ring in my hotel room. You have no idea how much struggle it was to get that ring back but seriously, I had to laugh about it!

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So, as you may recall, upon my return, I was supposed to go to see the Bosch exhibition. Well, I got struck down with the flu and that was not going to happen so I missed out. I am seriously disappointed. However, there was some bright side in that the hotel I had booked for the night before due to having such an early slot at the museum cancelled the room without charging me despite my only being able to let them know on the day of arrival and them having a 'no free cancellation policy'. And, actually, kindness was the theme of this fluey time. Thijs went and got me food and juice because I had literally nothing. Fatiya dropped me round readings I'd missed and was a complete gem as we were supposed to be preparing to lead a class together and I was messing her around so much. Other people sent me through notes without my asking them. People sent me messages asking how I was. I felt so loved. And physically a wreck but, y'know, like a loved wreck. So thank you people for looking after me <3

I also had exams and papers due during that time and somehow managed to get them all in before the deadline. More surprisingly, those that have been graded actually have high marks - higher than usual despite the fact I was writing with a candyfloss brain. I genuinely would have expected to get lower grades considering I couldn't study or think straight. What is this backwardness? Anyway, I now only have three roundtables (one of which is a paper defense - eep!) and then this semester is done and onto German. The less said about that the better. I'm so nervous I cannot put it into words.

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However, the lightening of the work load has meant that I can socialise a bit more and that means my favourite thing: Museum exploration with Dania!

Sunday, we went to the Rijksmuseum to see their Catwalk exhibition which was closing that day. As the name may suggest, this was a fashion exhibition and we'd wanted to go for some time. I have to say, it was well worth getting up early for. There was a really nice range of pieces on display and, importantly, the curation was exceptional. My particular favourite was a room with a conveyor belt (think airport baggage collection just prettier) on which manikins wearing different costumes slowly rotated in a catwalk type fashion. There were chairs where you could sit and watch the 'show' and a book attached to each chair explaining the significance of each piece. There was a seriously snazzy pair of pyjamas made to look like an evening dress too... I might have got some ideas! The highlight of the exhibition was the widest mantua in the Netherlands (over two metres wide) and there was a cardboard cut out in the lobby so, you know.... Dania forced me ;-)

I seem to be missing a neck....

And then today we caught the Spanish Master's exhibition at The Hermitage. Again, we'd planned to see this one since before it opened and, again, we caught it just as it was closing (although it's there until Sunday so if you get a moment then it's worth popping to). I wasn't so interested in this one because I've never really go that into a lot of the Spanish artists. That said, I'm really pleased I went. I actually saw a few paintings, and a few styles, that really did catch my eye and my imagination. Perhaps I need to do a bit more research into the area's art history. The other thing that I really liked about this exhibition is the fact that it was set to music. As opposed to having information given over the audioguide you had a different song/tune play that was supposed to evoke the feelings of the pieces in that area. It made it a very special experience and I kinda want the CD (while I don't think there is a CD you can listen to the music here)

Post exhibition selfie, as always!

While I've had a great time at both museums, I don't think I'm going to go to any more for a while. I fell down stairs in the Rijksmuseum and broke the exit gate at the Hermitage. Am I clumsy, cursed, or is someone trying to tell me something? ;-)

Okay, okay, procrastination over. I will get back to working on my stuff for the next two days. On the bright side, I'm definitely going to Keltfest - there's a light at the end of the tunnel!

A Very, Very Happy Havanah

featuring daytime drinking, talk of deadlines, and good news!

As I type I am curled up in my fluffiest dressing gown nursing a cup of tea. Yes, I have multiple dressing gowns and I save this one, as the newest and the cuddliest, for the specialist of occasions. Okay, now I've hyped things up a bit too much but there we go, I couldn't resist.

In town today: Dania chooses to take selfies the
second I put a spoon of ice-cream in my mouth

So, over the last few months I've been trying to find a volunteer project/internship that I can work on in order to fulfill one of my graduation requirements. It's been really difficult because, ideally, it should link with my major and finding a placement that is English and relates to literature in the Netherlands is tricky. Finding a placement in the UK that will take you for just a month but full time, even harder. Volunteer work is more flexible because it doesn't have to fit in with your major but rather benefit the local and global community. The problem is, I didn't want to do something that I wasn't passionate about. I don't want to volunteer for a cause I don't agree, more likely, with or with a charity that I feel doesn't really prioritise the needs of its target group.

Anyway, you might recall me saying that I thought I had something up my sleeve in the last few posts and, I'll be quite honest with you right away, it came to nothing. The placement would have been great and would have fitted my degree perfectly. The organisation, however, was awful. Having asked me to fill in loads of different application forms (because they asked for the wrong ones to start with), spoken with me on the phone, collected references from me etc, and after weeks of waiting on a reply... they told me the role wasn't actually a real role - the website was wrong. They wanted me to go back to square one so they could "start to process my application". We're talking about two months on from when they should have started. Anyway, I gave up on that. It's not worth the stress.

A little disheartened, I trawled the internet for something else and, while I didn't really find anything promising, I did find something.

Visits to Hard Rock Café's are more
than justified in these situations.

To cut a very long story short, I applied for a teacher training program and for a scholarship too and, much to my surprise, I actually got offered it the other day. So, as of a couple of days ago, alongside my degree, I have been starting the process of language teacher training. I will also spend a lot of the summer in various observed placements in central Europe where I will teach children between the age of 12 and 19. I have to fund my own travel to the placements (so there are a few flights to book) but other than that all training and accommodation/board is funded. I'm completely overwhelmed and completely over the moon too. I feel like this is a real opportunity to get some practical qualification alongside my, lets face it, academic to the useless degree but fascinating nevertheless degree. I'm terrified but so excited.

The only person, other than my parents, who knew that I was applying for this was Dania. Each time I mentioned it to her she kept saying: "You should do this!" Even when I was in the process of applying and had no control over whether I was going to be accepted or not, she acted like it was my indecisiveness that was stopping it from being a certainty!! Her faith in me made me feel so confident and valued though <3

Naturally, Dania and I decided that we had to go out and celebrate today so, for the second time in my life it was gin cocktails for lunch. In all fairness, it was also a rather large meal and, several hours later, I am still completely full. The ice-cream on the way back was probably not so sensible either!

Anyway, I have already rambled on long enough and I have a delightful (note sarcasm) deadline for my academic writing course tonight so I should probably go and attack it! I'm actually done but that final proof read has to be thorough!

A month in summary form

As I commence writing there is but half an hour until my dinner date with The Usual Suspects. Laura, Dania and Thijs are coming round to my, rather bedraggled, flat and we're skyping in the absent pair (Sonja and Leonoor). It's not really enough time to write even a short post but, as I've been absent for so long I felt I should really try to do something.

So, what has happened since I last wrote here? Well, firstly, the lovely Zoë came out once again but this time aiming to explore the museums. Sadly for both of us, it was right in the middle of finals time and I couldn't really spend much time with her. I think we both enjoyed ourselves regardless. We did take time out to go to the Midwinter Fair again and, to be quite honest, that has got to be my favourite festival of the season.

With the Zoë

The evening Zoë left was another social time, this time with the normal lot as we hung around and I painted Sonja's nails. It appears that, if I drop out of university for whatever reason I have a secondary career lined up. I also got to see my delightful neighbour Robbert before I left for England for Christmas and he left to study in Singapore, on exchange. However will I manage without his faultless optimism for a whole semester!

Sonja didn't look this bored the whole time, I swear!

As for Christmas, naturally, I spent it with my parents. We actually spent this Christmas in Wales in this tiny old cottage. It was owned by someone who was from quite a historic family and had worked as a antiques dealer so, as you can imagine, it was full of little bits and bobs to fascinate me. Did I mention we had to drive over a mountain track and through several fields (sans roads) to get there? The first time I've been grateful for there not being snow at Christmas!

Christmas dinner

Actually, this was probably the best Christmas I've had in a long long time. For that matter, it was probably one of the least stressful years my family has had in a long time and I guess it showed in the festivities. It was really relaxed, really pleasant. A lot of time together, a lot of good food, a lot of painting.

As for New Year, that was lovely in quite a different way. We went spent it in a local restaurant (in England) and had a thoroughly wonderful evening. Again, there was a lot of good food, good company, a bit of dancing. My father helped the staff pour the champagne for everyone - somehow that's become a tradition at this place - and that kind of meant we ended up with almost a full magnum on our table at the end of the toast... couldn't let it go to waste!!

This photo was taken before any alcohol was consumed, in my defense!

And then it was back to Amsterdam (which is honestly starting to feel like home) and to my second German intensive period. I've got to be honest and say that I am not enjoying it. I'm naturally very shy and use my language ability to cover that up... take away my language ability through making me speak in another language and it is hell for me. Not to mention the fact that, in the six months since the last intensive I have forgotten everything. That said, i still adore the German language and I am a quarter of the way through. Just another three weeks to survive. I may not be online or blogging while I fight with speed learning but oh well, I shall get through!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my speed recount of the last month. Wow, I managed it in circa. twenty minutes. If only I could write that quickly normally!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit!

As if Düsseldorf wasn't enough to get me in the Christmas mood, I put the Christmas decorations up
on Monday ready for Tuesday when we were having our super early Secret Santa yesterday

This is going to be an incredibly short post (rather than just ignore the fact that it happened) because I am completely drowning in deadlines right now but it's not going to do justice to the wonderful evening.

So, instead of writing down what happened I'm going to do things a little differently.

Special thanks to Leonoor for being my now not so Secret Santa and getting me a teapot that is actually large enough to serve multiple cups of tea. Your beautiful wrapping really stole the show! Thank you for letting me paint your nails too, even if it took forever and wasn't as effective as we'd hoped!

Thanks to Thijs for accepting my teasing (and thoroughly disastrous) poem with good grace and humour.

Thank you to Sonja for providing what was possibly the most thoughtful, handmade gift of the year - lets be honest, this girl is through and through special. I think I speak for us all when I say that, even though most of us weren't your giftee, your gift brightened all our evenings!

Thanks to Laura for her thoroughly good company, for finding amusing videos on youtube, and for providing potatoes. No joking, those potatoes were wonderful.

Last but not least, thank you to Dania for providing henna so we could all draw on each other and for fetching drinks for me so I could stay home and get things ready as opposed to popping to the shop.

Oh, and I forgot one very important person who wasn't there but made a big difference:
Thank you to Robbert, the best neighbour I've ever had, for loaning us a lighter at short notice so we could light incense... and thank you for giving the same lighter to me when I told you it was the first lighter I was able to use. I am now the proud owner of a lighter with a picture of a scantily clad man and I will remember you every time I use it*.


*This was Robbert's condition upon giving me said lighter, if I remember correctly ;)

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Three Countries in Two Days

So, having got back from England on Thursday (very kindly met at the airport by Ryan because I would not have made the journey back home alone), I promptly set out on my next adventure. This time I was off to Düsseldorf with Dania and Leonoor to explore the Christmas market.

Leaving Amsterdam Centraal! No prizes for guessing
which one of us noticed the photo being taken!

It's got to be said, mainland Europe is so easy. We popped on an international train in the centre of Amsterdam and in about two hours we found ourselves in Düsseldorf.

Our first evening in the town was a lovely, if a little bit of a cold one. We walked through the various market although, as we later found out, we actually missed a few on this first day. I had to laugh a little though, what with the fact that the 'German' Christmas market back home is actually bigger... so much for authenticity ;-)

I was trying to photograph the stalls but the Dania was quite sure she wanted
to be in the photo. Who am I kidding? She makes it even prettier :)

What was delightful was the way that each mini market had its own theme and atmosphere. It's got to be said that, although we didn't find it on the first day, the Sternchenmarkt was my favourite. It was super busy and seemed to be food and drink focused mainly but it was completely lit by blue white lights making it absolutely magical.

When I booked the trip, my mother made me promise to go on a carousel as I have literally been on one every year at Christmas, well, until I moved out to the Netherlands, that is! Sadly, there were only children's carousels. However, there was a big wheel so we went trip on that and, frankly, I think it more than made up for it. Seeing a bird's eye view of the city by night, lit up for Christmas, was really rather magical. We also got way more than we bargained for and went round so many times that I, quite frankly lost count. We expected to go round twice, or maybe three times tops... by the fifth time we, and the couple who were sharing our car, were both amused and bemused!

On the Big Wheel...pretending we weren't terrified of the height!

We actually set off for home quite early on that day due to the cold and spent most of the night cuddled up in the hotel room watching Abraham Lincoln Vampirjäger despite the fact only 1.5/3 of us could understand what was going on! We did try to get the television in English, and apparently there should have been English channels but it didn't work out so Dania got a quick German lesson instead!

Enjoying the hotel bunk-beds. "Creation of Adam", anyone?

The second day we went into town a bit earlier to go into the shops themselves. It's actually a really nice city with some lovely places on the main drag and, like all cities, there are bound to be hidden gems that we simply didn't find sticking to the central streets. I would like to go back when it's a bit warmer, just to explore the city more thoroughly.

Ready for day two!

Naturally, we spent the evening wondering through the markets a bit more and discovering some really good food, mainly. It's funny, that, whenever Dania, Leonoor and I go somewhere together we end up exploring the food more than anything!

Not every day you come across a field of decorated Christmas trees.

On the Sunday it was time to return to Amsterdam and, for me, to face the start of the deathly stack of deadlines. Distressingly, the train was delayed leaving us waiting on a freezing cold platform for over an hour. On the bright side, Leonoor and Dania used that time to buy a six pack of very good doughnuts for on the train.

What did I tell you? We always end up eating!!

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Sinterklaas in Amsterdam

Today was the arrival of Sinterklaas in Amsterdam and, before I start, I'll preface this with pretty much the same disclaimer as last year:

I'm still not Dutch so I'm talking about my understanding of things as an English person who's heard about all the traditions as such second and third hand. To any Dutch readers who might be here - if you notice any mistakes then please point them out and don't hate me ;-)

This year was, in many ways, similar to last year in that Leonoor, Dania and I went into town and had breakfast before the parade. The difference was that we weren't in quite so early because I didn't misread the times this time (I royally messed up last year!) However, just like last year we got completely drenched in the rain so I guess some things never do change! That said, it did dry up as the parade came by so I managed to get some slightly better photos this year.

So, as last year, I'll start with something of an explanation for those who would be completely flummoxed without one. 

Sinterklaas, as you can probably guess from the name, is the Dutch version of the embodiment of Saint Nicholas and stays a little closer to the figure of the Saint than our own Father Christmas or, indeed, Santa Claus. We'll not get into the fact that Father Christmas and Santa Claus are technically different figures who got merged in the Victorian, I think, era right now... that's just going to complicate matters!

So, in mid-November each year, Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands by boat from Spain which is where he spends most of the year (well, where did you think he got mandarins from if he lived in the North Pole!!). Once he arrives in the Netherlands he has separate 'arrivals' in different cities around the country.

He's also assisted by Zwarte Piet, or multiple of them, a character who traditionally wears blackface which, quite understandably, has caused a lot of controversy over recent years. To be honest, other than the fact it's Sinterklaas and I'm basically a large child, part of the reason I enjoy going is to see how what is a very alive political and social issue develops from year to year. I believe they're currently trying to gradually change it to reflect soot, with the story already being that he's black because of going down chimneys, and it was possibly to see a bit of a difference this year. It's probably not fair to change him instantly or without some story-line continuity when it's a children's character who they believe in so I understand why there's desire for a more gradual development as opposed to instant change.

We decide not to ask for pepernoten - the little biscuit things that are associated with this time of year and are given out by the Pieten along the route - and leave them for the real children. Weirdly enough, however, one gentleman came over quite enamoured with my handbag and basically forced me to take quite a lot so I think Dania was happy in the end - thank you Sisi handbag!

So, after a while of standing out in the cold - and minus Dania as she was volunteering that afternoon - Leonoor and I decided to go and grab a warm drink and head back quite content. I mean, for all it's something for children it's a really interesting thing culturally and politically to experience as a non-Dutch person. And, lets be honest, I'm never going to grow up!!

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Belated Birthday Party

"I never want to see another cake"

For the majority of last weekend, and the beginning of this week, I was frantically baking with one event in mind. I felt my sanity wearing away. Dinner was frequently cake off-cuts. Tuesday evening came and it was all so worth it.

I have the best friends ever, you know.

The day before the get together saw Leonoor and I running around town grabbing last minute buffet food and, more importantly, perhaps, bubbly wine. We then came back and started setting up the room ready for the evening itself. I've got to admit that, considering we started with a completely empty room, it looked pretty cosy by the time we'd finished with it. Dania and Leonoor's trek through the rain to collect balloons the day before had paid off.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Sonja was rather happy when she arrived. I'm not quite sure what she was expecting but I hope we lived up to expectations!

After food, it was Leonoor and Dania's turn to surprise both of us, coming into the room with streamers and coordinating tiara's for Sonja and me. Sonja somehow managed to get rid of hers part way through the evening, something I didn't quite manage! As usual when streamers and my lot are concerned, chaos reigned for a period of time ;-)

We then did the great 'gift exchange' which was really special, got to be said. Sonja is going to make me dinner and wrote me the most touching letter imaginable. Laura made a cushion which both fits into the colour scheme of my room and has my initial on it. Leonoor and Dania combined to buy the most stunning quill. While gifts aren't something that I would consider important, the fact that each of my friends gave me something so very personal was something that I found thoroughly touching. Oh, except for Thijs, he forgot! (Love you Thijs!!!)

After that, it was cake cutting time. As it was both our party, and the cake looked a bit like a wedding cake (oops!), we used the opportunity to take some 'romantic' wedding cake shots... you'd have done the same!

It was, without doubt a delightful evening for all the above reasons but, more importantly, because of the company. Various friends popped in and out through the evening adding their own special touch to the happenings. Sonja and I having a casual sing and then Sonja singing us all the most stunning lullabies. It was relaxed, good fun, perfect. Pretty sure this is where I would use that untranslatable Dutch word... if I could pronounce the thing!!! 

I'm too young to be 21!

Credit where credit is due, the title is courtesy of something The Best Friend said a little while back but with which I can connect on a deep level!

Liquid lunch in Hooray's 

I've actually always hated my birthdays. I mean that pretty literally too, even as a child I dreaded them. I don't like the fact that they mark the passage of time in such a final way. The day before is the last day of a whole year while the day itself is just a continuation of time, in my mind. Weirdly, I don't have this problem with new year...

However, no matter how much I dislike the idea of birthdays in their own right, I do rather like the fact that I get to do special things.. This year was extra special for me because my birthday feel on the Saturday, thus ensuring that I could indeed go home for the first time this semester. My parents met me with a banner as I came through arrivals which was sweet but also my personal idea of hell. I just don't know how to respond in those situations but I'm pleased that they did it nevertheless and my room is looking rather festive with the banner strung between the book cases.

At The Fish, and yes, that is a
'Foxy Lady' to the right of the image!

As for the day of my birthday itself, I chose to go into Stratford-upon-avon because, to put it frankly, it's a lovely town and quite easy to kill time in, and in the most pleasant of ways. I also wanted to get a few books from the Royal Shakespeare Company shop. The latter idea didn't work out quite as well as I'd hoped because they hadn't got what I was looking for in stock but still got some fascinating looking reads so there's no real complaints there.

I also have to admit that I have found what may well be one of the best ice-cream shops ever, Hooray's on the High Street. Seriously, Dania would have been thoroughly in her element. Also worth checking out their cocktail menu... lunch time drinking is perfectly acceptable on such occasions!

Naturally, I also went out for dinner with my parents. We went to a place called The Fish which is quite seriously one of the nicest places I know. The decoration is super quirky, or just plain odd, and the food is simply divine. Not to mention the staff who are lovely.

And then it was home for cake!

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The Post in Which Havanah Gets Completely Overexcited About Visiting an Art Gallery . . .

Wednesday saw my art history class go to the Hermitage museum in the centre of town. This museum is a branch of the Russian museum of the same name. It isn't one of the state owned Dutch museums and it instead operates, I believe, completely privately. It means it's a bit pricier to get in (or free with a Museumkaart) but it is, I believe, completely and utterly worth it. We only visited the "Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age" but there is another exhibition on Napoleon and Josephine running which I would like to return and see. The layout of the exhibition, and the level of interactivity, has been so carefully thought through that it truly was a pleasure.

The museum's 'Selfie Area' allows people to be green screened into a group portrait type setting that includes photos of previous guests. My teacher (right of me) seemed to confuse the green screen somewhat ;-)

The main gallery is a large hall filled with group portraits which are most impressive. Grouped together like this it is quite overwhelming but in a brilliant way. At regular intervals there is a 'light show' which is linked the audio guide and takes you around key portraits in the room giving details about specific figures. In this sense, you experience something of the scale and magnificence of multiple images alongside one another but are assisted to appreciate the details held within single pieces. It's very cleverly done. Seriously, I rated both the collection and organization here well over the Rijksmuseum.

There's another floor of paintings that we rather rushed through although I don't think I'm alone in saying that most of us could have spent a lot longer looking around had time been on our side. This floor was a bit less about portraiture, although that's still the broad theme, and more about the history of the Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular. In this sense, it was rather interesting for all of us, particularly us foreign students, as the exhibition gave a lot of really interesting information to contextualise the works, and the area in general. It wasn't overly crowded either which meant it was comfortable to wander through at your own pace and actually enjoy.

Yep, I will be going back here, undoubtedly!

A group photo of the class, taken in the gardens of the museum, seemed only fitting!

The Best Friend visits.

Just over a week ago, on Thursday, I sat here waiting for my best friend to message me to say that she knew her arrival time. There had been some crash that had delayed traffic and she was somewhere in the Rotterdam vicinity with little knowledge of exactly how delayed she was. Not to mention the fact that her phone, had once again decided not to work when off of British soil making it tricky to contact one another. Eventually, and a little later than planned we managed to meet up and we made our way back to my flat ready to spend the next week together.

Friday, we were quite happy to spend the morning sleeping and chatting. A short stroll around my flat (to the nearest Albert Heijn) was also  undertaken. I had a class in the afternoon and it seemed illogical to attempt to do anything major that morning what with the general exhaustion of the journey still having something of an effect on Aimee.

The evening saw Leonoor, Dania, and Thijs join us for a trip into town. Aimee felt she had to see the Red Light District while over here and so we made an evening of it, grabbing something to eat and drink before wandering around a little. We also managed to introduce Aimee to the wonders of poffertjes (little fluffy pancakes of delight)

Saturday was supposed to be a day trip day but I was feeling a little unwell in the morning so we decided it was better to stay closer to come. Instead we wandered around the museum district and I bought Aimee a fresh stroopwafel - she loves the shop bought ones in England so it seemed only right!

Sunday saw us visit Paleis Het Loo, the place we were supposed to visit on Saturday. I'd particularly wanted to go here because there was an exhibition on Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) running. It focused mainly on the myth of the films compared the reality, a little on her visit to the Netherlands and gave a basic overview of her life. A lot of the items I had seen before or were replicas of things that I had seen before but some things on display were new to me and of great interest. Aimee, who knew little of Elisabeth except what she'd picked up from me, seemed to enjoy this exhibition rather a lot too.

As for the palace itself, well, it was a mixed place. Some aspects were lovely and some were... confused, I guess. Some rooms were exquisite, some seemed like less vibrant versions of palaces and houses that I'd seen elsewhere and some were full of badly placed art. I mention the latter because there were some quite lovely artworks that were incredibly difficult to see, and impossible to fully appreciate, because of their positioning in rooms that really did not suit them. You understand how much that pained me!

Something that must be said of the place, however, is that the gardens were truly lovely. The grounds are, as I understand it, quite extensive and we did not have time to see much of them, staying in the formal gardens. All the same, it was lovely. I would like to return just to spend a day looking around the grounds, in all honesty.

Monday was spent vastly apart as I had classes all day and Aimee went into town for the day. We did spend the evening together eating a roast dinner and drinking mead or, in my case, spilling aforementioned mead all over my carpet and Budapest scrapbook. I somehow managed to get the mead out of the carpet (miraculous as the carpet is off-white and it was a summer berry mead!)  and have only done minimal damage to the scrapbook...

Tuesday was another trip into town for a stroll through the shopping areas and a 'farewell' dinner. We decided to have our main evening meal out a day early in awareness of Aimee's early departure on the Thursday. 

Finally, the Wednesday we decided to spend in my flat. It was tipping it down with rain and we were both too lazy to go out. That aside, we are quite capable of entertaining ourselves and it was nice to have some time whereby we were simply hanging out as friends as opposed to attempting to be tourists together. Admittedly, though the entire week we had stolen moments were we could watch films, chat, or play silly computer games but it was nice to have a day of relaxation.

When Thursday morning came we were both pretty upset both because Aimee was to leave and because we both had to get up at an insane hour in order to get her to the bus station. Eventually, and after much hugging, I put her on the bus. Once she'd got on, the driver jokingly told me not to cry to which I replied that I wasn't going to cry... I'd finally got rid of her. He threatened to tell Aimee what I'd said and I wonder if he did... either way, his joking was exactly what I needed because, without it, I would have undoubtedly been in floods of tears. Why are goodbyes so difficult?

Anyway, Aimee promised me faithfully to let me know when she crossed back into England and  also when she got back home to Cardiff and I've not heard from her since I put her on the bus. I'm not worried because she's hardly the most reliable woman ever (and I've spoken to her mother!) but, just in case you read this before I speak to you next Aimee, you're in big trouble ;-)

Semester Three Introduction Time

Right now I should be sitting here working on getting all my readings and tasks for the weeks ahead finished. Instead I'm sat here, surrounded by rather difficult, and extremely long, texts, crying into my cup of tea. Okay, I'm metaphorically crying into my cup of tea both because I'm not actually crying and because I've long since finished my tea. But that's beside the point. It seemed high time I got started with some procrastination and wrote my once a semester sum up of what courses I am studying.

Introduction to Visual Methodologies

This course is a compulsory module for all humanities students. Part of me is looking forward to it because it does seem interesting and the teacher seems lovely. I am a little worried about how much overlap there's going to be with the art history courses I've already taken as it's obviously intended for people who've not done any. 

It seems to focus on the different philosophical views towards art over the years and the ways in which they've fed into criticism so it should hopefully have a different slant. I've not found it challenging so far (only two classes in though). Admittedly, some of the texts are difficult but that's philosophers for you! In short, it's either going to be a course I love or it's going to be a little dull, I think. We'll wait and see!

Narrative Across Media

This course was one I signed on to a bit on a whim as Dania was planning on taking it and showed me the course description (and it looked good). It's supposed to look at the way narratives behave when portrayed through different media using narratology. For example, how are narratives presented in novels differently to in poems? 

This is another course I'm not sure about right now. The teacher, although really engaging, was very clear that he wanted to champion a scientific approach to the humanities as opposed to an interpretation based one.  If you know me then you'll know my opinion on that. I do like narratology, however, so that should work out. I also think that the teacher is confident in his own abilities and status to be open to people having different opinions on what humanities should be about. The issue will be writing my papers in the style that this course dictates... On the other hand, the last class seemed a lot less strict on the whole "Humanities are science" thing, rather using narratology as a framework for interpretation - something I can deal with and agree with.

Adaptation Studies

This one sounds quite similar to Narrative Across Media in many ways as it looks at the adaptation of texts into other medias and new versions. For example, we read Pride and Prejudice and then look at various adaptations... films, television series, Bollywood films, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies etc etc etc and work with those. The texts chosen look really interesting and watching/reading multiple versions of a thing is right up my street.

In fact, while this course seemed to have quite a bad reputation, I think it may end up being my favourite. I agree with the main text book author on most things, the teacher is good fun and engaging and the general subject corresponds with what I actually want to do in life. It's wonderful. 

Art and the Body

I ended up in Art and the Body really late as I had planned on taking Creative Writing this semester and then Art and the Body next year as it was better for me timetable wise and also workload wise. Of course, Creative Writing was oversubscribed.

Art and the Body is exactly what it sounds like. The first half looks at how the body is portrayed in art, focusing mainly on portraiture and, to be honest, it's fascinating. The second section is on how art influences the body from corsets to tattoos. What a subject! To see that double influence is just really exciting. I also know this teacher as I've had her before and she is great. She knows her stuff, is passionate, strict enough to run an organised class but really kind too. 

So, overall, it seems that I've got a bit of a strange mix of classes that I feel I will love and ones I'm less sure about. The fact is, I'm sure I will gain something from all the classes I'm taking and will grow to enjoy them all in some way because I always do in the end. I also feel that I will like the teachers for all of them which, while it shouldn't be an issue, is always important. We'll see how they all go!

Not for facebook

Back in Amsterdam at last

A week today and my best friend will be out in Amsterdam. At last, we will be reunited for more than a couple of hours as I am kidnapping her she's chosen to visit me for a week. I can't quite put into words my unbelievable excitement about this fact. Aimee is someone I grew up with, a part of my family and, frankly, it's about time she got to see Out Here. I'm sure you'll hear much more about that soon enough but this is supposed to be a blog post about things that have already happened, right? It's not like there hasn't been a lot happening!

As you're no doubt aware, due to the crazily short holidays here compared to back in England, I am once again in Amsterdam and am part way through my first week of my second year at university. 'Second year' of university sounds way more advanced than I currently feel so I'm pretty pleased I took time out before starting else I think I would have felt even more overwhelmed!

I'll probably put up a post giving a bit about my classes at some point in the next few days but I'll stop it from going on facebook so if you're interested in that then check back here in a little while!

Sonja's semi-posed photo from pancake-meet up. I'll give you a clue,
the two of us smiling awkwardly were the posed ones!

Aside from classes,  it's been great to be back. I've managed to meet up with my main little group a couple of times although I've been neglecting a lot of people and that really does need to change. I've also found out that some messages I've sent over the past few months haven't sent so I need to work out who I've been unknowingly ignoring! Oh and I probably should study a bit.

But I digress...

Yesterday, probably deserves a special mention as the pancake themed meet up. The wonderful Sonja, who seems to have got better at hiding from my camera again over the summer, made us all pancakes and we sat and chatted for a while, just catching up on stuff that had happened while we were apart.

Dania's Pancake, created by Sonja.
Seems to sum both giver and recipient up nicely!

Other than meeting up with some friends, and with plans to catch up with some more, I've spent a fair amount of time rearranging my flat. It's a complete mess right now, partly because I've pulled out a lot of papers in attempts to clear some desk drawers, partly because I've brought over a lot of (beautiful) scrapbooking materials, and partly because I still need to assemble my new IKEA bookcase because one was never going to be enough for me. It'll keep me busy over the next few days, for sure!

All in all, it's strange but good to be back. I'm currently in that weird state of feeling like I've never been away but also feeling like everything's quite new again. I guess, I've not really been alone for two months and now I'm in my own flat once more. I've not had a structured work schedule and suddenly I have hundreds of pages to read a day. And let's not mention the early mornings! It's great but it is undoubtedly odd!

Here comes trouble!

Eep!

I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!

Oh my! What is this strange feeling of euphoria?

Eating ice-cream and pretending we're back on holiday holiday.

Yesterday, despite having a lovely raging temperature the day before, I sat my final exam of German and walked out into the world of (temporary) liberty. Due to the lucky fact that most of 'my' German group finished the exam at the same time we decided to have a celebratory drink (of iced tea... pushing the boat out!). I've been incredibly lucky with my German class and with my teacher as both have been so supportive and lovely. While I may not like the intensive period very much, I can safely say that this has been one of my favourite classes in a lot of ways.

Of course, I've also finished my first year at university which is weird as anything. In some ways I'm glad it's summer... in others it's strange. My friends are going to be jetting all over the place, or they're staying here but I'm not.

Dania steals Leonoor's phone to take a photo of me cleaning dirt off
Leonoor. Mothering the world as always ;-)

Dania, Leonoor and I, as the only ones who are here right now, managed to get into town for the day which was nice although, to be quite honest, I'm still fighting off illness and have managed to injure my foot so I'm both in pain and out of it. In fact, I think I'm going to say that this post is not for facebook and saved just for my 'loyal fans' because heaven only knows it's rambling!

Oh, and even better - I'm going to pick the mother up from the airport in a few. So excited!

A quick checking in post about next to nothing!

Dragging myself out of bed last Sunday was simply agonising. Most people classify me as a morning person. Personally, I disagree but I have to admit that I don't struggle with getting up most of the time. However, I guess that phoning my mother late the night before was a bad idea - we don't seem to be able to have a short conversation - and it ended up with me getting under five hours sleep. 

Oops. 

However, it was well worth the pain as I dragged myself around the room, attempting to get dressed without bumping into every piece of furniture. I was off to Utrecht to see someone who I have not seen in way too long, the lovely Annelies.

We had planned on climbing the Dom (Cathedral) tower but it was kinda miserable weather so we decided to leave that for a nicer day and mooch generally. She kindly showed me some of her favourite shops (and she has great taste) and we explored a little. It was great to see her after so long and a truly welcome break from all the studying even if it wasn't sensible to take aforementioned break!

I also managed to go out briefly with the fearsome Leonoor and Dania-duo on Tuesday. We all ate out, despite none of us really being able to afford it, were joined by Fietje and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Other than that, I continued my fight with German. I don't know if I'm winning the fight but it's not taken won yet. As I've said, I love my teacher, I love the syllabus, I love my class - it's the intensive period speed that I cannot manage. That said, I think I did well in my exam today.

I also had an group examined presentation which generally went well. I had a flare up with my heart problem in the middle of the presentation which sucked because you try speaking a language you're quite new to speaking while your heart is doing a jolly good impression of a bee and you're aware that if it doesn't stop in a few you're likely to collapse! Anyway, that's something that's been flaring up more over the last few months so it sounds like someone's going to have another cardiologist appointment soon (urgh!!!) It's also not a big deal so I'm not overly bothered. Just hope the grade hasn't suffered!

I do feel that, in the six months (plus) between this German course and the next it will have time to sink in and I will actually be able to process what I've learned. I get it. I love it. My brain's just saturated!

And now I am spending the evening doing nothing that requires any thought at all. A bit of Wyldwood Radio, perhaps some painting... a lot of sleep!

Celt-n-Folk

I've been rather spoiled when it comes to good music, recently. 

Last weekend saw the usual group of Thijs, Hester and myself joined by Leonoor, Dania and Hester's boyfriend heading off to Almere once more for one of the Celt-N-Folk events. The sound was a bit off for most of the evening which was a shame but says nothing about the musicians involved and their skill, combined with an energetic (to say the least!) crowd made for a delightful evening.

First up was Sowulo. It was quite funny to watch Leonoor during this set as she looked around her like a rabbit caught in headlights at times. However, luckily, this was apparently because she was "fascinated" both by the band and the general atmosphere. And, of course, atmosphere is something that Sowulo do incredibly well. Their set doesn't play through as a group of songs but rather as a singular progressive entity which encompasses all the senses. Dania and Leonoor were thoroughly impressed with one song which was accompanied by a storm complete with thunder, lightening, and wind (thanks to some conveniently placed fans). It was pretty impressive.

We then relocated to the small stage and sat on the floor to listen to Tipsy Gypsy who plays, to quote his facebook, "ambient ethnic world fusion" using multiple instruments, the most predominant being handpans in various forms. I think Thijs was the only one who had heard Tipsy Gypsy before and I have a feeling that was only because he googled prior to the event (I'm sure he'll correct me if not). Anyway, we were all rather pleasantly surprised, to say the least. It's quite amazing how one gentleman can sit on stage and create such intricate layered sounds that hold an audience entranced but he managed it. I would hazard a guess that this was Dania's favourite part of the evening if her cry of "that was so cool!" when asked about it later was anything to go by! Certainly, we were all left wanting to hear more and, if we're completely honest, wanting to have a go!

Back to the main stage for Rastaban who I've not seen since last year's Castlefest but who always manage to deliver a high energy set. They played a mixture of older and newer tunes and, performed a rather rounded set. Add to this the fact that they're a group of really talented people with a "crazy awesome violinist", to quote Thijs directly, and you can be sure that you're going to watch something quite special each time you see them, even if external conditions aren't quite favourable. I'm sure I've said this before but Rastaban manage to transfer energy to the audience via their stage performance and, if anything, this is their greatest talent. It was means that there was the opportunity for some rather vigorous dancing - although, personally, I stuck to my usual bobbing along - despite the heat in the venue which was quite intense. Indeed, Dania and Leonoor had to withdraw from the front, in search of cooler areas (and ice-cream) before the end of the set.

In fact, it was only Hester and Christiaan who braved the small room for Robert den Hartigh with the rest of us choosing to sit out in the main hall where it seemed a bit cooler and where we could kinda hear, partially. I believe the music went down well with Hester, at least, because, unless I'm mistaken, she decided to purchase one of his CDs. I can't really comment for myself. I've heard Robert den Hartigh from a distance and partially a few times now and keep meaning to catch one of his sets properly. One day!

Finally it was time for Cesair and they really did go down well with everyone, no surprise. Both Dania and Leonoor said that their set was "really fun" and agreed that they would like to see the band again. I even think they kinda danced along a little bit. You know, as much as they do! 

When I asked Dania if my plans to convert her to this kind of music had finally worked she replied with her trade mark "I'm not sure" which simply means I'll have to arrange for her to go to another show with me to continue the process ;-)



This post was finished quite a while after seeing the show hence why it gets a bit more rushed towards the end - I cannot remember vividly enough to write properly and did not take enough notes straight after the event.

Not for facebook

Keltfest

AKA stage two of the 'convert Dania to this kind of thing' project.

Getting up at five a.m. yesterday - my first day of a weekend of freedom - in order to meet Dania at silly o'clock so that we could make our way down to Dordrecht, I simply couldn't help but wonder to myself "is it worth it"? I dread to think what Dania was feeling at this point as we both shuffled our way like little zombies through the streets and onto the first of three trains. Okay, I didn't shuffle and was probably rather chatty the whole way - apparently I'm an insufferable morning person.

When we eventually got to Dordrecht it was two buses and then at last we were there. In fact, we were on such an early bus that there were only eight of us there - a far cry from the normal packed shuttles for these kinds of things - which was rather strange but did lead to some kind of socialising which is always nice and, of course, easier when there are smaller numbers attempting to work out where everyone else is!

Arriving on the festival grounds, we were some of the first there. While that does mean that the atmosphere hasn't quite built up yet, it also means that it's quite easy to look around and get a feel of what's going on where without the larger crowds of people. The grounds were quite compact, and logically arranged, meaning that we could do a loop of the stalls and basically be sure to cover everything... which is what we did. I also found that, for me, there was just the right amount going on. I probably could have spent today there too, quite happily, but I don't feel that I've missed out through not being there, heaven knows that I was lucky to go at all!

The first full set we caught was that of Finvarra and this was the first time I'd actually seen them live since Castlefest last year which was also, incidentally, when I really discovered their music. As last time I found their blend of narrative lyrics, danceable rhythms and evocative harmonies thoroughly compelling. I also have to admit that I enjoyed sitting back and watching the audience dance during the set!

We then migrated to watch William play at the Pub Stage which was basically a marquee with some benches, tables and a small stage. In this sense it had a feeling of intimacy above and beyond that of the other stages, something which benefited the solo set and made the session stand out in my mind. It was nice to sit back with a drink and just listen... I even abandoned my camera for the duration, shocking, I know!

Saor Patrol were up next and were, to say the least a little bit louder. I don't think Dania knew quite what to expect and positioned us directly under a speaker. After a few tunes where she looked rather confused by the idea of rocky style bagpipes she seemed to get into the music (I saw her bobbing along with the beat!). As for me, this was the first time I managed to catch Saor Patrol live despite attempting to go to several shows over the past couple of years. To add insult to injury, they actually played in Glastonbury just after I moved to the Netherlands but that's another story! They most certainly live up to, and exceeded expectations with their show just so indescribably full of energy coming from the performers and from the audience. Would love to see them again and both my parents are quite jealous that they missed out!

There was a tiny gap between bands we wanted to see so Dania and I wandered off to use the time productively and fulfill our earlier promise to get matching henna tattoos. Yes, we know it's a cheesy idea but that was kinda the point. Problem was, we might have forgotten to get the same design so we ended up with non-matching matching henna tattoos but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

After that, it was time for Rapalje. I'm struggling to think of original ways to describe Rapalje which is probably a sign that I've seen them way too many times now. That said, I'm still not tired of their sets as they are invariably of the finest quality yet unique each time. From Dieb playing with a statue of a hedgehog onstage and attempting to balance it on his shoulder to almost the entire audience taking part in a pretty darn huge conga line type thing... it was just really rather fun! Combine that with Rapalje's signature style musically and you've got a great experience, all in all.

Sadly, after that, we had to begin the too long journey home else we wouldn't have made it home. Absolutely exhausted we made it back and, I don't know about Dania, but I fell asleep almost instantly. I didn't even have the energy to make a cup of tea and that is really saying something!

Henna and a Hedgehog... this is what remains of the day!

Now there's just next weekend to look forward to when the indoctrination friendly introduction of Dania continues with Celt-N-Folk. Just have to survive a week of intensive German classes first... oh no!