Dancing in the Rain and Fighting with German

This post isn't quite as smushy as it could be in terms of content but it's likely to be pretty smushy in terms of grammar. Seriously, I am so tired/have been speaking so much German, I can't remember how to English right now! 

Keltfest

When I went to Keltfest last weekend, I was pretty determined to write a full post about it. As you can see, I have not managed to stick to that plan but, all the same, here we go! So, this year I went with the wonderful Heleen and we had a thoroughly delightful time. It's always a very early morning start to get there from my flat and, because storms where forecast, I decided to take the bare minimum (i.e. no camera) and just go to enjoy myself. And I think it's pretty fair to say that we really did have a good time. We watched William's solo set which was lovely, no surprise there. It's nice to hear a stripped back set once in a while, actually, and to sit down for it. We also watched Pyrolysis... well, I say watched... it was more "listen from a distance while attempting to keep somewhat dry". While I only discovered them about a year ago, or a little less, I have started to make a point of catching their sets because they are both generally polished and high energy. And finally, we braved the rain for Rapalje because that's basically compulsory. The crowd was, as always, so much fun. Yes, I even ended up dancing for a bit - imagine drowned rat me, with no spatial awareness, carrying a super heavy bag with mead in it, attempting to dance in a crowd.... not elegant but sure fun nevertheless!

Actually, for all Keltfest is only getting a couple of paragraphs, it's one of my favourite festivals. It's always a little quieter than the other major ones and has a really nice atmosphere. There are some wonderful stalls with handmade pieces from jewellery to the compulsory drinking horns. Everyone tends to be friendly. It's generally relaxed and all round wonderful, even if the weather leaves something to be desired! At least I didn't get hellish sunburn this year like I did last!

German

The last week has been one that I've been dreading, quite frankly. It's the (final!!!) German intensive of my degree. For those of you that don't know how my silly university works (if you do then skip this paragraph), we have to do a certain number of language levels (three) in intensive study periods. Effectively, this means you study for a month non stop and are supposed to improve a full level on the European framework, and then you take (approx) half a year out before the next intensive month. I don't know about you, but I need some time to internalise new skill based information before you pack new stuff on top making the speed of learning pretty bad.... and five(+) months is a long time to forget it all.... and I am terrified of speaking foreign languages anyway. The system might work for some people but it doesn't for the vast majority I've spoken to.

So, my German class is a class of five people, including me. We were four for a while but have settled at five now. While there is nowhere to hide, it's actually a nice number. Before starting out, I made a resolution not to care so much what everyone thinks about me and just go for it this time round, and in life in general. I spoke more German in our first class than I think I ever have. I've had my usual brain fogs a fair few times, where I panic so much that I just can't access the bits that I do know. Have I told you about that time I had a conversation with a politician using only lyrics from French songs because that's all I could remember? So yes, there have been some horrible, horrible moments in this class for me already but I do think that I am getting better.

I'm not so sure that the teacher's teaching style and my learning style gels particularly well. She seems to expect us to deduce and get a feel of how things work which is a very natural way of learning, I know, and probably the best way to do it. Indeed, it's the kind of thing I've been suggesting should be used for long term language teaching/learning in schools. However, this is an intensive course and I am not going to be able to get a feel of things overnight - I'm quite slow with skill based learning. I'd prefer it if someone actually explains exactly what's going on and why, in this context. But we all learn differently.

And.... I am a quarter of the way through!!!!

So, all in all, I think the next three weeks are going to be tough on me academically and emotionally as I am constantly out of my comfort zone. I also think I am, and will, gain a lot generally from this. I will, hopefully, learn to go for it when speaking a foreign language and that is a transferable skill that I have struggled with for many years now. I'll be pretty pleased when it's all over though ;-)

Not for facebook

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!

Oh look, another smush post!

Featuring: University blegh (as always), a bit about Venice and a touch of Bosch.

As you may well have garnered from the title, this is going to be one of those all over the place, rambling posts whereby I say vaguely what's been going on without the use of (m)any pictures... and we all know that's the interesting bit! Anyway, I'll try to keep it short!

The last few weeks have been completely and utterly insane in terms of workload. I've struggled quite a bit to keep on top of things and, so far, have managed. I'm also trying to get ahead - and managing thus far - because next week I'm going away and I refuse to do any work during that time! I submitted three essays in two days over the weekend and have another three to submit before the end of the week. It's a self imposed deadline but one I really want to stick to. Of course, I'm sat here typing instead of being all academic and stuff! Then, after spring break I have a few exam icks to get through but, other than that, I will just have to focus on reading the set texts for classes. Hopefully, this will give me a few weeks where I can obsessively study for the German intensive in June because, frankly, I am terrified about it. Emphasis there to show that I am in no way exaggerating my genuine feelings.

That said, before I go on to face the terrors that late May and June may hold I have the wonders of next week which is spring break. So excited.

So, for my vaguely significant birthday last year my mother decided to impulse book me a trip to Venice. Seriously. Anyway, almost a year after booking, the trip has finally rolled around and I'm going to be off there next week (with the mother, of course). I actually visited Venice a few years ago - okay, when I was about 12 so more than a few years ago - but, since starting to study art history, I've really wanted to return and see it all again 'knowing' what I'm seeing. And yes, I may well dig a few old photos out over the next couple of blog posts. My camera was really poor then so the photos are grainy but it's amazing how much of a "Muuuuuuum... do I really have to pose on this bridge/by this piece of architecture/with this food?" feeling I give off even at that tender age!! You also start to realise where I got my "You will pose for this photo" outlook from ;-)

Prizes to anyone who realises that I still own and wear that roll neck top!

Anyway, the past aside, I'm not going to upload photos to Facebook/write blog posts until I get back and, even then, I would expect some delay because of general life chaos. I'll try to upload a couple of decent shots to my Instagram while I'm out there and keep Snapchat updated with silly/food photos WiFi permitting. I'm aware that I'm going somewhere a few of my friends wanted to go so I have to rub it in keep them in the loop  ;-)

And then, when I get back to the Netherlands I am going to catch the amazing Bosch exhibition. Super excited because he is seriously one of my favourite artists and I really had to fight to get tickets - they kept selling out. Going to be exhausted by the end of the week but I am going to have so many amazing new memories so no complaints... and a lot of scrapbooking to do, no doubt!

So, until then!



If you are wanting to stalk me in Venice or just socialise generally through the visual medium then my username on both Snapchat and Instagram is oiahavanah

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!

Welcome to your semesterly "this is what I'm doing" post!

Yes, yes, it's that time again. The second semester of my second year at university has just begun and I have had a week of my courses... time for me to write down what they are so that when I casually reference them later it doesn't cause such confusion.

First off is my compulsory course Advanced Research Writing or, as it used to be known and therefore how it's still called by basically everyone, Academic English II. Advanced Research Writing continues from my first semester course of Academic English I (now called Intro to Research Writing or something) and in this course we prepare to write our capstone (Bachelor's Thesis). Basically, in practice, we spend the next few months writing an article and, in groups, creating a journal in which to 'publish' the articles. Okay, it doesn't sound as soul-destroying as Academic English I and, you know, it might actually be useful this time.

I'll be honest, I felt that Academic English I was a complete waste of space so my hopes were really not high for Academic English II. I signed up for the teacher I thought would be best at teaching it and, turning up on the day, it turned out that the class was being taken by someone else. I resigned myself to months of frustration. And then I kicked myself for being so judgmental. I actually really like the teacher, probably aided by the fact that she's not simply teaching the dry course but giving it a personal spin and therefore making it feel interesting and worthwhile.

My second course is Literature and Science. As the title may well suggest, this course looks at the interaction between literature and science throughout history. Well, it starts in the early modern period but, you know, that's still a fair chunk. So far, we've mainly focused on the disciplinary conflict between the academic subjects but we should move on to look at how the two fields intermingled and inspired each other... perhaps limited too, who knows.

This course is taught by three of my favourite teachers and, as they said, with a class of around 15 (give or take as people join or drop out) what other university course would ever offer that kind of teacher student ratio! Each specialises in a different time period of literature, and I believe a different area within literary studies too, so there's a real breadth and depth of knowledge being offered. I think the reading load may be quite intense for this subject but I suppose that's one of the drawbacks of majoring in literature!

Then we have my accidental course History and Heritage of the Dutch Golden Age. I think the title of the course sums this one up. It's a study of the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) and the different things that were going on and related to it. The course covers aspects from the economy to literature, art to religion and, quite frankly, it looks fascinating. I love taking a period of time and a place and then attempting to learn about 'everything' - it's an exciting approach to history, I find.

However, I did not initially sign up for this course. One of my courses was cancelled due, I believe, to the teacher being ill and this was what replaced my art history course. So far, I feel it was a very happy mistake. The teacher of History and Heritage of the Dutch Golden Age - I really need to find a shorter title for that one - seems absolutely lovely. He's got a great sense of humour, is engaging, and seems to be genuinely interested in, and know, his stuff. He's also open to changing the course around in order to fit the desires and interests of the students and, I think, open to learning from his students. It's a wonderful attribute for a teacher to have. Oh, and another funny thing, at the moment I am the only non-exchange student in the class... not quite sure how that happened!

Finally, I am taking Political Shakespeare, something that won't be surprising to a lot of you. Again, this title is exceptionally self explanatory. The course mainly focuses on reading Shakespeare's works within the (political) context of their society. There is also an aspect of looking at how they have been used in later societies and the meanings that the works have been given or picked up and that should be interesting. It's taught by the wonderful Rebecca and, considering how much I have sung her praises in the past, I won't go into how awesome she is at teaching here but it's still the case.

Actually, I'm also taking three external modules through a distance learning program this semester. They are not counted towards my degree and I'm trying to keep it a bit quiet from the university but I'm really excited about them. Two of those are Shakespeare based and one is history based but I'll say more about those when they start, perhaps. Seriously, if I get through the next semester without wanting to chuck my Shakespeare books out of the window then I can be pretty sure I'm applying for the right courses post BA ;-)

I think including a picture of my nail art of this
week is pretty fitting at this point.

Add to this mix the fact that I've still not heard anything about my internship and this next semester is going to be a pivotal one, I think! Very, very excited!!

Holding on until this week is over

This is just an exceptionally quick post, written in panic, as my German exams approach. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty sure that I will pass... but as you know, I need to do a bit better than that and, to be honest, I'm feeling the pressure.

Tomorrow I'm presenting, in German and in front of my class, and that's something that terrifies me. Add to that the fact that it's examined. Urgh.

And then Friday we have the Final Exam of Final Examness. I managed to scrape an A- (quite literally by 0.2 %) in the last exam so I'm not too hopeful about this one. The only thing that's keeping me slightly positive about it all is the fact that, apparently, my grade was the third highest in the class. Considering I'm mentally rating myself as one of the worst in the class... it seems that I am being too harsh on myself. That said, I still need to get a good tangible mark... Oh grades how I hate thee!

Other than that, I've been attempting to arrange a community project/internship for university (we have to do a full time, four week placement to graduate) and I might have found something. Nothing is confirmed at the moment so I'm really not counting chickens but I am currently filling in my second application form and both people I've spoken to sound quite hopeful. Seriously though, this placement is super exciting so I do hope that I get it...! If not, I'm going to be panic looking, I can tell you that!

Anywho, there will be more posts soon and they will be a lot more interesting and a lot more optimistic than this one! Oh, and I will also reconnect my blog to facebook because apparently it's decided to disconnect itself... but until then

Tschüss!

Not waving but drowning

I've got to be honest, I've always hated the poem that inspired the title of this post, ever since I first read it as a child and it made me sad. But that aside, it does kinda sum up how I've been feeling over the past few weeks.

The past semester has been basically non-stop which is wonderful in many senses but not great in many others. I've had a bustling social life and a lot of work. The work is interesting and it's why I'm here so I'm not complaining in the slightest. Well, the social life is something to be grateful for so I'm not moaning about that either. However, the two combined has meant that I've not stopped in months and, more to the point, I've neglected some dear, dear friends as time has flown by out of control. Actually, I've neglected a lot of people and for that I am honestly sorry!

The past few weeks have been particularly hectic, what with being in multiple countries and having more deadlines than I care to count. I was at a point where I was unsure of whether I was going to manage; it all seemed way too much! To add to it, apparently my body likes dealing with stress by giving me quite horrific nightmares which means I'm up all night and therefore can't work the day after... counter productive, body, counter productive!

Anyway, today I finally feel on top of things. Sure, I have a lot left to do but I've got it to a level where it's manageable once more so I thought I'd take five minutes out just to write this. I often write about the good things that happen in my life, and I'm incredibly lucky that I have a lot to write about in that regard. I don't want to ignore the harder times just because they're not so pleasant - they're a part of the life that I'm living and the life that I love.

I also don't want to pretend that they don't happen. It's funny, whenever I've written a post like this I've had someone come up to me and talk about it because they were happy to read that someone else was feeling the same way as they do. It's easy to construct a comfortable internet persona where it seems everything is perfect but sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that, for the most part, we all have similar basic struggles every now and then.

Anyway, what was intended to be a very short updating post became quite long and heavy so I think I'll say it's not for facebook and leave it here! Just in case anyone is concerned after reading this - I'm 100% fine and always have been. A little bit of stress doesn't hurt from time to time :-)

In other news:

Just over a week before I go home - really excited. Nearly Christmas - super excited. And before all that Zoë's coming out to visit again, I'm going to the Midwinter Fair, and it's Winter Formal which is a good excuse to dress up, if nothing more!

Wow, so much still to do! Really looking forward to the next week!

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!

Rambling on about 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen

Well, I finally did it. I broke the vow that I made, aged eight, never to read Austen again. I found Emma on the shelves of my school library. Little Me was thoroughly enchanted by the blurb and decided that it was just the kind of novel I wanted to read. Lets be honest, Adult Me would have acted in exactly the same way. However, Little Me started to struggle with the novel and really wanted to stop reading... except her teacher was a huge Austen fan and wouldn't let her stop. Little Me got the end of Emma, paying no attention to what she read by the end and swore to never out herself through that again!

When I saw that as part of my Adaptation Studies course, I had to read Pride and Prejudice I was rather split, it has to be said. Part of me was actually quite happy. I had an aversion to Austen but I also knew that a lot of the aspects would be very much to my taste, from plot to focus on social interactions in a historical context. I'd wanted an excuse to give her another go for years but the remaining part of Little Me was trembling at the thought. 

Anyway, I sat down and read the novel. I got to the end. I managed to follow the plot to the end. I didn't skip masses of pages (that's harder on a kindle). It was a success.

I can see why I struggled with Austen when I was younger. Part of me really enjoyed the novel and then part of me wanted it to end with some promptness. Events were drawn out. Characters acted in ways that made me want to knock their heads together. In fact, when I think about it, I'm not sure that there was one truly likable character in that novel, except perhaps Jane.

When one moves beyond what was quite a difficult style at times, the plot itself is actually quite enjoyable. It's full of themes that still ring very true today from the different kinds of love to the varying forms of duty. The ways in which the characters act, while perhaps not driven by kindness, are understandable and make sense within a modern context. Perhaps some aspects of the novel are not so relevant now, or to the general non-upper class reader, but they are aspects that we can still associate with.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be watching various films, and reading texts, that are in some way linked to Pride and Prejudice, some being direct adaptations. I have to say that I'm actually quite interested. While I enjoyed the novel in some senses, I am quite eager to see the story carried into a different format and freed of the somewhat clunky writing that didn't quite fit in with my own personal tastes.

So, after many years, I have conquered Austen. Still not planning on giving Emma another go any time soon ;-)

Not for facebook

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!

End of the semester and home!

Well, this post is the first of what will undoubtedly become a fair few to be written in England. That's right, I'm home and it is lovely to be back.

But, since my last incredibly rambling post a little bit has happened so lets attempt to do this in some logical order! As I mentioned, I went to pick my mother up from the airport on Saturday evening. The plan was to explore the Netherlands a bit before I returned home but, suffice to say, that didn't work out as I managed to get (if that's the right word) tendonitis in my foot again. So yep, I spent the last half a week sitting with my foot in the air doing basically nothing... actually quite nice if a little frustrating.

Anyway, it also meant that my picking up my mother from the airport was pretty tricky and I was quite lucky in the fact that Leonoor went with me to assist. Weirdly, my mother's flight got in half an hour ahead of schedule... which is really strange when you realise the flight is usually only 50 minutes or so.

Mother also brought over a suitcase full of stuff from back home, bit of non-perishable food for next year and some of the stuff that I've ordered to the UK to save on shipping costs. Can you blame me? Anyway, one of those things is a print of a drawing that I've wanted for a long while by The Picsees, called Sleepy Time. The idea just really fit with my own outlook on life and I knew I had to buy it. It had, sadly, sold out at the time I was able to buy it but, with some lovely conversations via facebook, I was able to get my print. Really rather happy about that!

Even the packaging of the print was lovely. An all round wonderful service.

The week itself, other than a brief foray to the cafe down the road with the lovely Maria, was spent in my flat with my mother. We watched a lot of films (The East was one that we both really enjoyed and would recommend) and lurked a bit. It was relaxing and enjoyable even if I felt so guilty not to be able to show her around as planned. Nothing I could do but all the same!

No prizes for guessing how we made
up for our inability to go out!

And then today it was time to fly back home. We had a right old time getting to the airport as, even in the early morning the heat and humidity made for an intense experience. Not to mention the fact that I was bringing a lot of breakable heavy hand luggage home for the summer... well, we made it but I'm not sure either of us knew quite how we did!

The airport was chaotic, as normal, it seems. However, everyone seemed to be in a really good mood. Even the security people were chatty. Mind you, I have never been so happy for a broken violin string as I was when going through security because I was seriously pressurised to play. So lucky I had an excuse... and didn't mention the whistles ;-)

Proud that we got this the airport without resorting to a taxi.
We regretted not resorting to a taxi!

I also had some glorious news at the airport in terms of my German grade. I was waiting on my portfolio grade - so basically a varying load of written coursework - and I was, shall we say pleasantly surprised. When you bear in mind how awful I felt it was all going at points... well, I'm over the moon. Pretty sure that all my grades are in for that subject now so I'm pretty sure I've got my A grade overall. The A grade is significant as I need a 4 GPA, including all years of the degree, in order to apply for the course I want to go onto. It basically means I need an A, minimum, in every subject which is a hellish pressure but 100% worth the work if it gets me where I want. I seem to have managed it last year... I can say that now it's the summer!

But back to today:
The flight itself wasn't overly pleasant. The flight was over booked and staff were overly stressed and it was a bit of a mess. There was a large group of unaccompanied children on the flight too which I think was putting some pressure on the cabin crew. Mind you, as I tried to leave the plane I got really seriously told off by the one woman who'd been so rudest for whole flight. She was telling me off for moving from my seat because someone was "coming to collect me"... took me a moment to realise she somehow thought I was part of the under-14 group (how!?) but her embarrassment when I said that I was an adult was kinda worth it! We both ended up having a bit of a laugh about it in the end and hopefully she will think twice about being rude even when under pressure because she seemed quite nice when, well, embarrassed!

Anyway, I got home, ate a beautiful dinner out in the garden with my parents and then sat down and painted. I've started preparing my Castlefest scrapbook because I know that takes me some time. I'm also expecting my Budapest photos to be coming any day now so that's another full scrapbook to be made and assembled. Holidays and festivals take so much time but I never regret the scrapbooking habit!

Anywho, this got a fair bit longer than I had planned! Off to bed with me! It's midnight back home and I've had a long old day ;-)

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!

Two weeks until freedom!

I write this in a state of post exam, mid intensive period lassitude. It's going to be one of those posts where, more so than normal, we are going to be lucky if anything makes sense. I'll be honest with you, I am counting down the days until the end of term and until, firstly, my mother comes out and then until I go back home to England for a few weeks.

So, why the change of tone from my last post about my German A1 classes?

It's not that I  don't love German. I do. It's just that it is a language with many grammatical rules and linguistic quirks. It's not that I don't have a good teacher. I do. It's just that we are going at such a speed, as dictated by the schedule, that I feel that I'm being hit over the head with each new piece of information, unable to absorb any of it. It's simply not how my brain works and, in fact, I wonder if anyone can really learn a language under these conditions in such a way as it is practical and not simply academic.

I feel that someones understanding of a language is something that really does have to develop rather organically. I'm a big supporter of the idea that we best learn languages as children do although I'm also well aware that the mistakes children make when they're learning are decidedly less adorable coming from the mouth of a young adult. So, it seems that, while lessons are desirable for those of use who are no longer in the first few years of life, there should be some element of slower absorption whereby the language becomes natural as opposed to a stinted and formulaic production.

Okay, I'm also really frustrated that I understand such complex things in the language but can hardly string a sentence together for myself. Actually, frustrated does not begin to cover it.

That aside, I have a great little group in the class who are supportive and generally great fun so I am managing to maintain some semblance of sanity. I have the lovely Jacopo putting up with my moaning and reminding me that I actually do like the subject (as well as competing with me by setting up his own blog!) And, I am going to finally meet up with Annelies once again on Sunday which I am so looking forward to.

I'm afraid I've been living and breathing German recently so that's all I have to say. Oh, I do have a blog post in the making regarding the wonderful gig I went to last weekend but I have such little time (and such few free brain cells) that I'm struggling to describe the evening in anything like an eloquent fashion... Soon!

Well look, I'm studying German now.

Well, at last I'm here. The past week has seen my German lessons begin which has been rather a momentous occasion as I literally only applied to places where I could learn German as a complete beginner as, despite some knowledge, I am aware that I am exceptionally weak with regard to the grammar and foundation of the language. I was limited somewhat when my first choice of university took German off the syllabus just as I was applying but anyway, that was a lifetime ago!

My relationship with German has been a funny one over the years. It's a language that I encountered quite by chance and, in my attempts to make media more accessible to my friends and family, who were not happy to just watch something with a summary, I ended up accidentally teaching myself to understand the language, more or less. I'd sit down with a dictionary, really listen to what was being said and attempt to find the English. It was pitiable to start with. Perhaps my favourite story is that of when I could only hear "der Strauß Mutter" when the real thing was "die stoltze Mutter" which gives the sentence a whole new meaning. Anyway, going off on a tangent. After a few years of doing this I suddenly realised that I understood stuff generally and quite consistently. For someone who was told that she was bad at learning languages by teachers this came as quite a shock to me... I started to wonder if I wasn't a bad linguist after all.

I was actually terrified before my first class. This is something that has led me for some time now and really influenced my life path. I don't think my friends understood why I was so nervous but, for me, I felt that the first few classes were going to either going to make me realise that I could really do this or reaffirm those words of my teachers, that I should just give up on languages. To go into a class and wonder if you are going to sink or swim in reality, that's a scary thing. 

And now I've had a couple of classes? I'm loving it.

The teacher is an exceptionally skilled lady. She has a way of engaging everyone in the class. Each person is called upon to speak multiple times a class but there is no pressure, no judgement and, in that sense, she seems to be managing to bring the best out of her students. Already she has shown that she is able to be endlessly patient when people just can't get their tongues (or minds!) around certain words. She's an enabler and, in that sense, she's a teacher in the truest sense of the word. I'm also really lucky to have spent the last couple of classes working with a lovely, good fun group of people. 

Now I can only work hard and hope that I will succeed!

Freedom from Finals

Today was my final exam of the semester and, despite some trepidation, and perhaps because of the hyper-revision that inspired, I don't think I did overly badly. That said, needing the grades I need to reach my after bachelor's goals, this is a bit of a tense time as I watch blackboard waiting for the all important grades to trickle in.

However, enough of grades and exams! Tonight I am working on catching up with some things I've neglected such as blogging about Budapest (the first post in the series is here) and, indeed, going through the photos. That's before I even think about the number of friends I've neglected over the past few weeks... there are some emails to be written, methinks! Sorry if you're waiting on a message from me!

Tomorrow I'm dragging the not overly unwilling Dania to Keltfest. I think I managed to convert her to Rapalje and she's happy enough to see people who are a bit dressed up too so we'll probably have to lurk around some of the living history things for a while. Don't think she's as happy about the travel plans because, yuck, is the festival site hard to get to from here! Pretty sure that, after our 7:10 start we'll have a lovely day ;-)

As for me, well, there are some great musicians playing tomorrow so I'll have an awesome time. Looking forward to seeing what Keltfest is like, never having been before. Also hoping that it's okayish weather so my not so waterproof camera can get a bit of use!

And on Sunday I sleep.

Then starts my final four weeks in university year one. My first time learning German officially is both exciting and thoroughly daunting!

Booking a trip and terrifying yourself because you realise this means you're somewhat Grown Up.

If I've been quite silent recently - which I have, I know - then, once again, it's not for lack of stuff going on but rather that there is so much stuff going on that I simply do not have time to sit down and write about it. It's poor because, not only am I neglecting talking to friends directly, but I am also cutting off my little 'here's what I'm up to' space! Oops!

See, even now I should be revising for my logic exam. I mean, I feel quietly confident but I am also aware that I need a high A on this test in order to get comfortably get an A over all and I need that because I want to go straight to PhD but yeah... lets not get ahead of ourselves. The point being, I'm ignoring that right now because I feel the need to write about the events of last night. I mean, I actually wrote a facebook status about last night so we know this is serious!

Last night, in a bit of a tumble of "Oh no! Prices are going up!", and after about a month of juggling on my part, we finally booked our ascension holiday trip. And we're going to Budapest. Yep. I'm going back. So, so, so over the moon. 

I mean, the flights are painful. They're from Eindhoven and we need to be there at six a.m. For those of you who don't know the geography of the Netherlands and are interested, Eindhoven is down there in the Not-Amsterdam. For those of you who are really interested, find a map and look near the Belgian border. It's going to be an early as sin start. Flight back departs at six a.m. so I'm just ignoring that one.

I'm also currently in the process of booking our apartment for the stay. The ones in the building I normally stay in are all booked but we've been offered an alternative owned by the same people, right next to the Operettszínház which amuses me slightly. I gave Leonoor's name and phone number (because we all know how often I answer my phone) so am having to write to them under her name now which amuses me even more (*). I have become a Nora! We will also be joined by Dania, Laura, Thomas and, last but not least, Stefan, so I'm guessing you'll see them mentioned a fair bit over the next few weeks as we continue to work stuff out.

So yeah, things are slowly falling into place... well, violently tumbling into place with no warning more like! Just got to wait until everything is booked and then I can start getting really excited. Actually, with my next few weeks booked up as they are, I am going to start getting exceptionally excited for the rest of the semester the minute this darn exam is over and done with!

(*) She does know, and gave me permission, and I am running all emails past her before I send them with her name, just to clarify that I've not stolen one of my best friend's identity!

This post is not for facebook as I've already written a status about it and there is such a thing as overkill in this world. Also it's rambling and not elegant and yeah, many, many reasons.

Taking The Mother to see Rapalje "Met de billen bloot"

It's Mother's Day on Sunday the 14th and I decided to use it as a complete and utter excuse to take my mother to various things etc etc. I know that using such (now) commercialised days may not be the best way to show genuine appreciation for someone but if you're trying to find an excuse to 'force' them to come to a foreign country when you want to do things then such days are pretty darn useful!

Anyway, our week of adventures (*) started yesterday with a Rapalje concert in Rotterdam. I had planned to book this one anyway due its date, and to book a hotel, but I realised, relatively late, that it was a lunchtime concert meaning the hotel wasn't needed. Saved a bit  of time and money! One of the many joys of the Netherlands is that, as long as timings are okayish you can get from one side of the country and back with relative ease, at least if one's comparing to back home.

It was actually my first time visiting Rotterdam although I can't really say I saw much of it. We were highly conscious of my need to study for exams and therefore only really went to the show and back. First impressions seem to say that the city is a fair bit more modern than Amsterdam but that's based solely on the area around the station. I'll just have to go back to judge it properly ;-)

I'm not sure if the venue is also a theatre or solely a concert hall (although the layout suggests the latter to me). I'm too lazy to google it. Either way, it was a very easy to access place with a rather good hall layout which meant you could have a pretty good view from anyway, I'd wager. Can you tell I keep lists of decent places to sit in each place I visit? 

The show opened with a performance based person by person introduction to the band which was something I'd not seen before, and I assume it's new to this show although I cannot be sure on that front. Either way it was a lovely added touch. Maceal came on as a one man band and played a rather speedy piece that did get us clapping although there were multiple rhythms going on throughout the audience; William sung a song with guitar and harmonica... well, almost without the harmonica as it got left offstage until the last minute; Dieb and Maceal played "Into Folk" while wearing some stunning embroidered jackets (yep, no kilts!); David played a short bagpipe medley which was really cool for want of a better way of describing it! We were reminded, once again, of how (multi) talented the members of this band are. 

After that followed a more 'normal' set during which the band played songs off of their albums as well as some new songs (I forget how many so if there was just one please adjust grammar to match). It was a good fun show that saw the usual mix of fast tunes and slower pieces. I think this may have been the first time my mother's seen Rapalje play with dancers too so that was a nice bonus for her. Meanwhile, David playing bagpipes and leading the three dancers (and Maceal playing a drum) around the hall certainly impressed the audience. The final number was the "Wild Rover" which clearly lives up to the show's name. And all that, as my mother said, before lunchtime!

Of course, after that we did get lunch and then made our way home for me to fight with multiple assignments and a tonne of revision. Yuck. Just to clarify that the 'yuck' refers to work... the food was good ;-)

So yes, all in all, I think that the first day of the Mother's Day Week went rather well. I just have to survive a physics exam, for which I am poorly prepared, before the next treat in the form of seeing the musical Elisabeth in Essen. I've even managed to start a painting for that one... gone are the days when I used to paint something before every and any event!

Right, less blogging, more studying, right?

(*) I know, I know, I have the cheese factor turned right up again!

Also, apologies for the crappy post title. I've been up since forever and studying has stolen the little imagination I had... may also explain the repetitive nature of description throughout the post!!

I've found my calling as a tourguide!

Last Friday I was busy bouncing around with excitement. Some of my gig friends from the UK were coming out to visit and also to go to a couple of the Within Temptation theatre shows and somehow the mass facebook chats had made me feel as if I was going on holiday. Of course, Friday is also the day of my stupidly late class but somehow I managed to get out of class a bit early and somehow, with a fair bit of running involved, I managed to get on an early train. Because of this, I arrived at Schiphol just as their plane was landing which was a good thing considering they were up a strange end of the airport and it took me a fair while to find where they'd be arriving. That said, I'm a bit of a Schiphol pro now !! Waiting for them to come through the doors I did consider making a name sign simply because I've never had one before but y'know... didn't happen.

And then the group of five arrived. Kim and her mother Sarah, met on various occasions at a few shows, Marc and his mother Sandra, met once at a Within Temptation acoustic show in London, and Gemma who I had never met.

We then had the utter joy of the admin tasks. Buying five anonymous OV cards, charging them and counting out the Euros wrong was embarrassing enough, I tell you. Seriously Euros still feel like Monopoly money and large numbers... yuck! Oh and then the good old trains were all moved around, delayed and cancelled. It's a bit frightening when you feel responsible for a group, especially when you struggle to get them all to fit on one train!

Late at night - perhaps the only time you can get a photo without
hundreds of other tourists being in shot!

That said, we managed to get into town safely and, once checked into the hotel, we went for a little stroll into town. Our search for food led us to Rembrantplein (it seemed the most promising direction to head in) and it was worthwhile. For all that area may be a complete overpriced tourist trap, it is beautiful at night, and during the day, and I love it. A drink back at the hotel and everything seemed to be getting off to a great start.

Saturday

The annoying amount of work meant that I decided to stay home during the day while the group explored. I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped because I was still reading on the train that evening but I needed that time, and more!

Anyway, that evening was the first of the two Within Temptation dates and so all of us, sans Gemma, made our way to Almere. Walking through the closed shopping centre, totally deserted but yet a complete mass of neon lighting, Kim happened to remark on how it would make a perfect setting for a zombie film. With not another soul around, just rubbish blowing in the wind, it was hard to contradict her. Seriously, if my old urban studies teacher ever needed more proof that modern media uses zombies to represent consumerist culture...

We made it through zombie-land and found the theatre itself. After a preshow drink, we went into the hall only to discover that we were in the fourth row - why no-one had realised this from the tickets I do not know! I'm usually loathe to sit so close to the stage because you usually end up looking up and getting neck ache but, at this venue, we were at perfect eye height and it was wonderful. It made for an intimate show which was totally different to the show in Amsterdam a few days later.

When I eventually arrived back home I was bouncing off the ceiling. The show itself was something quite unlike anything I'd ever seen and I really needed some time to come down. Admittedly, phoning my mother and keeping her up until the early hours probably wasn't the fairest way to do this but I think she enjoyed my ranting to start with, at least ;-)

Sunday

Second home in Amsterdam

It was no real surprise that, come Sunday morning, everyone was pretty much dead. My delightful body decided to wake me up at six a.m. and refuse to believe that I really could sleep until nine and even then would not have enough sleep! It meant that, by the time I got the message from the others that they were pretty much all feeling crappy and could we meet later I was way too awake to go back to sleep. Worryingly, I can't remember what I did with that morning which should have been so productive. I ate toast, at least.

When we did meet, everyone feeling a little more alive than earlier, at least. we made our way to the Hard Rock Cafe. This was somewhere that Kim had been on her previous trip and somewhere that I had never been, basically. Having been unable to eat properly for the past week now (yay for health crap!) I stayed away from the rather exciting looking cocktails and the large very meat based dishes and had a strawberry lemonade and a caesar salad. I'm not complaining, to be honest, although my order did seem overly sensible, it was delicious.

After that, we made our way to the Anne Frank House. This was something that the group really had wanted to do and something that had never really attracted me so much. Her story is wonderful in its human poignancy, as are those untold or unshared stories of those whose humanity has been reduced to just names in registers. The people who helped hide her and others - amazing people who risked consequences upon themselves for doing the right thing which is something, sadly, I don't think many people would feel able to do. The only reason I'd not been so interested in the museum itself is that I had heard it was rather a let down. I found quite the opposite. It had been set up in a way that wasn't tacky, didn't glorify anyone, and allowed people to elegantly follow the story of those people involved. It allowed you to 'touch' the human beings involved in one event, to feel some connection to them, and then to expand it out, if not to every person then to some. Personally, I'm so pleased that I did visit and would now recommend it wholeheartedly.

After what was rather an emotional stop for all of us (I know I cried a bit going round), it was time to replenish with some cakes. I took the group to one of my favourite grab-a-cake shops and we grabbed cake ;-)

Well, you have to be a stereotypical tourist too, right?

After that we went for a quick stroll around the red light district because they had been told by so many people to behave and 'not' go there that it simply had to be done. I guess I don't need to describe this bit - women and the odd man in windows etc etc etc. It's also the best place for overheard conversations as slightly inebriated tourists speaking loudly about sex related things makes for an entertaining time. I'll leave that bit completely to your imagination!

Monday

Somehow, although I didn't realise it at the time, we managed to explore until super late again which meant getting up on Monday was even more painful, made worse by the fact I had three classes, all of which I was rather ill prepared for. That meant that, not only did I somehow have to get ready for the evening over the morning and the lunch period but I needed to juggle my final class prep work too. Somehow I managed and, at around six in the evening I was running for my tram in a veritable gale ending up with complete earache... but also getting there in time ;-)

The Amsterdam show was held in the Carré, a theatre that I had heard about but never visited. Seriously, it was so stunning. We were on the balcony this time, except for Gemma who was down in the stalls. We had a great time waving at her and having other people wave back... like those guys who returned my flirty wave interpreting it as aimed at them... oops. The show was exquisite and the setting really did do it a lot of favours... it was a bit wow!

After the show itself, the group, quite naturally, decided to gravitate towards the stage door in order to attempt to meet the band. I waited for Leonoor and Dania who had very kindly agreed to meet me after the show so I didn't have to make my way back late at night alone. However, a few minutes after their arrival we checked train times only to find that all the late trains had been cancelled and we were basically stranded by the delightful Amsterdam public transport system. We decided that there was no rush if we couldn't get home anyway. Dania and Leonoor being the complete heroes that they are waited with us until after 1 a.m. and put up with the usual pain of numb toes just to allow me to hang and meet some of the band. For all I detest the way in which fans gravitate on lead members of bands, Sharon in particular was so very lovely, and spent a lot of time making everyone feel special despite her PA rushing her, that I can't help but feel her status is well earned.

Waiting for the band in the cold. Worth it? Oh yes!

We eventually made our way back to the hotel although, as the bar was closed, I still owe my personal bodyguards a drink for their services. We also managed to get a taxi from the hotel which got us home in record time and for a lot less than I had thought so I can't complain at all there. It was such an amazing night and it ended so easily.

Tuesday

I had managed to switch to an earlier science class on the Tuesday so that I could spend a little more time with the group and see them safely to the airport. It seemed like a really good idea at the time but it was one of the most painful things I've ever done. Getting up at 6a.m. and staying awake through two hours lecture on the origins of the universe... well, it wasn't easy! That said, it was 100% worth it!

Magnums are not the most elegant things to eat ;-)

In town we first gravitated towards de Bijenkorf as Gemma wanted a frozen yoghurt and I just so happened to know a that they sold some good stuff. The rest of us gravitated towards the make your own magnum area. Not only are custom magnums tasty but they are also surprisingly fun and creative to design, bringing out the inner child in everyone.

After that it was back to the Hard Rock cafe for a farewell drink... or two... or three... or, in Gemma's case, four. Oh, wow, what a laugh! We were such a rowdy group but it was such fun. Something that I haven't managed to get across in this post is the amity. For a group that knew each other on a surface level to start with, we had spent a great deal of time with each other and had really gelled. Messing around on this final day seemed to sum up the trip in many ways, with all of us being totally relaxed and open. Okay, I'll admit it, I was a bit concerned about them missing their flight but other than that... ;-)

This image seems to sum up the craziness that was this final trip to Hard Rock <3

And then it was goodbye. It had only been a few days but they had been so special, so much fun, that parting was really difficult. I know it's only a temporary thing... there's no doubt that true friendships have been forged, but all the same...

Life is slowly returning to normal but I can't help but flick through the photos and remember the happenings of the last week as I look forward to, and start to plan, the Next Time.




Photos will be uploaded to my facebook as soon as I can fight my way through them all. Oh and I'm planning to do a separate write up of the shows (hence their absence in this post) so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested in that :-D