The most boring post ever

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but not too much has been going on here. I thought I'd check in anyway...

I've been working hard to stay on top of my school work, because for most of Reading Week (a week for catching up on... you got it, reading) I will be in Spain! My new friend Alex from Canada and I will be embarking on a six day trip to Madrid next Thursday. We have been busy brushing up on our Spanish (of which neither of us know more than a few words) and planning what to do while there. Please comment with suggestions if you know of anything we don't want to miss!

Other than that, things have been pretty relaxed here. School is getting busier than ever, but luckily I'm getting used to having four literature courses and have improved my time management. Sorry I don't have any fun pictures to share, hopefully that will change after my trip.

Sightseeing > Studying

This weather has been amazing! I've been loving it, and I hear it's been pretty good for you guys too. The weekend was uncharacteristically sunny, and was sadly probably the last one for a while.. That's okay though, because I soaked up every second of it. That is, when I wasn't doing my homework.

The reading expected for each of my classes is lengthy, and when combined, basically impossible. Four English classes is about three too many. For this weekend, I was expected to read:

• The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift
• The Good Soldier, by Ford Madox Ford

This reading list is shorter than the average weekend, because my other class assignment was to watch Gone With the Wind this weekend instead of our usual assignment of one book. It's very difficult to find time to do all this reading, especially when the weather is perfect and I am in a country with a lot of exploring left undone!

Despite my heavy workload, I found time to go to Delft, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and the beach. Luckily no destination is far away in the Netherlands, so I was able to knock out all of these destinations in a couple of afternoons. Posted below are some of the pictures I took of these places. I only got a glimpse of the bigger cities of Rotterdam and Utrecht, but will definitely go back with more time.

Flea Market in Delft

Delft - House on a canal

Rotterdam

Rotterdam Harbor 

Rotterdam Harbor

Rotterdam

Famous Cube Houses

Cube Houses from Underneath

Beach in Kijkduin

Beach in Kijkduin

Walk back to the house

Walk back to the house

Leids ontzet, Part Two

The festivities of Lieds ontzet continued all of Monday, and remained just as crowded since everyone in Leiden had the day off. I went back into town and met my friend Kate around three o'clock, and we walked around and ran into some people that I met on the weekend trip. They were going to watch people polevault into the canal, so naturally we joined them. The goal was to jump from one side to the other, and onto a big landing pad. Most people just landed in the canal.

While watching everyone jump, we sat on the sidelines and talked about how the canals used to be used to dispose of sewage and other things I do not want to jump into.. these days the main concern jumping in is bikes, actually. Apparently people will throw bikes that aren't locked to something stationary into the canals, and when people jump in they can land on a bike- sounds painful.

My original plan was to go home early and catch up on all the homework I did not do this weekend. However, it was the last night of the festival, so I decided to stay instead. After pole vaulting we wandered around a bit more and caught up with some friends with whom we sat outside in cafes and watched a BEAUTIFUL sunset, and then went to a silent disco. In case, like me, you had never heard of such a thing, a silent disco is a disco where everyone wears headphones and can change the channel to whatever music they want to listen to. It's a strange idea, but it was very fun. It's also amusing seeing everyone wearing headphones and dancing to different beats, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from there.

Sadly the festival is now over, but it was a very fun weekend, and it will be nice to be able to walk down the streets without pushing through thousands of people. I have a feeling Leiden is going to look very different when I go in for class this afternoon, and I can only hope all of the trash has already been cleaned up.

Also, I thought I would include the theme song of the weekend, "Drie Oktober." It is a typical Dutch drinking song, that I was told is effective because the song is so bad it drives you to drink. The title means "October Third," which as you know, is the date of Leids ontzet. The song is below for your listening pleasure:

Leids ontzet, Part One

Leiden flag

This weekend was the Relief of Leiden, or Leids ontzet. It is to celebrate the relief after the Spanish siege on October 3rd. The entire city was completely transformed, and it was like the North Carolina State Fair was put in the center of the city. There were rides, food and drink booths, dancing tents and concerts spread all over Leiden. It was a site to see. I was very excited to ride the Crazy Mouse roller coaster, but as I should have expected, the rides were ridiculously overpriced... Crazy Mouse alone was eight euros.

The past two nights I stayed with friends in town so that I could participate without having to catch the 12 am train back to the Hague. Their apartment is located right above Einstein's, the pub where all international student events are held, so it was a great home base for all the activity this weekend. My weekend hosts were nice enough to provide me with a blow-up bed, sheets, and a comforter! I basically had my own room with the living room to myself, so they will be lucky to get rid of me now.

The party never stopped the whole time I was there, and is still going on- luckily not directly outside anymore. The weekend continues tomorrow, and everyone in Leiden gets the day off. I'll probably go back in to celebrate, but for now I am burnt out! It's hard to describe what it was like, so I've put up some pictures that should give some idea of what it looks like. These same places have been in other posts, and as you can tell, they are basically unrecognizable. It's been a very fun weekend and I hope it will continue tomorrow!

Rides around the Windmill de Valk

Lucia, me, and Cat

Someone I don't know posing with all the trash blanketing Leiden

Venice of Holland

We had a few rare, sunny days here in the Netherlands last week. I'd specify which city I'm talking about, but the country is so small I'm pretty sure the weather is the same throughout. I was in classes on these sunny days last week, sadly, but it sure looked nice out the window! Seriously though, it was a good change of pace from the typical rainy, cloudy, and cold Dutch weather. But now it's back, as am I, after a weekend trip to Giethoorn, a.k.a. the "Venice of Holland." This name seems silly considering almost every place in the Netherlands has a network of canals as it is largely under sea level. The nickname is used, I guess, because many of the homes in Giethoorn are reachable only by boat or bicycle, so the people who live there rely on the canals- like in Venice!

The introduction weekend was organized by the international organization at Leiden University, ISN. There were about 35 students on the trip, and it was a lot of fun! We were split up into teams, and throughout the weekend played games and competed against each other. The ISN board (made up of students in Leiden) worked really hard the whole time and organized everything. We took a boat ride around the town of Giethoorn, had a scavenger hunt, and themed parties both nights.

It was a very fun weekend and a great way to meet a lot of new people. Now I'm back, though, and have to get motivated to do some school work soon. Next weekend is Leids ontzet, or the Relief of Leiden, on October 3rd. It is apparently a very big deal, with the festivities lasting all weekend. Until then, I'm going to try and buckle down on the school work so I don't miss out.. They are keeping me pretty busy, which is really interfering with my study abroad experience!

Where we stayed in Giethoorn- not as nice as it looks

Team Blue

Someone with a clog obsession lives here

First week of school

After my first week of classes, things have picked up a bit over here. Because classes only meet once a week, they assign a lot of homework for the next week; for my class on Tuesday I have to have read an entire book. With four literature classes, I have a feeling this workload will keep me pretty busy... Maybe not, though, as I have yet to start that book.

Because it was the first Friday after school and my friend Stacy's birthday, she cooked us a typical meal from her native country, South Korea. There were five of us, and it was a delicious meal! We were talking about typical Korean food, and they were very impressed that I knew what kimchi was. After that we all went out and met up with some other international students which was fun, but of course I had to catch the train and be home early. Having school helps with living so far away, because we can meet up after or between classes, but it is still a pain having to go home so early, as public transportation stops before midnight most nights.

Today two of my friends from the UK came to the Hague to explore with me. We got lunch and walked around a lot of the important buildings and shopping streets. The Hague is a really interesting area, with all of the government buildings it has a similar feel to Washington DC. Even though I am technically staying in The Hague, it was the first time I'd taken the time to walk around and really see it. It definitely helped that it was finally a sunny, beautiful day! Below are some of the pictures of highlights in the area.

Dutch Parliament building

Inside courtyard of Parliament building

Dutch Royal Palace, The Hague

Peace Palace

Dutch

The other night, Annelies asked me if I'd like to learn Dutch. She had assumed I'd say no, so when I answered with a yes she was thrilled. She asked me very enthusiastically what I'd like to learn first. There are so many important basic words and phrases to learn in every language I didn't know how to respond. Annelies quickly decided that the first word I should know in Dutch was the word for "whore house," as I was headed to Amsterdam the next day. I'm not sure how she decided upon this word, as it's really not very practical, and I can't even use it in a sentence. I don't even know how to say, "Where is the..."

Since then I've had many occasions where it would have been really nice to know a few simple Dutch phrases that come up in everyday life. For example, this morning an elderly woman sat beside me on the bus and scolded me (in Dutch) for not wearing a coat. I got the message, as she pointed to her very large coat while saying it. I smiled politely, getting the message and thinking she'd stop talking after that short and one-sided exchange. The woman did not stop talking, and barely paused during the ten minutes she was on the bus. After the initial interaction I was too embarrassed to stop her and let her know that I really didn't understand anything she was saying.

Perhaps I'll try to learn a few useful phrases this week...