So I assume Plattsburgh is celebrating Easter under a blanket of snow. But here it's sunny and green...slightly chilly, but definitely bearable. Got up way too early today to bike to Easter Mass at the Catholic church with Natalie, Julia, and Zach. When that was over, we biked back up here and painted some eggs, weeoo. Since then we've just been doing general frolicking. Going through the park picking flowers and making daisy chains, watching Little Britain, playing with ducks, etc. Yeahhh.
I don't think I have that much to say, actually, so I guess just happy Easter, everyone. =]
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Cast off!
NO MORE BROKEN FOOT!
Well, that is of course nonsense...I suppose it's still kind of broken. But in any case the cast is off and I am very happy. The foot is really swollen and creepy...I won't go into details, but it's unsettling. I'm just wearing an elastic sock and hoping it gets better in a few days. I have confidence. Also the wound itself is, uh, black (?!) so I think I may end up with a gnarly scar. Hrmph. Oh well, WALKING AGAIN! And my right beastcalf is gone. What am I supposed to do with ONE beastcalf? And the left one at that, pff. I wonder if I'll end up listing to the left when I'm sprinting. That'd be comical. But yeah, it's apparent that I have a lot of lifting to do to get back to where I was as far as the muscles in my legs; I've probably also lost a lot of conditioning but I don't dare run yet so I don't know yet for sure. Yeahhh setbacks in track are kind of pesky, but I'm just glad I can walk around (almost) like a normal person again.
So yesterday was Zip Your Lip at my school. This is an event where one gets sponsors and pledges not to eat for 24 hours in order to raise money for and show solidarity with the poor of the world. This year the cause was AIDS orphans in Africa...my school alone raised €11025.92, or about $15500. I'm pretty impressed, not gonna lie. The not eating part was actually not at all as bad as I expected it to be; I was actually not the least bit hungry for the entire time. I should become a professional anorexic hahaha. People could pay me not to eat for long periods and those malnourished Africans would be rollin' in it. Clarification: I do not actually want an eating disorder, no. GROSS. Anyway yeah, hanging out with my class in one room for 16 hours (8 hours were just normal classes), GREAT. Nyeh kinda boring, but whatever. I was also amazed at my ability to sleep through a) not eating and b) everyone else watching Saw at midnight (?!). I was not able to sleep through our delightful class Pim (doesn't every class have one? Oh, I think so) flashing the lights and singing at 3AM, but the sleeping people kicked him out soon enough and went back to our rest hahaha. 24 hours at school, yeah I felt totally DISGUSTING, but not hungry and glad to be doing something to help others. Holland doesn't have poor people, or if they do they hide them extremely well, because I have not found any opportunities for community service here yet. Actually I signed myself in at a volunteering bureau, but then I broke my foot. Mhm, way to go Lizz. I'll try again when this is all cleared up.
Tomorrow is the performance of Bach's St. John Passion in which I'm singing. It'll be all day, but it'll be nice enough I think. If there are recordings made, I will attempt to order one and send it back to America for y'all's listening pleasure. =]
Pictures later, when I actually feel like fighting the upstairs computer.
Well, that is of course nonsense...I suppose it's still kind of broken. But in any case the cast is off and I am very happy. The foot is really swollen and creepy...I won't go into details, but it's unsettling. I'm just wearing an elastic sock and hoping it gets better in a few days. I have confidence. Also the wound itself is, uh, black (?!) so I think I may end up with a gnarly scar. Hrmph. Oh well, WALKING AGAIN! And my right beastcalf is gone. What am I supposed to do with ONE beastcalf? And the left one at that, pff. I wonder if I'll end up listing to the left when I'm sprinting. That'd be comical. But yeah, it's apparent that I have a lot of lifting to do to get back to where I was as far as the muscles in my legs; I've probably also lost a lot of conditioning but I don't dare run yet so I don't know yet for sure. Yeahhh setbacks in track are kind of pesky, but I'm just glad I can walk around (almost) like a normal person again.
So yesterday was Zip Your Lip at my school. This is an event where one gets sponsors and pledges not to eat for 24 hours in order to raise money for and show solidarity with the poor of the world. This year the cause was AIDS orphans in Africa...my school alone raised €11025.92, or about $15500. I'm pretty impressed, not gonna lie. The not eating part was actually not at all as bad as I expected it to be; I was actually not the least bit hungry for the entire time. I should become a professional anorexic hahaha. People could pay me not to eat for long periods and those malnourished Africans would be rollin' in it. Clarification: I do not actually want an eating disorder, no. GROSS. Anyway yeah, hanging out with my class in one room for 16 hours (8 hours were just normal classes), GREAT. Nyeh kinda boring, but whatever. I was also amazed at my ability to sleep through a) not eating and b) everyone else watching Saw at midnight (?!). I was not able to sleep through our delightful class Pim (doesn't every class have one? Oh, I think so) flashing the lights and singing at 3AM, but the sleeping people kicked him out soon enough and went back to our rest hahaha. 24 hours at school, yeah I felt totally DISGUSTING, but not hungry and glad to be doing something to help others. Holland doesn't have poor people, or if they do they hide them extremely well, because I have not found any opportunities for community service here yet. Actually I signed myself in at a volunteering bureau, but then I broke my foot. Mhm, way to go Lizz. I'll try again when this is all cleared up.
Tomorrow is the performance of Bach's St. John Passion in which I'm singing. It'll be all day, but it'll be nice enough I think. If there are recordings made, I will attempt to order one and send it back to America for y'all's listening pleasure. =]
Pictures later, when I actually feel like fighting the upstairs computer.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
[none]
WOW I'm bad at updating.
Let's see, what do I have to say. Plenty, I'm sure. I also have pictures, but I don't feel like bumping all the way downstairs in my cast to get my memory card. Yes, cast. I suppose that's one update: I broke my foot. Yess, go Lizz. I was jumping on the back of one of my friends' bicycles when I hit my foot on something. No, I did not get it caught between the spokes. No, I did not fall. Actually, I stayed on the bike and we kept going; I was just complaining that I had hit my foot on something. I figured it was just going to be a little bruise, but hey, not so much. When we stopped, we discovered that my shoe was full of blood and my foot was covered in it. Yeesh. Hobbled over to a restaurant, where the maître d' was very kind and washed my foot with vodka before wrapping it in napkins and tape. Ahahahaha. We figured nothing was further amiss and continued hanging out, until I realized an hour and a half later that the stupid thing was still bleeding. Yeah, SWEET! Trip to the hospital? I think so. The hospital people this time were really unpleasant and spent the entire time talking about money this, fees that, bills here there and everywhere. More time talking about money than actually caring what was wrong with me, really. The doctor who first examined me was really not a nice person, she sort of looked at my foot scorningly and said "Well, it's not broken, but if you REALLY want us to take a picture"--read, X-ray--"we will. Not needed, though." This even though the other doctor said that it was clearly broken, as I couldn't walk on it. X-ray taken, and what do you know? BROKEN! This means crutches and wheelchair everywhere until the end of next week. Actually this has had amusing consequences. Julia and I took a wheelchair walk in the neighborhood on one of the nice days right after I broke my foot. We went out in Wageningen and Guus pushed my wheelchair home on the bike path at a run because he was going to be late. Took a wheelchair and crutches for an ENTIRE day through AMSTERDAM! New perspective, you know. =]
Religion lessons this quarter are entirely devoted to creationism vs. evolution. Oh boyee! Julia is freaking right out, but I'm pretty at peace with it. It's okay to see what "the other side" has to say about things, even if it's just for the entertainment value of laughing quietly later. =P
My host dad got back yesterday from a month in Thailand. Seems that he had a good trip. He was there to help a Thai university set up a banana-genome project of some sort, I don't know. He cooked Thai food for dinner tonight, which was pretty delicious, I won't lie.
I'm sure I had more to say, but it is now shower time. Email me if you so desire. =]
Let's see, what do I have to say. Plenty, I'm sure. I also have pictures, but I don't feel like bumping all the way downstairs in my cast to get my memory card. Yes, cast. I suppose that's one update: I broke my foot. Yess, go Lizz. I was jumping on the back of one of my friends' bicycles when I hit my foot on something. No, I did not get it caught between the spokes. No, I did not fall. Actually, I stayed on the bike and we kept going; I was just complaining that I had hit my foot on something. I figured it was just going to be a little bruise, but hey, not so much. When we stopped, we discovered that my shoe was full of blood and my foot was covered in it. Yeesh. Hobbled over to a restaurant, where the maître d' was very kind and washed my foot with vodka before wrapping it in napkins and tape. Ahahahaha. We figured nothing was further amiss and continued hanging out, until I realized an hour and a half later that the stupid thing was still bleeding. Yeah, SWEET! Trip to the hospital? I think so. The hospital people this time were really unpleasant and spent the entire time talking about money this, fees that, bills here there and everywhere. More time talking about money than actually caring what was wrong with me, really. The doctor who first examined me was really not a nice person, she sort of looked at my foot scorningly and said "Well, it's not broken, but if you REALLY want us to take a picture"--read, X-ray--"we will. Not needed, though." This even though the other doctor said that it was clearly broken, as I couldn't walk on it. X-ray taken, and what do you know? BROKEN! This means crutches and wheelchair everywhere until the end of next week. Actually this has had amusing consequences. Julia and I took a wheelchair walk in the neighborhood on one of the nice days right after I broke my foot. We went out in Wageningen and Guus pushed my wheelchair home on the bike path at a run because he was going to be late. Took a wheelchair and crutches for an ENTIRE day through AMSTERDAM! New perspective, you know. =]
Religion lessons this quarter are entirely devoted to creationism vs. evolution. Oh boyee! Julia is freaking right out, but I'm pretty at peace with it. It's okay to see what "the other side" has to say about things, even if it's just for the entertainment value of laughing quietly later. =P
My host dad got back yesterday from a month in Thailand. Seems that he had a good trip. He was there to help a Thai university set up a banana-genome project of some sort, I don't know. He cooked Thai food for dinner tonight, which was pretty delicious, I won't lie.
I'm sure I had more to say, but it is now shower time. Email me if you so desire. =]
Monday, January 14, 2008
Updateage
I don't update this blog nearly as often as I ought to. Sorry guys.
So, continuing with describing my vacation. After my visit to the Hieronymus Bosch Art Center, I hopped on the train to Venlo to go see my friend Carol from Brazil. Venlo is a pretty nice city...WAY bigger than Wageningen, but not terribly huge...and it's right on the German border. AND they have hills, which is quite special for Nederland haha. We got some coffee in town, then walked back to Carol's house. Met her host mother and host brother, then took the dog out for a walk in the woods. Dinner. Went out. Met the kid who is accompanying Carol's host brother on a four-month-long trip to southeast Asia and Australia. That's what I want to be doing one day--international hoboing. =P
The next day Carol and I got up ENTIRELY too early and caught a train to Maastricht. It was delayed at our change-trains station, so we had time for a cappuccino to wake up. Maastricht was very beautiful; supposedly it's the oldest settlement in Nederland. I will post pictures later of all the random medieval (and earlier!) stuff we encountered. Spent the day wandering around, and randomly ran into some other AFSers! Crazy, the things that happen in a small country with 57 AFSers in it. Had dinner in Maastricht, then got on the train back home. 3 HOURS LATER I arrived in Wageningen and went to bed. Waaay too tired from carrying a heavy bag all day!
Doorn, which I mentioned in my previous post, was actually nice. I went on a woods walk thing with my uncle, and there was even somewhat of a slope! ZOMG. It must have been a full, like, 5 meters vertical or something. Carayzay. Ate dinner in a very tasty Italian restaurant and was presented with a rose by the manager on the way out. Apparently they give everyone flowers after the meal. Classy! Took the bus home, slept.
School started at 12:30 Monday to allow for...I don't know. Easing back into going to school? Anyway, it was nice to sleep in. Rather unremarkable week of school last week. I can barely remember what went on. I had to turn in a HUGE project for history relating to God in Nederland; my chosen topic was God in de Politiek. I could have said much better things, but I didn't feel like being controversial at the time I wrote the project. =P
This Saturday was a nice lazy day. Slept in, read, played violin, etc. I also made some cranberry-lemon scones, which turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. Sunday we went to Amsterdam; Renee had to turn pages at a concert but Julia and I went to an Afghanistan exhibition in the Nieuwe Kerk. Very, very nice. Makes me want to go to Afghanistan, or at least learn more about it. I know where it is and a bit of its history, but that's about the extent of my Afghanistan knowledge. Anyway, that was good. We wanted to go to an Andy Warhol exhibit in the Stedelijk Museum also, but when we got there there were WAY too many people so we just turned around and left. Heh.
Today was good, besides the fact that I'm still awake. GO TO SLEEP LIZZ.
So, continuing with describing my vacation. After my visit to the Hieronymus Bosch Art Center, I hopped on the train to Venlo to go see my friend Carol from Brazil. Venlo is a pretty nice city...WAY bigger than Wageningen, but not terribly huge...and it's right on the German border. AND they have hills, which is quite special for Nederland haha. We got some coffee in town, then walked back to Carol's house. Met her host mother and host brother, then took the dog out for a walk in the woods. Dinner. Went out. Met the kid who is accompanying Carol's host brother on a four-month-long trip to southeast Asia and Australia. That's what I want to be doing one day--international hoboing. =P
The next day Carol and I got up ENTIRELY too early and caught a train to Maastricht. It was delayed at our change-trains station, so we had time for a cappuccino to wake up. Maastricht was very beautiful; supposedly it's the oldest settlement in Nederland. I will post pictures later of all the random medieval (and earlier!) stuff we encountered. Spent the day wandering around, and randomly ran into some other AFSers! Crazy, the things that happen in a small country with 57 AFSers in it. Had dinner in Maastricht, then got on the train back home. 3 HOURS LATER I arrived in Wageningen and went to bed. Waaay too tired from carrying a heavy bag all day!
Doorn, which I mentioned in my previous post, was actually nice. I went on a woods walk thing with my uncle, and there was even somewhat of a slope! ZOMG. It must have been a full, like, 5 meters vertical or something. Carayzay. Ate dinner in a very tasty Italian restaurant and was presented with a rose by the manager on the way out. Apparently they give everyone flowers after the meal. Classy! Took the bus home, slept.
School started at 12:30 Monday to allow for...I don't know. Easing back into going to school? Anyway, it was nice to sleep in. Rather unremarkable week of school last week. I can barely remember what went on. I had to turn in a HUGE project for history relating to God in Nederland; my chosen topic was God in de Politiek. I could have said much better things, but I didn't feel like being controversial at the time I wrote the project. =P
This Saturday was a nice lazy day. Slept in, read, played violin, etc. I also made some cranberry-lemon scones, which turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. Sunday we went to Amsterdam; Renee had to turn pages at a concert but Julia and I went to an Afghanistan exhibition in the Nieuwe Kerk. Very, very nice. Makes me want to go to Afghanistan, or at least learn more about it. I know where it is and a bit of its history, but that's about the extent of my Afghanistan knowledge. Anyway, that was good. We wanted to go to an Andy Warhol exhibit in the Stedelijk Museum also, but when we got there there were WAY too many people so we just turned around and left. Heh.
Today was good, besides the fact that I'm still awake. GO TO SLEEP LIZZ.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Busy
So yeah, I thought that I was not going to have much to do during the Kertvakantie, but as it turns out I have a little more than I'd really like. Today I would prefer to just stay at home (and SLEEP), hang around, maybe go biking...but I have to go see my half-uncle in Doorn. Half-uncle? He's my father's half-brother. How does one describe this relation? Saying half-uncle sounds like only half of him is my uncle, and the other half is...I dunno. A dinosaur. Exciting.
Thursday I had to pick up my residence permit in 's-Hertogenbosch--why does its name start with an apostrophe, anyway?--so I went there around 9. Yeargh, way too early. But yeah, luckily the Ministerie van Justitie was very close to the station, so I only had to walk about 300 meters. Not far. But WOO, I am now legally here, heh heh. After my little visit to the MvJ I decided to walk around Den Bosch a bit, seeing what I could see. I went to the Sint-Jan Cathedral; supposedly it has the best Christmas display in all of Europe, but I thought the one in Maastricht was nicer. The cathedral itself was nice, though...very large. Lots of stained glass. Lots of gold. Pretty much a cathedral haha. I was supposed to go to Venlo to see my friend Carol (AFSer from Brazil) after picking up my residence permit, but it was still very early even after I'd visited the cathedral. So once again I went out on the streets to try my luck at finding something cool, and boy did I succeed. HIERONYMUS BOSCH ART CENTER! For those of you who do not know, Hieronymus Bosch basically owns. 15th century painter whose stuff almost reminds me of Dalí's. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. The art center itself was really great, too. Very informative, plenty of workers anxious to answer my every question, and a crazy-nice view over the city from the top of a church tower (the museum itself is inside a church).
Hmm time for Doorn, I'll finish this later.
Thursday I had to pick up my residence permit in 's-Hertogenbosch--why does its name start with an apostrophe, anyway?--so I went there around 9. Yeargh, way too early. But yeah, luckily the Ministerie van Justitie was very close to the station, so I only had to walk about 300 meters. Not far. But WOO, I am now legally here, heh heh. After my little visit to the MvJ I decided to walk around Den Bosch a bit, seeing what I could see. I went to the Sint-Jan Cathedral; supposedly it has the best Christmas display in all of Europe, but I thought the one in Maastricht was nicer. The cathedral itself was nice, though...very large. Lots of stained glass. Lots of gold. Pretty much a cathedral haha. I was supposed to go to Venlo to see my friend Carol (AFSer from Brazil) after picking up my residence permit, but it was still very early even after I'd visited the cathedral. So once again I went out on the streets to try my luck at finding something cool, and boy did I succeed. HIERONYMUS BOSCH ART CENTER! For those of you who do not know, Hieronymus Bosch basically owns. 15th century painter whose stuff almost reminds me of Dalí's. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. The art center itself was really great, too. Very informative, plenty of workers anxious to answer my every question, and a crazy-nice view over the city from the top of a church tower (the museum itself is inside a church).
Hmm time for Doorn, I'll finish this later.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Holidays
So yeah, all the major holidays are over. Holland has two days of Christmas, which is pretty silly considering that they're not even into Christmas as heavily as Americans. What's better than not celebrating Christmas, gents? Why, not celebrating for two consecutive days lijkt me wel leuker! Anyway, Christmas was not too bad. Went to two church services on Christmas Eve: one at 7PM in the Wallonian Church of Arnhem (weird and in French) and a real midnight mass at the Catholic church of Wageningen (good and in Dutch). The Catholic church here is quite impressive; neo-Byzantine and all that jazz. Christmas Day involved opening packages from my parents--THANK YOU!! Awesome!--then going for a run and watching Finding Nemo. Scintillating. The SECOND day of Christmas was spent going to Het Loo (a palace in Apeldoorn) and having dinner with the Go-de Jong family in Amsterdam. Het Loo was pretty unremarkable...yeah, nice palace, okay, but nothing really stood out. It looked like just another poser Versailles, which essentially it is. Neuschwanstein remains as my favorite castle that I've visited. Dinner with the Go-de Jongs (my father's aunt, cousin, her husband, and their two daughters, so that makes themmmm...my second cousins? First cousins once removed? I never have understood this.) was very nice. The food was INCREDIBLE. And they are very nice people, and very definitely my family hahaha.
Yesterday was New Year's Eve...rather a flop, if I may say so. I was invited to go to a party hosted by a friend from school, but my host parents had other plans--visiting "Oma & Opa" in Flevoland. Julia and I went along somewhat grudgingly. Lucas then invited us to visit him in Lelystad after we'd eaten, but the busses stopped running after 8 PM. Renee said she would bring us, but when we got ready to go she retracted this offer. Sooo New Year's in Zeewolde it was. I had a mind to finish Ulysses, but Julia wanted to go on a walk instead. We went. It was cold. The police asked for my ID for NO REASON. Seriously, officer, if you're looking for disturbers of the peace, I'd suggest trying over there by the gemeentehuis where people are THROWING FIREWORKS AT BUILDINGS. But whatever, I had it, I gave it to them--there were two of them, because you know both of them had to get out of the car to keep me and my peace-disturbing under control--and they went away. Not a problem. People continued doing stupid things with fireworks...throwing them at cars, at buildings, in the water, etc. Setting them off with their kindergarten-aged children. You know. Smart. Julia and I hung out in a square because we didn't feel like going back to listen to a cabarettier on TV who was absolutely full of crap. It was insanely misty, and it just kept getting worse. By midnight it was impossible to see 20 feet away...and then the REAL fireworks started. I don't know where these people found any joy in setting off so many fireworks; it was impossible to see them and they were just loud and dangerous and unpleasant. Standing in the square, being unable to see where the noise was coming from, it really sounded like the beginning of World War Three. This went on for, well, longer than was strictly necessary, one might say. When it sounded almost safe to walk back we did. Got in the car and headed off to Wageningen, only to realize HEY! It's MISTY! No one can SEE to DRIVE! This was no surprise to me, but I kept my mouth shut. We ended up sleeping on the floor of Renee's parents' apartment. Definitely not the way I would have chosen to spend my one New Year's in the Netherlands, but it was an experience.
Tomorrow I'm going to Den Bosch to pick up my Residence Permit. Grreeeaaattt. Did I mention it's the best picture of me EVER? Yeah, it is. NOT!
Wow, that was 90's.
This blog entry contained entirely too many asides, parentheses, ellipses, etc. My apologies.
Yesterday was New Year's Eve...rather a flop, if I may say so. I was invited to go to a party hosted by a friend from school, but my host parents had other plans--visiting "Oma & Opa" in Flevoland. Julia and I went along somewhat grudgingly. Lucas then invited us to visit him in Lelystad after we'd eaten, but the busses stopped running after 8 PM. Renee said she would bring us, but when we got ready to go she retracted this offer. Sooo New Year's in Zeewolde it was. I had a mind to finish Ulysses, but Julia wanted to go on a walk instead. We went. It was cold. The police asked for my ID for NO REASON. Seriously, officer, if you're looking for disturbers of the peace, I'd suggest trying over there by the gemeentehuis where people are THROWING FIREWORKS AT BUILDINGS. But whatever, I had it, I gave it to them--there were two of them, because you know both of them had to get out of the car to keep me and my peace-disturbing under control--and they went away. Not a problem. People continued doing stupid things with fireworks...throwing them at cars, at buildings, in the water, etc. Setting them off with their kindergarten-aged children. You know. Smart. Julia and I hung out in a square because we didn't feel like going back to listen to a cabarettier on TV who was absolutely full of crap. It was insanely misty, and it just kept getting worse. By midnight it was impossible to see 20 feet away...and then the REAL fireworks started. I don't know where these people found any joy in setting off so many fireworks; it was impossible to see them and they were just loud and dangerous and unpleasant. Standing in the square, being unable to see where the noise was coming from, it really sounded like the beginning of World War Three. This went on for, well, longer than was strictly necessary, one might say. When it sounded almost safe to walk back we did. Got in the car and headed off to Wageningen, only to realize HEY! It's MISTY! No one can SEE to DRIVE! This was no surprise to me, but I kept my mouth shut. We ended up sleeping on the floor of Renee's parents' apartment. Definitely not the way I would have chosen to spend my one New Year's in the Netherlands, but it was an experience.
Tomorrow I'm going to Den Bosch to pick up my Residence Permit. Grreeeaaattt. Did I mention it's the best picture of me EVER? Yeah, it is. NOT!
Wow, that was 90's.
This blog entry contained entirely too many asides, parentheses, ellipses, etc. My apologies.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Brief Question
So yeah, I have lots to say, obviously, but right now I would just like some input. The issue at hand is this: I have realized that I do not think in a language. I think I've mentioned this before, but I'll rehash. I don't just mean that sometimes it's one language and sometimes it's another, I mean that most of the time I don't need words. Someone in my Dutch class told me that it's a sign of an abnormal brain (he wasn't just picking on me, either), which I hope is not true. So does anyone know what this IS and why other people find it so strange? Most of the time I don't have trouble speaking languages, I just don't use them to think. Ideas?
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