A Trip to the North

This past Friday, Arno and I drove to the north of the Netherlands and caught a ferry to one of the nearby islands called Texel (pronounced like tessel). We drove around the island for most of the afternoon checking out the views of the expansive green fields, sea, and beaches. It was the first time in eight years that I have driven a manual shift too--scary for me, but Arno was so patient!! :0) I have only a few photos from the trip...
In other news, I have just been very busy with schoolwork...I can't believe it's just a month until I leave for Bosnia!!! Next weekend is a huge party weekend because it's Queen's day. Everyone in the country puts on their orange (FYI, Orange is the Royal family's name) from head to toe and drinks ridiculous amounts of beer.

The biggest news is the birth of my baby brother which is planned (c-section) for Wednesday, 26 April. His name will be Jared Allen--a good name if you ask me. Will have photos of him at some point soon.

Check back in the next couple of weeks for photos of the baby and from Queen's day!

A nice article on Sarajevo

Click on the link below to read a nice story on Sarajevo, my soon-to-be home for 3 months. Enjoy!

Link to NY Times Sarajevo article, "Emerging from the Shadow of War, Sarajevo Slowly Reclaims Its Lost Innocence

Carnaval in Maastricht

Last weekend while people were celebrating Carnaval around the world, me and some friends traveled to the very south of Holland where Catholicism is the practiced religion (as opposed to Protestantism in most of the country) to have some fun. I only bought a wig, funny sunglasses and multi-colored boa. The Dutch carnaval music was the folky kind of music that makes you move up and down...almost like at Disney World or Busch Gardens, lol. Everyone at carnaval, young to old, are dressed in something.

The group (L-R): Brian, Mos, Daniel, Kanako, Jack, and me!






Below: Me and Jack posing in one of many bars we stopped in

Two men dressed up as prostitutes who went to the extreme and had this fake store front to sit in for the duration of carnaval. They moved locations from time to time. Lots of people had similar things--I saw a CSI crime scene as well; creative!

Cute little boy forced to wear a costume, hehe..
Mos with some people in extravagant costumes. It was really neat to see what people came up with--a lot of traditional carnaval costumes with ornate masks and dresses, royalty, etc.

Summer Internship will be in....

...Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (borders Serbia, Croatia and Hungary) with the National Democratic Institute! Check out the organization at www.ndi.org. It's based in DC and has offices around the world. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under Clinton, is the Chair of the Board for the organization. It's quite a prominent organization in the post-conflict democratization, reconstruction, and stabilization field. It receives most of its funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

I will be working on some of the following issues:
constitutional arrangements and points of contention, modernizing public administration, policy development and coherence, reform of specific sectors like the police, military and broadcasting, challenges to health care and education, social cohesion, identity and ethnicity, values, urban-rural dimensions, the role of women, migrations and refugees, minorities and human rights, youth attitudes and aspirations, local and world views, etc.

As many of you know, the Balkan region experienced several years of conflict in the 90's, but of all the countries in that region, Bosnia & Herzegovina is one of the safest. One of the biggest dangers are landmines, but these are clearly marked--you just can't go hiking wherever you'd like! I have a friend living and working for an international organization not too far from Sarajevo as well, which will be helpful. For more information on Sarajevo and the country in general, go to:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2868.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo

I am looking forward to the post-conflict issues I will be working on and the invaluable experience I will have as a result of this internship.

A graceful fall...

Shortly after awaking this morning, I went downstairs to make some coffee--a normal daily routine. Once the brewing started I headed back upstairs to check my email, another morning ritual. After reading my messages and hearing that the brewing was complete, I did the expected thing and headed back downstairs...only I headed down in a slightly different style. With what I faintly recall as being a slip of the foot, I plummeted down the steep, twisting stairs all the while trying to grasp onto the railing with my right arm. Try and try as I may, my arm only twisted with the rest of my body. Somehow I was alert enough to concentrate on not letting my head, back, or butt hit the stairs, which made for an extremely awkward fall. I let out a girly yell (what else can you expect!) and my two roommates came dashing down to check on me. I was completely faint for a few minutes, drank some orange juice to increase my blood sugar so I would not actually pass out, and then layed on the couch for a few minutes while my sight came back and my arm throbbed. Fortunately, after what was actually quite traumatizing, I am fairly well. I undoubtedly pulled my tricep muscle trying to hold on for dear life, and have scrapes beginning on the front of my arm twisting over to the back side of my arm and up my tricep. My toes on my left foot are bruised and stiff, but fine otherwise. My arm is bruising beautifully and is stiff, but not harmed further. I don't know if any of you have fallen down stairs, but it is one hell of a scary thing. It happens so quickly. On top of this, my roommate fell down them just last week. That tells you something about our stairs; check out the photo I posted recently of the stairs looking down from the top...would make for a better slide. Anyhow, I needed to vent and I hope you were somewhat entertained by my description of what was, at the time, frightening.

Another of the Eiffel tower...

I tried to capture the flickering lights, which occurs every first ten minutes on the hour. It's quite beautiful and I really like this photo...

Paris!!

Time goes by(a la Madonna)...in one of the wings of the Musee d'Orsay...

I traveled to Paris for a long weekend to visit a friend, Sravish. Since I visited the city a few years back, I tried to see some new sites. Of course, you cannot visit the beautiful city without passing the Eiffel Tower many times, especially if your friend lives nearby it! I took the elevator to the very, very top!!

Other highlights: walking up to Montmartre at night, drinking wine from glass baby bottles at a neat little fondue restaurant in Montmartre, meeting French men, eating fresh croissants, the Catacombes, shopping on the Ile St. Louis's cute streets, and just walking around with no specific plan. Enjoy the photos.














A view from the top






















Some nice face sculptures in the Musee d'Orsay which gave me a little creepy feeling inside for some reason...not as much as in the catacombes, though! The catacombes were constructed from an old underground quarry which became home to approx. 6 million peoples' bones in the 1700-1800's. You walk down some long, not very well-lighted, dirt and pebble-floored corridors to the consecrated site. What a sight it is too (cue x-files or another scary movie tune)...















A bit blurry, but you get the idea. I took the rest on my mobile but can't get them onto my computer...there were bones in various formations, a cross, a heart, etc. Corridors and corridors full. Before electricity, visitors just used candlelight--can you imagine?

More photos of our place

Since the sun is shining so brightly today, I thought I would update some of the old photos and add some new ones. We just love the place so much! Tonight (Feb. 9th) is our housewarming party and perhaps I will have some good photos from that later.













Our living room--perfect for entertaining, and even a dance party!














The terrace and steep stairs leading up to our bedrooms













And my bedroom...with the new addition of a 19.95 desk from Ikea!!

Budapest, 23-29 January 2006

In short, the trip to Budapest was a complete and utter blast. The city is fascinating and gorgeous, not to mention quite expansive. It was freezing and I had to wear 3 layers of clothes under my coat, as well as tights under my jeans, but it was well worth the trouble. The goulash was delicious and Brian and I became regulars at one of the local pubs for its goulash alone. One of the many highlights included 2 separate trips to the outdoor thermal bath, which is the largest of its kind in Europe. It was absolutely freezing outside and we ran like foreign nuts into the bath where we spent the next few hours relaxing. After leaving the bath and while walking to the metro, my bathing suit began to freeze!

I know that you must be curious as to why I am with 6 guys, but for some reason it never occurred to me I would be traveling with all men when I booked the trip. Kanako, another classmate, did have an overlapping trip so it was fortunate we could meet up too. Even a friend from DC who is now living and working in Bosnia, Matthew, was able to meet us! We were a diverse group of strong personalities, but laughed almost completely non-stop. It was one of the most memorable trips I have ever had. The former Soviet presence can still be felt, but the city is definitely transforming and modernizing with its membership to the European Union.

I have a few photos here, but you can view the rest at this address: http://dell.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=5b6o41r.82wb9wtz&Uy=-ui2xkf&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1



A row of arches at the Fishermen's Bastion





Me at the Bastion







The Chain Bridge - the first connection between Buda and Pest.










Me, Daniel, Bart, Brian, Erwin, and Jack






L-R: Daniel, Brian, Erwin, Matthew a.k.a Parish, Bart and Jack







The House of Terror - a place where Jews were killed in WWII, which also became a Nazi Headquarter and thereafter used by the Soviets. Not a favorable landmark for Hungarians.

My new home at # 13a (the door in the middle of the photo)

Well, New Year's in Amsterdam was a blast but watch out for the fireworks coming from every which direction!! People let them off beside you, from apartment balconies, etc. Crazy! After ringing in the new year, however, it was time to get settled in my new apartment. The living room and kitchen are spacious, there are 2 levels, 3 bedrooms, and the whole apartment came mostly furnished (somewhat rare here). We got such a great place because we went through a real estate agency who normally only deals with professionals and not students. One of my roommates, Brian, was able to provide evidence of employment while we also mentioned that we are very sophisticated graduate students who never party like those immature undergrads ;) Anyhow, the place is located on a beautiful canal just outside the centre of town and is quiet, very nice, and cozy. Here are some photos to give you an idea of the place...the bathroom is not shown but it has heated floor tiles and towel rack, which is a nice bonus!

The yellow glass doors in the kitchen open to an outdoor roof terrace which will undoubtedly get an abundance of usage in the spring and summer. A lot of light shines in through these glass doors, which is really pleasant. The living room is larger than it appears below--I didn't want to photograph a bunch of empty space. Notice the large windows which extend nearly from the ceiling to the floor. In the past, this was a sign of wealth (as told to me by a Dutch person) because of the loss of heat factor, but the glass is double-paned. The molding around the ceiling light adds a nice touch!

















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This is the view from our living room--the canal, boats, and houseboats...





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My bedroom...it overlooks the terrace below and neighbors' gardens. I only had to purchase the bed and a wardrobe, which I bought from Ikea and on sale. It's fairly decent in size, but you cannot see most of it from these photos. But, hey, how interesting can it be?

Physical Challenge

You want one of the most ultimate physical challenges ever? Get a classic bike and go to Holland. You will often encounter 20-30 mph winds coming from every direction on any given day. You may ride in that headwind for a good 5 minutes until you begin to think, and even KNOW, that you can walk faster than you are actually pedaling. But, oh, you approach a corner where you have to turn right. You think, "yay, I will FINALLY have some easy riding because the wind won't be coming from this direction!" Think again. The wind is coming from every which direction and at the same, if not at higher speeds, and with more powerful gusts than before! Complicate that with a bit of rain. Want more of a challenge? Add a torrential downpour where not only your clothes become damp, but completely saturated. Furthermore, do that within a 30-minute period of time. Expect that you will need to throw your clothes into a friend's dryer so that you don't freeze to death just so that you can brave the next ride to another destination yet again. More? Random hail. Yes, it's wonderful--Mother Earth at its best.

For the strong willed who crave even more of a challenge-- try doing this after a few beers...you will then have achieved what I have done only week after week, for months....and will continue to do for more than a year to come.

I CHALLENGE you! Do you think you're ready? I doubt it....

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Does he honestly think the Holocaust didn't happen? How utterly despicable and flabbergasting. Oh wait, the sky is purple too...

Sinterklaas

The Dutch celebrate Christmas on the 25th, but the giving and opening of gifts is celebrated on 5 December, which is also known as Sinterklaas. The story is that Sinterklaas lives in Spain and comes to the Netherlands by steamboat each year with his 'zwarte' (black) helpers to give gifts. For more information on the tradition, go to http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml. Food like pepernoten (small hard or chewy gingerbread type cookies), speculaas (a softer gingerbread cake-like food commonly with an almond paste in the middle), marzipan, and chocolate letters are popular holiday snacks.

*Above photo is the traditional way Sint goes through the towns--on his white horse with Zwarte Pieten surrounding him.

You also write poems, as if written by Sinterklaas, for each of the people receiving gifts from you. The poems tend to tease the recipient, as well as give hints about the gift. The wrapping and giving of presents is a chore in itself since you don't usually just wrap each gift as is. It is common to incorporate some tricks in the packages, like putting the gift in multiple boxes, wrapping it several times, making the gift impossible to get into, making the box itself into some kind of object, writing clues on notes to where else the gift may be hidden, etc., etc. It's great fun and sure to make you chuckle. Most people in my MA program participated in a Sinterklaas event where we each drew a name (like Secret Santa) and bought a gift for that person. To our surprise, two of our classmates dressed up as Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet; Sinterklaas played by Herman, one of our Dutch classmates, and Zwarte Piet by Pieter who is Dutch-Canadian. I've included photos from this party below.

I also went to Marnix's family's home to celebrate Sinterklaas with them. They treated me as one of their own giving me an abundance of gifts including a nice 55-piece set of kitchenware, which I need for my new apartment that I will move into in January (pictures of that to come later). After opening each gift, you say "Danku Sinterklaasje," meaning Thank You Sint! You don't usually put who the present is from on the gift. We had a really fun time and honestly never stopped eating. Marnix has a great family and I am so happy they invited me! :o)

Opening my 55-piece kitchen set I got from Sinterklaas (wink, wink) at Marnix's parent's home. It was a great gift since I need it for my new apartment!



Pieter as Zwarte Piet tossing pepernoten upon entrance. He was my SecretSint.



Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet

















Denis (one of my future roommates) with Piet






Reading my Sinterklaas poem from Ida with a smirk on my face. It was hilarious!!






Me and my Macedonian, Ida. :o)












Most of the MA group.

Front center is Denis(Slovakia); to his left in white sweater is Richard (Polish-Canadian); to right in green shirt is Shiska(Indonesia); Sinterklaas, or Herman we know him; right of Sinterklaas with pink shirt is Evelyn(Dutch, but is essentially from Switzerland); me; in front of me is Alexis; to right of me in green sweater is Alina(Romanian-American); above Alina is Kanako(Japan); to left of Kanako is Zwarte Piet also known as Pieter(Dutch-Canadian); to left of Pieter is Daniel(Brazilian and male version of myself); to his left in plaid sweater is Hans(Dutch); he has his arm around Bokhtar(Tajikistan); in front of him is Brian(American and my other future roommate); in orange is Ida(Macedonian as mentioned above); in purple sweater is Difang(China).