Day 23 - 26 - Swampsters Unite

On the one hand, I feel bad that I'm not as eager to blog every day now, but on the other hand that's probably a good thing for the integration process. Here's a recap of the week that was. This will probably be the last post before I head off to Paris tomorrow night (unless I take my laptop, which is doubtful), so look for something again next Wednesday. It should be an epic post.

Day 23 - Tuesday

I don't really remember doing anything on Tuesday. I think I might have gotten my official course registration paper signed, finally, but if I already blogged saying I did that, whoops! Oh yes, I did my first assignment in The Netherlands on Tuesday! Two months without any class work whatsoever probably made me a little rusty, but it was oddly comforting to have school work again. It's still really annoying to not have access to wi-fi in some of the university buildings - pretty inexplicable, really - but at least I'm less distracted when I'm doing my work.

Day 24 - 2-1 TO THE ARSENAL!

I registered at the Town Hall in Oegstgeest, officially completing my legal residency in The Netherlands (while still waiting for the residence permit to arrive via mail). So that's kind of cool. I got a laundry card, which was beyond necessary at this point, but the three washing machines for 500 students were all full when I checked so I put off doing laundry another day. I tried doing some reading but couldn't focus, as I was far too excited for the Arsenal-Barca match later that night at the Emirates.

I managed to drag Stephen, James, and Chase to Bad Habits to watch the game, where the draw had a big crowd buzzing when we got there. Barca went up 1-0 early, and held that lead well into the second half before a great strike from Rotterdam's own Robin van Persie made it 1-1, and embattled striker Andrey Arshavin made it a shocking 2-1 for The Arsenal late in the second half. Arsenal held on, and I was genuinely overjoyed. I think I'm transferring a bit of Arsenal pride to the other American guys, and I look forward to watching the big matches at Bad Habits.

The frenzy from the Arsenal match transferred into the rest of the night as we made it to the "Flirt Night" thing at Einstein's, where everyone got a number, and there was a board with a nail for each number - want to flirt with someone, write a note and stick it on their number. I was generally less than successful, but I blame that on my number falling off. Oh, and the GIANT RIP DOWN MY PANTS. Unbelievably, the first night wearing some really great fitting Dutch jeans, I drop it too low and the pants absolutely shred down the backside. It provided some funny times, but a bit annoying to only get 1/2 a night's worth out of those jeans.

Day 25 - SWAMPSTERS UNITE!

Class today! The novelty, class. Urban Inequalities is a puzzling class. We haven't learned much of anything, and it's basically a show-and-tell for the Americans to talk about their home towns (as the Dutch students in my classes don't appear keen to talk in class). I like the class, but 25% of the way through it and I haven't gain much of anything from it. Maybe the essay at the end will be the best part of the course. Dutch culture class remains boring, but easy, so no complaints. We're vaulting through centuries of history in single class periods, which is simultaneously overwhelming and boring.

After class I grabbed a couple groceries, came home, and did laundry. I conquered the TINY washing machines and notoriously poor dryers, so that was good. My roommate Lizi, from China, made an awesome three course meal to celebrate the end of the Spring Festival (I think?), that consisted of mussels with a tasty onion and garlic sauce, ridiculously tender chicken bathed in a cinnamon (I think) sauce, and rice balls. It was really nice to have a meal with Lizi and Martin and just talk for a while.

Afterward I hopped on Facebook to discover that a group had been made for the residents of the Swamp (Rijnfront housing!) which was long overdue. I discovered that a friend actually lived directly next door to me, and a bunch of us organized first a run to McDonald's for stroopwafel McFlurries, and then we headed out as a crew to a bar in Oegstgeest, which was really nice. We socialized for a few hours over pitchers, and it's really nice to know that there is a solid group of friends in the Rinjfront, and that we don't always have to go into Leiden for fun. We're planning a RIJNRAVE that'll be the talk of the town. The Rijnfront isn't so bad, after all.

DAY 26 - InCasa + Paris Prep

I got an email this morning (though I woke up at 3 pm) that I have the chance to switch into Kloosterpoort student apartments, but I think it's a sign of the times that I'm not really considering it. It might be a pain to ride to and fro, but I like the Rijnfront, and it'd be a dumb idea to switch housing now and not know anybody in the new building all over again.

Doing a bit of Paris planning today. I'm beyond excited for this to happen. I can't wait to show you lot everything I end up doing. I think I'm most excited to see Versailles.

Tonight there's an ISN party at InCasa that I'm dressing up as Jack White for, and the Rijnfront crew is meeting up before hand for a pre-party, which should be fun.

Time to roll out of bed and find some food. Talk to you guys soon!

UPDATE! Just got a package from MOM! Love you MOM! This is the best! Also, the Dutch postman goes, "I have a package for Andrew... it's from MOTOWN!" and he proceeds to engage me in a five minute conversation about Detroit techno and how he played with pioneers Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. This country is hilarious.