Day 89 - 92 - Summer Vibes

The weather here in Northern Europe has been tremendous for going on two weeks now, and this weekend might have been the best weather yet. 70s, sunny, and breezy, this was a weekend of supreme relaxation.

Day 89 - To The Sea

The route to the sea from Leiden is considerably shorter than the same ride from Bruges. Instead of doing an overdue assignment I woke up and biked to the North Sea at Katwijk with Adam and Steve. It's 20-30 minutes depending on how fast you bike, and it's just so nice to have a huge sandy beach in such close striking distance that everyday could potentially be spent partially at the beach. I played in the sand and ate ice cream and it was the best. Sometimes I think about the "purpose" of studying abroad and I feel pressure to come back with some kind of shiny wisdom acquired to show off that all this was worth it. And then sometimes I think, I might not be gleaning the meaning of life from my experiences, but I sure am having a splendid time relaxing without lots of pressing responsibilities for the first time in as long as I can remember. There's nothing wrong with having a relaxing period in my life, I think, and I hope that doesn't sound as vain and selfish as I think it sounds because that isn't the intent. I'm so fortunate for the opportunity.

After the beach I pounded out that overdue assignment and then geared up to go to the karaoke birthday party of a friend from the Swamp. As little as I enjoy karaoke in theory I always end up having a decent time when it actually happens, and singing a pitch perfect rendition of 'Creep' with the other Andy was fun, amongst other songs. Vi-Kings had Straffe Hendrik Tripel in bottles, which was exciting, and I also got to watch some NHL playoffs on ESPN America. I also met my first other person in the Netherlands from Michigan (a mid-20s woman who went to State) and a Dutchman who followed American sports and name dropped Denard when he found out I went to Michigan. So that was revelatory. Also, we were out until like 4:30... however that happened.

Day 90 - A Most Wonderful Day

The most perfect weather ever. I went into Leiden to get some things from the market and it was as alive as I've seen it. People everywhere, boats all up and down the canals, it was just a special place to be, and it's scene's like that that I'll miss most when I go back home. I got some delicious kibbeling, wandered around for a bit, and then decided to hop into H&M where I got two exciting new shirts for summer. In a glorious mood, I picked up some groceries, went back home, and sat around in the breezy summer day. Andy and I threw a frisbee around for a while, and I just relaxed the rest of the day. It was tremendous.

Day 91 - Picnic

I woke up late, watched a bunch of 30 Rock, and then joined a big Swamp BBQ in progress outside and spent most of the rest of the day there. I played soccer with a bunch of Italians, where I was clearly the least talented, and ate some delicious food - including a rice and crab salad that was just perfect. Tasted like sushi. I ate pounds of it. Once again, another day just spent lying around and enjoying the weather (as it rained back in Ann Arbor).

Day 92 - When The Least Relaxing Thing I Did Was Go For A Bike Ride

I really couldn't think of a good title. I haven't done anything today, but at least I got dressed and rode my bike around in the continuing glorious weather. I've spent most of the day enjoying the breezy weather and watching 30 Rock. What a tremendous show.

Tomorrow I'm going to start being more productive for a bit before Cory and Jordan come in succession and then I jet-set off to Berlin for a long weekend in early May.

I've been here for more than three months. Two months to go. It's all pretty wild.

Day 81 - 88 - Amsterdam and Belgium with the Family

The family crossed the pond. This is what happened. Pictures after text.

Day 81 - Thursday

I had class. Then Steve, James, and I went to grab a beer and lunch afterwards. Normal Nederlands stuff.

Day 82 - Arrival

After class I headed up to Amsterdam to meet up with my family. I successfully predicted their reactions to seeing me, and after rendezvousing in Dam Square we wandered through the Red Light District in search of food. The spot we settled on was right near the hotel - the five-star Grand Amrath, which was a sight to behold. The family was severely jet-lagged, so they all napped for a couple hours and I made use of the complimentary mini-bar.

My dad woke up and we walked around the cool, modern harbor I had yet to explore. We saw the Renzo Piano-designed NEMO and what has to be the coolest library in the world. I wandered around the Centraal Library awestruck for a while, and we headed back there for dinner at the Italian restaurant inside (yes) which had delicious pizzas. We capped off the night with a stroll along the harbor, a hilarious British show called Have I Got News For You that was remarkable in its candor, and 30 Rock on Netflix.

Day 83 - Keukenhof

In the morning we got up and headed off to Keukenhof in Lisse, one of the world's most spectacular gardens. We had to wait in line for a bus for an hour, and it was a complete mob scene when we arrived (easily 100,000 people there). The flowers were spectacular and included many varieties I'd never seen before, but the crowds became oppressive at a certain point. Never before has there been a bigger collection of people who (in the words of Kenny Schneider) have no idea what they want, and all these old tourists just end up clogging every footpath in the park. Crowds and all, Keukenhof was still impressive, and we were treated to awesome views of the tulip fields beyond the park.

When we got back to Amsterdam Joey and I wandered around for a bit, stumbled upon a big anti-nuclear energy protest in Dam Square, and browsed at H&M for orange clothing (I needed an orange shirt for Queen's Day - April 30). H&M in Europe is refreshing because the men's section is as big as the women's, and I ended up getting a cool shirt in addition to my orange t-shirt.

Afterwards we made it back to the hotel in time to watch the Wings play, and they made it interesting against the Coyotes but pulled out the victory. Dinner was at Vapiano at the library again, because it was easy and delicious and quite the good deal. A real gem they've got there.

We probably watched more 30 Rock as a family but I was exhausted and fell asleep pretty early.

Day 84 - Leiden

On Sunday we packed up and left Amsterdam - my parents went to The Hague to check into their hotel and Joey and I went to Leiden. We grabbed doner kebab and sat in the park along a canal for a couple hours killing time. We migrated to the Starbucks at the station to wait for the parents to arrive, and after they did we did a bit of a walking tour through Leiden (with an early stop at Bagels and Beans). Everyone was very impressed with charming old Leiden, and I think they enjoyed it more than Amsterdam.

Joey and I headed back to the Swamp (a long walk with only one bike) and made it in time for the tail end of the Swamp BBQ. We played football with a bunch of people and had a good time, and I was happy Joey could have fun. We went back to my room and watched 30 Rock for the rest of the night. I fell asleep because I was exhausted. Also - I'm a tremendous footy player, even rusty as I was. Magic.

Day 85 - In Bruges

Joey and I made our way to the Hague to meet up with my parents, and from there we made the 3+ hour train journey through Belgium to Bruges. The Belgian countryside was really quaint and made me miss Up North. It felt cool to be in a place (Belgium, West Flanders, etc.) where I have roots.

We arrived in Bruges and took a bus into the Market Square. It's beautiful and quaint, and surrounded by old historic structures. We walked to our very nice, sleek, modern hotel tucked into a quiet section of town but quite near the hustle and bustle of the market. At check-in the very nice proprietor remarked at our Flemish name and mentioned that he was also from Roeselare (more on this in a bit). After settling in we wandered through town, and by a series of wrong turns ended up walking down quiet, non-descript streets, but this was actually really nice and peaceful. The streets of Bruges, dotted with canals and featuring well-maintained, historic residences, were adorable and peaceful, and in that moment I couldn't imagine a better place to be.

We walked all around Bruges for the rest of the day, and eventually got a really fine French dinner at one of the restaurants in an old square near a canal. Dad and I had Brugse Zot, the local Bruges-brewed beer, which was quite good. My salmon quiche might be the best thing I've ever tasted. We walked past the lit-up canals on the way back to the hotel, and spent the rest of the night watching the Discovery Channel, a station that exists here in English with Dutch subtitles. My mom hates Deadliest Catch.

Day 86 - Roeselare Roots

This will surely prove to be one of the singular days I remember most from this entire European experience. We went to the small Flemish town of Roeselare on Tuesday because we knew that Charles Goddeeris, father of the Flemish community in Detroit around the turn of the 20th century, had emigrated from Roeselare and we hoped to maybe find something with the Goddeeris name for a photo-op. We weren't quite sure what to expect.

We walked around the cute-enough town with shops and restaurants and churches, and eventually made our way to the national cycling museum. Cycling is the biggest sport in Belgium, and Eddy Merckx is basically the most famous Belgian ever, so Joey and I went in. The museum was pretty cool, if just to look at bikes and watch famous races on TVs scattered about. We met up with my parents in the lobby, and my dad pointed out in a guide he found that there was a statue in town by an Isidoor Goddeeris. He asked the lady at the desk if she knew where to find the statue, because we shared a last name with the sculptor. She mentioned that the sister of Isidoor, Mary, worked at the museum, but that she wasn't working that day. We were about to leave when my mom went back in to write a note to Mary, and inside she discovered that Mary Goddeeris was in fact there at the museum that day. This is the part where we meet a relative we didn't know existed. Mary told us that her mother was born in Detroit, and that her grandfather had gone to Detroit in the 1930s for a while. It was all pretty remarkable, as it sunk in that she was definitely related to us, however distant. She arranged for us to meet up with her brother, John, in a few hours, so we left to museum to wander around checking out some other Isidoor Goddeeris sculptures and to eat lunch.

Lunch was great. Croque-monsieur with a delicious dipping sauce and the Roeselare beer, Rodenbach, which was the most unique beer I've ever had (very sour, but drinkable). After lunch we walked around a bit and then got hot chocolate (side note here - Belgian waffles and Belgian chocolates exceed their reputations - they're outstanding, and the chocolate is surely the finest I've ever tasted).

When we made it back to the cycling museum, John Goddeeris (here pronounced "Who-dere-iz")- an amateur family historian, as chance would have it - was very eager to meet us. He had with him a book he edited of Charles Goddeeris' memoirs from Detroit in Flemish (English excerpts of which I've read before - Charles Goddeeris witnessed Henry Ford test-driving his first automobile... what do you know about 5th-generation Detroiter swag?) and was eager to swap what we knew about the family. John was full of revelations. There exists a Charles Goddeeris prize for architects at the academy in Roeselare, and my branch of the Goddeeris family was full of people in the building trades. 300 years ago my branch and John's branch broke off from each other, and my branch was the wealthier family in commerce that moved to Roeselare.

John drove us around town showing us various sculptures by his brother Isidoor, the youngest of five brothers and sisters in his family, who appears to be quite the big deal. We ended up going to his studio to meet him, which was really cool. The studio was something out of a photography book, and Isidoor was quite cool. After chatting for a while and getting some family pictures we drove back to the cycling museum to wish everyone goodbye. We shared some more current events type stories and speculated that we have a big Goddeeris reunion in Roeselare.

It was really special to be able to go to a small Belgian town and definitively place our ancestry there. I had always identified loosely as Belgian, but going to the town where my ancestors lived, and where distant relatives still live is pretty special. The experience also made me realize that I'm a 5th generation Detroiter, which I don't think many Detroiters at all can say. That makes me very proud. More proud than you can imagine, probably. There's a reason I just can't imagine myself being able to leave this city.

After we got back to Bruges we were all exhausted and took the embarrassing but convenient and cheap step of getting some Subway for dinner, which we ate in the hotel. Funny part and only reason I mention this is the young kid working at Subway mentioned he had been to America, that he LOVED America, and he went, "You know what I love most about America? Free refills." Amen, brother. Super. Size. Me.

Day 87 - De Halve Maan and The North Sea

We woke up, had brunch at the hotel, and Joey, my dad, and I went to De Halve Maan Brewery for a tour, where they still make Brugse Zot blond and bruin beers. The brewery tour was cool and definitely have me a deeper appreciation for the process of beer-making, and the tour guide was pretty funny in a very droll way. Afterwards we got a glass of Brugse Zot, which was good, and my dad and I tried the Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel, which De Halve Maan also brews. I'd never seen a Quadrupel, and it was 11% ac/v, which was strong even for a Belgian beer. It was remarkably smooth and not nearly as heavy as one would expect, and it surely packed quite the punch. I've seen it described online as "dangerously drinkable" and my dad and I both would agree with that summary.

Afterwards we met up with mother and rented bikes. We rode out along the canals to Damme, a small old town with cute restaurants that tourists frequent. We decided to keep riding in an effort to make it to the sea. At one point my mom and dad decided to call it quits, so they stopped at a restaurant and Joey and I rode on. We probably should have consulted a map before leaving. To make a long story short, we got very lost at some point. We crossed over into Holland, and rode through the cute town of Sluis, and after a couple wrong turns ended up on what we thought was the route to the sea. We were following the "Noordzee Route" which we figured would take us to the sea, but ended up being a remarkably indirect path to the beach - we probably biked 25km out of our way on the way there, and that's no exaggeration. The country, however, was really beautiful, and the weather was great. We finally made it to the beach and North Sea, and it was great to walk in the sand and dip my feet in the freezing North Sea. We got cokes and ice cream on the beach before heading back along a much more direct route through the resort town of Cadzand and along some canals all the way back to Damme for dinner. At this point I had lost feeling in my hands (I still have numbness in my left hand) and I was rather tired (though less tired than I would have expected, to be honest. Conditioning.). We finally made it back into Bruges in the early evening, and collapsed into bed for the night.

Day 88 - Goodbyes

In the morning we had a final breakfast in Bruges, and then headed to the train station. My family booked their tickets to Paris, where they'll be for the next couple days, and I got mine back to Leiden. After a teary (mom) and huggy goodbye, we parted ways. I stopped in Antwerp and walked around for a bit, but I was most impressed by how beautiful the train station was. It made me wish Michigan Central Station was in use. How grand it would be. The ride back to Leiden wasn't noteworthy, and I've spent the rest of the day being lazy and relaxing. Classes are cancelled tomorrow for Good Friday and I think I'm headed to the beach and then Amsterdam for an indie club night. Life is rough.

Seeing my family makes me miss them now and I kind of want to go home. I'm sure this'll wear off once I get back into the swing of being away from them. I've been in Europe for three months. This is pretty crazy. Two months to go. Cory and Jordan are coming soon, I'm going to Berlin, I've got a couple finals, and then a final month of traveling with Adrian. Shaping up to fly by, I think.

Enough words. Here are a lot of pictures.

Awesome library.

Keukenhof.

#tulips

Vivid.

Bruges is adorable.

Canals are awesome.

A town built for postcards.

My camera is worthless at night.

Sculpture of Roeselare for blind people (there's braille on there) by Isidoor Goddeeris.

Flemish #swag

Moar Isidoor.

Goddeeris men (with John Goddeeris) at 7-ton marble sculpture Isidoor made in a year.

Isidoor with John at his studio.

All kinds of cool stuff like this.

I loved this.

Dangerously drinkable.

Brothers In Bruges.

GET OUT OF THE WAY, SHEEP.

Least helpful map of all time.

At least it was pretty.

And.... the payoff. The North Sea.

Antwerpen Centraal was a spectacle.

Thanks for reading.

Day 76 - 80 - Copenheaven

Saturday I flew to Copenhagen to see Rachael, and I got home Tuesday. Here's the recap.

Day 76 - Arrival and Hockey

I got up early Saturday morning and headed to Schipol to fly to Copenhagen. The flight was a bit delayed but otherwise short and fine, and I got to the sleek Copenhagen airport around 11 am. I rode the very modern Metro to meet Rachael, we took me to her host family's home. The Nielsen's live in the Frederiksberg neighborhood of Copenhagen, a very charming, stately quarter. The Nielsen's house was really gorgeous - modern, sleek, simple design coupled with all the natural light you could hope for - and they were really nice and accommodating. After an introductory lunch of smorrebrod - Danish, open-faced sandwiches on dense rye bread - with pickeled herring, fish, and egg salad, Rachael and I set out for a jaunt around the downtown area. Everything was really picturesque and beautiful - reminiscent of Amsterdam but with a lot less hustle and bustle - and it was pleasant to just stroll around downtown. I got to see Rachael's architecture studio at her school, and we visited a really trendy home furnishings store. Copenhagen, by the way, is the most stylish place I've been so far. Sorry, London and Paris.

After quite a long walk through the touristy downtown spots and through the parks with big lakes right in the middle of the city, we headed back home to relax for a bit and then eat dinner. It was so nice having not only home cooked but also pretty gourmet food for a change! We had pork roast and vegetables, and washed it down with homemade ice cream. Best meal I'd had in ages. Afterward the family all sat around talking and we had tea. This was a theme for the trip, and a mighty good one. Me, Rachael, and the oldest son (22) Julius all watched Life of Brian, and then I peeled off to watch Michigan hockey play for a national championship. The game ended in overtime at 4:30 AM in heartbreak, and I really felt punched in the gut once again. I won't get into that hear. Needless to say, I went to bed with a heavy heart.

Day 77 - Danish Architecture Center, Christiania, and Paris-Roubaix

After waking up hours after everyone else, I had breakfast/lunch with Rachael before heading out back into Copenhagen. The weather was even more beautiful than the day before, and it was cool to ride a bike around the world's most bike friendly urban area. Bike culture in general is such a breath of fresh air, and I can't stop thinking about how I want to embrace bike culture back in the States when I get home.

We went to the Danish Architecture Center, which had an exhibition on landscape design that was really cool and quite interesting. The more I experience things like this the more and more convinced I become that I would love urban planning school, and I like that I would somewhat following in the footsteps of one of my parents (Dad). I have no doubt I wouldn't have nearly as much interest in the subject if it weren't for Detroit. The center also had a very expansive library, and we sat around reading snippets of design and architecture books for a while. Afterwards we walked/biked around the Christianhavn neighborhood before wandering into Christiania. Christiana is a 40-year old independent commune founded on an old military installation that has been turned into its own self-governing body outside of the control of the Copenhagen and Dutch governments. Somehow. Christiania is most famous for its legal marijuana trade, but this was by far the least cool part of the settlement. What's much cooler is how people have improvised and designed their homes, some complete with boats for living rooms. It's astounding to think that a community has banded together to decide how they want to live, are going for it outside of government control, and that it has survived for 40-years. There are ongoing negotiations between the community and the Dutch government to work towards some kind of plan for the future.

We headed home (not before getting a delicious hot dog topped with sauces, onions, fried onions, and pickles) and ended up watching the Darjeeling Limited, which I enjoyed as a Wes Anderson-comedy, but which seemed to lack any real point. We had dinner - turkey roast, pasta, and asparagus - and more tea. Jan, the father, was very excited to watch the Paris-Roubaix bike race, which he called the world's most prestigious and difficult one-day bike race. Cycling culture is huge in Europe, and we proceeded to watch the race for like three hours. It was a bit boring with the commentary in Dutch, but it was fun enough to watch a Belgian take home the prize. An observation - Fabian Cancellara is a horse on a bike.

Day 78 - Elephants and Relaxing

I woke up late again on a lazy Monday, and after lunch, Rachael and I headed back out to walk around Frederiksberg. We walked through yet another really nice, big park, and I just couldn't stop thinking about how green spaces like this would function in Detroit. Imagine if Detroit had multiple Belle Isles dropped throughout the city - not just big, expansive green spaces, but big expansive green spaces that people enjoyed going to to exercise, socialize, and relax. There are issues, of course, but I can't help but feel all great cities have big green spaces. Detroit's best is its own island.

This particular garden had a section that opened up on the Elephant enclosure at the Copenhagen Zoo, and we watched the elephants for quite some time. One was using his trunk and feet to break branches up and eat them, and it was really fascinating to watch. Afterwards we kept strolling around and saw the rest of Frederiksberg, which is a New Urbanist's dream.

We got back to the house and I proceeded to read Game Change and just relax until dinner. We had chili and rice which was of course delicious, and after dinner I read some more and tried to watch Danish news with the family. I ended up finishing Game Change, which felt good, and gave me some ways to think about the 2012 election which gets more and more attention with each passing day.

Day 79 - Heading Home

I rounded up my stuff the next morning and prepared to head to the airport with Rachael, who was headed to Vienna. The Nielsen's were most gracious hosts, and were some of the coolest people I'd met in Europe. Copenhagen was such a picturesque, relaxing, charming place, and I really enjoyed my time there. I could definitely sense a different quality to the life style in Scandinavia, and the emphasis seems to be enjoying life simply but richly. I might have just made that up completely. It was really great, is the point. Not a lot of cultural diversity, though, from what I saw, and the place is rather expensive. Those are the only real cons I could find.

The Copenhagen Airport is really nice and Rachael and I killed a few hours there together before I headed home. My flight home was uneventful and comfortable, and the train ride back to Leiden was fine. I ended up lazily and sleepily wasting away the rest of the day (I got to watch the Tigers win on ESPN America), and I started watching The Killing, which is OK.

Day 80 - Perfect Leiden day

Got up around noon and the sun was shining so I headed down to town. I got postcards (mailed one to the Nielsen's today) and a ticket to London Calling in Amsterdam, an indie festival that will feature Cloud Nothings, Twin Shadow, Cults, Ty Segall, and Ra Ra Riot, which I am super excited about. I also found out that nu-metal hip-hop sensations OFWGKTA will be playing a free show in Amsterdam on Queen's Day, which is super exciting. Afterwards, I headed to the Wednesday market and got some kibbeling and ate it along the canal. Kibbeling, friend fish chunks with sauce, is remarkably delicious. So good. Afterwards I went to Hortus Botanicus and sat in the gardens and started reading a new book called Scoreboard, Baby about the 2000 Washington Huskies football team. Should be good. It was a bit chilly so here I am back at home in the Swamp. The Wings kick off the 2011 playoffs tonight against Phoenix, so I'm looking forward to watching that. Family comes to Amsterdam in two days. Very excited.

Here are some pictures from Copenhagen.

King's Gardens, I think. Super great.

Danish Architecture Center

This elephant was the resourceful one.

A different awesome park, this time with elephants.

Copenheaven.

Day 71 - 75 - Update

Days 71 through 75 were largely uneventful. Day 71 was marked by doing nothing, I'm sure. I got my official residence permit on Day 72, which was exciting, because it's a really cool ID card with lots of holograms. Day 73 was more of the same (nothing). On Day 74 (morning of 75) Michigan played a brilliant defensive hockey game and beat favorite North Dakota 2-0 to advance to the national championship game. I really think they're going to win it. This team has played extraordinary defense, and it all starts with the ridiculous play of Shawn Hunwick. The guy will go down a Michigan legend with a win tomorrow night, and deserves to go down a legend even if they lose. This team has the right attitude to go with plenty of skill. The only way I see them losing tomorrow is if they give Minnesota-Duluth too many chances on the power play. Let's win a national championship, boys. Today, on Day 75, I registered for classes back home that I'm incredibly excited about. So close to graduating with a double concentration in history and political science. Eye on Urban Planning school. Applying to Michigan Law. We'll see what happens.

Saturday I fly to Copenhagen for 3.5 days to visit Rachael and see Scandinavia. I'm beyond excited. There will surely be a megapost after the long weekend.

Go Blue! Puck drops Saturday at 7 PM on ESPN (1 AM in Copenhagen).

Day 62 - 70 - Exercise in Doing Nothing

This is the first extended period I've had with no travel that resembled a normal life back home in Ann Arbor and Detroit. As a result, I've been a bit bored, and don't have much of importance to blog about.

Day 62 - Sports

Michigan beat UNO and a I flew over to InCasa to join what was a bit of a lackluster electro party just before the doors closed. It was a good enough time, and I'm glad I went just for the sake of being social, but it wasn't the frothing mess I expected. Saturday was lazy - I'm sure I watched some NCAA tournament basketball - and I can't remember doing anything of note. It was cold and rainy. As a rule, I try to minimize the time I spend outside when it's cold and rainy. It's a nightmare trying to ride back to the Rijnfront in the wind, which seems to shift to be against you regardless of where you're riding.

Day 63 - More Bond

I went back to Mark's to watch more James Bond. We watched You Only Live Twice first, which I really enjoyed. It had a lot more twists and turns than I remember the older Bond movies having, and overall it felt smarter than your average old Bond. Marissa made cheesecake that we gorged on throughout, and afterwards we decided to watch another. I realized halfway through GoldenEye that I had seen it rather recently, but no bother, it was fun nonetheless. Afterwards I cycled home and prepared to watch Michigan take on Colorado College for a spot in the Frozen Four. Michigan played by far their most complete, best game of the year, and beat CC in a game where Michigan dominated play but could never quite pull away on the scoreboard, leading to a tense 60 minutes. Michigan moves on to play favorite North Dakota in the Frozen Four in St. Paul. I'm actually pretty bummed I'm not in the States for this - I would have been able to travel to Minnesota via WCBN and with it almost certain that Michigan will have a down year next year, this was my best chance to make it to a Frozen Four with Michigan.

Day 64 - Monday?

I almost certainly didn't do anything worth noting. No Odessa, I probably just stayed in all day. We'll say there was bad weather or something.

Day 65 - Tuesday?

Different day, same story. It feels dumb to have days where nothing happens here, like, 'Oh, I could do nothing at home for much cheaper!' but on the other hand I don't think it's bad to embrace the normality of being and living here. People around me seem pretty concerned about days when they aren't doing something exciting, and I think that's fine, but on the other hand living here is about embracing a different lifestyle, and I don't see anything wrong with a down week or two in the midst of a whirlwind travel schedule or something. I still understand that I need to take full advantage of being in Europe, and I will, but it's OK to take it easy too. My whole academic life has been a massive strain, and it's nice to relax for a while. It's a luxury I must be appreciative of.

Day 66 - Cricket!

I got together with Steve, Adam, and Chase and we watched Exit Through The Gift Shop, which I'd already seen but really enjoyed again nonetheless. People always get into these "What is art?" debates, and this movie always brings that back up again. I always think it's easiest to define art as whatever someone says is art, as ridiculously amorphous and vague that is. What's art's value? Whatever people are willing to pay. It's a world I don't fully understand and can't fully buy into or appreciate, but it's also a fascinating one. I don't understand the necessity of defining things as art or not that seems to grip some people. Just let it exist.

Anyway, after the movie we celebrated India's Cricket World Cup semifinal win over Pakistan in what was billed as one of the biggest sporting events ever with Steve's Indian roommate. After some talking, we decided to go outside (it was like 11 pm at this point) on the big basketball/soccer court in the Rijnfront and play some cricket. Steve's roommate was straddling the line between teaching us the rules and bending them to make sure he always benefited and we never did, which was quite annoying but also amusing, as it is certainly how I would have taught someone how to play a sport when I was 12. I must say that I'm clearly a natural - both the bowling motion and the batting motion have a lot in common with baseball, and it definitely translated well for me. I was bowling pretty well with good speed and spin, and I was doing yardwork on the tennis ball we were using. It was pretty fun just playing cricket in the dark for a couple hours, and was definitely better than going to Einstein's.

Day 67 - Opening Day

Thursday in Urban Inequalities was interesting, finally. Not because of the instruction, though, but because we just had a bit of time to think on our own about final papers, and tying what we've learned in the class into a topic we're interested in. I think I'm going to write a paper about how through contestation different groups are defining how vacant urban space is used in the Detroit of today and the Detroit of the future. I came to a bit of a realization that took me a while to arrive at that is that I think I was looking for the wrong things from my anthropology courses from the outset. I'm used to history and political science courses, which would take a topic like Urban Inequalities and come up with, in the end, concrete-type answers that would be "what I learned." Here, in anthro courses, the thrust of what we're learning is much more contexts and lenses through which to analyze these issues that a history or polisci class would then have answers for. Not to give Urban Inequalities a pass, because I still think it's a very poor class, but I am realizing that I should have different expectations for what I'm getting out of anthropology courses.

After a predictably boring Dutch culture course on language, I rolled with James, Adam, Steve, and Chase to a vegetarian restaurant on Haarlemerstraat and got some really delicious samosas. Samosas are one of those perfect foods that I could probably eat every single day without getting tired of them (much like quesadillas and pulled pork). Just delicious.

Afterwards I went home and watched the Tigers taking on the Yankees to open the 2011 MLB season. The Tigers lost, and didn't play particularly well, but it's just nice to have baseball season back. This reminds me that I'm still probably most sad about missing Joey's senior baseball season, more than any other thing I'm missing back home. Oh well, maybe when he walks on at Michigan I can watch him then. I also went over to Dani's later on, and together with a crew totaling seven, we booked a trip to Berlin in May that I'm very excited about. It'll be good to have a German interpreter, and James is coming, so the dynamic snarky duo will be in full force, mocking languages abroad without repentance. We got Domino's Pizza, which tasted like America. It was awesome. Still miss you, Taco Bell.

Day 68 - Luther and Eurotrip 2011

I overslept the start of Globalization today, but joined in progress without any fuss. The article we had to read for class was impossibly confusing and overwrought and basically awful, but class did a decent job of explaining what the hell the point of it all was. Afterwards James and I caught lunch at Eazie, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places ever to eat. Ann Arbor needs stir fry bucket places, though I guess Noodles and Co. does that to an extent.

I went home and finished season one of 30 Rock, which I've decided is a show I need to catch up on for the sake of being properly cultured. I also discovered Luther, which is a BBC police/crime drama starring Idris Elba, who is even more awesome with his native British accent. I thought it was a really smart first series, and brought the tension. Watch it, it's on Netflix for instant viewing.

I also somewhat formalized plans to meet up with Adrian this summer. I knew he was going to be in Ireland around the start of June, so I was always planning on going to Ireland then to hang with him, but he also indicated that he wants to stay in continental Europe after the wedding in Ireland he's coming for, and while I had plans to travel all around in June, I hadn't foreseen having a travel partner from back home for them. I was kind of rushed into the idea of going from something like June 4 to June 23 straight traveling with Adrian, but the more I thought about it the less of a bas idea it seemed. We're tentatively talking about going from Spain, to the south of France, to Italy, and then spending a couple days in Eastern Europe, but those are really fluid plans right now. I want to see where Cory is on all of this, and also if Jordan and/or Alan can join for any part of that. I also think this will mean that after my last exam on May 27 I'll jaunt over to Stockholm and/or Oslo for a couple days before Ireland kicks off an epic European adventure. Part of what gives me pause about the whole trip is how many logistical things would need to be worked out to make the trip go smoothly, but on the other hand I kind of think well maybe because it's Europe and summer and blah blah blah college, I can relax a bit and go with the flow a little bit more and not be too uptight about arrangements. We'll see, I guess.

Day 69 - Amsterdam

I went to Amsterdam on Saturday for World Pillow Fight Day with a whole big crew that included James, Steve, and Chase, and while I'm not big on flash mob type stunts I figured I wasn't doing anything better with my day. Upon arrival we were a bit early, so we walked around and grabbed some food, and when we returned to Dam Square there was a solid crowd of people with pillows. Upon the signal the madness began, and lasted for like two hours. The air was thick with feathers, which made the experience less than ideal, and I only could take so much of getting obnoxiously hit in the head with pillows, so I stood on the sidelines with James for most of it. Afterwards James and I met up with Zeke, who is awesome and who I know through Mallika, and a couple of his buddies who are studying together in London this semester. We walked around the Red Light district and chilled outdoors at a coffeeshop and it was overall just a really pleasant afternoon. It was good to see another familiar face and hang out with Zeke for a bit. He's such a genuinely nice guy, always refreshing.

Afterwards I got home with a full roster of sports on my plate. The Wings won in OT, the Tigers got killed again by the Yankees, and I fell asleep at halftime of the Butler-VCU game. My skewed sleep schedule finally caught up with me, for the best.

Day 70 - Sunday

It's Sunday. I woke up and found out that Butler and UConn will play in the national championship, which is what I was rooting for, but which is also a completely ridiculous national championship game. Rooting for the Bulldogs.

I'm gonna try to read for class today, and just generally take it easy. Next weekend I'm going to Copenhagen to visit Rachael, and in two weeks my family arrives! It's going to be a good April.