Day 109 - Bike Trip
My teacher made it clear in her message to the class before heading out that we should take nice bikes with us on this class bike trip out through the polders. I figured mine would be fine. More on this later.
We met up at the University library (James: "Oh, so THIS is the library!") and headed out along a very picturesque path out of Leiden. We passed through this really beautiful wilderness area with high grasses and canals that we all wished we'd known about earlier, and ended up biking for more than an hour through the gorgeous Dutch countryside. I forgot to bring a camera, sadly, but the countryside is like farmland dotted with cute, well-maintained country homes along canals. I could honestly imagine retiring there. So quaint. It's also really nice being out in polder country, where you can see the various water levels of the canals and the system they use in the Netherlands to combat the sea and make land livable. The very existence of Holland is a feat of engineering.
We finally made it to a campground/petting zoo where we spent an hour or so. The main attraction is goats of all sizes and ages, and there were plenty of adorable baby goats to play with, which was nice. They're not kittens, but they're still pretty cute, and it's always nice to get a chance to play with animals now that I'm separated from Weezer and Punk. There were also horrifying roosters that patrolled the grounds, and disgusting pigs that shrieked for food (kind of like how Weezer does, but more unbearable).
On the ride back my back tire popped. The bike has been falling apart for some time now, but this was the first major damage. I rode home on the rim until it jarred the fender loose and the noise was unbearable, so James and I walked the last couple km to the Central station, where we grabbed food and I put my bike in the shop for a new tire. I then rode a backup bike that I happened to have locked at central station back to the Rijnfront, but this bike was clearly built for a tiny child, and it was a miserable ride back.
Day 110 - Community
I started watching Community. It's the final piece of the NBC Big Four that I'm not up-to-date on. That's basically all. I probably stressed out about things. Planning the June trip has been a mixture of procrastination and DUMB, and it's all added up to frustrations. Whatever, getting past it.
Day 111 - Return of the Gumby
Jordan came back to Leiden today, leg brace and all. He successfully navigated the buses to James' apartment, and we hung out there for most of the day. Berlin tripmates came over and we hung out (music supplied by yours truly - listen to the new albums from Yuck, Holy Ghost!, Jeff The Brotherhood, and Bass Drum of Death) and made American pancakes, which were delicious.
We migrated over to Marissa's to watch Eurovision, a continent-wide song contest. Most songs were complete shit, but it was kind of funny to associate musical acts with countries. Our pizza quest was foiled by shockingly closed supermarkets, so Marissa made us all pizza, which was fantastic. I had a bit of a headache, so I rode home when the rest of the crew went to shisha, and Jordan spent the night on Marissa's couch because it was too late for buses. Not being able to bike here can be limiting.
Day 112 - Quesadillas
I went and met Jordan at Marissa's for a late breakfast, and then we tried to watch the Ajax-Twente match to decide the Eredivise but couldn't find it on regular Dutch TV. Instead we watched Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles and Romeo and Juliet. We set off back into town to go grocery shopping, picked up some stuff, and then got Jordan on a bus back to the Rijnfront. He made it back and I made quesadillas, which were pretty good. Basically the only thing I cook for myself. Quesadillas and sandwiches. When I'm feeling motivated it's sandwiches...
Slow week coming up, so I'll probably blog again on Thursday after my first Dutch final. 'Til then, thanks for reading.
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