Day 54 - Matty Ice and Cut Copy
The day after St. Patrick's Day I shipped out to Amsterdam with Adam to see Cut Copy at the Melkweg. Before, though, I met up with Matt and some other Michigan guys studying with him in Prague at a sports bar in Amsterdam to watch the Michigan-Tennessee game. It was great to see Matt again, and Michigan romped to a 30 point win that was almost unbelievable. It was also really cool that the bar had at least two other groups of Michigan students I knew who were there independently of me or Matt. On the way out we chatted with a few Michigan alums. The Michigan Difference was alive and well in Amsterdam.
Afterwards Adam and I killed a bit of time before the Cut Copy show. The Melkweg is a really cool venue, and the Oude Zaal (Old Hall) Cut Copy played in was tiny, and Adam and I were front row. CC put on a really tight set, had great presence, awesome lights, and it was just overall a really great concert experience. There was no opening band, which was a bit strange, but Cut Copy put on such a great show that it was easy to forget we might have gotten ripped off with no openers. Afterwards we headed home to Leiden, but not before I grabbed some fries with mayo, which if I haven't blogged about them before, are the absolute best. And they're everywhere.
Day 55 - Bond, Bluth, Biertje
I went over to Tom, Mark, and Christian's apartment to watch the UCLA-Florida game (Marissa and Tiffany are alums), and beforehand we watched some Six Nations rugby, which was kind of cool but also rather boring. UCLA lost in a close one, but we decided a good way to spend the rest of the night would be watching Goldfinger and Arrested Development with added drinking rules - a good decision. I ended up having a lot of fun, and I actually think there is going to be a Part II tomorrow with an added BBQ element!
Day 56 - Michigan basketball
I went out to Vi-Kings to watch Michigan-Duke, and Marissa joined by the second half. I chatted with some nice Irish guy for a while (upon hearing I was American, "Let me guess, your father's sister's neighbor's uncle's dog is Irish?") to try to take my mind off a lackluster but altogether fine first half. When Michigan started making their run in the second half I thought this team had something special, and I really believed they'd knock off the Dukies. Morris' shot hitting back rim will haunt me for quite some time. That said, I couldn't be prouder of this Michigan team. I thought they'd finish last in the B10 coming into the season, and they came within a shot of forcing OT against a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. In Beilein I will trust for quite some time, hopefully. Can't wait to see this team play again.
Day 57 - Modern Family
I started watching this show. It's really great. The characters are all really funny and nuanced, and it might not be the most cutting edge comedy but it's just a fun show to watch. I don't think I did anything else Monday.
Day 58 - Utrecht
James and I went to Utrecht to use in a city report we have to write for class. The ride via train took about an hour, and the long walk through a mall into town was less than encouraging. Utrecht is best known for the Dom Tower, the largest church tower in the Netherlands, which is a constant factor in the backdrop of most pictures of the city. It was impressive, but we didn't feel like hiking all the way up, so we went to a couple museums. The first was a Christianity museum, which couldn't have been more boring, and the Central Museum was much cooler. There was a special exhibit going on featuring the work of a guy whose name escapes me now, but he did really cool sketches in graphite and experimented with lines and sound and video. It was a neat thing to walk through. We also went to the Dick Bruna Huis, which was next door to the Central Museum. Dick Bruna is a children's book author and artist who lives in Utrecht, and his Miffy character is known worldwide. It was kind of a cute museum, and I'd recommend it to any visitors to Utrecht.
From there we just kind of wandered around. The guidebook is less than inspired when it comes to Utrecht, and Wikitravel didn't really offer much in the way of touristy activities. We wandered around the city (the third largest in The Netherlands) on a beautiful day and checked out various town squares full of cafes and packed with students (it's a University town). We found an ex-pat store and got Mountain Dews (no hot steaming Taco Bell awaited us) before settling in at a coffeeshop for a bit. After a lengthy conversation with a friendly shopkeeper (who was the second person we met who said Leiden sucks) we eventually headed back to the station. Whereas in the States coin-operated food machines are considered a bit disgusting and low-class, in The Netherlands they seem to be frequented by people of all walks of life, and with good reason. The food is hot and super cheap, and I pounded three orders of vegetable samosas as we waited for our train. The train ride was interrupted by a crazy person blocking the tracks, and we had to reroute and hop on another train before we could get home. When we arrived back in Leiden we stocked up on some food at a grocery store and headed back to the Swamp to be Dutch. We watched I Love You, Man, which never gets old, and I drifted off to a pleasant sleep.
Day 59 - Assignments and Einstein's
Third assignment of the semester. I finally felt like I was doing some real work, and it was kind of nice to get that feeling. I also worked on my schedule for next year, which I'm still really unsure about. I've figured out I only need 3 history classes, 2 political science classes, and 2 natural science credits to graduate with a dual-concentration. It's pretty exciting. And also scary, 'cos what the hell am I supposed to do then?
Went to Einstein's with Kelly, Sabrina, and Andy. As is the usual with Einstein's, had a good enough time, but nothing spectacular. Just nice to go a place and know a bunch of people, I guess. After doner on the way home, sleep beckoned.
Day 60 - The Wiz
Had my one class of the week today. It was aggressively worthless. Very much over it.
Afterwards James and I went to Einstein's for lunch, and sat outside and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous day. I had a pretty good burger and an unusually refreshing Coke. It was such a gorgeous day, and it seemed like the whole of Leiden was outside at one cafe or another. Afterwards we got ice cream and cruised Haarlemerstraat, before I headed home and watched more Modern Family.
Later on I went to De Gouwe in Oegstgeest with Kelly, Andy, Austin, and Berna. When we showed up to De Gouwe we were shocked to see a huge crowd, and when we went inside it became immediately apparent that everyone there was 16. It turned out, after an unusually outgoing Dutch kid told us, that all the kids there were from a high school production of The Wiz, and this was their cast party. I can't even imagine having high school parties at bars and whatnot when I was 16. It would be a whole different world. We had a good time as Austin regaled us with stories too great to be true (getting arrested at the World Cup in JoBerg, etc.), and we all cycled home together before a bit of post-drinking back at 14C, which is pre and post party headquarters in the Swamp.
Day 61 - NCAA hockey tourney
I woke up at 2:30 and willed myself to buy groceries. I've done nothing since.
There's a big electro party being put on by ISN at InCasa tonight that has its own official pre-party, but I'm skipping all of that to watch Michigan play UNO in the first round of the NCAA hockey tournament. My Michigan sports fandom isn't something I'm really interested in altering, and I'm not too shaken up about missing a dub-step filled party event. I hate the format of the NCAA hockey tournament (one-game elimination is ludicrous and ruins the sport) but it'll be nice to watch the boys play on ESPN3. I came into this study abroad experience sad I'd miss being there in Minnesota to watch Michigan win a national championship, but I'm not too confident about this team (UNO tonight, presumably BC tomorrow with a win). We'll see. Shock the World.
Musings
I've been abroad for two months, now. It's a bit shocking. After those first couple days here I couldn't wait to go home and was counting down the days, and while I still have an eye on July 1 (I need to be greeted at the airport with Taco Bell, mom) I'm very comfortable with my life here. I'm very fortunate to have this opportunity to have what is admittedly a pretty stress-free, relaxing second semester of junior year living abroad and traveling across Europe (trip to Copenhagen to visit Rachael in two-plus weeks, family coming to visit Netherlands/Belgium in less than a month!). I'm going to have more in-depth ruminations on what my time here has meant to me later.
Pictures
A few from Utrecht. Again, not a very photogenic city.
The Dom Tower dominates the city.
Hail to the Chief.
Just two idiots taking pictures. FOR OUR SCHOOL PROJECT.
See you later.
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