hiya!

sleepy post, back from inglatera :)

they also don't wear helmets here

bday update

As I was leaving to go to my birthday party, I realized my back tire was flat.  First time ever in this city, after all my exams and everything, so I consider myself lucky.  I was also lucky because a friend from my dorm was with me, so we took a tram to the bar and met up with everyone there.  Everyone who came still had exams, but were nice enough to come hang out and have a few beers with us.  There are really decent people in the world, and I like being reminded of it.  Especially when it's 1 a.m. and people offer to walk home with you because the public transportation is shut down and you have no bike.

Sara gave me a mug with something Parisian written on it to commemorate our trip there, and I have plans with everyone again for later dates.  Got my bike patched today, and will be going out again tonight.  Sara says we have to celebrate my birthday until I leave for England, so I guess it's going to be a crazy weekend... :)

And I would like to add to my list of people to thank for birthday greetings Alex, Taryn, Carina, and Carolyn & George.  MUCHAS GRACIAS, !ME ENCANTAN USTEDES!

hap birfs 2 me (thanks guys!)

last exam and an envelope full of happiness from the gadams family.

what more could i ask for in a day?

Busy Weekend!

Where do I even begin?  I'm done with all my essays, have one exam on Tuesday, and have spent the weekend going nutso at various venues.  Here's a brief overview of the past few days:

Friday

Fratelli's Concert at Melkweg- easily the best live concert I have ever seen.  It still hasn't hit me that I actually saw them.  They played all of their old songs and were just...ah, phenomenal!  I went with a girl I met at hitchhiking who was also very impressed.  A great way to start the evening!

Photo: Jessica Donzelli

Hitchhiking Reunion at Hannekes Boom- I arrived about 3 hours late, so there were only a few people left.  But we got to dance to some funky afro-carribean music and catch up with a few friends. 

Motown night at Cafe De Jaren- one of our friends from Hannekes Boom suggested this venue.  Classy restaurant during the day, hoppin soul club at night.

Photo: Ana Tratnik
USA, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Canada, and Slovenia unite!

Saturday

Jon's birthday/ American Bacchanal at Roest- Jon is a mutual friend of basically everyone here.  I wasn't technically invited to his birthday party, but the same night, Roest was hosting another event. Even so, Jon greeted me by name when he saw me, even though I barely remember meeting him at hitchhiking.  The bacchanal had wrestling, girls in cheerleading outfits, a sassy menu, and friendly people.  Another fun evening for sure!  Photos below from Roest's instagram.

This week's plan: exam, get signatures from teachers, aaaaaand a bunch of pub crawls/ goodbye events. Then it's off to England, back to the Dam, and hello to Alex :)  Home in 25 days!

xxx

GUESS WHO

Today's Accomplishments

• 1 Essay
• 1 Season of Breaking Bad
• A grocery shop

Did you know?

Both Breaking Bad and High School Musical take place in Albuquerque, NM.

But only HSM is available with Dutch voiceovers on Netflix.  I think we know who the real winner of quality television is here.

why write 3 essays when i could binge-watch "breaking bad" on netflix and eat marzipan? seems reasonable to me.

4.5 lbs

Sinterklaas

Last night was the Sint's last evening in the Dam before sailing back to Spain.  Before he left though, we all put our shoes in the common room for him to leave us candies :)  We left carrots and apples for his horses, and some people wrote poems.  Older people traditionally celebrate by writing sassy poems to each other.  HAPPY SINTERKLAAS!

 Last night...

This morning!!

Outside our door!

Rest of the common room!

A note from Sint himself!

A Weekend in Paris: Part 4

Day 3
We dedicated our last day to a trip to the Palace of Versailles.  We took a train out of the city and got into the place for free because it was Sunday.  Score!

View from the train

Sleepy Spaniards :)

My jaw was hanging open the whole time I was here.  Again, photos felt silly but here's a small taste of the sheer awesomeness of this building.

Sassy statue.

Our stop back in Paris was near the bridge from the movie Inception.  

Before we got on the bus to go home, we stopped by the building where Napoleon's tomb is located.  It was closed, but we got a couple shots of it anyway.

Sara, dedicated photographer risking life and limb in the middle of the street for a picture.

And now I'm home!  Ready to spend the week resting and getting my voice back after being the cold outdoors.  It was totally worth it though- I will return to Paris for sure (with someone who can tell me about the art this time!).