Week 5-6

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur. After returning from Sicily, I was thrown right into 2 and 3 October-- what essentially amounts to Leiden's independence day. A good description of this phenomenon is hard to give. Imagine over-population, a full scale carnival, a lot of live music tents, even more beer tents, total disregard for the laws of public decency and littering, and a slightly perceptible tension between the locals and the out of towners. The festivities last all day and all night. There were two parades: one on Friday for the local clubs, schools, and citizens, and one on Saturday with a revolving annual theme (this year was the American Dream, ironically for me). Apparently this weekend is one of 3 occasions where Dutch national pride is on display. The others are Queen's Day, engineered for that purpose, and Dutch international soccer matches. Apart from these 3 exceptions, the Netherlands is a decidedly un-nationalistic country. I am glad to have experienced it at its fullest.

School is clicking along. We turned in formal thesis proposals last week and were assigned advisors based on our topics. I met with mine, and he seems cool enough. I've definitely settled into a rhythm when it comes to schoolwork, although now it seems that rhythm will have to be adjusted to account for independent thesis research. Lame.

I had, perhaps, my most fun night out this past Thursday in Leiden. The bar is called Roebels, and though I'd been there before, it just seemed better this time. We played dice games on the bar, leading to some hilarious interactions with some of the Dutch patrons of the establishment. Ended up meeting the owner of the place and hanging out well past closing time with about 30 others. If I had to choose a regular spot in town, this would be it. Everyone is young, fun, and seemingly unstressed by academic or economic crises.

I went back to the beach Friday, because it was just too nice out to pass up. The place was empty, making it even better than before. Took the opportunity to do a nice workout in the sand and enjoy the view over the ocean.

Next weekend will mark the return of the nomad as I venture into Germany and the Czech Republic. Really looking forward to that trip, and the week off of school that will follow. Hope everyone is well.