Summer Holiday I

It is finally time to relax. Last week was exams. I only had one, but for my other module the entire grade was a group paper. It is very difficult to coordinate 10 people writing a paper. I was the editor, which means I just gave orders, did research, and waited for people to email me their sections of the paper to coordinate. Then I would print out the paper, give it to my group members and we would meet to comment. But nobody read the paper. Most people read parts, but I really don't think that any one person read the entire thing (It did end up being 130 pages, at least 75 of them text, the rest appendices). But I will stop complaining now. Yesterday afternoon it was finally out of my hands. We handed the paper in, and I went to the lake. I got to spend the afternoon lounging in the sun doing absolutely nothing. It was fantastic.

Tomorrow I leave for a two week field trip to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. After that I promise to post more pictures and stories.

Piece of S*!T Bike Lock

So, this evening, after dance class, I try to unlock my bike. As I turn the key, it snaps off in the lock. The first option is to try tweeze the key out of the lock, but the spare key is already bent. So the only other option is cutting the lock. Which basically means I need to figure out how to steal my own bike. Apparently there is a lock cutter at IHE, but I will not able to access it until tomorrow. So I had to walk home. In the rain.

This whole situation would have been quite entertaining if it had been sunny or warm or my back wasn't still a bit sore. But since it is a windy gray day and I've been taking two Advil every 4-6 hours, it was not. Maybe if the sun is out tomorrow the remainder of the bike rescue will be better. Or at least the photos will have better lighting. The end.

African Night

Last Friday was another cultural night at IHE. This one included goat. African night was a bit different than European-American night a few months ago since the majority of the second year students are now gone due to graduation at the end of April. So African night was totally different because it was almost all first year students and no powerpoint presentations. There was lots of dancing within a concise storyline about the coronation of a queen.

Of course the food was excellent. I found a spot out back in the tent near the grilled goat and was able to grab a piece before it was all gone. There was drinking and dancing until midnight and a few of us went out afterwards. Unfortunately my back was (and is) still sore from something I did on Wednesday night. I don't know exactly what I did, but it's still hurting and I don't think that dancing and playing futbol yesterday helped. Hmmm, I'm boring myself, I'll try writing again later...

Born to Run?

Just got home from a run. I hadn't been running in over a month. That does not mean I have not been active, I have been swimming, biking, dancing, playing futbol and even made it to one capoeira class. But the run today was awful. My right ankle hurts a bit, probably from lack of stretching, but also my left shoulder is sore. I may have used it to block the wind, but that's no explanation for the ache. Maybe I can blame it on the weather, yesterday was the first rain in five weeks, which is a record drought for these parts.

This module (Water Treatment Processes and Plants), which is already half way through, has been quite interesting. It began with a trip to a intake reservoir, which actually was a boat cruise through a nature reserve with coffee (as seen with Mariano) and beer. The rest of the module is centered around a group design of a treatment plant for a fictitious city in a developing country. The concept is nice, but the biggest problem with working in groups is the different attitudes towards what is relevant versus what is not. For example, one person may want to argue the importance of one tenth of one percent in the population growth rate, while others think that it is more important for the figures to be in the correct range but not necessarily precise, is more worthy of discussion. Maybe the MSc in Environmental Engineering comes with an MA in Arbitration...Not that I'm bitter...Time for dinner.

Chicago: How to Spend It

I've been back in Delft for about an hour after a twelve hop across the pond via Zurich. I had an amazing weekend in Chicago. Last Thursday was graduation, so it was a long day of celebrating, but I woke up at 6:30AM the next morning to catch the 7:30AM train to the airport for my 11AM flight. There was no check in line, no security line, no immigration line, my flight arrived in Chicago an hour early, my luggage was waiting for me on the carousel after immigration, and my Dad was waiting for me at the gate. It was the easiest flight I had ever taken. Even as we drive home the process is streamlined. Dad has the menu for our favorite Japanese restaurant in his glove compartment. We call to order, pick it up, and before I know it we're in our kitchen having lunch, then a cup of tea, and of course, some chocolate chip chocolate cake that Mom made for me because she knows I like it for breakfast. It had been six months since I had been home and nothing had changed. Friday night was a nice dinner at home. My parents close friends, the Braun's, and their family trickled in, as did my sister Ruth, her husband Vince, and their dog Roxy (or is it Roxie? I should know, but I never thought about it until now).

Saturday started slow, but I wasn't jet lagged. I dusted off my bike and Mom and I went for a ride in the forest preserve. We only went about 10 miles, but it was perfect. It was a bit cool, but the sun was shining and riding my road bike was divine. I was gliding. I am not looking forward to riding my beast back here in Delft. After the bike ride I was seriously considering bringing the road bike back to Delft, but decided not too after I realized how much time, energy, and money that it would cost me. The bike itself weighs eight or nine kilos, maybe ten. I can easily lift it with one hand and throw it over my shoulder, but taking it apart and putting it in a case to carry back on the train would be miserable.

After the bike ride was a bit of shopping, a family lunch, followed my pedicures for Mom, Ruth, and myself, then back to the house for a doggy play date. Connie and Greg had come over with their pup, Izzy (I can't spell that one either) and Connie's brother Tony (who just started as a pilot, but was a bit unsure of where the The Netherlands was). So all the kids were home. For one brief hour the house was full, but then it was time to go to the city.

Dinner was at BBQ King in Chinatown. They make the best Peking Duck I have ever had (but I haven't been to China, yet). We ate until we could not move, as usual, then went to a bar to meet up with some other friends of mine. There were eight of us at dinner, three were in from out of town (Ruth, Vince, Becky), one had just moved into town but is a pilot so he doesn't hang out there much (Tony), and one was me. So I had dinner with three of my friends that live in Chicago (Connie, Greg, Drew (my ex)), and at the bar I met three of the other four (Vishal (Duke), Blanca (SOM), Aparna (SOM)). We didn't stay out too late, it was a laid back night, just as I had wanted.

Sunday was when I was put to work. I spent the morning at the Shedd Aquarium, testing water. Drew has volunteered there every other Sunday for the past two years in their water quality lab. I knew what he did but had never thought to tag along, until now. Behind the scenes at the aquarium is really cool. We took samples from the dolphin and whale pools and I helped in the lab with the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite tests for the sea water. I really like lab work. Then it was back to Connie's for some cleaning. We took apart her bed. We have a wonderful domestic relationship, she's a cleaner, I'm an organizer. Neither of us would have survived some previous moves without the other. From there I met Nicole, the final friend in Chicago I had wanted to see (she had another appointment the previous night). She had just moved so I helped hang. It was really nice to see my friends and actual do something useful with them.

That night was an engagement party for some family friends and by the time I got home I was exhausted. Monday was an easy day, up early to ride to the dentist, then I spent about an hour wandering through a book store. Back home to wake up the Kid and get him to take me to buy $12 worth of cheese (which made it through customs) before meeting Dad for lunch. Then a nap on the couch in the sunroom and it was time to say goodbye to Mom and go to the airport. I had such a wonderful time at home but three and a half days is just enough. The excitement wears off, people need to work, and by the end it was just me, the couch and the Financial Times. It was a nice trip, but I felt ready to return to Delft. And 12 hours I was back.

Fun and Games

Last week was fantastic. Even though I had eight hours of classes each day, I was blessed with a course that has only lab reports and an individual assignment as opposed to a group presentation. That meant that drinks for Giorgia's birthday last Tuesday was followed by beer at De Ruif on Wednesday night, aquadiente in front of IHE on Thursday, and Stefania's birthday on Friday (I have posted the April photos, along with March and Italy, finally, these are not as well captioned as I would have liked, but I've been taking lots of pictures). Then a day in Amsterdam on Saturday. Last Sunday was our final formal futbol match of the season. The first years lost to the graduating students 3-2 in the last minute, but the match was followed by a nice picnic at the lake. I hope that I don't give the impression of being a lush, but since spring is here it has been easy to relax.

In two days I go to Chicago. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but at the same time, I'm a bit nervous about going back to the US after spending the past six months living in Europe with the international crowd. The last time I left the states for a significant period of time (10 months) my sister picked me up from the airport. When I asked her what had changed while I was away here first response was, "Everything is now low-carb, even the beer." I shudder at the thought of another epiphany like that. I'm afraid that I will find everything in the States to be too big, too loud, too fast, too ostentatious. I mean, Mom and Dad live two blocks from the corner store and we would occasionally drive there. But I'm sure after 24 hours it will be business as usual.

Summertime?

The weather has been excellent this weekend, high 70's to high 80's. Apparently that barely happens in The Netherlands in July, much less April. So how could we not take advantage of it? Saturday I spent the morning in Leiden. I went to the Museum of Ethnology, since all the museums in Holland were free this weekend. They had an exhibit on food and drink in different cultures, really cool, but mostly in Dutch. I had a great lunch in one of the squares, then took the train to Den Haag, then the tram to Scheveningen (I figured out how to spell it but still can't pronounce it). Scheveningen is the beach, sort of like Myrtle Beach. There is a boardwalk and restaurants and bars and casinos. I had been there once before, at night in January. It was cold, windy, and empty. Saturday was different. It was alive, people lounging, tanning, swimming, flying kites, playing volleyball, having picnics. I met friends, who all brought friends, until we had a group of about 20 of us, most from IHE, some of the regular MSc group, but also some short course participants, and some guys from TU-Delft. It was really nice to meet some people from outside IHE, but there was not one Dutch among us. We confused one waitress with our mini United Nations. It got a bit overcast in the evening, but it was nice to spend the day outside.

The weather was even better on Sunday. I started the morning at church. Yep, church. I was invited to a memorial for the Rwandan genocide. I believe I was invited because I'm a Jew, and happened to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day. It was a nice service. The Rwandan ambassador spoke, but it was the same speech as he gave on Friday night at IHE. The program on Friday night at IHE was much better. At church it was just a service and a speech, but at school we heard a survivor talk as well and saw a movie and had more discussions. Surprisingly, though the theme was "Never Again", nothing was mentioned about what is currently happening in Darfur, though there was some criticism that the West had ignored Rwanda when the genocide occurred. As with any event at IHE, the program ended with drinks at the bar. In church as well we had some beers in church at 11AM just behind the altar. Maybe it's a Dutch thing.

Sunday afternoon was more uplifting, Julia, Lobo, Elena and I went to the lake. We lounged in the sun, took a walk, got some ice cream, and did lots of people watching (though the nude beach was not much to look at) and saw some baby ducks. Then Julia, Elena, and I got some apple tart and iced tea at a little restaurant nearby. It was fantastic. Apparently the pear tart was better, but they were out. Then there I went to a BBQ. No mosquito bites, I think our disposable grill smoked them away. Eventually I made it home at around 10:30PM, about 8 hours after I started my leisurely Sunday afternoon. So what is the plan for next weekend?

Photos

So, it may be a while before I write more because somehow I have managed to change this blogger into Dutch. I will try change it back tomorrow. I won't even attempt to write much since I can't use the spell check. It's not that cumbersome, but it's annoying. But I have posted some photos, of both Madrid and the visit from my Women. I miss the women already. We had such a nice time here, I mean, I did and I assume that they did. It was great exploring Delft. I really should hang out in my cute little small town more often...

The Women

It's been a really long time since I posted anything, but I will have lots to say in the next week about the past month. So much has been going on that I haven't had time to sit at my computer and sort through stories and photos. McHale and Genny are currently visiting. Molly left on Friday. The four of us are an effective gang, a clique from Duke who meet up once a year in a different city. This year I played host in Delft.

It has been so nice to see my friends and we have had lots of fun exploring The Netherlands together. I've been living here for almost six months and this week was the first time I've been a tourist in Delft. We climbed the New Church (which is only about 600 years old) to get some amazing views of the city. We visited a Delftware factory and saw how porcelain is made. We explored the small streets and pubs that I had never managed to see. Then we did the same in Den Haag and Amsterdam. I even made it past the train station in Rotterdam.

On Thursday we went Keukenhof gardens. I have never seen so many flowers in one place. Well, maybe I did at the flower auction in Aalsmeer, but those were all cut. These were planted. There were so many in bloom, but I have been told that it's early in the season and that they will be even better in about a month. A month? But they are perfect now. We wandered through the tulips for hours and were fortunate enough to not only have no rain, but even sun.

Yesterday while Genny went to Brussels, McHale and I went to Maastricht. We eat our way through the city. Most people will eat their way through Spain, France, or Italy, countries known for their diverse and distinct regional flavors. Holland is a bit different. I would describe the cuisine as boring, which is perfect for me because I am a picky eater. The country is so small that it is in effect a region, so in the southernmost part Mc and I feasted on bread and cheese, waffles, chocolate, coffee, (we skipped the raw herring), beer, and fries. I know that some (most) of those foods are usually associated with Belgium, but we were right on the border and were not about to spend the whole day eating bread and cheese.

Leiden today?

International Sports Day

Yesterday was International Sports Day. Seven Dutch universities with international programs akin to ours, descended upon Delft for a day of activities and a night of celebrations. There were eight sports: soccer, volleyball, basketball, running, darts, chess, table tennis, and badminton. There was extra pressure on us this year since not only were we the hosts, but it is the 50th anniversary of the institute (yeah, not all the athletes are number 50).

I wasn't supposed to participate. From the moment that I arrived at the TU-Delft sportscenter everyone began to ask me why I wasn't participating. I had to be very diplomatic with the answer. I would tell people that I had intended to play on the woman's soccer team, but since our match had been taken off the schedule (well, it actually hadn't been put on the schedule, there is no Title IX here) and the men's team had already been chosen, I didn't play. And the running team had already been set. The truth is that I didn't make the cut (I think). I'm actually glad that I didn't play because I didn't like the format. The matches were only 10 minutes each.

So I brought some gym clothes with anyway. And books. The plan was to either work or play. During the lunch break was the running. We went to watch. As the runners were lining up for the 1200m, I asked why there wasn't a woman running for IHE. The coach said that our runner had been injured. So I offered to run. After a three minute warm up I did. I placed 2nd. Out of three. Apparently I had a nice sprint at the end. I don't remember my time, but I don't think it was at all impressive. I've discovered that I am not a sprinter. It took about two hours for me to breathe normally after the race. And I got a t-shirt.

But I feel that my participation was crucial (but not critical). IHE placed first in running. It turns out that we placed first in half the events. TU-Delft place first in the other half. But at the end of the day it was all about the seconds. We won the cup! But we didn't know that until the party. There is always a party. This one was a bit different because we actually got to socialize with the other students. But everyone was tired and had to head back to other parts of Holland. The party at IHE wound down about midnight. So we had another party in Mina. But I didn't stay for too long because I was tired and sore (not from the running, but from last weeks capoiera class).

At least one team I support has something to cheer about this week.