Advertisement
Published: December 4th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Greetings from the land of windmills and hashish!
I arrived in the Netherlands just over a week ago and to my absolute delight I have already found life-long friends and a place to call ‘home’. Much to my amusement I have also learned the intricacies of brewing a good beer, swear words in German, Spanish, Dutch and French (y’all know I love swearing!) and the reasons why I shouldn’t ride my bicycle while intoxicated (I learned that one the hard way).
I share my apartment with 7 other people. We all have our own rooms (my room has a couch and overlooks the campus) and we share the living room, bathroom and kitchen. There are over twenty-five different nationalities participating in the exchange and despite our differences we all have a common denominator -a passion for travel, partying and beer games. I’ve only been here for a week and I’ve already been tanked four times- but that’s nothing compared to the Mexicans and the Irish- these guys drink morning, afternoon and night- their liver must be resistant to the side effects of alcohol.
After meeting all these nationalities I believe the Scandinavians ended up with the long
Biking in Tilburg
My trusty bike named Finch end of the stick- they’re definitely a fine specimen of the human race. I was also quick to realize that I shouldn’t express my strong opinions about soccer players “play-acting” or “diving” in soccer matches with the South Americans. In fact, I’ve realized that talking about soccer (at all) to the South Americans, the Spanish and the Italians are a definite no-no unless I want to start a pub brawl. Calling a Canadian an American or assuming that all Quebecer’s (people from Quebec) idolise Celine Dion is also likely to incite violence.
Before arriving in the Netherlands I travelled to Italy, France and England. Highlights of Italy include driving in their taxis- they were all bloodie Mercs! Ancient Rome left me speechless but being a modern history student at heart my highlight of Rome was standing in front of the balcony where Mussolini made most of his speeches during his time in power in World War II. The Vatican was incredible- I stood in the Sistine chapel and soaked up Michelangelo’s famous “The Last Judgement” and “Creation”. I was also blessed by Pope Benedict as he stood at one of the Vatican windows. Another highlight was Florence and Venice. In Florence Michelangelo’s sculpture of ‘David’ blew me away. If anyone wants to know what a perfect masculine body looks like, look at ‘David’. I was astonished at how much detail Michelangelo went into creating this God. His nipples, his chest, his abdominals. The curvature of his biceps, the veins in his hands, his legs….his bottom. Wow. Venice was beautiful- definitely a city that should be visited with your significant other. Not so great things about Italy: paying 0.70 cents to use a public bathroom.
Highlights of Paris included visiting the Louvre and relishing works like the Mona Lisa and a selection of Caravaggio’s paintings. Oh and the “donated” Egyptian artefacts that were “given” to them. More like plundered and pillaged- damn imperialists! Another highlight was visiting Lourdes in the South of France-a tiny village at the foot of the Pyrenees and walking through the streets of Paris passing Dior & Louis Vuitton towards the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame & the Arc de Triumph. Not so great things about Paris: leaving.
Highlights of England- visiting a beautiful town called Bath and seeing where Jane Austen lived and wrote many of her novels. Sitting in a parliament session. Seeing the actual blade that cut off Marie Antoinette’s head. Seeing the original Magna Carta! Although it didn’t give that many rights to the ‘people’ it’s still seen as a step, albeit a small one, toward the protection of fundamental human rights! Standing at the graves of great novelists and poets at Westminster Abbey- notable mentions include Geoffrey Chaucer, Dickens and Alfred Lord Tennyson. And another thing: there are way too many Indians in England-I had to double check that I took the plane to Heathrow, London and not to New Delhi, India. Not so great things about England: the weather. The pound. Buckingham Palace- they call that a Palace? Note to Queen: Check our Versailles Palace in France- now that’s what I call a crib! And another thing: the funniest thing was seeing donation boxes at Westminster Abbey (and at every notable tourist attraction) why would I possibly give them a cent when the bloodie coronation chair could possibly rebuild a third world nation?
Thanks to everyone who has sent emails- it has effectively prevented me from being homesick. Since I’m starting uni tomorrow I might be slow with my reply’s but please keep them coming through.
Love Natalia, xox.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.217s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0389s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb