Yesterday during the day, Janne and I went to the Saturday market and looked around. Wonderful fresh fruits, veggies, seafood, etc etc. We split the costs for juicy nectarines- 20 for 2 euros! Later, I met up with Kristen and her friend to go swimming. The outdoor pool was closed for the season, so we went to the indoor pool and casually swam laps while chatting. It was a good way to get a bit more exercise in but also get to know them. I don't know if I have already talked about Kristen yet, but she's from Germany and studying Psychology here (70% of psych students here are german). She speaks great English because she spent a year as an au pair in Nashville, TN. I asked her why she chose...such a state and she ... read more

This morning I turned on the TV to watch some music videos. I like the variety of music the European MTV plays. Here's the top 11 today: 11- George Michael, (forget song name) 10- LIT, Miserable 9- Ini Kamoze, Here Comes The Hotstepper 8- The White Stripes, I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself 7- Jamiroquai, Love Foolosophy 6- Michael Jackson, In the Closet 5- Ru Paul, Supermodel 4- Chris Isaak, Wicked Game 3- George Michael, Freedom '90 2- Jay-z feat. Pharrell, Change Clothes 1- Guns 'n' Roses, November Rain So that's it folks, a trip down memory lane for some and ultimate confusion for others about MTV Europe's choice in top-notch songs today. As for my class that lectures in Dutch on multicultural communication...the powerpoint didn't work today so it was really really ... read more

So I spent this weekend (Fri afternoon - Mon morning) in Amsterdam. Eyal (my uncle) came and picked me up from Enschede and we drove back. It was already evening and Hagar had dinner ready - red peppers stuffed with brown rice, spices, and pine nuts. It was baked with little pieces of goat cheese shaved on the top. She's one of the best cooks ever. Agatha invited me to go to a club with her that night. It's this extremely elite club called Club Eleven on the 11th floor of some highrise. I really wanted to go but it was 25 Euro just to enter (which is like $32 or so), plus a taxi fare there and back (not cheap, prob another 10 euros), and then a couple drinks while I was there. Basically I ... read more

Today I had my User support class. It was really nice and small - 10 people and only 4 of them are Dutch natives. There is me, 3 germans, and 2 czechs. My professor is very nice and he was actually one that visited the University of washington in February. My class was at 3:45 so I was able to sleep in lots today (except of course waking up to the neighbor's dog barking at nothing again). Not much happened today. I'm still getting used to unlocking my bike and relocking it so many times. I might have mentioned it before, but one lock is a chain one that locks the front wheel with the frame of the bike. Then there's this other lock that looks like one side of a pair of handcuffs. This locks ... read more

Today was the first day of school and I didn't have any class...I'll get to class someday - as soon as I get a student number which should happen tomorrow. I met with a guy today about all this and got a big stack of paperwork to apply for a residence visa here (would have been cool to know beforehand). I rode my bike with Janne in the morning which took about 10 minutes. It was a nice ride, but I can't imagine what it will be like when it's snowy and minus 20 here. I think by then i'll be used to the cold. I explored the university a bit and found out where the bookstore was so when I actually get classes, I'll know where to go. After meeting with Joris, I rode my ... read more