So much happening...

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I haven't written again yet, because it suddenly seems a daunting task because so much has happened recently... But the longer I wait, the more news piles up, so here goes:

Aside from the same-old-same-old classes and going out, I recently had my first test since coming to Groningen. It is in my Dutch language course, and incidentally, is not for points. In that course you get a "passing certificate" if you simply attend 75% of the scheduled classes (which meet twice per week). The tests are just supposed to show you how you're doing. Good thing it wasn't for points, cause I didn't fare so well... The dictation was a problem, as the teacher always speaks in Dutch in class, BUT, I hardly ever know what she's saying, let alone how to divide it into seperate words and then spell them... I'm learning some though, and its already helping with reading signs and shopping, etc.

Much more exciting than that was my trip to Amsterdam for AWAKENINGS 2006 (www.awakenings.nl). It is an incredible techno dance party inside what used to be a huge gas tank for a manufacturing facility. It is world-famous for its lasers, and is one of only two places in Europe to have 360 degree spinning lasers that can actually point in any direction in the room. In total, there are 80 lasers and two of the top guys in the world running them. They're choreographed with the music, and when they come on, it is absolutely incredible. I've never seen anything so cool in my life. Much of the time the lasers were on, I totally stopped dancing cause I was mesmerized. My friend took pictures and I'll get those asap. If the lasers aren't enough, they also had fireworks inside. There were small rockets shot off the wall and flew across the room about 6 feet above the crowd! (don't worry, we were close to an exit that wasn't blocked and the whole building is concrete and steel with no insulating foam or anything). It was really, really amazing.

We actually left Groningen at 9:20pm, got to Amsterdam at 12:30am and were inside by 1am. The last DJ stopped playing at 7am, and thats when we left. We got back on a train to Groningen, and I slept all the way home. I've never danced so much in my life, and it was truly the best show I've ever been to. AND THE BEST PART: there is another one at the end of November! I never could have hoped for such a thing!

On the downside of this trip, when buying my 22 euro round-trip train ticket, my friend Ruud pushed the "Day Return" button instead of the "Weekend Return" button and the woman checking tickets made me buy another return ticket from her, including a fee for having the wrong one (because they walk around and check tickets while you're already on the train and moving). The total for the return ticket was 51 euro!!! It cost me a total of 73 euro for the train round-trip! Sucky!

And then Sat night, while celebrating Ruud's birthday at his apartment, the most devastating thing happened to me: my bicycle was stolen! It was locked up and parked with everyone elses, but it was a pretty nice bike, and the junkies here can get absolutely any lock off a bike if they want to bad enough, so it was jacked. I'm still really bummed about it. I never even took a picture of it! :*( Now this week I have to go get a new bike :-( I feel like I'll never find one I loved like that one. It was called "American Eagle" for goodness sake, a beautiful irony to me...

Well more soon... Thanks for reading!

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