Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Procrastination is the name of the game...






...and I am a WINNER!!
I feel like I am drowning in school work, but this just leads me to feel sad and mad about it and new shows online to devote my time to. In short, I've been in a bit of a depression funk, and I'm ready to get the hell out of it. 

The last 2 weeks all has been well on the social front. Thursday turned into an impromptu bar crawl, where 14 of us wandered in search of a bar with room, but because it was a nice evening, everywhere was soo crowded! We eventually ended up at a "very Dutch" in Emiels words, bar where we drank like champs, and the Danish Jesper bought us shots called the "brain crusher" or something equally terrifying. The night ended with dancing at a place we went first, which is something we never seem to do, and I had a great time. Unfortunately, not all was fun because we were 'celebrating/mourning' Amy's last day. She decided to leave the program and head back to Ohio, apparently it just wasn't her thing :(

The next night was again all about Amy, and we went to a place our teacher took us during the first week, a bar inside an old abbey. Sinful :)  From here we met up with a German guy who did the program last year and his 2 Spanish friends, then off to Filemon, a dance club I had yet to go to and was anxious about. Until we walked inside to HOARDS of gentlemen. I mean, I liked that the odds were in my favor, but it was just weird. But I was happy with the fact that they weren't as creepy and aggressive as American guys, and dancing with the girls was just what I wanted! (The 6 Euro vodka tonic was not though, boo.) That night ended in yummy falafel at, where else...FALAFEL CITY! (I can't wait for you to get here Mama!!)

Saturday I woke up at the ungodly hour of 1030 or so, then off to meet Leah at the airport. We met up with 2 guys from Gilroy, Gibbs and Neil, who have been traveling through Africa and Europe since sometime in August. This was a DISASTER, in the simplest form of the word. Instead of getting a hostel/hotel in the city center, they chose one by the airport. Unfortunately, it wasn't by the airport, and doubly unfortunate is that the airport is like 20 minutes away from the center itself. There was a lot of waiting/walking/waiting/bus transport/train transport/waiting/walking before we finally go there. Got some falafel and doner kabobs (sense a trend in my diet? eesh.) Then it was off to my first coffeeshop! I didn't participate because I'm not down with the whole "doing drugs" thing, even if they are legal, but they had a good time. 
We found a small bar down the street and sat and talked for awhile, and watched 2 elderly men play a game on the most protected 'pool' table I had ever seen (3 different layers of cover..) when it finally was free from the grasp of plywood and table cloths, it wasn't even what we think of as a pool table! Only 3 balls, and no holes. I was very confused, but let it slide because who wants to knock 2 old guys about their weird sporting habits.
Then we journeyed through the Red Light District, which is much, much different at night than on a sunny day, let me tell you. Stopped in a bar that played only the most random of music, saw a parade for gay rights run by, and then made our way out again to another bar.  This one was called "The Blarney Stone" and made me happy because I miss the one down the street from my apartment in SF :( By this time, the beer was definitely kicking in, only to realize it was only about 830 pm. The day seemed sooo long, and it was so dark, we had no idea! Very odd indeed. We stayed there till around 1 or so, then decided to call it a night. We headed back to the Central station, pockets empty, and got back to the airport. From there, we ate a deliciously late Burger King meal (shoot me now) and waited around. We thought about going back to the city, but then the trains were only running once and hour, and we missed the bus that only is once an hour back to the hotel. The we waited for close to 2 hours on the wrong side of the bus station, and didn't catch one back to the hotel until 4:52 am. Upon arrival at the hotel, the key cards didn't work and we had to bang on the door for the cleaning guy to let us in. FUN!
The next day was a little brutal, but I ended up leaving them and heading back to Utrecht to get a start on my homework. Of course, I got on a train I had never been on before. All I wanted was to get home, but I took the longest. way. possible. What should have been 50 minutes took about an hour and 20. I was so confused! But eventually I got there, and my bike was safe and sound, and I peddled me way home to comfort.

Monday night we went out to see ALPHABEAT! Another one of the greatest shows I've been to. Tivoli is a great venue, sort of like the Catalyst in size, but being in the 3rd row also helped. They put on an amazing show, and one of the lead singers, Anders (theres 3 guys in the band named Anders, wtf??) was soo into it, you could see the passion in his eyes, and through the sweat that continuously dripped off of him. We stayed after and just danced around, then went outside and on of my danish friends started talking to a guitarist, who he had gone to high school with. Somehow, he convinced the band and everyone else to come to the bar we were at, and while I tried to talk to the female lead singer who kind blew me off (water under the bridge, I'm over it now.) just being close to them was cool enough for me. I'm such a small town girl, its embarrassing. Who would have though I would get star struck over a band thats not even really famous yet?? Eh. Anywho, another late night but sooo worth it :)

I guess it's back to my studies, I'll post some pics later.
Smooches :)

No comments: