okay, I officially like my new house-mates. (: Although it has only been like let me see, one week, i think I like them. Initially, I was really perturbed by this stench in the house. (Ted told me that it came from the toilet.) Well, and girls being girls, we get a bit messy at times. So I made the effort to clean up the kitchen after being inspired by Cindy’s spotless kitchen.
We have similarities in different ways. Cara and I love singing. She has an awesome voice. Very bright. oh, i’m so envious. And I think, to my surprise, we have the same outlook towards relationships too after a chat with her today. Teddy is very spunky and we will groan about tests that she is studying very hard for, (but I’m not) and will dream about travelling and the partying we can do after the mid-term tests.
I’m really hoping Peixun will be free in the first weekend of March so that Caryn and I can finally fulfill our secret desires of being skiing goddesses. I feel so excited just thinking about it. alright, back to studying!
hello! I’m in a new place now and it reeks of erm, a strange smell.
I’ve moved. I’m very proud of myself. I moved five bags by myself . Ok, I could have hollered for help from people like Derek and other exchange students but I just felt that I could do this myself. This guy helped me lift my suitcase up onto the tram. Thank you, stranger! I lifted my huge-ass pink suitcase up three flight of stairs by myself. My body was aching and my arms were sore. When I made my second trip back to my old home, I was honestly drained of energy. So, after grabbing some groceries for tomorrow’s breakfast, all I wanted was a mind-and-body nourishing dinner — my second meal of the day.
Thank you to CSA for organising this awesome Chinese dinner. It was only for ten euros! I’m glad the other exchange students were happy as well from the dinner. (: I helped by promoting to them and persuading them to go. I love to share and gather people together. It was a good way to meet other people as well, although Michelle was simply overjoyed from the splendid spread of scrumptious Chinese food. I never knew so many foreigners were that interested in Singapore. It makes me feel a little patriotic although Martin pointed out, hey, you’re still holding a Malaysian passport. (; I love Malaysia too.
they're all native dutch (;
this is unlike koi milk tea, but it is really good enough.
liting and susan
My new house-mates are cool but we live under shall I say, different living conditions? Gabi and I were practically living in the same space; breathing the same air. We connected and I liked it when we talked to one another before we slept or shared our aspirations; travelling experiences; bitched about Dutch weather. I miss Gabi. There are two house-mates in my new place. Each of us has our own private room and we share the kitchen, toilet and bathroom. There are no other common room. One of them is from California. She is really sweet and bright. Oh, I hear her singing quite a few times. I must ask her about that. (; The other is an international student from Bulgaria. She is quite spunky. I haven’t really talked a lot to them and I feel a bit bad. It was just such a tiring day. Perhaps I will make some pancakes tomorrow morning and show some house-mates’ love. I also have to make a grocery list tomorrow. Air freshener is definitely on the list.
ah, updates about International Film Festival Rotterdam (I absolutely adore it and I’m definitely going to catch another film) coming soon and yes, my Barcelona trip entry is one-quarter written.
Feel like flying
This song, Feel like Flying, is performed by a Dutch band called Racoon. I’m learning this in choir. Yep, choir. Italicised and bold. Ok, I think from now you should know I really get quite restless staying too long in my comfort zone. So I kept browsing the school website to find out whether there are any activities I could take part. I’ve already identified a few and one of them is Erasmus Student Choir. It is a girls’ choir. I have never been in SAA choir so I thought this will be fun. Furthermore I’ve been talking about taking a break from travelling and immersing into the life here. (i.e. on sundays, you just do the laundry and stay at home because there is nothing open on Sundays.)
The lady who picked me up, I think, she may be the president or something. She is a medical student. She is pretty and she has a nice, strong warm voice. I know that because I was standing next to her during the practice. Anyway, I really enjoyed the practice. I’m impressed by the Dutch. The conductor spoke to the choir in English because I am struggling with Dutch. I was the only Asian in the choir . The only other international students are Germans but they have been here for half a year or one year already. The choir girls were very friendly. Upon arrival, they came up to me almost instantaneously to introduce themselves. Although sometimes when they converse in Dutch, I couldn’t catch anything, I prefer them to be comfortable and not accommodate to me. I feel bad! The only thing I could understand is “een, twee, drie, vier” which means one, two, three and four in English.
Another case of Dutch’s extreme sensitivity to international students that I came across: The professor who kindly helped me with the finding of starts-up that I could intern in was scanning a website which is in Dutch and has no English translation while mumbling to himself in Dutch the contents of the website. He turned to me later, and apologised, “I’m sorry I’m speaking Dutch.”
The choir doesn’t sing choral, classical pieces like we do in Victoria Chorale. They do many light-hearted songs that originate from the charts or musicals. It was a refreshing change! Like what Greengirl said, it was good to be singing again! Oh and like Greengirl, I’ve to admit, I was thinking about what kind of female chorus songs can Chorale possibly sing from the Erasmus Student Choir’s repertoire… (; They don’t have mind-blowing vocals nor do they have impeccable techniques but I think it is always enjoyable to be singing with people who make a choice to spend every Wednesday evening to create music together. You can tell that they really like it.
“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
“If I read a book that impresses me, I have to take myself firmly by the hand, before I mix with other people; otherwise they would think my mind rather queer.”
— Anne Frank
One of the best parts of the trip is the Anne Frank House. I was quite overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe that people used to hide in the Secret Annex in the very house I was visiting. I was telling Michelle that I will probably bawl if I visit the concentration camp.
Anne Frank Statue
Maybe Anne Frank was just one of the million girls who was scarred by the atrocity of the the Holocaust. Her stories and her words lived to be told and passed down to young adults like us who may not (or who knows) face the torture, abuse or death in the physical form but who may in a dog-eat-dog world allow our souls and kindred spirits to be gnawed away.
After an enlightening visit to the Anne Frank House, we made our way to Jordaan. It was supposedly a working class district turned charming, gentrified area chocked full of independent shops, boutiques and art galleries. We saw none of those as probably all the shops were closed on Sunday. (We should have known better!)
With nothing else left on the itinerary, we decided to give cycling in Amsterdam a shot. I was planning to buy a bike once spring is here. It looks easy, I thought! For people whom have never cycled in the streets before, it will take a while to get used to it. I was wondering, if I accidentally lost balance and my bike swerved to the side, i.e. beyond the very narrow cycling track, won’t I be knocked down by the vehicles that were zipping past me? Yes, so it was scary and not to mention the bikes are in general quite high. So good luck girls who are ever wishing for a second growth spurt. You may have to try a few bikes to find one that really suits your height!
We cycled to Vondelpark. If you’re in Amsterdam in Spring or summer, do plan a picnic at the park. I adore the park. It is beautiful and I love watching little kids struggle with the loopfiets. (I just learnt the name of this strange children’s bike)
via www.lilsugar.com/1651339/next
Initially, I thought the parents were so cruel to let their children push their bikes along with their feet. It looked really tough. ok, now I know it is something that the Dutch has developed to teach their children how to cycle. Brilliant, yea?
Called a loopfiet, the walking bikes teach children to maneuver a bike’s frame using the power of their own feet. A child sits on the frame and moves his or her feet in a running motion to get the bike to go. In doing so, the wee ones develop balance, steering and coordination. To learn more about this marvel.
the parents gave up and had to carry the loopfiets. hehe.
There are still so much more to see in Amsterdam. My advice to any traveller who wishes to visit Amsterdam, come in the spring or summer! I will definitely go back again to visit the museums and to maybe join a bike tour to the countryside. I haven’t seen the windmills yet! I can’t go back to Singapore without a complete Dutch experience!
So farewell Amsterdam. I’ll be back.
Amsterdam looked lovely on the Sunday night.
i.amsterdam
I’ve been to the Schiphol airport, Amsterdam several times for transit flights but I have never really stepped out and catch a glimpse of this legendary city that everyone associates with depravity and vices and of course, tulips, windmills and wooden clogs. (; I was really thrilled to be finally, finally visiting the city. So we boarded the one hour train ride from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. (Have I told you that I love train rides?)
just outside the red light district in the day (;
DT is very good at map-reading. So usually he would take the lead. Well there were times when he decidedly retreated and let one of the girls read the map and he would not help. His reason is that we need to learn, otherwise we will never be able to travel alone. (Michelle and I were contemplating travelling alone to some place in Europe.) We found our way to our hostel – Shelter City Christian Hostel. It is one of the cheaper and convenient hostels that we managed to secure within a short time frame. I feel safe to be in the hostel even though the doors to the dorms can’t really be locked. The volunteers at the hostel are really friendly and helpful. The rooms were rather cramped and the whole place seemed slightly run-down. It wasn’t quite value for money but as long as the people are nice, and I feel safe, I’m not complaining.
Our hostel ironically, is just round the corner of the red light district. In fact, when we left the hostel. woohoo. There was this really cute lady standing erm, behind the window after walking about maybe six metres down from our hostel. She doesn’t look sleazy at all. She looks cute. I think it was the black-rimmed spectacles.
We went to the Waterlooplein Flea Market after leaving our backpacks at the hostel. I like the quirky stuff there. I was quite tempted to buy the dress below and some men’s vests. (I dig vests.)
vintage dress
a motley of second-hand stuff
More dresses!
vintage dresses
they look really dubious.
The weather wasn’t very favourable on the day we arrived. It was raining and amsterdam looked kind of gloomy. We walked all the way to the Rijksmuseum only to find out that we only had one hour left to explore the museum. After the advice from the museum receptionist, we decided to head back to the museum the next day. (We never did.)
The first night in Amsterdam was spent gazing at the potpourri of hour-glass figures clad in skimpy bikinis. Martin and Jasmin came to join us later in the evening, abandoning their study plans. Coincidentally they met their American exchange friends in Amsterdam.
hiding from the snow/rain
We ended up chilling with Martin and his friends. We were so absorbed in those silly card games that one of them taught us. I think it is just adorable seeing all of us who hail from ahem, very reputable institutions playing mindless card games. Oh and I found out from Martin that one of them is a Bachelor student taking Master courses on exchange. Martin and I exclaimed almost instantaneously, “So unfair!”
Why am I not a Wharton student? Oh well, I’m sure they have what it takes. (: I just have to work harder!
why are koreans so funny (:
I don’t like to stereotype but I think South Koreans really do have their own brand of humour. I find them hilarious when they speak English. No, I’m not mocking them. They’re really just naturally very funny! Jae Hoon, the dude from Korea reminded me of my professors in SMU. Those professors (my FA prof and my marketing 101 prof) made me chuckle in class all the time. When JH said the F-word, he didn’t even sound vulgar at all. The F-word sounded comedic. Why aren’t there more Koreans among the exchange students! I like Koreans.
I will have to blog about my trip to Amsterdam and to Barcelona soon. Such terrific and memorable experiences. They include me overcoming my fears and resorting to desperate means to survive. I fully understand why I will possibly be very much more independent after six months in Europe. My parents would freak out if they know what happened. On a lighter note, I think I might start a cooking section here in my blog! Perhaps, after I shift to my new place in February. I hope I have nice housemates at my new place. I do quite like Gabi. She’s sweet and we do get along. It’s good to have someone to talk to; or complain to. Then again, the place is too cramped for both of us. I look forward to have some nice personal space soon. (:
Protected:
It is sad and awful that sometimes newer memories can substitute the older ones, encroach upon till they slowly fade away. It is a double-edged sword. It is good to always believe that one day, you can look back and say, “Oh, that was really nothing. I wonder why it rendered such an emotional turmoil back then.” On the other hand, this kind of attitude is very insulting to good memories. I had such a good time in Italy with my fellow choristers that I know it may sound silly, but I’m apprehensive about revisiting those same old places. I’m not sure what I’m fearful of. Perhaps I’m afraid that the memories may be tainted. Perhaps I want them to stay intact without any other variation. On my way to Amsterdam on Saturday, I was listening to my Ipod tunes and I saw a few photos that I had transferred a long time ago to my very outdated Ipod nano. The vividness of the spring colours was very much desirable and still startled me till this day.
I thought to myself, I’m blessed to have those great chums by my side after all these years.
a roomie (:
I have a roommate! It is exciting yet scary at the same time. I mean, I was just getting used to living alone and I’m loving it, I must honestly say so. I wasn’t notified of her arrival, so I must imagine her horror when she stepped into the apartment yesterday. It was in a huge mess. I was rushing out of the house on Saturday to meet my friends for a weekend getaway to Amsterdam. Now that I have a roommate, a pretty nice and cute girl from Switzerland/Slovakia, it makes me slightly apprehensive about moving to a totally “new” environment in February.
Flickr Photos
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