My last evening in Siem Reap, I finally found some time to post something again, although the computers here are painstackingly slow..
I've travelled from North to South Vietnam, going to Sapa high in the mountains with beautiful rice terraces and ethnic minorities like White Tai or H'mong. After that some relaxing on a cruise in Halong Bay, before heading south to the ancient capital of Hue which is all about the splendor of the past with former emperors constructing huge almost entire cities for their graves. In Hoi An one has everything a traveller needs. Nice, relaxed beaches combined with a little old town full with clothmakers, Cham Islands, a Marble Mountain and some history in the form of an old capital called My Son (Mieee Son).A river dividing this little place in two is more than agreeable and the food here is amazing and cheap! (12 eurocents for a draught beer..) Had my next ball gown made and measured up here, so beware to compliment me next time.
Then off to Nha Trang for some relaxed beach baking with 2 funny French dudes, before heading to the buzzing capital of Saigon and be faced with megatourism in the Mekong Delta and the cleverness of the Viet Cong at the Cu-Chi tunnels. After this 2 week Vietnam discovery off to Cambodia, mainly to admire Angkor's beauty but also be appalled by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, just about 40 years ago..
Angkor did cast her spell on me, however not by the main tourist sites. The more distant complexes without tourists like Ta Nui covered in jungle and hand-sized butterflies, or Roluos the first one where I was the only visitor present. Kbal Span with the river of a thousand lingas is a refreshing walk up into the mountains with a riverbed totally covered in carving still very well visible after 1000 years, followed by a full body Khmer massage to finally treat my muscles to a little goodness after all the hardships. Today had my last surprise in biking to the floating village of Chong Khneas and seeing what Cambodian life actually is (much poorer than it seems at first) before I headed out to Beng Mealea with my new Brit friends with a 2 hour tuk-tuk drive through one of the only roads in the countryside, before discovering this huge temple partly ruined but still remarkably beautiful and taken back by nature.
As you can probably imagine, I'm having a very good time on my journey and so far no major drawbacks have happened except for the stealing of my beloved camera so there will be no holiday pictures from me.. However I plan to get the pictures of all the amazing people I've met to create my own journey through their lens. Okay, off to some good Khmer food now!
Saturday 11 August 2012
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Hello from Bangkok!
I know it's been only 3 days since the last post, but so much has happened that it seems like ages. So, at first I travelled to Schiphol with my favourite friend: public transport. Contrary to my expectations everything went smoothly and I was 3 hours early. Finally in the plane at midnight, I planned on getting as much sleep as possible. However Turkish Airlines planned differently and chose to wake me up at 2 AM for my supper..
Arriving in Istanbul at 4.15 AM, I tried to sleep a little on some benches before the first Metro into the centre at 6 AM. Hence I was already at the Galata Tower by 7ish, 2 hours before it opened. Thus I strolled in the neighbourhood and had breakfast at a nicely overshadowed by grapes cafe before getting up the tower to see possibly the most beautiful panorama of Istanbul I could have imagined.
After that I took the cheapest boat ride imaginable (2 lira or 1 euro) along Kiz Kulesi, an island with just the Maidentower on it, situated between Europe and Asia. Then a little Mosque Tour and walking towards the huge aqueduct. In the afternoon I went to the Summerpalace (Dolmahabace or something similar) which is an impressive architectural feat, pretty similar in its effect as Versailles but a different style of course. In the huge queue I met Raihane, a French girl travelling around Eastern Europe by herself for 3 months, for the 3rd time. She had loooots of stories (even more than I!). At some point I asked why there were these massive holes in the queue, which looked very strange. Explanation: those parts were in the burning sun, so the queue was broken up in the shady parts.
After that I decided to wonder around a little again, got a bit lost but a woman very kindly brought me back to the subway station I needed, and on parting she gave me a little note with "Gook luck, see u =)" which just made me feel happy. I got off around Aya Sophia and had Gozleme with Ayran, before strolling down a park filled with people and with a very merry atmosphere. Then back to the airport again for another night flight.
This time an American from the Philippines started telling me about his east-asian adventures, before my American neighbour (coming into the plane a little later) spilled out his. They're so easy to talk to! Then watched Sherlock Holmes the movie before dinner at 1 AM, and a couple of hours of sleep before breakfast at 6 AM and a bit of the last Harry Potter to fill up the time. When arriving in Bangkok, I met a Belgium guy who resides in Thailand with his Thai wife. He gave me very good tips and helped me get around the public transport. For the last part I took a tuk-tuk to the hostel, who stopped on the way at a tourist information point, where I got sold a day-tour for tomorrow to see the floating market, River Kwai and the Tiger Temple. However, wandering around the centre a bit on my way to Chinatown for dinner I discovered that 2500 Baht was too much for such a trip. Oh well, being ripped-off was eventually going to happen.
After a veeeery long walk along the river and the Grand Palace I arrived at the food part of Chinatown, where I ate fish noodle soup and a crab fish fried rice with fish sauce. Both delicious but the first one was hot!!!! Met an English couple with the same guide as me (hence eating at the same food stall) with whom I spend the evening, before getting a tuk-tuk back. I tried getting the bus, but there was no way I could figure out which bus to take and everything, with the bus drivers not speaking any English and it also started raining. To conclude the day, 2 girls entered my dormitory with whom I watched the film "The King and I", a kind of Disney movie situated in Thailand. Hilarious =)
Well, off to bed since I'm being picked up at 7 AM and thus miss breakfast here.
I know it's been only 3 days since the last post, but so much has happened that it seems like ages. So, at first I travelled to Schiphol with my favourite friend: public transport. Contrary to my expectations everything went smoothly and I was 3 hours early. Finally in the plane at midnight, I planned on getting as much sleep as possible. However Turkish Airlines planned differently and chose to wake me up at 2 AM for my supper..
Arriving in Istanbul at 4.15 AM, I tried to sleep a little on some benches before the first Metro into the centre at 6 AM. Hence I was already at the Galata Tower by 7ish, 2 hours before it opened. Thus I strolled in the neighbourhood and had breakfast at a nicely overshadowed by grapes cafe before getting up the tower to see possibly the most beautiful panorama of Istanbul I could have imagined.
After that I took the cheapest boat ride imaginable (2 lira or 1 euro) along Kiz Kulesi, an island with just the Maidentower on it, situated between Europe and Asia. Then a little Mosque Tour and walking towards the huge aqueduct. In the afternoon I went to the Summerpalace (Dolmahabace or something similar) which is an impressive architectural feat, pretty similar in its effect as Versailles but a different style of course. In the huge queue I met Raihane, a French girl travelling around Eastern Europe by herself for 3 months, for the 3rd time. She had loooots of stories (even more than I!). At some point I asked why there were these massive holes in the queue, which looked very strange. Explanation: those parts were in the burning sun, so the queue was broken up in the shady parts.
After that I decided to wonder around a little again, got a bit lost but a woman very kindly brought me back to the subway station I needed, and on parting she gave me a little note with "Gook luck, see u =)" which just made me feel happy. I got off around Aya Sophia and had Gozleme with Ayran, before strolling down a park filled with people and with a very merry atmosphere. Then back to the airport again for another night flight.
This time an American from the Philippines started telling me about his east-asian adventures, before my American neighbour (coming into the plane a little later) spilled out his. They're so easy to talk to! Then watched Sherlock Holmes the movie before dinner at 1 AM, and a couple of hours of sleep before breakfast at 6 AM and a bit of the last Harry Potter to fill up the time. When arriving in Bangkok, I met a Belgium guy who resides in Thailand with his Thai wife. He gave me very good tips and helped me get around the public transport. For the last part I took a tuk-tuk to the hostel, who stopped on the way at a tourist information point, where I got sold a day-tour for tomorrow to see the floating market, River Kwai and the Tiger Temple. However, wandering around the centre a bit on my way to Chinatown for dinner I discovered that 2500 Baht was too much for such a trip. Oh well, being ripped-off was eventually going to happen.
After a veeeery long walk along the river and the Grand Palace I arrived at the food part of Chinatown, where I ate fish noodle soup and a crab fish fried rice with fish sauce. Both delicious but the first one was hot!!!! Met an English couple with the same guide as me (hence eating at the same food stall) with whom I spend the evening, before getting a tuk-tuk back. I tried getting the bus, but there was no way I could figure out which bus to take and everything, with the bus drivers not speaking any English and it also started raining. To conclude the day, 2 girls entered my dormitory with whom I watched the film "The King and I", a kind of Disney movie situated in Thailand. Hilarious =)
Well, off to bed since I'm being picked up at 7 AM and thus miss breakfast here.
Sunday 22 July 2012
MM goes on AA
So there we are again. I've not been keeping up this blog very much after somewhere around Christmas.. The reason? Very simple: Incredibly bad time-management.
You see, I wonder how come that this condition of mine, also known as the incapability to effectively distribute one's day over several important and valuable activities, seems to present itself in an exponentially growing number of people. Is it me? (I'd like to think not..) Or is it the crooked way in which nowadays everything revolves around skills instead of knowledge and hard work? I let you decide for yourselves.
However, in resume my first year at Oxford has been alright. No actually it's been AMAZING. I met lots of new and incredible people, many of whom I feel closer to than people I've known for a very long time. All the opportunities presenting themselves in societies, organisations and my study have just blown my mind away. I feel like I can do anything I want, if I just want it.
It's been tough sometimes, having a lot of work ( with work I mean stuff I need to do for my course) whilst also wanting to attend several events or hang out with friends on Hayward Quad in the sun. But I do realise that since this was the hardest thing I had to face, I may not complain. After Hilary Tyler and I went on an exploration of the Isle of Britannia, making use of many different methods including hiking, wild-camping, visiting lots of friends, training/bussing (I am aware those are no real English verbs) and one of my most practiced skills: conversing with the locals. Our trip started in Exmouth where we got off the train and started the journey along the South West Coast Path towards Plymouth. It was gorgeous in every way. The days were lovely, the views amazing and nature was stunning. A little drawback was the unavailability of the campsites (your effort finally pays off Tyler!) resulting in the necessity to camp in the wild. Luckily we had all the required stuff with us to survive. For the first time in ages I got into an actual pattern of sleep, consisting of falling dead around 9 and rising with the sun at 6ish. I cannot emphasise enough how much good it did me after such a mentally stressful term.
Just when the weather got worse we went by Tom Ashby's. My first Real British Family, how exciting! And it couldn't have been better. What a lovely home that was! We had a wonderful stay & recovery from all that wild camping and had the best shower ever.
After that we went up on the Moors of Dartmoor (yeah that's where Sherlock Holmes was filmed!) With some luck we were able to get a cab to the youth hostel called Bellever since there were no busses going in the weekend.. It is really a bleak and empty place. However that is also its beauty. My time there was mainly filled with going on random hikes getting lost and wading through rivers untill I though it was about time to head back to Bellever. Climb up a hill and try and orientate before wading back through rivers. It was great =)
We got a glimpse of Cheltenham where we stayed over at Hannah Gladman's, before departing the next day to Emily Blampied who lives in the heart of the Cotswolds. What a British place that is! (I mean the Cotswolds, although Emily's house also qualifies) I saw horse-races, went to a pie-night at the local pub, made stunning walks with the dogs and of course drank lots of tea. It is as if the caricature-people only saw this place in britain and decided to make it its image. Well I can't blame them, it sure is a great place!
Then off for a big contrast to London, or The City to finally see Calypso again. We went to Canterbury on a day-trip, stayed over till her birthday and met Miguel, James and Junho. So strange to see people out of the College-context. It makes you realise that everyone has a life beyond Keble, and makes people more 3-D as a good friend of mine explained me.
Back in the train to Wales we were confronted with a map full of weird language. Oh yes, Welsh is a pretty insane and secret language. It takes some knowledge before you're even able to pronounce it, let alone understand or speak. I just hope its inaccessibility for foreigners will not drive this language to its extinction as I've recently discovered did happen to Cornish. We got treated in every single way and also on the extended version of all of the lord of the rings, viewed on a superly high-tech visual-audio-systemy thing!
That was our last stop before heading: North.
Taking the bus to birmingham, a lay-over in which we were just able to catch the film The Hunger Games, and then arriving in Carlisle in 3.40 AM where it's raining for the first time on our entire trip and then begin picked up by no-one less than the angel Elanor Watts, driving us all the way back to Workington in the little hours of the night (morning?).
The next day we made a transfer to Eleanor Edge's on the other side of the Lake District. From there we've made little adventures into I must say one of the must stunning and inspiring place I've seen. The Lake District. It already gripped me and it can count on my return!
A few days in Darlington (how cute is that name ^^) before going to Birmingham to stay with Mike's family. A family consisting of 2 parents, 5 kids and a zillion pets! And eeh oh yeah, throw in the occasional 3 extra guests. I don't know how, but they manage and it never gets crowded, it's just merry.
Then back to Oxford for another term's hard work & fun.
Trinity was much in the spirit of the upcoming Prelims at the end. Everyone at some point started their seclusion with books and fuel (food and water) even though the weather was kinda inviting everyone out. However there were some cool things like an open air screening in Magdalen of A Midnight in Paris, lots of cultural films at the Film Society (like Pan's Labyrinth & Castle in the Sky) and the Keble Art Society was born. Also my lil' sis came by for a good week, giving me the excuse to finally play the tourist of Oxford and discover some of its wonders. In that week I had to convince her to wear something ridiculous for the BOP, stayed up all night for Mayday to watch the choir sing from the Magdalen tower in the rain, got kicked out of a pub cause sis was 16, visited the entire Ashmolean and went to Blenheim Palace again. The day my sis left was the day after Keble Ball.
After all of that I had my exams at the end of June. Admittedly I was a bit scared beforehand, being judged by the Oxford standard and all.. However it felt like an anti-climax coming out of them. Not exactly sure I'm able to describe that feeling of "Is that all" mixed with "I have no clue how it went" and a splash of "Hmm.. that was a third of my course". Any additions are well-appreciated.
The last day of my exams my dad came by to start the second part of our biking journey from Bristol to Land's End. Just to make sure no-one misunderstands this, we biked all the way and left the car at Bristol. The weather was a bit of a let-down, but the biking journey was full with little wonders like Cheddar, Tintagel (pronounced Tintaaaaaagel), Treyarnon Bay, Padstrow, Truro (where we stayed at Miguel's for a couple a days and also went to the Eden Project!) and Penzance. I'm getting tired now else I would be expanding on this trip. You'll just have to ask me in real life if you want stories about that.
On the way back made a stop at Arundel and Canterbury before finally seeing home and mom after more than half a year. It was kinda strange for a little while, but it's still home. (unfortunately the bad weather travelled with us back to holland.......)
So there we are, 2 weeks after my return back home. I'm a 1000 euros lighter but managed to arrange all the necessary passports, visas, injections and guide books for............
ASIA.
That's right, withing 24 hours from now I'll be heading off for my 9 week journey through an unfamiliar continent. I am mentally preparing myself for all the new things I am gonna encounter and the totally different way of life. However I cannot prepare myself for the heat other than bring the most summery clothes (that have been waiting for a very long time now.)
So this is what's gonna happen:
I'm flying to Istanbul first, have a day over there and then catch a flight to Bangkok. After another day I'll fly to Hanoi in Vietnam and have about 2 weeks to explore. On the way back I'll go past Cambodia to see Angkor Wat (I'm so excited about that part!) and then meet Calypso and the volunteering group in Bangkok. Together we'll travel to Chiang Rai where we shall start the volunteering project for 3 weeks, after which I continue my travels south of Thailand towards the islands. That's about the broad plan, but anything might happen to change its course.
Pfoee. I'm tired & excited & scared & thrilled at the same time. I think I better get a decent (half-decent looking at the clock) night's sleep before my Asian Adventure (the AA). I'll try and post something every once in a while when I have acces to internet and a computer. If at any time you need to contact me, use either facebook or my email and in an emergency my Dutch number: 00316-38329379
Hope all your summers are splendid!
You see, I wonder how come that this condition of mine, also known as the incapability to effectively distribute one's day over several important and valuable activities, seems to present itself in an exponentially growing number of people. Is it me? (I'd like to think not..) Or is it the crooked way in which nowadays everything revolves around skills instead of knowledge and hard work? I let you decide for yourselves.
However, in resume my first year at Oxford has been alright. No actually it's been AMAZING. I met lots of new and incredible people, many of whom I feel closer to than people I've known for a very long time. All the opportunities presenting themselves in societies, organisations and my study have just blown my mind away. I feel like I can do anything I want, if I just want it.
It's been tough sometimes, having a lot of work ( with work I mean stuff I need to do for my course) whilst also wanting to attend several events or hang out with friends on Hayward Quad in the sun. But I do realise that since this was the hardest thing I had to face, I may not complain. After Hilary Tyler and I went on an exploration of the Isle of Britannia, making use of many different methods including hiking, wild-camping, visiting lots of friends, training/bussing (I am aware those are no real English verbs) and one of my most practiced skills: conversing with the locals. Our trip started in Exmouth where we got off the train and started the journey along the South West Coast Path towards Plymouth. It was gorgeous in every way. The days were lovely, the views amazing and nature was stunning. A little drawback was the unavailability of the campsites (your effort finally pays off Tyler!) resulting in the necessity to camp in the wild. Luckily we had all the required stuff with us to survive. For the first time in ages I got into an actual pattern of sleep, consisting of falling dead around 9 and rising with the sun at 6ish. I cannot emphasise enough how much good it did me after such a mentally stressful term.
Just when the weather got worse we went by Tom Ashby's. My first Real British Family, how exciting! And it couldn't have been better. What a lovely home that was! We had a wonderful stay & recovery from all that wild camping and had the best shower ever.
After that we went up on the Moors of Dartmoor (yeah that's where Sherlock Holmes was filmed!) With some luck we were able to get a cab to the youth hostel called Bellever since there were no busses going in the weekend.. It is really a bleak and empty place. However that is also its beauty. My time there was mainly filled with going on random hikes getting lost and wading through rivers untill I though it was about time to head back to Bellever. Climb up a hill and try and orientate before wading back through rivers. It was great =)
We got a glimpse of Cheltenham where we stayed over at Hannah Gladman's, before departing the next day to Emily Blampied who lives in the heart of the Cotswolds. What a British place that is! (I mean the Cotswolds, although Emily's house also qualifies) I saw horse-races, went to a pie-night at the local pub, made stunning walks with the dogs and of course drank lots of tea. It is as if the caricature-people only saw this place in britain and decided to make it its image. Well I can't blame them, it sure is a great place!
Then off for a big contrast to London, or The City to finally see Calypso again. We went to Canterbury on a day-trip, stayed over till her birthday and met Miguel, James and Junho. So strange to see people out of the College-context. It makes you realise that everyone has a life beyond Keble, and makes people more 3-D as a good friend of mine explained me.
Back in the train to Wales we were confronted with a map full of weird language. Oh yes, Welsh is a pretty insane and secret language. It takes some knowledge before you're even able to pronounce it, let alone understand or speak. I just hope its inaccessibility for foreigners will not drive this language to its extinction as I've recently discovered did happen to Cornish. We got treated in every single way and also on the extended version of all of the lord of the rings, viewed on a superly high-tech visual-audio-systemy thing!
That was our last stop before heading: North.
Taking the bus to birmingham, a lay-over in which we were just able to catch the film The Hunger Games, and then arriving in Carlisle in 3.40 AM where it's raining for the first time on our entire trip and then begin picked up by no-one less than the angel Elanor Watts, driving us all the way back to Workington in the little hours of the night (morning?).
The next day we made a transfer to Eleanor Edge's on the other side of the Lake District. From there we've made little adventures into I must say one of the must stunning and inspiring place I've seen. The Lake District. It already gripped me and it can count on my return!
A few days in Darlington (how cute is that name ^^) before going to Birmingham to stay with Mike's family. A family consisting of 2 parents, 5 kids and a zillion pets! And eeh oh yeah, throw in the occasional 3 extra guests. I don't know how, but they manage and it never gets crowded, it's just merry.
Then back to Oxford for another term's hard work & fun.
Trinity was much in the spirit of the upcoming Prelims at the end. Everyone at some point started their seclusion with books and fuel (food and water) even though the weather was kinda inviting everyone out. However there were some cool things like an open air screening in Magdalen of A Midnight in Paris, lots of cultural films at the Film Society (like Pan's Labyrinth & Castle in the Sky) and the Keble Art Society was born. Also my lil' sis came by for a good week, giving me the excuse to finally play the tourist of Oxford and discover some of its wonders. In that week I had to convince her to wear something ridiculous for the BOP, stayed up all night for Mayday to watch the choir sing from the Magdalen tower in the rain, got kicked out of a pub cause sis was 16, visited the entire Ashmolean and went to Blenheim Palace again. The day my sis left was the day after Keble Ball.
After all of that I had my exams at the end of June. Admittedly I was a bit scared beforehand, being judged by the Oxford standard and all.. However it felt like an anti-climax coming out of them. Not exactly sure I'm able to describe that feeling of "Is that all" mixed with "I have no clue how it went" and a splash of "Hmm.. that was a third of my course". Any additions are well-appreciated.
The last day of my exams my dad came by to start the second part of our biking journey from Bristol to Land's End. Just to make sure no-one misunderstands this, we biked all the way and left the car at Bristol. The weather was a bit of a let-down, but the biking journey was full with little wonders like Cheddar, Tintagel (pronounced Tintaaaaaagel), Treyarnon Bay, Padstrow, Truro (where we stayed at Miguel's for a couple a days and also went to the Eden Project!) and Penzance. I'm getting tired now else I would be expanding on this trip. You'll just have to ask me in real life if you want stories about that.
On the way back made a stop at Arundel and Canterbury before finally seeing home and mom after more than half a year. It was kinda strange for a little while, but it's still home. (unfortunately the bad weather travelled with us back to holland.......)
So there we are, 2 weeks after my return back home. I'm a 1000 euros lighter but managed to arrange all the necessary passports, visas, injections and guide books for............
ASIA.
That's right, withing 24 hours from now I'll be heading off for my 9 week journey through an unfamiliar continent. I am mentally preparing myself for all the new things I am gonna encounter and the totally different way of life. However I cannot prepare myself for the heat other than bring the most summery clothes (that have been waiting for a very long time now.)
So this is what's gonna happen:
I'm flying to Istanbul first, have a day over there and then catch a flight to Bangkok. After another day I'll fly to Hanoi in Vietnam and have about 2 weeks to explore. On the way back I'll go past Cambodia to see Angkor Wat (I'm so excited about that part!) and then meet Calypso and the volunteering group in Bangkok. Together we'll travel to Chiang Rai where we shall start the volunteering project for 3 weeks, after which I continue my travels south of Thailand towards the islands. That's about the broad plan, but anything might happen to change its course.
Pfoee. I'm tired & excited & scared & thrilled at the same time. I think I better get a decent (half-decent looking at the clock) night's sleep before my Asian Adventure (the AA). I'll try and post something every once in a while when I have acces to internet and a computer. If at any time you need to contact me, use either facebook or my email and in an emergency my Dutch number: 00316-38329379
Hope all your summers are splendid!
Thursday 22 December 2011
Dutchland
To update my blog completely I will now write a bit of my return here in Holland.
I directly went to the family birthday in Eindhoven (my birthplace) and stayed over at an uncle to celebrate Saint Nicolas the other day. Lovely to see all my family again, but I need to admit I felt pretty broken and exhausted. Had a wonderfully good Saint Nicolas (Thanks Koen for the practical joke!) after which I finally headed home. I was insane with joy to see my cats (and I like to think they were too ^^) and to get into my well-deserved 10 day sleep-a-thon.
Since then I met up with a few friends, had Sushi with Jerome, got Microsoft Office on my laptop, went back to my old school and unexpectedly ran into my friend from the beginning of primary school! She is now getting experience by learning from MY old German teachers. Small world.
I've been playing an amazing amount of piano and finally I was able to satisfy my urge to read literature (I have just read one book during term : Desiderata)
To my biggest disappointment and most of all enormous frustration there was a little boy of 12 years old who, at the high school performance I went to watch to see my sister sing beautifully, just casually played 2 piano pieces on which I had been struggling the past 3 days in a row. I was NOT AMUSED. That little prick...
On the program atm is seeing my primary school friend tomorrow and going out to dinner tomorrow. Then Christmas with family here, a party at the house of 4 friends who study in Eindhoven, a sauna day with my sis and a week of snowboarding before returning back to Keble!!!!
Oh yeah, somewhere in between I need to do lots of revision, and write a Christmas essay.
Well, I already notice the difference between my blogs about Oxford and back here. Life back home is relatively boring compared to Keble. Actually my main occupation has been missing my friends and Keble so much that I started counting down the days the day after Saint Nicolas. These superlong holidays are not that great in my opinion. Luckily I have survived more than half already, so my return is in sight =)
For everyone I have not been able to meet yet : I am still here till the 30th of December. Else I do think and miss you guys too, and hope your new lives are good!
For the Keblites: I MISS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU
A personal message to a few:
Simon I miss your hairdrier
I cannot see cheese without thinking of you Bea!
Calypso, where is that angel in my life?
What would I be without my conscience and literary adviser Tylor?
I became quite attached to the midnight tea with my husband which I am missing..
Sometimes I find myself knocking on my wall to discover that you're not there Maeve =O
Missing the calm harbour of James' room where I could stress out
Richard I need your expertise with my piano!
Sasha I just generally miss you
A world without Jack is just so much more boring.
That's it for now. I will try to write something during/after snowboarding and then I hope (so don't pin me down on it!) that I will be able to make weekly posts about Keble-life. My goals for next term are namely: being more effective with time-management, getting a decent amount of sleep overall, do not fall asleep during lectures/tutorials, getting all the work done nicely in time and filing everything straight away. So that should leave me some time to keep this blog a bit more alive.
PS: It felt so good writing English again!
I directly went to the family birthday in Eindhoven (my birthplace) and stayed over at an uncle to celebrate Saint Nicolas the other day. Lovely to see all my family again, but I need to admit I felt pretty broken and exhausted. Had a wonderfully good Saint Nicolas (Thanks Koen for the practical joke!) after which I finally headed home. I was insane with joy to see my cats (and I like to think they were too ^^) and to get into my well-deserved 10 day sleep-a-thon.
Since then I met up with a few friends, had Sushi with Jerome, got Microsoft Office on my laptop, went back to my old school and unexpectedly ran into my friend from the beginning of primary school! She is now getting experience by learning from MY old German teachers. Small world.
I've been playing an amazing amount of piano and finally I was able to satisfy my urge to read literature (I have just read one book during term : Desiderata)
To my biggest disappointment and most of all enormous frustration there was a little boy of 12 years old who, at the high school performance I went to watch to see my sister sing beautifully, just casually played 2 piano pieces on which I had been struggling the past 3 days in a row. I was NOT AMUSED. That little prick...
On the program atm is seeing my primary school friend tomorrow and going out to dinner tomorrow. Then Christmas with family here, a party at the house of 4 friends who study in Eindhoven, a sauna day with my sis and a week of snowboarding before returning back to Keble!!!!
Oh yeah, somewhere in between I need to do lots of revision, and write a Christmas essay.
Well, I already notice the difference between my blogs about Oxford and back here. Life back home is relatively boring compared to Keble. Actually my main occupation has been missing my friends and Keble so much that I started counting down the days the day after Saint Nicolas. These superlong holidays are not that great in my opinion. Luckily I have survived more than half already, so my return is in sight =)
For everyone I have not been able to meet yet : I am still here till the 30th of December. Else I do think and miss you guys too, and hope your new lives are good!
For the Keblites: I MISS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU
A personal message to a few:
Simon I miss your hairdrier
I cannot see cheese without thinking of you Bea!
Calypso, where is that angel in my life?
What would I be without my conscience and literary adviser Tylor?
I became quite attached to the midnight tea with my husband which I am missing..
Sometimes I find myself knocking on my wall to discover that you're not there Maeve =O
Missing the calm harbour of James' room where I could stress out
Richard I need your expertise with my piano!
Sasha I just generally miss you
A world without Jack is just so much more boring.
That's it for now. I will try to write something during/after snowboarding and then I hope (so don't pin me down on it!) that I will be able to make weekly posts about Keble-life. My goals for next term are namely: being more effective with time-management, getting a decent amount of sleep overall, do not fall asleep during lectures/tutorials, getting all the work done nicely in time and filing everything straight away. So that should leave me some time to keep this blog a bit more alive.
PS: It felt so good writing English again!
Survived Michaelmas!
Hey everyone!
I know I am not a very faithful updater, but occasionally I find myself in the mood to write about me (I cannot believe how egocentric that sounds). Especially now that English has been missing in my normal daily life I kinda feel a want to stay connected to my Oxford life.
That's right, I am back in Dutchland with the cows, meadows, but especially bad weather and nasty wind preventing me from advancing a single inch on my bike..
But first, the end of Michaelmas (that's how they call the first term).
The last 2 weeks were in short: hectic and unbelievably exhausting.
All the work I had pushed ahead needed to be finished and they added another tutorial per week to our schedule. Besides that I was not really diminishing the time I spend doing other stuff, resulting in a really big time problem. The last week I hardly slept 3 nights in a row to be able to hand in my essays on time and finish the math problems before the deadline.
To be honest, this was the moment where I started to question if I was maybe not able to cope with the workload and should perhaps just give up. I really started to feel a bit desperate.. Luckily, all the lovely people around me cheered me up and motivated me to get through it! I still thank you guys for that with all my heart! Also, the fact that I was not the only sufferer (Andrei & Greta who do biomed as well in Keble) of the massive amount of work made it more bearable.
It wasn't all that bad. Our labs were getting very interesting! They were about measuring different properties of different muscle types. Basically, they suspended a muscle in a solution and we got to add all kinds of drugs to it and see what it did to its contraction. Then ofcourse, we needed to crack our brains to divine how that drug worked exactly.
Now on to the fun stuff! In Oxford, since we do not really spend Christmas being in College, they celebrate Oxmas (no need for explanation I hope) with a real Oxmas dinner and a real Oxmas service in Chapel. Since there's loads of people, there was a Sunday and Monday Oxmas dinner. Only, I couldn't decide on which day to go since on both days friends of mine booked in. Therefore I went to both =) When you arrive, you get a cracker (looks like a huuuuuge candyrol which you pull open and it makes a very big banging sound) with a little crap-plastic gift and a paper crown. During the whole evening they serve a 3 course meal (with stuffed turkey and a disgusting brandy cake) and wine. The most special thing is the choir singing carols all along the evening and walking amongst the tables. Makes everything incredibly cozy and cheery! We even had our own Santa Claus (thanks Leonard =)) Unluckily for me I couldn't linger too long since essay-duty was calling..
The Oxmas service is also quite unique. You get a burning candle and almost everyone knows the carols which are sung (except me ofcourse -.-) There was a little girl in front of me who was obviously uninterested in the service so decided to play with her candle, so cute.
At the end of 7th week I went to my first ball in Oxford : RAG Ball. All the money they make goes to charity as well, which made me feel better about spending all that money on a ticket. It was quite an experience! Everyone all dressed up and pretty and when you arrive at the Ball you immediately are greeted with a glass of champagne. The whole evening there are plenty of things to do and drinks/food to get. They even had a stand with G&D's icecream and chocolate fountains and all. There were also oa photobooth, swings, silent disco, string quartet, belly dancers and so on! It starts off as a real evening in style! All Oxford students are able to get hold of a ticket, so that you are likely to also bump into friends of other colleges for once.
Also on the wednesday of 8th week we had another College BOP. I am not sure if I already explained what it is, so if I did just scroll down a few lines ;). It is a fancy dress party with a theme. The goal is to come up with an original costume in the Bar that night and have a good time within College. Our theme was Christmas ofcourse, and since I already had to pack all my belongings and my room was sadly empty I just went as a present by tying a scarf around my dress. Other people had gone all out and there were some pretty original ones!
3 days later it was time to go again. Luckily I travelled back with Arthur from Wadham College (just 1 minute away or so) so that it wasn't all that sad. I do learn from all this living on your own : I made a huge mistake in picking the bag to bring back. The only luggage I was to transport were the books & notes I need for revision and catching up (and those 20 books I bought in a very strange moment in a nice bookshop). The bag was HEAVY. I was TIRED. Not a good combination.
To make it worse, the bag started to snap at the bottom! I already pictured myself walking in London when suddenly my whole bag would just break down and I would be standing there with all those books unable to transport them and needing to leave it all behind after which I would get into loads of trouble for losing library books and my own work and more bills to pay.. This bag was also not a rolling type, but one you need to carry over one shoulder (my poor shoulders =()
Luckily it survived the journey barely, and I have learned a wise lesson.
That was my first term in Oxford. I can't believe it myself to be honest. Looking back it seems as if it all has been a dream (and NOT just cause I haven't slept enough!)
PS: I also have a boyfriend called Sasha ^^ (as many of you already seem to know). Makes the holiday seem eternally long (which it actually really is).
I know I am not a very faithful updater, but occasionally I find myself in the mood to write about me (I cannot believe how egocentric that sounds). Especially now that English has been missing in my normal daily life I kinda feel a want to stay connected to my Oxford life.
That's right, I am back in Dutchland with the cows, meadows, but especially bad weather and nasty wind preventing me from advancing a single inch on my bike..
But first, the end of Michaelmas (that's how they call the first term).
The last 2 weeks were in short: hectic and unbelievably exhausting.
All the work I had pushed ahead needed to be finished and they added another tutorial per week to our schedule. Besides that I was not really diminishing the time I spend doing other stuff, resulting in a really big time problem. The last week I hardly slept 3 nights in a row to be able to hand in my essays on time and finish the math problems before the deadline.
To be honest, this was the moment where I started to question if I was maybe not able to cope with the workload and should perhaps just give up. I really started to feel a bit desperate.. Luckily, all the lovely people around me cheered me up and motivated me to get through it! I still thank you guys for that with all my heart! Also, the fact that I was not the only sufferer (Andrei & Greta who do biomed as well in Keble) of the massive amount of work made it more bearable.
It wasn't all that bad. Our labs were getting very interesting! They were about measuring different properties of different muscle types. Basically, they suspended a muscle in a solution and we got to add all kinds of drugs to it and see what it did to its contraction. Then ofcourse, we needed to crack our brains to divine how that drug worked exactly.
Now on to the fun stuff! In Oxford, since we do not really spend Christmas being in College, they celebrate Oxmas (no need for explanation I hope) with a real Oxmas dinner and a real Oxmas service in Chapel. Since there's loads of people, there was a Sunday and Monday Oxmas dinner. Only, I couldn't decide on which day to go since on both days friends of mine booked in. Therefore I went to both =) When you arrive, you get a cracker (looks like a huuuuuge candyrol which you pull open and it makes a very big banging sound) with a little crap-plastic gift and a paper crown. During the whole evening they serve a 3 course meal (with stuffed turkey and a disgusting brandy cake) and wine. The most special thing is the choir singing carols all along the evening and walking amongst the tables. Makes everything incredibly cozy and cheery! We even had our own Santa Claus (thanks Leonard =)) Unluckily for me I couldn't linger too long since essay-duty was calling..
The Oxmas service is also quite unique. You get a burning candle and almost everyone knows the carols which are sung (except me ofcourse -.-) There was a little girl in front of me who was obviously uninterested in the service so decided to play with her candle, so cute.
At the end of 7th week I went to my first ball in Oxford : RAG Ball. All the money they make goes to charity as well, which made me feel better about spending all that money on a ticket. It was quite an experience! Everyone all dressed up and pretty and when you arrive at the Ball you immediately are greeted with a glass of champagne. The whole evening there are plenty of things to do and drinks/food to get. They even had a stand with G&D's icecream and chocolate fountains and all. There were also oa photobooth, swings, silent disco, string quartet, belly dancers and so on! It starts off as a real evening in style! All Oxford students are able to get hold of a ticket, so that you are likely to also bump into friends of other colleges for once.
Also on the wednesday of 8th week we had another College BOP. I am not sure if I already explained what it is, so if I did just scroll down a few lines ;). It is a fancy dress party with a theme. The goal is to come up with an original costume in the Bar that night and have a good time within College. Our theme was Christmas ofcourse, and since I already had to pack all my belongings and my room was sadly empty I just went as a present by tying a scarf around my dress. Other people had gone all out and there were some pretty original ones!
3 days later it was time to go again. Luckily I travelled back with Arthur from Wadham College (just 1 minute away or so) so that it wasn't all that sad. I do learn from all this living on your own : I made a huge mistake in picking the bag to bring back. The only luggage I was to transport were the books & notes I need for revision and catching up (and those 20 books I bought in a very strange moment in a nice bookshop). The bag was HEAVY. I was TIRED. Not a good combination.
To make it worse, the bag started to snap at the bottom! I already pictured myself walking in London when suddenly my whole bag would just break down and I would be standing there with all those books unable to transport them and needing to leave it all behind after which I would get into loads of trouble for losing library books and my own work and more bills to pay.. This bag was also not a rolling type, but one you need to carry over one shoulder (my poor shoulders =()
Luckily it survived the journey barely, and I have learned a wise lesson.
That was my first term in Oxford. I can't believe it myself to be honest. Looking back it seems as if it all has been a dream (and NOT just cause I haven't slept enough!)
PS: I also have a boyfriend called Sasha ^^ (as many of you already seem to know). Makes the holiday seem eternally long (which it actually really is).
Monday 14 November 2011
The O2 - Rihanna
Last weekend I have seen probably the most amazing thing I can think of. I went to a concert of Rihanna in the Millenium Dome in London! For everyone who has never been there, go!
It is very big, and the actual stage is huge. Especially Timen would like to see a show there, since all the effects are incredible. I was literally flabbergasted after the show.
Thank you a thousand times Sasha for asking me to come =)
It is not very unusual for people to go to London and back again to see a show, or just a day. Busses between Oxford and London depart every 15 minutes and it's quite comfi. I'd recommend to anyone to go there at least once. It is one of those things you can't explain, cause I can't compare it with anything I know..
Again, it was fantastic!
It is very big, and the actual stage is huge. Especially Timen would like to see a show there, since all the effects are incredible. I was literally flabbergasted after the show.
Thank you a thousand times Sasha for asking me to come =)
It is not very unusual for people to go to London and back again to see a show, or just a day. Busses between Oxford and London depart every 15 minutes and it's quite comfi. I'd recommend to anyone to go there at least once. It is one of those things you can't explain, cause I can't compare it with anything I know..
Again, it was fantastic!
An overview
Dear all,
I am sorry if what I have posted up until now didn't make a lot of sense. And that I didn't post anything in a loooong time. I WILL try to rectify that right now, (okay, also my last procrastinating excuse.. )
So let's start with a regular day at Keble. I get up at around and about 8.15 AM and have a quick shower before I get ready to leave for my lectures. Since Science students tend to have morning lectures always starting at 9 AM (which is the case in my situation) I have no possibility to lie in at all.. Sometimes quite obvious I didn't have a lot of time and my hair's still wet -when I forget/don't want to bother Simon with borrowing his hair dryer- . The wetness doesn't ever come from the weather though, it has hardly rained at all! (fingers-crossed)
Morning chat with my biomeds while crossing the most dangerous road in the whole of Oxford, each time uncertain if we reach the opposite side. These life-threatening situations are my shots of adrenaline and keep me awake for a good lecture or 2.
The lecture buildings are very close to Keble, so I can't be bothered to bike there (which wouldn't be very sociable as well =P) and in between lectures we can easily go back to Keble and relax our brains a little. The lectures themselves can be really intense, with loads of information at a very high speed and loads of diagrams flashing in front of your eyes. Most of the time I have approximately 3 of those a day. Sometimes they can be very long-winding and seem never ending, while others are gone in a minute (2 explanations: 1. the lecturer was enthusiastic and funny 2. I was asleep) The teaching skills between lecturers varies enormously. Luckily, the neuroscience lecturers tend to be the best =)
During the lecture we basically watch a powerpoint presentation which we also get on a hand-out, and the idea is that we make notes on that hand-out for ourselves. You're NOT supposed to ask questions, unless it is urgent. In that case you can see the lecturer at the end or e-mail him/her. It is actually expected that if you don't understand a concept, you figure it out by reading about it or discussing with the other biomeds. Tutorials offer the opportunity to get help from an expert in it's needed.
Depending on the day, I might have a tutorial (happens 2-3 times a week) or practicals (once a week) a math class (fridays.. ooh so difficult to sit through) or an afternoon off (once a week). The only thing we are obliged to attend are the practicals and the math class. The rest is said to be optional, since arts and linguists don't do much else besides that (and the rest is self-study, they are not lazy!) (okay, some of them are..) but science people are really supposed to attend everything.
Tutorials demand a lot of preparation if done correctly. The main teaching method is essay writing. The tutor gives you an essay title and then it's up to you to figure out what it's about and how to answer the question. I've got at least 2 of those a week, next to the rest I do. That's probably the hardest part of my course for me, since a scientific essay is NOT easy to write at all.. But I will get there (I hope?) My tutors are insanely nice and funny, so the tutorials are actually quite fun and good. Those moments I learn the most. I have 4 different tutors, each covering an area of my course in which they are experts in. At the moment Simon Butt, is my favourite one. He's doing neuroscience, relatively young and was a Keble student himself! Next to being very smart, he has a very good way of conveying his knowledge in a comprehensible way and is very funny and relaxed =)
Practicals are great fun, but tend to take up ages of my time.. Until now I have compared proteins between cow blood and human blood, measured glucose levels like a diabetic, electrocuted myself to stimulate a twitch in my hand(weirdest feiling you can imagine. doesn't hurt, but feels highly uncomfortable!)
Math class is a bit weird. It's not very effective in my opinion, since it's a postgrad physics student who needs to help 8 biomeds. He's very nice, but a bit of a geek. It's lots of fun, we get bribed in doing our best by getting chocolate awards for the best graphs or similar things.
I should be going over my lecture notes in between as well, and do some background reading to prepare for lectures, but I am procrastinating that till the holidays. I simply have no clue where I could find the time to do that.
So that was the academic part of Oxford life. Then, while going from place to place, you keep on running into friends and chatting all along. It really is a community on its own, a college. There is a society for everything, so if you do have some spare time you can always join anything you want to try. I have joined the Dancesport Society, already briefly mentioned, but not had time to really make use of it. Also, I am part of the Music society, so that I am allowed to practice on the Grand Piano in a fantastich music room. I love doing that, and probably play more piano than I did at home. I also performed at both recitals here, played Arabesques (Debussy) and Nocturne no. 2 (Chopin) Next to that, I play squash against members from other colleges in a competition.
Every night there are lots of social activities going on. Not necessarily organised, but always very nice. Night activities can range from going clubbing till really late to stressing majorly about that essay that needs to be finished in a few hours. It varies a lot, and your day schedule is bound to change every hour. Flexibility is, next to time management, an essential skill I noticed. Both need improvement ..
Well, I hope this cleared up a little what I am actually doing around here. At least I feel very much at ease (want to say at home) and I cannot think of anywhere else I would have preferred to go to. I will try to give more information at more regular intervals, but I really want to get some sleep now!
xx Marielle xx
I am sorry if what I have posted up until now didn't make a lot of sense. And that I didn't post anything in a loooong time. I WILL try to rectify that right now, (okay, also my last procrastinating excuse.. )
So let's start with a regular day at Keble. I get up at around and about 8.15 AM and have a quick shower before I get ready to leave for my lectures. Since Science students tend to have morning lectures always starting at 9 AM (which is the case in my situation) I have no possibility to lie in at all.. Sometimes quite obvious I didn't have a lot of time and my hair's still wet -when I forget/don't want to bother Simon with borrowing his hair dryer- . The wetness doesn't ever come from the weather though, it has hardly rained at all! (fingers-crossed)
Morning chat with my biomeds while crossing the most dangerous road in the whole of Oxford, each time uncertain if we reach the opposite side. These life-threatening situations are my shots of adrenaline and keep me awake for a good lecture or 2.
The lecture buildings are very close to Keble, so I can't be bothered to bike there (which wouldn't be very sociable as well =P) and in between lectures we can easily go back to Keble and relax our brains a little. The lectures themselves can be really intense, with loads of information at a very high speed and loads of diagrams flashing in front of your eyes. Most of the time I have approximately 3 of those a day. Sometimes they can be very long-winding and seem never ending, while others are gone in a minute (2 explanations: 1. the lecturer was enthusiastic and funny 2. I was asleep) The teaching skills between lecturers varies enormously. Luckily, the neuroscience lecturers tend to be the best =)
During the lecture we basically watch a powerpoint presentation which we also get on a hand-out, and the idea is that we make notes on that hand-out for ourselves. You're NOT supposed to ask questions, unless it is urgent. In that case you can see the lecturer at the end or e-mail him/her. It is actually expected that if you don't understand a concept, you figure it out by reading about it or discussing with the other biomeds. Tutorials offer the opportunity to get help from an expert in it's needed.
Depending on the day, I might have a tutorial (happens 2-3 times a week) or practicals (once a week) a math class (fridays.. ooh so difficult to sit through) or an afternoon off (once a week). The only thing we are obliged to attend are the practicals and the math class. The rest is said to be optional, since arts and linguists don't do much else besides that (and the rest is self-study, they are not lazy!) (okay, some of them are..) but science people are really supposed to attend everything.
Tutorials demand a lot of preparation if done correctly. The main teaching method is essay writing. The tutor gives you an essay title and then it's up to you to figure out what it's about and how to answer the question. I've got at least 2 of those a week, next to the rest I do. That's probably the hardest part of my course for me, since a scientific essay is NOT easy to write at all.. But I will get there (I hope?) My tutors are insanely nice and funny, so the tutorials are actually quite fun and good. Those moments I learn the most. I have 4 different tutors, each covering an area of my course in which they are experts in. At the moment Simon Butt, is my favourite one. He's doing neuroscience, relatively young and was a Keble student himself! Next to being very smart, he has a very good way of conveying his knowledge in a comprehensible way and is very funny and relaxed =)
Practicals are great fun, but tend to take up ages of my time.. Until now I have compared proteins between cow blood and human blood, measured glucose levels like a diabetic, electrocuted myself to stimulate a twitch in my hand(weirdest feiling you can imagine. doesn't hurt, but feels highly uncomfortable!)
Math class is a bit weird. It's not very effective in my opinion, since it's a postgrad physics student who needs to help 8 biomeds. He's very nice, but a bit of a geek. It's lots of fun, we get bribed in doing our best by getting chocolate awards for the best graphs or similar things.
I should be going over my lecture notes in between as well, and do some background reading to prepare for lectures, but I am procrastinating that till the holidays. I simply have no clue where I could find the time to do that.
So that was the academic part of Oxford life. Then, while going from place to place, you keep on running into friends and chatting all along. It really is a community on its own, a college. There is a society for everything, so if you do have some spare time you can always join anything you want to try. I have joined the Dancesport Society, already briefly mentioned, but not had time to really make use of it. Also, I am part of the Music society, so that I am allowed to practice on the Grand Piano in a fantastich music room. I love doing that, and probably play more piano than I did at home. I also performed at both recitals here, played Arabesques (Debussy) and Nocturne no. 2 (Chopin) Next to that, I play squash against members from other colleges in a competition.
Every night there are lots of social activities going on. Not necessarily organised, but always very nice. Night activities can range from going clubbing till really late to stressing majorly about that essay that needs to be finished in a few hours. It varies a lot, and your day schedule is bound to change every hour. Flexibility is, next to time management, an essential skill I noticed. Both need improvement ..
Well, I hope this cleared up a little what I am actually doing around here. At least I feel very much at ease (want to say at home) and I cannot think of anywhere else I would have preferred to go to. I will try to give more information at more regular intervals, but I really want to get some sleep now!
xx Marielle xx
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