10 posts tagged “life is good”
What do you do when the days are cloudy (both literally and figuratively) and you don't want to study? If you live in the Guesthouse, you have a dinner party. These 'get-togethers' are becoming more and more frequent, which I enjoy immensely. This time it was cabbage rolls (courtesy of our resident Pole), preceded by "Canadian" cheese balls made by me and Patrick. I'd never made cheese balls before. Actually, I've never made any of the things I've helped Patrick make in the last few months. I'm learning a lot. And whether or not you want to learn how to make cheese balls, I'm going to impart some of my new found knowledge to you.
So, we started off with the ingredients: 450 g of grated cheese, 2 eggs, two packages of cream cheese, cashews, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, paprika, and green onions. We mixed the cheese, cream cheese, and eggs together. Then we crushed some cashews and ate some leftovers. I chopped the onions. We added the cashews, onions, and salt and pepper to the mix. And tasted.
Patrick did all of the heavy stirring. We then rolled the goo into small balls and coated them in a thin layer of bread crumbs. Some of us have more refined cheese ball rolling skills than others. We then wrapped them in plastic and displayed them proudly (even if they were a little lumpy). They went in the fridge for about three hours (although only two are necessary). What you do for those two hours is completely up to you, but I went to the gym in preparation of eating the cheese balls. Once you're just about ready to serve them, heat up some oil (I think we used sunflower) and drop those suckers in. Let them fry until they are golden brown.
Lay the finished product on some paper towel to absorb the extra oil and then enjoy! We also made an easy dipping sauce with yogurt, mayo, garlic and pepper. Yummy. Get someone else to make a main dish, like say some cabbage rolls with a creamy mushroom sauce. And get someone else to bring lots of wine. If your cheese balls turn out anything like ours did, a lot of fun will be had. So much fun that you'll continue to feel it the next morning.
Queen said it best, "We are the champions... of the world!" Yay Canada!
This evening I made my way to a sports bar to watch the final game of the 'ice' hockey world championships (I say 'ice' because one of my Dutch friends pointed out that in Holland 'hockey' means field hockey). Although me and my Canadian counterparts were far outnumbered by white and blue touting Finns, the atmosphere was electric. Let me tell you a little something. Finland is crazy about ice hockey. They love it. All 5 million of them (at least 1 million of whom were in the same bar as me). When Finland scored their first goal with not much more then 10 minutes left this place literally erupted in cheers. I was happy for them at that point because the game was starting to get a little predictable. But then they scored again and I got nervous. I almost felt a little guilty that I screamed and hollered when Canada extended it's 3-2 lead by one more. Almost. Luckily, by the time I arrived the place was already packed so I couldn't sit with the Finns that I'm friends with. I'll give them a day or two to recover before I remind them of Canada's hockey superiority. As the Canadian team accepted their 'cup' the bar played "We are the champions" immediately followed by "Another one bites the dust". I sang along cheerfully, but painfully aware of all those disappointed Finns siting around me. To alleviate my guilt and celebrate the win, I ordered some red and white crepes with real maple syrup, because I couldn't think of anything more appropriate. Hey World! We rule at ice hockey and harvesting syrup from trees!
After all that excitement we went to our favorite cafe to relax with some tea. Patrick was decidedly less into posing with a Canadian flag
by this point. I, however, was still hopped up on patriotism. And green tea. Today, like everyday, I'm proud to be Canadian. Congrats Canada!
Although I was excited, my expectations for Paris weren't too high. I'd heard more than a few people tell me that it was big, dirty, expensive and crowded with tourists. It is big and expensive, but I didn't find it all that dirty or crowded. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by its beauty and charm. I felt at ease walking through the streets and I loved speaking French everywhere I went (Patrick's "lessons" have been useful). We spent most of our time being tourists and standing in lines, but in the moments in between I could really see why it is so famous.
I arrived by train on Tuesday and made my way to the airport to meet Mom and John. Their plane had been delayed, but we met up without much hassle and found our hotel two blocks from the Arc de Triumph. That evening we walked to the Eiffel Tower to take some silly pictures and investigate our options to ascend it. We then found a restaurant on Les Champs Elysees for dinner. It was then that we got our first taste (literally!) of just how expensive this touristy city can be. When we left we saw the Arc all lit up in the night and nearly got run over trying to get a good shot of it. I take risks for my art ;) By the time we got home to bed I was wiped out, although it was only 11:30!
On Wednesday we started out with a walk down Les Champs Elysees to the Louvre. We walked through the collection, including the Venus do Milo and the Mona Lisa. I heard a stat that if you spent 30 seconds looking at every piece of art at the Louvre, it would take you a month. Mind you, only about 10% of the collection is actually on display, but it gives you an idea of how much there is to see. I like walking through large gallery rooms filled with really old art, so I enjoyed this. In one particularly large room it occurred to me that the only way to actually get the painting into the room would be through the glass ceiling. I wonder how they did that. After a couple of hours, we decided to move onto the island where Notre Dame can be found. It's a beautiful church (as most are), and I especially enjoyed the fact that we were allowed to take photos inside. I think the interior of European cathedrals are such good subject matter for photos. We made our way back to the hotel with just enough time to get ready for a night out... at the Moulin Rouge! We got dressed up, had dinner with a background of irritating music and then the show began. Wow. Glitter, feathers, ponies, boobs, sequence, snakes and fishnets. And that was just the dancing. There was also an incredibly impressive acrobatic team, a juggler/drummer and a clown/mime man. The whole thing was very entertaining. But I couldn't really understand the need to use live animals. Snakes and ponies even. I also got to wear my new dress. It was cheap, therefore I love it.
On Thursday we had a breakfast of crepes and baguette and then made our way to Sacre Coeur. By this time I was really getting the hang of the Parisian Metro. We walked up the hill, dodging tourist traps the whole way to another spectacular church. It also happens to offer one of the best views of the city. From there we walked through Montmatre to the Galleries Lafayette. It's basically a very large and very beautiful department store (if you can imagine those being compatible). We browsed for a little while, keeping an eye open for a dress. I found a simple and lovely little number at one of the cheaper shops and we were on our way once again. We hadn't really planned anything after this point, so we decided to go see the Palais Royal and then head to the river for a snack. The Palais was a nice little haven with a lovely garden and landscaping. Once at the river we hopped on a tour boat for an hour through the most famous Parisian landmarks. We had already seen a lot of them, but it was nice to hear the history and trivia surrounding these sites. It was also very nice to just sit on the boat and enjoy the sunshine. Did I mention we had perfect weather? We did. It was awesome. After the tour we had some magnums and strolled through the island park. Later, while looking for a Metro stop we came across "The Great Canadian Pub" which I suggested we visit, since they appeared to have poutine on the menu. It's been a long time since I had poutine and I've found myself craving food that I can't find over here. Things I don't usually eat. Like Kraft Dinner and Reeses Peanut Butter cups. What up, body? Unfortunately, it was the worst poutine I've ever seen, let alone tasted. But, I did get to enjoy the Canadian atmosphere. I can't fully explain how, but I did feel much different there, like I wasn't in my typical environment. John discovered that they served his typical Thursday night fare of Moosehead and chicken wings, so he was happy as a clam. Mom was cold. She was wearing a tank top. We eventually found the Metro and got ourselves back to the Eiffel Tower, which we had decided to climb. Unfortunately (?) the pillar that allows stair climbers was closed, perhaps due to the wind. In any case, we did go up by elevator and the view was breathtaking as the sun was setting. By the time we had returned to the ground it was all lit up, creating a lovely backdrop for our mad dash to the Metro (and warmth). We got back to our hotel, changed and were out again to have a quick dinner which included two French singers with acoustic guitars. If you know me, you know how much I enjoyed that. It was a very long day, made even longer by the knowledge that we would have to get up at a ridiculous hour to catch our respective rides to Amsterdam.
As I was pulling my luggage along to the train station on Friday morning it occurred to me that I could live in Paris. I can see myself being very content working and living in such a vibrant, but subdued place. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that there was a English language school directly beside our hotel. Maybe it's a sign? Pictures to come soon. I'm still entertaining guests.
Apparently there was a tulip parade in a tulip laden village last Saturday. Consequently, many of the tulip fields have already been "harvested". This was a fact we discovered after we took the train to Haarlem yesterday with plans to bike through the countryside and fulfill our dreams of walking through fields of blooming flowers. Although they may have been more numerous a week ago, the remaining fields were still lovely. We rode and rode weaving our own route across the map that actually had "tulip" markers. We stopped for a picnic and an impromptu nap and then "harvested" a few purple flowers to take home. When I finally got home I was sweaty, dirty, and very satisfied.
Pictures
Last weekend I went to Turkey. And then Finland. And then to a park BBQ and a beach party. OK, so I didn't officially leave the country, but I did partake in some "cultural activities" which are common occurrences when you live with 50 people from all over the world. There are a lot of Turkish students here and they happen to be some of my favorite people. A few of them invited me to a dinner on Friday night. They made 'Manti', a typical Turkish dumpling dish and some dessert that was soaked in sugar (and therefore very good). We drank wine and laughed and discussed the world.
On Saturday (after the big flower trip) I went to another party. This one was hosted by two of the cutest Finnish girls you will ever meet. They're both kindergarten teachers! More wine, laughter and world discussion was had. We even listened to every kind of Finnish music you can imagine! Finnish hip-hop, Finnish rock, Finnish heavy metal. Who knew? I also decided that I need to go to Mexico someday soon. It's very difficult to argue with a guy named Diego.
Sunday was BEAutiful. A bunch of us went to the nearby park with a portable BBQ, some blankets and a frisbee. I surprised myself by being able to throw and catch it like I had just played yesterday. We later played some strange monkey in the middle game which we quickly realized was cruelly unfair. We ate meat on white bread with French mustard and garlic mayo and listened to Dutch radio as we sat in the sun.
Later we packed up our stuff and began an adventure to find a beach party. It can only be described as insane. It began by taking the tram to a bus stop, then waiting half an hour for a bus that took us to Haarlem, where we got on another bus that took us to a beach town that was supposedly a 20 minute walk to the beach we were trying to get to. What seemed like two days later, we finally arrived to a club on the beach that was full and charging 10 euros to get in. So we sat on the beach instead. A few hours later we decided to begin the journey home. The journey that would require a bus back down the beach, a train to Amsterdam central, the last metro of the night that we missed by about 10 seconds, the last tram of the night that we just made it on. When I got home it was only 12:30am but I could have sworn it was 7am. I slept very well that night.
Dozens of people told me I'd have the time of my life. I would have more fun on exchange than I'd ever had before. I would meet incredible people and do incredible things and be very sad to leave at the end of it all. For a while I wasn't so sure about this. It rained a lot and the city was confusing. People were nice, but I couldn't seem to get past the pleasantries. I spent more time looking for distractions than having real fun. But then I made a decision. I decided that I had to stop highlighting the negatives and take advantage of this. I had to get out of my room more often and explore. I had to say yes to every opportunity that presented itself. It has been one of my better choices.
I have a hard time expressing how happy I am with my current situation. Few people have a chance to live like I am living right now. I have relatively few responsibilities aside from school. I have the time and the freedom to do the things that are important to me (i.e. paint, run, read) without feeling like I'm wasting time. Because it's only 6 months I feel able to justify my lifestyle as a once in a lifetime experience. I certainly couldn't do it forever, if only because at some point I will want to feel more productive. But for now, I can't think of anything more productive than finding peace in my life.
The past few weeks have been very good, sublime even. Or as Patrick mistakenly described them last night "subliminal". That kid cracks me up. Since we returned from our trip it seems to have a been a non-stop party. I will now attempt to tell the story through pictures...
It all started on Friday when Patrick and I were eating lunch outside and we lost our minds. He did my hair, twice, and we admired his talent. He thought he might like to have long hair too, so we tested out the possibility. After the laughter had subsided, we decided to make dinner for some good polish and german girls we know. Something involving chicken, potatoes, yogurt, basil and feta cheese was thrown together. Wine was consumed and Ella provided the background music.
There is a forest very near my dilapidated residence that I have recently been frequenting. I like to go there because it makes me feel like I am out of the city. Mind you, I love being in the city and at this point in my life I can't imagine living anywhere else. But somewhere deep inside I am a country girl that gets great pleasure from open fields, dirt and trees. On beautiful spring days like today I have an urge to be outside in the nature that is but a short bike ride away. Although today was just a short jaunt, I finally took some pictures of this park, my new favorite place to be.
Now all I need is a frisbee.
I'm getting a big pimple.
It must be from all of the stress. Being on vacation in Europe with a rental car and GPS system is tough work. Plus, there's all the eating and drinking and strolling and picture taking. I really don't know if I can make it to Tuesday.
I love my life. It's charmed.
These are the things that made me happy today:
AND...
May you all find such pleasure. Kisses from Amsterdam!
