myblagh: Blue Skies Up Ahead

So I've been abroad for just over a month and a half...And my experiences have been good so far. I'm comfortably settled in and destined to become a master chef. I'm good at making pasta, popcorn, toast, pasta and I've recently learnt how to make couscous (read the Dutch instructions off the box...that is what I call WINNING). Cycling has become such a big part of my everyday life that a day without peddling seems like a waste. Even though I believe that I've mastered the Dutch way of cycling, my blunders still get crudely pointed out by aggravated Dutch ladies who don't think twice before yelling their foreign obscenities at me. Always fun to get shouted at by someone you're likely to never see again.

Weather wise we've hit spring! Yep, today is marked as the official 'first day of spring' for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere. The world is in bloom, the birds are swaying, the trees are singing (Dylan Moran reference, sorry I just had to). Our days are getting longer and the sun shines more frequently, heck, the temperature is soaring to a crazy 17 degrees on Friday, the warmest it's been since I've arrived. Along with the budding leaves, I've been noticing how the people are becoming increasingly cheerful, singing as they cycle along and a few Sundays ago, I found these kids in the quad. So pumped up with all the Vitamin D they were receiving, they started scaling up the walls. So sun exposure equates the sudden urge to climb shit, makes sense right?

Even though I'm living in one of the most exciting cities in the world, homesickness creeps in and spoils my mood, especially when I'm forced to sit down and pretend to be academically motivated. But when it gets too much, I simply head out to remind myself of where I am.

So when I miss this...

...I go out to see this.

The nightlife in Amsterdam is overwhelmingly diverse especially when you come from a town with such a limited amount of good bars. Last Thursday night I met up with Mia for a gig in town which turned out to be a lot of fun as we got nostalgic over 2 euro wine. We got together on Saturday with her sister Janel, Cath, and a new friend Gerrit, joining for some St Patrick's celebrations. Gerrit being a local, took us to a cosy little Irish pub just off Dam Square where we got well acquainted with, possibly the best barman in the world, Pedro. Our friend Pedro provided us with party hats, good laughs and free alcohol, filling up our drinks when we weren't looking. A good night with five South Africans celebrating an Irish holiday in Amsterdam...multicultural fun!

Anyhow, here are some photographs of what I do in between all the essay writing.