Library

It is said that people studying in the library are not really there to study, but more to watch and be watched. It is supposed to be the unofficial meatmarket of the students in Groningen. Although no one is watching me (sadly) and most of the girls I see are not worth watching, I can partially agree with that statement. I have overheard a conversation on the hallway or in the toilet between guys or girls chatting/gossiping about someone studying on the same floor they are or whom they have seen in the cantina. For sure there are flirts and people pick up others, but the whole scene is passing me by. The bad thing is that I am totally alone there: none of my friends studies in the library and the ones who did all already graduated… Sometimes it is rather boring if you have no one to talk to during the breaks.

Taxi

Today I got an sms again if I was driving on the taxi again or not. I find it rather frustrating and annoying that people still refer being a private driver to a cab driver. We are nothing alike. Cab drivers need an official exam, are allowed to drive on buslanes, get paid per km or ride, and have blue plates. Private drivers drive the car of the person you ride, there are no requirements for us, we get paid by the hour, and we have to be in suit and open doors for our clients. Don’t mix it!

Mo

Bert, Arnoud and I have made up a name for the Moroccan guy who threatened to kill me and it is “Mo”. We are making a lot of practical jokes about him and refer a lot of times to seeing Mo, a Mo-action or something else. How we got to Mo, I don’t know anymore, but it’s funny.

Update

I haven’t updated my blog for a while, because I was terribly busy with studying in the library and taking my exams. Now I am in the train on my way back from a ride to Zeeland and I have some time to make it up (in the meantime missing the 2nd match of the Netherlands playing against Ivory Coast) I really spend long hours studying European Law, Politics and International organizations. I am actually studying there, because I feel less tempted to turn on my TV or my computer and chat with people or play a game. I should have started studying in the library in my first year already…

Cheating

Last Monday I was able to look on the answer-paper of the girl in front of me. Now haven’t I cheated since high school, but I was tempted to look several times what she had for an answer (it was multiple choice, so I could see the answers crossed). But after comparing the first 5 answers, I stopped doing that as the answers she had didn’t make any sense at all. She was pretty, but her answers were rubbish, so I stopped looking and made it totally on my own!

Drinks

To round up our English course we were supposed to have drinks with all the 4 groups 2 weeks ago on Thursday. So right after training from Hoogeveen I went to the bar, but no one I saw looked familiar. It turned out that all the groups (or at least people from all the groups) were present except mine. I was the only one from group 4 showing up to have a free drink. Always thought we didn’t bond that well…

Clothes (2)

I forgot to mention: I have 15 (!!) ties...

Hospitality Club

Around 2 weeks ago I got an email from 4 girls from Germany if they could stay over at my place for a night. Friends who know me, would probably say: "ah, as usual", but that's not true. I joined the Hospitality Club a while ago and haven't used it yet. It is a platform for people offering a place to stay or showing others around town, in return for the same if they go somewhere. Since I am traveling quite a bit, I thought that it would be nice and come in handy, but I haven't had the chance to use it myself. When I got the email, I was rather surprised as I didn't think that Groningen would be very popular. I replied, but they already found another place in Groningen to stay, as they opted for more places to make sure, that they would have a place.

Clubbing in Amsterdam

Last Friday I went clubbing in Amsterdam. Not the thing I usually do (or to be more correct: ever do), but it was great fun. I drove with Bert and Arnoud to Edam where we would sleep at my grandfather's place, dropped our stuff, had a bite and went to Hotel Arena in Amsterdam, where we would meet Nelleke and Arian to go clubbing at the same place. Nelleke was over from Tirana and Arian visited her from Tirana for that, so it was 2 girls on a night out, being stalked by 3 guys. Of course I tried to couple Bert to Nelleke, but failed miserably. :-) Hotel Arena (ToNight) is a nice place to go clubbing and it has a good atmosphere. Unfortunately wasn't the music that nice, as they were playing some kind of jungle techno, which is not really my style and to my humble opinion contains too much beats and bass. I got rather sick around 1.30am as well, due to "who knows". I hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol and was only drinking juice, so no clue what got into me. Happily Nelleke wanted to home herself at 2.15, so I got saved by the bell. Arnoud was totally digging it all and was hyper-active. He wants to go again at the end of next month, so we might just do that. Three guys on the prowl!

Being checked out

Ok, well, not in the way I would like though, but someone showed interest in me. At least, that was what my sitemeter tells me: someone did a search on you with my name. Not much fun stuff to find though: my ELSA history (although the letter to the IB is still funny to read, as it totally pissed off the International Board), my embassy history, my blogs, and a fansite of Chris de Burgh when I was still living at home. All entries were made by me or directly involve me, so no criticism or bad comments what so ever. Would have been nice though, to get some reflection once in a while.

English debate

Today I had my final debate for my English course. I prepared most of our arguments, lined them all up, and made a structure in it. Unfortunately, my 2 team members used most of it before I got the chance to speak. They were chatting so rapidly as I have never experienced during the whole course and I ran out of the options discussed on forhand and even worse: I ran out of time. Therefore, I hardly spoke during the debate, as I tend to be polite and let the other finish first. I got a 7 and I am SO not satisfied with it. I want a resit. Better: I need a resit to maintain my 8 for the course. With a 7, I will also pass the course with a 7.

I have never been a nerd or someone wanting to be the best at university or in school. I never tried to get a 9 or 10. If with little work I could get a 7 or 8, I was satisfied, but now I am doing a course I am really good at, so I want that bloody 8. I have been in the top 2 of my group whole semester and I want to end there. With a 7, I am just mediocre. Last year, I got an 8,5 for my debate, so this is a personal failure for me. Might seem trivial, but it bugs me...

Present

I forgot to tell that a few weeks ago I suddenly got a package by mail. Strange shape in an envelope and coming from the Czech Republic. Lucie told me that she wanted to send me something for my birthday and she send me something lovely. I got a very nice pair of cufflinks for my shirts from her. Now I am deeply in debt with her, since I still haven't visited her in Prague and didn't buy her a birthday present. How to make it up?

Exam month

June is my exam month: 9 freaking written exams and 1 oral is my destiny. I will suffer, I will die, but I will prevail. (I hope at least). God, I'm looking forward to the 28th, when it's all over.

Backaches

My back hurts, like hell actually. After training yesterday it started and it hasn't stopped. I could hardly put on my socks this morning and am having difficulties with sitting and walking. I lie most of the time, but the problem with that is, that I still have to do so much. Not the best time to be in agony... :-)

Small flu

Yesterday evening I got very cold, took a hot shower and went to bed. This morning I got up and still not feeling well. I slept a lot today and did hardly anything. Took an asperine and am feeling a bit better, but had a lot of emails to write, so now I am done and will go to bed.

Wireless internet

I installed a wireless network this afternoon with the great help of Marcel. I have only little knowledge about networks etc, so I asked for his help and together we beated the shitty modem, the online helpdesk live from India (great invention by the way) and the IP. I can now sit anywhere in my studio and have internet without a cable. Will try it with my laptop outside one of these days. Need some better weather for that first though... :-)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

A lot was written about the controversy and uproar about Hirsi Ali. Our national media, but also the international media covered the case from every angle and enjoyed every new detail. I have been browsing some blogs and found an article of Douglas Murray that hurt me. I am Dutch and I am proud of it.
Yes, we are the country under whose flag the first slaveship sailed to the US. We are the country, from whose language comes the all-known word "apartheid". But we are also the country that (by percentage of population and sometimes real) donates the most money to peacekeeping missions, the UN, aid around the world, participates in virtually every peacekeeping mission around the world and effort to restore the peace, harbors more refugees than any EU country. The Netherlands is tolerant and liberal towards all religions, sex, soft drugs, euthanasia, abortion and all other things that can cause commotion. We have been a strong and appreciated member of the international community for years and we intend to stay that for a long time.

The underlying problem with Hirsi Ali is the current battle over the leadership of the Liberal Party (VVD) of which both Hirsi Ali and Minister of Integration Verdonk are a member. Verdonk is a candidate for the post of leader of the party and saw this case as an opportunity to gain some more votes. Unfortunately she was badly advised or took this wrong decision herself, without consulting the cabinet. Our prime-minister tried to fix this and she is (more or less) on a leach now, needing approval before she says or does anything. The damage control asked from embassies is nothing new and not really special. The international media blew this case up way too big and especially the Americans can't stop showing off with the arrival of Hirsi Ali. They tend to forget that black people in the US still have the worst jobs, are less paid, were suppressed for decades. Besides that can you don't really speak about "freedom" when you see the images of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Graib prison, the homeless and orphaned children in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing to be proud of I would say. First fix your own problems, then look at others'.

I am proud of my country and always will be.

Writing Assignments

Just finished writing two 400 word writing assignments for my English course. One was due last week, but since it said "week 15/16" I thought this week was possible as well. The other was due 2 weeks ago and I handed that one in, but my portfolio with assignments mysteriously disappeared... Now it could have been my fellow students envying me for my marks, or my teacher herself, for being angry with me, because I am always a terrible smartass during class and anti-Frisian... :-) So I had to write a new one and since I had no clue what to write about, I picked something that annoyed me during my work at the embassy in Tirana.

Friends?

Can a man be a friend to a woman or not? Doesn't he always want something more? Can there be a real platonic, equal relationship between a man and a woman? I've discussed this with some of my friends several times and the answer is non-conclusive. We simply don't know. At some point during your friendship something else emerges, something you don't want, something you want to prevent. Men always want to be friends with beautiful women. Why? Go figure. Ask yourself: can you truly say that you never imagined how a female friend of yours would like like naked? Or how it would be to be with her?

Was browsing some blogs and came across a nice post between 2 friends, trying to meet and the difficulties they encounter. Check it out.

Clothes

Just finished foulding my laundry and made a small inventory of all my clothes. It is shocking...

• 26 sweaters
• 9 poloshirts
• 8 spencers
• 39 T-shirts
• 16 longsleeve shirts
• 13 shirts for my suits
• 26 shortsleeve shirts
• 19 pairs of pants
• 5 suits
• 3 formal jackets
• 1 tux

I won't mention the numerous pairs of socks, coats, watches and other crap I have. My cupboard is full and it's a 4 door one... God, did I turn into a woman?