Christmas Markets

It's been nice to be back in the states, especially at Christmas time and the holiday season. But I have to say, its nothing to compared to the Christmas Markets of Germany! A few weeks before I returned to the states, I visited Dusseldorf, Germany with my friends Ika and Wouter. It was a sunny but cold day, perfect for lots of gluhwein and eierpunsch, and a bunch of other tasty treats. The markets were filled great gifts, unique arts and crafts, cheery decorations, and of course plenty of food and drink. I bought a bunch of different things there, but my favorite find was this mug with a picture of Santa getting drunk!

The next day, I tripped down to Valkenburg in south Holland with my buddy Jeroen. This town is known for a huge system of caves carved out of a very soft stone. A truly unique Christmas Market was running in the caves - very cool. Also, Limburg is a pretty fun part of The Netherlands.

Sinterklaas!

Let me tell you about the great Dutch holiday tradion of Sinterklaas. Every year towards the end of November, Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, arrives in The Netherlands on a boat from Spain. I witnessed his arrival this year in Cuijk with my friend Natasja. Sinterklaas looks sort of like Santa Claus, but with fancier threads, less weight, and a big, golden staff. He's accompanied by Zwarte Piet, or Black Petes. The kids go wild and all sorts of goodies are passed around. Crazy fun.

On December 5th, children receive gifts and treats from Sinterklaas in shoes. Older kids and adults celebrate in various other ways. Some families or groups of friends do a sort of "Secret Santa" gift exchange where they give a special gift to just one person and also write a poem for that person about the past year and their relationship to that person. That's pretty special.

In our department, we had a really fun Sinterklaas gift exchange party. Everyone bought three presents with a total cost less than 5 euro. All gifts were piled into the middle of a table at a nice cafe/bar. On each person's turn, they rolled the dice and chose, unwrapped, exchanged, or passed around presents based on the number rolled. For example, if a "2" was rolled, all gifts were passed to the right. If "6" was rolled, the player took a prize from the pile. I ended up with some cool stuff, including a glowing rubber ducky, Dutch Yahtzee, and shoe polish.

Its really great to experience the holiday season in a foreign country with unique holiday traditions. Coming soon...Christmas Markets in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Its not always sunny in Philadelphia

It was a long trip back to Houston, TX from Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Houston Time / Nijmegen Time / Action
22:00 (Wed)/ 05:00 (Thurs) / Wake up to pack and clean up apartment
00:30 (Thurs) / 07:30 / Shared taxi picks me up
03:15 / 10:15 / Arrive at Schiphol Airport
05:30 / 12:30 / Depart Amsterdam
14:30 / 21:30 / Arrive Philly
17:00 / 00:00 (Fri) / Flight to Houston cancelled (dense fog in Philly)
06:45 (Fri) / 13:45 / Arrive Philly Airport
10:00 / 17:00 / Depart Philly (after 1.5 hr delay)
14:00 / 21:00 / Arrive Houston Bush Airport
16:00 / 23:00 / Arrive home (minus one piece of luggage which was lost)
02:30 (Sat) / 09:30 (Sat) / Lost luggage is delivered

The fog in Philly was vicious. Interestingly, I saw "Invincible" on the plane to Philly - its a movie about the Philly and football and Vince Papale.

But its good to be home.

P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this entry, it refers to a funny show.

Weather

Well, it is the eve of my return to the US, so I thought I would comment on the weather. Living in a place where the weather is typically miserable, people really appreciate good weather when they get it. I remember the first day of good weather during Spring 2005 when everyone went buck wild - people snuck out of work early to go to a cafe and sit on a terrace and enjoy a nice cool beverage on a nice sunny day. Coincidentally, this is one of my favorite things to do too. Good things.

One of the things I like about the lab I work in here is the huge wall-to-wall window. As a kid, I often stared at the clouds, and I find myself doing that here too when I have a bit of down time. The clouds move fast here, very fast. But life moves along casually. Good things.

I have to say I think the weather gods were very kind to me during my stay here. I was expecting the "typical Dutch" weather of constant rain, cold temperatures, and fierce wind, all at the same time. And we definitely had a few of those days recently. But overall the weather has been pretty nice to me. Good things.

Amsterdam

Another recap of my travels...

A few weeks ago Kyle and Mo came to Amsterdam to visit. All three of us were extremely tired due to lack of sleep, but that didn't stop us from having a good time wandering around Amsterdam (though it did seem like we were going in circles most of the day).

Highlights:
-Grrrrreat pumpkin soup
-Real Dutch apple pie and Grolsch in the afternoon...mmmm
-Learning how to play Hearts
-Winning at Hearts
-An out of this world milkshake

Amsterdam is one of the coolest cities in the world. I've made numerous trips there and have always had a great time even with uncooperative weather. And FYI - There's a lot to do and see besides red lights and coffeeshops.

Bicycles, lots and lots of bicycles

The Dutch love their bicycles. Almost all the streets in my town have designated bike lanes, bike traffic lights, and bike parking closeby. Cyclers always have the right of way - cars and usually pedestrians are expected to let bikers pass. Its fun to bike here.

My department gave me a loaner bicycle. Its a "klunker," and I mean that literally because it makes a "klunk, klunk" sound when I ride. But its got a light that is powered by wheel rotation, which is pretty cool in my book.

And I gotta give props to Dutch women who I've seen riding bikes in mini-skirts and heels in almost freezing weather while carrying an umbrella in the rain and talking on their cell phones (and smoking a cigarette too). Props. I can barely carry a bag of groceries while riding home in very light rain.

(A picture of my parents and my bike, Spring 2005...arent' they cute)

cold rain run

It was a dark, and stormy night...ok, it wasn't stormy. But it was raining and cold when I got home from lab last night. Nevertheless, I decided to go for a run to keep up with my marathon training. Before I left, I made sure I checked my city map to know where I was going - I decided to head towards Goffert Park, where the Nijmegen football club plays.

As I departed, the rain picked up and it seemed to get darker, but I thought I could handle it. After about 30 minutes, I was "in the zone," but decided to turn around and head home since I was already pretty wet. But this wouldn't be an "amit" story if I didn't miss the turn back to my place and get lost. I had to ask for directions twice and finally reached my apartment soaking wet.

Quite an adventure, and also a great run!

The Dutch and their music

Observations on the Dutch and music.

In the lab I am working in, the radio is always on. And everyone sings along, even a friend here who typically sings in a church choir. The other day he was singing along to a somewhat lewd pop song (not something you would hear in a church anyways). Quite funny I thought.

Dutch radio DJs are just as annoying as American ones. Why do they have to be so darn annoying?

Another thing, there is this really great band here called Blof. I discovered them during my stay here in spring 2005, and they rock, even though I don't understand what they are singing (in Dutch). They do a duet with Counting Crows - Holiday in Spain. Great stuff.

Working in Holland

Here are some observations on working in Holland. First of all, the work pace is much more relaxed than our crazy American overwork, overstress, work-your-butt-off ethic. I like it here. Hardly anyone puts in hours on nights and weekends (unless its absolutely necessary).

In our department, we have coffee breaks every morning and afternoon on top of a lunch break. Well, that may not seem like a big deal, but everyone stops what they're doing and takes the break, which could be up to 30 minutes long. If its someone's birthday or there is another reason to celebrate, that person brings a pie - and these are no dinky American pies. They are fantastically delicious.

The coffeekamer (coffee room) is an interesting place lately since 3 languages are generally spoken. Dutch, English (when I'm there), and Chinese (quite a few Chinese students here).

Here is a pic of me and some friends in the lab here (l-r: Walter, Juliette, Corinne, Anja, Dennis, me) hanging out after work on a Friday evening during my last trip in April.

Dutch treats

Its a great time to be in Holland. Its already the holiday season, and the grocery stores are full of new and delicious sweet treats. This is a stroopwafel in my hand - one of my very favorite things about this country. I've also had some tasty cookies, the best chocolate milk ever, and some awesome pies. Mmmm, traveling is fun.

What I'm doing in Holland

Here is a picture of where I am working here in Holland. This is the Tandheelkunde, or Dental School. The building is home to the Biomaterials Department, where I am studying / researching / working. My apartment is about a 5 minute walk from here.

If I'm lucky, I'll procure a bicycle from the department tomorrow. Yippee! The Dutch lover their bicycles...I'm a big fan too. They are environmentally friendly, provide great exercise, and reduce traffic.

Lots more to come about my adventures (past, present, and future)...

In The Netherlands

I arrived in The Netherlands this past Wednesday. The trip was fairly uneventful except for sitting next to this very interesting young lady. She was born in Uruguay, moved to the US for high school and college, then participated in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh, tried out modeling for a bit (before realizing she liked food too much to be a model), and then realized her true passion was studying science and is now studying for a doctorate in biochemistry. Ok, so I made this person up, but I did meet an Austrailian woman travelling to The Netherlands to learn about her parents hometowns. Neat-o.

This is my fourth trip here for research projects. By now, I'm used to it and really enjoy it. Here is a shot of my apartment here - I live on the 6th floor. My place is completely furnished by IKEA and is quite nice.

One interesting story - I went to the neighborhood grocery/convenient store yesterday afternoon and this nice older lady started talking to me in Dutch. She was pointing at some ice cream and I tried to help, but soon realized I had no idea what she was talking about. In English I told her that I didnt speak Dutch and I told her I was "Amerikaanse," Dutch for American, but she kept right on talking away. I don't know why I kept listening, but it seemed to make her happy. Eventually she gave up. Nice lady though.