Waiting for Spring

These days I have been drinking lots of black tea and espresso. I do not like the taste of espresso (which I always used to think was pronounced expresso...) I drink it for the caffeine. Everyone drinks it here and has their coffee black. You can tell an American by how much cream and sugar we dump into the mix--or maybe that's only me.

Lately, I have been
1. Star gazing
Holland is typically cloudy. Nonetheless, there is a fantastic star observatory and space museum near where I live. When one arrives at the museum, you can climb onto the museum roof. Here, guides have a special laser that can shoot all the way to the stars and point out constellations! I want to have one of those lasers! The observatory also features a giant telescope that is open to the public on weekends. The telescope is positioned in a room with a ceiling that slides open. Museum guides can tell one copious amounts on space and stars, moon and galaxies. Inside the museum, there is a video about space that plays on the ceiling. There are giant bean-filled cushions on the ground, which you lay on, to watch the movie. When I recently went star-gazing it was too cloudy for star-visibility, but I could see awesome craters on the moon through the telescope. And it looked like the moon had a serrated edge, like someone took a piece of paper and ripped it against the grain.

2.Picnicing
It is not warm enough for regular picnics, however, I did enjoy a rare meal outside this week. I had a swell dinner with friends, the three other Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars studying in Utrecht: Sayaka, Leika and Robbie. Sayaka and Leika are from Japan; Robbie is from Hong Kong and Hawai'i. We shared the cost of store ingredients and spilled our loot onto a blanket in the Wilhelmina Park--a park named after the former Queen of the Netherlands (she ruled during WWII.) At the store we purchased tortillas, canned corn, tomatoes, lettuce, hummus and cheese. We laughed and shared insights until the sun went down and it grew chilly. Our bikes were tilted against a tree, standing sentry over our little picnic.

3.Birthday Party-ing
One of my favorite things to do is to eat international food. The problem with me and Dutch food is that I adore spices and piquant flavors. And, except for a hint of Indonesian influence in Dutch food (due to the colonies Holland had in that country), Dutch food is bland. This is where my Asian friends come in! Recently, Leika, Sayaka and I threw a birthday party for Robbie. I made Thai summer rolls, one of my favorite dishes. I did this by wrapping mint, basil, cilantro, noodles, lettuce and carrots into rice paper, rice, pulverized into a hardened sheet, that softens and becomes clear when soaked in water. I made peanut dipping-sauce by combining coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice and chili powder. Leika made a sushi cake. It was a block of rice, pressed into a spring-form cake mold made to look like a cake. She topped this gorgeous creation with shredded seaweed and fresh marinated salmon, fresh tuna and boiled shrimp. It was delicious. And Sayaka brought a fantastic vanilla cake sandwiched between layers of strawberry jam and cream. Lekker. (Tasty in Dutch.)
4. Classes

The pattern is eerily predictable: The warmer the weather becomes, the harder classes get, and, the more homework is given. Thesis time is around the corner. I still do not know precisely what to write on. Literature I have been assigned for this semester cover topics such as: 17th century Dutch painting, the Protestant Reformation, religious differences between the United States and Europe, the changing European identity, theatre in Shakespeare's day, gender and clothing and theatre, stereotypes and images representing the Netherlands in times of war....The topics are varied and exciting. Each day I learn a bit more about both the world and the United States. For example, today I read that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French...

5. Drawing
Watercolor paints are the perfect way to distract myself from university work. I did this picture in a few nights. The butterflies were the most intensive part to create. I painted each butterfly (about 50) on a seperate sheet of paper and then glued them onto the main picture.


6. Thoughts
I hope all are doing well in this time of world crisis. Disasters impact everyone. Some of us have friends and family in Japan at this time. Let our blessings be with you. And may the world find a way to create energy that does not destroy human life in explosions.

Peace.
Paula