Adventures in Amsterdam

Amsterdam(ed!): A term to describe what occurs when one exhausts the city of what it has to offer, and reaches exhaustion themselves.

I can confidently say that I was successful in this venture yesterday. I left Leiden at 9:00 am and was gone until an hour that would make my mother cringe. The day went remarkably smoothly, thanks in part to planning ahead and having visited before.

My first stop was a yoga class offered by a dancer I had met at a previous workshop. The studio was in the West end, and I decided to take my bike on the train in order to bike over. I arrived in time for the 11:00am class and spent the next hour and a half enjoying an incredible yoga class. I had originally planned on taking a dance class as well, but the studio where I was hoping to take doesn't offer contemporary classes on Saturdays. I enjoyed coffee at the cafe in the yoga studio and chatted with a few dancers/pilates/yoga instructors about life in the city. The yoga instructor is from California, and filled me in on the difficulties of gaining Dutch residency as a free-lance artist. We then took a short bike tour of the city and ended up at the FOAM museum, which showcases photography exhibits. There was an exhibit of a Russian avant-garde photographer, as well as a Dutch photographer who captured images of American counter-culture in the 1990's. I was able to get in free with my museum card, which was a plus.

Later in the afternoon I met up with a group from Leiden who were touring the Heineken Experience. I was able to get in on their group discount and spent a few hours touring the brewery. It showed the full process of making the beer, and we got to peer into the huge vats used in the brewing process. Like any good commercial experience, by the end of the tour a cold glass of beer was greatly appreciated and we all walked away feeling that Heineken is worth our money. Ah, marketing. I stayed with the group for dinner at a pizzaria in Rembrandtsplein.
The group split into smaller groups, and I had the chance to go back to central station to change into my 3rd outfit of the day (Yoga class, out and about, and going out). I got a locker, stored my bike, and changed into a dress for the rest of the evening. One of my friends from my floor turned 21 yesterday, and we all met up at a pub before heading out to a club in Rembrandtsplein. It was great to get to experience the night life of one of the most reputable cities in the world. There were several other Leiden students at the same club, which made the night even more fun. We all made it back to our beds at a late hour, exhausted but happy.

A Trip to the Countryside

Last weekend was spent exploring some of the Dutch countryside with a group of international students. On Friday afternoon 60 of us piled into a charter bus and drove for an hour and a half to the small town of Helvoirt, in Southern Holland. We had a cabin rented out for the weekend, and had been split into teams in order to compete against each other in various games and relays. Upon arrival two of my friends and I took a short walk through the woods near the cabin. The landscape is extremely flat, wet, and marshy. Friday night we played games, ate dinner, and dressed up in ridiculous costumes for an 80's aerobics class theme party. Saturday morning we had the chance to visit a dairy farm that was a 30 minute walk from the cabin. We were greeted with fresh appeltart and coffee. The farmer took us on a tour of the farm and showed how the milking equipment worked. The average dairy cow produces 23 liters of milk each day! After the tour we got to sample fresh milk from the morning. We spent the afternoon enjoying being outside, and returned in the evening to the farm to see the actual milking take place. There was also an hour-old calf that we got to meet and name as well. Sunday morning some of us went on a two-hour hike to see sand dunes, which the area is known for. After lunch and final games (my team failed miserably overall, but we had a fantastic time nonetheless), we loaded up the bus and headed back to rainy Leiden.

This week has been slow for me, as my two law classes didn't meet. (The Dutch apparently take self-proclaimed holidays on occasion.) I took the chance to ride around Leiden, visited a museum, did some studying, and enjoyed cooking meals with my friends from my residence hall. Wednesday night was an international cooking night, and each person brought a traditional dish from his/her home country. I wanted to make a corn casserole, but due to a lack of oven and casserole dish, resorted to a fresh corn salad with cilantro, tomatoes, and cucumber. It went over quite well. Thursday night I taught ballet and yoga at the sports center. This is my third week of teaching, and I am enjoying it greatly.

The Dutch Quarter

The Dutch are a highly efficient sort of people. Meetings begin promptly, and the bureaucratic system is highly organized (although not necessarily expedient). There is one exception to this rule: The Dutch Quarter. This was thankfully explained to me prior to my classes starting, but it still caused me some uncertainty. If a class is listed as beginning at 11:00, it will begin promptly at 11:15. This is the case for every class I am in. Unlike American systems, where the listed time is what time the lecturer begins teaching, the listed time for Dutch classes is what time most students get to the building, buy a coffee, and socialize outside of the classroom. There is always a fifteen minute break in the middle of class, at which point the students go buy another coffee, have a cigarette, or chat with the professor.

I have found this system to be perfectly suitable to learning. I am taking three classes this "block" (two of which will end the end of March, one which continues until May). Each class meets for two-hour increments of time, usually twice a week. A two hour class may seem unbearable to an American student, for whom breaks are seldom and leaving the class is disruptive. However, the Dutch break a two hour class into two increments of 45 minutes each, beginning promptly at a quarter after, breaking on the hour, and resuming for exactly 45 minutes. Just as my focus beings to wane, the lecturer glances at his or her watch, and steps out for a coffee.

Speaking of coffee, the Dutch have a fantastic system set up: there are multiple vending machines in each building that sell cups of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for 40 cents each. You specify how much sugar, milk, or espresso you want, put some coins in, and a small cup pops down and fills up with your drink of choice. 40 cents seems like a laughable amount of money to spend on something that gets you through the rest of your lecture, but I am sure the brilliant entrepreneurs who marketed the machines to the university are laughing at the nearly empty pockets of the students who have become addicted to the drinks.

I am loving the course material so far. I am taking two classes at the Faculty of Law this block: Law and Governance in Developing Countries, and Law of the European Union. These classes end in March at which point I will take International Humanitarian Law. The law classes are designed with international students in mind and are taught in English. The classes are a mix of Dutch undergraduate students, (most in their final year), EU Exchange students, and American law school students. The EU and Dutch students are all able to study law in their undergraduate course work, and the material is thus a supplement to their legal studies. The American law school students are all older than me and slightly intimidating, as they come with at least 1 year of experience in law school.

The first week of classes, as I got to know people, I realized that I am one of the only students in my classes who does not study law full-time at my home university. Ironically, American institutions make undergraduates receive a B.A. in something other than law, even if they want to become legal experts or lawyers. My EU friends are always surprised by how much schooling is required to become a lawyer in the U.S.
"So, you basically study random stuff for four years, then study law for 3?" I nod. "But I'm graduating after four years with more law experience than you will have after 7 years of schooling." I nod my head and laugh. I was reminded by a Dutch student, however, that despite the required 7 years, American lawyers earn more than European lawyers.

I feel as though I have unintentionally (but gladly) cheated the system. I am studying law at an internationally recognized institution for a semester before returning to the U.S. to continue my studies in International Relations. I hope to use the experience I am gaining here to apply to classes offered in the law school that count towards my IR B.A.

My course work covers a broad range of topics. Law and Governance is primarily comparative, and we analyze how developing countries implement legal reform. We discuss case studies on Indonesia, Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union among other places, and analyze case law and constitution making. We are studying the impact of colonialism as well as the importance of incorporating customary law into formal legal systems. The professor has developed legal projects in a variety of countries, including Egypt and Indonesia, and works for a research institute that studies governance issues.

My basic course in EU law is surprisingly fascinating. Sure, the text and material can seem dry, but it is all new to me. We are learning about the history and development of the Union, as well as the functions of the various parts. To make things confusing, one textbook includes the new Lisbon Reform Treaty, passed in December 2009, and another does not. We spend class time clarifying the changes and looking up the articles of the treaties to determine how cases would be handled.

The third class I am in is Culture and Society of the Netherlands. The professor is quite engaging, and the class gives an overview of the history, culture, language, and political structure of the Netherlands. I am learning all sorts of tidbits of information that I will pass on at a later date.

Off to teach ballet and yoga!

Festive Fun in Europe

I don't have a chance to give this entry the full justice it deserves, but I would like to give a pared-down version that I can expand upon in the future.

Thursday: My first time teaching at the Sports Center. I taught a ballet class of 18 dancers of all levels. I then taught a yoga class for a much smaller group. I greatly enjoyed it and am looking forward to next week.

Friday: Chinese New Year Festival, hosted by my friends who live next to me. Our common room was transformed into a party room, with red decorations everywhere. 40+ people ended up coming, and we spent the evening making dumplings, exchanging gifts, and dancing.

Saturday: Market day, as well as coffee and lunch with friends. In the evening, some friends and I went to a traditional Dutch pancake house where the pancakes were the size of a pizza. I then saw the company, "Gotra Ballet" perform at the LAKtheater, which is a few blocks from my residence hall. The show was great and the choreography amusing and stimulating.

Sunday: Carnival in Den Bosch! Everyone donned a costume and we took a train trip to the eastern part of Holland for a massive celebration. We arrived in time to dance in the parade and see the unveiling of the carnival statue.

Introducing Penelope

The newest addition to my life is Penelope, my white bicycle. The name came to me as I was walking to the bike store where I picked her up. I thought to myself, "Whatever bicycle I end up getting, it needs to be a Penelope." When I ended up at Duwosa, a narrow store in an alleyway off of the Beestenmarkt, I could tell I would find her. There were more bikes than moving space, and the kind Dutch man showed me the one second-hand bike he had for sale. I was originally hoping for a quaint old-fashioned style bicycle that most Dutch use, but I was willing to buy the racer-style bike because it was only 65 euro with everything included. The man at the store showed me how to work the lock and light (which I am still having trouble with), and I paid and rode it out.

If I haven't stressed this enough, I must now: Bikes are everywhere here. I see more bicycles in a day than I do cars. There are parking lots for bicycles, but few parking spaces for cars. The roads are designed with bikers in mind, and the drivers are used to yielding for them. My fascination with the prolific bikes has waned slightly (a result of adjustment, I suppose), but I am still amazed at all the varieties of bike-riding I have witnessed:

Traditional: The rider is sitting upright and peddling unhurriedly, with saddlebag over torso or in a basket
Distinguished Professor: The rider holds his briefcase behind him with one hand as it rests on the wire rack above the back wheel. The rider only steers with one hand.
Soccer-er-"Voetbol" Mom: The equivalent of a mini-van driver, the rider has a child seat directly in front of her, and a small seat on the wire rack above the back tire (don't have a better word for this). There is a basket in the front with groceries, as well as two saddlebags straddling the back tire with diaper bag, etc.
Gabbers: Two riders of any age ride exactly next to each other, with only a foot distance between the two. They carry on a complete conversation for the entirety of their commute.
Phone Junkies: The Dutch version of the distracted driver: the rider is texting with one or both hands or talking on their cell phone. Remarkably, capable of steering and navigating traffic
School-Girls: A small radio plays pop music, one girl is texting on her phone, and the other two are chatting and laughing.
The Romantic Couple: The woman sits "side-saddle" on the back rack of the bike, with one arm wrapped around the waist of the rider. Their head is usually inclined towards the rider, or they are engaged in conversation
The Functional Couple: See "The Romantic Couple" for basic positioning, but the back rider is clearly only participating as a faster means of transportation.
The Mentor: Two riders, one adult and one child. The bikes are directly next to each other, with the adult's hand on the shoulders of the child to direct and steer the child.
The Foreigner: Both hands grip the handlebars with white knuckles and the rider is overly conscious of signs, street names, and other bikers. There is a wild-eyed look in their eye. They tend to yield to pedestrians, who are generally confused by this nontraditional gesture. They can be most easily spotted by their extremely ungraceful dismounts and mounts onto the bike. They also tend to fiddle with their locks at least 3 times longer than the average Dutch person. Once securing their lock, they double check to ensure it is secure, and make a note of where they parked their bike.

Guess where I belong? Who knows, I'm starting to get the hang of it all. Maybe by the end I will be able to pass myself off as something other than the foreigner. Until then, Penelope and I will continue to work on our relationship. (Not to sicken you with a pun, but a friend pointed out that the full name could be Penelope Cruise. Get it? Yeah, sorry.)
(Penelope outside of my Residence Hall)

A Day in Den Haag

Vermeer, Rembrandt, a master class taught by a dancer with Netherlands Dance Theater, meeting dancers from around the world, and an incredible performance by NDT: what else could I ask for in a day?

Yesterday I biked to Leiden Central Station (I promise to do a bike post soon), took a 10 minute train ride to Den Haag, and spent the day exploring what the city has to offer. I went by myself because I was taking a dance class in the middle of the day that would complicate the life of whatever travel buddy I would have been with. My first stop was the Binnenhof, which housed the Dutch parliament from 1446, and was long the center of Dutch politics. It was a foggy day, so the pictures aren't too clear.




After walking around the courtyard for a bit I headed to Mauritshuis, an art museum that includes the work of Vermeer, Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Frans Hals. Vermeer is one of my favorite painters, and his work "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" is one of my favorite paintings. Needless to say, I enjoyed myself greatly. The museum is intimate and lavishly furnished: the walls are papered in rich colors, and the paintings hang in decadent frames. It is a very approachable museum, unlike the vast Metropolitan Museum of Art or other such places. The museum is next to the Binnenhof buildings, and looks as though it was built on the water (on the left of the photo)


I walked around the lake near the Binnenhof for a while and wandered into the Haag Historish Museum. Unfortunately very little was in English, but I was able to get in free because I have a museum card (my new favorite thing). There were paintings of Den Haag through the years, including many of the Binnenhof and Mauritshuis.

My primary reason for going to the Hague was to participate in an "Open Studio" session offered by Netherlands Dance Theater. These are offered once every few months in conjunction with performances by the company. There was somewhat of a selection process, as the class is only for professional-level dancers. I had to confirm that I was of an advanced enough level via an email correspondence with one of the education directors. I had no idea what to expect, and was excited and a little nervous. After killing some time in a coffeeshop, I arrived at the stage door entrance to the Lucent Danstheater around 4:30 to sign in and pay for the class.

As soon as I walked into the dressing room to get ready for the class, I felt at home. So many things have been different from what I am used to here: opening doors, boarding a train, flushing a toilet, using electronic keys, using foreign money, having to continually apologize for not speaking Dutch, not understanding a menu, not knowing the traffic rules, and continually consulting maps. It was therefore an incredible feeling to be somewhere and feel totally and completely comfortable. As we all warmed up in the studio, I struck up several conversations with other dancers: one was an American my age who just moved to Berlin to pursue the dance scene there, another was from California but had lived in Amsterdam for several years teaching yoga and taking classes; there were some students from a conservatory in Tilburg, and a group of girls from the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp, Belgium.

The class was taught by Sarah Reynolds, a dancer with Netherlands Dance Theater. We started with a basic modern warm-up and eventually did some improvisatory movement to continue the warm up and break through familiarity barriers. We then spent the remaining hour learning an excerpt from Jirí Kylián's "Psalmensymfonie". The piece was choreographed in Kylián's early years, and was therefore more classical than some of his more experimental contemporary work. It was incredible to get an inside view of the choreography from a dancer who had worked with Kylián. I am sore literally everywhere today, but it was totally worth it.

After the class, I wandered over to a quick-food place to grab a bite before the performance. It turned out that the four girls from the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp had had the same idea for dinner, as they were there. I joined them and got to know them a little bit. They were younger, all around 16 or 17, but had been living on their own for a while. (One of the girls had her own apartment at 16 in order to train at the school!) They were staying at a hostel that night after the show, and had been in the Hague doing shopping during the day. For some reason I had a hard time envisioning my mom allowing me to do the same when I was 16. We all headed over to the theater together, and discovered that our seats were near each other. I didn't buy my ticket until two nights before the show, and therefore got (literally!) the worst seat in the house: row X, seat 1. The theater was much more intimate than I expected, and my seat ended up offering a great view of the performance. In between pieces my new Belgian friends and I met up in the lobby to sigh over the beauty of the dancers and the excellent choreography. By the end of the night the girls and I exchanged names for Facebook and took pictures. They told me to tell them when I come to Antwerp and they would let me stay with them, and take me around the city. I plan to do just that, especially after they offered me some of their amazing Belgian chocolates! After the performance we said goodbye, as I had a train to catch.


As I made my way back to my room that night, I kept marveling about the near magic of the night. I have been obsessed with NDT for years, ever since I saw their pieces on the Arts Channel. It has been one of my dreams to simply learn some of Kylián's choreography, as he is a choreographic genius and one of the major names in the dance world. Beyond that, the opportunity to befriend people from all over the world, as well as connect with them through dancing, is an uplifting experience. Despite waking up this morning and feeling every muscle in my body ache, I am still riding the high from last night.

Navigating my way to Den Haag

Today was my first experience of dancing in Europe. I woke up early and walked to Leiden Central Station, bought a ticket for a train to Den Haag, and successfully navigated my way to Korzo Theater. Prior to coming here I had done research on where to take open classes in Den Haag and Amsterdam, and Korzo came up as a good option for general classes.

The studio was on the 6th floor of a building that organizes arts programs. The studio itself was small, as was the class (7 dancers), but it was nice to be in an intimate environment for my first experience. The class was taught by Carmen Rozestraten, a gorgeously tall Dutch woman who was a teacher at Lines in San Francisco for a time. It felt great to be back in class. My body is simultaneously hating me and loving me- I will be sore tomorrow but a good kind of sore. I introduced myself to the other dancers, and got some tips on where to dance in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It will definitely take some effort on my part to travel and take class, but I know it will be worth it.

I was amazed that I was able to find the building without any trouble, and how easy the train trip was. Cities in the Netherlands are quite close to each other; only 10 minutes from Leiden to Den Haag, and about 40 minutes to Amsterdam. The only downside to taking the train is that it can be quite pricey (6 euro for a round-trip ticket to Den Haag, and upwards of 15 euro for a trip to Amsterdam). I am in the process of purchasing a frequent-use card that will give me quite a discount, but that all hinges on my bank account which is in the process of being opened.

I was struck by what a difference a week makes in learning the ropes of a city or country. My first trip on the train last week was bewildering. I didn't know how to buy tickets, when to present them, which platform to use, when to board, where to sit, how to tell which stop was which, and how to get out of the station. These may seem like elementary concepts, but the language barrier presents a unique challenge. I have mentioned that the Dutch speak English, but they speak Dutch first and all of the signs are in Dutch. I am used to buses, subways, or trams, but navigating a train system presents its own challenges. You must know where the exit is ("Uitgang" written in white on a green sign), and how to get to your platform.

Some of the best things I have learned in traveling is to be aware of your surroundings, double or triple check that you are in the place you think you are, and, more than anything, don't hesitate to ask questions. I have learned a lot simply by watching other people and reading signs. Travel is never easy, but it can become easier the more you do it. I am looking forward to visiting Den Haag on Saturday for a morning class at Korzo, then seeing some of the city before going to a workshop at Netherlands Dance Theater.

Photos from around Leiden

Hired!

The big news of the day is that I was hired as a ballet instructor at the sports complex at Leiden. The whole thing happened on a whim- I was looking at the class schedule trying to decide if I wanted to pay the membership fee when I noticed that they were looking for a ballet instructor. I emailed the contact yesterday, and had a meeting today with the director. It looks like I will teach a class once a week, and possibly teach a yoga class following that. I toured the facility and signed some papers and voila! I am an instructor. There are some perks- free membership saves me 70euro, plus access to the lounge and a small sum for teaching. Also the opportunity to meet some more people and teach what I love!

I have been doing more research into dancing here, and will hopefully take a class Thursday. I applied for an open studio course at the Netherlands Dance Theater in the Hague this weekend and was accepted. I don't know what to expect, except that it will be all professional dancers. There is another studio in the Hague that offers open classes to professionals as well, and I plan to go in a few times a week for ballet and modern classes. So far I haven't been able to take class since leaving but I am getting excited for when I will be able to.

Yesterday was my first academic class- Law and Governance in Developing Countries. There were about 50 students, of all nationalities. The class takes an interesting angle on law: rather than viewing it as a cut-and-dry issue where interpretation and application are central, it focuses on development of law in countries where a stable legal system is not in place. I bought my reader for the course, only 20euro (in contrast with the $70 textbook minimum in the U.S.), as well as for another course.

An interesting tidbit I learned about was an innovative 6-year program that Leiden University offered after 1800 to prepare students for life in Indonesia working in the local government. When the Dutch East India Trading Company collapsed, governance over Indonesia was transferred to the Dutch state. In an attempt to avoid misunderstanding, students who entered the program learned the local language, history, and culture, as well as respect for customary laws. The program wasn't perfect, of course, given the dramatic course of events that followed.

Last night some friends and I from Hugo (from hereon the name of my res hall) went to a place called Jacketz for dinner. They specialize in gourmet baked potatoes, and Monday night is student night. We indulged ourselves, then met up at Odessa's for the evening- supposedly the place where the international students meet on Monday nights.

Besides my appointment at the SportsCentrum today, I began the process of opening a bank account and bought a membership to the museums in Leiden. I spent some time at Naturalis, a museum focused on biodiversity with exhibits of animal and plant life. There are 5 other major museums in Leiden, some with art and others with gruesome anatomy displays. I hope to experience them all during my time here.

A word about the weather- I open my window in the morning and it truly sounds like a tropical rainforest. (Although the temperature difference reminds me it is not). It is extremely damp here and rains almost daily. The rain is indecisive- it never quite makes up its mind and just spits all day. Yesterday as I walked to class the weather went from brisk but sunny to hailing profusely to wet and rainy to sun again. All in about 10 minutes. It isn't unbearable though, and despite the spitting rain I still enjoy stopping along the canals to look at the funny ducks bobbing around or the large swans gliding along.

Well I'm off to cook some dinner and do some reading, with the possibility of planning some weekend trips later!

Thanks for reading. I know blogging seems impersonal but it is really the best way for me to share with all of you what is going on in my life.

A Student Abroad

Studying abroad is a multi-layered process. Even though I have arrived, I have a long list of essentials to accomplish before I am officially a resident for a semester. Today begins my first day of classes- finally! I won't bore you with the details of the difficulties of registering for classes in a foreign country, but I'll just mention that although the Dutch speak English, most of their websites are in Dutch. Registering for classes on an outdated system is made exponentially more difficult when the class you want to take through the law department is nowhere to be found- only after searching for what seems like an eternity do you discover that the class is listed under "Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid". No wonder I couldn't find it.

On a different note, today my class will be in the law building (otherwise known as "Kammerlingh Onnes Gebouw") which is beautiful. I took a tour of it during my orientation, and was informed that Einstein himself had an office in the building when it was previously the physics building. The front overlooks a canal, and there are large windows in every classroom. It is a little intimidating to be taking classes with students in law school or studying for their masters. It is also a little intimidating to be studying at the oldest law faculty in the Netherlands. Law was one of the first faculties to be established when the university was founded in 1575. Day one of classes, here I come!