Unfortunately our being spoiled with good weather came to an end this weekend with typical torrential Dutch downpour. Luckily This was fit well with my cozy plans for more movie nights, group meals, and crafternoons! A busy cleaning day on Sunday followed by an afternoon of struggling through attempts to practice the international progress test in medicine (or voorgangstoets geneeskunde) in Dutch (with issues such as understanding that sulfonylureumderivaten = potassium channel blockers...) was happily remedied with a cozy group meal.
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| Sunday lunch |
In the afternoon, I also I stumbled upon
this interesting article, titled "the sadness of being a vegan". I think its worth a read for everybody, as a vegan I enjoyed it because I am often bewildered by the unnecessary ridicule I've received simply for stating that I do not eat, buy, or use any animal products. The list of comments is beyond predictable, from "but its already dead" and "plants have feelings too" to "I don't really eat meat that often either" and "will just one person make a difference?". It was nice reminder of why its good to eat vegan, and how to remain unaffected by uninformed comments. For non-vegans, its good explanation of the mindset of vegans, and a nice reminder of what not to say (and why) when you meet them.
In an attempt to remedy the appalling lack of vegetables in the diets of the male population at the hostel, I cooked Thai yellow curry with red peppers, carrots, chickpeas, and roast butternut squash. Unfortunately only attaining a 50% enjoyment rate I think next time I will have to cook something more similar to the usual food and just find a way to sneak more vegetables in/make it healthier...we later watched
BASEketball, a very funny film, but agreed on only 3.5 stars as it was decided that a film really needs to be more than just funny to get 4 or more.
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| brave faces |
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| ducks in the rainy canal |
On Monday, the Sunday of the Hello week (being the quietest calmest day), a colleague and friend came by with crafts for a
pinterest inspired aisle for her wedding in June. Armed with snacks, a
wedding playlist, crafting supplies, and unlimited tea and coffee, we made a start on the huge bundle of 200 skewers.
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| getting ready |
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| working hard |
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| giant soy latte |
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| finished hearts |
170 skewers (not quite finished!) and several hours later it was time for a quick dinner before heading off to the
Pole Dance Factory Amsterdam for an aerial silks class. The journey was straightforward with both trains and the metro, it was nice to see a little bit of Amsterdam, and the facility was easy to find, located in an art warehouse beside other creative studios.
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| Amsterdam Central |
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| waiting room |
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| Aerial studio |
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| the studio |
Despite a
fabulous teacher, and really lovely classmates, I don't think this class will become a frequent fixture of my week. With a class of 11 and only 3 silks, on only 4 meter ceilings, I didn't really learn anything new or even have any opportunity to practice much that I'd previously been working on. It was still a nice evening however, and nice to be able to get in a bit of exercise after almost a month of nothing! Towards the end of the class I asked for some help with a move I'd been trying to get for a while now, scorpion with straight legs, and although I got closer than I had ever been before it was still just out of reach.
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| straight leg fail |
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| scorpion |
Home just before it was getting dark, I thought I was in for a quick shower and then bed but I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a glass of wine, a couple of awesome new friends, and a cool new evening
playlist. Tot volgende keer!
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| coconuts for sex |
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| Hello wine |
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