Huh?

Today, the city of Groningen woke up to find not one drop of water due to problems with the water pressure system. Although I initially thought it was a conspiracy, I soon realized there was in fact a shortage. Classes were even cancelled. Yes, Monday has been a strange and smelly day in Groningen due to the lack of showers and flushing toilets, however, the water was up and running again by mid-day. The city advises to boil tap water before drinking for up to two days - hence the photo above from a bathroom at my university. Ironic that in a very developed country normally fighting water, a shortage can still occur. Although the whole thing has been a bit amusing, it was a good lesson because I really take water for granted.

Applied Linguistics on Ice

Yes, it was the moment we've all been waiting for! This past Thursday my professors invited our program to do a little ice-skating. With such an international group, you can imagine that some of us have never touched ice. I luckily was not one of them and stayed on my feet the whole time. However, there were a few of us who were either (a) glued to the wall (b) on their ass or (c) hunched over while being pulled by other classmates or the professors. Then there were some of us like Nikoleta (from Greece) who after five minutes flew past everyone. It was a pretty funny night to say the least. Afterwards, we went to Wander's house (one of my professors) for some great conversation and yummy pizza. The night made me once again realize how lucky I am to be a part of this program and how happy I am with my decision to come here this year.

Professor Kees De Bot and Theodora

Vicky and I

Marije, Nikoleta, and Professor Wander Lowie

Occasional wall huggers Vicky and her friend from Greece

Resting our legs at Lowies' place.

Spring is in the air...

Even though I am currently trapped at home in a wind storm, spring is in the air. It's been relatively warm here in Groningen (compared to home) and to my surprise the sun occasionally shines! The streets are crowded and people began to whistle on their bikes once again. Fall still remains my favorite season but I am definitely enjoying the change in atmosphere.

So Dutch

They were pretty scared of me

This one's for you mom.

Besides taking advantage of some sunny days, I began working on my thesis. My topic proposal was accepted, so since then the library has been my home for most of the week. I will investigate how text topic influences gender differences in second/foreign language reading. It might sound boring to some of you out there but this dork is enjoying it. The process of reading is one of the most researched areas in my field, but ironically the least understood. The thesis will be quite the challenge but slowly I am realizing it is indeed manageable.

This past Thursday I took a day off from the thesis due to a Greek holiday. Some of my Greek friends here invited me over for the day to eat, eat some more, and...eat. WOW! The food was incredible. We ate the entire day. They really know how to eat their meat as well. I think I need to continue celebrating foreign holidays - can't work on the thesis every day:)


Yummy!

Theodora preparing Tsatziki

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I also took advantage of an amazing concert which was needed due to some concert withdrawal (sorry Jen; I thought of you I promise). The band was called the Willowz. It was great to hear some fellow Americans rock out. Be sure to check them out (I apologize for the crappy quality).