Lovin' Life

Time to rewind a bit and update you all. The last few weeks have been peaceful and beautiful; I've been working on my thesis like usual, enjoying spring weather, spending way too much time at a lake near my house, having fun with friends, and celebrating Greek holidays as usual:)

After some time in sunny Florida, it was a bit difficult to find the motivation to pick up the thesis again. The sun has also been making a daily appearance here, which normally doesn't facilitate writing a thesis. Surprisingly, I think the relaxed and happy atmosphere has helped me tie some thoughts together and make some advancements. In less than two weeks, I will conduct the experiment portion of my thesis. I really hope I can collect some significant data so that the rest of the thesis process is exciting rather than an explanation of what went wrong and why. Whether I'm working on the thesis or enjoying time with friends, I'm pretty much high on life 24/7.

The canal by my house. I run along this canal every weekend on my way to the lake.

Ordered pizza on a dock at MY lake with Tjerk - yes, they delivered.

Sex and the City stars Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda enjoying some icecream.

Last week a Dutch friend of mine that I met in Iceland came to visit me in Groningen. Together, Ellen and I, climbed to the top of the Martini Tower. Here's a pic of Groningen from above.

Ellen enjoying the view from the Martini Tower

The three stooges

Vanda and I

Last weekend my friends and I enjoyed some live entertainment for 'Go China' at the main market in Groningen. The tower I climbed with Ellen is on the left.

My two favorite djs in town. He plays Duran Duran for me and she takes me to places called Boogie Nights.

Family Vaca!

Yes, it was time for the annual family vaca to sunny Florida. Due to the relatively large ocean separating Holland and Florida, no one was really expecting me to take part in the annual event. It was the perfect opportunity for a surprise...and what a surprise it was. Not only were there tears at the airport, but also some screaming when I jumped out from an intertube in the swimming pool. Nothing beats family, sun, beach, seafood, and especially key-lime pie. Very good times indeed.


Nothing screams family vacation more than cards.

Paradise

Thanks again...Laura.

My favorite photo from the trip.

Road trip!...Busch Gardens baby!

Look at the fear in his eyes.

Flipper!

Getting my last fix of clam chowder.

I miss them already

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).

Happy days...

Well after a three week journey, I finally made it back to Groningen. The trip was just what I needed. I saw some old friends which is always refreshing and even made some new ones. Although I had an amazing few weeks, it also feels good to be back here. The second semester starts this week; I'm looking forward to starting up again.

Although I am leaving out many details and pics from my amazing trip, I thought I would add just a few for some of you out there.

My favorite part of the trip was by far Latvia. I arrived to a beautiful snow storm and a big surprise at the airport. As I was counting my change for the bus, I looked up to find a sign with 'ms. kellie holler' on it. Peter, the friend of my old roommate Sindija, surprised me at the airport; his first words - "Hi, my name is Peter, and I will be your personal driver today." What a welcome to Latvia! Sindija and her friends, Peter and Rolands, took great care of me and really showed me a wonderful time in Riga. I hope I can do the same for them some day. I even had the opportunity to go to the opera and see Alcina. Brilliant! Even the simplest things in Riga were an experience - for example, riding the bus into town from Sindija's apartment. There were so many elderly and expressionless Latvian and Russian women in their fur hats who would not dare and look me in the eye or crack a smile. It was a very different atmosphere I experienced on the trolley bus and gazing out the window which might have been interesting and exciting for a Cold War freak like me but after a while could be quite a depressing atmoshpere to live in.

To top off my time in Latvia, Peter and Roland drove me to Tallinn, Estonia! I had planned to go to Tallinn from the get-go and even bought a bus ticket but they decided that a roadtrip was more appropriate. On the way we stopped at a waterpark on the Baltic Sea. Everything felt so surreal that day, yet so normal in some ways. As Peter would say, 'happy days'.

The Art Nouveau architecture was quite impressive.

Sindija lacing up for some fun on the ice.

Riga by night

Sindija and I

Roadtrip!

Peter and Roland during a little pitstop at the Baltic Sea.

A few people had told me that Tallinn was quite a beautiful city, but beautiful was an understatement. A medieval wall with a tower gate surrounds 'Old Tallinn'. The whole city has a medieval and hansiatic feel to it. While in Tallinn, I met some really interesting people at my hostel from all over the world. Although my original plan for the trip was rest and relaxation, it became quite a social event; many late nights of great conversations and fun. It made me miss the good old days at the hostel in Minneapolis. Forgot to mention that I discovered a bar devoted entirely to Depeche Mode. I even have the DM lighter to prove it - thank you Josh.

Overview of Old Tallinn

The medieval wall surrounding Old Tallinn

Hostel fun

The last leg of the race was Helsinki, Finland which was just a short three hour ferry ride away from Tallinn. The ferry was quite the experience. Can you say farraoke? Yes, there was karaoke, a live and horrible band, slot machines everywhere, and a lot of drunk Finns. I can honestly say that I have not experienced anything quite like that before. Jen warned me though so I was a bit prepared for a trippy ride. Helsinki also revealed some amazing experiences. My favorite part happened the first day I arrived; I was sitting on a bench with a map (looking like an extreme tourist) and a little old lady sat next to me. She began to ask me where I was from. Turns out she studied at Northwestern (for those of you who are not familiar, it is a university quite close to where I grew up). She studied journalism there 60 years ago! It was really refreshing talking to someone of her age. I asked her if she could recommend anything in Helsinki and she simply said, 'I'll just show you myself!' So we spent the rest of the day touring the city. She took me to all the main sights and gave me the history as well. She was so intelligent and knew so much about the history; then again, she lived it. Once in a while she would give me an elbow and said, 'and then the Swedes took all of our money.' Too funny! I fell in love with this woman. What a cool 80 year-old! I knew that she was a writer so I looked up some of her books; ironically enough she even wrote one entitled 'Finnish Cities and Towns'. I really met the right person. She made me promise that I would write her which I indefinitely plan to do. Life is too cool sometimes.

Sunny Helsinki

Uspenski Cathedral - a Russian eye sore according to some Finns.

Forgot to mention that my home base through all of this was Berlin. It was so nice to see all my friends and even a few friends who just moved to Berlin. That place and the people always make me feel at home. I feel so lucky that it is only 5 hours away - always nice to have that in the back of my mind.

Only in Berlin can you buy literature in a vending machine...and people wonder why I love that place. Why not buy a book for a euro to go with those kinder chocolates?

The re-celebration of my birthday...thanks Karin.

Where am I?

I'm not sure if anyone is still even checking this blog, but in case there are a few who are wondering why I have not written in a while, I thought I would go ahead and update you. Since I got back to Holland, life has been a bit chaotic. I moved into a new apartment which surprisingly is already beginning to feel like home. For about a week and a half I was slaving on a computer to finish up the first semester. I did take a three night break from the school work to go to a music festival in Groningen called Eurosonic/Noorderslag, also known as my birthday present to myself. Most of the bands were relatively new so it was fun to discover some new music. The birthday was kind of a bust, but in the end it ended up okay thanks to great friends and good music. Finally, last Friday I handed everything in including a portfolio of 100 pages! I just kept scrolling up and down in disbelief. After completing that extreme challenge, the thesis does not seem so scary anymore. Since Friday I have been in shock because I actually have time to relax and think! Basically I will be floating for a few weeks because the second semester does not start until the second week of February. I am taking advantage of this break indeed - right now I am in Berlin (feels good to be 'home' although my stay has been brief) and I leave tomorrow for Latvia to visit an old roommate. From there I will head north to Estonia and Finland. After my little adventure I plan to stay in Berlin for a while to catch up with friends. When I get back to Groningen, I will definitely put some pics on the blog. I don't really know what to expect from this little trip, which is exciting, but I am definitely hoping for snow in Finland. Life is very very good indeed.