Thursday, September 30, 2010

AUC: Excellence and Diversity


Eastern Europe, represent. Bulgaria and Macedonia should be proud.

A rare photo of me and Matthias where one of us isn't ruining the shot by looking like a lunatic or a medieval peasant.

Bachelor party preview complete with undergrads!

Mystery gooball; Dutch people are apparently fond of this idea.

Maniacs from foreign countries! Free wine! Fun!

Apparently attending a liberal arts college is a concept buried in the renaissance as far as the Amsterdamians are concerned. It's been hundreds of years since this type of education was offered here. One ambitious lady, however, has resurrected the idea and accepted young free thinkers from the world over to educate themselves in humanities, social sciences, physics, philosophy and language. This September marks the first birthday of AUC, Amsterdam University College where Matthias is currently earning his bachelor's degree. It was a formal event, marked by a very punctual presentation of liberal arts education justifications and plans for the future interspersed with essay contest winners and a really good jazz performance by two students. The reception that followed involved drinks, delicious snacks, and some eye-rolling about excellence and diversity. These guys seem like a good bunch though, eh? I mean, people bring the big bucks in the US to attend many a small, private liberal arts college known for intellectual rigor and low professor to student ratios. Which is kind of funny, because Europeans came up with the whole idea and this is the first university of its kind in Amsterdam during modern times. For only a few thousand Euros a year, they're kind of getting a bargain. Happy #1 AUC, good luck.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Secret passageway, mach schnell.



Night creepin' in the Netherlands! Exploring the new surroundings, searching for secrets...
Photos by Matthias

Monday, September 27, 2010

Musical Monday #5: Miike Snow


Miike Snow, why are you inside my head? How did you know what it looks like in there? Just in case Matthias sends me home, will you marry me Andrew Wyatt? No? Oh, okay. I still like your music.

Walkin' in the Flevopark




Saturday, September 25, 2010

Heure d'arrivée




Oh, hey guys! You still there? Does Portland continue to exist? WHERE AM I? And more importantly, HOW did I get here? Oh, that's right. Matthias proposed and I for some reason agreed to this madness.

Amsterdam. I'm here. It's been quite an adjustment, I'll admit. First and foremost, I was a complete zombie after a week of all-nighters packing, sewing, stressing, and running errands. I barely slept on the plane because it was more uncomfortable than I remember (does that mean I'm getting older?) So I spent the first few days fast asleep, feeling pretty much exactly how that middle photo looks. Before my first crash though, I was fortunate enough to witness Ines, one of Matthias' most lovely university friends, scribbling that message in chalk outside our window. "Would you look at that gem" Matthias gestured toward the view as Ines, unaware of our attention, scrawled away. After meganapping I also was fortunate enough to wake up to a plate of coffee chocolate cupcakes and a welcome card from two of Matthias' other darling hallmates! So it was a nice welcome from the neighbors to say the least.

The man himself showed up at the airport looking dapper. Button down shirt, vest, skinny jeans all in shades of grey with a pair of adult man shoes and a bowler hat. Plus he'd cleaned the flat to an above average level of neat and managed to stash some various flowers around the place. He revealed that he'd had an all-nighter as well :)

In other news, I got a new camera after the little Nikon my dad gave me finally crapped out. Lumix LX3, wheeee! Therefore, new blog format, easier reading, bigger photos. Right? Right.

I miss you guys!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

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