Spain 2009

In one week Jochem and I will be here. This is Cambrils Mediterraneo, part of Cambrils de Mar, which is a small town on the eastern coast of Spain, called the Costa Dorada. It is the place where my Spanish relatives own a small villa near this beach. We will borrow my brother's car and spend two weeks traveling through this region. We plan to see Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencía, a few small beach towns, a volcanic park in the Pyrenees, the Ebro Delta and Penedès wine country. I'm not exactly sure how to be a vegetarian in Spain (especially amongst my very much non-vegetarian Spanish family members) or how to be away from my pets for more than a few days, but I sure as hell am glad to be going abroad real soon.

These pictures were taken in the summer of 2006, when my girls and I spent the most perfect little weekend there.

Summer Break

Ever since I heard that I had passed my master thesis one week ago, I have been on my summer break. Which is so weird after having been so busy for so long. Which is also why I do not have that much to tell y'all. I have a summer job cleaning people's houses, but that's only for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, tops. Jochem, meanwhile, has a job serving rich people at a golf tournament in Zandvoort, which means that by the time I get back from work, he is gone, and he doesn't come back until the middle of the night. The only time we see each other is during my breakfast, after which Jochem crawls back into bed until he has to get up for work. That kinda sucks, but it also means that I have the house all to myself. Jochem is not around making phone calls or working on his computer, which is arguably the most depressing sight for me right now. I don't have to fight for the remote. Not having any homework or other responsibilities and with family in Almelo and friends in Australia, Cuba and Belgium (really!), I spent about eight hours a day behind the tv and/or computer. I watch a variety of high quality tv shows, such as Oprah, Dr. Phil, Greyʾs Anatomy, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, De bruiloft van... (Dutch for: The wedding of...), Rich Bride Poor Bride, Paradise Hotel 2, True Beauty, Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean parts 1, 2 and 3, and bad romantic comedies on tv, and an old homemade movie (all at the same time, of course). I go swimming with Bic once a week (which has happened once thus far), and I do Hatha Yoga three times a week (which reminds me: I shouldnʾt forget to do that before I go to bed tonight, even though my book says that I shouldnʾt do yoga before going to bed because then I start associating yoga with sleep, which is apparently very bad, but what do they know, really?). I have dinner with Bic and Mar every week, and I force them to either eat vegetarian food or cook it for me, because yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am a vegetarian now. The non-meat/non-fish eating vegetarian. Jochem thinks that this is just a phase, and that we are only ʾtrying it outʾ for one month, but letʾs embellish on that illusion a little longer. My cat and I are bonding (which is slightly more difficult with the fish, them being in a bowl and all), having no one but each other for company. I now always wear my very long hair in a bun (knoet!), since I refuse to deal with it otherwise. I read my books about list-making and creativity, and have actually started drawing stuff, which of course sucks and is only recognizable because I write editorial notes next to the drawings. I have also cleaned out my closet (and forced Jochem to do the same) and rearranged my correspondences (is that word still used in the Kingʾs English?) and magazine collection, and threw away about a forest worth of paper. I do loads and loads of laundry and play Katie Melua and John Mayer very loudly because they represent my blues collection (no lecture on music genre required). And thatʾs about it folks! Isnʾt it GREAT?! :P

3 out of 3

I did it! Today my supervisor sent me an e-mail that said that I received a 7.8 for my master thesis!!! :) I cannot believe it! I have been working on it for over nine months and had anticipated having to work on it even longer during the summer. It was incredibly hard to write about linguistics (as opposed to literature), and my first draft was not good at all. I only had nine days to rewrite 88 pages of bad research, so I spent those days from 8 AM till 12 AM behind my laptop in, what I believed to be, a vain attempt to finish before the summer. There was just so much writing that had to be redone that I barely had time to edit the final 95 pages that I wrote and I handed in the second draft fifteen minutes late. I definitely did NOT have a good feeling about it, which makes it all the more amazing that I did not only pass it, but received such a good grade. Before the summer break and before the second year of my educational master! This means that I will never again have to read, research or write about linguistics or literature, because next year is all about education. I can finally return the books that I have been staring at for the last six months! I passed James Joyce, I got the internship that I wanted, AND I passed my master thesis! SURREAL! I don't know what I'm gonna do now. But wait, Dr. Phil is on in fifteen minutes...

More Good News

Almost a month ago I wrote on this same weblog that I was hoping to be done soon. Unfortunately, I am still writing my master thesis, as I have been for the past seven days straight, while the rest of the country is enjoying the summer weather as I am stuck behind my laptop in a very hot apartment. But I found out another piece of good news today. Two weeks ago I was invited for a very mysterious IVLOS meeting and last week I attended another meeting at the Koningin Wilhelmina College (KWC) in Culemborg. It turned out that they needed two English teachers in training for an amazing one-year internship. And I found out today that I got it! What's more, my good friend Nienke got the other spot, so I'll have a friend close by for a whole year. It's great news to hear one day before the second draft of your master thesis is due. Even if this one is not approved either, I will at least be able to finally start the practical year of my master (thanks to James Joyce), and do it at the school of my first choice. Of course, I am still secretly hoping that my second draft will be approved, but if there is anything that I learned from linguistics, it is to expect the unexpected...

Honk if you hate James Joyce!

I did it! After sending several e-mails to my professors, I found out today that I received an 8 for Mapping Joyce! YAY!!! :) I am beyond happy because I had to pass that class. My master thesis has turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated, so there is a big chance that I'll have to work on it next year. Fortunately, this is accepted in the educational master, but only as long as you've passed 45 ECTS. So had I failed Mapping Joyce, and hadn't finished my master thesis either, I wouldn't have been allowed to start the second year. That's why I spent days writing 4,500 words about women in Hamlet and Ulysses. But it paid off, so at least now I know my position for next year is safe. Now all that's left is rewriting my master thesis, which I've been doing for the past five days. It's a lot of work, and I'm in that "what-I'm-writing-makes-no-sense-at-all"-phase, but Thursday it'll all be over. Because even if I have to rewrite it again, I am taking a long and much-needed break from sociolinguistics!

One Small Happy Family

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."

~ George Eliot

Happy Feet

My toe nails are pink again!!! :) I hate grooming, but I convinced Anna to do them for me when Jochem and I were in Brussels last weekend. Ever since I had a pedicure in New York last summer and walked around with red toe nails for weeks, I LOVE bright colors on my toe nails! I can't explain it, but it makes me very happy. This is especially helpful during the "laatste loodjes" that I am engaging in right now; my master thesis is due on Friday and one week later I am supposed to have written 4,000 words on Ulysses. Compared to what I've done so far it's fairly easy, but I'm just so not motivated anymore. So pink toe nails help a lot to make the process a bit more fun!

Conditioner

I caved. I bought the Honey Moisturizing Conditioner at The Body Shop in downtown Utrecht today.

A New Routine

I have A New Routine. My whole life is made up of routines, which gives me a sense of calm in a hectic life, but this New Routine is something I am particularly excited about. In the morning, I get ready, feed the cat and the fish, make breakfast, and watch programs on my computer before I start working. I used to watch the news in the morning, but these days Jochem and I usually watch it together at night (which is the routine my parents have been engaged in for as long as I know them, so how scary is that?!). I also used to watch a lot of wedding shows, but now have found something really great: RTL Travel. This is a travel show and on their website the documentaries are divided by country, so I am watching them in the same order as our world trip! How cool is that?! I have just started watching documentaries about Asia and will then continue with Australia, New Zealand, South America and Cuba. Right now I'm watching documentaries about India and I just can't wait to go!

Hair

Ever since my friends subtly (not so much) told me that my hair "wasn't looking so good" one Friday afternoon, I have been a little bit obsessed with my hair. Before I could explain to them that I had just washed my hair and that it is always fuzzy after just having washed it, they had put a hair mask in my hands with a bunch of instructions on how to make my hair look better. What they don't understand is that they've hit a somewhat sensitive spot. My hair is probably what I like most about myself (at least when it's been washed), and now I'm told that it doesn't look good. "You've got split ends", they tell me. Well, considering the fact that I am saving up for a 9-month world trip and my hair grows like it's eager to get somewhere, I am not about to spend €30 a month on a hair dresser. I go to the hair dresser once a year; right after the summer break when it's been exposed to numerous sun hours and Mediterranean sea water. But apparently this can all be solved with a hair mask. I tried the hair mask which is (1) very expensive, (2) smells funny and (3) takes a lot of work, but okay, my hair did look better than usual (even though it was still fuzzy when drying). What my friends also don't understand is that I hate spending time on my hair because it takes so looooong. When I take the kind of shower where I wash my hair, it takes me about an hour to get ready from start to finish. When I really make an effort and put on some jewelry and make-up, it takes me another 15 minutes. Seeing as that I am, like, superslow in getting ready, have always been, and will probably always be (except when I have 15 minutes to get to class), I am not exactly looking for more activities to add to my already well-established getting ready routine. Their next solution was to leave in my conditioner longer than usual when taking a shower. When I explained to them that I don't even use hair conditioner, I believe they almost had a heart attack. Today I took the shampoo and conditioner sample from a magazine and tried them in the shower. Result: it took me an hour and a half to get ready and my hair is fuzzier than ever. So you can see where this is going.