Stolen bikes and Sunburns

It's been only a week since my last update but a lot has happened since then. Last weekend was full of ups and downs that I don't care to share on the internet, but ...

... on Wednesday night, my bike got stolen!! Yup. That's right, folks. I was out with Wicax, Mariam (new French friend - in the picture, taken last Saturday night), Ricard (new Spanish friend - sorry, Catalonian friend - I learned never to call a Catalonian Spanish, it's like calling a Québecois Canadian), and Jorn at Pand48 to relax on the terrace. I had buddy-locked with Wicax all night to because we've seen our friends lose their bikes when they didn't buddy-lock. However, Wicax left one hour earlier than me and in that one, solitary hour, my bike was stolen, lock and all. I was proud of my bike injuries from a few weeks ago but now I'm just plain sad. Fortunately, I may be able to get a free bike in a week from Bore (new Macedonian friend) but I have to walk or borrow until then. I refuse to pay 90 Euros for a new (used) bike for one month. Jorn's friend (Dutch) told me to steal one back, but when I offered him 10 Euros to steal one for me, his own conscience wouldn't let him do it either.

Thursday night, after working until 8:30pm in the lab (and busting the FACS machine when I was working late and alone - oopsies!), I did another bartending shift at our flatbar with Sjoerd. While a couple of hardcore, loyal friends showed up to support me (thank you Jorn, Wicax and Bore!), there were only about a dozen people that came, most being the "regulars". On the bright side, conversation was interesting (I chatted with one customer that does research in insulin inhalers) and the free beer is always a bonus.

Friday I took the day off of work. I'm really stressed these days and needed a small break. Besides, I didn't want to face walking all the way to work again on such a hot day. So, in the evening, I went with my gang (Mariam, Jorn, Wicax, and Bore) to see Pirates of the Caribbean II (hilarious movie!) at the local movie theatre, the Pathé. I tried to borrow Jorn's old bike to get to the theatre but, despite of it's lovely paint job of pink stripes (in the picture), I couldn't go two feet because it is too big for me and it has no brakes. So Wicax, with a gesture of chivalry, swapped with me and ended up almost slamming into the theatre which is located on a downslope. Anyways, after the movie, we chilled at Club Pepper, an outdoor lounge bar on the roof of a building at the centrum full of suave 20 and 30-somethings, and later we hit the Spieghel, a cute little jazz cafe, where we chitchatted about the meaning of life to candlelight while listening to live jazz in the background.

Saturday, Sjoerd was kind enough to help me achieve a weekend of pure relaxation by taking me for a getaway to Schiermonnikoog, another adorable little island off the north coast of Holland (I said I'd be back to the islands and I did it!).

On the ferry ride over to the island, a great number of seagulls and, um, don't remember the name of the other type of bird, were feeding off of the waters being stirred up by the boat. I've never been so close to birds soaring in the air - they were so close that we could literally touch them! A seagull's flight is absolutely graceful to see that close up. I took pictures to show you but the picture does not give the experience justice.

When we arrived, I tried to find a beach towel that had the island's name on it as a souvenir but ended up buying an overpriced one with stripes on it and the word "stripes" written along the edge. Who's the guy that gets payed to design these things? Then, despite the ferry being crammed full of people, there was almost no one to be seen on the actual beachfront. One of the few humans in the vicinity was a solitary guy selling ice cream out of a cooler under his umbrella stand, as you can see.

On the journey towards a spot with nice, soft sand, we walked through areas of wet sand and clay (the tide was low). We walked over piles of worm poo - little piles of sand that look like worms but are actually squeezed out of worms - and around patches of quicksand. One guy was brave enough to walk through the quicksand zone (can you spot him in the pic?).

When we finally found our spot, we lazed in the hot sun and I did my share of meditation. Soooooo nice and low-key! We relaxed a little too long, though, because we both came out of the day with a painful sunburn to bring backto Groningen with us.

By the later afternoon, the wind picked up and the skies clouded over. In the pic you can see the ferry that we took back home, with Sjoerd posing handsomely on the lefthandside. By the time we were back in Groningen, it was pouring rain. Of course, with me having no bike, we had to walk back to our student house from the bus stop, but no matter because the rain soothed our sunburns.

Can I get you a beer?

Last night I did my first shift as a guest bartender in our Selwerd 1 Flatbar. I had applied to be on the bar committee a few months ago but they decided not to hire me since I'm only here for the summer. Too bad for them because, in my opinion, they really need a girl around, besides the fact that they are short-staffed this summer. In any case, by pulling a few strings, I managed to get the position of honorary bartender and got to shadow Yme Jan for the night. I didn't get paid (the regular committee doesn't get paid either) but in exchange, I got a true Dutch experience and free drinks the whole night.

I invited my friends to come fill the bar and they were true to their word. Thank you guys! Of course, the dozens of free beers that I provided them may have been what hooked them. They actually weren't free, as I had to personally foot the bill at the end of the night, but my tips paid for more than half of the tab. Tipping bartenders is not customary in Holland so I am quite proud of my earnings.

Bartending is deceivingly hard work. Dutch beer is very foamy and getting two fingers of foam and not more is a challenge. By the later evening, my success rate was 1 in 3 beers were a good pour. No loss, though, since my practice beers went to the staff. I also had to show up before opening to set up the bar and after everyone left, we cleaned every single glass and tallied up the money. This is not easy to do after a long shift at 4am in the morning. And six short hours later, at 10am this morning, I had to go back and mop the floors. Yme Jan is a slavedriver!

A quick shower after cleaning and I had to rush to go to work at the hospital for the afternoon. As you can probably guess, I'm very sleepy right now and the weekend is very welcoming.

Exhausting but a heck of a lot of fun! In fact, I may be bartending again this Thursday under Sjoerd's supervision. So, to all of you in Groningen, be there or be square!

Finally with the times!

I am proud to say that I'm finally up to date with my weblog!

I didn't realise until now that the last time I took pictures was for our party. But I have to admit that my social life has quieted down since, which is probably why I've had a bit of time to update this thing.

These past few weeks have actually been quite depressing. Most of my closest friends have left to go back to their home towns while I'm still here in Groningen to work until the end of August. I've spent many of my recent evenings saying goodbyes. Sniff, sniff. Now my floor is officially all Asian, with the exception of Jorn, my Dutch student manager and one my few partners in crime that is still around.

But, alas, I've decided that I will carpe diem and take this opportunity to work even harder at my research (no choice there anyways - time is running out!) and to get better acquainted with my Dutch friends and Groningen. Finally it's time to fly from the international birdie nest and dive into the Dutch culture!

In fact, my life is turning so Dutch that I had my first official bike violation the other night! Monday I was out saying goodbye to Janelle, my American friend (who I'm actually going to Paris with in the beginning of August, so it's more like a "tot ziens" - see you later - than a goodbye) when my bike almost got stolen! Someone twisted my lock until it was almost broken and my front wheel got all mangled. I'm so proud :)

At work things are going pretty fantastic. I did an important presentation for the Medical Biology Section on Monday morning and I got a lot of good feedback. Though I got almost as many comments about my high heels than about my presentation... Well, anyways, the head of the MB department was impressed enough that I think I will finally get the money to come back to Groningen next year for another internship. Goal accomplished!

Well, with many of my friends gone and my weblog finally to date, I feel like I'm officially starting a new chapter of my life here. Wish me luck!

UPDATE

Hi y'all. It is actually July 3rd and I've finally updated my blog until June, when I started my blog in the first place. I am still working hard to bring this thing up to date so, once again, I'm "backlogging" through the month of June. I have so much to share yet!

I miss you all and I hope that you are enjoying the story so far.