Spring Re-Awakening.doc

It has been an eventful few days in Amsterdam. Yesterday morning it was announced that Dutch police had detained seven people accused of plotting terrorist attacks in the city. One of those arrested apparently has connections with the perpetrators of the Madrid bombings. Admittedly, it was a scary bit of news - our daily routines are so much a part of the centre of the city (the area around the shopping centres and tourists attractions). With first the airplane crash and now the terrorist bust, it seems Amsterdam has been splashed over the international news lately. And here I thought it was an under-the-radar cultural tourist spot. More info on the plot here. Please don't let this worry you - Amsterdam is as safe as any other Western city.

In better news, spring is squirming its way through the dreary remains of winter. Yesterday it was a comfortable 12 degrees, the tulips have begun to pop out of the soil, and the sunshine pronounced itself present. I usually have a realization every spring about how much I forgot what it felt like to have moderate to warm to hot temperatures. It tends to wash over me like a wave as I'm strolling through the city wearing my sunglasses for the first time in several months - the reminder that, oh yeah, for half of the year we're able to walk around without jackets, scarves, and gloves. It's an incredibly empowering feeling, as if we've conquered the Winter beast and are free to frolic for a number of months. We joke about how much the winter weather affects us, but I truly believe that I'm a happier person in spring and summer. Look forward to further pro-climate proclamations - warm weather just fills me with joy.

This week I've been able to start routine work on my placement. I'm sticking to a 12 hours a week schedule which means I'll be able to wrap it up before Finland summer school. It means that in April, when we add a new course, I'll be hunkering down into a schoolwork bunker and hoping the month passes quickly.

We did yet another "country specific" presentation in our Global Images and Theatre workshop this week. We're exploring how theatre is a venue for the "redistribution" of global images pulled from a local or international consciousness (read: media-constructed). I presented Judith Thompson's Palace at the End for the way in which it gives voice to figures who have, for all intensive purposes, been subsumed by their images: Lynndie England, David Kelly, and Iraqi civilians. It went really well; the play actually relates to the very questions we were tackling.

Today will be spent completing laundry (what a glamorous afternoon) and tackling the weekend To-Do list. Thankfully, I have a fantastic evening to help me through the work. Bec is coming over for dinner to discuss UK housing plans and then we're heading to an MAIPR party. The highlight of the evening is that Miss Tory Mountain is visiting for a week from Warwick! I haven't seen Tory in almost eight months and am so looking forward to welcoming her to Amsterdam. Tory and I spent last year at the UofT MA boot camp - struggling through a first year PhD course together and sharing the stage in two productions. We both applied to the program and, to our mutual surprise, were both selected. One of the Finnish students remarked, "If everyone in Canada is as good-looking as Tory and Keith, then the country must be full of beautiful people." Damn right it is. 

Doc's Prescription of the Day: If you believe it's spring, it will be. Yuck, obviously that's a lie. Nevertheless, I hope it arrives for you back home as quickly as it has for those of us in Europe.