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. 

Cycle Dining Sweeps the Nation.doc

I'm a bit disturbed by how my blog page looks on the Dell I'm currently working from at the university. On my wonderful Mac (we'll be celebrating our two-year anniversary in May), the background page is a muted cream coffee colour which I find soothing. On this flimsy PC, the background is a jarring pale yellow that I would never want to inflict upon my readers. I hope you are seeing the same aesthetic I usually do, instead of this terrible yellow. Further investigation on the way...

On Sunday night, the residents of Sarphatistraat student housing had a Cycling Dinner! You may ask, like I did, what the hell is a cycling dinner? Well, the premise is quite cool. The idea is that you have a three course meal (starter, main, and dessert) and instead of it all being prepared by one host, you cycle through different flats to piece together your meal. Everyone chooses one of the three elements of the meal and that’s the course they prepare for the group. There were 21 different flats cooking so there were seven different sets of dinners going on.

I choose the easiest of the three courses: the starter. They asked us to make something related to our home culture if possible (since it's an international residence) but I, understandably, had some difficultly coming up with something Canadian - I didn't want to make anything with maple syrup and I only had one packet of Swiss Chalet sauce. The starter I made was something that Emily and I had on Christmas Eve in Paris. It's a pretty simple appetizer: a slice of tomato, chopped Basil, and a generous block of soft mozzarella on top of a piece of baguette. The two-bite French treats are drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and a host of spices. I thought the combination of red and white, and the French influence made it as close to a "Canadian appetizer" as possible. They were a big hit.

The main course I cycled to was hosted by two girls downstairs - one hails from South Africa and the other from Turkey. We had a delicious meal with Turkish rice and a yogurt drink, and a South African take on Sheppard’s Pie. The main dinner party featured students from every continent but Antarctica (yet another International evening). The final portion of the meal was a Brazilian dessert that was heavy on the chocolate and supplemented with ice cream. How could you go wrong? The RAs made sangria for the after-dinner drinks in our yellow lobby downstairs. I had no idea that that many people lived in the building. The only time I see fellow "housemates" is in the laundry room or in the elevators so it provided a valuable opportunity to meet some of my neighbours. There are people from everywhere around the globe.

Monday night I had a meeting for the conference I'm helping with in July. It looks like one of my tasks will be developing an archive for the exhibition attached to the international part of the conference. The exhibition may be touring Europe if the organizers get the grant money they are requesting from the EU so it looks to be a great project in which to be involved. Last night, I had a few drinks with Stuart, my friend studying Law at UVA from the UK - he gave all kinds of advice about what exactly should be seen in Berlin and Prague.

This morning, Courtney and I were successful in obtaining seats at the weekly lunchtime series at the Concert Gebouw. I'm amazed at the number of people who show up for this free concert and are turned away when the hall fills up. Today we listened to three incredibly beautiful pieces between a pianist and a cellist - brilliant, gorgeous, and haunting. If I could pick any instrument to master it would have to be the cello; it just commands respect. The sun was out ALL day in Amsterdam and I walked past purple and yellow flowers making their way out of the soil - wearing sunglasses never felt so good.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: I think a cycle dinner must be organized by our friends in the future. We could even call it a "subway" dinner and just hop between each other's places. Is this only a European invention? Why do potlucks get all the attention?!

Marching Right Along.doc

I'm amazed by how quickly time is passing. It may be that the six hour difference adds to the feeling of a quickened clock, since whenever I catch someone at home I'm usually getting ready for bed while they are looking forward to dinner, but I also think it just comes with an extremely busy schedule. March is rolling right along and reading week plus the visit from friends at the end of the month will all but signal its conclusion!

Speaking of Reading Week, I've book myself in. I'm heading out of the city on a Eurolines bus on March 19 at 11:30pm and will awake to find myself in Berlin where I'll spend three nights. With Berlin being called the "NYC of Europe" I want to give myself adequate time to see some of the major sites. While I won't be able to see everything in three days, it'll give me time to see locations properly. From Berlin, I then head to Prague for three nights and then take a direct route back home to Amsterdam. Eurolines offered a "mini-pass" for these two cities at an incredible price. I'm on the road for seven days, but the decision to spend three days in each city means I can do the visits justice. Any suggestions on what to see? I think Courtney is going to be accompanying me on the travels - she has signed up for Berlin at least. While I'm the type that can chart my own path through a city, I'll be great to have a travel buddy.

I found out a really neat fact about the Theatre Studies department at the University of Amsterdam I think relevant to share - it certainly trumps any unique stories about any other department of which I've been a part (sorry to the three others). The building we study in is located on an old street in the centre of the city called Nieuwe Doelenstraat. Doelen translates to militia and hence a lot of the buildings on the street were the home of Amsterdam units of the military. The Theatre Studies department is housed in one of the largest buildings on the street (right in the centre) where there use to hang portraits of the militia as an archive of their successes and history. It just so happens that Rembrandt's The Night Watch is one of the paintings that hung on the wall. For those unaware, it is the artist's most famous work and arguably one of the ten most famous pieces of art in the World. I don't exactly know which area of the building housed the Rembrandt (I think this is still debated), but it's neat to study in a building with so much history and character.

Going back to this question of why time is ticking away so fast, I think it has to do with the amount of socializing we've been doing: Wednesday was one such night when we went directly from the conclusion of our six o'clock class to the pub where we carried the discussion in the classroom to a discussion over beers (the hallmark of graduate education); Thursday, Courtney and I saw Revolutionary Road - an honest look at Western monogamy that was superbly acted; Friday we spent six hours in a seminar on Theatre and Globalization and then spent the evening in our little haunt near the Theatre Studies department; and last night we went to a really cool club called Studio 80 which hosts a once-a-month only student alternative/indie music night. Admittedly, last night's festivities (where we stayed out until 3am) were more charged than our pub outings but it's great to see everyone so keen to socialize. A full evening schedule has meant that I'm back to the type of routine I loved in Toronto where the days were planned out fully to maximize time in the evening.

Today is a beautiful sunny Sunday which must unfortunately be spent reading and prepping for the upcoming week. However, I have my wall window open with the curtains swaying in the breeze; let the sun shine in. This "almost-balcony" is going to be gorgeous in the spring. Weather update: it's usually around 8 degrees during the day and buds have started to form on trees and bushes. I hope you're having an equally enjoyable Sunday.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: Time is the topic of the day. I see you've sprung forward and lost an hour of sleep. We haven't had to do that here. Make sure when you bitch and complaint about the hour lost that you remember the greater good - it means spring is within reach.

The Plan, Stan.doc

No luxury of a strike, and I still have no bike! There has been a snag in the plan. I have Jenna’s keys (after two weeks of waiting) but now cannot find her bike in residence storage. I’ve had to go there after hours so I don’t look like an unlikely theft sticking random keys into bikes I think it could be. I’ve had to do the same under the cloak of night at the bike rack outside the building - trying keys on any bike that looks close and praying its owner doesn’t saunter up and ask just what the hell I’m doing. She has given me a direct description: green, says Batavus on it, and has a front headlight. Unfortunately it has either been stolen or the residence assistants have moved it somewhere (I’ve emailed them in the hopes that the latter is the case). Until then, I continue to hoof it.

Two and a half days have passed since my last post and I have to admit not much has happened. I’ve had some wonderful chats with family and friends back home, started my placement, and had two busy days of class. With that said, this post is meant to address some of your FAQ in regards to how my year is looking so far. Since many of you have asked the same questions about plans, I decided to give a breakdown so you have an idea of where I might be, what I might be up to, and with whom I might be spending my time. The trifecta of italicized ‘mights’ is meant to indicate that almost everything on the list is tentative planning at best:

"For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be." --Alfred Lord Tennyson

March: Is going to fly by. An extremely busy month: lots of class, assignments, and presentations. Luckily, it also contains my reading week. This week I hope to finalize a Reading Week trip to Berlin and Prague from March 19 - 25 (more on that next post). Before leaving I’ll get to hang with Tory (a friend from UofT who is doing Warwick mobility currently) when she arrives with some of the other MAIPRS in just over a week. The second adventure to look forward to is a visit from Emily, Raffi, and Simon during the last weekend in March after my trip. I'm excited to host a full crew of friends.

April: Is apparently the cruelest month. It might prove to be academically - we add an extra class to our schedule for this month, continue diligently with placement work, and have no break to look forward to. It’s my last full month of regular class for a long time (possibly ever) so I plan to power through. That being said, I might try and sneak in a Parisian weekend (take note!) or save this for the last weekend of May/first weekend of June. School is the number one in April.

May: Welcome tulips and friends! I’m really looking forward to this month - not only do April showers bring May flowers but they also bring May friends. Aside from writing essays (which can always be done betwixt and between), I’ll only have six hours of class total this month and some placement work to continue. This means that I’ll have a good amount of time to devote to friends coming to stay! Graham and Leslie start things off for two nights on their Europa adventures, Michael follows with a week long visit, and Bronwyn and Lia will round out the group (I guess Emily can come too). Wow, may it come quick!

June: Vodka and Saunas. After the friend free-for-all, I’ll have one week to power through essays and “finnish” my placement before headed to the Finlandia forest for a week long summer conference and retreat - the first meeting of all MAIPR should be a blast. After returning, and hopefully sending in final essays, I’ll pack up my things and (hopefully) move back to the UK. We’re having a meeting this week about possible living conditions. It looks like it will be either Leamington Spa, Coventry, or even Birmingham. This will be the big challenge in June.

July: Jetsetting? Hopefully we’ll be able to camp out in a hostel at the end of June and have a place by July 1. Before jumping straight into the essay (as if...) I can then catch up with Jessica who sets down in Europe for an incredible 7 weeks! I plan to visit her in Portugal, travel to Spain (if funds and timing work out), and maybe she’ll accompany me back to the UK. There is also one of the largest concerts of the summer (80,000 participants - eat that Rennes) in Ireland called Oxegen which we’re planning to visit. The lineup includes Kings of Leon, Blur, The Killers, Snow Patrol, Pete Doherty, Lily Allen, and Lady Gaga. Again, a lot depends on money and timing. I also might return to Amsterdam in the third week of the month for a conference that relates to my placement. Many options for July.

August: The calm after the storm? If I have as busy a month as I plan to (see above), I’ll look to return to the UK and get my thesis underway. I think I can strike a good balance between getting work started and enjoying one of my favourite months of the year. I foresee little traveling this month.

September: Keep it going. I plan to harness the momentum of August (if all goes to plan) and continue working hard with the thesis. Since I want to, in theory, finish early instead of working into December it’ll take working 9 -5 five/six days a week to accomplish. Maybe a weekend trip to somewhere exciting - Ireland if I don’t get there earlier or even Italy. My parents have also planned to hit European soil in either August or September so that will be a visit that I’ll patiently look forward to.

October: Autumn’s Here. During the end of Sept/start of Oct we’ll be helping the new MAIPR contingent and joining their induction week (I predict there'll be a buddy system or something). We’ll also have the opportunity to participate in their activities - I already know that both Sue-Ellen Case and Susan Foster will be in as guest instructors so I am looking forward to attending sessions with these “academic celebs.” Hopefully time for a weekend trip to Scotland. The post-program job search begins.

November: When the hell is that? So far in advance everything is just speculation. I figure this is the month I’ll go a bit crazy trying to reach page 100 of my thesis (makes me sick to even type it). Probably little traveling, lots of writing and tearing my hair out. Job blitz of everywhere for January 2010.

December: Will I make it this far? Hopefully I’ll be just revising and editing, and continuing the job search. I'll move out of the UK abode and bid adieu to the academic lifestyle for now. At this point I’ll (again, hopefully) have banked some cash and can go on one more travel blitz -I'd die if I was able to make it to Greece - before hitting glorious Canadian soil, getting a double-double ASAP, and enjoying a Christmas at home.

I know what you’re thinking: December is a long way away. But look at the possible adventures I have before then! A part of me thought this was a cop-out post at first, but looking back it has been a good exercise in envisioning the opportunities I have to look forward to.

Disclaimer: I know there are some other friends/family who may visit. I didn’t include maybes here because I don’t want to pressure anyone into coming. Know that I’d love any visitors. Also, yes, I will be looking for jobs everywhere - it would be silly not to.

Doc’s Prescription of the Day: It may be scary to look so far in the future, but can prove to be a healthy way of organizing tasks and seeing opportunities laid out before you. Ima gunna go back to the list continually to remind myself of all that’s possible.

Beware the Bike Rides of March.doc

An update on the bike situation: I told y'all earlier that I had struck a deal with an Amsterdam home student to borrow her bike while I am here in the Dam. The guys she left her keys with have been impossible to get a hold of - I've visited every day at various times for the past ten days. I eventually got impatient and sent them a facebook message. It seems they went back home to Belgium for two weeks and have been unavailable. They return tonight and promised to slip the keys in my mailbox. So by this time tomorrow I'll be cruising the bike paths of the gorgeous city...if I can find Jenna's bike in the storage room (I'll cross that bridge once I've got the keys). March is bike month.

A second aspect of the term is falling into place. I've been offered a placement as a Research Assistant with the Director of the Theatre Studies department here in Amsterdam. This will be my third Research Assistantship in my young career - I continually wonder if this experience will have any relevance outside academic circles (here's hoping!) While it was my initial desire to gain experience working on a festival in the city, this proved to be harder than anticipated - a lot of the festivals had either hired all their staff or would only recruit someone who could speak both English and Dutch. I'm not complaining though. The position with the Director is a great opportunity. She's creating a guided research project where I'll study theoretical and case studies of gay and lesbian performance, politics, identity, and theatre. The research will feed into the creation of a thesis topic. Right now I'm consider researching and writing about Same Sex Marriage legislation and its effect on the performance/identity of the gay counterpublic. It sounds like more of a sociology paper than something in the theatre, but that's the umbrella of Performance Studies for you. So I'll start the placement this coming week; the biggest pro is that I'll get to define my own hours.

Thursday night and last night we went to see two dance pieces as part of the Something Raw festival. The week long festival is an exhibition of experiment dance and performance from all over the country. The posters depicting partially nude male and female torsos indicate the type of art one could expect to see – those that figuratively “strip down” to a more “raw” level of performance while pushing the boundaries of what can be displayed on stage.  Both dance pieces were extremely entertaining - at times the dancers spastically let it all out on stage, doused each other in water, and made the oddest noises with their bodies - but they were a bit heavy on critique and deconstruction. Both shows featured some form of nudity from either a male or female dance. Why is it that Europeans embrace on-stage nudity as a sometimes necessary element of expression, while it is somewhat taboo in North American theatre? 

Friday night was a Mexican themed party at Bec's. The initial inspiration for such a party came from Hetta's desire to have a tequila night. We all sipped our beverages of choice and were coerced into a few rounds of the devilish shot from the very persistent Fin. I'm not sure why we're so different, but of all of the assembled countries (Finland, Russia, Australia, Slovakia, and Britain) Canada was the only one who downs the shot with lime - everyone else uses lemon. Maybe something was lost in translation when the tradition made its way across the Atlantic. My theory is that lemons are just cheaper. As usual, it was a great night spent among friends: a twister board was busted out, we chatted about a variety of topics, and then went to a fine establishment around the corner from Bec's place.

Today, on a glorious lazy Sunday, I'm completing an assignment for submission on Tuesday, hoping to correspond with some friends I haven't chatted with in a good week, and trying to maneuver the Dutch websites so I can plan some reading week traveling. It looks like I have about seven full days to explore. The initial plans were to try to go to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland but I think that's too much to pack into a mere week. I'm now thinking of spreading the days over Berlin and Prague so I can settle into each city rather than visit for only a day. More details to come once I've booked something.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: In honour of my new bike, of which I should have possession by tomorrow, the next time you encounter a cyclist, think of me cruising by one of the city's canals with the wind in my hair. Poetic, isn't it?