Van Gogh- and friends

Hello followers.. So far behind on blogging, which if you know me- is absolutely typical. My blogging motivation comes from a friend in London (Hey Kait!) who manages very well to keep up.. I'm trying to stay afloat. Let's see.. The past couple weeks haven't been as busy as pre-holiday, thank god. Getting back to the daily grind- spending time with friends and the kids, and beginning my dutch courses.. I'll rewind to fill you in..

Last post was the 12th of Jan. Wow.. so, following that post, I went to Amsterdam to meet a friend who was lovely enough to show me out on the town. Dinner, and then dancing at a club in the city. I had such a great time.. dancing the night away, no one caring about how you look doing it- just listening to the music (which is typically amazing, go house music) and throwing your arms up in the air. The following day I went to the Van Gogh museum which was beautiful.. The highlight was seeing Almond Blossoms, and of course, Sunflowers. I have always been a fan of Van Gogh- of course everyone knows his tragic story of cutting off his ear in a heated debate, but not everyone knows the passion, the drive he had to create beauty. The theme of the museum for me, was trial & error. So many pieces lacked luster, or technique when he was beginning- and then some paintings bled beauty- pouring out of them. It was an amazing experience. My favorite time frame was his work in France when he began experimenting with Impressionism. I look forward to going to other museums in Europe while I am here.. I love spending time walking around, lost in paintings, pieces.. surrounded by perspective. That's one of my favorite things about art- it doesn't need to be explained, its a feeling, or a personal perspective of what YOU, the viewer thinks. It's interpretive, and you can look at it, a vase of sunflowers, and see sorrow rather than happiness. I would really enjoy painting I think. An outlet for your expressions..


Last weekend, I went out with some of the girls, Frannie and Gwen to multiple bars in Haarlem.. we can never find just one, but bounce around from place to place.. waiting for the music to get better- the spaces to fill up, to see who is there. It's always a great time.. :) Ended the night at Polo Bar, dancing with two gay guys- perfect ending to a great night. Sunday, Kristian and I went into Haarlem to meet a mutual friend- Remon, who was nice enough to invite us to a wine bar in the center of the city with him and some of his friends. I met Remon on CouchSurfing- which is an amazing organization that I've been associated with for the past year. For those of you that don't know about it http://www.couchsurfing.org/. It's become really popular around the world, just catching on in the States. The premise is meeting new people from new countries and either meeting them for drinks, or staying with them if you don't live locally. Some people "surf" their couches.. staying a few days with a male or female, being introduced to the city by a local- the best places to eat, go out, meeting their friends, in exchange for being a good and graceous guest. Possibly buying a small token of thanks, or cooking dinner for them. I think its an amazing concept- it's travelers that understand that its hard not knowing a new place, so instead of falling into multiple tourist traps they assist you in knowing the best places to go, and what to do. It's also a great concept because it helps to save money- if you wish to see the world and not stay in 4 star hotels, and are capable of being friendly, and  then couch surfing might be for you. I have been able to meet a lot of really quality people here in Holland for drinks, coffee, a night out- or just advice on where to go, or what to do while I'm here. Anyway.. so Kristian and I headed to meet Remon and some of colleagues.. followed by a few drinks in Tapuit. A great Sunday as usual, with great friends.

This week has been uneventful.. my second language course which is really fun, but very difficult. The dutch language is not easy for Americans, the grammar and the way we use our mouth to pronounce words is completely different than im used to. I've met a lot of really lovely women in my class- 6 from the Philippens, 1 from Brazil, Poland, Indoneshia, and Italy. It's a really interesting group- especially after discussing what our families have us do, I'm definitely the luckiest. I look forward to getting to know them, and the dutch language much better.

TBC...