An update from Leiden

The last few days I have been busy with school, family and friends. On monday dad and sister came to town for one day and we went out for a nice meal together. I ordered one of the daily specials; stuffed pepper (rice, olives, feta cheese) with potatoes and salad. It was delicious! So far all the food at the restaurants here has been really good, and there are so many to choose from which makes it tempting to eat out a lot :)

After dinner I went to a bar to meet up with some of the lovely people I meet during the university introduction days. It was one of the girls’ birthday so some celebration beers were in order!

Tuesday was the first day of classes which was more or less an introduction to the course lecture. I actually only have three days of classes a week right now which is great, but which also means that most of the work we do  is independently. The MA program that I am taking – Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology - really focuses on your own research and fieldwork, which is also one of the reasons I choose this particular program. After four years of an undergrad with only lectures I am ready for some hands on experience! There is, however, also lots of reading and assignments each week. It is definitely taking some time to get into the study mode again after being out of the loop for a year. Although I think once I am more “settled” into my new home town it will be easier to buckle down and get into the books.

Tonight the lovely Tess from Australia had invited some few friends over to her place for some traditional Dutch pannekoeken. We all brought whatever we wanted on them which can be anything from cheese, ham and tomatoes to apples, bananas and strawberries. I brought the traditional Norwegian style topping; sour cream and jam and I got to try one of the traditional Dutch style pannekoeken which is cooked with apples and bacon and topped of with some delicious stroop :)

 

Leiden University Introduction Days

On thursday the introduction days for international students started which means that for the last three days I have been on a schedule from morning to evening. Each day there has been events and activities planned and I have only been home to shower, change and eat. On thursday the day started at my faculty with an information meeting, a tour of the building, lunch and a lecture on “how to deal with the Dutch” :)

Afterwards, there was a welcome gathering in one of the many beautiful churches here in Leiden. The major of the city welcomed all the international students and we all received three drink coupons. Drinking in a church was definitely a first for me! Apparently this church is sometimes used for parties :)

Two of my lovely class mates, Tess and Claire, enjoying some wine and snacks in the church :)

   

After the church I went briefly home before I headed over to one of our guides house for dinner. Our two guides had cooked a delicious pasta dish accompanied with arugula and baguette.

On friday morning the day started with a tour of the city with our lovely guides. They showed us some historical buildings and university facilities such as the library. After the city tour we walked the to university sports centre where there was lunch, a used bike sale, sport activities and information booths.

        

     

Street book sale

In the evening we had dinner at the guides fraternity restaurant which is open to anyone and run by the students themselves. It’s probably one of the cheapest places to eat in the city and the food was delicious! I had baked goat cheese with salad and homemade dressing :) Afterwards was time for a pub-crawl. We were all divided into several groups and each group received their schedule for the night with the name of the pub and what time to be there. Each pub we visited we received a free drink. I definitely already have some favourite pubs that I will return to :)

 

  

Friday was the last official day of the introduction days so on saturday a few of us decided to take advantage of the sunny 25 degrees weather and bike to the beach. One of the beaches is about a 30 min bike ride away from the city through the beautiful Dutch countryside. Having a bicycle in this country is definitely a must! It is so easy to get around and the bike lane system is very impressive. All of us brought some food and snacks for a picnic on the beach :)

 

After the beach it was just time for a shower before I headed out again. First we checked out a free outdoor concert before we headed over to a pre-drink party and ended the night with the kick-off party of the International Student Network. It’s been three eventful, fun, exciting days! Tomorrow there is an information meeting for my program before classes start on tuesday. Tonight I think I am just going to stay in, put my feet up, relax, make some good food and chill out on the couch :)