Dutch traffic light... for bikes

Sadly, my bike is yet again out of commission, with a derailed chain that is completely snagged and tangled. A few new interns have started at the Tribunal, and I think they are just the fresh meat I need to foist my bike onto!

More doors...

William of Orange

5:30 am street scenes

Thanksgiving, belated

Riley and Aneliya

The lovely host couple, Riley and Blake

With work keeping all of us at the office until the evening hours, a few of my friends at the Tribunal decided to postpone our Thanksgiving celebration until tonight. My contribution was cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes - I'm happy to report I can handle this level of cooking. Aneliya works in the appeals section of the Office of the Prosecutor, originally hails from Bulgaria, and now lives in San Francisco - she brought a great mix of traditional food. My wonderful friend Riley hosted the dinner, and she managed to make a great turkey in a wok. We have to improvise without ovens! We spent a good chunk of the night talking about the first things we will each do when we step onto American soil again, which is right around the corner for all of us.

Popocatepetl

Party party

Hello all,

I just got home from my second holiday bazaar of the season, so I am right on track :) It was held at a church in the middle of the Zorgvliet park - lovely tree-lined streets, brick mansions, and wrought iron gates abounding. Den Haag is having an incredibly nice break in the weather right now, so it feels more like fall than impending winter. I had a nice bike ride in the sun, and am now back home getting ready to go out. Paula's birthday is tonight, so a group of us will meet up for dinner and drinks. Should be fun, and I will be sure to get some photos loaded soon!

Miss you!

One month!

Exactly one month from now, I will be home!

While I have immensely enjoyed my time over here, and this internship was the chance of a lifetime, I am really looking forward to going home. I'm listening to a certain Vince Guaraldi album right now in anticipation of Christmas cheer and my own beagle.

Short clip of the parade

Holidays approach

I had a really lovely day today with fellow ICTY interns Riley and Analiya. After watching the Sinterklaas parade wind its way down Valeriusstraat, we headed to a holiday bazaar nearby. The American Women's Club of Den Haag sponsored the event which was held at the very elegant Carlton hotel. I managed to pick up a delicate glass ornament (painted from the inside with a curved brush, featuring a Dutch canal scene) and a print of an etching. I also stumbled across mulling spices, so I dragged the girls back to my apartment for cider. With 30mph winds outside and flowers and candles on the table inside, it was a cozy way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Sinterklaas parade

The man himself, riding his faithful steed Amerigo

The Spanish representatives

Little kids catching pepernoten

This little guy got into the spirit of the Zwarte Pieten, most likely hoping to ingratiate himself and avoid a trip to Spain. The Wiki entry on the lore states: "the lyrics of traditional Sinterklaas songs and some parents warn that Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet will leave well-behaved children presents, but punish those who have been naughty. They will kidnap bad children and carry these children off in a sack to their homeland of Spain where, according to legend, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet dwell out of season."

Zwarte Pieten...

"It's pretty much the Dutch versus the world on this one..."

Apparently even within some circles in the Netherlands this is now a controversial event. I saw how much the kids were enjoying this; to what extent does their innocent enjoyment of the day need to be tarnished by a proper historical contextualization?

Yes, those really are camels. Somehow Sinterklaas - coming from Myra, Turkey, by way of Spain and then the Scheveningen harbor - managed to bring some fuzzy friends along for the ride.

David Sedaris hits the nail on the head

I will post photos of the Sinterklaas parade soon! In the meantime, check out David Sedaris' take on Sinterklaas...

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=27940

Hilarious!

20th Anniversary

Tonight is the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and as much as I would have loved to make it there for the celebrations, I just couldn't take more time off from work. I remember the night that the border opened. My parents were hugging each other in the kitchen at home, wiping away tears, watching the news on our little black and white television perched on the countertop. I remember exactly where I was standing, though of course I didn't fully appreciate the event at the time. I just knew that if my parents were that excited, this was something big.

I had my father scrounge up these photos from the trip that my mother and I made a few months after that November night. As is true of most children, I remember odd things from that day. I picked up a discarded, sandy piece of rebar and whacked away at the concrete, pretty unsuccessfully at first. What stands out the most are those nuns. My mother, with her eye for that perfect shot, wanted me to peer through the hole in the Wall you can see above. It was not meant to be; I was blocking the opening for the nuns, and I still remember their glares and grouching. You'll note my bemused expression, my measured distance?

Berlin will always hold special meaning for me. I remember flying into West Berlin before 1989 and being under the watchful gaze of multiple heavily armed guards, all circling above the baggage carousel with their fingers on triggers. My parents crossed the border, but not with me. In the years after the Wall came down it was palpable where the Wall had been; West Berlin Omas would tend summer flower boxes that bursted with red geraniums. Then the invisible line would be crossed and most of the buildings remained gray and sterile. I remember my latest trip to Berlin and driving down the now-renamed Karl-Marx-Allee (Stalinallee). The architecture is pure Moscow: apartment buildings in the incredible wedding-cake style that stretch on for seemingly miles. I loved the look of the Hotel Ukraina, such an imposing style, but it is striking to see it in Germany.

Berlin is the birthplace of my entire family and a city that I recognize my childhood in.

Photos of the flat

Finally, some photos of my apartment - nearly in time for me to leave.

My cluttered fireplace mantle with photos from home, roses (of course), and Dutch tv

Nest of a bed - the gorgeous print is from Champagne Mercier, a present from Maria

Dining table that is much cozier now that Mom moved the lamp there