The picture from Volendam 24.3.2007

This is the picture I mentioned in my post "Voetbal, Volendam, Vriends" from the left: Lexane, Josefine,Axel, me and Satu. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, it's a photo of a photo, so that explains it.

Voetbal, Volendam and Vriends

Hello everyone,

The sun is shining outside, a beautiful SUnday afternoon BUT I'm home sick:( it's never nice to be sick, but especially not when it's nice weather outside. So, enjoy the spring and sun for me!

I promised to keep you updated on my football career, so I'll start with writing a couple of lines about last Monday's practice. I was well on time on the field, so I could have a couple of words with the coach. He turned out to be a man in his 50/60 years ( yeah, I know, he's not exactly like the coach in Bend it like Beckham!) and he said that the language wont be a problem.
The other girls started to come, it seemed like they were all friends from before and speaking this secret language(also known as Dutch) though standing in the same circle with them, I felt a bit out of place.
Luckily, after the practice started, I found out how fun it is to actually kick a ball around. We had different kind of ball control and passing the ball practice stuff. The girls did translate for me when needed and the coach could sometimes say a thing or two in English. Funnily enough, I often felt I understood what he said(usually thanks to the fact that he was showing it simultaneously) By the end of the football practice I did feel like a part of the team, can't wait till tomorrow!


On Friday night, Ruggero(my flatmate) inivted me to jon a dinner he was hosting in our kitchen, with some Wings people. Later in the night, some exchange students came, a couple of them live also in flats from the private market, right around the corner. I also met the first Norwegian guy here in Groningen and funnily enough, he was among the exchange students who bumped by on Friday. The people continued to a salsa party, but I made the smart decision of staying at home, since having to wake up at 7 o'clock the next morning. It was fun to see our kitchen being transferred from a quite place to a place filled with noisy people <3 I wouldn't mind having more Friday nights with visitors:)

After a miracle wake-up(can't remember the last time I had to wake up at 7!) it was time to head for Volendam. A small village north of Amsterdam, known for it's Catholic population. In our program(the trip was arranged by ESN Wings) we had a visit to a cheesefarm and smoke eel house. Oh my word, the cheesefarm was the worst "turistirysä" as we'd say in Finnish(meanign a truly touristic place) the house itself was soooo kitschy, just imagine a combination of plastic, wooden paintings and "we accept visa,mastercard,american express" signs.
The demonstration for how to make cheese and clogs(wooden shoes) took a bit over 30min. Otherwise, we could spend our time in the souvenir shop(3/4 of the house) I don't want to go back there, ever.
The village of Volendam was pretty. Houses and gardens looked so perfect. me, Axel, Lexane, Josefine and Satu ended up spendign a lot of time in the harbour, taking pics around lampposts lol. We even got the crazy idea of taking a picture in a studio, with traditonal Dutch clothing. Seriously, we look so out of place on the picture. Axel said that we look like 5 year olds, girls wearing white pilgrimhats, Satu pouring tea in a cup...me carrying buckets on my shoulders, Lxane holding tulips and Josefine with her edam cheese. Axel was in the middle playing Harmony...lol These pics with traditional clothing is not only a tourist thing, in the studio, there were many Dutch people as well.
The smoke eel house had also a short demonstration of how they smoke the fish and we got to taste the eel...have never had eel before, I didn't know people were actually eating eel (ankerias/ål) We were back in Groningen around 19:00. I just went home, 'cause I felt sick:( I knew that fever would come sneaking during the night.

I have an exam(Politics and government in the EU) coming up this Friday. Therefore, it's quite comical that it seems like all the bday parties and best parties in general will take place this upcoming week. Sara(an Italian girl) has her bday tomorrow, and Jennifer from Canada has a pink theme party for her bday on Wednesday. There's also a Fresh and fruity hiphop party on Thursday, that Axel found flyers for. I can't attend that one, it's for sure, since my exam is on 9 am in the morning. And on Wednesday, there's also a Ladies' night in Rumba with a male stripper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hmm, I need to prioritise here.

The reason why my post is called Voetbal(football),Volendam and Vriends(friends) is that I've lately been once again been reminded of the beauty of friendships. The support and amount of kind words I've recived during the week has been overwhelming.! Thank you! Don't know how you can stand to listen to me whining:)A special thanks go to Anne who is forcing me to face the facts, though I often try to avoid them in one way or another.
It feels like I'm slowly starting to get my thoughts together and being able to move on.period.

Big hugs 2 all of u,
xannax

A new concept: Lyrics on my blog

My dearest friends,

thought of sharing lyrics of a really beautiful song. When it came out(as a single) right before Xmas, MTV was playing the musicvideo non-stop. The song stopped me, since Hanken exchange students were heading back home for Christmas (and most of them didn't come back)
I feel that this song suits many situations, and you can relate to it easily. Well, that's my personal opinion. Some of you might be really fed up with the song, which is understandable since it has been played quite a bit on the radio. I'd still recommend you to take a closer look on the lyrics:

Nelly Furtado: "All Good Things (Come To An End)"

Honestly what will become of me
don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is daily
We are what we don't see
Missed everything daydreaming

[Chorus:]
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end
come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Traveling I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets it and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why

[Chorus]

Well the dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Die die die die die

[Chorus]

Well the dogs were barking at a new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day 'til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and
the rain forgot how to bring salvation
the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love,
Anna

Superduper spring and a stupid exam

The week started with sunshine. Me, Axel, Pawel and Peter had decided to do badminton on early afternoon on Monday. We didn't know that we should have done a reservation, so they didn't have any courts left. Re-thinking was needed, so we asked whether we could do any other sports that day. We got a tennis court, which was located outside. On an ordinary day in Groningen this would have been a disaster..but this Monday was far from ordinary, +18 c and sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So there we were, me and three gorgeous guys, playing tennis in the middle of March outside and it we couldn't have thought of anything else we'd have rather done:) well, I'd have wished that my tennis skills would've even been a tenth of Anna Kournikovas (after all, we do share the same name)

Then the clouds appeared(in the form of an exam, not in the sky)....after having played for two hours, I went to my Midterm exam in Quality Management...and oh my..We had 1h 45min and 18questions!!! and I'm telling you, the questions were not nice. Or what would you say about creating a three year TQM plan for a ship yard????or giving three definitions of quality word by word....It was more difficult than what I'm used to. The good thing is that, this part can be taken again on the real date of the exam. But then again, there'll be double as many chapters to learn by heart.:(

La grande finale, Monday night...time for International Student night in Rumba. Time to drink your sorrows(stupid exams) away. This time, with 60's theme. Not that many people were dressed up, but I had my babydoll (aka it-looks-like-I'm-pregnant) top with flower print on. THey had opened the inner yard of the club, so it was not nearly as overcrowded as it usually is. I talked with so many people. had such a blast. Axel remarked at some point that "haha..you're drunk, I can see it in your eyes"..So maybe I was a bit tipsy, but it isn't my fault that they make those frozen margaritas so good:) I was home after 5, the night flew by.

So that was my Monday in a nutshell...for the rest of the days this week, there has not been much going on. I've been reading for my courses. Had tea with Laura on Tuesday (finally, we managed to meet each other, I mean, we live in the same city!) Spent hour after hour on skype and msn and bought too much sweets on Jumbo.

Tonight, Pawel is making us a Polish dinner or at least pancakes with a Polish twist. Looking forward to that. On Sunday, there's going to be an Indonesian dinner. I think I'll ask the other Finns whether they'd have interest in making a big Finnish dinner, feel like our food culture has been neglected for far too long (especially by some EU politicians) It's time to make a change.
Next Monday I'll also start my professional football carreer, so keep checking this blog for regular updates:)

Much love,
Anna

Utrecht, voting, celebrities

Time to update my blog. To start with, I've learnt to appreciate my bike in a new way. After breaking it on last Friday( I know, I know, should always check that there's nothing between the chain before starting to bike) and I got it fixed on Monday, it felt like heaven to get it back.

Last weekend was smashing! Utrecht is really a cool city, bigger than Groningen but still pittoresque. On Friday night me and Marja-Maija had dinner in a Chinese restaurant and the rest of the night we ended up exchanging experiences about our newly began exchange periods. FYI: Marja-Maija chose to come to the Netherlands after I had made the decision. Usually it has been me looking up to her(she's 2 years older than me), but clearly in this case it's the other way around)

On Saturday it was time to do some shopping in the Netherlands shoe capital. SO many gorgeous shoes, it's just a pity that my size(41) seems to be quite a common one and on the sale shoes there were not that many cute ones on my size left. M-M on the other hand found two pair of very cool leather boots for the discount price of one pair! In the evening we cooked a Finnish dinenr for around 10 people. Mashed potatoes, meatballs (you Swedes, meatballs belogn to us as much as they do to you;) and berry sour cream..mmmm. Our sauce was ketchup, but that's really authentic Finnish as well. The dinner was a success and later me, Marja-Maija and Adam ( a GOOD friend of M-M's) went to a night club called ACU.
Seriously, the strangest bar/nightclub ever. From the outside it looked like it''s the nest for alternative youth, who do demonstrations and are against animal testing. Well, after entering the club, we soon realized that this Saturday night it was (at least partially) taken over by Drag queens. Leopard prints, strong make-up, g-strings, glitter, promiscuous dance show, u name it. On the dancefloor, we were surrounded by lesbians and when we sat on the bar side, we had heavy-metal guys on the table next to us. I've never been to a bar with such a mixed customer base, that made the place really special!

So after returning home on Sunday, there's not that much that has happened. Me and Axel have continued our new and dear hobby, BOMmen. So for all of you pessimists out there(Read: Michi:) the healthy life style is here to stay. I got a new haircut on Tuesday. My fringe is cut shorter and the dry ends are gone;) and to all of my Finnish friends, I paid 18,50€ for that!!! I mean it's less than half of the price you pay in capital region in Finland. You really start wondering what they actually charge you for!

Today(Thursday) I did my duty as a good citizen(along with Satu) and gave our votes for the parliamentary election. We were able to do the voting here in Groningen today. Probably in the most posh hotel in town( it beats Kuunkehrän koulu 6-0) chandeliers, white walls, lovely furniture. That's the atmosphere where I always want to cast my vote;)

For the weekend, my plan is to read for my part exam in Quality Management(Monday). Many people are going to Rotterdam on a trip arranged by ESN wings. Wish I could go as well, but I feel like saving money and to study for my exam. Sanna ( a good friend of mine, for those who don't know her) was supposed to come this weekend to visit me, but the plane tickets got too expensive. So I'll be expecting her in May instead, right Sanna?!;)

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite
zzzZZZzzz


Yours,
Anna
ps: How could I forget! We had a Celebrity party on Tuesday and Axel took some great pics there. We were superchic with our sunglasses(that we basically didn't take away, though being indoors)I'll post pics here, when I get them:) I was dressed up like an airheaded hollywood bimbo with a chihuahua (aka the sof ttoy I got from Anne on my farewell party) in my handbag=)

Healthy lifestyle

Hi ya,

I feel like there is not much going on at the moment. The courses have started now for real and as a consequence of that, people have assignments to hand in. I handed in a paper yesterday concerning the question "Are France and Germany bound to lead in Europe?" I'll get feedback today from the teacher and tomorrow I'll hold a presentation(the first presentation in ages)

Apart from that, I've set as a goal for myself to do sports at least twice a week. On Monday I attended a bodypump class (my legs are still hurting) and today will be BOMmen again. BOMmen is a lot like an aerobics class, it's just the fact that there must be around 200 people and you hardly see the instructor in the middle of the room...but it's more fun than bodypump.
This week I did also something crazy, I signed up for a ladies fotball team. It'll be a ten weeks course starting in the 19th March. So Emma if you're reading this, I'll let you become my second coach('cause they migth speak only Dutch during our trainings)

Tonight I've been invited to join an Australian dinner:) I'm really happy about that, I do like to visit these massive student houses, there's all the time something going on. I mean, I love the place where I live. It's just the fact that since the four of us, who are living here, have our own schedules, we usually only bump into each other in the kitchen and exchange a couple of words.
Though the standard of living in an international student house is a bit lower, I assume (the noise, tidyness etc.)they still have more of a community thing going on.

Yesterday I went to have dinner at McDonald's (I know I'm a bad person) My partner in crime was Axel. We do have this healthy life style going on, aerobics in ACLO, so we can afford now and then to do (or eat) a bit more unhealthy. I need to mention one thing about the McDo here: they don't have ketchup!!!!! only this mayonese kind of sauce and it costs extra! outrageous.

Take Care,
xannax