So it's been a while since I've written anything. I'm sorry! I haven't had a ton of time, and I feel like I've spoken to a lot of people about most of the things I would write anyway so I just haven't written.
First off, the other field trip. On Sunday, Feb. 14 (yes, it was Valentine's Day), we went to visit polders and windmills. Polders are areas of land that have to have their water level maintained by pumps. In some rare cases, this means pumping water into the polder, but most times, it means pumping water out. We visited a few polders, which were kind of cool, but there isn't a ton to see. Basically, around each lake that was drained, a ring canal was put in. All of the water from the lake passes into this canal. Pumping stations are set up in strategic locations around the lake, bringing the water up from the lake into the ring canal. In the early days of land reclamation, these pumps were...you guessed it, WINDMILLS! so exciting. They were sometimes set in series in order to make their pumping capacity higher as well. As the lake became less full, drainage ditches were cut into the bottom to make the drainage more systematic. These ditches were also used to divide the newly formed land into plots for people to farm on. And when, you may ask, was all of this done? The 17th century, of course! Now, the polders must still be maintained using electric pumps (which, ironically, are actually less efficient than windmill technology).
After we were done seeing a bunch of polders, we came to the best part: visiting a real windmill. It was so impressive. First of all, windmills are massive. The pictures that you see don't really capture their size that well. The inside of the windmill, however, is still a small place for large families to live. I would get super claustrophobic living in one. Above the living space are the gears and shaft that power the pump below. Again, I was struck by how immense every piece of the windmill was. The main gears were wider than I am tall. The shaft reaches from the top of the windmill all the way down to the bottom. The Archimedean screw, the device that actually pumps the water, is attached to another gear system, which was not actually running at the time because the canal was frozen. Overall, the windmill was a super cool experience. If you are ever in Noord-Holland, it's worth a visit.
Okay, that was from forever ago. Now on to more recent things. On Thursday, Bonnie (my friend from our group) and I visited the Rijksmuseum, which is a huge art/artifacts museum near downtown. Right now, it is undergoing a major renovation, so only the best 400 pieces were on display. I was very impressed. A few of my favorites....First, I liked this doll house that was tall enough for them to put two staircases up in order for you to see inside. The detail was incredible--real, miniature Delftware hanging on the wallpapered walls, tiny toys in the nursery, silver dishes in the dining room, etc. It was crazy. There were also several painting by Rembrandt and Vermeer. My favorite Rembrandt was "The Night Watch" (here's a pic of it at the Rijksmuseum itself...http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/1887/nightwatch800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Netherlands/South/Noord-Holland/Amsterdam/photo339541.htm&usg=__qkZ58Y7qEZbx8c_uKn1qtf7QjYM=&h=562&w=800&sz=145&hl=en&start=9&itbs=1&tbnid=2aTzTdbO_dsA7M:&tbnh=100&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bnight%2Bwatch%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1) Wow, super long link. Anyway, the painting is much more impressive in person. As you can see from the picture, it is HUGE! It is a painting of 18 men who formed some militia...I don't really remember the details, but I was very impressed. My next favorite painting was one by Vermeer (he's the guy that did "Girl with a Pearl Earring"). It's called "The Little Street". It's not quite what he's known for, but it was my favorite by far. (pic at...http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.daimi.au.dk/~doina/blog/dmaterial/vermeer-little_street.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.daimi.au.dk/~doina/blog/%3Fp%3D37&usg=__-JpJyDOfbNcaVzXxYOgjFtcDXKY=&h=1600&w=1311&sz=399&hl=en&start=89&itbs=1&tbnid=KFf-Pc6Wd7xuQM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvermeer%26start%3D72%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1) I wish that you could all see in person; the colors are so much brighter and more vibrant than the picture here shows. But that's okay. Maybe you'll all just have to visit me in Amsterdam! :D
After the Rijksmuseum, Bonnie and I met up with the rest of the girls from our group to go out to lunch for Katie's birthday. We had some Indonesian food. It was...pretty good. I wasn't a huge fan of peanut sauce, but now I know that for next time. After lunch, we wandered over to the Bijbelmuseum (Bible Museum) for a quick tour. It was a really funny place, actually. I felt like the focus was more on Jewish history than the Bible itself. There was a model of the Tabernacle that was pretty good, a room full of Egyptian relics, and an exhibit all about Jerusalem as a holy city for three different religious groups. To be quite honest, I was kind of sick of museums by this point so I didn't get that much out of the experience. The highlight came when we visited the "vaulted cellar", where they keep hundreds of old Bibles. They were interesting, but the best part was a certain picture. On this picture, all of the attendees of the Synod of Dordt were displayed, along with their names. AND GUESS WHO I FOUND?! "Wigbold Homeri", who came from Groningen, and who is my great-great-great-(I don't know how many generations back)-grandpa! I took a picture of his name, which I will have to post soon. I'm so glad I'm a Wigboldy. :D
I think that's all of the exciting stuff I've done lately. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write about this stuff! Have a great day, everybody.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
TERPEN!!
Today we spent the day looking at terpen (or wierden if you're from Groningen). It was...so interesting. Terpen (terps in English) are mounds of dirt and manure that people live on. Yes, I spent a full day looking at barely elevated mounds of dirt. A great use of my time.
I shouldn't have such a bad attitude about them though. They actually are interesting. The terpen were built as early as 500 BC, starting as mounds for individual farmsteads. The mounds allowed settlers to live in regions that flooded frequently near the Wadden Sea which had rich, fertile soils. Even the slightest change in elevation made a huge difference. These terpen eventually grew over centuries and generations, until full villages were built on the circular mounds built up by the farmers/villagers. The villages were laid out in a circle around a central "watering hole" that provided fresh water when the sea was flooded. Eventually, the spread of Christianity replaced the central water with a church, and the mounds became less functional with the building of dikes in the same time frame. (sorry to sound like a history book...I actually do like the history of terpen though)
So really, they are kind of cool. To study. Maybe. For one day. Or even two. But to study them in class, have three readings about them, go to a museum about them and then visit 20 of them (literally, no exaggerated numbers here)...it was a little too much for me. I did really like the first few. In Ezinge, the first site, most of the terp had been dug away as a part of archaeological digs, so it was easy to see the size of the mound itself. Only about half of the terp remained, with the church at the highest point. My "favorite" was one that Prof. Aay pointed at outside our van window, saying, "This one is pretty spectacular by terp standards." I barely even saw it. I took pictures of about 15 of the terps, and I'll try to post a few just to show you what I'm talking about.
Another bonus of the day, I got to go to Groningen and drive through Friesland where my great-great-great(?) grandparents lived (if I'm remembering our family history correctly). I know "Fennema" is Friesan at least. I wish that I could have spent more time there; I might have to go back. Oh, and Mom/Wigboldy relatives, I saw a street called "Wigboldstraat"...could it have been significant? I don't know. I don't even know where we were. But it was cool knowing that our family has a history in that region.
Overall, it was not my favorite day, but hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better. We're visiting a windmill museum so I will finally get to see inside of one!
Oh, and THANK YOU to my dear home church, Brookfield CRC, for sending me a terrific care package! It's been so nice to eat some good American candy for a change!
Tot ziens!
I shouldn't have such a bad attitude about them though. They actually are interesting. The terpen were built as early as 500 BC, starting as mounds for individual farmsteads. The mounds allowed settlers to live in regions that flooded frequently near the Wadden Sea which had rich, fertile soils. Even the slightest change in elevation made a huge difference. These terpen eventually grew over centuries and generations, until full villages were built on the circular mounds built up by the farmers/villagers. The villages were laid out in a circle around a central "watering hole" that provided fresh water when the sea was flooded. Eventually, the spread of Christianity replaced the central water with a church, and the mounds became less functional with the building of dikes in the same time frame. (sorry to sound like a history book...I actually do like the history of terpen though)
So really, they are kind of cool. To study. Maybe. For one day. Or even two. But to study them in class, have three readings about them, go to a museum about them and then visit 20 of them (literally, no exaggerated numbers here)...it was a little too much for me. I did really like the first few. In Ezinge, the first site, most of the terp had been dug away as a part of archaeological digs, so it was easy to see the size of the mound itself. Only about half of the terp remained, with the church at the highest point. My "favorite" was one that Prof. Aay pointed at outside our van window, saying, "This one is pretty spectacular by terp standards." I barely even saw it. I took pictures of about 15 of the terps, and I'll try to post a few just to show you what I'm talking about.
Another bonus of the day, I got to go to Groningen and drive through Friesland where my great-great-great(?) grandparents lived (if I'm remembering our family history correctly). I know "Fennema" is Friesan at least. I wish that I could have spent more time there; I might have to go back. Oh, and Mom/Wigboldy relatives, I saw a street called "Wigboldstraat"...could it have been significant? I don't know. I don't even know where we were. But it was cool knowing that our family has a history in that region.
Overall, it was not my favorite day, but hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better. We're visiting a windmill museum so I will finally get to see inside of one!
Oh, and THANK YOU to my dear home church, Brookfield CRC, for sending me a terrific care package! It's been so nice to eat some good American candy for a change!
Tot ziens!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Delft and Den Haag
This past Saturday, a group of us went on a day trip to Delft and Den Haag. It was so fun to go out and see a different part of this country!
In Delft, we visited two museums, as well as some ancient churches. It was great to learn about a city that has such a rich history! All I knew about it was the fact that Delftware comes from there. The first place we went was the town center. The town hall faces the "Nieuw Kerk", or New Church, which is actually quite old as it was built between 1383 and 1510. Inside the church is the mausoleum for William of Orange, the famous revolutionary of the Netherlands. We thought about going inside or going up the tower, but both were 3 euros, and we're all poor. The tower would have been worth it, but it was terrifically foggy, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway.
Instead, we wandered around for a bit, finally finding the "Oude Kerk"; you guessed it, the Old Church. The entrance to this building was also expensive, but I took some pictures of it at least.
As we were coming up to the Oude Kerk, we spotted some signs for a museum, and museum cards in hand, we went in. (for free...I love those museum cards!) The museum was all about William of Orange. It turns out that he was assassinated in that very building! I took pictures of the bullet holes themselves. There were tons of paintings and as well as a great look at the history of the city itself.
A few interesting facts...dissection of human bodies was a key to the discovery of things like blood cells. People would gather around as one guy literally dissected a body. There were some rather gross paintings, with like 15 well-dressed men all gathered around this torn open body. On a different note, I was interested to learn about the Golden Age of the Netherlands too. This Golden Age was in the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company (?VOC I think?) was at its zenith. It was during this time that people in Delft started making Delftware.
After this museum, we discovered that there was a second museum all about the ARMY! I wasn't going crazy about it, but I was with some guys, so they naturally wanted to see it. We wandered our way there with the help of a guidebook and plentiful signs. The museum was actually really cool; I was slightly shocked. Once I got past the fact that everything was designed for killing, it was interesting to see how weapons and armies have changed. The museum started with the Roman time and made its way into the present from there, displaying all sorts of guns and spears and tanks along the way. My favorite part of the whole museum was an epic diorama depicting a battle between the Romans and some barbarians. Each figure was about an inch tall, and the detail was incredible.
With the army museum behind us, we went back to the town center for the most important part of the day: buying Delftware. I purchased an authentic teacup, which is wrapped heavily in bubble wrap awaited the flight home. It's pretty sweet.
Delft done, we were off to Den Haag. We didn't really know what we were going to do in Den Haag, but time was running short. Once we got there, we found the Binnenhof,the seat of the government of the Netherlands. We took some pictures, but we were rushing to try to get to the Mauritshuis Museum before it closed. This museum houses the famous painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring". We found the museum (it's right next to the Binnenhof), but it cost 3 euros with a museum card. Since there were only 15 min. left before it closed, we decided it would have to wait for another day. Tired and hungry, we walked back to the train station, and caught the train back to Amsterdam. It was a great day!
In Delft, we visited two museums, as well as some ancient churches. It was great to learn about a city that has such a rich history! All I knew about it was the fact that Delftware comes from there. The first place we went was the town center. The town hall faces the "Nieuw Kerk", or New Church, which is actually quite old as it was built between 1383 and 1510. Inside the church is the mausoleum for William of Orange, the famous revolutionary of the Netherlands. We thought about going inside or going up the tower, but both were 3 euros, and we're all poor. The tower would have been worth it, but it was terrifically foggy, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway.
Instead, we wandered around for a bit, finally finding the "Oude Kerk"; you guessed it, the Old Church. The entrance to this building was also expensive, but I took some pictures of it at least.
As we were coming up to the Oude Kerk, we spotted some signs for a museum, and museum cards in hand, we went in. (for free...I love those museum cards!) The museum was all about William of Orange. It turns out that he was assassinated in that very building! I took pictures of the bullet holes themselves. There were tons of paintings and as well as a great look at the history of the city itself.
A few interesting facts...dissection of human bodies was a key to the discovery of things like blood cells. People would gather around as one guy literally dissected a body. There were some rather gross paintings, with like 15 well-dressed men all gathered around this torn open body. On a different note, I was interested to learn about the Golden Age of the Netherlands too. This Golden Age was in the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company (?VOC I think?) was at its zenith. It was during this time that people in Delft started making Delftware.
After this museum, we discovered that there was a second museum all about the ARMY! I wasn't going crazy about it, but I was with some guys, so they naturally wanted to see it. We wandered our way there with the help of a guidebook and plentiful signs. The museum was actually really cool; I was slightly shocked. Once I got past the fact that everything was designed for killing, it was interesting to see how weapons and armies have changed. The museum started with the Roman time and made its way into the present from there, displaying all sorts of guns and spears and tanks along the way. My favorite part of the whole museum was an epic diorama depicting a battle between the Romans and some barbarians. Each figure was about an inch tall, and the detail was incredible.
With the army museum behind us, we went back to the town center for the most important part of the day: buying Delftware. I purchased an authentic teacup, which is wrapped heavily in bubble wrap awaited the flight home. It's pretty sweet.
Delft done, we were off to Den Haag. We didn't really know what we were going to do in Den Haag, but time was running short. Once we got there, we found the Binnenhof,the seat of the government of the Netherlands. We took some pictures, but we were rushing to try to get to the Mauritshuis Museum before it closed. This museum houses the famous painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring". We found the museum (it's right next to the Binnenhof), but it cost 3 euros with a museum card. Since there were only 15 min. left before it closed, we decided it would have to wait for another day. Tired and hungry, we walked back to the train station, and caught the train back to Amsterdam. It was a great day!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some more pictures...
Isn't this first picture just gorgeous? I took this the day that we went downtown on a bridge looking out over one of the canals.
The next picture is a view of my extremely ugly building. It's within a complex full of housing for students, and they all look alike except for the color.
Then, there is the entrance to the Main Building of the Vrije Universiteit.
The next picture is the open area in the middle of all of the buildings at the University. The building you are looking at is where I spend most of my school time. It holds all of the science classes, and it goes on forever, as in there are wings A-U (I think, don't quote me on that). Basically, it's huge.
A little bit more about my life...
Beginning a new life. That's what I feel like I am doing. Everything here is new and different. Some things are similar, like the people I traveled with and class. It's been fun getting to know the people here from Calvin better. The classes I am in will be filled with homework and studying and lectures. But it's amazing that by changing just the context of learning, even class feels different. Instead of doing homework alone, we will have practicums in my physics course, in which we discuss problems in small groups. Lectures are longer than at Calvin, but only meet once or twice a week. Classes here run for about two months instead of for a semester, and our whole grade in each class depends upon our final exam. I can tell you right now that I'm going to be very stressed come March and then June!
Little things are different too. Paper comes in a different size here. It's really annoying because all of my new paper is too long for my folders/binders. I forgot that all of the ovens/microwaves are in degrees Celsius, too!
Big changes...well, being able to drink alcohol is weird. Who would have thought that beer would actually taste good? But don't worry, everybody, I haven't done anything crazy. The culture is so different here too. It seems like people are not nearly as concerned with status here. Rich businessmen, lawyers, and GP's (general practitioners or doctors) all live in small apartments just like the rest of the population. No one sees riding a bike around as "beneath them". It's just a mode of transportation. The trams are generally full too, and there is no stigma attached to using public transportation. Perhaps I have not really seen enough to judge this yet, but at least compared to America, status seems to play a smaller part in the lives of the Dutch.
Cooking for myself has been an interesting experience too. Mom, I really appreciate all of the food you have made for me now that I have to do it on my own! Our kitchen was filthy when I arrived...pineapple on the ground next to the overflowing garbage filled with fruit flies by a counter full of dirty dishes and remnants of old meals. I avoided it for the first few days, which turned out to be good because someone cleaned it yesterday! :D I made my first "real" meal--Chicken Parmesan with a side salad and a clementine. YUM! I made enough so that I can eat it today for dinner too.
I have some more pictures to post, but I think I'll do that later. Have a good day, everyone! Tot ziens!
Little things are different too. Paper comes in a different size here. It's really annoying because all of my new paper is too long for my folders/binders. I forgot that all of the ovens/microwaves are in degrees Celsius, too!
Big changes...well, being able to drink alcohol is weird. Who would have thought that beer would actually taste good? But don't worry, everybody, I haven't done anything crazy. The culture is so different here too. It seems like people are not nearly as concerned with status here. Rich businessmen, lawyers, and GP's (general practitioners or doctors) all live in small apartments just like the rest of the population. No one sees riding a bike around as "beneath them". It's just a mode of transportation. The trams are generally full too, and there is no stigma attached to using public transportation. Perhaps I have not really seen enough to judge this yet, but at least compared to America, status seems to play a smaller part in the lives of the Dutch.
Cooking for myself has been an interesting experience too. Mom, I really appreciate all of the food you have made for me now that I have to do it on my own! Our kitchen was filthy when I arrived...pineapple on the ground next to the overflowing garbage filled with fruit flies by a counter full of dirty dishes and remnants of old meals. I avoided it for the first few days, which turned out to be good because someone cleaned it yesterday! :D I made my first "real" meal--Chicken Parmesan with a side salad and a clementine. YUM! I made enough so that I can eat it today for dinner too.
I have some more pictures to post, but I think I'll do that later. Have a good day, everyone! Tot ziens!
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