Everytime we say goodbye...

It's officially over. The school year has finished. We finished our finals (total madness), had our last big bash, and people are slowly leaving campus. It's bittersweet to be honest. I'm so excited to live here not as a student, but just a resident; I'll really get to live beyond the confines of schoolwork. On the flip side, however, it means the bulk of my journey is over. It really hit me when one of my closest friends, Priyanka, left for home in India. I wasn't expecting the emotional reaction I had when I realized I had no idea if/when I'll ever see her again.

On the bright side, soon it will be summer session, which a lot of the students stay for, so the bar will still be open and there will still be a bustling life on campus, but with a more relaxed atmosphere than the school year. Also, I'm staying here longer than expected so that I can perform with Anna at graduation! I am sooo looking forward to it. And then, the day after, June 9th, I begin my European extravaganza in Budapest when I meet up with Ada! Horrah!

So that's it I suppose. Here are some photos of the last party and last pancake lunch:

Written May 1st

Today is the first of May. Time is moving at an incomprehensible speed! The musical just finished this weekend and it was a terrific experience. Anna had two good friends from Norway, both professional actors, come and direct us for the last two weeks of rehearsal which really pulled the show up from its roots and made it quite good. I got close with many of my cast-mates too, an unforeseen benefit to the whole thing, although it’s a shame the year is almost out and I won’t have much more time with them. At least I’ll be staying for the entirety of May, which will give me a little more social time without the stresses of school.

The night the play closed was also Queen’s night (Koninginnenacht) which is arguably the biggest holiday in the Netherlands. It’s a day celebrating the Queen, as you might have guessed, and it’s basically a street part where thousands of people gather to drink beer and listen to live music and wear orange. Side note: the orange is a symbol of the royalty who stem from Willem van Oranje, a historical savior to the Dutch. Anyway, the play closed and we opened the door of the theater (which I haven’t mentioned is smack dab in the center of town) to street party madness. It was a pretty cool way to celebrate.

The next day, yesterday is Koninginnedag, of “Queen’s day”. I went with Anna, Rob, Oscar, Banta and the Norwegian actors to Amsterdam. We got there a little late but we still caught a few hours of sun. We drank, we danced, we listened to some great (and some not-so-great) music, we coffee-shopped, we shopped, and we ATE. I put “ate” in caps because I think I can say with a high level of certainity that I have never eaten so much in such a short period of time in my entire life. I still have a stomach ache. And all of my friends who are reading this and know how much I can consume, think double, TRIPLE. But ooooh was it good. After a long day we headed back Anna and Rob’s cozy flat just outside the city center, and eventually passed out.

This morning I woke up early to go to ROME. That is correct, I am in Roma as we speak, waiting for Kathryn, my lovely hostess, to pick me up from the station. She should be here any minute. Time for another adventure. More updates to come.

Ciao!