Since I have been so busy lately, I haven't gotten out to do much sight-seeing. So instead I'll tell you a bit what I have been up to. Again, I should be working on a presentation due in six hours... but I'm sure it will all come together :)
On arriving in Leiden, we had an assignment of about 15o pages of articles, an entire book of reading and a paper. This has been the theme the past week and half, tons of reading and huge work load up front. Usually the professors give us a week or two before shoving anything significant on us, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hopefully that will mean that finals will be less intense :) I'm still hopeful. haha
This term I'm taking a Politics of Development class focusing on aid in Africa. Our professor is South African and the assistant prof is Nigerian. It's been interesting hearing debates on whether the West should continue to give aid to the continent. My other full class is Globalization. The two compliment each other really well and are focusing on a few of the same theories and ideas, which will hopefully make studying easier. Our professor for this class is Iranian and extremely intimidating. (the presentation due in six hours... yikes!)
But all of that is boring. On top of school work I've been trying to plan my trip to in between Leiden and my next term in Bangkok and look for jobs. Stress! I've come to realize that travel agents have a very difficult job. Dealing with Visas, strange airline websites, and converting foreign currency to check each price is a class in itself! However, I'm very excited for my trip. I'm flying to Bangalore, India to visit with my cousin Brian, now Legtsok. I'm staying with him at the Buddhist monastery he's studying at. I've never been past Eastern Europe, so this idea of unknown and completely foreign really excites me. I'm ready for the challenge!
On top of being in Asia, I'm excited to learn more about Buddhism, which shouldn't be hard residing in a monastery. Last night after class we got drinks at the local pub near school, and I found myself in a conversation with my Nepalese classmate about Buddhism and his religious revolution from atheism. He was mentally putting together a book list for me to read. His stories of government corruption, children and meditation in his homeland caught my interest and make me want to see more.
After my stop in India for about 10 days, I'll be heading to Bangkok for my final term and writing a thesis. This year has flown by. Each term goes faster than the last. The next stop after that is real life. I'm hoping to get a job in Asia for a year or so after the program. That's the plan right now :)
After all this ranting, I can't not share a few pictures. Some friends and I went to Amsterdam for the day last week. Here are some of the sights from our day trip and other Dutch things.
View out my apartment window in Leiden
Flowers and rain drops
Dena and I overlooking a canal in Amsterdam
The Dutch love biking everywhere!
Street market in Amsterdam, this little car had two fiesty puppies in it!
Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam
On arriving in Leiden, we had an assignment of about 15o pages of articles, an entire book of reading and a paper. This has been the theme the past week and half, tons of reading and huge work load up front. Usually the professors give us a week or two before shoving anything significant on us, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hopefully that will mean that finals will be less intense :) I'm still hopeful. haha
This term I'm taking a Politics of Development class focusing on aid in Africa. Our professor is South African and the assistant prof is Nigerian. It's been interesting hearing debates on whether the West should continue to give aid to the continent. My other full class is Globalization. The two compliment each other really well and are focusing on a few of the same theories and ideas, which will hopefully make studying easier. Our professor for this class is Iranian and extremely intimidating. (the presentation due in six hours... yikes!)
But all of that is boring. On top of school work I've been trying to plan my trip to in between Leiden and my next term in Bangkok and look for jobs. Stress! I've come to realize that travel agents have a very difficult job. Dealing with Visas, strange airline websites, and converting foreign currency to check each price is a class in itself! However, I'm very excited for my trip. I'm flying to Bangalore, India to visit with my cousin Brian, now Legtsok. I'm staying with him at the Buddhist monastery he's studying at. I've never been past Eastern Europe, so this idea of unknown and completely foreign really excites me. I'm ready for the challenge!
On top of being in Asia, I'm excited to learn more about Buddhism, which shouldn't be hard residing in a monastery. Last night after class we got drinks at the local pub near school, and I found myself in a conversation with my Nepalese classmate about Buddhism and his religious revolution from atheism. He was mentally putting together a book list for me to read. His stories of government corruption, children and meditation in his homeland caught my interest and make me want to see more.
After my stop in India for about 10 days, I'll be heading to Bangkok for my final term and writing a thesis. This year has flown by. Each term goes faster than the last. The next stop after that is real life. I'm hoping to get a job in Asia for a year or so after the program. That's the plan right now :)
After all this ranting, I can't not share a few pictures. Some friends and I went to Amsterdam for the day last week. Here are some of the sights from our day trip and other Dutch things.
View out my apartment window in Leiden
Flowers and rain drops
Dena and I overlooking a canal in Amsterdam
The Dutch love biking everywhere!
Street market in Amsterdam, this little car had two fiesty puppies in it!
Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam
No comments:
Post a Comment