a hundred days in europe

I just realized that December 8 is my 100th day here in Netherlands.

Well... I know a hundred days isn't really a year, but it's almost as much of a milestone.

A hundred days! It feels so ironic that it is also the day when I finally felt the pangs of loneliness. Enough to make the tears come. i let it flow then shake it away, no use in denying emotions. yes, it has been a hundred days away from home, a hundred days away from jan, a hundred days of listless sleep, a hundred days of uncertainty... that is looking at it from the half-empty glass perspective.

But it is also a hundred days of many beautiful, wonderful things:

* of my first autumn -- the experience of the nature's dying, like the phoenix that explodes in mesmerizing fire before it turns to dust. yet knowing that there is a rebirth.















* of my first snow and hail -- snowball fights with bare hands. as the ice hits you or another, it is punctuated with child(-ish, -like) laughter. while autumn is the vibrance of color, the somberness of white is transfixing.

* experiencing europe -- a dream come true! i thought that europe will just forever be a vision from books and movies and now i am here! and there is still so much more of it to see.

* of beautiful friendships forged -- my pinoy mafia keeps me sane. will definitely miss the old batch who have always been so accommodating of our barging in the headquarters. to my new friends from all continents who have taught me so much about the world much bigger than what i have known. my first american thanksgiving to happy halloweens, from standing up against poverty to transformations. i never in my life dreamed education can be this interesting!


and so much more in those hundred days! from cooking and finally finding out for myself that there is a vortex in the laundry machine that sucks out half of a pair of socks and gloves leaving my closet with three unpaired socks and gloves... nights of singing and dancing and watching other people get wasted... to pining and wishing for those comfortable warm hands... to just realizing every day of my life that i am alive and tingling with all sorts of emotions, be it sadness or happiness.




the first hundred days and triple more ahead here in europe. looking forward to the joys and pains of what is to come! well, not so much the pain, but i have to be realistic here. 2008 is almost gone and 2009 is coming. i may not be raring to go at the moment, but i'm ready. ;p

LP36: Eksayted! (excited)

Iilang buwan na rin akong delinkwente sa aking paglahok sa lingguhang litratong pinoy. kasalanan na rin siguro ng pansamantalang pag-alis sa bansa para mag-aral sa netherlands.

at di ko na kayang matiis pa ang tikisin ang lumahok sa litratong pinoy dahil sa temang eksayted. masaya nga talaga ang makita ang niyebe sa unang pagkakataon. sa sobrang tuwa ay di na nagsuot ng angkop na kasuotan para di lamig. kelangan makunan ng larawan ang pagbagsak ng yelo sa bubungan ng tirahan ng mga mag-aaral.

kaya ayan... namumulo na ang mga daliri sa paa dahil nakatsinelas lang. pero di bale... kakaiba talaga ang tuwa na naramdaman sa araw na iyon na nakakita ng niyebe sa unang pagkakataon. at sa bawat araw na may niyebe... patuloy pa rin ang pagkamangha. :P

hail and snow!

the last two days have been pretty exciting for me even if i just stayed indoors most of the time.

i heard a mild tap-tapping at my door as i was cleaning my room. when i opened the curtains... ta-daaaah! ice falling from the sky.

so being the ignorant asian that i am thought it to be snow. i opened my window and staring out of their windows were regina, tom (canada) and patchar (thailand). to tom, it was nothing new but for the asians, it was magic!

it was a bit quick, but then sometime in the afternoon, it was a longer one. i finally buzzed for regina because such a moment called for a photo op. and photos we took! despite looking like we just got out of bed (oh... we did just get out of bed)., we didn't care! it was fun!


i thought that hail was just a fluke because most of my friends who've lived in europe told me that it never really snows in the netherlands. most of the time winter is just wet and rainy.

but the fates would have it that i tick off another box in my things to experience before i die... it snowed! for real this time. with snowflakes that just melt the moment they hit your hand. and it fell quieter and prettier than hail. the flakes don't fall straight down, but kind of hover here and there in the air before they hit the ground.

i wanted another photo op and buzzed regina's floor but no one was answering. despite being ungloved, i decided to take a look at the outside world.

there ya go... i wasn't the only excited one. the indonesians were going around town taking pictures of the snow too. it's great to know that somebody feels as excited as you are at that same moment. like an invisible bond holds you together at that moment.

so with all courage, i decided to go out and take photos outside. eyob peeped out from his room and i forced him to come out of his den and join me. then ruth (american) and nick (german) peeped out of their rooms, and i asked them to come out.
and when you have big kids like us all together in a snowy day, what do you get? snowball fight!!! the fight ensued. just a few snowballs and my ungloved fingers were already numb. nick was kind enough to lend me his gloves to thaw them out, but it had a high price. he hit me in the face, the back, the head. and of course, he just had to stuff ice on my shirt. tsk-tsk!

mel saw nick from her room and jumped out of the window and joined in our fun. wheee!

it was a really, really wonderful experience. wet but very enjoyable and exciting and something that will make me smile a lot when i remember it.

i just hope it doesn't snow everyday so i don't get used to it. it would be great to be excited by it everytime it happens. LOL.

for now, this is how i feel...