Spanish Classes are for Cool People ...

That's right. Only cool people spend their days from 8.30 till 17.00 in a hot, warm, sizzling, overheated and scorching class room. The only thing missing is the bacon and a nice egg to start a great day.

Anyway, it's great. It is amazing how much you learn by doing things really intensive like that. I mean, I can say my name now, my aga, my last name, where I'm going, where I come from, what kind of work I do and ask all kinds of personal information from 'You'. Isn't that fantastic? Now I can ask you all kinds of stuff and you can't understand any of it. That's communication for you. =)

Also, this evening we did some cool activities after class. At 18.00 we ate tappaz and then at 19.00 we did ... (drum roll) ... a 2-hour salsa/merengue initiation class in Spanish. It was even outside, so we could take advantage of the great weather and the cooling shadow of the trees in the setting sun. I loved it. Wish I could do it more. Where are my dancing classes when I need them =( .... Too busy I suppose.

Ok, I'm going to take a shower to get this nice sweaty smell off of me. So, talk to you laters!

Legacy

Greg Bear - Legacy:

In Legacy's predecessor, Eon (1985), part of Earth's population escaped a nuclear war by traveling through time along a path called the Way. As the sequel commences, the Way has been in use for some time, and dissidents have found ways to drop out more thoroughly than any 1960s hippie ever did. One such dropped-out group consists of 4,000 antitechnological Naderites, to whom a troubleshooter named Olmy is dispatched. He finds them on a settled, Earthlike world and their society taking a host of radically different directions, all of which Bear works out with his accustomed literacy, scientific accuracy, and deft characterization. As much an exercise in world building and social experimentation as a conventional story, the novel will not disappoint Eon's fans and, since Bear really keeps it moving, stands well enough to be read on its own.

Link here

That it's too warm ....

I've been starting to read a lot these past couple of days, going through books like it's nothing. Ofcourse the weather is helping me quite a bit because the high temperatures keep me from sleeping at night. Sometimes I would like rain to fall out of the sky since it cools down everything ... but only if the next day it's going to be good again.

It is strange to be home again and for some reason I can't settle down. I can't wait to get my life going again. Seeing friends again is great but ... since I've been in Groningen it's hard for me to adapt back to the situation like it was before, because I'm different.

We'll see, at the end of july I have my Spanish course to attend to. Let's hope that by that time I have my new laptop (which I ordered last week) and some Spanish education software I ordered to be able to do a little bit of interactive stuff besides the classes. And theeeeen ... a whole month of working in august doing 2 jobs ...

So even when my agenda is pretty full it feels kind of emtpy. Miss the container peeps. =(

Anyway, I've got some more reading to do. Laters!

Shadow of the Hegemon

Orson Scott Card - Shadow of the Hegemon:

Orson Scott Card finally explores what happened on earth after the war with the Buggers in the sixth book of his Ender series, Shadow of the Hegemon. This novel is the continuation of the story of Bean, which began with Ender's Shadow, a parallel novel to Card's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game.
While Ender heads off to a faraway planet, Bean and the other brilliant children who helped Ender save the earth from alien invaders have become war heroes and have finally been sent home to live with their parents. While the children try to fit back in with the family and friends they haven't known for nearly a decade, someone's worried about their safety. Peter Wiggins, Ender's brother, has foreseen that the talented children are in danger of being killed or kidnapped. His fears are quickly realized, and only Bean manages to escape. Bean knows he must save the others and protect humanity from a new evil that has arisen, an evil from his past. But just as he played second to Ender during the Bugger war, Bean must again step into the shadow of another, the one who will be Hegemon.
In Shadow of the Hegemon, Card can't help but fall back into old patterns. But while the theme is the same as in previous books--brilliant, tragic children with the fate of the human race resting on their shoulders--Shadow of the Hegemon does a wonderful job of continuing Bean's tale against a backdrop of the politics and intrigue of a fragile earth. While the novel is accessible, new readers to the series would be wise to begin with Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow.

Link here.

See you later, no Goodbyes ...

Every story has an ending and altough this ends with departure I think it's a good one. We had one hell of a time partying, drinking, studying (juuuuuust a little bit =) ) and enjoying each others company. No doubt we'll see each other again because after all, it's just a small world isn't it? Lets see if we can get a container website going to keep track of each others plans and stuff. And remember, this is just a 'see you later', not a 'goodbye'.

Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures

Walter Moers - Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures:

"Rumo is a little Wolperting who will one day become the greatest hero in the history of Zamonia. Armed with Dandelion, his talking sword, he fights his way across Overworld and Netherworld, two very different realms chock-full of adventures, dangers, and unforgettable characters: Rala, the beautiful girl Wolperting who cultivates a hazardous relationship with death; General Ticktock, the evil commander of the Copper Killers; Ushan DeLucca, the finest and most weather-sensitive swordsman in Zamonia; Volzotan Smyke, the corpulent Shark Grub; Rolv of the Forest, a Wolperting who can pass through the White Fire; Yggdra Syl, the guardian of the Nurn Forest and its talkative animals; Professor Abdullah Nightingale, inventor of the Chest-of-Drawers Oracle; and, the worst of luck, the deadly Metal Maiden. Astonishingly inventive, amusing and engrossing, Rumo is a captivating story from the wildly fanciful imagination of Walter Moers."

Link here

A Wild Ride Through the Night

Walter Moers - A Wild Ride Through the Night:

"In a world between legend and dream, in a time between childhood and adulthood, Walter Moers describes the exhilarating and comic adventures of Gustave, a boy who aspires one day to be a great artist."

Link here

It's been a while ...

I know it's been a while since I last posted something here. It's been quite busy for me these last couple of weeks and only now, at 6:30 in the morning I find time for myself to think. My period in Groningen is comming to an end. Soon I will have to wake up (if I'll be sleeping that is) to transfer the temporary mountain of accumulated stuff from my room in the containers to the car. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to everyone and I don't envy the ones who stay for a little while longer. It must be sad to see everyone take off and get on with their lives back home.

But it has been a good 5 months and it's a period in my life I will not forget. I met all these great people here and I do hope I can see most of them one time or another in the future. Lets see what the future has in stock for us all ... I do hope it's good things.

I'm adding another link sections to the site referring to books I recently read or I'm reading at the moment. So if you want to see what kind of stuff is being read by this fellow just click on the links. =)

Long Lost Humor

It seems I'm rediscovering long lost things these last couple of days. Yesterday I bumped into a link that led me to the site of 'Wulffmorgenthaler'. The site has cartoons with just an absurd sense of humor and ... I like it. I liked it before as well though, but I can't remember why I stopped going to the site. Anyway, I found it again so all is good.

Over the Hedge

Last night I saw this new movie from Dreamworks. It's about a group of animals that come out of winter hibernation and find that their little forest has been surrounded by suburbia. So, how are they going to get enough food for the winter? Luckily for them a racoon named RJ (with the voice of Bruce Willis) appears on the right moment at the right time. He shows them how easy it is to gather food by stealing it from the humans that live close by. But not everything is what it seems ...

I liked the movie and the fact that it emphasizes that family is important. It's on your family you can lean on in hard times and when you need help. I recommend this movie to anyone.

And even more ...

 Hello again! The drawing goes fast ... Well, it depends on what you call fast, I still spend a couple of hours trying to get one figure right. Talk about a time sink ... Anyway, there are two more persons added to the Pixel-list. Mikel with the huge glasses and our dancing duo Mauricio and Aga. During the past months those two have been a real danger on the dancing floor, spinning and turning, barely in control. I'm going to have a rest for now but I'll return to my refound interest soon. Over and out.

... And others

 Two more persons are added to the Pixel list. On the left you'll see Rocio, fellow Spanish student and on the right Alessia with her beloved videocamera. Say cheese! Now I've got to figure out who's going to be next ... I better take some guy otherwise they might think I'm too much of a ladies man. =)

Maybe I can even make a nice container poster out of this ... Lets see how it evolves.

Pixel Me

Yep, that's me you're seeing there. Recent surfing has sparked my interest again in PixelArt (you draw the image pixel by pixel). Especially after seeing this. An appartment building with custom made appartment by a lot of different people. Easy to say I just love it. Ok, let's hope I'll get some more of these little fella's ready for your viewing pleasure. Eric out ...

 

Morning thoughts

 Saterday morning, 5am ... It's always amazing that a person can spend so much time going out. When a normal person would go to bed you take a shower, scrub yourself and get dressed to go to the centre and have some fun. Or try to have some fun. Then, after hours of moving around, shaking the booty and drinking beer one comes home at 'insert anything between 3-8am', when 'normal' people get up again. It makes me wonder why it is that people in general party during the night. Is it because the darkness makes it a sort of a dream? Because whatever reason it may be you'll feel bad the next morning, or better, somewhere during the next day. That's why I'm really starting to appreciate parties which start at 7-8pm and last till 12pm. You're still a human being the next day.

But, I had a good time tonight. So all is well. =)

Edit: I woke up at 13.00 ... Luckily I had a good morning's sleep. (Yawn)

Who to support ...

This evening I watched a friendly football game between the Netherlands and Mexico with some fellow Mexican students. Too bad Belgium is not taking part in this grand spectacle. So this means I'll have to find another team to support and I'm still pondering which one it's going to be. Mexico because I've been there? Spain because I might go there? Or Italy because ... Too many countries to choose from and in the end I would just prefer Belgium anyway. Next time we'll be there! =)
 

Saying ciao

My first post and it's going to be about saying goodbye ... One of the worst parts of any journey.

Right now I'm an exchange student at the Hanzehogeschool in Groningen (Netherlands) and the end is getting near. Months have passed and days have gone by. People are starting to pack their bags, gather their memories and all the pictures from everyone ... and off they go into the setting sun. With a tear in the eye of so many friends.

Today is my first goodbye, lets see how well I'll handle it.