It was another beautiful blessful Sunday on which I should have studied for my Monday exam in Political theory. However I did not have any mood at all as the weather finally turned to be sunny and warm. Therefore I called my mother and talked to her for almost an hour. When she was telling me about her silver marriage trip to India with dad, I was jealous. She will visit New Delhi and Agra, looking up to the top of Himalayas. When they look down, they would capture the sight of Taj Mahal, a promise that the king has kept for his queen....I got lost simply by picturing that.

The phone call only made me more irritated. That was when Misi called me and suggested that we should go to Antwerp for a cycling trip and pay a visit to his friends. We had Spinach gravy with fillet for lunch and we departed around noon.

It was such a good idea as the wheather was so lovely. When we arrived we went straight away to the river by acrossing the red light district.

As I have been living in Holland for a year and a half, I can master my bike much more confidently. In the picture above I was actually riding a bike with one hand, passing the crowd easily... when I declared this proundly, my dutch mates were laughing so hardly, saying that,'Eva, no offence. But we can do that when we were 5.' Sometimes the cultural differences are uninterpretatble.

There was also a boat exhibition by the river. Many steam ships tried to show off by making noices that almost made everyone deaf. What could we ask for more? A sunny Sunday with all these specticular boats parking by the river, each of them is welcoming people to enter the ship and have a cold beer there. A very social activity indeed.

After 2 hours biking and walking, we went to visit Misi's friends. One of his young fellow had problem with flashing the toilet, so we spent some times to fix the problem. When finally the pump contributed its function, we felt that it was all worthy to come so far to repair someone's toilet.

Before we went home, we dropped by an arabic bakery to have some delicacy. It was cheap and delicious. Something that you won't find in the Netherlands. To make my Sunday even better, I received a letter from the teacher that the next day test would be postponed. What's more was that Misi started cooking cauliflower soup for dinner. I said, 'it is too much of a good thing....'

Amen.

Day at Amsterdam

I woke up at 6 a.m. so that we would arrive at Amsterdam as early as possible. The morning in amsterdam is not amsterdam at all. No marihuana, no red light district. It was rather quite.
Graphics are everywhere. It suits to the city, though.

Happy lucky belgium chocolate ice cream. From Australian company.

By the coast: Vlissingen

Finally the weather allows us to visit our beloved city: Vlissingen. I started taking off my shoses half way from the sea. It was an unbelievable feeling to put our bare feet on the cold wet sands. Even the wind stopped bleezing, only the sunset, chilly water and a group of young kids playing around us. It was a moment that every human in Holland should treasure. The weather has become so gentle that we are all pleasantly shocked.

Mishi is busy, likes always. But he enjoyed the water too....although we both got a bit wet.
There is a huge cirkus in Vlissingen too. Misih doesn't want to sit on the machine. ( see below) So I stay safely on the land with him.

I miss my friends. All my foreigner friends, hungarians and hongkongers.... They said I should not think of it and simply enjoy the summer, as if I can easily forget them. I don't have choice. I can only wait. And I am so bad at waiting, due to my impatience.

But I am sure when they are back, we can go somewhere together. Now I have been so many cities that I can be the best tourist guard, mainly in Belgium and Holland.

The lovely children played around us. How much did I want to join them! ( oh my god, I think I look exactly like my mother in this picture)




Misih's partner, who has never seen an ocean before. ( In chinese, we have a saying that: pushing a virgin into the sea)


Looking at the other side of the ocean, I was thinking: Come back PEOPLE! Look how depressed I have become! Miss you all.

Sophie's Graduation in Brussels!

Koran reggel keltem fol ( azt jelenti reggel 8-kor) Az idojaras ugyan olyan rossz mint tegnap mondtak a radioban. Esoben indultam egyedul a vonat megallomashoz. Almosan felszalltam a vonatra, ahol tele voltak es allnom kell fel oraig. Antwerpen keresztul mentunk Brussels-be. 12 korul mar a Brussels Centraal-ba erkeztem.

Az elso benyomasom azt, hogy nem annyira modern varos mint gondoltam. Alacsony epulet, regi falak, kenyemetlen utak. Nem csinaltak kulonosen semmit, hogy visualisan megriasztani a touistakat. Pedig Brussels a NATO-nak es EU-nek a kozpontja. Latvanyos varostervekre szamitottam.
Nem vagyok nagy varosnezo. Orulnek ha tudok egy idegen varosban setalni egyedul. Mivel nincs sok idom, valahol kene kezdenem….

Théâtre royal de la monnaie

Ha Brussels lenne a belga tortenelmi konyve, a Theatre de la Monna biztos lesz az elso oldala. A belga fuggetlensege nem kezdodott sehol, mint egy szinhaz elott. 1830-ben, Belgium mar sok idegen birtoklason ment keresztul: a spanyol, asztria, francia es a holland. 1830 agusztus 25-odikan, a szinhazban eppen La Muette de Portici szindarabot eloadnak, a tortenete a Naples Spanyol urakodasa ellenkezeserol szol. Az eloadas keletkezik a kozonsegnek az ellenerzeset. A belga koszonseg nem akar tobbet ‘szegyenben elni’ a Holland hatalma alatt. Azert az eloadas utan meg egy nagyobb dramat csinaltak. Nem csak a belga munkasok, hanem a bourgeois is kimentek az utca tuntetni a Hollandok ellen. A fellazadas egy honapig tartott, es szeptemberben Belgium hivatalosan fuggetlen lett.

A szinhaz jelenleg egy nagy vasarlas utca mellett all. A sok markas boltok mellett nehezen felismerni az epuletet. A szinhaz elott is alig vannak touristak. Pedig par szaz evvel ezelott micsoda felfordulas lehetett ott.

A tokeletes bevezetes utan, bementem a vasarlasi galleriaba, ahol tudok varni amig megall az eso. A galleria 19-dik szazadban epult, ez az europaban elso vasarlasi galleria. A budapesti galleriahoz kepes, sokkal jobban reklamoztak es kihasznaltak.

Bruszelben minden masodik sarkon csoki bolt, a belga csoki arra hires, hogy minden egyik csoki kezzel csinalja. Es minden csoki mesternek van sajat titkos receptje. Sok markak kozott a Godiva es Pierre a leghiresebbek. Mar annyira ismernek, hogy az uzlethelyseguk nem kellett tul sok dekoracio. A legerdekesebb azt, hogy mivel sok kinai vendeg van, mar kinai eladot alkalmoztak, hogy tudjanak kommunikalni. Igen, ez eleg praktikus. De amikor beleptem a boltba, ugy erzem, hogy a Godiva ugy varja a kinaiakat nagy haloval. Igy mar kevesbbe izgalmas. A vegen egy francia csoki boltvan vettem vastag csokit ( nincs csomogalva ) es truffles. Mindenketto isteni volt.

Svajcban is sokszor vettem csokit, de megse ugyanaz. Mert a puha toltelek, pralines, megvaltoztatja a csoki izet. A totelek kezzel kell forogni. Annal tobbet forog, minel selyesebb a toltelek. Kar, hogy nem volt idom a csoki museum-ba menni.

A csoki forras: so tempting!

Eves Bruszelbenban

A kinos hollandia konyha utan, nagyon vettem figyelembe, hogy a belgaknak mi a hozzaallas az eveshez. Vajon ok is annyira szerecsetlenek mint a hollandok? ( szoktak mondani magukrok, hogy ‘a francia azert elnek, hogy egyenek. Mi azert eszunk hogy eljunk.’ ) De az elso fel ora bruszelben mar kiderult, hogy nem. Mert rengeteg etterem van. A vasarlasi galleria mellett van egy kis utca. Az utca annyira sik hogy az egyik oldalon tudsz a masik oldalat elerni. Az kuloneges ettermek egymas mellett all es a pincerek probalnak a vendegeket elcsabitani. Jo volt bemenni. De biztos nem lenne konnyu ha valasztani is kell egyet. Azt hittem hogy nagyon draga lesz, de igazabol egy 5 fogasos vacsora csak 33 euro korul van. Bruszelben van egy folyta kaja ami ugy neveznek belgo-francious-nak. Francia receptekbol csinalnak nagyobb adag es kevesbbe bonyulat eteleket. Azert eleg baratsagos arak vannak az itteni ettermekben.

Sophie-val bementunk egy kis café-ba, ahol nagy szenvicset es waffles ettunk. A waffle nem volt semi kuloneges, Sophie-nak a belegd broodje belgiumban egyik hires snack.

A belgak nem cask enni szeretik, hanem inni is. Foleg a SOR-t. Belgiumban tobb mint szaz folyta sor van. Kinezetbol nem lehet megalapitani, hogy az sor vagy pezsgo vagy bor….. Szerecsem volt mert Sophie csaladja soroket gyartanak, azert mindent tud ami cask a sorokrol van szo. Sophie azt is emlitette, hogy a belgaknak van sajat filozofia az alkaholhoz:

Nem szabad kapkodni. Inkabb lassan iszunk, lassan berugunk es lassan felebredunk.

Kicsit mas a magyaroknal.

A vonattol 5 percet kell gyalogalni a foterhez. Victor Hugo szerint ez a europaban legszebb ter. A varoshaz a legerdekesebb, nem csak azert mert sok hires ember meglatogatott, hanem mert tulelte a vilag haborun. Pedig pontosan a varoshazat celoztak.

A kis setalas utan elmentunk vegre a diplomaosztohoz. Sophie nagyon izgult, mert nem volt biztos abban, hogy megkapja a diplomat. Pedig olyan jo tanulo. es nem kell felnie. Jol gondoltam, eleg jol sikerult az allami vizsgajat. Ugyhogy kicsit unnepeltunk a heylszinen.

Megvan a diploma! Tobbet nem kell suliba jarni! Biztos jo erzes lehet Neki.



A szep viragot tolem kapta. Neki furcsa volt, mert azt mondja europaban lanyok nem szoktak lanyoktol viragot kapni. Mit erdekel engem... kicsit panaszkodott is, hogy a tobbiek mit fognak mondani. Mondtam hogy 'ne felj, igy csak erdekesebb leszel. '

A kedvencunk sor: Hoogarden. Sok kozos emlekunk, meg akkor amikor m-on voltunk.

7 korul hazaindult. Ott vart a kedvese es a unnepeles. En meg 9 korul is otthon voltam sok sok csokival a taskaban. Abban a pillanatban en voltam a leggazdagobb ember a vilagon.

Food in the Nederlands

Me and Grace: so-called 'chinese food'

When the starving students are depressed, they don't care anything anymore....
This is the cheesecake I made for Grace's 20th Birthday! And this is the strawberry cake that Misi and I made for Dilyana's 20th Birthday!

It is not that bad, is it?
When I am too concentrated on food, please don't take picture of me.

Afterall, food does mean a lot to me. Not only because of the pleasure and satisfaction, but it is about the gatherings with friends and lover. Food and sweets taste much better when we make it and eat it together.

Oh, dear dad and mom and brother, I wish I could cook for you more often.

At the end of our performance

We were on the local newspaper. Can you see me?

Our beautiful russian director.
directing enthusiastically.... When all of us are working hard on our exams.... ( can you see me?)
But we still managed to have a laugh during this difficult period....
I wished I had more pcitures of our performance in Utrecht........................