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Dottore Dottore…
As autumn has been fading into winter, and the decorations of the city changed from colored leaves to christmas lights, there’s been one thing that has been a consistent sight ever since I arrived. Students dressed in their finest clothing wearing laurel crowns surrounded by friends and family, more often than not holding on to one or more bottles of prosecco as they make their way through the city streets, laughing and singing as they get progressively more drunk. For weeks I watched them, with equal intrigue as confusion, for the only occasion I could think of where people would don a laurel crown is as the victor of an…
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Something new…
And so here we are. After what seems like at once endless planning and absolute spontaneity, I have arrived in Italy. I am doused in disbelief that I am here, even as I sit down writing this blogpost. So let’s rewind to September 2018, when during the introductory classes of my Master’s Degree, the opportunity was presented to do an extended masters program with a semester abroad in the Eramus program. Obviously this strongly appealed to me, being the aspiring globetrotter I am, and without thinking further about it I applied, attended the info sessions and sent in a motivational letter to the Erasmus office. I was excited and I…
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My top 5 female book characters
Alternatively titled “girls that changed the way I look at myself and the world). Hello my loves, hope this finds you well! SO. All of us little bookworms have these characters. The ones that make you tear up just thinking about them, the ones that you’d protect with your life, the ones that you relate too just a tad more than people think is healthy. It’s generally not a bad thing -unless you relate completely with Patrick Bateman, in which case I would kindly but urgently suggest you talk to someone about that. When I was a kid, I would spend hours upon hours reading, running to the library every…
Dit vind je misschien ook leuk
bookish conundrums #1
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bookish conundrums #1
Listen, I’m a bookworm. A bibliophile. Some would say a hoarder of words, though I’d rather say I’m a collector of stories, perhaps even a proud bibliobibuli, a book-bosomed bibliophagist. Now that I’ve successfully thrown in a bunch of words from this article, let me cut to the chase. I have a lot of books in my possession. A lot of which, I haven’t even started to read yet, as I discovered recently during my big clean out of my bookshelves (an endeavour of which I’ve made a video for your entertainment). For the last couple weeks, I’ve been stared at by these books, all of them neatly labeled “unread” to…
Dit vind je misschien ook leuk
My top 5 female book characters
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SCANDALOUS SHOULDERS IN JAPAN
With the arrival of summer came the arrival of sudden humidity, scorching bright sun and temperatures that made my little West-European self feel like I was on a summer holiday in some southern location. On top of that, the half-amusing, half-devastating phenomenon of May Sickness (五月病) took its toll, and left us feeling tired, grumpy, and mostly, hot. The urge to pull out the swimwear and the sunglasses has been pretty intense ever since those first summery days, and a lot of the exchange students (especially the European ones) have been rocking the shorts, sandals, and tank top looks. The reactions we got from some of our Japanese friends living in…
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さくら満開
Yesterday morning; the cherry blossoms that were but promising little buds for weeks, suddenly burst open, covering the entire park outside our dormitory with clouds of muted pinks and whites. When I stepped outside, families were scattered all over the park, cans of peachy alcohol in their hand (and strawberry lemonade in their bags for their children who were more interested in running around than in looking at the flowers). I snapped a picture of them, but as clouds were thick in the sky, it didn’t do them any justice, and with the promise of rain, I saw my little dream of experiencing the magic of cherry blossoms go up in thin air. This…
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Found in Translation
As almost every person who enjoys watching movies, I do have my appreciation for Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. A story that deals with being overwhelmed by your surroundings, with the feeling of living in a culture that’s so unfamiliar to you that you feel like you’re drowning. An aesthetically pleasing and touching take on the quirky, confusing Japan that all of us (think that we) know and distantly appreciate. Of course, Japan isn’t just that. Nor is it just the traditional temples and tea ceremonies. Japan, as every other country, but at the same time more than every other country, requires not only superficial knowledge, but also understanding of…