Lisa: You want a piece of me

...or not. But you'll get a minimum of ten pieces of me anyway. Let's try to properly introduce myself. After all I want you to return to this blog, and this seems more likely if you know who-the-heck is writing this:

Know thyself, the Oracle of Delphi said, so they did in The Matrix, and now I do this for the Roosevelt Academy student blog, so finally I gave in and tried, hoping that there would be a lot more to me than there is to me.
I am glittery, inquisitive, whimsical, a film-admirer and literature-lover, cute, young-at-heart while actually still not so old in age, lavish, silly, sometimes I’m funny, shiny, pretty darn hot (in my vivid imagination), cheerful, sunny, joyful, only a little depressed when I’m sad,
I surrender to the strawberry ice-cream, eloquently nonsensical, so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying – or maybe just quoting Oscar Wilde too often, nocturnal, I like strawberries, penguins and soap bubbles but not at the same time,  trallalla, formidable, rainbows are more awesome in London and Paris, Smiley Fries make me grin and Disneyland makes me sing, hanging out in the fancy bars with the boys who can play guitar, toodeloo, cosmopolitan, I want everything I’ve ever seen in the movies, curious and curiouser, James McAvoy’s second wife-to-be, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, rare limited edition, oh shucks!, I am not what you think I am – I am GOLDEN: simply me, Lisa Theresa.

Here we go. This is My Life as Lisa and from now on you will be updated live from Middelburg about it. Back to the studio!

My name is Lisa Theresa Kölle, I'm a Theatre&Media Studies Student, minoring in Statistics merely for the sake of insanity. I am a second year at Roosevelt Academy and apart from work in other committees head of the Campus News Project (www.ra-campusnews.webs.com).

Bart wonders: To run or not to run

After this mid-term break the elections for the boards of student bodies at RA will be there. Besides a bit of work, visiting some friends and finding a job for the summer break the main thing on my mind was whether I should run for a board position or not.

The RASA, AAC, HAC and RA council all depend on students actively participating and making sure the coming years at RA will be as much fun as they were last year. It would be great to help out in one of those councils. But which one, what position, do I have time for that, what about campaigning, do I have to put up poster with my face all over RA?

Keep watching the RA blog for the result of this conundrum.

Bart, class of 2013, is a Science major. Besides his courses in Mathematics, Earth Science and Politics he enjoys running, swimming, cycling, playing guitar, hanging out with friends and an occasional party.

Micha, Pictures, Movies and Spring Break!

Yay! Is the only thing I can say.

Besides that it rhymes it is also true, thanks to the new blog I can now finally put video's and pictures in my blog :-). So let's start of with a picture.

It's Spring break, I have been home since Saturday. This morning I had to print some papers, buy some markers and paint. Some basic household chores. Because tomorrow I am going back home to Middelburg. However in between all the chores I managed to go out and take some pictures. It is really beautiful weather to take pictures in the early morning, this morning was even better thanks to all the fog. This picture is one of the products of this.

Yes, Spring break is indeed the ideal time to catch up with all chores. It is also a week of well deserved rest though. After some weeks of hard working it is always nice to have the chance to sleep as long as you want, and all other things you want to do. This doesn't mean that you don't have the chance to do these stuff during the semester. You have quite some spare time (depending on the situation) for other stuff as well. For example, last week, after some searching through the internet I ran across this video:

It's a short video about a guy who has only 5 minutes to live. I can recommend you to press the play button and watch it till the end ;-) it is a very impressing yet depressing film. It kind of set me on the thought of making my own short movie, I am thinking about that right now. I'll let you guys know when I know some more.

Micha

My name is Micha, I am a first year student focussing on anthropology and sociology.

Dutch Culture 101, or: Why I Should Give up all Possible Forms of Transportation and Become a Professional Hermit Instead

Roughly two-thirds of the RA population is Dutch, me included. I would like to address this first blog to the (prospective) students that aren't. Hopefully it will provide you with a bit of insight into Dutch culture.

Let's start with the basics. Windmills. Clogs. Cheese. Tulips, even though by now everyone and their great-grandmother is aware of the fact that tulips were once imported from Turkey and are therefore strictly speaking not quintessentially Dutch. That detail is glossed over; tulips are still part of the stereotypical idea of Holland that prevails around the globe. At the top of the list, of course, are bicycles. Dutch people cycle. It's a fact. Have you ever heard the joking phrase "if it ain't Dutch it ain't much"? Well, if it ain't cyclin' it ain't Dutch. According to my unrivalled Google skills, Holland is the only country in the world which contains more bikes than people.

I have this whole theory about how our bicycle culture ties in with another stereotype about the Dutch, namely that we're pretty straight-forward and laid-back (and that's putting it mildly). That's for another time, though. Today, I want to talk about the Dutch coming-of-age ritual that other cultures may be largely unaware of. A young Dutch person's passage into adolescence suspiciously often goes hand in hand with the first time their bike gets stolen. It's an interesting rite, characterized by many tears, a feeling of extreme confusion and dread, and a long sermon from the parental unit about always making sure your bicycle is chained to a fence. Twice. The aftermath of this complicated cultural ritual frequently consists of a shiny new bike with carrier straps, a bell that actually works, and a six pound chain that would single-handedly bash someone's skull in if they but looked at it the wrong way.

The ritual may be repeated once or twice, and after a while every Dutch citizen knows better than to leave their bike at a train station in the Randstad with less than, say, four extra locks to protect it. Everybody knows that's asking for trouble. I know, too. But I was in a hurry, and I couldn't find a spot near a fence. When I got off the train back three hours later and realized my good old bike was gone I couldn't even really get mad. It's simple; I should have known better. It was my own fault. I texted my friend, "fiets gejat fml" – which roughly translates to "bike got stolen. my life is so hard" – and went to the movie theater to watch Roman soldiers massacre one another. It is entirely possible I fist-pumped at the first sight of blood.

This happened three weeks ago. I'm still not over it, mainly because I've been eating toast with duo penotti for a week straight because I don't have money left to buy proper food. I spent a hundred bucks on a new bike with a huge, pink chain lock. I use the extra lock all the time, even when I know I won't be gone for too long. The loss is still too fresh. Even here in Middelburg, where bicycle theft is considerably less than in the Randstad (where I'm from), I use my extra lock. Especially at the train station. It's always hard to find a spot, but I managed to wriggle my own bike in-between another bike and one of the sparse little racks we're supposed to put them against. I got my extra lock and put it around the frame of my bike, through the front wheel, at the fence. I was going to make sure no one would steal my bike this time.

Behind my back, the train I was supposed to catch whistled its goodbye.

(Footnote)

Of course, there is the ever-present issue of using 'Holland' or the 'Netherlands'. 'The Netherlands' would make more sense, for technically 'Holland' only encompasses two of its twelve provinces. My entirely selfish and politically incorrect reason for using Holland instead: it's nicer to say. In Dutch some would say "het bekt lekker".

Seriously, though – try it. Say 'the Netherlands'. Pronounce it. The-Ne-ther-lands. Are you there yet? Yeah? Now, say 'Holland'. Holland! Short and snappy, with a nice glottal 'h' at the beginning… it even looks better; softer somehow, rounder. In Holland, rosy-cheeked girls with blond braids skip around green green fields dotted with tulips. The Netherlands, on the contrary, sounds a lot like a country where bikes get stolen and trains close their doors and slowly slide off without a trace of guilt on their face.

My name is Maud and I am a second-year student of Linguistics & Literary Studies. These are a few of my favorite things: books, sneakers, loud music, and coffee.

Alyssia and the Exchange Applications

It’s almost midterm break! However, this does mean that there are lot of midterm exams right now… Last week I had two, this week another two. Unfortunately, other stuff keeps popping up as well. Gosh, sometimes it’s just really annoying! However, good stuff’s happening too!

I am busy with getting my stuff together for my exchange to Nebraska, USA next semester. By stuff, I mean forms. LOTS of forms. Applications, bank forms, grade transcripts, the whole thing. So enough to take my mind of things ;) As you can see below, I already received my UNK t-shirt! Very proud, haha ;)

The weather here’s getting better as well! Lots of sun, not much wind (which is rare) and no rain (*knocks on wood*)! So a trip to the beach is definitely coming up soon.

See you next time!

Alyssia

My name is Alyssia and I am a nineteen-year-old second year student. I do an interdepartmental major in Psychology, Cognitive Science and Life Sciences.

Kelly and the Iced Cappuccino

When I woke up this morning, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Start a new blog? Again? As if I don’t have enough on my mind already, with my courses and my committees and my job and my social life… I must be crazy! (cRAzy?) I guess I am…

            Although I don’t have classes on Tuesdays, I had a busy day ahead of me. I started with – surprise! - studying for my midterm exams. After lunch, I took off to film a scene with CameRA. I nearly broke my back on the way to the ‘set,’ one of my favorite coffee places in Middelburg, because I brought a bunch of books. This way, I could study some more between the shoot and a meeting with one of my instructors.

            I know it might sound horrible, but really, life here isn’t so bad. Spring is approaching! The sun is shining, it’s too warm to wear your winter coat and the weather simply puts everyone in a good mood. The staff at the espresso bar even got excited when I made my order: “An iced cappuccino? That’s the first one this year!”

It’s easy to let the midterm stress get to your head, but I think I’ve found my remedy. Sure, I’m stressing out a little because I still have to study A LOT for my exams, but you won’t find me locked up in my room or the library this week. As long as I take good care of myself, and allow myself some ‘luxury’ (coffee and chocolate, coffee and chocolate!!!) I know that I will be more than fine.

That being said, I can’t wait until the week is over.

Kelly Meulenberg (class of 2012) studies Arts & Humanities, focusing on Literary Studies and Theater & Media Studies. She is also a writer and filmmaker. Other passions include music, food and traveling.

Bart is back at RA

Six weeks of Christmas break seems a long time for just a break, but to be honest, it is nice. The day after the Christmas gala I packed my back and went home to celebrate my birthday, Christmas, New Years Eve and to catch up with friends and family.

But six weeks are a bit too much for that, so after a few weeks at home I returned to Middelburg. Although it is nice to sleep in for four more weeks and catch up with all your favourite television series, I will take a job next Christmas break. The long breaks at RA are perfect to both do some work and go on holidays.

Anyways, after spending a few weeks not doing much it was time to get going again. Step one, buying books. Although there apparently were some troubles placing everyone in their preferred courses, I was lucky and just got in all the courses I wanted. So off I went buying books for Methods & Statistics I, Theory of Statistics and Data Analysis, Foundations of Comparative Politics and Earth System Science II. The last three are basically the same courses I took in my first semester, but now the 200 levels. Why bother changing track if you enjoyed what you were doing right?

With all housemates returning from their breaks it was just a matter of waiting for the classes to start on Monday.

Bart, class of 2013, is a Science major. Besides his courses in Mathematics, Earth Science and Politics he enjoys running, swimming, cycling, playing guitar, hanging out with friends and an occasional party.