Welcome to Holland

It's sunny outside. Really? It's a beautiful day and I have to sit inside and do homework. This is fun. By tomorrow, it'll be rainy again. But today, it's nice.
Welcome to Holland.

Bipolar!

This past week, Holland has gone through all seasons at least twice. It has rained, the sun has shone, the sky was blue and black, a few trees fell down (thanks to the wind), and the sky has just sat above the houses in a grey mirage of depression.
Welcome to Holland.
It's not bad, though. I mean, right now I'm seriously craving some vitamin D and I'm wondering why my calendar had to condemn Holland by saying it was the first day of Autumn earlier this week, but there's a marvelous chill to the air that makes it cozy to sleep. If you leave your window cracked open just a little bit and pull up the covers to engulf your body and stare out the window, the cold air isn't so bad and it's nice and chilly. I like autumn in that way. When I bike to school and back I'm under multi-colored leaves and the wind is just enough to keep you going and keep you refreshed. It's almost nice, this small transition period. When you're laying in bed and watching the stars from the window and looking at airplanes on their way to Schipol, it's peaceful in the oddest way. It's charming, Autumn in Holland. This season and Spring make it OK to be here.
Then Winter comes along. It's not too great. Slushy snow - if you're lucky - kind of makes it worse.
But enough about the weather. This past weekend Glee came back after a long summer to a much anticipated premiere. Who watched it the day after it came out in Holland? Not me! I had to wait until Thursday to get my Glee fix for the week, and the mania has started. Glee left it's mid-season-one funk and came back with an episode less preaching and more action. One of my favorite parts about Glee's return was the music. With Charice now joining the show, her voice was a welcome addition! My oh MY! When she belts out "Listen" (from the MUSICAL Dreamgirls, as Lea Michele's character Rachel Berry corrects immediately), I can't help but wonder where that voice is coming from. The bathroom duet between Ms Michele and Charice to Lady Gaga's Telephone was a particularly nice addition to the show, and I couldn't help but praise their choice of music when Ms Michele sang "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line, one of my favorite songs of all time. I started watching Glee because of the a capella twist, their covers of modern and musical numbers (the combination is unique and risqué, but they pull it off surprisingly well), and of course to hear Sue Sylvester's famous one-liners that just about everyone falls of their chair laughing when they hear them. I wanted Glee to tackle "What I Did For Love" from episode 5 and wondered why they wouldn't use it - it's not like no one knows the song, and it would fit in perfectly on so many occasions. But, alas, when I heard it closing the season premiere episode, I smiled and was glad they waited. That was one hell of a cover, Ms Michele. One hell of a cover. Glee finished the first episode of season two off with a bang. Now I'm itching for the Britney episode and dying for the music. Only a few more days!
For now, it's time to go finish today off with a good movie. Until next time, Samy

Friends Across The Globe

For me, Facebook started as a place to talk to my friends - it was global, but I never realized it. But when I moved, it kept me global. I never thought about how much I would miss people. It's so strange, missing someone. You don't realize it until a photo or two goes up. Then it suddenly hits you - that could have been you, there with them.

But I guess you get over it eventually. You learn to make new friends and make new memories. You grow and you mature. 

I say this because only recently have I begun to reconnect with people I know all over the world. Do they answer? Occasionally, but I always think they feel just as awkward as I do, asking them how life is. It's quite the tricky question, because although you are tempted to say it's not as great without that person, somehow, you've moved on. So life is great, eventually. 

Enough of the depressive talk about leaving people. We all say goodbye at some point, in different ways, so there's no point in preaching about what to say. 

So for my first post I'd like to comment on the surprising change in weather here in The Netherlands. For weeks and weeks without end the country left summer and covered the skies with rain clouds. Now, though, for this one weekend (and hopefully longer), the clouds have parted to reveal a blue sky. Not just blue, but starkly blue and brilliant like any other sky. It all feels awfully autumn on this side of the globe, with the leaves just caressing the ground in vibrant coats of yellow, brown, and red. The air has a chill to it, but it's not the cold air we're used it. It's the type of air that sweeps by before winter; you can keep the window open with a blanket and wake up feeling cozy and refreshed. 

So if you're anywhere in Europe enjoy the time before the real winter hits the city. Holland, being located in the convenient place that it is, will get the winter first, so I'll alert you. <br/>

Whenever winter comes around in Holland, I always search for new activities to partake in. You can't do much in winter, though. You just can't. Every season I try to get to the theater over here (not that it's anything like Broadway, where I would love to be). but I try. Dutch productions, however, mean little to me. I don't speak Dutch. English, of course. Portuguese, yes. French, yes. Even Czech. But just not Dutch. The last time I saw something here was the spectacular travelling production of West Side Story. Now I'm just waiting for an English production or my departure to college to provide for more theater opportunities. But if the weather gets worse, I think I might just cave and go see a dutch production.

That's all for now. Posts will come weekly, every Saturday and possibly even a Sunday once things calm down. I'll be blogging about...Well, Life. The Netherlands, Politics, Photography, Current Events, Theatre, The Arts, and everything else. 


Take a second this week and think about all the beauty around you. We're transitioning seasons, it's bound to be lovely. 


Stay tuned. You might find something great, some great story, from some corner of the earth.