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It´s true – Level 2 of Art of Life, my macrobiotic study programme, is over, and now I am basically “free” until February, when Level 3 takes place.  I only have one shorter workshop – Art of Cooking – from tomorrow (Thursday) evening until Sunday afternoon, this time with the topic of festive (read: fancy) cooking, that is cooking for holidays, for guests and all those people who are not really (yet) macrobiotic I got used to being in the Institute pretty often in the last month, so it´s gonna be really strange to not be there for a few months, or better to say, to go there only for a lunch/snack or to do my shopping in the shop downstairs. But no lectures, cooking classes and cooking workshops, no do-in exercises and shiatsu massage trainings. I have to now study all this on my own, which is quite a challenge, because then I have to fight my inner laziness, lack of time (perceived or real) and my schedule, which I tend to fill way too much, with too many things. But at the same time I am really looking forward to reading my study notes, and mostly all those books that I ordered in the last weeks and months – I have a whole shelf in my bookcase full just of macrobiotic literature!! The Level 2 was much more difficult than the first level – we went into more depth in all classes, in philosophy, health (learning all the organ systems and the whole body´s physiology), diagnostics and shiatsu (now we really have to know where the meridians are and how they work :-p). Also our cooking workshops got more difficult, with more meals to cook for dinner each time, and most of all, more complicated and sophisticated meals. Actually we made such culinary menus that most of us felt that we need less oil and less desserts, not more!! At home I cook much more simple…

I was looking forward to cooking together with those of my classmates who live in Amsterdam (either permanently or temporarily), but so far we managed that only once, with my Level 1 friend Sonya. But it was very enjoyable to make a dinner together at her place, feeding not only the two of us, but also Sonya´s partner and her 1,5 year old daughter (well, or at least – we tried to feed her!).

Besides trying to dedicate my time to self-study and cooking practice I also walk Henry. I mentioned Henry last time – a French bulldog/Boston terrier mix owned by an American couple who live in the city centre. I walk him three times a week in the area of Waterlooplein. He´s really sweet and cute and we get a lot of looks and remarks from passing by people, who usually think he´s adorable and want to play with him – so does Henry!  He´s sometimes hilarious when he tries to scare pigeons or when he gets a hysterical attack when we pass a baby stroller, wheelchair or a person on roller skates – for some reason little rolling wheels make him totally ecstatic and he tries to free himself from the leash! :-p I am also trying to teach him to catch his doggie treats when thrown in the air – it´s trial and error, but we´re getting there

Unfortunately, my other dog client (the shepherd mix) was cancelled because the lady was looking for someone permanent, which I cannot offer…same problem with my babysitting – also cancelled because I was not available during my busy study times and it was just easier for the lady to find somebody who can come anytime without so many restrictions I am a bit sad about this, but there is nothing I can do – my studies are a priority, and I really plan to leave Holland in March and I am honest about this…

Some days ago Nardo´s dad paid us a visit for the first time in our little nest – we showed him Nieuwendammerdijk, our biggest pride, luckily the weather was great that day, cold but bright, and the sun was just setting, I enjoyed the walk very much, because normally I just bike through there quickly and don´t have time to pay attention to all the details of the beautiful old houses and their gardens…For dinner we went to our local Indonesians, where Lambert was talking to the owners in Indonesian, which of course made them happy

Last weekend me and Nar decided to make a little bus trip to the nearby towns of Edam and Monnickendam, as our friend Marco told us they´re one of the most beautiful Dutch towns, and I think he was right! Both were very old-fashioned, very tranquil and especially Monnickendam had an authentic atmosphere of an old harbour – I made plenty of pics, so check them out. Unfortunately, as it is almost winter and it was weekend, almost all the shops and attractions (such as museums and churches) were closed In Edam there is a famous cheese market once a week, but only in the summer months, this time the whole town was like a ghost town…We at least visited the tourist information centre in the building of the baroque town hall and got a bunch of leaflets and chatted to the talkative old man who volunteers there…I also had soup at a local restaurant, while Nar had a hot chocolate drink. Since it was still quite early afternoon, we decided to still see also Monnickendam, which is a smaller town, but it was much more busy, because there was an outdoor market that day (unfortunately, they were packing up by the time we arrived) and also a Sinterklaas celebration with a parade of people in costumes. I must say that I am confused, because in the last two weeks there is a lot of stuff going on with Sinterklaas (the Dutch Saint Nicholas), it´s such a huge event for the Dutch! He “arrived” to Holland and is now travelling around the country, that´s what I heard, but the actual Sinterklaas evening (which is more important than Christmas here) is on December 5th…oh well, maybe I should read up on this…Anyway, all the shops are full of Sinterklaas treats (gingerbread “speculaas”, often filled with almond marzipan/paste, tiny round gingerbread cookies “pepernoten”, chocolate alphabet letters of the first letter in your name, and other stuff) and not only shops but also peoples´ windows have a lot of decorations with Nicholas and his black helpers “Zwarte Pieten” (yes, black slaves! ).

The weather lately really feels like winter – we had some freezing nights already, and in the last week we experienced a loooot of thick white mist when you literally can´t see almost anything around you. Quite adventurous to go with the ferry in such conditions, I always hope that they have really good navigation skills because sometimes you can´t see the ships which are just a few metres away from you…

Oh and I have to share with you something I encountered a few days ago while biking home on Nieuwendammerdijk – a man biking with an enormous axe resting on his shoulder – everything is possible here when you´re on a bike!! I am used to people biking with large bags and chairs on their bikes, but sometimes I DO still get surprised, yes…

 

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