quick update

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd do a quick post to let you guys know what I've been up to. . .

I've been pretty busy lately (surprisingly). The weather has been getting nicer so I've been out and about a lot more exploring Leiden (and shopping). It really is beautiful here. I've only recently realized that I have about two and a half months left! So in a way I'm getting nostalgic even though I'm still not completely used to being abroad and still meeting people. Since the weather has been nicer all of the canals sparkle and the sidewalk cafe's have opened. It's really wonderful to just grab your bike and some friends and go out and have a coffee somewhere. My Dutch has hit a road block unfortunately, I'm pretty much stuck at ordering things and throwing in random vocabulary words at this point. I'm okay with it though- at least I know a lot more about the culture here than when I started.

My classes are becoming more demanding. I have the exam for my Consciousness soon, so I've been studying and reading for that. The 40 question exam is the only grade in the class so I'm a little nervous. I just got out of Dutch Culture, which is pretty interesting. It really helps to learn about this place and the impact it has had on other places around the world. I had a presentation the other day for my Religion and Modernity class which I think went pretty well. It was a bit difficult because one of my group members dropped out so it was me and a Dutch girl presenting on these intense articles that mixed anthropological thought with philosophy. Thank god that's over. I realized the other day that I didn't have enough credits for anything to count back at home, so I did some frantic emailing and got into this class on consumer psychology. I'm going to miss most of the lectures because I'll be traveling, but whatever.

Last week I went with a couple of my friends up to Amsterdam. I haven't been going up a lot lately, and we all decided we wanted to get to know the city better since we are so close. We found a lot of cool shops to check out in the Canal Ring, De Pijp and the Jordaan. I got some sick old-fashioned sunglasses I can't wait to wear and a really cool dress. Going back up this Friday to try and go to a few museums I've missed.

This weekend I went to Belgium for a short trip. My friends and I got lazy and only went to Antwerp, but it was pretty cool. It was so beautiful there and the food was amazing. Unfortunately that means I already ate most of the chocolate I got as gifts (sorry, I promise I'll get more!). Saturday night a bunch of people from Leiden went to Sensation White which is this famous rave that is held all over the world. I bought some sparkly floral white high tops for the occasion. Everyone looked awesome. There were about 20,000 people there in this huge arena all dressed in white from all over Europe. It was so cool. Yesterday and today I have basically been alternating between sleeping and trying to stay awake- we danced from about 9PM till 6AM! We realized afterward that we were surrounded by speakers, which I realized when I couldn't hear the Starbucks barista talking to me when I went to get breakfast the next morning. It's been a fun time recovering. I'll try and put up pictures soon.

I'm sad I'll be missing Saint Patrick's Day and festivities in Pittsburgh, but there are some pretty big celebrations in Den Haag and Amsterdam which I'm excited for. Apparently the Netherlands goes all out for it. It sounds like there are going to be live music and dancing in almost every bar which should be really fun.

This week I'll be hanging out in Leiden mostly apart from celebrating St. Paddy's. I just finished my weekly paper for my religion class, but have that final next Thursday! Eek. So I'll be spending a lot of time in the library the next couple days. It will all be worth it though because I'm going to Copenhagen with my friend Cara right after the final! I am so so excited.

Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Ashley