Australia Beyond the Windshield

Watch out for kangaroos and wombats!

 Hi Everyone!

Last week was really hectic--and I think it will be worse in the weeks to come. I have gotten used to going home from the lab at 9 or 10 in the evening. And somehow I have gotten used to walking alone in the dark "forest" while the strong wind tickles monster trees to dance. It's a dreadful scene, really. You never know when the trees will collapse.

Lake or creek?

Moving on to our brief feature story today... Last year, when I visited my bf in Australia, we had to do a lot of driving. One was the extremely long drive from Sydney to Melbourne. But I didn't find it exhausting because--well, I wasn't the one driving! :D And the sceneries beyond the windshield were inexplicably breathtaking! I had to tell my bf to stop every now and then so we could take pictures. 

Hills.

The kookaburra.

 In all places in the world, I think Australia has the most number of road signs. You will probably find signs every 10 meters! And some of these signs are very unique too. In the first picture above, you will see that the sign is telling people to watch out for kangaroos and wombats. In the countryside where marsupials outnumber the human race, car accidents rarely occur due to collisions between two vehicles. It's usually between a bullet-fast car and an indifferent marsupial crossing the road! Australians seemingly care about preserving the natural environment that they put all these signs just to warn drivers. I even saw a tiny bridge dangling above the road which was intended for koalas. But of course, instead of using the hanging bridges, some koalas choose to "jaywalk" and run the risk of getting hit by a car.

Sunbathing cow.

All sorts of birds are flying everywhere. My bf would frequently point towards a hawk which flew so fast, my poor astigmatic eyes could not even see. Many times he asked, "Did you see that? Did you see that?" When you have poor eyesight, it's hard to spot a flying bird against the beautiful clouds. I only see birds when they fly as a group and make the V formation.

And of course, I can see huge animals like cows and sheep! This last picture really makes me smile. The cow is peacefully resting after a good feed. Everyone of us deserves a good life. :)

Brugge, Belgium

The whole day I was imprisoned in my room, trying to finish revising the second draft of my thesis introduction. Because it was bright and sunny, I kept glancing outside my window, daydreaming about aimlessly loitering around Leuven. 

A view from the boat.

Horse carriage.

I also daydreamed about travelling to Brugge, one of Belgium's touristic spots. It would be a waste not to share these photos taken by my sister's bestfriend when she visited me last year. We went to Brugge on such a beautiful sunny late autumn morning. Because we envied the people riding on the boat, we took a 20-minute cruise around Brugge. The canal scenery was more like the one in Venice, Italy. The boat drivers in Brugge, on the other hand, were not wearing striped shirts. If I remember it right the boat ride was around 15 euros. We also wanted to ride on the horse carriage; unfortunately, day length was too short as it was approaching winter. By the time we finished walking around and we wanted to ride on the horse carriage, the sky was already bleeding darkness. 

Glancing at people on the boat.

I also enjoyed looking at the swans. So huge yet so graceful. Because they have gotten used to being around people, they were very tamed. While I was feeding them with bread crumbs, they accidentally bit me! It felt like two hammers pounded my finger tips from two sides.

Swans in the middle of the canal.

Feeding the swans.

I would love to go back to Brugge this Spring. Can't wait to see my swan friends again. In the meantime, I need to head back to the lab tomorrow. They told me it's a holiday. But who cares about holidays if you're living alone in a foreign country and the people you love are miles and miles away?  

Bedroom in Arles by Vincent Van Gogh

Bedroom in Arles, 1888

Bedroom in Arles, 1889

If you happen to visit Amsterdam, perhaps you can drive away from the Red Light district for a while and visit the Van Gogh Museum. The museum houses countless paintings of Vincent Van Gogh and some other artists whom he influenced and who influenced him. Ninety-five percent of the paintings and sketches in the museum were all created by such a prolific artist. Some of his other paintings (such as the Starry Night) were not even there.

Other than painting a portrait of himself over and over again, Van Gogh is seemingly fond of recreating his artworks. One example is the Bedroom in Arles which he painted three times (once in 1888 and twice in 1889). The museum, however, only housed two of the three paintings. What is worth-mentioning is that, he originally painted Bedroom in Arles in 1888 when he still was psychology stable. A year later, he unfortunately lost his sanity. Once again he painted his bedroom. The strokes and play of colors in the 1889 painting were messier but more dynamic. It seemed to me that insanity unleashed the genius in Van Gogh. 

Amsterdam and Madame Tussauds

 Hi Everyone! The examination period is finally over and I have to triumph over another semester, the last semester so I can obtain my Master's Degree in Molecular Biology. It sounds fancy, but I don't know what to do afterwards (other than settling down with my boyfriend and obtaining PhD. haha). I barely have 7 months to go before I leave Europe and I'm already planning to do lots of travelling--hopefully, when I finish my thesis early and I pass all my exams, I can do a European tour with my boyfriend. I need to save a lot of money because to be honest, my ego suicides whenever he pays for most of our expenses every time we travel. And so beginning next month, I have to impose austerity measures. :D

Last Christmas, my boyfriend and I drove three hours to Amsterdam. We spent the entire morning perusing Van Gogh's art works in a museum his family established after he died. After grabbing a quick bite at a sausage stall in a park near the museum, we headed towards Madame Tussauds. It's a decent-size building where you can find wax figures of famous people--dead or alive. While I am not particularly fond of "famous" people, I found myself extremely excited to have photos with them. Why? Because they look so real! And they're even better than the real ones!

The lady working there said that the place is usually packed everyday. During the peak season, the number of visitors can reach up to 4000! The wax figures are so detailed, even the hair on their skin looks real. The founder, Marie Tussaud, is such a talented lady. She founded the museum in London some time in the 1800s. So far, there are 8 other branches around the world and you can find them in the following cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Washington D.C., New York and Las Vegas. So if you happen to visit one of these cities, I suggest you go to Madame Tussauds. You need not know all the famous people there. Looking at the wax art works themselves will surely be pleasurable enough.

I will briefly describe the Van Gogh Museum some other time. It's also a must-see in Amsterdam. In general, I liked Amsterdam because it's very much similar to Belgium. But one big difference is that Belgium is more tamed! And marijuana is definitely illegal here. I can't describe how much I hate the scent of marijuana. The smell reeks everywhere in the streets of Amsterdam. Before, I told myself that one day I will try the delicacies in one of Amsterdam's cannabis "coffee shops"; when I got there however, I changed my mind. The stench of those coffee shops are so foul, I want to puke. But it's just me. I don't know. Maybe you can try and tell me about it because I am definitely never going to try it in my life. 

That's it for my Amsterdam trip. I remember I owe you the story of the night when my boyfriend proposed under the Eiffel Tower. I'm getting married, would you believe? Time surely flies and I'm not getting any younger. But while I can, I will definitely keep on travelling. The world is so beautiful!

Good night!

P.S. In my last oral exam yesterday, the Professor asked me, "Are your exams always like this?" I said, "Yes Professor." Then he asked, "Are you the best in your class?" That was very flattering! Then I replied, "No Professor, my friends are smart too!" But at the back of my head, I was like, "Definitely not the smartest in the class, Professor. Wait 'til you see me in the lab!" haha!

Leuven, Belgium

I pass by this forest on my way to the lab.

Hey there!

The charming castle without a charming prince.

I always go out with an umbrella.

Last week, I wanted to write something about my new abode, but I was feeling a bit sad after the great gust of wind slapped the Philippines and left a huge typhoon scar that will probably never heal. Rest assured though that my family is safe and sound. However, my countrymen who were badly hit are still desperately needing food and water. While my country has received millions of donations from all over the world, the victims still remain in such an abominable and infernal-like situation due to poor mobility. I already stopped watching video clips because they really make me cry. :-(

Moving on to a lighter topic... I would like to tell you a bit about Leuven, my new home. The pictures speak for themselves. Despite the perpetually gloomy weather, the campus surrounded with trees and ancient architectures have made the ambiance conducive for living and studying. A walk through the forest (the shortest method to reach my lab from my residence) is like a journey through a mystical garden full of  enchanted creatures whose main ability is to make  you experience serenity at its purest. However, like any mystical garden, traversing the path at night is the worst (ever) experience you can possibly fathom as you will see nothing but disfigured shadows of monstrous trees! Because  I am no more than a damsel in distress when I journey through the forest in pitch-black darkness, I often find myself running for my life. haha! But daytime is perfect. A picturesque campus indeed!

I'm so happy to be here!

Good night now. Kisses to you.

My default food

When I was still in the Philippines, I have always wondered how some people drew enough energy for the entire afternoon just by merely eating a sandwich for lunch. How could they possibly sustain themselves with such a meager amount of calories? As an Asian, I was extremely baffled! But when I moved here, I discovered the answers.

A typical sandwich in Europe is  nothing like the ones we have in my country. One big difference is the type of bread they use. The breads here are typically larger and more compact than the ones we have in Philippines. In my country, I can squeeze a 10 cm x 10 cm bread with my bare hands and turn it into a tiny ball. Needless to say, the bread in my country is nothing but air.

In Europe, they load the sandwich with fruits, vege and meat. In my country, we frequently just put either peanut butter or mayonnaise. It's still delicious but not as heavy. 

So, here's how I frequently make my sandwich. First, I spread a layer of cream cheese over 2 slices of brown bread. Then I create the following layers: ham, lots of tomatoes and then ham. I press the sandwich in the sandwich maker for 3 minutes. Then I insert the lettuce/spinach on top of the tomatoes (but underneath the ham).  

It's a fast, easy and lazy way of filling my stomach! But as a rice bunny, I'd rather eat rice than this yummy European sandwich.  

New flat!

Hey there!

I haven't written anything lately because I've been extremely busy. On top of that, I have moved to a new environment which seems to be a bit unfavorable for the production of my feel-good hormones. So instead of ranting and enumerating a thousand reasons why I am not as happy as before, I decided to keep quiet. So now, I will jot down the summary of what I've been going through without making my readers feel a bit sad and/or irritated.

It's been a month since I moved here. The moment I moved in and realized my friends in Brussels are so far away, I started to feel a bit homesick. Then I started thinking about moving out and moving in to a cozier flat. The hallway of my current flat looks like that of a hospital's-- and it's so hard to live with it. And because I cannot do anything about the hallway and I cannot move out and find a cozier environment, just some days ago, I have squeezed my interior decoration IQ to pull out a very habitable room with a not-so-coherent theme where I just threw in a mixture of purple and pink objects! Plus, I started putting plants all over! 

So now I am happier. What I have learned in the past 4 weeks in my new flat is this: "If you cannot change something, then just live with it!"

OK. I'm off to bed. More of my stories when I return. 

P.S. That's my pet cactus. Isn't it pretty?