sound of the night

Dark rainy night, empty trees, scaring shadows, endless quiet … and me.

It happened for a few times, quite a few, and is still happening now and then; it happens to feel the rain kissing my lips, to spread my arms wide open and hug the darkness, to close my eyes and feel like flying while I am on my bike; it happens to let the wind blow into my hair, to pedal so fast without looking where I am going or to pedal so slow in order to catch every drop of rain that comes in front of my eyes. It happens to love the sound of the yellow leaves taken away by the wind or the whisper of the water flowing to nowhere.

I want to shout my happiness in the street in the middle of the night.

I want to give you my smile and to take your hand and do it again.

Are you happy enough to catch the sound of the night?

step on it (7)

Den Haag (The Hague): with an AIESEC-er traveler. Yeap, I’ve discovered a traveler. And what are doing 2 travelers when they are meeting? They go traveling :). With a map to be studied in the train, with sandwiches and chocolate and tea and fruits and carrots to be eaten when your body asks for attention, with a big smile to bring the sun from behind the clouds … we went to den Haag.

My personal impression after one day in den Haag: “Is it for real?”. I was really amazed by the mixed of history with S.F. design; it’s not really S.F. from nowadays, it’s the one from 10-15 years ago that I’ve saw on TV when I felt in love with this kind of movies. It’s like “building the future on top of the past”. It’s really wonderful: statues of kings, 21^st century trams that goes under your house, old museums, large squares, narrow streets, latest brands in shops … and the sea.

We made 2 friends there: the chocolate eater pigeon and the grumpy pigeon.

The North Sea’s beach in den Haag. My first time that I see the sea in the autumn or winter. My beloved sea. It was really windy, but we were lucky with the rain … it stayed far from us. Have you ever tried to catch with your hand the sea’s foam carried by the wind on the sand? Have you ever tried to hug the sea and felt the waves calling you?

And I’ve been waken up by the hunger :). We went for a pizza in a place with a very strong American brand but with a very Dutch lekker design inside … and of course the usual more than half an hour waiting for the food or desert.

counting

Yesterday there were exactly 2 months since I've put my foot in the Netherlands 19 sept - 19 nov. It's a lot of time and it's to few time. I'm changed, others are changed, and others are the same. I've been said and I've been laughing, I've been frustrated and I’ve been smiling, I’ve walked into the rain and I’ve lied down in the sun, I’ve met people and I’ve been alone, I’ve been putting questions and I didn’t cared, I’ve been going ahead and back, I am here.

My first dinner here was in a place called Jerusalem, with the person that helped me in the “getting here” process. We’ve eaten a pizza and went to the party, after less than 1 hour since I’ve been in Wageningen.

After exactly 1 month, on the 19^th of October, guess what happened? I’ve had dinner in the same place, and again a pizza, but with other AIESEC-ers; she went for a traineeship across the ocean.

Yesterday I came back from Utrecht and counted my internationality rank: I’ve met people from over 32 countries, beginning to understand at least 2 new languages, eating food from I don’t know how many places in the world … yeap, I was counting countries :), I was really tired and I was trying to get rid of my throat: any volunteer for a short term exchange?

lord of the boards

Guano Apes are singing that, it’s not me … I have only went skiing. And also I’ve put my step in my third foreign land … Germany …yey.

Bottrop: indoor skiing with aiesec-ers. I went there with the idea of putting my hands on a snowboard and take a picture…but wait a minute, for taking one lousy picture I should have only the experience of being there and sitting in the snow ? No no no! I picked up the sky equipment and rock’n’roll. It was like my first time o a bike or on roller bladder: no falling down, even though I’ve climb the slope (the beginner one :) ) for 6-7 times. It’s good to watch some TV from time to time; it helped me skiing without any help at all.

Of course that there some moments when I just went straight ahead screaming to make room for the beginner, or I had to drop down to turn my skies around, but this doesn’t compare to the adrenalin pumping, or to the feeling of controlling your direction and speed or succeeding in turning naturally. I can sky easily too :) Yey … I’ve done it

And the evening ended with a specific party. At the beginning I was really satisfied of the music (old songs with nowadays rhythm), but it soon begun the german/dutch/danish songs night…

dutch weather

errr…it’s very simple the dutch weather: sun, clouds, rain, ice, sun and only in 5 minutes; enjoy your walk.

My first month here was really sunny and warm. And it continued like that. Yeap sunny and warm with some pepper and salt. It happened to me one day: I looked on the window, the sky was almost clear; I get down to my bike, it begun some raining; I went to my hostel, ice and rain was thrown in my face by a tremendous wind; I arrived in the bikes’ parking lot near my hostel, the sun begun shinning … that’s nice, in 5 minutes I’ve experienced summer, autumn, winter and spring.

And only now, in the middle of November it feels and looks like the autumn that I know from back home.

And you know what? I can really bring the sun whenever I feel good (even though I’m not a blond child, but I’m from there… ;) ).

It’s time for today’s shower. Tot ziens.

happy

I miss Iasi, but this feeling is a stranger for me; it’s not mine. I miss Romania, but … I don’t miss it. I miss you … yes, this is what I really miss. I miss you, I miss spending time with you, I miss seeing you … but I’m happy without. I have other things to do right now, I have new pieces of me to discover and invent, I really know how to enjoy my time and to love my life. Missing you it’s the joy of meeting you again somewhere sometime. Missing you is the happiness of the tomorrow, the happiness of today is my hands, my eyes, my mouth and my ears.

Yeah you, the one that you read this; maybe I’m speaking about you right now … or maybe it’s not about you.

step on it (6)

Arnhem: with 2 romanian guys. It was a specific Dutch Saturday: some clouds, some sun, some wind and some water drops. Ok, let’s go. We went for shopping; at least this was the main goal. This time I did it another way: just put some clothes on me and went away without any sack on my back … hmmm … I guess I had some candies with me :D. A new city for me and some time available, guess what? Exactly, a short city tour; and it was really short: the main square with the church (interesting that it had an elevator into the tower) and the narrowed commercial streets with old and new buildings. The shops were quite ok and I had good luck in finding what I like at a more than reasonable price. But I still need some warm trousers before the winter will freeze anything (the Dutch frees, not the Romanian -20C :) ). I really felt like going from a village to the city; it was like: uau! So many people! Uau! So high buildings! :). I’ll be back for sure to get under the skin of Arnhem.

step on it (5)

Nijmengen : with AIESEC people. Perfect Sunday noon: a little bit of wind, some sun with clouds, a little chilly, green trees above, the Maas, yellow leafs on year feet, a little bit tired after skiing (yeap skiing …yeay) and partying, great people around me … perfect time for a walk. We have taken a little tour of the city and its historical spots (lot of history that I’ve heard … and forgot in the next second). I love to hear it but I’m not the person to remember it. I’ve heard a creepy story about some hanging people, I’ve seen some “lady’s” like in the famous Red District from Amsterdam :), walked along the Maas and seen the signs of old and new flooding, climb some stairs to a roman building, some beautiful parks and gardens (I’ve seen my first real black swan), walked on the oldest street of the Netherlands, stepped inside a cathedral and heard the pipe organ music … I’ve stepped in history for some hours and enjoyed a relaxing Sunday.

... and played table football

step on it (4)

Zoo near Wageningen: with AIESEC people. My first week-end here and it was already time to “step on it”. There were around 30 AIESEC-ers from all over the Netherlands … and many places in the world. I’m not a big fan of the zoo because I do not like to see animals locked in cages and the humans pretending that they offer them almost the same habitat as they would have in nature. I had a very bad mental trauma last year after visiting the zoo in Sibiu (Romania), so this time I was prepared to refuse this grotesque way of entertaining people. But it was ok or almost ok. The animal environment was somewhat acceptable. What I’ve seen there: a monkey fight that scared all the ducks :), a huge and very frustrated polar bear, very very high giraffes, some “olifants”, of course my beloved penguins, some “rock” wild pigs (they had the same hair style as a rocker :P ), and many more (some funny, some said, some happy … some animals).

step on it (3)

Bennekom: by bike. It’s really small, even smaller than Wageningen I think. The center looks really “gezellig”. I have founded there the remains of a tram line or railroad and the statue of an old railroad worker looking far away for the incoming tram or train

Road to Arnhem: 2hours and a half by bike. Hmm…I want to bike, but where to? Look, it is written up there Arnhem 17km. Ok, let’s go. It was really chili and the wind was blowing in my face all the way, and it didn’t stop blowing in my face neither when I came back. I climbed the Wageningen’s “mountain” (hmmm..maybe it has more than 100m high…hmmm), biked near the highway, through some small villages, into the forest, smelled the fresh air that remembered me of the mountain forests from my home, and biked and biked and biked. I had to stop after more than 1 hour; my body needed a break and some energy…water and chocolate :D. And let’s go back, but not on the same route. So I have chosen Benekom come back. I really love those forests. Lucky there weren’t too much traffic on the street so I could fall in love with the noise of my bike going further and further and further. People here live really close with the nature and I see a great respect for it.

step on it (2)

Utrecht: 4hours walk by myself. I have followed a tourist route and I’ve seen almost all the historical places in Utrecht… and it’s really historical. I had the sensation of walking in a novel about an old monastery, or another one about knights, or another one about the lower society in the middle ages. All of them are conserved in such a manner than made me feel the history, touch it. Even thought I was reading on every step about what happened there, I forgot it in the next second; I just kept the sensation of those so far away times. And something unexpected: while walking on a quarter of the route I haven’t seen no one tourist or native … and on the Jerusalem street was a spooky bar, with doubtful people inside and outside … and I was on the way of being robbed (lucky I have an innocent look or because I staid very calm…hmmm). I have stopped on one side of a canal in the warm sun light and eaten my sandwiches. It was the perfect time for my feet to rest and for my face to get some heat in the chili breeze of autumn. I have to come back and try some sailing on the canals and a drink with my friends.

step on it (1)

Tilburg: with two of my best friends. The first Dutch city that I’ve stepped in. It looks rather modern than old. Of course it has the main square with the church or some old houses or spots. But there are much more new buildings with modern looks; not too futurist, still preserving the Dutch style. You see bricks and pavements everywhere.

step on it (0)

I've told you that I'm crazy about traveling: put a grapefruit, a chocolate bar and green tea on my backpack, put it on my back and my lovely shoes on and step ahead to see new places, to smell the flavors of a city, to smile to a foreign face, to hear the daily noise of that spot, to listen to the ancient story of that site or just to experience the being there feeling.

So where have I been until now?

Green

Last year I have left my home and my 20+ life for an internship somewhere away. After 1 month and 2 weeks my psychic crashed my body in a miserable way.

This year I have left my home and my 20+ life for an internship somewhere far away. After 1 month and 2 weeks I finished a book “Vivre heureux. Psychologie du bonheur” by Christophe Andre.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What’s after the next door?

love

Yeap... I did it... I felt in love at a short time after I've got here.
Maybe you know how it is like: you feel it all your life; you meet it in your dreams; you know it's yours and only yours; you can enjoy it over and over again...time after time passes by and you know that nobody will have but you; it will give itself to you like you give yourself to it; the angelic feeling of the most wanted relationship that flows between both of you so smooth and so normal; it’s so normally goes step by step ahead that you could say that you lived it since you know yourself; it’s the feeling of bounding with what the being inside of you is so perfectly and deeply in touch … it’s like falling in love

It happened in a Tuesday (Tuesday is a lucky day for me here…it just happens :) )… I have seen my love in a picture before, but now it was time for a face to face meeting. Perfect match and we both know how to keep it perfect.

From that moment we are inseparable and having great time.

Yeap my lovely pinky bike: a gorgeous mountain bike painted in the pinky color of a famous cycling team.

I have taken good care of her: inflated its strong wheels; yesterday I bought her a splendid blinking back light and it was really happy of this small gift. I hope I will fix its gear shifter soon.

What has it done for me? Hmmm… it has taken me in the middle of the night and gave me the most unbelievable flight sensation (I wasn’t high or drunk… the road was really good), it walked me through the forests and the wind in the way to Arnhem, it got me down to see the Rhine; it clears my mind after hard thinking or working.

Yeap… the angelic feeling of falling in love