A Very Long Post, Part I: preface to Skittles.

so where was i when we last parted? oh yeah. day 1. Friday. so i got in ok, did some walking around: up and down Overtoom (the main road that my little alley shoots off of), all around Vondelpark, and north on Jan Pieter Heijestraat. the architecture in this area is a lot less interesting than in the center of the city - it's all 19th century stuff here. sounds cool for back home and all - my apartment building in wilmington was built in 1886 - but it's not that old here. there's a small mansion that's used as an office building on Vondelstraat (runs along the top of Vondelpark) that was also built in 1886, and the differences are staggering.

side note: on the plane, i was listening to a lot of mitch hedberg (an insanely funny comedian who died in 2005), and it made me wonder how much it must suck to know that as a comedian, even at the top, you prolly won't be able to tour successfully in europe. do they have standup in mongolia? kenya? peru? it's a very strange profession, when you think about it...

anyway. i ended up taking a nap, because i just couldn't stay up. i really wanted to, but i just couldn't. atty (the woman who's house i'm staying in & friend of my supervisor, Mireille, at the Frans Halsmuseum) was busy having music rehearsals with friends. she plays the bassoon. i went back out to the grocers and produce stands on Jan Pieter Heijestraat and picked up things for dinner - Mireille was coming over, and the three of us were to have dinner together. Only catch - they don't know how to cook vegan. just wouldn't know where to start. so i made a simple dinner: pasta with a sauce made from sun-dried tomatoes, lots of basil, capers, garlic, spices, diced tomatoes, and roasted red pepper and eggplant, and a salad of fresh mango, avocado, and red onion. super easy, super good. super budget - the whole thing cost me around 13 euros. the produces stands are amazing - great quality, really cheap.

conversation was good - talked about being vegan, conservation, weather in the states, etc... both atty and mireille are incredibly nice - i'm hoping to be able to stay here as long as i can this summer, and i know i'm going to have a great time and learn tons at work.

all of that, and the sun doesn't go down completely until about 10:20pm. pretty awesome.