Browsing Archive: May, 2011
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Tuesday, May 31, 2011,
First, my apologies for skipping out on an entry yesterday, so I will start with a little recap. ... Nothing really happened... Just kidding, but really, it was a normal work day and I spent the whole day working on going through the old Universe Awareness website content. As my first task was to sort through all, and I mean all, pages of the old website - 463 to be exact, and then determine if it should be kept, updated, etc. The next task is to transfer all of the information. That is wha... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Sunday, May 29, 2011,
Today I just couldn't help it, I'll admit that I made a trip to the grocery store specifically for stroopwafels. They aren't fresh like at the market but I just had to have some more. I still haven't given in and boughten lots of nutella, but they do have many generic kinds too that I plan to try eventually. Anyhow, since it is Sunday there hasn't been very much to do. Instead I thought I'd enjoy "some" stroopwafels and strawberries and work on my Dutch grammar lessons. I am definitely imp... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Saturday, May 28, 2011,
Yum! This is a stroopwafel - it is like two wafer pancakes with syrupy stuff in the middle. Puts that Belgian waffle to test!This morning I ventured to the Leiden Market. It is held every Wednesday and Saturday, but Saturday is the bigger of the two days. It has been going on in the same location for, what I've heard, 900 years. I knew I could get a fresh stroopwafel so of course I was there. They fill them fresh as you order. So good! About the market, I don't really know what to say... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Friday, May 27, 2011,
I'm starting to work on my Dutch, well Nederlands. With some advice, I'm aiming for two words a day because even though most do speak English, I would still like to learn. I know that my parents and sister especially will not be very happy to read this, but I already love the city. I hope that sometime in the future I will have another opportunity to return, as I don't think that two months is going to cut it for me. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has been so kind and welcoming - also very ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Thursday, May 26, 2011,
It is sooooooo incredibly windy here today! It's never been like this I don't think in Kenosha or Chicago. I almost got blown over on my bike today and as soon as I was in front of a canal instead of a building, myself and two other bikers near me just about came to a standstill because going against the wind was so difficult. I was contemplating getting off my bike and just walking! Today and tomorrow Pedro is not going to be in his office so I was free to work from home or a cafe or of co... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Wednesday, May 25, 2011,
Yes, that is just one of the many good quotes of Sir Martin Rees from the UK, in response to a question from the audience about the methane lake on Titan. Yesterday, on May 24, I was fortunate to be able to attend an event at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium where Universe Awareness, the program I am here working with at the University of Leiden, was being publicly acknowledged of receiving a 1.9 million euro grant to be implemented over three years in six different countries. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Wednesday, May 25, 2011,
I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!!!! This morning, I biked to the university, didn't take the wrong turn once, and had plenty of time to spare! I don't mean to gloat, but I am so extremely proud of myself. I have been so nervous about this endeavor since arriving here because in America, we mostly bike for exercise rather than transportation. In the Netherlands, there are 1.11 bikes per habitant (which equals a whole lot of bikes). I thought for sure it'd just be a quicker way for me to get lo... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Tuesday, May 24, 2011,
This is going to be a long one! Today I woke up to a beautiful day in Brussels, Belgium but unfortunate to say that I was tired when my alarm went off. Since I didn't want to waste a minute of the one day I had in Belgium and I didn't need to be at Parliament until noon, I got ready and decided to start off by going to the natural caffé just a few door down for a wake up call as I remembered passing it last night.
I packed all my stuff up and headed out with my map in hand - the one that I... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Monday, May 23, 2011,
Today was adventurous to say the least! Today was my first day of working and Pedro was very helpful in sending me directions from where I am living to the building I will be working in. It was about a 2.7 km walk and was supposed to take about a half hour. I thought I'd leave 45 minutes early so I had 15 minutes to spare of getting lost; some streets just don't have signs in Europe... Anyways, it ended up taking me a mere hour to get there. woops! Fortunately there was an older man lea... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Sunday, May 22, 2011,
I am officially in Leiden! To recap my events so far, let's just say I am extremely fortunate to have the family I do - my mom, dad, Jeni and Al all trekked to Kenosha to pack up all of my stuff to prepare to haul back to Minnesota. Thank goodness I had my mom to get all of my stuff to fit inside of two suitcases too.
This leads to my final task of the last weekend - traveling to get here. In my style of packing, I ended up being slightly overweight with my luggage. After re-situating ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Monday, May 9, 2011,
On Saturday, May 7, I went to Richard Bong Recreation Area in Kansasville, WI to watch WSGC's NASA Space Grant Rocket Launch. There were three divisions: the Collegiate Rocket Design Competition, First Nations Launch - AISES, and First Nations Launch - Tribal. For the collegiate competition, with given motor and dimension restrictions, the students designed their high-powered rocket so that after reaching apogee will descend in a controlled fashion to land close to a pre-determined area. F... Continue reading ...
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik on Wednesday, May 4, 2011,
It is only 18 days - almost 17 - until I will be on a plane to the Netherlands! I am very excited for all the adventures this summer has in store! Knowing my style, I should have started packing three weeks ago! Yikes! Continue reading ...
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