Slow Ride

Today was a fun day. I went over and met Anna and Maaske at Masske's house, and we had something to eat, then we went for a bike ride to the ooijpolder...a polder is a dyke. I was going to bring a dessert, but forgot to get something on saturday since all the shops are closed on sunday (grocery stores open at 16 hr, but we met at 13 hr). The only places that were open were Burger King and McDonalds, so I just resorted to getting french fries (a Dutch favorite), but then noticed a Turkish Bakery that was open. I got some sort of sweet...they almost have the texture of corn bread, and are cookie sized, soaked in what tastes like honey and butter, very heavy, but very good. Maaske didn't know what they were, but Anna said they have something like them back home (Hungary), but are more salty. These are very sweet.
We biked next to the polder to a lake, it took about 45 mins to get to there, but Maaske wanted to go to church tonight so we didn't have time to walk around the lake. I got to take some pictures, you can see them below or on picasa (i also added an album Holidays & Parties to picasa, it might have some pictures you haven't seen before). But, my camera's battery ran out within the first 10 minutes of the bike ride so I didn't get to take as many pictures as I'd have liked to. There were some very traditional cute Dutch homes that I'd like to go back and photograph. Today was warm enough to be outside, but today was the exception. It's been pretty cold lately, so I think I'll probably have to go back in spring, it would probably be prettier then anyway.
We saw these animals, that at first I wasn't sure what they were, they looked like a mix between cows and sheep. Really furry, but bigger than sheep. Anna and I thought they kind of looked like buffalo, but Maaske wasn't sure the english word for them. Later on we saw a sign that said something about the 'bisonbaai' (which I just googled and found out it means bison bay...and is a nudist beach, i knew there was one in nijmegen, but wasn't sure where) and figured out they were buffalo, bison. But, they didn't have the hump or horns or anything like that, and weren't really all that big. They must just be a different kind. I didn't get a good enough picture of them, so hopefully I will when I go back.
I did a couple more tests on thursday and friday. And tomorrow Anna and I are going to do a test together for 10 euros, some kind of social experiment, I'm not quite sure what exactly we'll be doing. In the BSI lab building (spinoza building) there's a cafe, and they have a special, speculaacinos (speculaas cappucinos) that I really want to try, I hope they still have them tomorrow. I tried to get one last week, but I got there right before they were closing and they were all out. : (
I hear the news of the coffeeshops and sex shops closing in Amsterdam made it back home. It was in the papers here about 2 weeks ago, but I guess some coffeeshops are being used for money laundering, and they're also shutting them down, ones that are within a certain area of schools. The paper said that only about 20% of Amsterdam's coffeeshops (I think it was around 32-36) are being closed. Some official was saying that Amsterdam will still have its unique and tolerant atmosphere, but also that hopefully tourists will see more of the culture of Amsterdam and not just coffeeshops and sex shops. The sex shops, I'm not quite sure why they're being shut down...since they don't have much to do with the red light district. Maybe just to discourage? But, there are definitely controversies over the red light district, I've seen posters here that shows a fat balding man with his shirt off smiling with his arm around a girl that looks 9 years old from Turkey, or of Eastern descent. I couldn't read the words, but it says something about the red light district and is obviously is making a statement.
I have one final this week, and one major paper due, and then on saturday I have the excursion to Maastrict and the Christmas Markets in Aachen. So, I have to study hard so I can enjoy the trip without being too stressed.
As a side note, I'm thinking about what classes to take next semester, and here's what I've come up with so far...American Modernism, Multiculturalism of North America, Gender Theories and Equality Policies, Egyptian Religious Texts, Interaction of Science and Religion, English from Old to New, Ancient History (either Greek or Roman), and Visual Culture. The Egyptian class and Interaction class say they last till August 31...but I'm not sure about that. I don't think they can...I'm going to look into it tomorrow.
Anyway...here's pictures from Thanksgiving and the Ooijpolder escapade...

Wish me Luck!
Sucess! (suuk-cess...good luck in Dutch)
p.s. title song by Foghat originally, then the Beastie Boys