First Week in Holland

I've been here a week and two days now, and already my time in the Gambia seems far away in memory.  Since I mean to start this blog at the beginning, however, I will do my best to go back to last Sunday evening, when I take off from Banjul Airport on an overnight into Brussels.  Not able to sleep on the plane, I enter the airport at 5:30 a.m. a bit dazed but definitely excited.  The man in front of me at border control, dressed in traditional West African clothing, is hassled by the immigration official, forced to produce documents confirming his agenda and to answer detailed questions about the nature of his itinerary.  I am stamped through with a simple nod.  Later, I watch the same man wait as his luggage is searched while I walk through customs unscreened.  I am definitely not in Africa anymore, though this type of ethnic profiling is no less common where I'm coming from, albeit among tribes or against non-Gambian Africans.  

In any case, after a fairly smooth journey by train, followed by a seemingly endless wandering by foot, I find my apartment building and am let in by Beatrice, my smiling landlord.  We walk up a flight up stairs, across a wide terrace, and up another, narrow, winding staircase to my apartment.  She lets us in, and I get my first look around.

Walking through the narrow hallway, she points out the toilet and washing machine (inside, they are one room; outside, they are two doors) on the right, followed by a sort of mini boiler room, and the shower on the left.  My bedroom is immediately to the left upon entering, and it is fairly sparse save for a wardrobe, clothing rack, and queen-sized bed.  The entire wall across from the door is window, covered by bamboo shades which successfully let in light while keeping view out.  

I then enter the main living space: a big, open, living/dining area.  The ceilings are high, and the long wall overlooking the street consists mainly of three wall-length windows, unshaded so that the apartment is surprisingly bright.  Because I am so high up, my view enables me to look out over many of the nearby buildings (first picture), and I have a great view of one of the many church towers in Leiden.    Beatrice shows me the kitchen, tucked into the other side of the apartment but fully equipped for anything I'd need it for.  She leaves me on my own, and for the first time, I realize that this is my own place, for me to live, however I want.  I can't imagine a better apartment to spend my Semester in; its location, on one of the main (pedestrian-only) shopping streets, is also ideal, and I almost can't believe how great it all seems.  

Passing my first days without a bike, I mainly explore the city and try to get a handle on its geography.  Although Leiden is fairly small, it is packed with all sorts of quirky stores and places to discover, and I can't say I've yet found a fraction of what it has to offer.  Able to find a health food store on my second day (I have since found at least three more), I prepare myself to start baking bread, something I've missed in Africa. 

As my stove is quite old fashioned and has no markers noting its temperature (besides a small flame and a big flame), I am left to bake at some mysterious level of warmth, which I will only be able to judge through experience. Undiscouraged, I have so far baked two acceptable batches of sunflower multigrain and several loaves of challah.  With the abundance of bakeries and cafes selling excellent pastries and desserts, however, I may soon be tempted to branch out into the realm of Dutch baking.  

Thursday is our first day of orientation, which is nice if altogether uninformative.  Losing my assigned group at some point during the day, I go with two new friends, Justin and Moe, to pick up a bike from a second-hand shop.  My bike of choice is a purple Gazelle with a pink bell (now outfitted with a removable wicker basket); though it is a humble one speed, it takes pride in having both pedal and front brakes.  With a bike, I am able to fully realize how easy it is to get around - literally nothing in Leiden is far away.    

After a reception  Thursday evening in an Astronomy building (which was, to a girl used to public-school accommodations, amazingly classy), they take us to Delft on Friday, where we get an excellent private tour of the city and then are left to explore on our own.  For those of you interested in the fate of Silent Willy, the faithful statue watching over Voorhees Mall, in Delft you can see the holes made by the two bullets which left him dead in his mansion in 1584.  

Not to bore you with details about course registration, suffice it to say that even a slight decrease in technological innovation is enough to make one develop a new appreciation for Webreg.  In any case, I think I am finally set up with a schedule, and classes start this week.

As for food, I've developed a whole new appreciation for cheese, bread, and coffee (even french fries with mayonnaise,  in definite moderation, has its place).  Just a few buildings down is Maoz, a small vegetarian place with falafel to put all of Easton Ave. to shame.  Beyond that, I haven't much ventured out (except, of course, to sample some of the many cafes or bakeries).

After one week, though I haven't yet taken much time to venture out, I've certainly ventured "in", so to speak.  My first few days are enough to convince me that this is the perfect place for me right now; in time, I'm sure I will be able to confirm these impressions.