Weekend Update

So I survived my first "real" weekend in The Hague. Last week at work was slow - several people were out of the office, and most people expect it to take a week for phones, computer, and other various bureaucratic mechanisms to be set in place. Luckily for me, this was all taken care of early in the week, so I had lots of time for contemplation of a variety of interesting topics.

After everyone had been forced to stay in Thursday due to stormy weather, Friday night people were rearing to go out. After several hours of arm twisting, I hesitantly agreed to join them. Going out drinking is not really my style, but I wanted to make some friends... A few hours (read: drinks) later, we were wandering around the center of town, a small Korean intern on her child-sized bike leading the rest of us on a search for the bar where we'd meet up with the rest of the interns. (A note on the bikes - Dutch bikes are notoriously large for most non-Dutch persons.) It took awhile to track down, likely due to the fact that said bar was hidden up a small alley, nearly buried under construction materials and scaffolding. Inside was cool - live jazz music and cheap drinks. Who can ask for anything more?

Not me, apparently. Saturday morning, after a long stumble home, was spent watching "The Rise and Rise of..." marathon on MTV. I was oh so disappointed to find out I'd missed the first half of Shakira's special, damn that last shot of whiskey! By 6 the headache had subsided enough for me to face the harsh reality of grocery shopping with the rest of the city in the small, poorly stocked grocery store I frequent. So much for a day exploring the town center! I got cozy with my couch, more MTV, and had an early night.

Sunday, fully recovered, I headed out with another intern to explore Delft, a smaller version of Den Haag about 30 minutes away by tram. Being Sunday, everything was closed, but there was a cute town square, I bought my first pieces of Dutch kitsch, and stopped into a cafe for a lovely cup of tea (chose "no" on the Jägermeister shot option).

So, that's about it... not very exciting to say the least. It's hard to get used to being bored (relaxed?), but I think somehow I'll manage, as long as I can run fast enough to avoid the hail.

Oh yeah, I bought a bike, and appropriately enough, today is garbage day. Scary.

Things that are entertaining to me today (in no particular order):

• Chavez to U.S.: 'Go to hell, gringos!'
• The "Dungcam, tortoisecam, and bouldercam" shots on BBC nature shows. Nothing like watching a lion cub walk around pushing a camera disguised as a pile of elephant dung.
• The pink tulips I bought on Saturday!
• Having to decide between Clinton or Obama...