(no subject)
Haven't updated my journal in ages... I think that's got something to do with the fact that SO much has happened since my last post that there is just too much to tell. Well, I'll just try to give you the short version. First of all, it turned out that I did really well on my exams, so that I enjoyed almost three months of summer holidays. I had a lovely time in July, enjoying the hot weather (although, you know, it's scary to think about how freaky the weather is behaving), and during August, I worked in the local library and went to The Hague (The Netherlands) with a couple of friends - fortunately, it was less hot by then, otherwise I think I'd have melted.
It was around that time that I won a trip to New York to go see Shakira live in Madison Square Garden!!! It was a radio contest: in a first round I had to recognize three short excerpts from three of her songs, in a second round I had to recognize part of Don't Bother that was played backwards, and in the finale, I had to compete with two other people in a sort of quiz with idiotic but very difficult questions. So I won in the end and so I left for NYC on September 6 together with my niece Hanne (who is only three months younger than me). It was one the best trips of my life and I still miss it so much that it hurts to think about it for too long :-( .
I was home for only a day or so and then I left for Crete together with my parents and brother. I had a nice stay there as well - the weather was great and I swam and sunbathed lots while still being able to go for walks and go to museums and stuff. Highlights were the tiny island Spinalonga (which was once a leper colony) and a long walk through a canyon that lead past a cave that once served as a ancient sanctuary and past the ruins of a deserted convent. I also ate lots of pizza *devilish grin* .
Then University started. Third year. I now have a sort of student room in Ghent; at first I was afraid that I wouldn't find a nice room because I thought I had started looking for one too late, but eventually I found a really, really nice one. It's VERY close to the Blandijn, the building where I have all of my classes, and to the center of Ghent. I still have to get used to not living at home all the time, but I'm glad I took the step.
It was around that time that I won a trip to New York to go see Shakira live in Madison Square Garden!!! It was a radio contest: in a first round I had to recognize three short excerpts from three of her songs, in a second round I had to recognize part of Don't Bother that was played backwards, and in the finale, I had to compete with two other people in a sort of quiz with idiotic but very difficult questions. So I won in the end and so I left for NYC on September 6 together with my niece Hanne (who is only three months younger than me). It was one the best trips of my life and I still miss it so much that it hurts to think about it for too long :-( .
I was home for only a day or so and then I left for Crete together with my parents and brother. I had a nice stay there as well - the weather was great and I swam and sunbathed lots while still being able to go for walks and go to museums and stuff. Highlights were the tiny island Spinalonga (which was once a leper colony) and a long walk through a canyon that lead past a cave that once served as a ancient sanctuary and past the ruins of a deserted convent. I also ate lots of pizza *devilish grin* .
Then University started. Third year. I now have a sort of student room in Ghent; at first I was afraid that I wouldn't find a nice room because I thought I had started looking for one too late, but eventually I found a really, really nice one. It's VERY close to the Blandijn, the building where I have all of my classes, and to the center of Ghent. I still have to get used to not living at home all the time, but I'm glad I took the step.