Monthly Archives: December 2011

2011: A Year in Review

Posted on December 27, 2011 | 2 comments

When I think back on 2011 it will undoubtedly go down as the year where I did more in 12 months than most people do in a lifetime. If I didn’t personally already defend a thesis, become a published author, move to a different country, and explore 20 countries on 4 continents along the way I would accuse myself of lying because I’m tired just thinking about it. But I apparently did because I lived through all of it! Continue reading →

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Posted in 0. The Netherlands, China, daily life, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Kenya, Nepal, Ohio, Post-Trip #2, Tanzania, Tibet, Uganda

A Very Dutch Christmas Time

Posted on December 19, 2011 | 4 comments

It’s that time of year in Holland: there is only sunlight for about seven hours, the fall bok beers have been changed for hearty winter fare, and the entire country is engaged in a national debate about the racist overtones of a beloved childhood mascot. Yes, it’s Christmas time in Amsterdam! (Which looks even prettier with all the Christmas lights by the way, the above is my favorite set not too far from my apartment.) Continue reading →

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Posted in Artie Aardvark's Adventures, Dutch traditions

A Daytrip to Luxembourg

Posted on December 9, 2011 | 1 comment

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who think that taking a two hour train ride on a Saturday from Paris to Luxembourg just to see what it’s like is a worthy adventure, and those who will sort of stare at you funny when you mention this and have no idea why you would do this. Fortunately the latter is too lazy to get out of the house in the first place, so my travel buddy Nick and I got to discover that of all the new countries to check out Luxembourg is one of the prettier ones- Continue reading →