Stilstaan

The lyrics of the Sparta Rotterdam song that face me each day as I sat on the toilet. The first line upliftingly says: Sooner or later you will die.

Coincidentally, I have in my room back in Australia a poster similar to the mummy and baby seals on the right, except featuring a mummy with two babies. Symbolically, the bird on the left is here separated from its family as it goes on a student exchange program to the other side of the world.

A glass vessel belonging to Martijn, my landlord, which coincidentally has my birthday engraved on it!

The living room with view of kitchen.

Vanmorgen horloge gepakt:

staat stil. Kapot.
Niks meer aan te doen.

Op het balkon gezeten.
Broodje kaas gegeten.
Poes gestreeld.
Geraniums water gegeven.

Radio aangezet. Gewenst
dat niet alleen mijn horloge
maar ook deze dag
stil zou blijven staan.My room, just as it was found.

The library that adorned a quarter of my room's walls, fulfilling one of my dreams of commanding my own library.

The living room.

The kitchen.

The nest that has provided me warmth and shelter for 4 months.

Photos courtesy of Aimee.

Ode to 'Learning'

As the primary purpose of this trip was education, I present here a series of photos chronicling those good, funny and memorable times in the German section (as it is affectionately known) of the Main University library and the Eagle's Nest (balcony) of the KOG Law Library (providing a good 'overview' of 'shifting demographics') as well as other quiet areas of University buildings around town that were conducive to study.

The German section.

To break up the monotony of study, there was always Koffie, YouTube, Facebook and of course, we got by with a little help from a friend: http://www.mymagnum.com/?gold=4bf19e87734b9
A mid-study dinner from the pizzeria next door to Odessa on Hogewoerd (Sorrento's, I think), eaten on the steps of the law building. One of the best pizzas I have ever tasted, mostly due to study hunger, the knowledge that we had worked hard before it, and the Italian culinary authenticity.

One of my favourite sculptures above a stairwell in the KOG. A reference to Blind Justice and a strong powerful image that features 3 icons of legal education: the books, the scales and the sword of justice.

Babs, Thort nen, Lena and Frauke working hard.

We go to Einstein's for inspiration and encouragement. This being especially potent on Wednesday, particularly at night.

Cf. The same image taken during the mid-semester exams in cold wintry March. Also, a symbol of progress and flourishing in the library.

Thorsten 'studying' and Inga looking on.

As I later tell Thorsten: "We will make history because we studied in Leiden!"

Pre-exam weekend in Germany

This weekend the family was seeing off my cousin Chi My and her husband Anh Thu and two boys Ellen and Dylan before their permanent move to Vietnam. Luckily for me, my German carpool friend Eileen happened to be travelling back to Germany at the same time. It was good to see everyone from Co Chau's family here for a last get-together before Chi My left for Vietnam and I left Europe. It was also one week before the end of my housing contract in Leiden so a good chance for me to move the majority of my belongings back to my Aunt Co Chau's place. Finally, it was the weekend before my final exams and I was no stranger to a getaway study period in another country just before exams.

Thorsten's prep talk for Germany included a warning of/introduction to the German freibad culture, thus prompting my last minute spontaneous decision to grab my boardies, in addition to my study material, which paid off. The weekend in Germany turned out to be nicely warm and sunny. Although not warm enough for the outdoor swimming pools, the luxurious sauna and relaxation rooms were a perfect break from studying.
When I arrived in Germany at Co Chau's place, Anh Liem drove by to pick up Co Chau and myself. Squished into the car with Anh Liem, Chi Binh, An-Duy, Co Chau and half a car full of beach and picnic gear, I had no idea where we were going, assuming it was simply to another cousin's place. Somehow the GPS Navigator directed us for 3 hours on what was supposed to be a 1.5 hour drive to Bad Bentheim. When we arrived, I found out that the family had booked out a holiday home in a holiday village area next to a spa, sauna and outdoor pool (freibad) complex.



It also happened to be the weekend of the Champions' League final: the shirt colours, together with the corresponding facial expressions, indicate the result. Viet, a Bayern Munich fan, went straight to bed after the game.

From left: Anh Liem, Chi Binh, Anh Vinh, Anh Duy, Isabelle, Kevin, Dylan, Chi Lan, Baby ..., Anh Tu, Ellen, Chi My, Mai Anh, Anh Thien, Chi Mai, Viet, Anh Binh, Co Chau, Don.

The International Criminal Court: The Hague

Housed in a former corporate office building, the ICC rises proudly above its inconsequential surrounding neighbourhood. After an extensive airport-like security process, one is welcomed into a welcome area housed in the former carpark. State party names adorn the walls while educational brochures line the counters.

A quick briefing and introduction to the goals and processes of the ICC was given by two resident international lawyers, a French lady and an Australian lady, both quite attractive (perhaps only partly due to their intellect), just like myself and my accompanying French classmate Samuel - the French lady bringing her elegant, demure style while the Australian lady was outwardly brash with confidence and humour. The presentation replicated exactly the material from my International Humanitarian Law lecture at Leiden University regarding enforcement of IHL. In a nutshell: the ICC is created by the Rome Statute. Its aim is to end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious international crimes. It abides by the principle of complementarity, which means the Court only takes action if a state party in unwilling or unable to do so.

During the short and hence superficial Q&A session that inevitably follows such cursory introductory talks, a chauvinistic American tourist chauvanistically asked : "What would it mean to the ICC if the US ratified the Rome Treaty, and thus be a party to the International Criminal Court?"

"Well I can't say... but in my experience, the US has been a poor contributor to these sort of things", the sassy French lawyer sassily replied. Haha, classic.

We were then invited to climb the stairs to the courtroom upstairs for a public viewing. This was much smaller, thinner and modest than expected. The various participants in the trial all allocated a location squashed into this thin room. In the middle was a private curtained area where former child soldiers (some of whom are still children today) and other vulnerable people could testify without fear of having their identity revealed and retribution.

Five minutes into the session, as I started to get the gist of what was going on, the barrister for the Prosecution asked for a closed court, which was granted, and the whole five rows of visitors were herded back out again.

To exit the building through the ceiling-to-floor turnstiles, another person had to hold the red exit button which was located on the inside of the building. Hence, coming to mind was the image of the last remaining worker having to sleep in the courtroom each night, as there would be no one to hold this red buttom for him; and the judges at the end of each day rushing to the exit so as not to be the last person trapped overnight!

Boerhaave Museum

Leiden has an excellent science museum tucked away in a small street behind Harlemmerstraat. Its hidden location and modest exterior belies its relatively large interior containing many fascinating exhibits that cover anatomy, anthropology, physics, zoology. There is a strong focus on Newton, and a strong attempt to link the town of Leiden to Newtown's nurturing and scientific progress.

Three great minds, regardless of skull shape or size.

The "Hottentot": Only one song comes to mind.

Still cool, even in death.

Thorsten and Mugu enjoying the physics experiments.

Kanal Tripping mit mein 2 favöurite Älließ

A special guest entry by Thorsten Folsche, under the aegis, guidance and strict quality control of the original blog author. It is the yellow from the egg, and it goes!

Being one of the true appreciators of this blog, it was an tremendous honour to be able to write a guest entry like this!

On Saturday May 15th, Don, my German friend Mugu and I seized the day by spending two great hours by exploring Leiden via boat. Mugu is obviously not a very Aryan name,the reason for him being born in Germany is that his parents emigrated from Sri Lanka. Now this wunderkind is a medical student in Gießen, a true role model for successful integration.:)

After renting a rowing boat closely to Rembrandt's birthplace, we started our tour heading to the heart of Leiden situated around the gracht Nieuwe Rijn. Mugu as the first one to row was experiencing the first difficulties having to avoid crashing into boats of experienced Dutch people who secretly surely were making fun of us. We passed the Einstein with hundreds of people sitting outside in cafes watching us rowing by. Going west, we finally arrived at the Singel, a gracht that divides the inner city centre of Leiden from the suburban areas. Our dear Australian compagnion [sic] was strongly reminded of the movie "Waterworld" when we passed a run-down fabric with an apocalyptic interieur. Another absurd moment was watching a men in a strange costume being chased by ten kids in a park, sadly we were not able to take a picture!

The rowing Don shipped us safely to the [Oude Singel], where we stepped out next to his appartment to get a missing item: Don's awesome Dutch flag that he bought in Enschede! With it on board, the rest of our trip back to the rent station was a triumph... Loads of Dutch were waving to us, some even applauding in recognition of our apparent patriotism!

When we arrived back at the rent station (yes, i rowed for the last 20 minutes!), being back on solid ground, everyone contemplated for a while over the awesome time we had on the trip. Then, we headed back to the city, introducing Mugu to further secrets of Don's and mine contemporate home town: the city of keys, Leiden!