The Intern

We got plenty of rest this week. Naomi even took a couple days off of school - she hadn't been sleeping well and simply wasn't able to be in front of a bunch of teenagers. Her mom is a bit worse off and has been in the hospital for the last few days undergoing lots of tests and enjoying the company of the staff. Hopefully we will get some results soon. Naomi has started to feel better today, so lets hope that continues!

School was a bit rough for me this week. I had to give extra lessons to groups of primary school kids who are interested in coming to our school next year. They went pretty well but it took a lot of energy. I get to repeat the process this coming week.

The most difficult part came when I had to basically fire my intern. Despite extensive coaching from my end, he hasn't earned the respect of the students, and things blew up in his face rather dramatically on Friday. The whole class turned against him to the point where I have deemed the atmosphere to be completely non-recoverable. I am not sure where he will end up, but if he continues to pursue his educational Masters he will probably have to restart his student teaching at another school.

I did manage to peel myself off the couch a couple of times to add a few paragraphs to the novel...

Mopeds and cyclists tried to weave their way though the cracks, regularly stopping and waiting for the jigsaw of cars to shift and allow them through. An oppressive mix of partially combusted fuel and airborne red earth hung over the road like a stubborn morning fog refusing to give way to the sun. 

One by one, the cars in front of Jack forced their way into the fray, poking a nose into the tiniest of spaces while most of the car stuck out into the lane of oncoming traffic - like the runt of a litter maneuvering in for a taste of milk. Terrifyingly, Modibo hit the gas, causing the moped passing in front of him to swerve and the oncoming bus to hit the breaks, barely making it without getting clipped.

“That was close!” exclaimed a wide-eyed Jack. 

Modibo shrugged and said, “lots a ruum, an eenyway nobody sees a neew dent, so maany old unns to hiyde eet awaye.” He gave a hearty laugh while lunging the car deeper into the sputtering hive of vehicles. 

A Difficult Week

School went pretty much as planned for both of us this week. The trouble came from Naomi's mom. It seems as though she is in her final stages. She has the symptoms of pancreatic cancer although the hospital has not diagnosed it yet. Apparently they lost the test results. They have done a terrible job of diagnosis.

Alies has pretty much stopped eating and will be getting help in the house starting on Monday. Even talking on the phone can be an over-exertion. On the positive side, she has sounded reasonable about everything and seems to be accepting the situation. Naomi is having a rough time though, but thankfully her aunt, who just lost her husband, is a great help. Tomorrow we should get more news as there is another big doctor appointment.

School turned out ok though. On Friday we had a lot of fun playing squash with a big group of colleagues and then one of them came over for dinner and a movie. Yesterday we just spend the day on the couch. Today two of Naomi's friends will be coming for lunch. This coming week is a busy one for me at school...I am not really looking forward to it...

The Old Routine

It has been a week of transition. Our house emptied itself and while we were sad to see everyone go, it is nice to have our space back again. There is still a bit of work left to do in order to get things back to normal, but we also need this weekend to just sit on the couch. The last six weeks have been quite demanding!

Sunday we found ourselves in Leiden. The old city is well-preserved and light on tourists. There was more to do and see than we had time for, but Mom got a guided tour and we walked from point to point reading a bit about the history. We saw where Rembrandt grew up and went to school, the oldest botanical gardens of the Netherlands, and the Pilgrim Church among other things.

The Pilgrim Church was quite interesting because before traveling on the Mayflower, the Pilgrims thought the could find religious freedom in a tolerant, Dutch city. They stayed for a couple years but ultimately decided that Europe just wasn't working for them. Turns out an ancestor of Obama, along with a few other presidents, were part of this group.

Leiden was a lot of fun, but shortly after transportation needed to be arranged, school started, winter apocalypses to be navigated, bags lost, dinners to attend, bikes to return, and life is starting to return to normal...for a little while anyway.

A house from 1612.

One of two remaining city gates of the original 12.

The old city.

Interesting History.

Names.

The church itself.

Rembrandt's School.

The big windmill.

The Last Week

This was our last week together in the Netherlands. We started out by packing up our things and taking a train to Naomi's Mom's house. She had been preparing to host 6 people in her little place for almost two months. The setup worked out well, but it was difficult to see her in such rough shape. Naomi arranged a wheelchair for her so that she could join us on little walks that we took as she can't make it more than 100 yards on her own.

Our first full day there found us first in Enschede renting a car and then we all drove to Munster in Germany. We arrived later than planned but found a nice spot for lunch and enjoyed exploring the old city. It has four pretty churches that we took lots of pictures of.

The next day, Tuesday, we spent seeing a few sights in the neighborhood and had a great lunch at a pancake house. We ate in a 500 year old farmhouse kitchen by a fire. During the evening my family got hooked on a Dutch game called Shule (not sure how to spell it) which is sort of like a tabletop version of curling and bowling combined. Hard to describe but lots of fun - Dad even took the dimensions to see if he can make one.

Wednesday morning we had a really nice walk through the woods. They actually have a bit of forest over there, and my Dad enjoyed explaining some things to Naomi about the trees, and trying to figure out himself what the forest management plan was. Strangely enough, we came across what looked like a castle turret in the middle of the woods. Very medieval. Turns out it was the location where criminals were hung back in the day.

Thursday Naomi and I ran a few errands while everyone else biked to Delft. Friday we were glued to the couch while the rest visited the Rijks Museum. The day of rest was necessary for us. Yesterday we stuck around Rotterdam. The girls went shopping and Kalia got a tattoo while my parents and I went out for a nice lunch, visited the cigar shop and the library, finishing up at the market. We had a very nice dinner that night.

This morning Claire left and today we plan to visit Leiden. Tomorrow everyone else leaves and we have to go back to work. Fortunately I don't have students until Tuesday...I need a rest from this vacation!

Wish we had time for a drink...

Random Tower.

One of Munster's four main Churches.

Inside - lit by candle and Christmas lights.

A walk through the woods.

Hangman's Turret.