So the festive season is well and truly over - I meant to blog about the Dutch Yuletide celebrations before Christmas but the time slipped away. Some people might have heard of, or experienced the joys of Sinterklaas.
Hannah (Leeds buddy studying in Rotterdam) gave a good little account of what you are bombarded with around November and December.. The story is that the Dutch version of Father Christmas (Sinterklaas) arrives here by boat on 5th December from Spain, along with his helpers called Zwarte Piet, where a lot of controversy lies. It was all quite a learning experience to say the least, and there's an interesting
Guardian article discussing the issues surrounding it.
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| I'll let you make your own opinions on this |
Before everyone headed back to their respective homelands for Christmas, a few of us went to Antwerp (where it wasn't snowy unfortunately) to experience some Belgian treats and the Christmas market. Just before we left there were two or three days in Utrecht where it was bitterly cold and really quite snowy, but it didn't last for long. Unsurprisingly, whilst in Antwerp we spent a lot of our time eating chips and chocolate, and drinking hot chocolate and delicious Belgian beer, but it was great.
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| A sprinkling of snow in Utrecht |
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| Quenching the thirst of a hard day's wandering |
New Year was the highlight of my Christmas holiday, which was spent with family and lots of lovely friends in Wamin, Northern France. I've spent many a happy time in our little farmhouse away from everything and this was no different. We enjoyed a gripping table-tennis tournament, some absolutely delicious food (including vegan lasagne), a New Year's Eve quiz compiled by Alex and I, and not forgetting the bracing dip in the Channel on New Year's Day! That's one way to cure your NYE headache...
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| The house in France on New Year's Day |
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| Lovely food, bearable company |
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| A refreshing dip |
So after a delightful break, nearly everyone from my apartment is back in Utrecht, getting back into the swing of Erasmus life. Our term finishes in two and a half weeks, after which lots of internationals will be leaving, and a new group arriving for the second half of the academic year!
