Februari 1

I've been working intensively on a cover of Imogen Heap's 'Xizi she Knows'. The video is taking ages! But I'm almost there.

January 26

Community service today. A while ago I read in the newspapers about a project where you can help other people in Amsterdam. I live an easy live in my opinion, so I thought it would be good to use some of my time to help others. I helped an older lady today who had recently moved, taking care of the boxes. It was simple and hard work. It was also very interesting to talk to this woman, she was originally from Jamaica. At the end of the day she gave me a lot of food from the food bank that she didn't need. Enough to eat for many days!
I got the impression that this woman's life wasn't easy. From time to time she told about earlier days.

Women usually get red roses for valentine. My man would give me 2 blue eyes, every year.

food bank

January 25

cooking.

January 24

Since I get to see so little forest here in Amsterdam, I decided to leave the city for some fresh air. From my train window I could see a beautiful forest far away, with huge trees and hills and stuff. I walked there, through streets of rich houses.
I had to keep walking for a while, because the first part of the forest was property. After ten minutes: ...still property. I kept walking for an hour, but everywhere I went there were the 'Private Property' signs. To emphasize this they had surrounded the whole forest with barb wire. This made me angry. I saw a man working in one of the enormous gardens and asked him where I could go for a walk, but he didn't speak dutch. Not even english! An immigrant worker! Damn rich people.
Then after an hour of walking I finally found a public space. As I walked over there I noticed a sign: entrance €1,50. Well screw that! I went in without paying to enjoy the last hours of sunshine outside.

January 23

I read something interesting in a book today:

Both mathematicians and musicians question themselves: are their creations unveiling the invisible reality or are they creating something new?

also the weather was really nice today.

January 22

A week ago I entered a local talent show with my two friends from Estonia and Japan. We won! >:D
We performed Paradise by Coldplay and a song called Ema Hääl Kutsub. Eternal fame is ours now.

January 21

Yeah! Finally finished my cover of Crystalline! Have a look below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdj4JIJnS0Q

January 19

My friend and I made a cover of an Estonian folk song (called ema hääl kutsub). Have a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbAE79mUH6U

January 17

While I was making that painting of Joanna Newsom I took pictures from time to time to see it grow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHWZb4hqHlI

January 15

We wanted to cut the hair of our dog, so for some time she had to lay on her back. To our surprise she thought it was okay and slept like a little lamb.

January 10

The day started of with a lot of sun. These seagulls were flying around my head as I gave them bread. They flew in circles around me, I embodied a constellation ^^

January 8

There may be ice-skating in Amsterdam, but it's actually rather warm outside. Feels like autumn, not at all like the usual temperature of January.

January 5

Third Taizé-service today went very well. Many people came, even though it was a holiday. People from all ages were there. My parents paid a visit too, and said they really liked it.

January 3

Today I visited the Tropenmuseum. I got a nice student discount, and the place was very impressive. At one point you could listen to 8 people telling on a video what they thought would await them after death.

January 2

A good friend from Sweden has traveled from Stockholm to visit me this week. The people that stay in contact are the best friends! ^^

January 1

These are the leftovers of the karbid bombs around town

December 30

I've been reading stories for the poor children in the public library. It seems that my warm and honey-like voice has a very calming effect on them.

December 28

Today I discovered the flee market at Waterlooplein. Everything is really cheap. Buy shirts, sweaters, boots, pants for prices around 2 euro.

December 27

Today I finished a painting I started over a year ago. It's a painting of Joanna Newsom and I'm really happy with the result!
I spent many hours on this one...

December 22

Today I followed the exchange student from Estonia to his high school and pretended to be a exchange-student as well. It was so much fun. Many people were very enthusiastic to talk to this 'Markus Olausson' from Sweden. I had to watch myself, because I could of course understand the dutch even though I pretended not to. A few times I laughed about the dutch jokes they made, and I even forget my foreign name at some point. But nobody seemed to notice anything, and I've had the most interesting talks with people which I wouldn't have had otherwise.

I even took pictures as if I were a tourist

December 20

IKEA today. Normally I'm not such a big fan of mass-orientated places, but the IKEA is perfect for a student like me. Good things for cheap prices. Still I try not to show too much that I am a slave of the IKEA! As I took the train home I thought of a little rhyme:

Take the products of your liking,
Choose a kitchen with your wife
Yet the difference is striking,
When you're back into your life.

December 19

There's this amazing construction in the library: a mouse-mansion. You can walk around it and see inside how the mice live, the details are incredible.

December 17

For a long time I have been wanting to visit the evensong in the Saint Nicholas church. Today I had the opportunity, and it was really amazing. Almost as good as the King's Choir! They sang a lot of christmas carols, like Ding Dong, Merrily On High. The church itself delivered a massive and beautiful echo through the whole building.

December 16

I made a cover of Ane Brun's 'Words'. I really like this song, and recently it has gotten some extra meaning for me. One of my best friends has lost her mother, and in this song Ane sings:

'Words, take her with you.
Let her rest in your rhyme.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iPsHhbM3OU

December 14

As I posted a few days ago, the College of King's Choir is in town. Previously the tickets were to expensive, but as I walked into the library today I noticed they were selling last-minutes to this concert. I bought one and got really excited as I took the bus there. The concert venue was incredible and so was the concert. After the break there was a song by Giles Swayne that made me cry. I know that I'm stating the obvious, but the voices of those boys are like angels. The clearest of light.

December 6

A poster showed that the Choir of king's college of Cambridge is about to perform in Amsterdam. I looked them up, but tickets were between 40 and 70 euro...
There was one good thing: their setlist was online and I learned about an amazing song by John Tavener. It's called The Lamb, and the verses are written in 2 different tonalities, giving a very dissonant feeling. The chorus on the other hand feels very romantic. So in the end this song pleases me on both intellectual and emotional side =)

December 5

Actually, TODAY it's Sinterklaas. Not only the children that look forward to this, the shops can't wait either. Below are some commercials I've seen over the past week:

December 4

Today's Sinterklaas :)     lot's of presents... We all really enjoyed it.
Sadly enough there was an awful message for me in the evening. My current landlord, which I really like, told me his son had drowned during one of the floods in Thailand. I'm very sad about this, and the contrast between my happy evening and his miserable message is unbelievable.

December 3

Saturdays are for making fun, so I made music. All day I played Coldplay's 'Paradise'. I feel bad for playing such mainstream music, but this one is really nice. I recorded my version, have a listen below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGhVjASviJ0

December 1

The second Taizé-service was today. It was so nice, I had a great time. I was worried at first, because I hadn't practiced the piano as much as I would've liked. But the people that came were wonderful, and the singing was great.