I’m a bookworm baby, reading books is what I do – Sesame Street
This is an awesome Sesame Street classic – my bro and sis know what I’m talking about…
Today officially marks the halfway point of my USA adventure. I love that I have another 4 weeks here! This doesn’t mean that I don’t feel a little bit homesick at times… Especially at the time of the World Cup final, when I saw all these cool pics of my Dutch buddies dressed in orange and all those streets and buildings covered in orange. But, watching the game in Boston, in a bar that is filled with Dutchies was also a pretty awesome experience (okay, until those last few minutes of course…).
The Greatest Bar was so jam packed that they opened all 4 floors to accomodate all us crazy orange dressed Dutchies, very cool. We’d made a little pact before the game: if we’d win the World Cup, we’d jump in the Charles river… So, I guess we all know now that didn’t happen! Oh, and I serisouly ignored my roommate’s Spanish boyfriend and his buddies for two days. Ha! Childish? Maybe… But the pain goes deep!
Besides the World Cup excitement, these last 2 weeks were all about books, books, and some more books. I serisouly have never studied this hard in my life! Not even if you combine all these last years of studying. Being a Harvard student is hardcore people. Last week we had our midterm, which consisted of an essay and an in-class exam. I think I did pretty well, we’ll just have to wait and see…
To celebrate the end of our midterms I took a trip to NYC – New York is always a good idea. Words to live by. I’d been to the city 5 years ago so we could skip all those touristic highlights and just wander about and chillax in Central Park. We explored Lower Manhattan (hello Bleecker Street!) and enjoyed some live music at Washington Sq Park. We stayed at the W Hotel in Midtown which is highly recommended for its location and great service. Since it was our official second weekend getaway we enjoyed a lovely romantic dinner at a little Italian restaurant we just stumbled upon and probably never find again… We’d planned on going out for dinner at the Central Park Boathouse but they already closed the kitchen (at 9pm – in NYC!), so we strolled around and found the Italian gem. Stupid us for not remembering where it was! Anyway, it was an amazing weekend and we had such a great time. It’s only $36 for a return bus ticket between Boston and NYC, and after 4 hrs and 15 mins you’re dropped off in the heart of Manhattan. Nice!
This Sunday I had an explore-Boston-day which is also a pretty cool, and lovely “historic” city. The vibe is very relaxed and it is a great city to discover on foot. There aren’t particular must-see highlights or anything but it’s just a great city to get lost in. Too bad an amazing weekend like this gives you some serious back-to-work issues…
Oh, what I almost forgot to tell you – and it’s very important – is that I’ve been mistaken for being a New Yorker again. That’s right: again! Five years ago, when I was in NYC with my dad and bro, some tourists asked me for directions, and this weekend it happened again. You can understand this was a HUGE moment for me right? Too bad I didn’t know the fastest way to get to Bryant Park ;). And since I was mistaken for a real Bostonian on day one when 2 backpackers asked for directions, I think it’s safe to say that my integration is going fairly well! So I’ve already made up my mind about doing my masters here, or simply moving here (who needs a reason to move to NYC?!). That is, íf I win the lottery anytime soon since living here is crazy expensive. We looked at appartments between Park Ave & 77th St: small 2-bedroom appt only $8,000 a month. Yeah, very affordable and everything. Luckily the exchange rate has gone up a bit so we’re back at $1.30 for every Euro.
Coming weekend my Dutch boys and I will be doing an All-American-Roadtrip. We’re driving down to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and hopefully we’ll end the weekend in the Hamptons for some posh relaxing. Next weekend will be all about cram sessions since we have to study like crazy for our finals the next week… After those my semester at Harvard will be done. Noooooo! Okay, dry your tears Little Lara, because there will be two more weeks of US exploring, the last week accompanied by my dad and bro – gonna be great!
Please give me some updates from the homefront guys! Stories about the storm, the Tilburgse Kermis, emigration plans, new houses, new (and old!) loves, trips, intoxicated game nights (who was the Great Dalmutti, and who kept all his lions?), new jobs, babies, and all other important stuff! Thanks!!
Lots of love,
Little Lara
