Doing a Good Job

We sort of threw a benefit party yesterday, from which my ears are still ringing, even though I was wearing earplugs. We already had about 30 suitcases of secondhand clothing collected, and about 8000 soaps. But that wasn't enough. As a Good-Cause-Committee we wanted to do more: Collect as much money as possible for pencils, pens, notebooks, vitamines and aspirins. (Basically anything they don't have on Cuba)

We agreed with one pub that half of their wardrobe income was ours, we could ask for a voluntary entry fee, and we held a lottery (amongst the prices were: Breakfast in bed, a CD coupon of 15€, a clothing cheque for 25€, and as the number one winner: A holiday and hotel. Pretty good, eh?). And if that wasn't enough, we also managed to borrow the owner's polaroid instant camera, for which we only had to him back for the film. (I must've shot about 30 people together with Stace 8D )
Think there must've been some 250-300 people in there last night.
The exact amount raised still to be counted up, but it looks pretty awesome :)

We had a May Holiday of a week, but I spent it either being sick or practicing and practicing more to hold my tour through Utrecht with Stacey, instead of the actual plan: Working for school, finishing essays, buying and packing for Cuba. But: It was epic. It really was. The audience was terrific and grateful, and the compliments seemed never ending and did our ego a lot of good.

Apart from that we had our final exam at the school yesterday, a debate about Gorilla tracking in Uganda. And we had to write a report about it, as well as an essay. Which brings me to the next point: I feel like I've gained so much more general knowledge than I have in the longest while, having to research China culture, New Zealand's Maori, Roman history in Utrecht, Uganda's Wildlife, the world's geography (topography, politics, history, export-import, etc) and everything Cuba amongst many other things. I've learned a lot about myself, all thanks to those Group and Human Dynamics. I have even discovered a new interest: everything Geology related. :)

And we're not there yet. The school year still has another 4 busy weeks ahead, in Cuba: with intensive Spanish courses, exams (written and oral), and of course, the biggest part: Our Tour.
My part is Hemingway. Final day of the study trip. And I'm already drop dead nervous.
I'm hoping that my experiences so far have made me grow, the tours in the Museum of Tropics as well as the ones through Utrecht and Breda.. That I can apply what I've learned, and more importantly: That it is clear that I've worked my butt off for it. That people enjoy it.

I'm going to try and keep my blog whilst travelling, but we've been told internet's not as abundant in Cuba as anywhere else in the world (6% of Cubans have access to internet at all). Hotels don't do wifi, and private homes/people have neither the money nor the power to even own a computer.
But that's all good.
There used to be a time when there was no internet abundant anywhere.
And people still managed fine. :)
Anyway, as soon as we start travelling to part of the "normal" world, I'll give a shout.
Stay tuned :)

Xx
The Gypsy

The Hotspots of Happiness

There are a lot of theories going around about happiness.
Some say it comes from within you, others find it genetically linked, still others think it depends on the situation or country you grow up in. Maybe it is a bit of all three.

I've just finished reading Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss. (If you have time: Do read it. It is brilliant.)
Yes, you read that right, happiness has a geography.
According to Weiner anyway, and Ruut Veenhoven, who does his Happiness Studies right here in my little country: in Rotterdam. He has a happiness database of countries, selected so that the number one country is the  happiest, the last country the unhappiest.

A few things that struck me: the happiest countries in the world are not the ones you'd go on for a lazy, relaxed beach holiday, nor are they particularly warm. The top ten actually consists of a lot of Scandinavian countries. Long winters, cold nights.
Thai people say that thinking leads to unhappiness, so the less you think, the happier you become/are.
People in Qatar are not happy, though they have more money amongst than the more productive countries, simply because they have oil. ((aka: proven, money doesn't buy happiness.)) The Swiss prefer boredom and rules to any spontaneousity or chaos, they are happiest when they know what to expect.
Also, the United States only has a (rather measely) 23rd place in the list. Not unhappy, but definitely not one of the happier states. Apparently, being the economic super power isn't everything.
The Netherlands is the third country on the list though, so I'm not complaining.

New research I just stumbled upon last week found that teenagers here are actually happiest in the world, here in the Netherlands. And so are the women.

Also, according to http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/ (an good blog you should totally read if you're planning on visiting/moving to the Netherlands), Dutch people also work the least in the continent where the average working days are already not the highest in the world. An average of 30.2 hours per week, we work a whole day less than the 37.2 hours of Europeans, not to mention the gap between us and the hardworking North Americans, who work an average of 44-52 hours per week!
And if you ask any random Dutchie what they do in all this extra free time? Well, the answer is almost unanimous: they are enjoying themselves.
Most impressive about this? The Dutch do manage to top the list of productivity in the EU, so we're doing something right. :)

Another theory I was told about yesterday somehow spiked my interest. It is convinced that people are happiest when they are thinking about what they are doing. The extreme variant of living in the "now" and present, and forgetting about both future and past.
It says, for instance, that people are happiest when they are doing something they love, and concentrating on only that. But it also says that when people are doing something they dislike (ie. a chore, homework, etc) they are happier if they think of what they're doing, rather than if they think of something fun (like the clubbing last night, or a party tomorrow, or all the fun things you could be doing instead.)

And that's exactly Buddhism/Hindiusm for you. A lifestyle. A way of thinking "Carpe Diem, and we'll see what happens tomorrow when it comes."
Thing is, it needs to come from within you. With some, it comes naturally. They have either been brought up in that way, or they can't remember the past or plan the future very much. For others, unfortunately, it is more difficult. Some people cannot stop thinking about the future (all the things you have to get done when you get home), or the past (all the good and bad that's happened to you up till yesterday). Thing is, they have difficulty ever being truly happy, because they can't enjoy the moment when it's there, and usually end up morosely regretting it when it's over.

You can train yourself though, I'm sure of that. I'm neither brought up in the Carpe Diem way, nor am I naturally very optimistic. I have an inclination to get depressed easily, if anything. But I came to a realisation, somewhere along the way, that any negative feeling, ranging from worry to anger or downright resentment, is nothing more than a waste of time. And as soon as I really understood that, it was just a matter of time before a new me emerged, bubbly, cheerful, and full of self confidence.

Seeing as I only heard about that theory of "thinking in the now" yesterday, I haven't had the chance to try it out a lot.. I think ten things at one time, past, present and future, and am probably the most difficult person to teach how to meditate. I did smile to myself when I reprimanded myself on the bike yesterday when I was thinking of what I was going to do when I came home, instead of just thinking of biking, so it sorta works. ;)

Going back to Weiner's book about Bliss, though: The moment when you start thinking about your own happiness, or when you ask yourself whether you are happy or not, you cease to be happy (or in a lesser degree, become unhappier). Which leads me to think (ouch, there's that word again) that the Thai are right. So you should actually be forgetting about everything you just read (if you ever actually made it this far), and not think about how happy you are, or how you could become happier.
I'm not sure if telling (or forcing) yourself to enjoy the moment as it comes is going to work, but it might just become a habit if you train yourself to do just that.

See, this is what happens when it's almost your birthday.
You start thinking about life. And, surprise: I'm still happier than I've been in a long time :)
And I wish you all all the happiness you deserve~ -- because you got here, to the end (;

Xx
The Gypsy

Time traveling.

Three years ago, I was one anxious wreck.

I just realized this, reading back the posts.

I was intimidated of moving (again).

I was horrified at taking that big a step and leaving loved ones and places behind.

I was worried whether I was doing the right thing.

I can understand why.

I wish I could travel through time though, and look the Me I was back then in the eye.

I would look her in the eye and smile.

I would sing to her, "Jessie dear.. Every little thing's gonna be alright."

I would give her a bear hug just to convince her I am real.

I would probably twirl and wink and (try to) disappear.

Just to convince myself I'm still as crazy as I was.

So changed. So much more self confident. So much more happy.

But still crazy little me. :)

Xx

The Gypsy

Epic Weekends - A necessity.

I am in dire need of a cheering up, thus figured this was the perfect time to remind myself of one of the more special weekends ever. It happened just last week, too. So I'm up to date as can be ;)

The week before it did end in a disastrous exam on Friday, so I was already glad it was over.

The sun was shining (which caused everyone around me to be in the best of moods already) - and I started off my adventure by going to Nieuwegein. Koen had promised me a slideshow of Nepal - pictures, and it sure wasn't a disappointment. I've got travel-itchiness already, I can't wait for Nepal, even though there's still Cuba first.

Also, his kid is awesome. Like, foreals. And anybody who knows me understands how high that praise is, seeing my 'normal' view on children.

I continued through to Den Haag, and arrived at my destination - Elly's place.

Happiness all around, cause I feel right at home there. :)

Saturday, our tourist day.

After braiding up our hair the wrong side up, we set off to Delft.

The day had already started out fine, but when people in the train were cheerfully chatty, we knew that it was going to be special.

(Shot by El (: )

It was a market day, which gave it an even more cosy atmosphere.

We visited the New and Old Church, saw the blue Heart of Delft and I even spotted the secret door through which William the Silent left Delft for secret meetings and the "final escape".

(Epic secret door!)

(Tsk. Shame on you if you have to look up who he is.)

We continued this travelling to Utrecht, Holland's centre, physically and.. figuratively?

Almost all trains end up at its station, and it is a internation hub (especially on a Saturday).

Again, a chatty Polish girl who studied in Utrecht and was heading to Rotterdam interrupted our own trails of thought.

First, we were distracted by some Turkish/Dutch kids who were playing in a playground and were wide-eyed at the sight of some adult (me, mainly.. ) trying out their swings and games. They begged us to stay and play a little, and Elly and I certainly enjoyed it almost as much as they did.

There was an open day at the Wood Mill- De Ster in Utrecht, and I had kept it a secret that that was the plan. It was well -visited, and it was definitely cool to feel the wind pushing and pulling as we stood near the Mill's sails.

Afterwards we walked over to the Dom Tower, through the central Station. The Church was built to be the center at the intersection of four other churches, built in the form of a cross at the heart of.. Holland's centre.

I also remembered (just in time, I might add) what tour I had given in Utrecht, and I sort of skimmed through a summary and showed her the remains of the old Roman's castellum walls.

(Built roughly 210 AD)

Our last stop that day was Amsterdam.

I'd known that by the end of the day I'd be too tired to actually think of anything remotely interesting to say, and thought that a cliché of a highlight-cruise might do the trick..

It would have, also, but we stepped into the wrong cruise. (Isn't that hilarious?)

Instead, ours was a hop-on-and-off taxi, which dropped us off at the Rijksmuseum.

We walked back to our starting point. Which did kind of force us to do some sigh-seeing. (I wasn't too bothered.)

We'd been torn about whether to take our cruise whilst it was still light, because as I had read, by night it also had it's specific charms.

Thus, when we arrived at our starting point just in time for the last cruise to depart, it became clear that it was fate doing all the (awesome) talking. And we hopped on again. This time for our actual cruise. :)

After dinner (which was good and a lot), we made our way back to Den Haag.

The next day, Outrun CF had been scheduled.

I think we did a rather good job, Djuna collected about 3600€ all in all.

It was good seeing everybody again.

It was good just walking along the beach (lots of sailboats to watch).

Elly and I ended up having Kibbeling, walking up the Pier,

nosing in all kinds of souvenir shops.

And last, but definitely not least: On our way home, we passed a Japanese restaurant I'd looked up: We had BUBBLE TEA!

Lychee Bubble Tea, moreover.

I've been wanting to try that in forever.

And that was definitely NOT what I'd been expecting.

But it was all good.

I can definitely advice everyone to go ahead and try it. :)

Xx

The Gypsy

Ps: I'm missing some pictures I'm pretty sure were taken by El's camera.

Might upload those later. Check back in a couple of days ;)

Word Cloud 1.0

I like my word cloud.

I think it looks cool.

Made on: http://www.wordle.net/create

Xx

The Gypsy

But why's the time gone?

Imagine Jack Sparrow saying that instead of always thinking of rum.

That'd be something, nay?

I'm officially out of that "waiting phase" I was complaining about in the beginning of the year, that's for sure. I'm just about not trying to catch up with myself, but things (myself included) are going at the speed of light these days.

Sickness keeps butting in in ways so I fall behind on schedule, but I can't really find the self discipline to over work. Maybe that's a good thing.

School's been nomming on lots of my time, as well.

I'm actually learning loads, this year. Even though it's not what I'd call a full time study.

I actually recall things I've learned and tell it all know-it-all-ly to my friends.

And it makes me happy to add that bit of extra information the

y didn't know yet.

And if they do know it, it makes me happy that I can discuss it.

And then I remember.. THAT's why I'm studying to become a tour manager.

I like spreading knowledge. And my enthusiasm

about anything.

Talking about enthusiasm: Pinterest.com and Postcrossing.com both got my interest, alright.

I wouldn't call it an addiction (yet), but it's certainly high up there.

Inspiration explosion, at any rate. :)

I also still had lots to tell about the week I so spontaneously spent in Egypt:

I heard only roughly 30 hours in advance that I had a ticket with my name on it going to Cairo one Saturday, and coming back the next.

I signed in some friends over there to make some time for me.

I did some last minute gift shopping.

And I dropped Luna off at the best Cat Sitter I know (besides myself).

Why? You ask yourself.

Easy. My aunt (of 50+) was getting married for the first time.

After meeting the guy (who has lived more than 20 years in the States) in December? They got engaged in January, and now, married in February. :)

(Rushing things much? Up to everyone to decide for themselves, nay?)

For us to be able to attend the wedding, which was very important for her, she asked dad to convey when we would be able to come over. Dad checked

my schedule, noticed a week of spring holiday (in which I had things planned, thankyouverymuch), and sent this bit of information back . They bent themselves in every possible curve to enable the wedding to occur within a two week notice. I say, good job. Good job indeed.

Also: Nobody can ever accuse me of being inflexible or not spontaneous!

And before I knew it I was in Zurich, Switzerland. And then in Cairo.

I only spent my Sunday at "home" all day, only accompanying my mum and sis to the doctor.

The rest of the week can be summarized as the following:

4 out of the 6 mornings busy ordering out Official papers/ college / passport things.

1 afternoon getting my accordeon and glasses fixed.

2 afternoons with Sara and Heba.

1 day and night with Jazz, and her kids and hubby.

1 evening for a birthday party and the bachelorette party.

(Sickness had by then hit me, badly. Bronchitis, cold, and a croaky old toad voice)

1 day.. THE day. The wedding. '

20 hours of traffic jam. ( I kid you not. )

20 hours of sleep max. ( I kid you not. )

I think the trip did little to improve my health.

Unless you're counting my mental health. It did loads good to that. :)

I totally need to blog more often.

So much more I want to share.

So much more I know I'm forgetting.

Xx

The Gypsy

Quickest useless update ever.

This is Jess, reporting live from location: Alexandria.

One of the things I've always wanted to say.

Maybe the next time I'll actually be holding a microphone in my hand and perhaps even with a camera in my face.

I don't even have time to report anything: but I will, soon.

Flying back to Holland this afternoon after the most chaotic week I've had in a long time.

Xx

The Gypsy