Simple Exposures

It has been a while since I was on here blurting out what I was thinking. It turns out there are not many negative points about studying abroad twice. That was maybe obvious right? When I first got the news I would be in the Netherlands for six months to finish my degree I thought well it won't get any better than FN.  Apparently I had nothing to worry about as both experiences are incomparable. So if your wondering what has been on my mind these last two months, it's mainly bikes, cold weather and asking myself why the Netherlands don't accept Mastercard. They say dutch people are very direct and get to the point. I have yet to see this from anyone I have met here. The food is questionable if your a bit of a health freak as the bitterballen that appears on every menu has been fried to its core. Also, turns out they have meat in them. Oops. The stroopwafels however are a delightful treat that I overindulged on my first two weeks here. Again, not healthy! But we bike....

So I haven't written on here for a while but the last few weeks something has been frustrating me more than usual. Climate change, the polar bears, they way we use plastic, and well the list could go on but you probably get the point.  Then to top this, last night I watched blue planet II on BBC, it was the final episode of the season and I have to admit I haven't watched any other episodes because well, we just don't watch much TV in my house. You have probably heard of this, especially if you live in England, with the 13 million viewers in the UK, smashing X-factor viewings over the past few weeks.  So it is obviously about the planet, mostly about our oceans. The one I watched last night was called 'Our Blue Planet' and it was the 7th and last episode of the series. David Attenborough takes us through a journey to uncover the impact our modern lives are having on our waters, home to all our friendly (or not so friendly creatures).  The message y...

There is something about travelling alone that gives me a good feeling.  Going at your own pace through security, getting a coffee and a croissant and sit down enjoying a good book while waiting for your gate to show up. Walking to the gate (because I gave myself plenty of time arriving early) and waiting it out. Sitting down next some complete strangers who you end up sharing a few words with, in whatever language you both understand (or the language of pointing to things and nodding your head). If you are lucky enough to sit by the window, enjoy the view. See how little things are when you are 10.000 metres above the ground flying at 750 km per hour looking at the melted snow on the top of the Alps, realising it was just over a month ago when they were white coated rocks. There is just something about it. Also about arriving, running, rushing to your bus or train or boat because to get around in Central Europe you may need all three.  There is just something a...

As the semester is slowly coming to an end and we are all thinking about how sad it will be to leave our new friends, I started thinking, how will the distance change us? Indeed, all us international students here in ZU are missing some friends at home and have dealt already with leaving them, maybe more than once for those who study outside their hometowns, but for some us it's a new experience, leaving friends behind you saw almost everyday. Some have probably stayed in contact with skype or facetime or a telephone call here or their. Some have been message addicts or are in a constant exchange of snaps. I, however, don't often message my friends back home. Many of them are starting to get annoyed with the fact even. Sorry guys. It has opened my eyes a lot this whole experience, it has taught me to appreciate people more, and what we have in the moment, to make the most of every memory we make with someone and to hold on to them for as long as possible. That we don...

This is a bit different to what I would usually write about but I read an article about it this morning and it got me thinking, as usual.  And I thought I would share this random information with you.  There's no doubt that listening to your favourite music can instantly put you in a good mood, or certain songs can take you directly to a place or a time with someone, also how it can put a complete downer on your day but did you know it has now been proven to help you with things such as back pain, memory loss, help you eat less or even enhance blood vessel function, now that is something!  Obviously music helps you work out better, or when listening to lyrics can help you soul search  and find what you are feeling. But has it really become a health therapy? It seems so.  Music works on the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling our blood pressure, heartbeat, brain function and also the limbic syste...

I came to a very sad realisation this past weekend whilst visiting Prague. I am one of them. One of those who feel the need to post what's happening over social media. One of those who wants to put the location filter on snapchat so someone can see what city I am visiting. I think this is sad.  My phone broke on Saturday, the same day I left for Prague. I tried checking it every 10 minutes to see if the screen was improving but it was indeed just getting worse. I depended on my friends phone to let mumma know I was safe and sound, and kept up to date with my messages and friends by the computer available at the hostel. This was weird.  This feeling of dependency on a machine that does nothing but encourage antisocial behaviour gave me an idea. I wanted to try and not use social media for the month of November, this idea soon vanished when I realised I wouldn't have a phone until around the 12th of November, so instead I decided to only stick with Facebook and use ...

When you study abroad you meet people from all over the world. You exchange cultural traditions, you maybe try to learn some words in their language but you also discuss the differences about academics, about work prospects and each others plans for the future.  This is actually really depressing for someone who lives or studies in Spain. The chances of you getting a job after graduation in Spain in your field is around 60-65% depending on your university (public schools only). This of course is only applicable if you have gained some previous experience, which the majority of us haven’t or won’t. ‘You can’t get a job without experience’. How do you gain experience then if no company will give you the chance?  When you compare this to other universities around the world or not necessarily by university but by country it becomes quite scary. In Spain we do a four year course and then are facing a one year master course. Master courses are made for you to speciali...

So if you read my last post you knew this would be my next one. If you ask me to describe Oktoberfest in one word, that would obviously be BEER. Yesterday I encountered litres and litres of beer, probably more beers than people actually.  The weather tried to put a downer on the occasion but these Germans have no problem drinking in the rain, neither did us internationals I must admit. I witnessed a mass of umbrellas hanging from the  wooden bars on the outside of the tents, keeping most of us dry but obviously no one cared whether they were getting wet, they were concentrating more on singing the must-know  Oktoberfest song Ein Prosit , when the bands in the tent play it every 20 minutes or so, you are meant to grab your partner next to you, sway, cheers! and chug.  But of course Oktoberfest has a meaning, or at least it has a history. It traditionally starts the third week of September and ends the first Sunday of October, except this year it is a...

Last week a friend and I went on a bike ride. They say a day not learning something is a day wasted. That day I learnt a lot. I learnt not to bike for 50km because your bottom will hurt and if you are not used to it, you will fail to walk up the university steps the day after. I learnt that you shouldn't bike with your mouth open, not only does it dry it out but when you live next to a lake, there is humidity and bugs like humidity. I think I got my biggest portion of protein that day, about 10  to 15 flies and I'm not even exaggerating.  On a better note than fly eating, I must admit that my new little city (if you can call it that) is located in a pretty cool place. We biked to an area called Unteruhldingen , to a place called Pfahlbaumuseum Unterhldingen,  one of the largest and most attended open air museums in Europe. The museum is formed by 23 stilt houses from the Stone and Bronze age. The museum was affected massively by the second world war, not only ...

As some of you may already know, I recently relocated to Germany for four months to a partner university my one at home has.  My new independence has already taught me so much I thought it would be interesting to share a few pointers with you.  First of all, when studying abroad make a friend who knows how to cook and doesn't mind making you lunch when you are lazy (which is always). I have accepted that my new diet consists solemnly of sausages, beer, pasta and noodles. Seriously, I rarely eat anything else...oh and kebab!  Second of all, prepare your little liver for the first few weeks...it turns out that international students are apparently known as the party students. Wonder why? We have this great excuse and we say its necessary to socialise a lot at the beginning to get to know your new 'family' abroad...this of course is true for the first week, not necessarily the first month.  This one is specific to the south of Germany, or at least...

Have you ever noticed you are constantly thinking? Have you ever realised your brain, whilst awake, does not shut off? Probably only half of you have thought about this, probably the other half is now trying to think about it.  The reason our brains are constantly having thoughts is mainly due to our ancestors, we don't live in the world they lived in, they had to be prepared for anything. They didn't see the grass as just a bit of green flooring, they saw it as a possible hiding space for a predator or possible danger. They had to be alert, constantly.  Another explanation is that we are social animals, we have to be aware of our surroundings and the people we interact with, this is why our brain tends to create 'what if' scenarios, it has to be prepared for whatever case necessary.  You probably didn't even think about thinking but our minds are strange little machines, restless and constant. But of course, we can not think about everything,...

First impression? Nothing has to be perfect, what you see on films isn't the case here in Spain, or at least it wasn't the case this passed Saturday when I attended my first Spanish wedding, what a afternoon and night that was. It was hot, I mean everyone fanning themselves and sweaty hot... Thank god the the plastic mini fans stuck on the church walls!!!! It was a little church that had to hold a lot of people so it was understandable that not everyone got to sit down, many actually just hung around the back near the door, popping in and out.  The first thing that surprised me, although not so much when you think what country we are in, was the noise...Everyone was talking, the priest was doing his religious bit and bride and groom were obviously paying lots of attention and sitting quietly, yes they were sitting.  The line of people sitting behind me did not shut up, neither did the lady next to me who was talking to her granddaughter whilst checking her...

All I keep seeing on social media these last few days is how we can make a better world together? what makes anyone think that it is even possible? It's us who are ruining, more and more each year, the world itself. Some say why do we think we can fix it? I say there is no loss in trying.  Unfortunately we live in a world where money is power and power is key to success, so they say. Where is this way of thinking getting us? In debt and compliant to others. It takes movements like terrorism in Europe or random shootings in the States for anyone to acknowledge the state the world is in.  The younger generation, or what is know to some as generation Y or millennium generation, those born in the mid 80's and 90's, worry about what can be done to help the world as a whole.  This is a worry that most generations before us didn't have, maybe because they weren't generally as privileged as we are, most of us grew up with all out fundamental needs met...

People work to make money, although most only break even. They go to work to be able to pay their bills, live in a house, buy food and if they are lucky go out for dinner dates, have fun days out or even go on holiday.  A recent study by the University of Sydney says Wednesday is the most depressing day, that more and more people are hating Mondays and loving Fridays. Another study recently carried out on 25 million employees in 189 different countries showed that only 13% of workers enjoyed and were engaged in their jobs, 63% were not fussed, nor happy nor depressed by their current positions and a total of 24% were very unhappy with their jobs. This means that around 21.750.000 people out of 25 million were not over enjoyed about the idea of going to work and making money. What kind of motivation is this? According to this study, work is more of an emotional challenge than it is a source of fulfilment. Why? Why do people work in a position or field they don't lik...

I realise I only just posted yesterday, and never post this frequently but writing is the only way I seem to get anything off my mind lately. I have also realised how much I admire someone who knows what they are doing with their lives... I'm twenty one and have no clue what I actually want to do. How do you know? How can you choose one thing to dedicate yourself to for the rest of your life? When does it become clear what your 'calling' is? I have been told I don't know how many times that it's never too late for anything, but maybe it is. The thought of actually getting to where you want at the age of thirty terrifies me. As you know, it's finals time and everyone is at the library cramming as much in as possible. I was there the other day thinking how many of you are studying what you really want to study? How many of you are doing because your parents or someone else has made you? How many of you are actually going to give 100% to that future jo...

I took a little trip last week to Barcelona for a few days, made the most of it and celebrated my 21st watching Chris Martin, Johnny, Guy and Will blow just under 55.000 people away at the Coldplay Head Full of Dreams concert.  Took a plane up their with my friend Adriana, mum and dad come too. Adriana and I stayed in a little hostel on a side street from Las Ramblas,  we were expecting the worse but incredibly happy with the place once we got there. It was a few days of lots of walking, very little eating and copious amounts of alcohol (after all, I did turn 21).  As you probably know by now, whenever I sit down and take a look at what's going on around me, it gets me thinking, so this wasn't any different. At first I noticed how expensive the city is compared to Málaga, but definitely worth it.  We decided to go out Wednesday night when we arrived and ended up catching in Pacha club Migos perform...pretty impressive I must say. We noticed how...

There is one Starbucks in Malaga Centre, inside the El Corte Ingles mega store. It has been there since August 2014 and although a lot of the Spanish public didn't think it would do too well, they are opening a new one in Calle Nueva, I believe it will be open later this summer.  Starbucks may be a massive brand worldwide but in a place where coffee is drunk up to five times a day and that it usually costs around €1.20, the future of Starbucks in Málaga was uncertain at the least. I am actually quite surprised by its success.  I am actually writing this post sitting here in Starbucks with my Venti Mocca and white chocolate cookie, listening to the gentle music hoping to get some stuff done for uni but instead I started thinking, Why do people come here to work on their computers if they have a table and probably a coffee machine at home? What are the people in here working on? Most of them are on their computers or phones so I decided to get up and ask....

Measurements refer to grammes of sugar of full fat versions of beverage We generally associate junk food  to most fast foods such as Mcdonalds, Burger King or KFC, but in fact it is technically referring to any food that has a high content of fat, little nutritional value and an extreme amount of calories. The ingestion of junk food is becoming a worldwide problem, causing many health scares and even irreversible diseases. An over ingestion can lead to heart failure, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and even depression, it's no wonder it tastes so good. However the biggest health scare of all is probably obesity - a problem that isn't being given the importance it requires. It probably won't be any time soon that junk food intake is reduced, this is mainly due to the multi million dollar campaigns that the food industry produce. Like I mentioned before, many relate junk food to fast food, thinking that it isn't that bad for you, and well i think we...

All week I had been dreading the arrival of Friday the 22nd, not for me but for the poor man who had to attend hospital, lets call him Peter.   Peter is a 70 something year old man who had recently received a kidney transplant, he is not a little poorly, this may be to due to a medication he is taking or a swelling in the brain that resulted from Swine Flu.  On Friday, Peter was picked up in an ambulance to go to hospital, as he can’t walk and needs assistance with everything. I accompanied Peter to the hospital in my own car, Peter was supposed to be taken to the external extractions building for a blood test, but the ambulance didn't know this. I called the ambulance and said I was waiting at the General Lab as the bed he is in will not fit in the external extractions doorway, a fact the doctor who asked for bloods to be taken there should have considered given his situation.  I moved from place to place waiting for his arrival, which was 45 minutes...