Benção das Pastas 2012

A cycle has come to an end. Well, almost. The Portuguese Universities have the tradition of 'Benção das Pastas' every May. It symbolizes the end of our studies, whether it is a Bachelor's or a Master's. Because, my course is of five years, here I am at my own 'benção'. It is a catholic celebration because 'benção' means blessing, and thus the Bishop of Setúbal performs that blessing on our folders, which represent our studies and all the wishes we have for the future. 

The ribbons are given to those we choose, and these include family, friends, and teachers... Of course I had ribbons from my friends back home, but also from the new ones met in Erasmus :)

Those that sign-up, get the privilege of having their name called out :) And of getting a diploma of participation. This because in reality we're not really done with university. There is still the thesis to be finished, turned in, and presented. As the 20 Biomedical Engineering students gather on stage I am reminded of the five years spent in their company and of all we went through together.

Our going up on stage was even more special because we had two birthday girls present :) So, to be different and honor them, we of course sang Happy Birthday!

"Artilharia
Malta da folia,
Gente do trabalho,
É e oh é, Biomédica é que é!
É e oh é, Biomédica é que é!
É e oh é, Biomédica é que é!"

The traditional picture with all of us was taken outside Building 1 - the Physics building :)

After all the pictures and all the goodbyes, I headed to lunch with my family. It's nice that we gather, once in awhile, even if it is due to occasions such as this one. My dad filmed the event, and I've had a chance to lock at part of it... it's a nice souvenir of the day.

And tomorrow I'm heading back to the Netherlands, but I will be back in September to see all of them once again...

Keukenhof & Noordwijk

Tulips are often associated with the Netherlands. However, commercial cultivation of this flower began in the Ottoman Empire. 

Last Sunday, May 13th, a group of about 50 internationals made their way by bus to Keukenhof park in Lisse. When we arrived, we divided ourselves and made our way through the park that at first sight captured us by all the colors.

The giant chess pieces reminded me of Harry Potter... I wonder why.

The colors surprised me the most... Sooo many colors and in all shapes and sizes. Tulips certainly come in many forms. All flowers were beautiful enough to be photographed...

the group

Visiting the park, even if at the end of it's two month opening (the park is only opened March-May every year) was very worthwhile and it reinforced my thought that tulips are my favorite flowers :)

The day trip still included a stop by Noordwijk beach...

At my second beach trip I still did not place any part of my body (except my hand) in the sea but it was great to smell the salty air once more...

I am now writing this from my house in Portugal, where I arrived on Friday evening!!! I'll be here for about 10 days (sort of a vacation that includes surprising one of my grandmothers - best surprise ever - and my graduation in a week) and then it's back to the Netherlands for about 3 more months. The thesis is full underway, hopefully I'm getting some results that could lead to something.

Maastricht

On a cold, rainy Sunday morning, what does a group of four people decide to do? Get on a train for four hours to Maastricht, of course...

The plan was to leave with the first train that would get us there but due to some unfortunate events (mainly someone was late and had the wrong time on their watch) we left about an hour after that. So this means that we arrived in Maastricht around lunch time, after switching trains three times and travelling about 260 km. 

Our first stop was the tourist office, right after passing the oldest bridge in the Netherlands: Sint Servaasbrug. 

@ vrijthof

@ fort sint pieter

One of the things that lead us all the way to Maastricht was Grotten Sint Pietersberg (St. Peter's caves). I was quite sure what I was expecting, but we were greeted with caves made during the exploration of limestone in the area. There were, initially, about 80000 corridors, which have been reduced to 20000. The guide (in English) explained things really well and even told us stories about how people how hid down there during a French invasion in the 1700's and also during WWII. 

map of the caves

At one point, the guide asked the group if they wanted to do something exciting. Everyone replied affirmatively, and the result was us all walking along a wall, without any light surrounding us. It was pitch black! But it was definitely fun to experience and walk about 200 meters without seeing anything.

It was a little strange to do it after he told us about people who ventured into those caves years and years ago, and could not find their way out...

view of Maastricht

bambi

@  Maastricht universiteitbibliotheek

@ stadhuis

The stay in Maastricht ended up being a short one, because the return was also a four hour train ride...

Batavierenrace & Koninginnedag

On Friday the campus was suddenly invaded by a high population of tents - that spurted in every available green area. The reason for this was the 40th Batavierenrace :) Over 300 teams and 8000 runners travel through 25 stages and 175 km. Some of my flatmates also joined in the running, having been part of the ESN team. 

Me? Well I watched as the people who ran the last 7.5 km (from Enschede to the campus) wore crazy costumes such as animals, surfboards, drums, thongs, etc...

In the middle of it all there was the Portuguese flag :) Of course there were many other flags but it's nice to discover your own.

the tents

In the evening there is of course a party: the Batavierenfeest :) Runners and supporters join together for one big hurra!

This weekend was intense. Having started with the Batavierenrace, Sunday night brought Koninginnenacht! Party was intense in Enschede with many people in the streets. The oude markt and the larger main square became stages for the music while people danced away to the beat... I'm not much of a fan of Dutch music (I think it's kind of an acquired taste) but sometimes they would vary the playlist a little.

Because party nights never finish later than 2 AM - strange, right? - it was possible to wake up early and make our way to Amsterdam in the morning. Following recommendations we arrived at Amsterdam Zuid and walked to the city center. As tradition states, orange was the dominant color, although the colors of the flag were also very present. 

The day was fantastic! The sun shone brightly in the sky and it was possible (and necessary) to walk around in a short sleeve shirt. Leave it to the Dutch to have rain all year round and sun on the day when the most tourists visit :P

Considering the size of the streets that Amsterdam has and the fact that most of them were occupied with 'garage sales', there is no better solution than to take the party onto the water and navigate the city with soundtrack music. I mention the 'garage sales' because this is the only day in the year when people are not required to have a licence in order to sell their things in a public space like the street. This means that kids and grow-ups occupy the streets to sell things they don't need anymore...

The day finished early because most of the outside activity ends around 20h (people do have to work on Tuesday). Also, having walked around all day, our legs and feet could not handle anything more...

Due to restrictions and alterations in the system for this Koninginnedag, people were dispersed thus making it possible to have a less crowded Amsterdam. Even though our initial plans were different, I think it was an excellent idea to spend the day in Amsterdam and get the whole/true 'feeling' of the day...

Viva Hollandia!