Pictures (wrong order)

Malawi

Wow. I'm in Africa. It is unbelievable. Undescribable... Serious. I just took a minibus to Lilongwe for 30 kwacha (you get 175 for 1 euro), after waiting almost the whole day for a guy that never showed up. And here I am, and I'm gonna give it a try. A try to describe it.

My mum, sister, Leonie and I took the train from Leiden to Brussel Airport Friday morning at 7 am. I slept 6 hours in the last two nights, so I was feeling a kind of aweful. After the shitty goodbyes we were on our own, waiting for our one and a half hour flight to London. Six hours (some sleep, some wondering around the airport and food) after arrival it was time to take the 11 hour flight to Johannesburg. All seats had their own screen to watch some movies, and I could choose the ones I wanted to watch. I even slept some hours, and one more, while waiting for the last plane on a bench in the airport in warm South Africa.
And then it all started. Right there. In a little, almost empty, plane of Air Malawi, where chichewa was spoken through the intercom. Right there. Flying above Africa, not too high, so we were able to enjoy the view all the time. The landscape was pretty dry above South Africa, but the more North we got, it got greener and greener. It was difficult to stop taking pictures before and while we were landing. I got a stamp so now I'm able to stay for 30 days.

I arrived in a warm, colourful and green land. Full of black people. (Of course :)And it's really Africa as I was expecting it, the same Africa I hoped wasn't true sometimes as well. We sleep at the Likuni Parish, 10 km from Lilongwe (ACEM, PO Box 999, Lilongwe is the mail adress), together with 9 Dutch boys. And there's (fat) Father Peter as well. And kooks, and a garden man and more. Veerle, Leonie and I, share a room, with running water and electricity. We decorated it with our clamboes, some pics and maps of Malawi, Tanzania etc. So far, we didn't do anything usefull. We tried, but making an appointment is hard. We knew, but now we really know.
We've been to Lilongwe in a minibus with 24 people, to look around. Close to the capital the roads are pretty good, around Likuni ok, and at the parish the roads are bad. The garden of the parish smells like a butterfly sanctuary, complete with sounds and birds (blue, yellow, red, everything is possible). Huge insects, huger temperatures and hugest trees ever.
We didn't do anything usefull yesterday and today. Breakfast at 7, some reading, playing some games, we walked around the poor area, played soccer etc. This all, combined with the temperature, blue sky and the blooming garden, makes it difficult to don't feels as if it is summer break. But I'd rather do something. Yesterday afternoon, mr Flemmings from ACEM (the partner organisation of ex-change; Association of Christian Educators of Malawi) took us to a Secondary Girl School. Classes full of girls waving, laughing, giggling. When we entered a class room, they all stood up, and asked us how we were and everything. Mixed feelings, great, weird, fantastic, awesome, everything.

Anyway, I have to go, the internetcafe is closing. I hope to be able to type to you soon. Pictures as well.

Lotte

Done. (Kind of)

I'm done with the preparations. Not really, but maybe it'll help me to say it.
But I kind of have to; it's after 3 am and my alarm will be ringing at 5... Don't know why I always seem to be doing everything at the very last moment. But I'm enjoying it, so don't worry.
I've got almost everything I need packed. My iPod and batteries for my camera are charging and some socks are drying (thanks mum!). Oh, and I still need to pack toiletpaper. But that's about all. Tomorrow I have to empty my memory card, email some documents to myself, and I have to wake up.
Then it'll be off to Brussel Airport with my mum and sister, around 6.15 in the morning.

Wow. Crazy how slow people think because of a lack of sleep.

Hope to type soon.

Lotte

Preparations so far

Here's an update about my trip to Africa.
I've had two lariam pills so far and it didn't change me, as far as I know. No major physical or mental changes, so I'm hoping it will stay this way during all fifty weeks I've to take these pills. The fundraising for the project in Malawi went well; we washed cars and bikes at our school one day and earned € 235,-. The amount of money was doubled by the directrix. I also held two parties at my house, the beer was for free, but everybody who entered my house bumped into a box in which they had to dump their money. And, thanks to all party people, it contained more than € 350,- totally!!! It'll be on its way to Malawi soon.
Still need to do and/or get a lot of practical things. Empty and clean my room; from Thursday on, my room will be in subtenancy and I'll be living on our dark attic without windows. And I didn't finish my literature research yet either, there's just so much to do and so many people I have to see one more time before I leave. But whatever happens, I'll be flying to Malawi next Friday!! I'm getting more excited daily!

Delft

These pics are a bit old as well. They are taken somewhere in November, when my mum and sister visited me in Delft. We climbed the tower of the New Church (108.75 meters; 2nd largest churchtower of the Netherlands) and you see the leaning Old Church.

The market with the city hall, seen from the tower, all the way up.

The the black and white thing is the mausoleum of Willem van Oranje, the first of the royal Dutch familiy. I would say the sculpture is real art... How beautiful.

In front of it, in the same picture you're able to see the entrance of the tombs of the Royal Dutch family (where they're still burried).

Here you can see how small the stairs are. And they keep on going, winding up and up and up and going and winding... Pfieuj. Dizzy.

I realise I didn't take a picture of the New Church itself, I'll try to get you a nice one soon.

The weather

Found some 'old' pictures on my camera today. The one with the very strong wind, let's just call it storm (worst since 2002 I believe), was January 18th. A friend was coming over for supper, what we delayed to experience the storm on the beach; painfull and mighty! We almost got blown of the pier, we had to hold on tight. And two weeks ago we were suprised with a little winter...
Last Friday we, as members of C.S.R., had our yearly gala, this lustrumyear with a total of 350 (!) people. My boyfriend Kees and I were together, and Renée was there as well. We took this picture early morning, when we just got home; we were enjoying not wearing a dress só much...
I'm not promising anything, but I hope to post some other pictures, from earlier that night, as well. So you'll get to know me in a dress : ) Maybe...

Students

I kind of felt like a lame student last week.
Because I needed supper, but didn't had any money leftover in my wallet. But I had an empty case of beer, which I returned, so I was able to buy a frozen pizza... Smart, eh?

Snow Patrol!!!

My sister Renée and I went to a concert of Snow Patrol in Amsterdam, last Monday. They've written some awesome music, which I can listen to endlessly... And now I was able to hear their music live, see them, make one of them smile, enjoy and feel the bass tremble my whole body. We were incredibly close to the stage; only two persons were standing in front of us... Mmmm, a night to remember.

What a complete hero...

Paris

It's been a while already, or at least it feels like it, since I've been to Paris. Strangly, it has only been two weeks ago. But when I think about it, words like 'beautiful', 'gezellig' and 'stunning' pop into my head. Just because it was...

1st day. Travelling by train from 9.30 till 14.30, with some delay. Dropped our bags at the hotel in Montmartre and left for our first of many trips with the metro, to visit the Eiffel Tour. Climbed hundreds of footsteps and stayed till it got dark. Took the metro to the Champs-Elysées, where we had diner. Walked to the Arc the Triomphe, went 'home' to have a drink and some fun at one of our hotel rooms.

2nd day. Breakfast at the hotel, with jus d'orange and croissants... Walked around in Montmarte, saw the artists work and the Sacré-Coeur, with a beautiful view on Paris. Visited place the la Concorde (wow!) with my mum. Visited the very expensive 'mall' la Fayette, because the only rain we've seen was coming out of the heavens. Went to Centre de Pompidou and had a very good diner in Montmartre again.
3rd day. We visited a Dutch church and an early rise was necessary. We splitted up in three groups afterwords, for three different musea. My sister and I went to the Louvre; an overkill with the most beautiful pieces of art ever. We all met again at Place the la Concorde, to leave towards the City Hall, and later on the great cathedral of the Notre-Dame.

4th day. We first visited Père-Lachaise and wanted to visit Sainte Chapelle, but it was closed. So we walked along the Seine, while visiting/seeing the Louvre, Place the la Concorde, Hôtel des Invalides and ending up on a bench next to the Eiffel Tower. The last thing we did was having a drink in the cafe of the movie 'Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain'. Left from train station Gare du Nord around 7 pm.

Place the la Concorde, view from the Eiffel Tower, the Arc the Triomphe and a shot from the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.

Grande Arche; BIG!

The Louvre

A fountain and a litte part of the Louvre, and the Sacré-Coeur.

My family, walking towards the Sacré-Coeur, the highest point of Paris.

Matthijs and Helene along the Seine and the beautiful cemetery Père-Lachaise, so huge you'll get lost

Typical Parisian houses and the roof of the beautiful building la Fayette, THE place to be, if you want to get sick of people...

The Eiffel tower and my mum waiting for the métro

'Canadian' commercial

Good morning, whole wooooooorld!

I saw this commercial about a (kind of) famous Dutch skater who emigrated to Canada, on the television a while ago. It's for the smoked sausages from unox, which we tend to eat with hotchpotch. When it came by the first time I became homesick emidiately :)

http://www.phonecast.nl/mov.asp?id=552&readid=02007010901901706&sendto=lotteklapwijk@hotmail.com

Off to Paris this Friday, and the sun is shining :)