Operation Kristin

2010-09-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

http://angryfrenchguy.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/noirblanc.jpg

http://mathwire.com/images/240penguin.jpg

http://europetraveltours.net/neuschwansteinicsnetworks2.jpg

Brothers by the Black Keys is GOLDEN!

2010-09-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

the Dirty Projectors

2009-09-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to see the Dirty Projectors last night for the second time this summer! (thank you Andrew for taking me in LA!). They were phenomenal. I was happy to take the journey to Amsterdam with my friend Emily who is on exchange here from MICA in Baltimore, Maryland.

Next week, King Khan and the Shrines!

"The video was shot on location on Mount Equinox, Vermont and features siberian huskies and rare llamas." haha

Music, skateboards & graffiti make Kristin a happy girl

2009-09-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Photos from the R' Uitmarkt festival in Rotterdam, and Just Writing My Name, a skateboarding, graffiti, and music festival in Antwerp, Belgium. Good times!!!

View of Rotterdam from the Euromast

2009-09-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back my mom and I went to Rotterdam's viewing tower called the Euromast. It's only 185 meters high, making it one of the smallest towers compared to all the other major cities, but I still don't think I would repel off the top like these girls in the photos! So scary!!

I can't really point out anything of interest in the photos besides the Erasmus Bridge, and the Willemsburg Bridge in the background, so just enjoy the views!

Van Harte Gefeliciteerd Raul!

2009-09-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since my last post, but I can assure you that a lot has happened! School is kickin my butt, and the language barrier isn't getting broken down quiet yet, but I'm working hard and things are good. :)

I met Raul on the train coming back from Antwerp on Sunday. He is from Barcelona and also just moved to Rotterdam only a few weeks ago, so naturally as outsiders we have bonded together and will help each other figure out this new culture. It was Raul's birthday tonight so he brought over a great meal of spanish "homelettes" and salad, and we finished it off with a Dutch birthday cake I got him from the nearby "bakker." Good times! It's really fun having so many different cultures represented in one place... I love learning about all the differences.... and getting to eat cake.....

Antwerp, Belgium

2009-09-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

My mom and I went to Antwerp for the day back on August 28th. It was beautiful!!! This Dutch speaking city of Belguim is the birthplace to Peter Paul Rubens, the home of two of the oldest printing presses in the world and a Gutenberg Bible, and once held it's ground as the wealthiest city in Europe.

It is located in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions, and is only 1 hour from Rotterdam by train. It is located on the river Scheldt which is linked to the North Sea. It had three major booms during its "golden age" the first from the pepper market, the second by American silver coming from Seville, and a third on the textile industry, and it is now home to a surfeit of expensive clothing boutiques and fancy restaurants. The language spoken here is Dutch, although with a slight variation from how it is spoken in Holland, and it has a large French influence. Traveling a bit further to Brussels, the language switches over to French.

It was a great place to spend the day walking around. This time we didn't climb any towers. :)

See the full set on facebook here

First Week of School!

2009-09-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

So! I have completed my first week here at the de Kooning Academie. Things really couldn't have been much better unless, of course, I could speak Dutch. :) I really love my courses and think that I am starting right where I left off at BU, meaning that my courses are more advanced here and cover new topics. Typography, Experimental Type, Image Theory, some other theory courses, Software (where I'll be doing web design), and Graphic Design are the classes I am enrolled in. All of my professors are incredibly passionate about what they do and are very nice and have been helping me out with the language. Some are speaking English when they can and others are working with me separately.

The students have also all been really great! We have all the same classes together so it's been easy to get to know everyone, and they have been helping me out with everything I need from the assignments to where I can buy the cheapest coat hangers for my apartment. Everyone is genuinely interested in me, so I feel really welcomed and enjoy answering questions like "so was high school for you like it is in the movies?" Haha! Everyone is around 23 years old, some older and some younger, and pretty much everyone attended another school for design after high school (kind of like the equivalent of trade school for us but different) so we are all very much on the same level in terms of our design education. Most of us went out for drinks after class on Friday and they also want to arrange a dinner next week to welcome me ... so nice!

I really enjoy the city so far! I've made some friends outside of school and went with a girl to see the Wailers the other night at the WATT, which was a ton of fun. I just keep biking around (workin' those thighs!) and checking out the plethora of shops. There is an English speaking bikram yoga class that I signed up for and I absolutely love it. Best classes I've ever had.

Things are great, but the assignments have snow balled already so I will be really busy soon! I'll try to post about the projects I am working on. Find me on Skype to say hello and distract me momentarily!! My account is: kgroener.

"back to school... back to school... to prove to dad that I'm not a fool... I got my lunch packed up... my boots tied tight... I hope I don't get in a fight oooohhhhh back to school... back to school...." ~billy madison

First day of Skool

2009-09-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

So today was my first day at the Willem de Kooning Academie. After moving into my apartment at about 1am last night I finally got to bed around 2:30 am and was really happy when I woke up this morning at 8am even thought I set my alarm for 7am. Un-showered but otherwise fine, I walked to class because my bike was still over at the hotel. I get to room 105 or whatever and there is no one there! Luckily another girl was there looking just as confused as I was so she called a classmate who told us that class was canceled for some reason and that we didn't have to be back until 11. So I thought, great! I can grab my bike and take a shower! which I did, but when I came back at 11 I found out that the teacher did wind up having class, it just started late. It wasn't a problem though luckily, and the girl felt bad about it so she wrote down my assignment for the next class in english for me (which was super sweet b/c it totally wasn't her fault).

My experimental typography class was all in Dutch so I just tried to absorb and decode. My typography teacher spoke english for me in his class, even though he said he is not all that great at it (which he was) so I really appreciated the help. Tomorrow should be the same... mostly Dutch but some English.

All the students were really nice and welcoming and seemed pretty interested in talking with me. Looking forward to tomorrow! ... and sleep :)

Delf, the Netherlands

2009-08-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

My mom and I have been on the move so much this week that I've been too exhausted to blog at the end of each day, so here are some updates.

On wednesday we traveled 15 minutes outside of Rotterdam by train to the city of Delft. Home to Vermeer and Defltware and cute as a button! We made the mistake of starting the day off with a climb to the top of the New Church tower. Our legs were reallllly not happy with us after that. We went to the Vermeer museum that didn't have any Vermeer's, Mom ordered a giant cheezy pancake with strange tasting pastrami, and when we got lost looking for the Royal Delft Museum we asked a couple with a map for directions only to find out the woman is the director of the Westport library in CT who mom knew but had never met in person. Small world!

Delft was touristy but was really lovely and a great place to be on a beautiful day. Take a peak at the rest of the photos here on facebook or flickr

My Apartment!!

2009-08-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of my new apartment! There is someone living there right now... I don't move in until Sept. 1st. I think it looks like a little village of IHOP's! Really cute. It's on the second floor.. has a lift, and a bicycle ramp which is pretty cool. So... COME VISIT!!

New Hotel

2009-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today we upgraded hotels from the Tulip Inn to the Golden Tulip Inn around the corner (we were hoping to be in an apartment by now so we only rented the first room for a week). Now we can enjoy a gym, pool, great views, and lots of dutch candy in the snack bar! woo hoo!

Zonderdag op de Blijdorp! (Sunday at the Zoo!)

2009-08-23T13:46:00.001-07:00

Today (sunday) my mom and I got up super late and retrieved my now fixed bike from the bike shop and rode over to the zoo! It was really fun to see lots of cute animals, and really not fun to see lots of animals being held in very small, dirty, and inappropriate habitats. One habitat actually had fake plants in it! Not cool, not cool...

The funniest part of today was when my mom thought some other girl with brown hair and a backpack was me and walked with her for a good 5 minutes before realizing it wasn't me. I circled the girl in the photo so you can see her, haha, and my mom standing to her left. :)

These are just some of the pics here. Check out my flickr site here or my facebook page here. Tomorrow I sign the contract for my apartment!

Fietsen op Zaterdag

2009-08-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

So today I got my first bike here in the Netherlands! She's a beaut! We bought it from a bike shop from this little old man who speaks to us in Dutch but pretends he is somehow speaking English (so conversations are really fun...). So my mom rents a bike and the two of us get about halfway back to the hotel when my mom convinces me that my back tire is way too flat and that I'll break my tube if I don't go back and put air in it... so we go all the way back. After that is done, and somehow, in the same exact spot we had turned around in the first time, I run over a piece of a woman's high heel that fell out and had a nail at one end and I get a flat! We pushed our bikes all the way back to the little old man who tells us that the guy who can fix it won't be in till tomorrow. Luckily he let me rent a bike from them free of charge and my mom and I rode off to see the Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristian Barcelona" at the outdoor free movie. Am looking forward to having my bike back in my hands in the morning and will forever be paranoid about riding over anything with the potential to pierce through rubber...

No, my bike is not the cool one with all those seats. I would love to see that thing in action though!

The bottom pic is from inside this building which has about 15 restaurants and some art galleries in it. Had a goat cheese salad there that I will never forget! How are people not fat here?

Map of my apartment

2009-08-22T04:59:00.001-07:00

This won't really mean anything to any of you, but here is a google map of where my apartment is located. It is right near the Central train station and the shopping and hang out areas but is set back a bit in a quiet apartment complex. The buildings actually look like little IHOPs! Co cute. And there are trees and a canal that go through the middle of the complex, and I really appreciate that because it's almost impossible to find any green around here! I'll post photos on Monday when I go back for another look. :)

Friday, August 21st

2009-08-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

Today I signed a lease for an apartment!

It's a one bedroom with a small bedroom and pretty large living room. It has a little balcony, a shower room and a toilet room (which is just about the size of the toilet), a small washing machine (no dryer), a really cute little refrigerator, and a stovetop but no oven. Many of the apartments here come furnished which makes moving much easier! We looked at one place that had the most terrible furniture and decorations I've ever seen! Should have snapped a photo of that :) It was hideous.

My furniture is very simple. I'm just hoping that I'm allowed to hang stuff on the walls without getting in trouble.

I rented a bike today and it was one of the most fun things I've done since I was a kid! Everything is so small and cute here and the park I rode to was just absolutely adorable.. everything made me laugh :)

Bought a dutch-english dictionary today, and rode my bike to watch one of the nightly free movies outdoors here. It was an Italian mob movie (in Italian) with Dutch sub-titles, but there was live music before the show, tons of people, and beer! I'd say almost 300 people showed up.

I'm loving it here and am looking forward to more exploring! I'll get more photos of the city today. The weather has been great, but cooler than the states (which I'm sure you are all super jealous of right now!). Today was a high of 70, and it got down in the 50s when the sun went down, which happens a bit past 9:30 here. We might take a small trip next week to another country before school starts. I'll keep you posted!

About the City

2009-08-21T17:44:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from our Spido boat cruise in the port and some fun facts about Rotterdam!

Rotterdam city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country (after Amsterdam), with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007. It forms the southern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of 6.7 million.

The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. From 1962 to 2004, it was the world's busiest port; then it was superseded byShanghai. Rotterdam is situated on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas ('New Meuse'), one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers.

Built mostly behind dikes, large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. For instance, the Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 meters below sea level, or rather below Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or 'Amsterdam Ordnance Datum'.

Rotterdam is home to the Dutch half of consumer goods giant Unilever, and Mittal Steel Company N.V., subsidiary of Luxembourg-basedArcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company. It imports over 100 million tons of crude oil a year!

The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, has been completed.

In 1872, the Nieuwe Waterweg ('New Waterway') opened, a ship canal constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine channels silted up.

First day in Rotterdam!

2009-08-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Still lacking a decent amount of sleep, today was our first full day in the city where I unfortunately had to stay inside for a huge chunk of the day to look for apartments. We ventured out to see one place that was about the size of a bed with about a foot of space around it. I will not be living there! We had two great meals and I ended the day with an unbelievable concert by Andrew Bird! He completely exceeded my expectations. Three appointments await us tomorrow and more searching!

Creatives Grow Better In the South West

2008-10-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Really awesome concept. Based on a study that found South Westerners of England to be the happiest workers!

Erik Spikermann: Typomania

2008-08-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

The 15 Below Project

2008-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

A project to protect the homeless by TAXI and designer Lida Baday, The 15 Below Jacket is waterproof, windproof, lightweight yet durable and can be transformed into a backpack, pillow, or a warm winter jacket by stuffing it with paper.

"'It's a lifeline for people without homes. They're a pretty low-cost, immediate way to address a huge issue," said Paul Lavoie, cofounder, chairman, and chief creative officer of TAXI. "Our approach to solving problems - of any sort - has always been to question convention. This won't eliminate homelessness, but it can make a lot of people more comfortable.'

On behalf of clients and staff, 3,000 15 Below jackets will be donated to people living on the street throughout Canada and the U.S."

15belowproject

The Reverse Graffiti Project

2008-06-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Justice - DVNO

2008-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

A graphic artist's dream video! (thanks Jamie!!)

6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World by Paul Stamets

2008-06-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

One Million Vow to Reduce Carbon by Being Vegetarian

2008-06-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

A very inspiring story!

06/04/2008
More than one million people in Taiwan have pledged to help cut carbon emissions by being a vegetarian. Taiwan's population is about 23 million, and the one million vegetarians would reduce at least 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions in Taiwan in one year.

The Union of NoMeatNoHeat made the announcement during its anti-global warming drive. Many prominent politicians, such as the legislative speaker, the environment minister, and Taipei and Kaohsiung Mayors all pledged to become vegetarians.

The Union said 20 percent of the world's carbon emissions are created by the livestock industry, which is higher than the 15 to 18 percent produced by all the world's transportation vehicles.

The Union said if a person eats only vegetables for a whole year, roughly 1.5 tons of carbon emissions can be cut.

http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/GetSingleNews.aspx?ContentID=59093