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Teaching the Ghazal in Class
Last week I was subbing at the Vrije Universteit for the Genre, Literature and Analysis class for the Bachelor First Year course. I was teaching the villanelle and ghazal, which involved aspects of the forms as well as close reading. I found myself in a room full of bright, intelligent, engaged, and wise students. They…
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Art when Dark: Museum Night 2017
Is it art viewing? Is it a nightclub? Should we dance? Let’s grab a drink! Wanna hang out? Oh look, that’s a Rothko! This year the Museum Night in Amsterdam was outstanding. The transformation that the museums underwent was fascinating, dramatically turning from once strict sterile environments to wild psychedelic night clubs. We combined the…
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Autumn Moments in Amsterdam, 2017 Edition
Fall, leaves, fall By Emily Bronte Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree. I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night’s decay Ushers in a drearier day. (Source: Poetry Foundation)…
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Day Two: Visit to the Kroller Muller museum
On the second day of our weekend in Oosterbeek we went to the Kroller Muller museum. Set in the Hoge Veluwe forest, the museum is in my opinion, the perfect way to view art. It houses the second largest Vincent van Gogh collection in the world: “almost 90 paintings and more than 180 drawings.” Along with…
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Day Out at Noordwijk
When we have a day off we like to drive out of the city to other nearby towns and villages. One of the places we are fond of visiting is Noordwijk aan Zee that is roughly a forty-five minute drive from Amsterdam. Located at the west of Holland Noordwijk falls into what is called the…
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One Morning in Comic Con Amsterdam – 2017 edition
For the much-deprived comic loving subculture events are rare, celebrations scarce, and options limited thus, when you have an entire event centred around the theme it was going to be one grand party, and we so wanted to be part of it. Bambi and I were super stoked, we had never been to Comic Con.…
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Last Day in Lisbon: Walk With Us
An indelible memory of Lisbon will be our walks along the Tagus river. The evening market, buzz of people, music, and the sound of tinkling glasses. A city during the evening, and at night, has a different character. It crawls out from under its mask and truly reveals itself. I feel closer, more connected with…
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Lisbon day 5: Let’s Go to Alfama
Apoorva said the streets of Alfama reminded him of Ajmer back in the day. I could see this, the curling narrow roads akin to gullies, windows that face each other making room for glances or chats, blinking cats that seemed to be in a languid trance, and Tram 28 meandering through like a boa who…
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Lisbon day 3: Oceanario, Mercado, and Urban trekking
On the third day in Lisbon my true love said to me, Wear walking shoes, eat good breakfast, and take pictures plentifully…. For children and grown-up children like me the Oceanario de Lisboa is a wondrous place. Aquariums are such a joy, their darkness cocoons you, you feel isolated from the world, above and beyond,…
