Thursday 's Birthday

Yesterday was my brother's birthday and because of that he took me and my mother out for lunch. My dad had to work so he couldn't come with us. It was really crowded in town. There almost wasn't a place left to eat, because everywhere the tables already seemed in use. Eventually we ended up in this place called Praag (Prague, like the city) where we had to wait some minutes before there was a free table for us to sit. Both my mother and I chose some bread with goat cheese and other things on it and my brother had some kind of burger, also with bread. It was nice, even though the smoothie I drank with it could have been better. But it was nice to have lunch out in the city instead of just at home. But I didn't like that it was so crowded. It really makes you wonder why all those people are out in town. Don't they have anything better to do? It's the day after Christmas and they all for some reason feel like spending money. If it wasn't for my brother's birthday we would have just stayed home. So we actually had a valid reason be there, but I'm sure most of the people in town that day just didn't know what to do with their time, got bored, and decided to head into town to kill time. Afterwards my brother finally took us to his room where he had only been once himself together with my mother. I'm now the third person to have seen it. My father still hasn't seen it til this day, which isn't really fair, but I;m sure he will see it very soon. The room is pretty big, it's just one big room, with a kitchen in it. So his bed and everything will be in the same room, except for the bathroom which is in a room in the hallway. The toilet he needs to share with other people in the house. But in contrast to in my house, he doesn't really live together with the other people also living in the building. Because he has his own kitchen and bathroom it probably won't feel like they're hosuemates, like I am with the people I live with in Park Wood. I really have the feeling of living together with the four of them, while he probably won't get that feeling. But the room only needs to be cleaned and my has to be painted and then he can move in all his stuff. But all of that should not take a lot of time, so maybe in one weekend he will be done and will be able to move in. I will probably not see the result of all of that until I will return to Haarlem, which will be in June, at least if by then I don't have othe rplans. ;) We also had some acquaintances over to celebrate my brother's birthday. My mother cooked soup and made some fried rice. It was really nice to see all of them again. I still really miss Park Wood and everyone I have come to know, especially Marion, Alice and Clement. I keep thinking of all of you and wonder what you are doing and how you are feeling. I have been so caught up thinking about that sad day we will have to really say goodbye that I completely forgot that we will have that happy day first. The day of returning and seeing everyone again. Thanks for reminding me about that Alice, I'm already looking forward to it. And this time we should even have more dinners and lunches together. Like you said, let's make it the most terrific, brilliant, extraordinary, unforgettable six months of our life! Right now here I have nothing, only friends and family. But apart from that there's nothing here that I need. I don't need all the shops, I got my own, same for all the cinemas where they are playing some movies right now which will also be shown at the Gulbenkian when I come back. I don't miss my university, because they can be so annoying soemtimes when it comes to arranging stuff for me. And it's nice to watch DVD's on my own TV, but we have one that is as big as ours at the library, so I don't need ours either. And living in park Wood I have lost interest in all the channels and TV programmes. And our house... I feel like it's so big right now and so luxurious in comparison to my little hosue in Park Wood that it kind of makes me feel uncomfortable and awkward at times. I also feel I have become so much richer, so full of experiences and new memoeries which I can only really share with the people who have experienced everything with me, because they're the only ones who really understand. Life went on here in Haarlem and at the same time it seems like it has been standing still, 'cause everything seems just exactly the way I left it. Because of that I feel I moved on, gained something new, started a new great life, while everything here just stayed the same. And therefore I kind of feel sad for everything here. Like I made some progress, had the chance for some change and learn new things, and things and people here didn't have that chance and stuck to their old habits. So yes, I'm glad to go back next Saturday. I don't think it would be good for me to have stayed here longer. I can't believe, though, that I'm already here for a week. Time has gone by real fast with all the festivities. I can't wait to go back to my life in Canterbury, my lovely normal life that is all mine. But now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow's Saturday. I think I'm gonna start it with watching a movie, like I used to do. Things like that I do miss a little, even though I can do the same in Park Wood, and I did. I loved that morning waking up and watching Blue Velvet, itw as perfect and made for a real fun memory.