Happenings in Groningen

I mentioned in a previous post how the author of a book I read for my Hungarian history class was coming to visit last week.  Well, there was an event last week with both Dragoman and his wife, a famous poet.  It was very cool because they both gave readings of some of their works, in both Hungarian and English.  Needless to say, I couldn't understand the Hungarian versions, but it was really cool listening to an author read their own piece, especially poetry, because it is the only true, genuine reading where the audience can see something exactly as the author had intended.  They both also talked about their writing processes and histories, answered questions and signed their books.

My teacher had asked two other students and I to organize food for a reception after the event.  So, afterwards, we got to spend time with the Hungarian studies department and some other people teaching and studying history and/or literature.  It was a really cool experience to get a taste of another form of academic involvement at RUG.

In the city center, there are two large open squares, the Grote Markt and the Vis Markt.  Three days a week they're reserved for markets, and they were also full of food stands and concert stages for Queen's Day.  Last week, however, a festival rolled into town.  The who city center was crammed full of portable rides , so much so that I'm pretty sure that if a bus rolled by at just the right, or I guess wrong, moment, that it could be hit by the swinging seats on the big spinning ride.  Nonetheless, we had to check it out.  The festival was a lot of fun, especially the rides that spin you way up in the air and upside down.  It's not too often you can see the skyline of the city at night, particularly upside down.  There was one ride that was less than satisfactory, which made us all decide to call it a night, quite soon after due to a prolonged feeling of nausea.  The ride was like being in a continual car accident for 7 minutes, but also being a rag doll in a steel box without a seat belt.
 

After spending most of the weekend cooped up inside doing homework, Charlotte and I headed out to the lake in Groningen.  The sun was finally out and everybody in town was soaking up as much of it as possible. Probably because we're all aware of the fact that it's a very temperamental and fleeting celestial bulb, at least around here. It was gorgeous today and, rumor has it, the sun will be out tomorrow as well.  We've got a picnic and homework session planned at the lake tomorrow, so, fingers crossed, it better stay this nice.