Way Late Update – Part 4
This is really bad. I’m writing a way late update when I’m actually back in the Netherlands. Oh well, better late than never. At least I will experience the satisfaction of finishing these Canterbury Updates. Which enables me to start working on ‘serious’ stuff. (ahem)
Sooo…. I will use this blog post to discuss the Sinterklaas party I had in Kent, and the going away party we had in Canterbury. I’ll add pictures later, since I’m typing this on my parents’ laptop, and I cannot magically transfer the files from my computer to this one without turning it on. And I’m too lazy for those logistics right now. No-one will read this, probably, but that’s okay. It’s fun talking/typing to yourself, and it’s a great way to relive all those Kent moments.
Onwards, my (imaginary) friend!
Sinterklaas
I celebrated this holiday not just in the Dutch way, but also in the Belgian way. Perks of having a Belgian friend at Uni. Picture this:
Saturday evening, 5 December, getting ready for the party. There’s a huge paper chimney in the corridor, drawn by moi and coloured in with crayon, with the help of Kristin and Barbara. Chocolate milk (the sad, instant one) is at the ready, as is the whipped cream. Snacks are ready to be consumed, and present a delicious array of Dutch and Belgian delicatessen. Noms include kruidnoten, pepernoten, speculaas, chocolate figurines, niknakjes, piqueniques, chocolate kruidnoten, marzipan and fruit gummies. (Okay, so the latter isn’t exactly ‘Sinterklaas’ food, but it was too good to not have.) Some shoes are already in front of the chimney, filled with the gifts of those who couldn’t come, and mine.
Loud banging on our corridor door and the unforgettable “BEEP” of our automatic lock later, and the first guests have arrived. Though there is a bit of confusion concerning what to do with shoes and gifts, everything works out fine in the end. When all the guests are present, 15 in total (including Barbara and I) the fun starts.
Okay, that sounds a bit too pretentious. But that’s when the poem reading and gift unwrapping started anyway. I got a cute pair of pink/purple owl earrings, from Vittoria. I had Barbara, so I made her a “a quote a day keeps the doctor away” booklet, and I got her a paint-it-yourself venetian full face mask. The booklet took ages (365 quotes isn’t an easy thing to copy and write down) but it was well worth it. Barbara was very happy with her gift, which was what I’d set out to do. I think everyone was pretty happy with their gifts, and it was really sweet to listen to all the poems. Especially considering most of the people present weren’t native English speakers, let alone geniuses in rhyme. But it all worked out, somehow.
The food was an immense success. The marzipan was successful, as were the chocolate covered kruidnoten. At first Barbara and I were worried we wouldn’t have enough food, but it turned out to be too much. All that chocolate and those cookies, eaten at the same time, can fill you up quite quickly. Hey, more left-overs for me, so I wasn’t exactly complaining. 
We entertained ourself with games, “Weerwolven” (like “Mafia“) at first, and when some people left we switched to “Never Have I Ever” and “I Have” (the opposite of “Never Have I Ever”). At about 3am the last people decided to leave, and I had to clean my room — well, clean…more like a resemblance of clean — before going to bed. Lights out at 4.15am. Woke up at noon the next day (or the same day, technically). Didn’t even try putting on my jeans after that food fest. Sweatpants and Kent Uni sweatshirt worked miracles. Mission Sinterklaas: succeeded.
Going Away Dinner
Tuesday 15 December we went out for dinner at Tacos Locos, since Kévin had to leave for France early the next day and we wanted to have some sort of going away party. That evening, Kristin, Cheyanne, Barbara, Lies and I had a special Christmas service in Canterbury Cathedral (free tickets) so we left for dinner a bit earlier. I’m sure the people working there remembered us, for we arrived there, 11 of us, requesting a table without reservation. Miraculously, they managed to seat us, and since it was cocktail night that evening, I had a Cosmopolitan. I’d missed that, having a proper cocktail.
The food was absolutely delicious (I had Cajun BBQ Pork Chops) and we had a great time taking pictures (digital age! We all brought our cameras ) and catching up. At about 7 we left for Canterbury Cathedral, and the rest went back to campus. Essay deadlines, people stressing out, all that.
The Christmas service was really beautiful. Upon entering we all got a little candle, that would be lit later during the service. The lights in Canterbury Cathedral would then be turned off, so only our candles would light the cathedral. Unfortunately we didn’t have this for the entire service (the candles were far too small for that), but we had it at the beginning and the end. I know calling it ’magical’ is very cheesy and clichéed, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
Also, it was freezing. The wax dripping onto my hand was one of the very few things that kept me warm. Imagine working in that huge Cathedral during the Middle Ages, with no central heating whatsoever! I would die, for sure.
The service was pretty short (about an hour and 15 minutes) so we were back at uni faster than we had anticipated. Since we didn’t really feel like leaving and all, we had a little after party in Kévin’s room, with hot chocolate banana milk (they had no more ordinary milk at Essentials, only banana flavoured one) and chocolate cupcakes. It was great. A worthy goodbye, though a slightly sad one. Leaving is never nice, and four out of seven living in our corridor aren’t returning this January. Let’s hope Facebook won’t let us down.
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Well, I know this is particularly short, compared to my other updates. Truth is, it’s been more than a week now, and my inspiration for a completely detailed summary is severely lacking. I want to finish it, no doubt about that (even if it’s just to prove to myself that I can maintain a blog) but it seems like a final thing, in a way, typing this last Way Late Update.
Next post is reminiscing, and looking back on those four months. The friendships, the culture (shock), the education, everything. That’s when I’ll put a final stop to these Canterbury Updates of 2009. It’s sad. Really, really sad. Allow me to wallow in my misery for now.
‘Till next update.
Love,
‘Mix
