If you can't say it in person, or with a card, or with flowers... say it with a bus.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Merry Christmas!
If you can't say it in person, or with a card, or with flowers... say it with a bus.
Australia: conference time
So I am acutely aware that I haven't posted anything for a month or so, mainly because I've been away, and was waiting until I got back so I could write all about it. Then of course things were just as busy when I got home. And deciding which picture(s) of real-life koalas to put on the blog led to procrastination, but more about those later.
Sydney
My first stop was in Sydney, for the SAS 2012 conference, where I was giving a talk about the work that we have done since we created the cool wall of SAXS: watching nickel nanoparticles grow in real time.
Fireworks at Darling Harbour on the night I arrived. They weren't for me though.
You know how when you're about to embark on a trip, it doesn't matter how organised you are or how much time you give yourself to pack, when you're driving to the airport your mind is racing trying to think what you've forgotten? Since I travel so much, I have this feeling frequently, but so seldom is it ever justified that I have (for the most part) trained myself to ignore it. So there I was, sitting in the departure lounge at Wellington airport, 5 minutes before boarding the plane for Sydney, watching other people walking around, when I realised - heck - I've forgotten to pack my conference shoes. And the dumb thing was, that I had deliberately made a list and written on it, 'conference clothes, shoes, socks' and distinctly remember crossing out 'clothes' and 'socks' as I put those things in the bag, and thinking, 'must remember the shoes'. Anyway that meant that instead of having virtually all of Sunday to wander around Sydney and see the sights, I was wandering around the shoe shops in Sydney trying to find something (a) suitable, (b) in black, and (c) reasonably priced. Sigh.
Finally getting to see the sights of Sydney!
Anyway the conference was really good. I learnt a lot and made some good contacts with several people, which is what going to conferences is all about. This particular conference is held every three years and the next one is in Germany... I'd like to go but obviously we'll have to see.
Melbourne
Week two was in Melbourne. I stayed with Paul and Marge for the weekend, which was great to catch up with them. One day consisted of putting together a kitset greenhouse from instructions written in Engrish. The next day involved sitting, talking, barbequing, and eating. Bliss! After that it was off to the synchrotron for a two-day software analysis workshop, then the annual facility user meeting. This time I was giving a 30-minute invited talk about the work we've been doing on the carbon dioxide corrosion of steel.
In between I had a free day, so since the forecast was for 29 degrees instead of 38 on the following day, I decided to go for a bush walk in the Dandenongs.
Adelaide
After Melbourne came Adelaide, and the joint Asian Crystallographic Society / Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand conference. I was presenting a 15-minute version of the talk I gave at the user meeting. Apart from that I didn't get much out of this conference - and not because I was getting weary from the travel and the talks (because oddly I was feeling quite coherent), but because I guess I'm not really a crystallographer. Which is good to know.
Anyway I had a few free days in Adelaide as well, including one afternoon during the conference where the only things on the programme were lunch for an hour, 3 hrs of committee meetings (which didn't concern me), and the final plenary session on some macromolecular crystallography probably-chuck-some-bio-nano in there talk, which I was pretty sure I wouldn't understand.
So I went for another bush walk instead, up Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty.
Lookout at Mt Lofty
Which brings me to the koalas. I've never seen one in the wild before, only in zoos and wildlife parks. But after having seen several road signs while walking from the bus stop to the start of the Mt Lofty track, I was reasonably hopeful.
I saw my first 'real' koala!
Then I saw my second and third 'real' koalas!
Then another one...
... so close to the path that I could actually get a decent shot of myself with it
Finally, koala number 11 (I think - kind of lost count) was hanging on a branch with one arm, reaching out for the fresh leaves, a good 4-5 metres above the path I was walking down - with a joey clinging to her tummy.
Overall the trip was great; it is good to be back home though!
Sydney
My first stop was in Sydney, for the SAS 2012 conference, where I was giving a talk about the work that we have done since we created the cool wall of SAXS: watching nickel nanoparticles grow in real time.
You know how when you're about to embark on a trip, it doesn't matter how organised you are or how much time you give yourself to pack, when you're driving to the airport your mind is racing trying to think what you've forgotten? Since I travel so much, I have this feeling frequently, but so seldom is it ever justified that I have (for the most part) trained myself to ignore it. So there I was, sitting in the departure lounge at Wellington airport, 5 minutes before boarding the plane for Sydney, watching other people walking around, when I realised - heck - I've forgotten to pack my conference shoes. And the dumb thing was, that I had deliberately made a list and written on it, 'conference clothes, shoes, socks' and distinctly remember crossing out 'clothes' and 'socks' as I put those things in the bag, and thinking, 'must remember the shoes'. Anyway that meant that instead of having virtually all of Sunday to wander around Sydney and see the sights, I was wandering around the shoe shops in Sydney trying to find something (a) suitable, (b) in black, and (c) reasonably priced. Sigh.
Anyway the conference was really good. I learnt a lot and made some good contacts with several people, which is what going to conferences is all about. This particular conference is held every three years and the next one is in Germany... I'd like to go but obviously we'll have to see.
Melbourne
Week two was in Melbourne. I stayed with Paul and Marge for the weekend, which was great to catch up with them. One day consisted of putting together a kitset greenhouse from instructions written in Engrish. The next day involved sitting, talking, barbequing, and eating. Bliss! After that it was off to the synchrotron for a two-day software analysis workshop, then the annual facility user meeting. This time I was giving a 30-minute invited talk about the work we've been doing on the carbon dioxide corrosion of steel.
In between I had a free day, so since the forecast was for 29 degrees instead of 38 on the following day, I decided to go for a bush walk in the Dandenongs.
Adelaide
After Melbourne came Adelaide, and the joint Asian Crystallographic Society / Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand conference. I was presenting a 15-minute version of the talk I gave at the user meeting. Apart from that I didn't get much out of this conference - and not because I was getting weary from the travel and the talks (because oddly I was feeling quite coherent), but because I guess I'm not really a crystallographer. Which is good to know.
Anyway I had a few free days in Adelaide as well, including one afternoon during the conference where the only things on the programme were lunch for an hour, 3 hrs of committee meetings (which didn't concern me), and the final plenary session on some macromolecular crystallography probably-chuck-some-bio-nano in there talk, which I was pretty sure I wouldn't understand.
So I went for another bush walk instead, up Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty.
Which brings me to the koalas. I've never seen one in the wild before, only in zoos and wildlife parks. But after having seen several road signs while walking from the bus stop to the start of the Mt Lofty track, I was reasonably hopeful.
I saw my first 'real' koala!
Then I saw my second and third 'real' koalas!
Then another one...
... so close to the path that I could actually get a decent shot of myself with it
Finally, koala number 11 (I think - kind of lost count) was hanging on a branch with one arm, reaching out for the fresh leaves, a good 4-5 metres above the path I was walking down - with a joey clinging to her tummy.
Overall the trip was great; it is good to be back home though!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Stress
Last week I was on beamtime, which I think I mentioned in the previous post. We had 24 hours of SAXS (well, actually, WAXS - wide-angle X-ray scattering as opposed to small-angle X-ray scattering) to look at structural changes in polymer samples as you heat and cool them. We observed changes; now we just have to figure out what it all means.
This beamtime will also be remembered as the first time I've ever played cards with my colleagues in the middle of it - usually things are too busy to do such things.
(Side note: I did get quite frustrated when it seemed every game we played, everyone had different rules. For example, we play that in 500 if someone calls misere, (a) it prevents any further bidding, and (b) that person leads every trick. We play that in Liverpool Rummy you can only put down however many sets or runs are said i.e. 3+3 = 2 sets and only 2 sets, you can't put down any extra sets but can only get rid of your cards by building on other players' cards that have been put down. Rickety Kate (MS Hearts) the queen of spades is worth 13 points and each heart 1 point (not face value). Funny 500 the score for each trick in each round increases as the number of cards decreases (10 cards = 10 points per trick, 9 cards = 20 points per trick, etc. if you win the number of tricks that you nominate). I wonder if, if we had played Snap, someone would have complained about the rules. I would be interested to know what versions of the above rules other people play... comments welcome!)
Upon arriving back at work on Monday this week, I've been swept up in a mass panic about the funding situation for the main project that I'm working on. We are scheduled to be reviewed by MBIE (formerly MSI, formerly FRST) in December, and I'm the most senior person on the project who is regularly at IRL. Cue a meeting with my boss and someone from the Industry Engagement team on Tues, a trip to Palmerston North to chat with my colleagues there on Weds, a meeting with the Industry Engagement person, our group administrator, my boss, and my boss's boss on Thurs. Oh and today I had a 4-hour teleconference with Australia for the SAXS PAC (proposal advisory committee) where we had 46 proposals to review for the next cycle.
Next week I'm participating in a mini-conference that we have every year, somewhere up near Kaitaia which means flying to Auckland then driving north for about 4 hrs. Then I have one more week at IRL before heading to Australia for 3 conferences in a row. Good news regarding those is that I have been allocated oral presentations at all of them; in fact for one I have been upgraded to being an invited speaker, and for another I have also been asked to chair a session. Unfortunately the MBIE review happens while I am away in Adelaide, but I might see if I can join via videoconference...
In other news Raewyn and her friend Jen and I have started making bookings to walk the Queen Charlotte track over Wellington Anniversary weekend next January. Should be fun :)
This beamtime will also be remembered as the first time I've ever played cards with my colleagues in the middle of it - usually things are too busy to do such things.
(Side note: I did get quite frustrated when it seemed every game we played, everyone had different rules. For example, we play that in 500 if someone calls misere, (a) it prevents any further bidding, and (b) that person leads every trick. We play that in Liverpool Rummy you can only put down however many sets or runs are said i.e. 3+3 = 2 sets and only 2 sets, you can't put down any extra sets but can only get rid of your cards by building on other players' cards that have been put down. Rickety Kate (MS Hearts) the queen of spades is worth 13 points and each heart 1 point (not face value). Funny 500 the score for each trick in each round increases as the number of cards decreases (10 cards = 10 points per trick, 9 cards = 20 points per trick, etc. if you win the number of tricks that you nominate). I wonder if, if we had played Snap, someone would have complained about the rules. I would be interested to know what versions of the above rules other people play... comments welcome!)
Upon arriving back at work on Monday this week, I've been swept up in a mass panic about the funding situation for the main project that I'm working on. We are scheduled to be reviewed by MBIE (formerly MSI, formerly FRST) in December, and I'm the most senior person on the project who is regularly at IRL. Cue a meeting with my boss and someone from the Industry Engagement team on Tues, a trip to Palmerston North to chat with my colleagues there on Weds, a meeting with the Industry Engagement person, our group administrator, my boss, and my boss's boss on Thurs. Oh and today I had a 4-hour teleconference with Australia for the SAXS PAC (proposal advisory committee) where we had 46 proposals to review for the next cycle.
Next week I'm participating in a mini-conference that we have every year, somewhere up near Kaitaia which means flying to Auckland then driving north for about 4 hrs. Then I have one more week at IRL before heading to Australia for 3 conferences in a row. Good news regarding those is that I have been allocated oral presentations at all of them; in fact for one I have been upgraded to being an invited speaker, and for another I have also been asked to chair a session. Unfortunately the MBIE review happens while I am away in Adelaide, but I might see if I can join via videoconference...
In other news Raewyn and her friend Jen and I have started making bookings to walk the Queen Charlotte track over Wellington Anniversary weekend next January. Should be fun :)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Birthday season
Once again I am sorry for not having updated this blog in a couple of months. The last thing I wrote about was the marathon walk that Raewyn and I did. We've both recovered; in fact we even went for a walk last Saturday up to Boulder Hill (Belmont Regional Park), training for Queen Charlotte / Milford track / the next marathon walk... I think she's hooked now :) Anyway it was a gorgeous day to be out and about.
September is birthday month for our family. It was Mum's 60th on the 25th, and Al's 29th on the 30th. So we had a surprise in store for Mum a couple of weeks ago - dinner at a restaurant in town, followed by cake and presents and games at my house. We invited Uncle Derek and co as well and it was a really enjoyable evening (although I think Mum was a little worried at times about what we had planned next!).
August and September were pretty slow and steady work-wise; no trips away, which is good for actually settling in and getting things done. There are a number of papers which I've started working on and not finished, so now is the time to make some progress on those. The first half of October is the same; after Labour Day (22 Oct) I have a trip to Melbourne for 24 hrs of experiments, then in November I'm off for a conference circuit of Sydney-Melbourne-Adelaide for 3 weeks.
About two weeks ago we had badminton club champs. My first game was the open ladies' singles final. It went to three sets and was probably one of the best singles games I've played in. Eventually I lost (20-22, 21-9, 15-21), or you could look at it as coming runner-up and winning the plate! My second game was the open ladies' doubles final, where I was teamed up with the girl I played against in the singles. We won that one reasonably easily. After that it was open mixed doubles, where there were four pairings and again my partner and I came runners-up.
September is birthday month for our family. It was Mum's 60th on the 25th, and Al's 29th on the 30th. So we had a surprise in store for Mum a couple of weeks ago - dinner at a restaurant in town, followed by cake and presents and games at my house. We invited Uncle Derek and co as well and it was a really enjoyable evening (although I think Mum was a little worried at times about what we had planned next!).
August and September were pretty slow and steady work-wise; no trips away, which is good for actually settling in and getting things done. There are a number of papers which I've started working on and not finished, so now is the time to make some progress on those. The first half of October is the same; after Labour Day (22 Oct) I have a trip to Melbourne for 24 hrs of experiments, then in November I'm off for a conference circuit of Sydney-Melbourne-Adelaide for 3 weeks.
About two weeks ago we had badminton club champs. My first game was the open ladies' singles final. It went to three sets and was probably one of the best singles games I've played in. Eventually I lost (20-22, 21-9, 15-21), or you could look at it as coming runner-up and winning the plate! My second game was the open ladies' doubles final, where I was teamed up with the girl I played against in the singles. We won that one reasonably easily. After that it was open mixed doubles, where there were four pairings and again my partner and I came runners-up.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Recovery
So the last few days we have been recovering... and seeing the sights of Brisbane at the same time.
On Sunday we had a gentle wander around Roma Street Park, taking full advantage of the facilities for disabled people!
On Monday we took the hop-on hop-off 'City Sights' bus tour around the city. We stopped at Mount Coot-tha and the Botanic Gardens. Our tickets gave us access to the City Cat ferries for the day, so in the late afternoon we jumped on one to have a bit of a ride up and down the river.
On Tuesday (today) we found our way to a bike hire place and rode around across the Story Bridge, down to the City Botanic Gardens, across to South Bank, and around Kangaroo Point. We both really enjoyed it, as it allowed us to see more of the city than we would have by walking, and at our own pace. Later in the afternoon we went to the science museum, until we got kicked out at 5 pm because they were closing. We are still moving slowly, but definitely on the mend!
On Sunday we had a gentle wander around Roma Street Park, taking full advantage of the facilities for disabled people!
On Monday we took the hop-on hop-off 'City Sights' bus tour around the city. We stopped at Mount Coot-tha and the Botanic Gardens. Our tickets gave us access to the City Cat ferries for the day, so in the late afternoon we jumped on one to have a bit of a ride up and down the river.
On Tuesday (today) we found our way to a bike hire place and rode around across the Story Bridge, down to the City Botanic Gardens, across to South Bank, and around Kangaroo Point. We both really enjoyed it, as it allowed us to see more of the city than we would have by walking, and at our own pace. Later in the afternoon we went to the science museum, until we got kicked out at 5 pm because they were closing. We are still moving slowly, but definitely on the mend!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Marathon day!
So you're reading this, which means we survived the Bridge of Hope marathon walk today!
At the start line, bright and early. Kick-off: 7 am.
The task: 218 walkers, 42 km. The weather: perfect.
During leg 1, the path went through picturesque parks and followed the canal.
Arriving at pit stop 1. Leg 1: 13.5 km, 2h:21m.
20 minutes later, we were off again, through the Boondall Wetlands. This was time to practice our cyclist avoidance tactics!
Leg 2: 13.5 km, 2h:24m
Just about to cross the bridge! - the feature of the third and final leg. It's 3 km long but didn't feel as long and demoralising as we were expecting!
Arriving at the finish! Leg 3: 15 km, 3h:13m
The consequences of our madness!
Pfft... girls and shoes!! (Honestly, we needed them all...)
Friday, August 3, 2012
Reconnaissance
We arrived in Brisbane yesterday for our marathon walk tomorrow - eventually (our flight was a little delayed leaving Wellington). Surprisingly the quarantine people in Brisbane didn't bother checking our boots etc. when we went through - we had washed them, but you would still expect them to check.
We have an apartment booked while in Brisbane, it's about 15 minutes away from the start point for tomorrow, and not far away from the city either. It also has scenic views over the river and the city:
Yesterday after we arrived and had dinner, we went to the supermarket to stock up on breakfast supplies and food etc. for the walk. We even found a 'New Zealand' section, which had items such as various Griffins' biscuits, Twisties, L&P, Raro, Maggi soup, chocolate fish... and ironically, it was located in the 'health food' section!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Today we decided to go for a drive to find the start point and various pitstops along the route. We found our way around without too many problems, and had lunch at a cafe near the finishing point. After that it was back to the apartment to rest up before tomorrow!
Crossing the Hornibrook highway bridge - 3 km long, right at the end of the walk
Lunch stop with Steph the kiwi, our mascot
Hopefully we will look this happy at the finish line tomorrow!
We have an apartment booked while in Brisbane, it's about 15 minutes away from the start point for tomorrow, and not far away from the city either. It also has scenic views over the river and the city:
Yesterday after we arrived and had dinner, we went to the supermarket to stock up on breakfast supplies and food etc. for the walk. We even found a 'New Zealand' section, which had items such as various Griffins' biscuits, Twisties, L&P, Raro, Maggi soup, chocolate fish... and ironically, it was located in the 'health food' section!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Today we decided to go for a drive to find the start point and various pitstops along the route. We found our way around without too many problems, and had lunch at a cafe near the finishing point. After that it was back to the apartment to rest up before tomorrow!
Crossing the Hornibrook highway bridge - 3 km long, right at the end of the walk
Lunch stop with Steph the kiwi, our mascot
Hopefully we will look this happy at the finish line tomorrow!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
One week to go!
So it's only one week until we do our marathon walk for Bridge of Hope!
Last night we had our fundraising quiz, which went really well. We had 7 teams, an interesting collection of people who are, I think it's safe to say, never going to be in the same room again: three teams from church, one team from my work, one team of my brothers and a couple from their home group, one team of my mum and dad's neighbours, one team of some people I knew from badminton and their friends!
It's been quite overwhelming the amount of support that I've had. I found fundraising for the Oxfam trailwalker walk quite hard, and made a little over $600 which was the bare minimum. I was expecting people to be less generous this time because most of them wouldn't have heard of Gospel for Asia or Bridge of Hope - and I was fully expecting some people not to support me because it's a Christian orgnaisation. But so far the two of us have raised over $3000 with a pretty even split, which is awesome for the cause (and humbling at the same time)!
Now that the quiz is over, which I was thinking to make the culmination of my fundraising efforts, I can relax a bit - and concentrate on walking a marathon next Saturday!
(Speaking of which, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, but there is a 'walker tracking' page which will be available on the day, so you can track our progress through each of the pit stops.
http://www.thebridge.net.au/eventw/tb_event.html )
Last night we had our fundraising quiz, which went really well. We had 7 teams, an interesting collection of people who are, I think it's safe to say, never going to be in the same room again: three teams from church, one team from my work, one team of my brothers and a couple from their home group, one team of my mum and dad's neighbours, one team of some people I knew from badminton and their friends!
It's been quite overwhelming the amount of support that I've had. I found fundraising for the Oxfam trailwalker walk quite hard, and made a little over $600 which was the bare minimum. I was expecting people to be less generous this time because most of them wouldn't have heard of Gospel for Asia or Bridge of Hope - and I was fully expecting some people not to support me because it's a Christian orgnaisation. But so far the two of us have raised over $3000 with a pretty even split, which is awesome for the cause (and humbling at the same time)!
Now that the quiz is over, which I was thinking to make the culmination of my fundraising efforts, I can relax a bit - and concentrate on walking a marathon next Saturday!
(Speaking of which, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, but there is a 'walker tracking' page which will be available on the day, so you can track our progress through each of the pit stops.
http://www.thebridge.net.au/eventw/tb_event.html )
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Busy
So I think it's suffice to say I've been busy lately... with my marathon walk for Gospel for Asia coming up in only two-and-a-half weeks, the fundraising is pretty full-on at the moment. I am selling home baking 3 times a week at work, and have raised about $400 so far. On top of that we are organising a quiz night for next Friday, 27 July. And the same day I am giving three lectures as part of an X-ray diffraction workshop at Vic.
Today I am in Melbourne for a proposal advisory committee meeting. It's a flying visit - so not having any luggage apart from my backpack feels a little weird, but it's not the first time I've done it. I stay overnight and then fly back to Wellington tomorrow. And am then helping some people with some small angle X-ray scattering measurements at Vic the following day.
Like I said, I've been busy!
(Oh and if you'd like to sponsor me for my walk, just click here, select my name from the list of walkers, and remember the amount is in AUD!)
Today I am in Melbourne for a proposal advisory committee meeting. It's a flying visit - so not having any luggage apart from my backpack feels a little weird, but it's not the first time I've done it. I stay overnight and then fly back to Wellington tomorrow. And am then helping some people with some small angle X-ray scattering measurements at Vic the following day.
Like I said, I've been busy!
(Oh and if you'd like to sponsor me for my walk, just click here, select my name from the list of walkers, and remember the amount is in AUD!)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Feeling the heat
So I've recovered from the spleen vent yesterday.
Today it's HOT... and I have photographic evidence to share with you. (Edit: I should say where I am! - Argonne National Lab, near Chicago.)
And some arithmetic:
99 F -> 99 - 32 = 67 * 5/9 = 37.2 C
Today it's HOT... and I have photographic evidence to share with you. (Edit: I should say where I am! - Argonne National Lab, near Chicago.)
And some arithmetic:
99 F -> 99 - 32 = 67 * 5/9 = 37.2 C
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The U. S. of Arrrgh
So I've been in the US for less than 3 days, and lots of things about it are already really getting on my nerves. I can hardly believe that I lived here for 15 months... and I've never felt like such a foreigner in a place where I thought I was supposed to be able to speak the language.
Maybe that's the problem - Americans use the same words as us, but they mean different things. Take the word 'solicitor' for example. In New Zealand it means a lawyer. In the US it means someone who solicits, be they someone offering you a taxi ride at the airport or a homeless person on the street asking for a few coins. So, not a lawyer.
So here are a few of the frustrating things that happened to me in the last couple of days...
1) I went to a shop and was waiting in a line at the checkout to buy something. As soon as the person in front walked away, a family of four pushed in front of me, saying that I wasn't in the line because the line was over there. I looked and there was no line, no sign, nothing to say that's how it worked. Maybe I didn't see the invisible sign, 'foreigners not welcome here'.
2) I had to fill up the car before taking it back to the airport this morning, so I pulled into a petrol station (well 'gas station', except I was getting fuel in a liquid form not a gas, yeah ok I understand it's an abbreviation of gasoline but don't you think calling a liquid 'gas' is a bit strange?). Now I know from past experience that you have to go to the counter first and pre-pay some money, or hand over a credit card, before they'll activate the pump. But the guy asked 'is it a rental', to which I said yes, then he said I had to hand over the keys. I wasn't quite sure if that's what I'd heard, so I just stood there holding out my credit card. Then he insisted, 'the keys', so I gave them to him and he drawled something I didn't get, so I asked him, 'sorry, what did you say?' Then he replied r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y l-i-k-e I w-a-s a-n i-d-i-o-t 'You have to push the button for which fuel you want.'
3a) Checking in at the self-help kiosk. First I couldn't find the 'confirmation code' on my ticket. I have a booking reference (which is for the travel agent), a ticket number, but nothing saying 'confirmation code'. So I asked one of the staff what I should do, so he looks over the ticket and says, 'Oh it's this one here - the PNR.' I have no idea what PNR stands for. Nor how I was supposed to know that PNR and confirmation code are the same thing.
3b) Then when I entered the PNR it came up with a message saying it couldn't process an inter-airline ticket. I presume that means Virgin America doesn't like Air New Zealand? Even though I have a PNR?
3c) So I head for the line saying 'Full service check-in' as that's what the screen told me to. And I have to stand there, waiting, while three airline staff members are tied up having their photos taken with a handbag-dog wearing a little red jumper for some sort of promotional thing. And I have to try not to get frustrated at other people in the line oohing and ahhing over how cute the dog is - which it wasn't. It was wearing a flipping jumper. Stop laughing, it's not funny.
3d) Finally I manage to make it to a counter to check in. 'So you have one bag to check today?' Yes. 'That'll be $25.' No, it's supposed to be included in the price. 'Oh, ok then.'
4a) Airport security. Another misunderstanding in pronunciation... I was waiting in the line to have my boarding pass and ID (passport) checked. There was one counter, and one person behind it checking. Then another person came along, stood next to her, and started calling, 'Max, Max.' He was looking in my direction, so I looked around thinking he was calling to a co-worker. But no, he was calling 'Next' and I was holding up the works by standing there looking like an idiot.
4b) Then we have to pick a line to have all our stuff X-rayed. I watched a girl aged probably about 11 or 12 struggle to pick up her suitcase (which would have been larger than the bag I checked in) to put it on the counter. I looked around and counted how many pieces of luggage people seemed to have on average. Bearing in mind that you're supposedly only allowed one, plus 'a personal item, like a small handbag or laptop bag', I'm sure the average was over two. But then if airlines are charging $25 to check a bag, it's not surprising really. I wonder if Americans travelling by air in other countries realise how much less stressful things are, because people don't have excessive amounts of carry-on luggage? (In my world, the rule would be, if you can't carry it on, then it's not carry-on.)
4c) Also there was a woman travelling with her son. She pulled a zip-lock bag out of her luggage and offered it to him: 'Do you want some ice? Take what you want then throw the rest away.' Ice? You packed ice??
4d) Today I had my first experience of the nudie scanner - oops, I mean the terahertz scanner. Thankfully it sounds like the TSA has done something about everyone's privacy concerns because they had a sign up saying that the image is analysed by a computer and projected onto a generic person figure for the officer to check. I was wearing my pants that have zips partway down the leg so they can be converted to shorts. And the female officer wanted to check the zips because they showed up on the scanner. Um...? Guess they don't get many German tourists through SFO.
5a) Finally I arrived at the gate, having bought an overpriced sandwich (but which was large enough for two meals, so I ate half on the plane and had the other half once I arrived at the lab accommodation in Chicago). There I encounter another sign, which I can read ok, but doesn't mean much to me: "Wanna PREBOARD?? Just let us gate check your bag... :D" (yes, complete with capitals and emoticon). I'm perturbed as to what 'gate check your bag' means. Check that my bag is not a gate? Check at the gate that I have a bag? Check that it's my bag? Check my bag in at the gate? In which case, what was the point in lugging it through the terminal, for those who did? And perhaps most importantly, do you still get charged the $25?
5b) The only positive thing about the airport: after boarding their first class passengers, families with children under 5, those requiring extra assistance, and super-duper frequent flyers, they made an announcement that anyone who didn't need to put a bag in the overhead bins could board before everyone else. Since I was sitting in 4A (i.e. a window) I figured I may as well get on at that point. I'm not sure if they did this because (i) it wouldn't apply to most people, (ii) putting bags overhead is what takes the most time, (iii) they're being nice to people who checked a bag earlier. But anyway I thought it was a good idea, and more US airlines should consider it.
5c) One last thing - and this is not so much that I didn't understand it as it was something that didn't make a lot of sense: as we were getting on the plane they had a bin with headphones available to purchase for (says the sign) "$2 bucks". Now I get that Virgin is trying to be edgy, so I know what they mean by "two bucks", but then surely you don't need the dollar sign? Because isn't that then "two dollars bucks"?
One final thing in general that has disappointed me - actually two, the food has been noticeably bad. I opened a pottle of yogurt the other day which was shiny. Yogurt's not supposed to be shiny. And then I read the label a bit closer, and it seemed proud of the fact it had aspartame instead of sugar. Not that aspartame would have made it shiny - but it was obviously so over-processed that it couldn't have been good. So I threw it out.
Anyway, the final thing: is how wasteful American society is. The packaging on everything. And while Californians think they're so green by recycling and using 'compostable materials' (which I think is what we call 'biodegradeable'?), the simple fact remains that they wouldn't need to recycle all their plastic and cardboard if things weren't packaged in so much plastic and cardboard. At the rental car place at SFO, after you park the car, you take a lift or 4 escalators down to ground level, then take another lift or escalator up to the AirTrain. Instead of going up and over one level. I guess the woman with the boy and the ice fits the bill here. And the smog as we climbed away from San Fran. Too many people, who all have too much money and too much stuff. I'm so glad I moved back to New Zealand. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there are a lot of things it seems to do much more efficiently than the US does.
Maybe that's the problem - Americans use the same words as us, but they mean different things. Take the word 'solicitor' for example. In New Zealand it means a lawyer. In the US it means someone who solicits, be they someone offering you a taxi ride at the airport or a homeless person on the street asking for a few coins. So, not a lawyer.
So here are a few of the frustrating things that happened to me in the last couple of days...
1) I went to a shop and was waiting in a line at the checkout to buy something. As soon as the person in front walked away, a family of four pushed in front of me, saying that I wasn't in the line because the line was over there. I looked and there was no line, no sign, nothing to say that's how it worked. Maybe I didn't see the invisible sign, 'foreigners not welcome here'.
2) I had to fill up the car before taking it back to the airport this morning, so I pulled into a petrol station (well 'gas station', except I was getting fuel in a liquid form not a gas, yeah ok I understand it's an abbreviation of gasoline but don't you think calling a liquid 'gas' is a bit strange?). Now I know from past experience that you have to go to the counter first and pre-pay some money, or hand over a credit card, before they'll activate the pump. But the guy asked 'is it a rental', to which I said yes, then he said I had to hand over the keys. I wasn't quite sure if that's what I'd heard, so I just stood there holding out my credit card. Then he insisted, 'the keys', so I gave them to him and he drawled something I didn't get, so I asked him, 'sorry, what did you say?' Then he replied r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y l-i-k-e I w-a-s a-n i-d-i-o-t 'You have to push the button for which fuel you want.'
3a) Checking in at the self-help kiosk. First I couldn't find the 'confirmation code' on my ticket. I have a booking reference (which is for the travel agent), a ticket number, but nothing saying 'confirmation code'. So I asked one of the staff what I should do, so he looks over the ticket and says, 'Oh it's this one here - the PNR.' I have no idea what PNR stands for. Nor how I was supposed to know that PNR and confirmation code are the same thing.
3b) Then when I entered the PNR it came up with a message saying it couldn't process an inter-airline ticket. I presume that means Virgin America doesn't like Air New Zealand? Even though I have a PNR?
3c) So I head for the line saying 'Full service check-in' as that's what the screen told me to. And I have to stand there, waiting, while three airline staff members are tied up having their photos taken with a handbag-dog wearing a little red jumper for some sort of promotional thing. And I have to try not to get frustrated at other people in the line oohing and ahhing over how cute the dog is - which it wasn't. It was wearing a flipping jumper. Stop laughing, it's not funny.
3d) Finally I manage to make it to a counter to check in. 'So you have one bag to check today?' Yes. 'That'll be $25.' No, it's supposed to be included in the price. 'Oh, ok then.'
4a) Airport security. Another misunderstanding in pronunciation... I was waiting in the line to have my boarding pass and ID (passport) checked. There was one counter, and one person behind it checking. Then another person came along, stood next to her, and started calling, 'Max, Max.' He was looking in my direction, so I looked around thinking he was calling to a co-worker. But no, he was calling 'Next' and I was holding up the works by standing there looking like an idiot.
4b) Then we have to pick a line to have all our stuff X-rayed. I watched a girl aged probably about 11 or 12 struggle to pick up her suitcase (which would have been larger than the bag I checked in) to put it on the counter. I looked around and counted how many pieces of luggage people seemed to have on average. Bearing in mind that you're supposedly only allowed one, plus 'a personal item, like a small handbag or laptop bag', I'm sure the average was over two. But then if airlines are charging $25 to check a bag, it's not surprising really. I wonder if Americans travelling by air in other countries realise how much less stressful things are, because people don't have excessive amounts of carry-on luggage? (In my world, the rule would be, if you can't carry it on, then it's not carry-on.)
4c) Also there was a woman travelling with her son. She pulled a zip-lock bag out of her luggage and offered it to him: 'Do you want some ice? Take what you want then throw the rest away.' Ice? You packed ice??
4d) Today I had my first experience of the nudie scanner - oops, I mean the terahertz scanner. Thankfully it sounds like the TSA has done something about everyone's privacy concerns because they had a sign up saying that the image is analysed by a computer and projected onto a generic person figure for the officer to check. I was wearing my pants that have zips partway down the leg so they can be converted to shorts. And the female officer wanted to check the zips because they showed up on the scanner. Um...? Guess they don't get many German tourists through SFO.
5a) Finally I arrived at the gate, having bought an overpriced sandwich (but which was large enough for two meals, so I ate half on the plane and had the other half once I arrived at the lab accommodation in Chicago). There I encounter another sign, which I can read ok, but doesn't mean much to me: "Wanna PREBOARD?? Just let us gate check your bag... :D" (yes, complete with capitals and emoticon). I'm perturbed as to what 'gate check your bag' means. Check that my bag is not a gate? Check at the gate that I have a bag? Check that it's my bag? Check my bag in at the gate? In which case, what was the point in lugging it through the terminal, for those who did? And perhaps most importantly, do you still get charged the $25?
5b) The only positive thing about the airport: after boarding their first class passengers, families with children under 5, those requiring extra assistance, and super-duper frequent flyers, they made an announcement that anyone who didn't need to put a bag in the overhead bins could board before everyone else. Since I was sitting in 4A (i.e. a window) I figured I may as well get on at that point. I'm not sure if they did this because (i) it wouldn't apply to most people, (ii) putting bags overhead is what takes the most time, (iii) they're being nice to people who checked a bag earlier. But anyway I thought it was a good idea, and more US airlines should consider it.
5c) One last thing - and this is not so much that I didn't understand it as it was something that didn't make a lot of sense: as we were getting on the plane they had a bin with headphones available to purchase for (says the sign) "$2 bucks". Now I get that Virgin is trying to be edgy, so I know what they mean by "two bucks", but then surely you don't need the dollar sign? Because isn't that then "two dollars bucks"?
One final thing in general that has disappointed me - actually two, the food has been noticeably bad. I opened a pottle of yogurt the other day which was shiny. Yogurt's not supposed to be shiny. And then I read the label a bit closer, and it seemed proud of the fact it had aspartame instead of sugar. Not that aspartame would have made it shiny - but it was obviously so over-processed that it couldn't have been good. So I threw it out.
Anyway, the final thing: is how wasteful American society is. The packaging on everything. And while Californians think they're so green by recycling and using 'compostable materials' (which I think is what we call 'biodegradeable'?), the simple fact remains that they wouldn't need to recycle all their plastic and cardboard if things weren't packaged in so much plastic and cardboard. At the rental car place at SFO, after you park the car, you take a lift or 4 escalators down to ground level, then take another lift or escalator up to the AirTrain. Instead of going up and over one level. I guess the woman with the boy and the ice fits the bill here. And the smog as we climbed away from San Fran. Too many people, who all have too much money and too much stuff. I'm so glad I moved back to New Zealand. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there are a lot of things it seems to do much more efficiently than the US does.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Next trip
I bet you can hardly believe this as much as me... I'm off again on yet another trip away.
It's less than three weeks since Mum and I got back from Europe, then I was in Melbourne for a week, and now I'm off to the U. S. of A.
I'm heading to Chicago to do some experiments at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab. It's the largest synchrotron facility in North America, and home to one of the few (i.e. 2) beamline instruments in the world which offers high resolution X-ray diffraction at temperatures down to 10 K (that's -263 deg Celsius). I'm looking at some high temperature superconductor materials: one that has oxygen-16 and one with oxygen-18. If these experiments work, it should help shed some light on the isotope effect, which is one of the puzzles surrounding the theory of high temperature superconductivity. (I tried to find a wikipedia, or similar, entry on the 'isotope effect' but no luck - you can try googling it if you like, but chances are you'll end up with some journal article from Physical Review that even I don't fully understand!)
The good news is... after this, I only have one more trip planned before our trip to Brisbane in August for the Gospel for Asia marathon walk...
It's less than three weeks since Mum and I got back from Europe, then I was in Melbourne for a week, and now I'm off to the U. S. of A.
I'm heading to Chicago to do some experiments at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab. It's the largest synchrotron facility in North America, and home to one of the few (i.e. 2) beamline instruments in the world which offers high resolution X-ray diffraction at temperatures down to 10 K (that's -263 deg Celsius). I'm looking at some high temperature superconductor materials: one that has oxygen-16 and one with oxygen-18. If these experiments work, it should help shed some light on the isotope effect, which is one of the puzzles surrounding the theory of high temperature superconductivity. (I tried to find a wikipedia, or similar, entry on the 'isotope effect' but no luck - you can try googling it if you like, but chances are you'll end up with some journal article from Physical Review that even I don't fully understand!)
The good news is... after this, I only have one more trip planned before our trip to Brisbane in August for the Gospel for Asia marathon walk...
Friday, June 8, 2012
Howzat for X-ray performance!
This clip is a couple of years old now, but still classic... Former Australian cricketer Damien Fleming promoting the Australian Synchrotron.
Melbourne!
So exactly a week after arriving back in New Zealand after my holiday, I found myself back at the airport to take a flight to Melbourne.
Via Christchurch.
Which didn't happen...
Initially we were shifted onto a Wellington-Auckland flight and then Auckland-Melbourne, with 35 minutes to get from one plane to the other. Then the Wellington-Auckland flight was delayed by 10 minutes so that plan went out the window.
The next available option was a direct flight leaving Wellington at 6 am the following morning.
Thankfully from that point on everything has been smooth sailing - although it did make for quite a long first day of beamtime, since we were meant to be starting the same day and had been awake since before 2 am local time...
Anyway I am here measuring X-ray diffraction of a bunch of zinc oxide transparent conductive oxide films. Transparent conducting oxides are extremely useful in devices such as solar cells and 'smart windows'. We are aiming to gain information on how the direction the zinc oxide crystallites grows affects the electrical conductivity of the film.
In other news, a friend from church and I are each walking 42 km for Gospel for Asia, in Brisbane, in early August. Over the weekend - being a holiday on Monday for Queen's Birthday - we went for a few training walks, which added up to a total of about 50 km over the three days. So I'm fairly confident we will be able to finish! If you would like to sponsor us (in AUD) please click here. Every little bit counts! Thanks in advance :)
Via Christchurch.
Which didn't happen...
Initially we were shifted onto a Wellington-Auckland flight and then Auckland-Melbourne, with 35 minutes to get from one plane to the other. Then the Wellington-Auckland flight was delayed by 10 minutes so that plan went out the window.
The next available option was a direct flight leaving Wellington at 6 am the following morning.
Thankfully from that point on everything has been smooth sailing - although it did make for quite a long first day of beamtime, since we were meant to be starting the same day and had been awake since before 2 am local time...
Anyway I am here measuring X-ray diffraction of a bunch of zinc oxide transparent conductive oxide films. Transparent conducting oxides are extremely useful in devices such as solar cells and 'smart windows'. We are aiming to gain information on how the direction the zinc oxide crystallites grows affects the electrical conductivity of the film.
In other news, a friend from church and I are each walking 42 km for Gospel for Asia, in Brisbane, in early August. Over the weekend - being a holiday on Monday for Queen's Birthday - we went for a few training walks, which added up to a total of about 50 km over the three days. So I'm fairly confident we will be able to finish! If you would like to sponsor us (in AUD) please click here. Every little bit counts! Thanks in advance :)
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
29-30 May: Home again
Our flight from Heathrow to Singapore was my first on an A380. It ‘felt’ heavy during takeoff (which isn’t surprising), and it was significantly quieter than the other jet aircraft we’ve been on.
The plane from Singapore to Christchurch was virtually empty – everyone had a row of three seats to themselves, if they wanted it.
As a final treat, when we arrived at the Koru lounge to wait for our flight to Wellington, we were able to catch a glimpse of a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner coming in to land – the first one to arrive in NZ.
So that’s basically it for the holiday... so, time for some summing up.
The place I wish we could have spent a little more time: Strangely enough, Prague. Not so much more time in Prague, but the visitor centre had information about some places that would have made pretty neat day trips.
The place I reckon I could live if I had to: Vienna. The parks, the language, the way the society works, would probably be the easiest to fit into.
Weirdest place: Oslo. Without a doubt. Full of weirdos. Say no more!
Most interesting place: Venice. No cars, vans, taxis, even bikes – only canal and foot traffic. A completely different way of life.
Finally I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s stopped by to read what we’ve been up to. I hope you enjoyed the journey with us!
The plane from Singapore to Christchurch was virtually empty – everyone had a row of three seats to themselves, if they wanted it.
As a final treat, when we arrived at the Koru lounge to wait for our flight to Wellington, we were able to catch a glimpse of a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner coming in to land – the first one to arrive in NZ.
So that’s basically it for the holiday... so, time for some summing up.
The place I wish we could have spent a little more time: Strangely enough, Prague. Not so much more time in Prague, but the visitor centre had information about some places that would have made pretty neat day trips.
The place I reckon I could live if I had to: Vienna. The parks, the language, the way the society works, would probably be the easiest to fit into.
Weirdest place: Oslo. Without a doubt. Full of weirdos. Say no more!
Most interesting place: Venice. No cars, vans, taxis, even bikes – only canal and foot traffic. A completely different way of life.
Finally I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s stopped by to read what we’ve been up to. I hope you enjoyed the journey with us!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
28 May: London
Today Mum went for a museum crawl around South Kensington while I visited a colleague (my former post-doc supervisor) at Imperial College. It was a really productive day – we had a bit of a chat about a new project we are thinking of doing regarding corrosion processes on stainless steel, also I talked with her kiwi post-doc about some of her work which is related to some of the things I’m doing. She is keen to come back to New Zealand at some point, so I’ll have to keep my ear out for any opportunities coming up at IRL (or its new improved version, whenever that happens).
But perhaps the most fun thing was to see a kind of sideshow project they are both working on, which is concerning the restoration of a German Dornier bomber that is presently lying in the sea off the south coast of England. Apparently it is the last one in existence, and there are critical questions regarding how the aluminium skin is going to corrode once they take it out. They were given a small piece of it that was lying separately from the main wreckage – and by ‘small’ it’s about 80 cm in length – to do some lab testing. It’s been sitting in a tank full of tap water, and today they emptied the tank and refilled it with a pH-controlled citric acid solution. So that was very cool to see. No pictures unfortunately!
But perhaps the most fun thing was to see a kind of sideshow project they are both working on, which is concerning the restoration of a German Dornier bomber that is presently lying in the sea off the south coast of England. Apparently it is the last one in existence, and there are critical questions regarding how the aluminium skin is going to corrode once they take it out. They were given a small piece of it that was lying separately from the main wreckage – and by ‘small’ it’s about 80 cm in length – to do some lab testing. It’s been sitting in a tank full of tap water, and today they emptied the tank and refilled it with a pH-controlled citric acid solution. So that was very cool to see. No pictures unfortunately!
Monday, May 28, 2012
27 May: London
Today we started off with a family visit – at Calvary Chapel Westminster. I was quite surprised at how many people recognised me (even if they had forgotten my name... which doesn’t bother me too much, because I’d forgotten all of their names!). It’s always such a joy to visit there, because the church is a real mish-mash of people of all different races and walks of life – just like the body of Christ is all over the world. And yet despite these apparent differences, they are united in their love for Jesus.
After this we headed over to the Victoria coach station to wait for the 1:30 pm bus to Windsor. Which was scheduled according to the info at the stop to arrive at 1:45 pm. And didn’t actually arrive until nearly 2:00... by which time we decided that we wouldn’t have enough time to see much.
So instead we went to the British Museum. I’d been there once before, back in 2005 when I first moved to London. We wandered around the Assyrian artefacts section, the Rosetta stone and the Egyptian mummies. There was also a more recent display: the gold medals that will be awarded at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.
After this we headed over to the Victoria coach station to wait for the 1:30 pm bus to Windsor. Which was scheduled according to the info at the stop to arrive at 1:45 pm. And didn’t actually arrive until nearly 2:00... by which time we decided that we wouldn’t have enough time to see much.
So instead we went to the British Museum. I’d been there once before, back in 2005 when I first moved to London. We wandered around the Assyrian artefacts section, the Rosetta stone and the Egyptian mummies. There was also a more recent display: the gold medals that will be awarded at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
26 May: Brussels to London
Today we gained an hour in going from Brussels to London, which gave us a decent chunk of afternoon to have a wander around. We’d read somewhere that the Houses of Parliament were offering tours, so we wandered down there, but after finding they were ₤15, we decided to give it a miss.
From there we went to Buckingham palace to enjoy our afternoon tea in the park, but found that with the preparations for the Queen’s 60th Jubilee celebrations next weekend, that most of the area in front of the palace was in the process of being converted into tiered seating.
In the evening we went to see the Wizard of Oz playing at the Palladium. It was thoroughly enjoyable – a good, clean, family show, amazing sets, flying witches and monkeys, even explosions! And of course all the songs – which are still stuck in my head.
It’s kind of weird being back here again. (For those of you who don’t know, I lived here from May 2005 to June 2006.) I don’t feel like I’ve come ‘home’ in any way; maybe because it was 6 years ago – and certain things have definitely changed since then. Yet it feels more familiar, although I’m not sure if it’s because it is familiar, or if it’s just because all the signs are in English instead of French/Italian/Swedish/Danish/Flemish/Norwegian/Czech/Dutch. I’ll think some more about this and let you know!
From there we went to Buckingham palace to enjoy our afternoon tea in the park, but found that with the preparations for the Queen’s 60th Jubilee celebrations next weekend, that most of the area in front of the palace was in the process of being converted into tiered seating.
In the evening we went to see the Wizard of Oz playing at the Palladium. It was thoroughly enjoyable – a good, clean, family show, amazing sets, flying witches and monkeys, even explosions! And of course all the songs – which are still stuck in my head.
It’s kind of weird being back here again. (For those of you who don’t know, I lived here from May 2005 to June 2006.) I don’t feel like I’ve come ‘home’ in any way; maybe because it was 6 years ago – and certain things have definitely changed since then. Yet it feels more familiar, although I’m not sure if it’s because it is familiar, or if it’s just because all the signs are in English instead of French/Italian/Swedish/Danish/Flemish/Norwegian/Czech/Dutch. I’ll think some more about this and let you know!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
25 May: Brussels (Ghent)
Yesterday I mentioned how there’s not much to do in Brussels, so having googled ‘places to go in Belgium’ we decided to take a day trip to Ghent. And I’m really glad we did. It was only 40 minutes by train, and easy to find your way around the historical part of the city. It wasn’t swamped with souvenir shops and hop-on-hop-off buses. Today being Friday, they had a market on (but mainly selling meat, fish, clothes, and second-hand goods).
But perhaps the coolest part about it was that every time you turned a corner, there was something else to see. I’d read about the Gravensteen castle, and knew roughly how to get there, but coming around a corner to see it in front of us was still a surprise.
Anyway we had a very cool day today – I’ll let the pictures speak now!
Streets and canals
Gravensteen
View from the keep at Gravensteen
View of the 'three towers' (St Nicholas' church, the Belfry, St Bavo's cathedral), from St Michael's bridge
But perhaps the coolest part about it was that every time you turned a corner, there was something else to see. I’d read about the Gravensteen castle, and knew roughly how to get there, but coming around a corner to see it in front of us was still a surprise.
Anyway we had a very cool day today – I’ll let the pictures speak now!
Friday, May 25, 2012
24 May: Amsterdam to Brussels
Today we left Amsterdam for Brussels. It’s been abnormally hot the whole time we’ve been in Amsterdam – even the locals have been commenting about the weather.
We had also started asking ourselves, why we were bothering with Brussels? But having arrived, and having a wander around the city centre, we’ve been pleasantly surprised.
Our hotel is also significantly nicer than other places we’ve stayed! So we’ll try and make the most of it while we are here!
We ended up having dinner quite late tonight, and only got back to our room at 9 pm – just in time for a magnificent orange sun setting over the city.
We had also started asking ourselves, why we were bothering with Brussels? But having arrived, and having a wander around the city centre, we’ve been pleasantly surprised.
Our hotel is also significantly nicer than other places we’ve stayed! So we’ll try and make the most of it while we are here!
We ended up having dinner quite late tonight, and only got back to our room at 9 pm – just in time for a magnificent orange sun setting over the city.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
23 May: Amsterdam, day 2
This morning we went to Vondel Park. It was really pleasant just having a wander, watching people...
We had pancakes for lunch, which was really nice. Can I count strawberries and cream as one of my five-plus a day?
After this we went back to the Centraal station, where Mum took the boat towards Nemo (the science museum, on the Oosterdok (East Dock) and I went on a bike tour.
It was really enjoyable, and although it would have been cheaper to simply hire a bike for the day, I probably wouldn’t have had the inclination to have gone as far as we went – nor had the confidence to tackle the bike traffic!
Finally, a game of spot the movie location. Leave a comment if you recognise this!
We had pancakes for lunch, which was really nice. Can I count strawberries and cream as one of my five-plus a day?
After this we went back to the Centraal station, where Mum took the boat towards Nemo (the science museum, on the Oosterdok (East Dock) and I went on a bike tour.
It was really enjoyable, and although it would have been cheaper to simply hire a bike for the day, I probably wouldn’t have had the inclination to have gone as far as we went – nor had the confidence to tackle the bike traffic!
Finally, a game of spot the movie location. Leave a comment if you recognise this!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
22 May: Amsterdam, day 1
Today we started off by riding the hop-on-hop-off bus around its route. Naturally, we had a different view of the city, but I’d have to say that the canal boat journey is more pleasant.
We got off to visit the Anne Frank Huis. It was quite hard to imagine how it would have been during the war – both for the workers in the front of the house and for the eight in hiding. The actual hiding place was bigger than we expected it to be – but still, to have been there for two whole years, with no natural light, not knowing when you were going to be discovered, having to sit in silence day after day... must have been horrendous. I remember my reaction at reading Anne’s diary, especially once I reached the end and read the epilogue about how her parents were put on the very last train to Auschwitz, and how she herself died only one month before the liberation. I was repulsed at how unfair it was. Of course, they were only one family among millions, and it was unfair for all of them.
Today, there were two things that struck me: one was a video recording of Anne’s father, Otto, talking about her (he was the only one of the eight to survive). The second was a display of documents concerning the Franks’ and other families attempts to leave Europe in 1939. There was one letter from the US consulate, telling Otto Frank that his request had been received and that he was now on the waiting list, with an expected response time of ‘indefinite’. It was written in the same kind of US legalese that I’ve come across in my own life, the kind that makes you feel like a number in a database and an annoyance to their bureaucracy. Ultimately, of course, their request to emigrate was declined. There was also a photo of some Jews who had made it to England, who were deported back to Holland because their passports were ‘not in order’. Did those officials who made these decisions know that they were signing those people’s death warrants?
Anyway enough about that.
Lining up to visit Anne Frank’s house
After lunch we went for a stroll through the Dam square, and then caught the bus for the rest of the route. Then we took another route on the canal boat.
We got off to visit the Anne Frank Huis. It was quite hard to imagine how it would have been during the war – both for the workers in the front of the house and for the eight in hiding. The actual hiding place was bigger than we expected it to be – but still, to have been there for two whole years, with no natural light, not knowing when you were going to be discovered, having to sit in silence day after day... must have been horrendous. I remember my reaction at reading Anne’s diary, especially once I reached the end and read the epilogue about how her parents were put on the very last train to Auschwitz, and how she herself died only one month before the liberation. I was repulsed at how unfair it was. Of course, they were only one family among millions, and it was unfair for all of them.
Today, there were two things that struck me: one was a video recording of Anne’s father, Otto, talking about her (he was the only one of the eight to survive). The second was a display of documents concerning the Franks’ and other families attempts to leave Europe in 1939. There was one letter from the US consulate, telling Otto Frank that his request had been received and that he was now on the waiting list, with an expected response time of ‘indefinite’. It was written in the same kind of US legalese that I’ve come across in my own life, the kind that makes you feel like a number in a database and an annoyance to their bureaucracy. Ultimately, of course, their request to emigrate was declined. There was also a photo of some Jews who had made it to England, who were deported back to Holland because their passports were ‘not in order’. Did those officials who made these decisions know that they were signing those people’s death warrants?
Anyway enough about that.
After lunch we went for a stroll through the Dam square, and then caught the bus for the rest of the route. Then we took another route on the canal boat.
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