Standing on the edge

Dear reader,

It's the eve of my departure from the Netherlands, and after a very chaotic day, I'm packed up. Strange week, this has been... drama that I've detached myself from and busy upon busy, paper work, things to tie up, loose ends... etc. But now I'm ready, and confident that this new section of my life will be very good. It's strange, knowing how suddenly and quickly your reality is going to change... one minute you're there, the next, you're not. As humans go, I don't think we're meant to change our lives this quickly; one thing on one side of the world, the next thing you know, you're on the other side of the planet.

Two days ago I witnessed an unfortunate event: I was walking to the post office with a package when a few meters in front of me, an old woman tripped and fell into the street. This was not a graceful fall, it was a face planting, eat-the-pavement style fall. I heard that sickening flesh hitting something hard sound and I knew it wasn't going to be good, so I put the package down, ran over to her. When I turned her over, blood was already streaming out from a gash in her throat and a deep cut on her chin... not a happy picture. She was in shock, I was a bit in shock because I didn't know the Dutch "911" [turns out its 112] but I called over to some nearby construction workers who came over and spoke English, and they called an ambulance. With my limited garage-sale-style medical knowledge, I propped her head up and took one of the constructions workers coat that he'd brought over, and put it over her to keep her warm. Unfortunately I didn't have any napkins or kleenexes in my pocket to try and stop some of the bleeding. By that time a police car came by and took care of the situation. They asked me what happened, I told them, and then they said I could be on my way. I felt really bad for her :(

Now is the time I realize what I'll miss about the Netherlands; not the places, but the people. The good people I know, even the not so good ones. They've all contributed their part to make up this whole big experience of mine. I'm quite glad about that. Last Saturday, Wouter sneakily planned a surprise going away party for me, which was great fun. If you know me, I'm HORRIBLE with reading into surprises, and looking back on it, the signs that there was going to be a party were so obvious. I remember once my mom wrapping a Christmas present in front of me, me asking what it was and who it was for, and then on Christmas, opening it up and being totally surprised. Maybe my mind is a bit gone! No dancers came to the party, though. Which solidifies my and Wouters theory that dancers are flakey, crazy and generally unreliable.

Last week, my good friend Katrien and I went by her car to Antwerp. Antwerp is such a beautiful, cultural place; it was stunning to go from the industrial, residential "glory" of Tilburg to such a beautiful, old town like Antwerp. There we looked at the sights, had Belgian beer and waffles, went to an outdoor Christmas market and ate a typical Belgian potato/onion/seasoning dish, piping hot in the cold December air. And then we went and saw a movie! In Belgium! (the film was American Gangster; it was like Scarface, Casino, and Raging Bull all in one, but set in Harlem. I bet it will get best sound at next years awards.)

In other news, last Thursday was the public premier of a dance piece and me and another composer made music to. I have my opinion about how it turned out, so I'll leave you to yours! Check it out...:

http://youecho.nl/media/lisamaduro.htm

Ok... I will post some pictures when I'm back in the states.

If you are one of my friends-being-left-behind reading this, I am not saying goodbye. I hate goodbyes... I prefer, "until next time." So.. until next time!

-e