Tra-la, it's May!

I've been busy! April and May here (school-wise) are very intense. The thrust for first-year students, second semester, is all about writing, in correct academic Dutch. I think I can speak for all of us (our tight little B-group [those first-year students with some background in Dutch] has shrunk dramatically, from about 11 to about 4! I think that it's now two Poles, one Russian (my stunningly bright young Russian friend, "Jenia") and me) in saying that the shock from first to second semester was enormous. We lost all of the Chinese (4), the Iranian, a Czech, and a few others (most of them went back to the "A" group [those with no previous Dutch background] and a couple droppped out completely). We've been overwhelmed. Going from basic grammar and vocabulary to being expected to expound on "language change" in perfect scholarly Dutch writing of at least 750 words and in one paper, to 1,500 words, has been nearly impossible. We've stumbled along. One only learns by being forced, right? And by making countless mistakes. Very quickly, one's ego either is shattered, calms down, or toughens up. A few shattered, sadly. The rest of us have become very humble! Of small comfort (in my current grammar class) was hearing from second-year students (and one third-year) that *everybody's* paper comes back covered in red ink, always! Nobody ever gets a 10 (top grade). I've become thrilled when I infrequently get an 8 on something. One is grateful to pass, which I never thought I'd feel, but I do. When we occasionally step back and look at what we've done, we realize how far we've come, but also how far it is to what's expected of us. It's been very humbling.

What else? April weather was warm and sunny, for 42 days (some May, too). The grass turned blond and people got tans (not I, of course). Now, it's back to normal spring here: crisp, breezy and near-daily rain (often at night, fortunately).

Summer plans? I first thought of getting a summer job, maybe in shipping law in Rotterdam. However, I haven't had a summer break since the late '60s and decided I could use one. I hope to do a little travelling around Holland, and to Belgium, and otherwise be lazy. Exams go on here until late June, and I'll have a paper due in late August, so it won't be a terribly long break.

One does feel a bit cloistered, being in full-time school. Cloistered not in the sense of being shut off from the world, but in not having any time (much less energy) to explore what's around us. All of my classmates are in their mid-20s, and they feel the same, so it's not just my age. Leiden is a beautiful, calm, safe place to live. I could not have a lovelier environment, but haven't felt that I've had the time to explore it properly. The energy expended studying daily in a foreign language is enormous, and one doesn't realize it until stepping back and realizing how tired we all are, all the time.

I've heard a few concerts, but culturally, have focused more on seeing as much art as possible, and have not been disappointed. My "Culture and Society" class, which makes excursions every other week to different cities (and focuses on different topics), was this week in The Hague, and ended at the superb Mauritshuis museum, a wonderful former elegant home (quite a while ago -- probably in the 17th century), next door to the Dutch "Ridder Zaal", part of the parliament buildings complex. My art history teacher led our way through the Mauritshuis (which I'd already visited twice, but no matter; it's a treasure house) and gave exceptional talks on a few pictures. Things had been rearranged since my last visit and now, nearly all of the Rembrandts are in two rooms. There's one self-portrait that I hadn't seen, of him at age 26, that's very remarkable, even for him. He looks straight out at one (this was quite unusual; people usually were painted at 3/4 view, or looking to one side), and his skin is so uncannily painted that one even notices a faint "5 o-clock shadow". I didn't see it at first, but was so mesmerized by the painting that I finally saw it. Nearly adjacent to this self-portrait is another one, of him in his 60s, that's unmercifully accurate and shows every blemish and wart.

As we flew through rooms, I asked my art history teacher whether anything were insured, and she just laughed. One realizes, after seeing priceless picture after picture, that insurance costs would close the museum within an hour. The security, though, must be very intense. There *are* guards in most rooms, but one knife could do such awful harm. While coats and backpacks are required to be checked, damage could still be done. Only a few pictures seemed to be glass-covered. There must be laser security or other invisible means of securing things. At one point, I foolishly pointed my finger at a figure (lady who'd fallen on the ice, revealed not to be wearing undergarments!) in a Havercamp winter scene picture and my teacher was very animated, saying that I could set off an alarm. I adore the Mauritshuis. For my purposes, it's preferable to the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, since it's much smaller and more focused on the "Dutch masters" and usually, not crowded. However, the Rijksmuseum has amazing Rembrandts and Vermeers. The Mauritshuis has Vermeer's lovely "View of Delft" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring", though. For me, the Mauritshuis alone warrants a trip to this country.

Any other highlights? I passed my art history exam (in two parts), which was a huge relief. The reading material on it was nearly 500 pages, and the lectures very compelling. I finally learned how to boil down the essential bits, but gained a huge respect for friends who got their Ph.D.s in art history in the late '60s, before computers, putting information on 3x5 cards. Dutch art history alone encompasses a vast amount of information. We covered the highlights, from 1400 through Mondriaan (1950s). There were for me a few new delights and surprises. The new delight mainly was the "Flemish Primitives" school, dating from about 1390 through about 1500. This includes Jan van Eyck, Geertje tot Sint Jans and Rogier van de Weyden, principally. The name is misleading, since these painters were anything *but* primitive. The colors are extraordinary and the craft superb. The "disguised symbolism" is fascinating, too, and if one knows the references, the pictures tell fascinating stories. The surprises were learning of periods in the lives of van Gogh and Mondriaan that I didn't know. Early Mondriaan is quite lovely and not at all abstract. I had forgotten what a huge role religion played in van Gogh's life, too. If I had a better ability to remember dates and a lot else, I would take other courses in Dutch painting.

One trip I plan to make is to Ghent, to see van Eyck's famous altar piece, and other art. To see these things "in situ" is an enormous treat. Post cards and prints in books are a completely different experience from staring at the art itself. While the National Gallery in Washington has a vast and superb collection, it is always a thrill here to see things I've only seen in books. To see Rembrandt and Vermeer, particularly, is a thrill I cannot describe.

And now, to post this! Google runs this blog and had changed its format and other things, so I postponed blogging until I had the time to deal with the new stuff.

Happy spring, everyone!