Students in the kitchen, part I: pasta

Finding the time to get into the kitchen to make a meal can sometimes be a challenge, especially for those with limited cooking experience. This is part 1 of a series of recipe posts (hopefully, anyways). I decided to start with what most consider to be a staple in the student kitchen: pasta. Its fast, cheap and, for many recipes, quite easy to make. Also, you can make many pasta recipes with just a hot plate, which some of my foreign student friends in the Netherlands should appreciate.

In both recipes in this post, I've used farfalle. I think its the child in me that likes this bow-tie-shaped pasta... You could substitute other pastas as well. Farfalle takes longer to cook than most other types of pasta, so if you are short on time, try something else. Check package directions for cooking times. The recipes here are for 1 serving, but usually I make twice as much as I'll eat in one meal so that I can take the left-overs for lunch the next day. Here are a couple of simple ones:

Pesto farfalle with sauteed mushrooms and shrimp
I combined the pasta with mushrooms and shrimp, but you can put whatever else you like to combine with pasta. You can find jarred pesto at the supermarket.

Ingredients:

• 1 servings-worth of Farfalle
• 20-30 mL of cooking oil
• Small package of pre-cooked shrimps
• 8-10 mushrooms
• Jarred pesto

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot with water (about 3/4 full). Bring it to a boil on high heat. Add the farfalle, put a lid on the pot and let it boil until soft (about 10 minutes). 
2. While the farfalle is cooking, heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Saute the mushrooms and shrimp until the mushrooms are cooked and the shrimp are thoroughly heated. Turn off the heat.
3. Drain the pasta and add it to the shrimp and mushrooms. Add a 2-3 big-spoon's worth of pesto and stir until the pesto is evenly distributed. 

Farfalle with cherry tomatoes and cheese sauce

Making cheese sauce is more challenging and more effort than using jarred pesto, but its sooo tasty. 

Ingredients:

• 1 servings-worth of Farfalle
• 20-30mL butter
• 30mL white flour
• 200mL milk
• 1-2 handfulls of grated cheese
• small package of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• fresh basil (optional)
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot with water (about 3/4 full). Bring it to a boil on high heat. Add the farfalle, put a lid on the pot and let it boil until soft (about 10 minutes). 
2. While the farfalle is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour (it should form a paste). Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth and letting the sauce thicken between each addition. In the end, it should be thick enough to coat a spoon, but thin enough that it is still pourable.
3. Add the cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
4. Drain the pasta. Add to it the cherry tomatoes and sauce. Cover and leave a few minutes to let the tomatoes become a bit warm.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I'm hoping to keep future recipes relatively easy, but maybe I'll include some more challenging ones too. Good luck in the kitchen!

Unwinding in Italy

After a long period of hard work, there is nothing better than to go on an adventure with some close friends. So, when Christmas break rolled around, some classmates and I decided that some time in Italy would do us all some good. (Side note: I realize this post is a few months late, sorry...) We opted for a two week tour, starting with a flight into Milan, a day in Pisa, four days in Rome (including Christmas day), three days in Florence, four days in Venice and a day in Milan. If I had to choose one word to sum up how I feel about the trip, I'd have to go with "amazing". There were some less than ideal occurrences, but the combination of great friends, beautiful surroundings, delicious food and great memories more than made for those.

So, in the early morning on a cold day in December, my travel mates and I found ourselves standing in the lobby of my building waiting for our taxi to arrive and take us to the Schiphol airport. The driver arrived slightly late in a van that looked less than reliable, leaving us a bit frazzled, hoping we will make our flight on time. Thankfully, we got to the airport and checked in with a bit of time to spare. We were ready to go through security when we found out that our flight was delayed. What we thought would be just a couple of hours turned into the better part of a day. On the upside, we did manage to get a Christmas cowboy hat from Sinterklaas and meet what appeared to be a very tall angel.

 

Eventually, we did make it to Italy. Unfortunately, we made it there so late that, after a "30 minute bus ride" (more like and hour or more) from Milan Malpensa airport to the central station, there were no direct trains to Pisa. Even more unfortunately, the first train we took was late, which made us miss our connecting train, which left us in some unexpected location, attempting to find someone that spoke English to help us find our way to Pisa. We managed to get to Pisa. But.... yet another unfortunate incident: the only cab available was too small to get us plus our luggage to the hostel. After many phone calls to our hostel asking for help to get a taxi big enough, an hour or so later, we got our taxi. By 3am, we were in our hostel (which turned out to be really nice!). After a very rocky start, we were crossing our fingers for some improvements in the coming days.

Our less-than-a-day in Pisa turned out to be nice and relaxing. Of course, we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Fortunately, we ended up hearing some historical facts about the construction of the tower by listening in on a tour we were not a part of... and we also discovered that one of the funniest things to hear in an Italian accent is "banana shaped". It was in Pisa that we had our first pizza's and gelato's of the trip. YUM!

 

Next stop: Rome. We arrived late at night and took what we thought would be a cab to our hostel. Word of advice to anyone going to Rome: before you let the driver take your bags to his car, see the car first. It turned out that this "cab" was nothing more than some guy with a car that was waaay too small, we had to hold some of the suitcases on our laps. He did get us to our hostel, but tried to charge us 30 euro for the 5 minute ride. After a heated argument outside of the hostel, we managed to get the help of the hostel manager. In the end we paid the guy just 10 or 15 euro. Lesson learned... I will be much more careful with taxis from now on!

Our hostel was really amazing. We stayed at the Sleeping Beauty Guest-house. The room was beautifully decorated, it was very clean, the staff were extremely kind and helpful, the location was nearby some decent transportation and we even got some free treats (some kind of Italian cake and a bottle of wine) on Christmas Eve. Around the corner from the hostel is a small cafe, where you can get a really great croissant and cappuccino. Nothing better than starting your day with a freshly baked chocolate and cream filled pastry ;)

On Christmas Eve, our first site to see was Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It was as big and beautiful as we expected it to be. Funny story: on our way out, we checked out the crypt. Prior to our trip, my friend broke her ankle, which meant that we had to use wheelchair friendly entrances and exits. So, when we were leaving the crypt, we were instructed to go back the way we got in. But, there was a barricade in front of the door and no one around to let us out. While one of us went to find some help, a security guard from outside saw us and asked why we were there, in a bit of a panic. After we explained, he let us out saying "quickly, you must leave, the pope is coming!" Had we known this before looking for someone to let us out, perhaps we would have hid inside the crypt to meet his holiness.

The disadvantage to being in Rome on Christmas and Christmas Eve is that many of the sites are closed on those days. This limited what we could see after Saint Peters. Fortunately, Castel Sant'Angelo was open. From the rooftop, there is a nice view of Saint Peter's and the river. After seeing the castle, we got some gelato and went back to the hostel. Another thing to keep in mind when in Rome on Christmas and Christmas Eve (which we didn't consider) is that the only restaurants that are open outside of the center are delivery pizza places and international food. So, on our first day in Rome, our dinner was... take out Japanese. Delicious, but not what we expected to eat.

 

Being that most things were closed on Christmas, we opted to simply walk around and take a look. We saw some of the Roman ruins and lounged around at cafe's. Before dinner, my friend and I went to see a live piano concert while the rest of the group got a small tour from one of our friends that is from Rome. The concert was wonderful, and from what I heard the tour was too. For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the center. I will never forget my meal there. It was ricotta-filled ravioli in a rich truffle-cream sauce. Heavenly!!

The next day we had a guided tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I highly recommend the tours. Not only do you skip the lines to get in for a cost not much higher than regular admission, you also get a lot of information that, if you are someone like me, you likely will not end up learning on your own.That day we also saw the Pantheon and Trevi fountain and ate some Tiramisu and Gelato. Our Roman friend mocked us when he found out we had dinner at Pastarito near our hostel, because it is a chain restaurant there. I thought the food was pretty good and the portions were huge.

  

 

On our last day in Rome we saw the Vatican Museum. There is a lot to see there! We only covered a portion of it. Of course, the Sistine Chapel was very impressive. What really got me was how some of the paintings appear to really pop out of the surface. I recommend that you check it out for yourself. I don't think I can adequately describe the experience.

From Rome we went to Florence. After the magnificence of Rome, Florence was not as enchanting as it probably would have been, had we gone there prior to seeing Rome. The river was beautiful and it the street markets were cool. The David was definitely a highlight. Given that it is one of the masterpieces that we all see pictures of throughout our lives, I was expecting it to be good, but it totally exceeded my expectations. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is a beautiful building that is worth a peak. We also got free entrance into another museum, which was cool... sorry, but right now I really can't remember the name! Unfortunately, our impression of the city was poorly influenced by our terrible accommodations, which were cramped and dingy.   The only good things I can say about the place we stayed was that the pub across the street was great and it was nearby a place to get a decently priced Steak Florentine.

 

For New Years Eve we were in Venice. It really was as beautiful as they say. One thing to keep in mind, which thankfully did not affect us, is that at certain at times of year (including New Years), Venice is prone to flooding. So, if you are planning to go, keep that in mind. But that aside, it really is a lovely place.

One of the challenges we faced was crossing the bridges that go across all of the canals with a wheelchair. While we could have seen things on the Grand Canal via water bus, we would miss a lot if we did that. So, we worked out a system. My friend with the broken ankle would hang on the the railing, I'd hug her around the waist and hoist her up the stairs as she hopped on her good leg. The others would carry the wheel chair and other things while we did that. By the end we got quite good at it! And, bonus, we probably burned quite a few pasta calories off in the process.

We rang in the new year in San Marco Square, which was filled to the brim with people celebrating. It was quite the experience. I had no idea what the people on stage were saying, but it was really entertaining when they randomly chose couples from the crowd and make them kiss on the big screen. Very cute. The countdown was a typical countdown. Afterwards though, the square seemed to turn to chaos. People were putting off firecrackers everywhere and there was a lot of broken glass. The firecrackers were quite unusual for me, but my travel mates from India, Mexico and Indonesia didn't even bat an eye. We had a great time though!

On New Years day we slept in, spent a few hours roaming the streets, had a good dinner and caught a magnificent performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It was in a gorgeous church in the center. I really do encourage anyone going to Venice to check out a show while they are there. It is, after all, a city of arts.

Our last day in Venice we spent on the islands of Murano and Borano. As many may know, Murano is famous its amazing glass work. Glass is a challenging medium to work with, but the effects that can be achieved are really breathtaking. While the prices of most of what you can get in Murano are quite high, even just going to look is well worth it. You can also watch some of the artists as they create.

Borano is one of the cutest places I've been. Its multicolored houses give it a really unique charm. Its worth the time to take the water bus there and walk around for a couple of hours. We happened to be on the water bus when the sun was just starting to go down, which made it a beautiful and refreshing ride.

Our last stop was Milan. We were there for a day, which was plenty. I'm sure there is a lot to see in Milan, but we didn't have much time. We made it to the Duomo, which was very impressive. But, after two weeks of being on the road, and then finding out that the hotel gave away the ground floor room that we needed (due to our wheel chair bound friend), and also the less-welcoming atmosphere, compared to Rome and Venice, we were really ready to leave. I apologize to any fans of Milan... no offence, its just hasn't made it onto my list of places I'd like to return to.

Well kids, that's my account of my trip to Italy. While this post is very long, I really have to say that it definitely wasn't a thorough account of the trip. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed myself, especially in Rome and Venice. If you are looking for a place that has a lot of culture, great food, a variety of atmospheres between cities, beauty, eye candy and much more, then Italy is your place. As for me, I'm finally going to publish this post. I hope you liked it! Ciao!!

Semester 1: Done... sort of

Five and a half months ago I boarded a plane going to from Calgary, Canada to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After a cordial greeting at the airport and a short bus ride to Delft, I began to settle into my new "home", not sure what to expect, but very excited. I quickly made many many new friends, which to this day is my absolute favorite part of this whole experience. The down side: classes were much more difficult than anticipated, and it took a long time to get the basics settled, like a bank account, campus card and residence permit. Even though there were many days that I found myself homesick and wondering how I ended up here, coming here is definitely the best decision I have made.

So, the semester is over. And by over, I mean that classes for next semester start tomorrow. In actuality, last semester has not completely ended. I still have three oral exams and a final project due in February. This concept of overlapping semesters is quite foreign to me... back in Canada, the fall semester ends before Christmas, during which time the only things you have to worry about are waiting for final exam grades to come in and Christmas shopping. Of course I would prefer to be completely done with last semester by now, but its really not the end of the world. Aside from that, what is really amazing to me is how fast the past five and a half months have gone by. In five more months I will be moving to Sweden for my second year. I have definitely learned a lot so far, both academically and in terms of life. I'll comment on a few things about the daily life of an international student.

If there is one piece of advice I'll give to new international students, it is to invest a bit of time and money to make your room/flat more like a home. When I first got here, the basics were provided: I had a furnished room, including sheets, blankets and basic kitchen equipment. But, the walls were bare, the blankets were old and unattractive and my linoleum floor even has holes cut out of it. At first, I decided that because I was only going to be here a year, I would just stick with this place the way it was. But, after a few episodes of home sickness and feeling like I live in a little depressing little box, I decided to fix it up. 

I bought a nice, warm duvet, a purple bedding set, some mirror tiles, a carpet to cover up the holes in my floor, candles and some over-the-door hooks to hang clothes/towels on. I have put up some art that I bought on my recent trip to Italy (which I will eventually write a post about) and made some flower decals out of colored paper. Low and behold, being in my apartment felt much more comfortable, which did make a big difference. It was easier to unwind after stressful days at school. 

As someone who likes to cook, another thing that helped me to relax was to make myself a nice dinner. The "kitchen" of my apartment has a sink, tiny fridge, hotplate and cupboards. Without a freezer, oven or microwave, I found it hard at first to cook. Until I bought a combination microwave and oven, all I could do was either fry or boil things. I am still missing a freezer (and REALLY missing ice cream), but the 90 euro cost of the combi-microwave was really worth it. At some point I will post some recipes.

The other thing I've learned to do is not to take the hard parts of being an international student so seriously. Of course, there may be times that I feel overwhelmed again, but I am better able to remind myself that these crappy things will soon pass. Sometimes you can't do anything about a sucky situation... it will suck no matter how much you complain about it and wish you were somewhere else. But, one thing is for sure: the more you focus on how unfortunate it is, the worse the situation will seem. I know many other people that have had some tough times, but none of them (that I know of) regret coming here. So, for anyone trying to decide whether to go abroad or not, I will say this: If you move abroad, you will likely have some challenging experiences, but in most cases, you will learn a lot about the local culture, have some life changing experiences, make new friends and learn a lot about yourself. If you are up for the challenge, you'll likely find that it is well worth it.

Sunny Portugal

After a challenging quarter of school, a week in Portugal was a fantastic way to unwind and recharge. The sun and blue skies were a welcome change from the rainy and windy weather of Delft. A classmate and I spent 3 nights in Porto and 4 nights in Lisbon, where we met up with one of my Canadian friend for a couple of days.

Picturesque Porto
Situated next to a wide river with steep slopes, Porto offers magnificent views and atmosphere. The town center has many monuments, historical buildings and churches, most of which have elaborate and beautiful designs. We toured Porto by foot. It turned out to be quite a lot of work to make it up and down the endless hills. The hard work was worth it.

For those who prefer chilling out on the beach, you should head west along the river. During our trip the weather wasn't quite hot enough for sun bathing, but I'm sure in the summer its a fantastic place to lay out a beach towel and soak up some vitamin D. Even without sunbathing we were able to enjoy the sun on the patio of one of the many cafes.

  

One of my favorite parts of our time in Porto was when we crossed the river into Gaia where the Port Cellars are found. After randomly walking great distances trying to find our own way, getting lost and then asking for help, we found what we were looking for. We toured a few of the cellars, after which we got to sample some great Port for free. I came home with a few bottles ;).

 

One of the biggest challenges in Porto was that I don't know Portugese and most of the people there don't know English. For my first meal, I made an educated guess on what to order. My guess was half right: I got Bacalhau (cod). What went wrong was that it was steamed, which was definitely not what I was expecting. I was envious of my friend who got the fried variety. We had more success communicating with waiters along the river, which is a popular place for tourists to eat.

Lovely Lisbon
The capital of Portugal is much bigger and busier than Porto. City center is filled with cafes, restaurants, hotels and historical beauty. While still hilly, Lisbon is flatter than Porto. The distance between many monuments is far enough that we opted to both use public transport and hitch a ride on the tourist buses.

Situated on top a hill overlooking the city, Saint George's Castle is the perfect place to view Lisbon from above. Visitors can walk through almost all parts of this ancient structure. It has a small museum with some old artifacts, a lovely courtyard, small cafe and an archeological site. Reserve at least a couple of hours (plus the time it takes to get up and down the hill), because it is worth it to wander around all of the walkways and see the city and water from many different angles.

On our second day we opted to take the tourist buses to see the city. The company we chose had two routes. Between the two of them, we got a nice overview of city. After a few days of walking and climbing hills it was very nice to give our aching feet a rest. Also, the bus was double decker and open on the top, so we got a chance to enjoy the sun some more. The tours start at south side of Parque Eduardo VII, which stretches up a green hill with manicured shrubbery. At the top you can see all of the way down through the park, down Av. da Liberdad to the city and the water.

The next day we headed to the west of the city. Here you can see two very impressive monuments. My favorite was the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, which is a tribute to the great explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. I highly recommend going to the top for some great views. 

The second great monument on the west side of town is the famous Torre de Belem. King John II built it as both a defensive structure and a gateway to Lisbon. You can also climb to the top and visit a few floors in between. On our trip up and down the stairs we encountered many traffic jams, because of the popularity of this site. I can't even imagine how busy it would be in high season! Of course, its worth it.

While on the west side, you should stop into a cafe and try a pastel of Belem. This egg tart pastry was invented by the nuns of Mosteiro dos Jeronimos before the 18th century.

On the east side of the city you can find many newer structures. The Expo 98 was held here, and many of the structures there today were built specifically for the expo. We visited the Oceanarium. If you like aquariums, I recommend you see it.

On our last day we took a fairy across the water into Almada to see Christo Rei, a giant monument of Jesus Christ. Its huge! Like at Padrao dos Descobrimentos and Belem, the view from the top of the structure is wonderful. 

All in all, my trip to Portugal was great! There were many new things to see and experience. We definitely go our exercise and some sunshine. And now that I have returned to Delft, its time to get back to work!

One Month Later

Looking at the date, I realize that it has been a full month since I left Canada. I'd say "time flies when your having fun", but that's only half of the case. This month has been full of both extremely fun and very unpleasant times.

The good news is that Delft is just as charming as ever, I keep making new friends and, when I have the time, there is always the opportunity for fun. Whether it be strolling the streets of city center with some good friends and a camera, grabbing a beer at a pub, dancing at a club or hanging out at a party, there are plenty of great times to be had.

There are interesting events that go on in city center. Last weekend I was pleasantly surprised to find a carnival in the square in front of the New Church. After dinner and some drinks, my friends and I payed 5 euro each to ride the "Booster" (the tall ride in the picture). While this seems a bit expensive, it was worth it. I got a night view of Delft and surrounding area, and also an upside-down view as the seat flipped.

From August 30th to September 2nd, my faculty took the new masters students to Bunnik, which is out in the countryside near Utrecht. The location was great, and the weather turned out to be quite nice. As usual, I met people and had a lot of fun. However, it is in Bunnik that I got my first indication that things were going to get very difficult. Part of the program was to have our first few lectures for our core classes.... wow, that was a shocker! As it turns out, these classes are meant for people with a bachelor's in math, which I am don't have. After telling a couple of professors about my limited math background, one of them actually said "Well, you are going to have a lot of difficulties."

Luckily, my schedule is quite open. On Monday I have one two hour class, on Thursday there is a one hour class, Wednesday is the day of hell with four two hour classes, and then every other day is free. After my first full-day Wednesday, I truly grasped how much I need that "free time" to study. That was 8 hours of "Oh #$&*, I don't know anything! I am going to fail..." That Wednesday made me extremely homesick. It was the worst day I have had since I got here.

I am pleased to say that, even though I still have a long way to go, I feel much better already. I am grasping some of the concepts. That being said, I'm sure that my days will mostly be full of studying for the entire semester. I am hoping that the other semesters won't be as bad.

Other than classes being hard, there are a few things about being an international student that are difficult. For one, it wasn't until late last week that I was able to open my bank account. A bank card is required for many things, like getting a drink from coffee machines and reloading my printer balance at school. I got by with cash, but every time I need more cash from my Canadian bank account, its costs five Canadian dollars in bank fees. Of course, I also needed my Dutch bank account to be able to receive my scholarship money. The form is in, I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get the money by next week.

The other annoyance is that new students still have not received campus cards. Given that most of us are lacking some of the background knowledge for our math courses, sometimes we need library books to study from. Without a campus card, we cannot take them out. Also, without a campus card I can't get into my faculty building on the weekends, where I have an office. Luckily, with some help, I was able to retrieve my books from my office on a Saturday, even though the security guard didn't want to let me in the building.

So, to summarize, I definitely have mixed feelings right now. But, I can still say that I am happy to be here. As time goes on, things will get easier in many ways, and I'll always have great friends around.