Time for yourself

I haven’t felt like this for a long time. Like I don’t have any obligation anymore. I finished my part of a school assignment for this weekend. I’m sitting alone at home. My boyfriend went out. I’m enjoying music I haven’t listened to for a long time. It feels like I’m finding myself again. I’ve been so busy the last couple of years. It’s mainly due to the university studying load. It’s really hard to make free time. Last year I didn’t have much time to meet and see my friends who live in other cities. We all have different schedules, which makes it difficult for us to meet. Or we live too far away. You wouldn’t want to sit 5 to 6 hours in a train on one day. That’s how I saw some friends for only one time last year. However, I don’t think my social life has deteriorated. I’ve been very active on Facebook, BBM and Whatsapp. They really help me to stay in touch with my friends.

Last summer that I went to China I even met some friends from Holland and Curacao. It’s really amazing how we could get to meet each other at the other side of the world without having planned to. It felt so good to see people you hadn’t seen in a year.

I just wanted to say that some time alone feels good sometimes after having been busy for like forever. I know that this moment doesn’t last long but I am appreciating it. 

OMG, what's happening?!

So everyone knows that Blackberry has problems. I remember on Monday morning I had just got out of the metro when I noticed that my messages on BBM and Whatsapp haven’t been delivered. I didn’t think much of it, because the signal in metro stations usually isn’t that good. When I was in the lecture room my BBM wasn’t working either. Again, this was also normal in some lecture rooms. During the afternoon, a friend asked me about my BB. I was a bit surprised that she knew about the BB problem and I immediately thought that it must be a massive issue.

I had told myself before that I wouldn’t be able to live without my BB. I’ve gotten so used to being updated about everything, getting to know information in an instant, contact my friends in a few seconds. However, after this incident I realized that it’s not impossible to have no internet on your BB. Maybe this is due to the fact that I have used the Wi-Fi at my university, but the benefits were limited to browsing the internet and Whatsapp. BBM was still not accessible. The people that I needed the most were on Whatsapp, so that was fine.

On Tuesday night when I had to go home I was doubting to take the tram or metro. I was just going to check the tram schedule on my BB when I remembered that I had no internet on my BB. Not a big deal, then I would just have to check the time schedule at the tram-stop itself.

All in all, I cannot say I can truly live without internet on my BBM. However, I do need to be able to get in contact with my friends, be it SMS-ing or calling. Having internet wherever you are surely makes your life easier, to receive information in a few clicks, but it is not a necessity, when calling and SMS-ing still exist.

Trash can

In the province where I stayed during my holidays in China it was allowed to throw trash on the streets. I am not sure if it is allowed in other provinces in China (it is not allowed in Hong Kong) so the following things I will write are all about this certain province. 

Where I have lived, Curacao and The Netherlands, people regularly throw trash on the ground. However, in China they abuse of this, because they pay trash fees so that there are people who clean up the streets every day/night. There is not even a trash can at food stands because they expect you to dispose of the waste on the street. There was one time that I asked for the trash bin, but the lady said to just throw the paper on the street. Then I realized that it was a stupid question. I could not just do that. I am not used to throwing trash on the street at all. I would give it to someone next to me that I know to throw it...

Hot spring day in China

3-7-2011

I am feeling so hot and tired at the moment. The air-conditioner is not cold enough. We've been to Jin Jiang hot spring in Enping, Guangdong, China. I admired the multiple small hot springs with different ingredients and smells, such as green tea; flowers and greens; angelica. The majority of hot springs were very hot: from 38 to 43 degrees. In the day it was too hot to go into them, but at night it was perfect: very relaxing. Still they were very hot when you first put your foot in them but you get used to the temperature and soon you will find yourself enjoying the warmth and the water on your whole body.

There are also the bigger hot springs. One of them was 25 degrees, which was the best temperature for me, and had a waterfall. People stand below it to get their back massaged. Behind it, there is the ice spring, which was 21 degrees. It was better than the 38 degrees hot spring, which I thought was unbearable with the high temperature outside. I liked the rocks in the middle of the springs, where you could lie down to tan or just to relax and enjoy the moment. Further away, there was a flowing river hot spring, where you had the chance the sit on top of a bubble and drift around by the flowing water.

All in all, it was a very fun day with the family. :)

FB statuses

Almost all of us use Facebook. Having Facebook is a must recently. You keep contact with your friends through Facebook. I've been using Facebook for more than 2 years now. I've noticed some statuses that people post that I want to categorize.

The Diary:
Some people use their Facebook statuses as a diary. They post what they're doing at the moment; where they are going; where they are; what they're going to do today, tomorrow, next week; what they are studying at the very moment etc. Seriously, no-one cares.

The Church:
Some people use their Facebook statuses as a church. They actually PRAY on their status. Oh, how good God is, that we should be thankful that we he gave us one more day to live blablabla. :)

Love:
Some people use their statuses as a way to express their love to their loved ones. Good for you that you have someone to love. I feel bad for those that don't but still have to read each one of your love statuses.

Depressed:
Some sad people want people to feel sorry for them and post what has happened to them.

Complains:
They complain about everything. How their mom is messing with their life, how boring the lectures are, how bad the weather is, how they can't sleep.

Quotes:
Some use quotes to express their thoughts at the moment or to show how smart and knowledgeable they are.

Comedy:
Yes, we all want to laugh at some stupid jokes. Laughing is healthy. :D

Soccer:
Jesus! If you are watching soccer keep it to yourself! There is really no need to spam your friends about the scores and who you wish to win. :/

Newspaper:
One thing that amazes me is one positive thing about Facebook. I figured that I do not have to read the newspaper or news articles online. You know why? Because people post news on Facebook! I wake up in the morning and check my Facebook and I already know what is going on in the world, such as the Japan earthquake.

People have been asking me in what language I think. I really have no idea. I think it's a mixture of languages. It depends on the situation or with the people I'm with at that moment. But here's what I think:

- I curse in English and Papiamentu.
- I count in Chinese.
- I act gangster in Papiamentu.
- I speak Chinese and Papiamentu loudly in my dreams.
- I express my anger in Papiamentu.
- I'm most fluent in Papiamentu.
- My Dutch vocabulary is the best in all the languages I can speak.
- I'm more fluent in English than Dutch.
- I love mixing languages and I find it often hard to speak solely one language.

Seems like the language I'm most comfortable with is Papiamentu. No wonder, I grew up in Curacao.

Languages make me go crazy, as in the way I become when I hear a language that I like, such as French.

Creativity

Suddenly a piece of my childhood appeared in my mind. I remembered my little brother and me playing with a doll house. It contained really small pieces of toys. We built a house with every piece of furniture and fence. We drove the little car around. Let the 2 dolls, as the owners of the house, talk.

I've come to think that since we were little we have started to think creatively. Making up stories when playing with toys comprises a part of our creative thinking. We have contributed to the skill of being creative since our childhood.

A question is: will a childhood with many toys and friends to play with increase one's ability of being creative?