Shape Shifter

November 07, 2013

Shape Shifter

A series of inexplainably joyous events has occurred as of late - My temporary home and the people I have been blessed to be surrounded by continue adding fire to the flame by fueling my intense inner energy of humility and happiness. Here is how:

Music has the ability to evoke emotions quite often not achieved by different means. Ever since I can remember my dad has made a concerted effort to bring our awareness to the sounds of music by stopping conversation in the car, playing the music loud and making us listen. And not just listen, but hear. There is an energy so powerful in music that it moves you in every literal and figurative sense and it has been a part of me and the moments I share with people since the beginning. What I personally find most enthralling about music is that it holds no judgements. There is no 'greater panel of experts' that maintains the right to judge a piece of music - what it means and how it moves people differs fundamentally from one person to the next. And when that movement occurs within yourself, regardless of whether or not the music is essentially considered 'good' or 'bad' by the majority, it does not matter, because its' essential goal has been achieved. And that is what ignites my love for music. And this love was ignited to the extremity when I watched one of my favourite bands perform live at Paradiso Concert Hall, an incredibly beautiful visually stimulating venue. The Local Natives exceeded all my expectations. Their band dynamic, live performance quality, stage personality and captivating lyrics provided me with a display of music which fueled my movement more than ever before. [If you don't know the Local Natives, alsjeblieft - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnTacC1qUmE]

Cloud Control

Beautiful Paradiso.

Local Natives

Advised by many, the most highly anticipated apple crumble was eventually consumed at Winkel 43 in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. It is safe to say that I am in complete agreement with the many people that have confidently claimed it to be the BEST apple crumble they have ever eaten. This is true.

THE Apple Crumble

Beautiful Michelle & Naomi

2 November: Museumnacht Amsterdam

Once a year, fifty museums in Amsterdam open their doors to the public in the mystery of the night. With limited time, Shannon and myself successfully went to four different museums. Our evening started with The Anne Frank Museum (If you have not yet read The Diary of Anne Frank, I strongly advise you to). Seeing the book come to life was incredible and immensely tragic. We then proceeded to De Nieuwe Kerk where a MING expidition was taking place. We were blessed to witness a hauntingly beautiful Chinese choir ensemble perform, have a traditional Chinese massage and have a look at ancient Ming artifacts. We then proceeded to The Amsterdam Museum where the tempo of the evening picked up at a considerable pace. We discovered that our friendship was evidently meant to be due to the careful placement of the Irish and South African rugs placed carefully together, connected at the points, out of a 260 country array of distinct unique rug designs representative of each country. After this bonding discovery we watched live improvisational jazz aswell as a hip-hop/ska/jazz band. In our elements. The fourth museum was one which neither of us had heard of yet attended nonetheless - Het Grachtenhuis museum allowed us to try on those typical Dutch outfits we've been dying to wear for so long. The night ended at our favourite watering hole - Hole in The Wall in Leidseplein.

De Nieuwe Kerk

Captivating Chandeliers

Chinese Choir

Chinese Massage

Jazz in The Amsterdam Museum

South African Rug

Irish Rug

Connected by the points.

Infinity Mirror.

Too many Shannons to handle.

Hip-hop Jazz

Been needing one of these.

Het Grachtenhuis

The Water Hole.

And then, Delft - a miniature Amsterdam. I was a couchsurfing guinea pig and after this experience, I am hooked. Couchsurfing, for those that don't know, is an online network in which you can either 'host' or 'surf'' or simply meet people. Eligibility of a persons' profile is based on the amount of references they have received from either hosts or surfers. The concept behind couchsurfing, in a nutshell, is the promotion of low-budget travelling. A sleeping space is offered to a traveler for no cost. The host can either get involved with the surfer by showing them around and joining activities, or the couch can merely be seen as simply a place to rest one's head. Quite often couchsurfers (whether hosts or surfers) are like-minded people due to the fact that they partake in the promotion of this network, and thus find it enjoyable to become involved with the host/surfer and use it as an opportunity to learn more about one anothers' cultures. I was a first time surfer and I was blessed enough to have experienced the latter. I stayed at the ZAB house in Delft. Zommerse Avond Baker house was incredible. I didn't 'couch' surf, I room-surfed. The house is home to seven people living and either studying or working in Delft - All Dutch locals and extremely interesting characters. Both nights they cooked Dinner for me and there was truly no inkling of discomfort. Delft is a gem of a town. I walked from the very south to the very north of Delft in only three hours. I visited both the New Church (De Nieuwe Kerk) and the Old Church (De Oude Kerk) where I brushed up on my Dutch History and the story behind Prins Willem Van Oranje, the 'Father of the Fatherland'. I also climbed up the New Church Tower and lay eyes upon the breathtaking view of Delft. But pictures quite often speak louder than words: