Noisy Silence.

I feel a slight discomfort in my own skin in attempting to come to terms with the fact that today is the 16th of December. Exceptionally vivid in my memory is the moment of opening the door of Stavangerweg 84 on August 19th and staring into an empty container, for the first time realizing that my new Dutch residency is infact a reality. That empty container has now transformed into everything that epitomizes and signifies 'home' for me in The Netherlands. Little did I know at the time how this transformation would occur at an incomprehensible speed, and now it dawns on me that the time remaining before the inevitable reverse transformation needs to take place is decreasing at a rate which I am unable to fathom. That being said, as any student who has the ability to so perfectly perfect the art of procrastination - In the midst of exam preparation, it is naturally the perfect time to share some recent events.

Couchsurfing in Den Hague and watching The Tallest Man on Earth with Shannon served as a  definite exchange highlight. The Tallest Man on Earth, a one-man wonder by the name of Kristian Mattson blew me away at Paard de Troje in Den Hague. This man is not to be deceived by his small body because within it lives a voice and musicality which has the power to silence a largely captivated and enticed audience. Towards the end of the concert the sound blew in Paard de Troje and Kristian was left to play raw acoustic guitar and sing without the aid of any microphone or sound device to approximately 1000 people. A man stripped bear of his external aids took the challenge in his stride and performed as purely, if not more so, without all his usual performance comforts. It proved pure talent and left Shan and myself utterly speechless.

Our host, Lucas

What a beauty.

Enticed. 

Ending the concert with a duet with his wife, beautiful. 

Den Hague Parliament buildings. 

Scandinavian adventures:

Due to the rate at which festival tickets sell out, and the untimely nature of RyanAirs' cheap deals, Michelle and I managed to get ourselves into a situation where we had a ticket to attend a festival called 'Shoeless' (Quite literally, as shoe's are replaced by Slippers) last Saturday night, followed by an 8:30am flight to Stockholm the following Sunday morning - both the airport and the Festival conveniently situated outside of Amsterdam. This made for an interesting and innovative journey (in combination with no sleep) to eventually board the plane and head North towards the Scandinavian Haven, and Capital of Sweden, Stockholm City. It had snowed in Stockholm a few days before our arrival on Sunday and so we were greeted by snowy landscapes, stark trees and a crisp cold atmosphere. After being immersed in Stockholm for some time, Michelle, Jakob and I collaborated upon descriptions of the city, the mutual consensus was evident - Stockholm is unique in two very distinct factors: It's pristine cleanliness, and it's silence. It is not an over-exaggeration when I say that Stockholm is without a doubt the cleanest city I have ever experienced. It seems inevitable there must be severe penalties enforced for polluting the streets, for it is hard to comprehend that a society is so incredibly united in its' respect for its' assets. It was truly remarkable to witness a city genuinely free of rubbish. And as for the second factor, for a considerable amount of our time in Stockholm, we had quite literally gone without overtly hearing the outspoken language by a Swede. When walking in the streets of Stockholm, communication among people was strikingly subdued, that it somehow felt as if our overly talkative tendencies were polluting the atmosphere with noise. The silence, however, is paradoxically noisy. For the beauty of Stockholm city, shouts louder at you than any verbal communication. Naturally, I am biased in my perception due to the fact that I was privileged enough to experience the city after a downfall of snow, however I strongly believe this is not a determinable factor in it's beauty when snow is not prevalent. Jakob, Michelle and I experienced Stockholm city by playing in snowy parks, walking around a park reserve by the name of Prins Eugens' Waldemarsudde, captivated by the way in which the light complimented the elements of nature, playing cards and drinking whiskey in the hostel, navigating the Stockholm underground metro system like locals, ice-skating in the streets of Stockholm surrounded by Christmas markets and the sounds of Christmas carols, going on a free tour around the historic part of Stockholm known as Gamla Stan (note the tour was at 4pm, at which stage it was pitch dark) and taking budget-travelling to new dimensions. It was an unforgettable experience with the two best travel partners.

Airplane views

Skavsta Airport

Upon Arrival Jacobs' name just kept making an appearance in Sweden as you can see by the photo's to follow. 

The Park just outside the hostel.

Most High-Class playpark I've ever seen.

Hostel Chillin'

Jakob & Mich singing for me

This is how you know it's proper European ice-skating - leaves under the ice. 

Due to fog we had to land in Germany and bus it back to up to The Netherlands for about 3 hours. 

And in the midst of all of this, my country experienced a pivotal moment in history and thus the last Sweden photo is dedicated to a living legend. I have never felt as patriotic as on the 15th of December when members of the Cape Town choir sang The South African National Anthem in Amsterdam's Stadsschouwburg. Amsterdam held a day of tribute to Mr Mandela on the day of his burial and it just proves yet again all the words that were spoken about him at his memorial. One is fighting a losing battle in attempting to find the words to captivate the extent of influence Madiba had on our country and it is a feat I am not capable of endeavoring. A legend so inexplicably powerful. RIP Tata. May we all learn from you.

"LET FREEDOM REIGN. THE SUN NEVER SET ON SO GLORIOUS A HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT."

And as a goodbye note I'd like to say . .Sometimes when we shut out all the sound, and delve into moments of silence, there is a louder noise than ever before. A noisy silence is a rare and moving kind of sound, in multiple elements of life, with the power to stir emotions in the midst of a shouting calm. It is often when nothing is said that more meaning is conveyed. A sense of calm, and of power. Look out for those movements in life and with full recognition, hold onto them.