Spending the weekend with our dear friends

We spent last weekend with our friends as an informal "farewell" before we head back home next week. Firstly we met up with Anouska and Sergio at our flat (they surprised us by popping by!), then we went to Qq's room and met Hexy. Soon after we went to the 'centrum' by Anouska's car which was pretty squashy, but good way to keep warm in the -1 degrees temperature outside. ;-P As we arrived, we headed straight to "The Tijd" cafe just nearby the city hall and 'de kerk'. We had nice chats and drinks while waiting for Sadath to come. Around 11 pm he came, and right after we went walking to the Mexican pub, about 750 m away from where we were (guys, correct me when I'm wrong!) To our surprise, the Mexican pub had a special thing organized, which was an "African Night". It suited Hexy's preference alright. So he went on dancing with Anouska (whom eventually dragged me down the dance floor also!) We finished off the rendez-vous at around 3ish in the morning. It was so weird to say goodbye to Anouska as she will have to go to Brussels for her internship with IUCN. I may not be able to see her again in the near future, but I always believe that we'll meet again somewhere, somehow. Not sure when, but we will. Then again, the internet is really effective for communication, although it's still nothing compared to interfacing with people. Yet with these thoughts in mind, I managed to survive the sadness (although I feel a loss to some extent, inside). Anouska - if you read this, I'd like to say that you've been such great friend to me, you're nurturing and caring, and I even feel like you're more like a big sister to me here in Holland. Despite the un-memorable AMC 1 experiences, I get to keep a piece of memory with you. Thanks for all the kindness you brought me: bringing me the Dutch mayo to Paris (yum! hehe), lending me your scarf when we did a night-walk in Paris, helping me send the forms for internship in Paris while I was in Bangkok, helping me by phoning IND when Nuki tried to get his 'family reunification' visa, and many other kind gestures you have done. Sergio - We're glad that you liked the gift... honestly we were impressed that you could point out where we live in Indonesia. ;-) Hopefully the next time you point out Java on the map is when you're on the island itself! Wishing you all the best with the education you intend to pursue and take care of Anouska, okay? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The following day we went to Nijmegen with our friends (Tintin, Fitri, Qq - again! ;-P, and Satya). Just like the usual day-out filled with shopping! There were a huge shopping spree so we went nuts! The shopping day was topped off with a nice ride on the Rheine river while enjoying the buffet pancake. It's a good deal actually, of which for 12.5 euros you get to eat all the pancakes within one hour (as long as the boat remains on the river). But then again I think that it's just a sneaky business strategy. The thing is, the first serve of pancake was fine, but as the boat drifted to the centre of the river, it gets pretty wavy and you're already feeling sea sick enough that you no longer feel like eating. When you insist to eat, you start to feel nausea! So all of us only managed to eat 2 plates of pancakes, and that's about all. Well-thought business, eh? So anyway down below you can view the photos taken in reverse order.