The rest of the day

Given the events of the late-afternoon, this morning almost seems as if it occurred yesterday. In my experience time actually moves faster here. I wake up early, go into the city for class, wander, and by the time I return it is already late. If you don't believe me then why is it almost Zaterdag, excuse me that's the Dutch slipping in, Saturday in the Netherlands while it is still Friday morning in the US?

Regardless, or as our former president would say, irregardless of my conceptions of time, this morning I went on a field trip, or the college equivalent of one, to Lombok, a Turkish and Moroccan town (or district, I'm not quite sure how areas are classified here in every case) in Utrecht. Though we were warned both directly and indirectly in lecture when we learned about the view of Geertz Wilder's "Freedom Party" towards immigrant and especially Muslims, that the neighborhood could be dangerous, we all loved it. Between classes early today, we biked to the other side of Utrecht Centraal, the location of Lombok, parked our bikes, and walked around. The area was full of shops with inexpensive and fresh fruit and interesting foods representing the local ethnicities. We each picked up fruit, and later stopped for a Turkish pizza; pizza being a word that obviously wasn't translated very well from Turkish. Despite the unfamiliar taste, the "pizza" was quite good and fueled me for the rest of our trip down the Lombok main street. Unfortunately, the street didn't continue as long as those in downtown Utrecht do, and we ended up turning around at a draw bridge marking the end of town.

Contrary to our expectations, and the pejorative rhetoric of the Freedom Party, Lombok was an enjoyable community that, thanks to its fresh fruits, good restaurants and bakeries, and, arguably most importantly, its inexpensive pricing, we will be frequently returning to.