a day for an orange

april has a bunch of festivites in the air. after a long day of biking and flower addicted imagination, the orange day is the edge of the month, quite an overwhelmed closure in the lowlands. actually, it is not about the fruit, but i guess the idea probably comes from the fruit. a landlord once ruled in southern france then moved northward and conquered a flat land in the tip of north sea. by then, the landlord established his own empire which has lasted for several hundred years. a day for an orange is dedicated to commemorate the birth of the previous queen, the landlord's decendant. since then, everybody celebrates the day. whether it is because the love to the queen that makes people hold parties everywhere, or because people want to enjoy the long holiday, i cant never be assured to explain why the lowlands turn to be self-proclaimed orange in this one single day. all in all, confusion does not always lead to asking question. better not this time, and enjoy the orange.

een prettige dag van de bloemencorso

the last week of april would be the weekend for flower parade. i guess, this annual event usually takes place to officially mark the presence of spring. the parade will depart from noordwijk for the final destination at haarlem. and for this year, some friends have set the plan for another biking trip to catch the parade on road nearby lisse, on its way to haarlem. the lunch boxes have been packed and nicely put in our backpacks, along with cameras and bottles of water. i have managed myself to get a nice hat which can keep my face on shade of the immense sunlight. what a spring bystander i am.

after biking around twenty minutes, we arrived at the crossroad of lisse, a point where we wanted to enjoy the parade. apparently, we were not the only spectators, there were already alot of people parked their cars and set their picnic mat or flipped chairs to get the best view of those flowers in cars. it was quite crowded but people still managed to line up along the road in a good order. soon the police would block the road and not even bikers can pass the road. so it was a precise attempt to get there early.

almost like in the cinderella fairytale, the parade started to resonate its coming right in the middle of the day. obviously the parade was accopanied by a bunch of marching band groups. i can hear the sound of cymbal, drums or trumpet played. one by one the car decorated with colorful flowers moving slowly in front of us. some companies used the event to advertise their business as well. and for this reason, i found the decorator was very creative to turn a boring truck or van into a charming vehicle with extended roof of purple lavender or vivid window in lilies curtain. aside from that, the parade also displayed this year's theme which was everything about books. thus, each car carried a special theme translated from a popular book, for instance asterix and obelix, or around the world in eighty days. my favorite one was the asterix and obelix. the fact that they also made idefix, the dog and the big stone which always carried by obelix made the display was fascinating.

the parade only took around one and a half hour. the day was still young as the sun shines longer now. i would feel myself a pitty if i rode my bike and went home. that would be a waste to pass such a day pass without enjoying the season. so, i decided to bike further, as some of my friends wanted to go home. fortunately, a friend had the same intention to extend the biking trip a bit further, just to know the surrounding. so we were biking for another hours, and i was content to find another flower fields around lisse. of course, it makes me even more overwhelmed because i can take pictures of them with my camera and my visual memory, here.

on nationalism

it is the subject which is quite abstract for one to give the precise definition. of course it is always attached to the notion of state or nationhood. but this becomes more problematic when an individual finds hard to choose what nation he is really attached to. in this case, it is easier to use sensitive issues to trigger the real sense of nationalism. for me, the awareness of being a particular person under a certain national flag immerse when people bluntly 'baptized' my ethnicity just because my physical appearance. do not judge a book by its cover. i unconsciously refuse that label and strive to convince them my indigenous root. this happened on lunch time today. i was busy with task as a student should have been dipped themselves before class, and a guy just asking direction with me in other language instead of the internationally recognized english. i was surprised to consider on what basis he can conclude that i speak the language he used. i bet my reflection on this real world just resembles to the notion of particular ethnic group in this world. fortunately, because of some reason, i can speak the language that he used to ask me. but with all my respect, my ability to speak this language not because of kinship obligatory reason, but it was purely a genuine reason for the sake of life conquest. after all, that was not the first time i have been unilaterally dubbed as member of particular ethnic. and for that, i found my self helpless to prove this misperception on every acquaintance with strangers. for this reason, my nationalism should endure the untold truth.

the fanfare friday

today is a special day for those who are the big fan of doing sport. please pay attention to the italic word, because i'm not referring to those who are expert in commenting and analyzing score or strategies in sport matches. in this case, this afternoon is the big fanfare for people who are fond of jongging. the singel loop, a six kilometers of marathon and it goes around the five 'singel' in leiden. one of the main ruoute is wittesingel, a tranquil passage of canal that runs in front of the university's main library. some of my friends take part and im glad i can get some pictures of them. since leiden is a small city, the six kilometers does not take long time for those self-trained athletes to reach the finish line. but there is no winner and loser, because everybody apparently gets a medal. a souvenir for participating in this so-leiden activity. once you get the medal and you are officially baptized as the true citizen of this city. yay!

a little note on early afternoon

an early afternoon spent by the small lake of buitenhof. summer is coming but spring still on its way to the fullest. trees are in hazy green, with little hopes on the edge of barren branches. waiting the world to have them on its course. i took a little notice of the passing tram from the hedge of maroon tulips. the red strips were just perfectly fit to add a small peculiarity of the day.

starlight

everyone is celebrating passendag in the lowlands. times for painted eggs, from the real ones to those symbolic identity. but my passenvakantie is quite tranquil, as silence as the starlight across the canal. while others prefer to have a weekend getaway somewhere around the continent, i choose witte singel for hours of typing and trying to catch up the implied meanings of concepts. i aint fancy holiday for another short trip. some friends are coming from the south and east, and we rather have a big dinner for fourteen people with peking ducks served on the table. the red napkins and small cups decorate the whole session and we are content for this gathering. saturday night at leiden, my day is completely full by having these starlights across the canal. their sparks enlighten the dark corners in its surrounding, while their reflections on water make the night has been more crowded than ever.

when the book is open

when the book is open, you can start to read the story. a journey, surely needs a map. but it still can work out fine with a help of virtual guidance, lets called it instinct. as the weather forecast defines today will be mostly sunny, a trip along the lowlands should be a good idea for weekend. from a bike shop in the central station, the bikes are rent with a promise to the owner that they should be returned before midnight. when the wheels have been rolled for a constant speed of sunday trip, there has been a lot to be seen along the journey. the story for the day has started. trees along the small roads and highways are starting to be dyed in green. some of them are even in lovely pink and vibrant yellow. or maybe the sun has made them to look differently. the weather is being so hospitable to facilitate such journey. as the page of the book is open one by one, the scene leads the trip from a small lake by the old city to the sandy beach of the lowlands. the lake is painted in silver shadow of the noon's cloud, and there is a fishing boat far in the middle. the tranquility of the journey is uninterrupted. some small friends of flowers look above to the shoes of those who are carrying the bikes over the green field. with such a good manner, they ask not to step on the grass, because their friends still strive for growing tall and embracing the summer. word of apology is whispered, followed with careful glance on grass. someone is trying to get closer to the nature. as the journey goes on, another page brings the trip to field of colorful bloemen. the fields are vast, another continent in the continent. they have their own territory, like a square of sovereignty with rows and lines under the cloudless skies. each country mostly has a majority of ethnic groups without an exception to some minorities to be distinctive. rules and law are established, that is the reason why they look perfectly in order. like another part of the international community, these fairy states also might encounter invasion from foreign forces. and for that it is the authority for the peacekeeping forces to warn the illegality of such occupation. fortunately the international police is rigorously responsible of its duty. he is barking and sending vicious glances to those who carelessly step on these sovereignities for the sake of timely souvenirs, or in other words, pictures. in this case, those who like to take mementos of these highly condensed yellow, purple or orange, should be able to follow the manner in their territorial space. this is how things apply in the family of nations. the book continues to put the sequence into play. the day is still longer as if the daylight is forever. the journey is heading to the beach. it is amazing to notice how the northsea has such a strong characteristic. it can present itself very well to those in the lands, even though there is miles to go to reach the shore. strong and cold wind are whispering in midst of young afternoon. almost in a silent rhyme, it is like touching the air to define its abtract definition. one can just follow where the sea breeze is really coming from, in order to identify the place where the ocean meets the land. almost afternoon, and the day is starting to dress in soft yet vivid golden. after taking rest for sometime, the road is still long on the way back to where the home of these bikes. the exploration of roads keeps going. in tranquility. the bikes wander across the lands, in precise speed and absorbed mind. words are here and there. some complete the story trhough articulation. while some transform themselves into another kind. like holding a cup of ice tea to explain the state of exhaustion and starvation. or ringing a bell for testing one's awareness of other's presentable skill. the bicycle pad is like the narrative of the whole scene. it makes all the elements umbilically tied for such a well grounded reality.

thick and thin

these days spring has marked its presence in the lowlands. while the days get longer, the nights now are so timid that they refrain themselves from the sun. the room for colors is now being open. there are enormous lights and range of colors as you can see from the canal to the central station. bare branches of tress have their small green lights, a promise of the coming season. when you open your window every morning, fresh air penetrates through the thinned glass window, and so swiftly to wake your sleepy eyes. lets not talk about the plenty flowers throughout the grassland in this land. there are abundant sunlight for them to consume. this changing season looks so vivid with the thick and thin it has painted in my surrounding. sometimes the reflection of buildings on the water looks sober when clouds coming and hindering the bright yellow light. while for another moment, everything can be inexorably illuminated than its shadow appears so thick...as if it were really there. built on the surface of a small stream in town.