Museum Life Again

Traveling

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haag, I've traveled these three cities to go museum. The museum card, it's the key of this travel. When you pay the card for 24 euro, you can enter in almost all museums in Netherlands for a year. In Netherlands museum, permanent exhibition are more emphasized than special ones. You don't have to concern about period of exhibition like in Japan.

In Amsterdam, I've visited Rijksmuseum and Gogh museum. Rijksmuseum has "Night Watch" by Rembrandt, "Milkmasje", "Het Straatjd" by Vermeer. In front of Night Watch, lots of people sit down with explanation sheet and see the masterpiece with their respects. You may know, Night Watch is a life size. Its strength overwhelms us and at the same time we are gone out by its magnetism.  I wouldn't like to stand up but curator let us go with a kind of chiding. In Gogh museum, I could have seen "shoes" which I wanted to see for a long time. The painting has black dirty shoes worn off roughly. I like "Sunflower" and "Self-port rate", but prefer to the "shoes". Just shoes show us the history of owner.

Museum Boijimans Van Beuningen

In Rotterdam, I've been Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. For me it's the best museum I've ever been. It has modern interior and lots of variety of art. Not only paintings, but also sculptures, chinas, chairs, decorated furniture and dishes for aristocrat does it have. Paintings has also variety from Christian ones in 12C to Modern paintings such as Dali, Magritte, and Kandinsky. Especially, the most impressive painting is "The Tower of Babel" by Pieter Bruegel de Oude. It was the first painting that I was impressed and interested in. Although it is no bigger than other paintings, it has much more dignity compared with no paintings. Even the tower which swallows many tiny people could be defeated by wrath of God. It is one of the best embodiment of Bruegel's respect against nature and invisible power.

Mauritshuis museum

Mauritshuis museum is in Haag, and it has "Het meisje met de pare" and "Gazicht op Delft" by Vermeer, "Dr. Nicolaas Tulp Demonstrating the Anatomy of the Arm" by Rembrandt. Its interior is like a inside of castle. Other museum has surface of castle, but it is the only museum which has castle-looking interior. In addition, there were few people inside the castle. We can appreciate masterpieces comfortably. Haag also has enjoyable Escher museum. I put the picture taken in the museum.

Reflections

I'm planning to go Brussels museum to see Bruegel, but I have no idea whether I have enough time to go. The three cities are near to Leiden, only thirty minutes I need to visit there at most. Three hours are too long for me to get the Brussels refereed to my stamina. 

Friends of English class

Today I skipped my English class. It starts 9 o'clock everyday, but today I didn't want to attend the class. I felt a kind of homesick. Some may say it is too early to get sick. For me, it is too harsh environment that I cannot contact with my friend easily. It is true I have lots of friends in Leiden, not English class but also in major of psychology(it is not started yet though), Japanese study, and in my dormitory. How many friends I have, it is not related with my homesick, I think.

    Although I skipped the class, I had been invited from Anne-Vigine, French classmate of English course and I went to her home. Including me, Maaten (Left, 2m, Dutch kind guy who are going to China from next Sunday), Hunan (Right, Korean polite woman. She is my partner of presentation on Low Birth rate), Ingrid (Second Left, Belgian. She has African boyfriend), Yuiko (Second Right,  Japanese. From Rikkyo University) and Anne. We had amount of Lunch begin with salmon and avocado salad, beef stewed with rose wine , cheese (smells bad), and lemon pie. It was first satisfaction on the food after arriving. Chattering with friends, it made the dishes better and better. It is similar with our cup noodle time with Japanese friends, such as Micchy with chattering or discussing. Remembering good old days, I felt ambivalence, pleasure and sad.

EL CID week

This week was EL CID week. It is for freshmen to introduce Leiden life. Students were put into some group with two mentors. In the group we went around Leiden city. When I need to evaluate this week, I say just boring, except for today. In our group of seventeen, we have only four international students and the others are Dutch. Of course they speak in Dutch. It was boring for me. Sometimes I begin talk with them in English, though, they started to talk in Dutch with each other. It is natural for them, but I had been heard that this group is international one and everyone speak in English. It is true, everyone can speak. There is deference between can and want to, though.
    
Today our members don't attend the dinner so I was adopted by other group. It was lucky for me. In the group all member were Dutch, however, they switched to English when I went to them. Above all, they lead me to party. I met friends who are interested in Japan and are Japanese at there. The Japanese intends to study psychology, and she came from Keio University. Who are interested in Japan is Lonneke. She talked with me about Japanese culture. She doesn't like the tendency of being only Japanese manga and anime in Europa. I totally agree with her and spent exciting time. I thought she might join in the conference I plan to establish. Except for this thought, I found lots of friends in the student society on game.

I am going to join in other two groups, international student society ISN and international oriented society SIB. International student don't have chance to make friends with Dutch, I have been heard. But when I join in these group like SIB or the game society, I can do and it is very fruitful for me to have Dutch culture.

Japan-Netherlands Students Conference

Just wondering I can establish it or not. But I was too impressed with the Ainu goods not to share with Japanese. I saw Basho's haiku on the wall too, but it was only for Japanese looking-for-fun media. In Leiden, there is Japanese research faculty(I don't know the correct name though). The students may be attracted with this proposal, I hope so.
If it is possible, I establish the conference. Isn't it?

Gay Parade

It started with Beethoven's No.9, mov.4. Looks like breaking down of Berlin's wall, like end of cold war, joys were on all people who were there.

I went to Amsterdam to see gay parade. It is annual parade to show their pride being homo- sexual. Some boats have their parents to represent their pride on having homo-sexual son or daughter.
The site was fulfilled with joy and pride. It is really different from other countries, I mean countries ban homo-sexual marriage.

When we entered in a shop to buy flower neck-less and talked with madam about our country situation on homo-sexual, she said it is shameful. It is true, shameful. In Amsterdam, the parade is just a parade. Every ordinal day they do not hesitate or may be do not such a feelings to represent they are homo-sexual. It is hard to imagine in Japan, maybe.

Tolerance is one of symbol of Netherlands. It would be on the line of the world. It should be proud by nations. Not only for LGBT, but also for Black or Jews, Netherlands is the country of tolerance. I saw boats, on them, there are blacks who show their masculine body, and the other having Jew with a plate "DOUBLE PRIDE". It is the real Rainbow, I thought. There may still be prejudice or discrimination against some ethnics in Europe. Under such a situation, it is silly to be tolerance only with LGBT. You should be tolerance with all ethnic or whoever he or she is. It IS the Rainbow. Anyway, it was honor for me to be there and shared the joy with people.
I have URL to go facebook. See photos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17769&id=1714766714&l=af052d017c


Oh, I just forget it. I was asked by old gay man to come with him. I may be looked like.. you know.

Museum Life

This is 3rd day at Leiden. I went Museum of Shiebold yesterday and Ethnic Museum today.



Ethnic Museum is really interesting. There are goods from India, Middle East(Hindu, Islam and Buddhism. These are compiled at one section), Indonesia, Papua New guinea, South Africa, Japan, Korea, China, and as special exhibition we saw MAYA.




These are pictures. From India, we had Siva. He is God of destroy in Hindu. It is on our textbook of world history in Japan so we were surprised. It is not special exhibition but usual one.





Bali, he is Hindu God too. This sculpture was made of wood. It is similar with Japanese Buddharupa in 600 A.C. However its coloring is not similar. Totally different. It may be kept in tough.



The third one is Papua New Guinea's object. Named World of Spirit. Too big so it reaches with second floor. And spiritual. I don't like "faith in God" or something but it struck me. I wanted to see people in Papua worship to this World. Yes, it IS world.

Japanese goods are good. Especially, not only normal good such as Daruma, Japanese blade, Buddharupa, and Japanese armer, but also they have AINU collections. I can't believe this fact. AINU is one of ethnic in Japan. But its existence is not recognized by government until 1994. They are still not known correctly. I neither know them exactly. You, the Ethnic Museum, have AINU goods and recognize them as one of ethnic of Japanese. It is amazing for me. Why Japanese do not do like this.

Introduction of Leiden

Hi, its Akira. I'm staying in Leiden, Netherlands to study at Leiden University.
Leiden, you may not know so I explain.


Leiden has long history. Leiden university has 435 years history. 1575, in Japan we do not have Toyotomi yet.
Leiden has canal. It looks like sea. Boat houses are there and people live and have a cafe on the canal. The sight view is really beautiful. I thought I've never been such a beautiful place. It has not only old buildings but also contemporary buildings. Contemporary buildings are constructed by MVRDV, Dutch construction company. I love their buildings.

And for Japanese, almost all Japanese may know Siebold. He brought his collections for Leiden and the University has the faculty of Japanese study. It is surprising as Japanese. Before I knew Leiden, there are no Japanese or Asia study in Europe. In America, it was after Reischauer that Japanese study has started, I remember. In Siebold house, it is a museum of his collections, we can see Japanese freak collections such as Japanese doll, small model of vender's house(still it is large as dog house), Japanese plants, samples of zoo(Japanese monkey, horseshoe, and his lovely dog), and Japanese maps. You must come and see. It is more interesting Japanese see them.


I still have jut lag and headache so I cannot type anymore. I'm going to go take a walk with my friend tomorrow so I will write about it.
Good night.