HappyDays – Week ThirtySix
Getting ready for summer break from the Netherlands to Argentina.
The final week before summer break and coming down to the wire with work for Santi and I, but David was having a blast at school finishing up “group six” which is the same as 4th Grade in the USA and Argentina. The last two days at school were basically parties with large bouncy castles on Thursday and Friday they could bring games to school. As kids we yearn to grow up and do all the things and have freedom to do what we want and as adults we wax nostalgic for simpler times. 😃 🤷♀️
July 14 – Day 247
Walking around the neighborhood and over a metal bridge across one of the many canals, these lily pads were in flower. Brought a smile to my face.
July 15 – Day 248
Our neighbors put in a small garden in front of their bike shed which is normally reserved for people to park their own cars. This sunflower came up recently and brings joy to our street. The bumblebee was definitely enjoying crawling around the interior.
July 16 – Day 249
This small statue of liberty graces this garden and when I pass it, I always think of the current state of the USA and twinge a bit. A friend asked me for recommendations on what to do next summer when they are planning on visiting, and I sadly said my advice is that they don’t go. Too many people are getting thrown into ICE detention centers for no reason at all except to fill Miller’s ridiculous quotas.
July 17 – Day 250
There are reminders all throughout the Netherlands of the struggles from World War II. This poem written by the famous WWII Dutch resister Hendrik Mattheüs (Henk) van Randwijk was painted on the side of a building, then someone took a photo and then someone else recreated the scene on the wall of the metro under Amsterdam.
A people yielding to tyrants will lose more than body and good, then the light will go out...
A people currently crawling will soon be unable to stand upright, they will have to fight, work and suffer…
Now and here
HM. van Randwijk
It is refreshing to live in a place that values freedom and resistance to authoritarianism so much even though things are wobbling all around the world these days and Dutch rightly complain about their own political system. There isn’t anywhere perfect in the world - but the Netherlands seems to be giving perfection a run for its money.
July 18 – Day 251
This was a very strange “pop-up” in Utrecht Central train station. We were a bit confused because we couldn’t tell if this was sanctioned by Facebook or not. Turns out, it’s an independent art project to get people to think about a post-social media world and people’s reliance on US Tech. I found an article (in Dutch) about it.
The first ‘Facebook Museum’ in the world will open in Utrecht on Tuesday, July 15. Initiator SETUP, a Utrecht art organization, wants to encourage visitors to think about a ‘post-Facebook society’ if the popular platform disappears. “Facebook is more than an app – it is also the history of our society.”
The temporary museum asks questions about our dependence on American tech platforms and the emotional value of what society has built together on the online platform. According to Memelink, little attention is paid to the mental process of letting go. “As more and more people delete their Facebook account, our joint archive is also in danger of disappearing. Facebook is more than an app – it is also the reflection of our society in the early days of social media. We must decide together what we want to keep from this, and what not.”
On our way home from having dinner with friends in Utrecht, we got to see the sunset over the neighborhood park. I don’t get to see the sunset very much because of the orientation of our house and because so often the sky is too cloudy, so this made me very happy at the end of a long day.
July 19 – Day 252
We started our summer break journey with an evening layover in Madrid and the sun was setting over the horizon as we landed.
July 20 – Day 253
The view coming into Argentina early on Sunday morning was gorgeous. The ground fog covering the countryside created an etherial atmosphere.
I tried, but wasn’t able to stay awake the whole afternoon, but was able to catch the last of the sunset over downtown Buenos Aires. It’s always such a beautiful sight.
This account on YouTube is super relaxing and wonderful to listen to in the background while you’re working or studying. This one I really like and wanted to share.
Oh Lovely. Such a post - and to think about Facebook in such a way - interesting. Seeing the sunrise and sunset in Buenos Aires - such memories. Enjoy your stay darlings, MXM