Dreaming of a white Christmas present

When we were in Brunel, it only used to snow when Freddie had so much coursework due that he had to make all nighters in the library. He practically looked as pale as the streets and didn't seem to enjoy the weather at all. However, the first time Cardiff was covered in snow this winter, he texted me: “Come out and play!”
Thinking of all the snowball fights we've had and the snowmen we've built, I'm convinced he loves the snow to bits. It must have been torture for him not to have the time to play with it during previous years!

Since he loves the snow so much, it wasn't difficult for me to think of a Christmas present this year. I took him to the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead for his first ski lesson ever....



As you can see in the video, he's a natural born skier. He didn't fall once, but soon started helping others get up and racing up the button lift to use his time on the slope to the max! His instructor said he has never experienced a student picking up on it this quickly: after one hour, he was ready to go on the main slope!

It's going to be hard to top this Christmas present in 2011!

PS. This video is my first attempt at video editing. My notebook runs on Ubuntu and I used Kino. It's not a very elaborate software package, so editing took about as much time as it took me to upload it on youtube. Bloody hell, about 70 minutes! If you've got any video editing tips for Linux users or any advice on how to make uploading video's onto youtube quicker, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Finances when studying abroad...

Before I left, I applied for a lot of grants, so that I didn’t have to get a job in London. I was sponsored by the IB-Groep, the Van Haersoltefonds (LUF), the Curatorenfondsen, The Outbound Study Grant and I got the Study Abroad Award from the Leiden University Faculty of Philosophy.

I made a calculation of how much I could spend in a day on average. In England, I have always asked for a receipt, and written every purchase down in a little notebook. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but overspend my daily allowance, for example during my work placement in Central London. But by keeping track of how much I’d spent and on what I’d spent it, it was easy to compensate the next week.

Life is expensive in London. For example, to get from the Brunel Campus in Uxbridge to Central London and back by tube costs seven pounds. There are corner shops everywhere, but they are terribly expensive. Everyone told me Tesco’s was the cheapest supermarket, but this was anything but true. Sainsbury’s sells more expensive brands, but also has a range of ridiculously cheap products called “Sainsbury’s basics”. The slogan on their bath soap (20 pence for a litre) is “less bubbles, still a good soak”.

I saved a lot of money by getting a bicycle (yes, the flash Bianchi on the left!). I didn’t always have to take the tube anymore, and I found out that I could get fresh, cheap fruit and vegetables on the markets in Ealing and Acton, which are boroughs between Central London and the Brunel Campus.

One thing I never had to cut back on was my cultural nourishment: there are over 240 museums in London, and most of them offer free entrance!

Mission Impossible?

The Course
Some people say it´s impossible to learn how to write fiction. Either you´re talented, or you´re not. At least, that´s what they say. Frankly, I didn´t give a shit about whether it was possible. I just wanted to have a great year of experimenting and writing a lot. And that´s exactly what this MA offered me.

During this MA, I have experienced it to be very rewarding to discuss work-in-progress with peers, who helped me discover that I’ve got a talent for writing horror and dialogues. I’ve learned how to compose a novel or novella, to raise an idea so that it will be fit to sustain a full-length novel, to manage fictional time, to develop characters, to write towards a good plot or denouement, to develop a style that fits the products of my pen and how to approach a literary agent and prepare a submission package. My teachers arranged a two-week work placement at literary publishing house Bloomsbury for me, which was a useful way of getting into the thriving literary scene of London.
I’m very proud of my dissertation, which is a horror novella. My tutor, the famous author Matt Thorne, was very helpful and taught me a lot about how to write a book.

Writing in a second language
The network of international students at Brunel University is vibrant and fun, but it’s not beneficial for acquiring a British accent and authentic vocabulary to limit your circle of friends to Turkish, Indian, Russian and French students. Therefore, I made sure to get to know as many native English students as possible. Also, I often sat in pubs eavesdropping and jotting down other people’s conversations to practice writing British dialogues.
Before I went to London, I got a band score 8 in the IELTS exam. At that time, my German was a lot better than my English because my specialty was continental philosophy (Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, etc.), but I’ve learned a lot in a year’s time. It would be interesting to take the test again and find out my new IELTS score.
Though many people told me in advance that it’s impossible to write fiction in a second language, I’ve experienced it as a challenge and an enormous inducement for creativity and originality. I believe I have proved these pessimists wrong, because I got good results on my tests. I had three B’s and one A. (An A is the highest you can get at Brunel, they don’t give A+ or A++.) I don’t know what grade I got for my dissertation yet, but a lot of people have read it already, and they’re all very enthusiastic.

source image of Toby Litt and Matt Thorne: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/apr/01/whereareourliterarysalons

Why I went to London

While working on a story inspired by "Camp Hulen - Eating Gifted Children", I'm also writing reports for all the different sponsors that made it possible for me to go to London for a year and do the MA Creative Writing.

For the next couple of days, I´ll be posting bits and tips from these reports, because they might be interesting or even useful.


So... why I went to London...
From the moment I could read, I felt a strong desire to produce the thing that gave me greatest pleasure, a good book. Ever since, I have been writing stories, articles, poems and diaries.
I decided to study Philosophy at Leiden University, with a view to place my stories in a context of truthfulness. Moreover, I aspired to attain profound knowledge and proficiency in contemplating human existence, in order to introduce multiple layers of meaning, and thus enhance the significance of my narratives.
In addition to Philosophy, I took several courses in Literature Studies. Also, I completed the minor programme in Journalism & New Media, to further practice my writing.
I wrote a large number of articles on various themes for Thauma, the periodical published by the Faculty of Philosophy, and in 2003, I was chosen as the editor-in-chief. Thanks to my internship at the editorial department of literary publishing house Prometheus/Bert Bakker, I got well acquainted with the Dutch publishing industry.
My wish to become a writer has been a leading theme throughout my life, and I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that I could do a master in Creative Writing in addition to my master Philosophy of a Specific Discipline.

There are many universities in the UK that offer different masters in Creative Writing. Before applying, I made a list of things that I thought of as important, such as famous teachers, fees and a substantial amount of contact hours. After extensive research, I decided to apply to The University of Manchester, Newcastle University and Brunel University of West London. I got a place offered at all three of them and chose Brunel because I’m a fan of Fay Weldon, one of their staff members.