Bits of My Morning

I love my mornings. Whether its breakfasting, coffee-ing, hiking, blogging, etc., I love that that time is for me to center myself and get it together. The last two weeks, I have been slammed at work, so my mornings consisted of too much coffee at 5am and rushing to get everything done. But starting my day of like that sets me on edge, making me prone to over-caffeinated freakouts and naps. Now that those projects are somewhat under control, I can get back to my morning routine.

Today, I woke up at 6:15ish and then did some juicing. I had lovely tangelos from Lauren, so I mixed those with some fuji apples, ginger, and carrot. Then Sophie and I went on our intense hike in Griffith after I did a bit of editing. (The projects are under control, not done yet though :) ). Then I came home and made some breakfast: kale, egg white, red onion, peach salsa, avocado, pepper jack over a corn tortilla and a cup of tea.

Hopping in the shower, taking a green shot and getting to class soon, although I'm feeling far too relaxed to be bothered with trusts and wills.

A few bits from my morning today - (Warning: even though I'm a morning person, I'm still a bit groggy.)

Leiden and Amsterdam

I spent last week with the lovely Giulia in the Netherlands for a training on international advocacy in Leiden, which is the sweetest little college town. The training was interesting with such a diverse crowd of interesting and passionate activists. One of my favorite parts was a "field trip" the Special Tribunal of Lebanon and hearing about the impending trial. Giulia and I spent a lot of time wandering the town for coffee and hot chocolate and beers.

Yeats on the wall

On Thursday night, we headed to Amsterdam and stayed at the Hans Brinker Hostel. For the most part it was pleasant, with a large cafeteria/bar area and courtyard and free wifi. There was a great cafe, Stach, just around the corner and The Dolphins just down the block! On Thursday night, Giulia and I had drink with our new friend Anna at Cafe de Pijp until the wee hours (we crashed her blind date). Giulia and I were walking back saying that the young people in our room would most certainly be partying until 5am and come in and wake us up. But when we got home at around 2am, they were all fast asleep and I felt young again lol :)

Oh the hostel life

On Friday, we hit up a demonstration for the rights of indigenous peoples, facilitated by Survival (for the Tribal Peoples) and attended by reps from Amnesty International and UNPO, etc. It was amazing to see different cultural practices from around the world, including dancing, praying and singing, from, for instance, West Papua.

After that, we hung out with our UNPO friends, Rehma and Adar, for a bit before meeting Elisa at Hannekes Boom for drinks and nachos. I was so happy to see her again! And that place was absolutely amazing - right on the river and full of hipsters = lovelovelove

On Saturday, Giulia and I wandered around for a bit and then took the train home. I was greeted by Almaz and Matheus. We had figs and watched The Boat that Rocked. A very good evening with very good people.

In Antwerp for a minute for a connection - beautiful rail station