Update: Thursday 31 Jan

I'm feeling anxious about my money… Next time I buy groceries I'm going to go see what I can get at the market. I don't really want a whole bin of each veggie though, I know I won't eat all that before it goes bad. That's the bulk of what I buy though, vegetables.

Let's see, last time I went grocery shopping I bought….  A zucchini, a cucumber, two red bell peppers, 300g of pre-cleaned/chopped broccoli (I thought for sure the whole one would be cheaper, but it was 238g and half of that was the huge stem. They were the same price), some carrots, a box of mushrooms, mandarins, … wait. I just remembered, I took a picture. (I don't know why.)  This is what I bought last time I went grocery shopping, 28 euros. I want to see how much I spend at the market getting those same vegetables. I could probably get cheaper cheese and cashews at the market too. (Yes, I do need cashews. They are a good snack.)

It's just a long walk to the market, and I don't want huge bins of everything, but maybe I can barter… Well I mean, of course I probably can. It's a giant farmer's market. They're probably very accustomed to arguing prices. They're a little intimidating… I can speak enough Dutch to shop at the market though.

I am the ultimate pigeon terrorizer. These two pigeons have decided to nest in a planter that is on the divider between my balcony and my neighbor's. I can't reach it to see if they actually have anything in there (it's January! I know that last week it was -7 degrees and this week it is 12 but it's a lie, bird! It's still winter!) but every time they start cooing (they have a very distinctive sound that they make, it's so annoying) all I have to do is walk out my door and they take off for a while. They wake me up every morning around six. I hate them.

I've started my second semester classes… The nice thing is that I have no classes earlier than 10:30 so I get to sleep a little longer. The not-so-nice thing is that this semester is supposed to be a lot harder. Can't wait.