Here's my HLGCB for the festival that I posted on rec.juggling, with some edits and additions:
High(s): Just getting to see Holland, learn some Dutch, and experience the Dutch juggling scene. MCÕing Renegade on Friday night and having it go well with some great acts. Ending early and leaving them wanting more The Ò@!#$ YouÓ tricks at Renegade. Totally spontaneous and fun! True Renegade. Drinking with Martijn, Sytse, Ceri-Anne, Floris and the rest of the crew after Renegade. Stories and language swapping! Sjonnie and Anita!!!! Kegels!! Vogelbekdier! All the workshops going well, especially my new split of the multiplex workshop into two parts (much better). Basically all day Saturday with Stefan at the Parade was a high. Parades in Europe rock, and so does Stefan! Getting folks interested in kendama and seeing people have fun with it. EJC Kendama Open baby!!!! Hanging out in the upstairs canteen with folks during meal times. Going grocery shopping with Robert, Declan, and co. Cigar Box jamming several times with Robert and my long-lost pal Cristoph (who has gotten really good!) Learning some new tricks from Martijn, Stefan, and ChristophÑthanks guys! Performing in the public show with some monster acts. Really hot show! I loved pretty much every act. Hitting the 75751/97531 combo and the b633633 Machine on the first try in the second Public Show.
Low(s): Scratching my head during the b-boy battle against that freakinÕ kid on Saturday night. My performance at the Opening Show. Way too many drops in both public shows (even though it's a new routine, I lost mental focusÉgrrr).
Goal(s): Learn some Dutch (see my list below!) Try a lot of new food and drink Learn some new tricks Get to know some Internet friends in person Teach some good workshops Debut the new ball routine Basically all goals achieved except for the performance aspect, which at best would be a half-check.
Crush(es): Too many to name, as everyone was so nice and fun. However, I will single out Niels Diunker for being a PERFECT host for the whole festival. I canÕt count the number of times he went out of his way to do something nice for me, often without being asked. Also, I will mention Stefan Peridaen, who I had not seen since EJC 2003. HeÕs gotten really good, and we re-started our friendship like Svenborg was yesterday, not five years ago. Lastly, I will mention the festival organizers who worked their ASSES off and pulled off a great convention. The y made it easy for me to concentrate on the festival. NJF is definitely one of my favoritesÑI havenÕt felt this close to the EJC Svendborg feeling in a long timeÉgreat job guys.
Bane(s): Two public shows with 110 or so people in one show and 90 people in the second show with a theater that seats 350. Public show on the last day meaning I couldnÕt really party the night before Super loud whistling kids (WTF?!)
My unofficial list of Dutch that I learned and will use on a regular basis:
Good morning-Goedemorgen How are you doing - Hoe gaat het Thank you - Dank je/u (wel) Delicious - Lekker Sorry - sorry great - fantastisch food - eten yes - ja no - nee beautiful - mooi good evening - goedenavond good evening (before sleep) - welterusten see you - tot ziens you are welcome - graag gedaan / geen probleem Sjonnie and Anita-- Neddy and Sanges flying squirel - vliegende eekhoorn plattypus - vogelbekdier breezersluts - breezersletjes really gay - vet gay juggling club / bad breath - kegel (as in kegel muscles?) horny - geil nevertheless - desalniettemin ass - kont cunt - kut diski - sjoelbak bad - slecht dog: waf waf cat: miauw miauw pig: knor knor rooster: kukelekuu red light green light - annemaria-koekoek almost - bijna
To check out the HLGCB thread on the Dutch forum, click here
To see the festival website, click here
To see a video of me boxing at the festival, click here
To see a video of my public show performance, click here
