Journal of a Dutch 30-something

I submitted my PhD thesis yesterday! Four years of work on paper and now out of my hands :-S



The thesis will now be read by the so-called 'reading committee' of 5 professors. And then I will have to have the thesis designed and printed as a booklet. And then there's the thesis defence date at the 21st of June. So, I'm not completely done, but this is one big step nonetheless!
(No more writing and editing, no more evening and weekend work in the coming time, more time to read and relax!)

I love traditions. The older or more ceremonious they are, the better! Traditions are a sort of time-machine, you feel connected with history through all the years these traditions have been performed in the same way. 

Last week was the 376th Dies Natalis (meaning birthday) of the university I work at. One of the nice things of working as a PhD is being part of a centuries old scientific tradition, so I like to visit the Dies-celebrations. Below the cut are some pictures and explanations of some of the traditions involved in this yearly ceremony. (The pictures are actually not from this year, as I didn't have a very good seat from which to take pictures. These pictures are from a few years back, but the nice thing with traditions is, nothing changes!)

( Io vivat! Io vivat! Nostrorum sanitas! )