I don't have much time to write anything, but I just wanted to get on here real quick and let everyone know that I will be headed to Germany for a week tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to get on here a time or two while over there, but it will all depend on our internet situation.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful week! Please keep us in your prayers while we travel!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Baby, Let's Cruise
Wednesday was one of my favorite days of the trip so far :) (Of course, I say that when talking about most days, but that's not the point!) It was full of train rides (7 hours to be exact!), chocolate, weird old men, a river cruise, and lots and lots of laughter.
We had to be at the train station in Verviers pretty early because our train was supposed to leave at 8, and it is always smart to get there early in case there are any changes in the schedule. Well, we got there early and our train ended up being a little bit late. We were all watching Dr. Johnson pace because we were supposed to have exactly 13 minutes to get to our platform once we arrived in Aachen and that is not a lot of time when you are trying to herd a giant pack of 37 Americans all carrying huge backpacks. Our train finally arrived and we got on, all ready to go to the chocolate factory in Cologne and halfway to Aachen the train just stops on the tracks. For a second we thought maybe there was a cow or something that we had tried not to hit, but after sitting there for about 5 minutes we started getting a little concerned. Finally, the conductor came back to our car and said that there was a problem in Germany and that we were going to have to wait a few minutes and then head back to Verviers. As he finishes his sentence, the train starts moving again in the direction of Aachen. At this point, we're all getting a bit more freaked out because we were headed directly toward the "problem." When we got to Aachen, we found out that we were NOT late for our next train, because it had also been delayed, and we found out that the problem had actually just been an electricity problem.
After a few minutes of waiting around at our platform, our train pulled up... and it was NICE. The train is called ICE and it looks like an airplane on the inside. It was the nicest plane that we have been on so far, and we were told that it will not be the nicest that we get to ride on :) We got to Cologne a little later than we were supposed to, so after stopping to get a map of the town, we headed a few blocks down to the chocolate factory. Since we didn’t have much time, we headed immediately for the gift shop, deciding to skip the factory tour. The gift shop was like a chocolate lover’s paradise. It was awesome! I ended up getting a little sampling of something for me, and a little bar for Mom (hopefully it will last 2 more months!).
Finally, it was time to head to the train station to go to Bingen and get on our cruise! The train was crowded and I ended up having to sit next to this old man who spoke English. At first I didn’t mind sitting by him, but then he started getting a little creepy. I think that probably just the culture difference was what was creeping me out (and it didn’t matter too much anyway, because I was still mostly surrounded by people that I knew). He kept asking me things like whether or not all of the guys in our group have a crush on me and everything. It was a little weird. I was pretty glad to get to Bingen. When we got to Bingen we had to wait about an hour before we could catch our boat, so we decided to sit in the shade and wait because it was hot, and most of us has prepared for cooler weather. The cruise was really neat, we got to see the countryside and lots of castle and everything. It was nice to have a day where we were seeing a lot but not walking for 14 hours. On either side of the river, there are hills and on the sides of the hills there are vineyards. It’s really neat to see the vineyards that are on such steep hills that they have to cut out switch-back roads to get to the vineyards. The cruise lasted for about two and a half hours, and it was really a lot of fun (it was especially fun playing on the playground that they had for little kids!). All in all, it was really a wonderful day.
The last couple of days have been class days. Nothing terribly eventful, but still really great days. I am having a wonderful time here, and I cannot even believe how blessed I have been to go on this trip. Today I am going to a music festival that is in town with one of my friends and then I have to work out some of my plans for free travel with the girls. It’s getting real exciting thinking about where we are going. We leave for Germany on Monday! I’m super excited about that. Ok, I think I’ve written enough. Love to all!
We had to be at the train station in Verviers pretty early because our train was supposed to leave at 8, and it is always smart to get there early in case there are any changes in the schedule. Well, we got there early and our train ended up being a little bit late. We were all watching Dr. Johnson pace because we were supposed to have exactly 13 minutes to get to our platform once we arrived in Aachen and that is not a lot of time when you are trying to herd a giant pack of 37 Americans all carrying huge backpacks. Our train finally arrived and we got on, all ready to go to the chocolate factory in Cologne and halfway to Aachen the train just stops on the tracks. For a second we thought maybe there was a cow or something that we had tried not to hit, but after sitting there for about 5 minutes we started getting a little concerned. Finally, the conductor came back to our car and said that there was a problem in Germany and that we were going to have to wait a few minutes and then head back to Verviers. As he finishes his sentence, the train starts moving again in the direction of Aachen. At this point, we're all getting a bit more freaked out because we were headed directly toward the "problem." When we got to Aachen, we found out that we were NOT late for our next train, because it had also been delayed, and we found out that the problem had actually just been an electricity problem.
After a few minutes of waiting around at our platform, our train pulled up... and it was NICE. The train is called ICE and it looks like an airplane on the inside. It was the nicest plane that we have been on so far, and we were told that it will not be the nicest that we get to ride on :) We got to Cologne a little later than we were supposed to, so after stopping to get a map of the town, we headed a few blocks down to the chocolate factory. Since we didn’t have much time, we headed immediately for the gift shop, deciding to skip the factory tour. The gift shop was like a chocolate lover’s paradise. It was awesome! I ended up getting a little sampling of something for me, and a little bar for Mom (hopefully it will last 2 more months!).
Finally, it was time to head to the train station to go to Bingen and get on our cruise! The train was crowded and I ended up having to sit next to this old man who spoke English. At first I didn’t mind sitting by him, but then he started getting a little creepy. I think that probably just the culture difference was what was creeping me out (and it didn’t matter too much anyway, because I was still mostly surrounded by people that I knew). He kept asking me things like whether or not all of the guys in our group have a crush on me and everything. It was a little weird. I was pretty glad to get to Bingen. When we got to Bingen we had to wait about an hour before we could catch our boat, so we decided to sit in the shade and wait because it was hot, and most of us has prepared for cooler weather. The cruise was really neat, we got to see the countryside and lots of castle and everything. It was nice to have a day where we were seeing a lot but not walking for 14 hours. On either side of the river, there are hills and on the sides of the hills there are vineyards. It’s really neat to see the vineyards that are on such steep hills that they have to cut out switch-back roads to get to the vineyards. The cruise lasted for about two and a half hours, and it was really a lot of fun (it was especially fun playing on the playground that they had for little kids!). All in all, it was really a wonderful day.
The last couple of days have been class days. Nothing terribly eventful, but still really great days. I am having a wonderful time here, and I cannot even believe how blessed I have been to go on this trip. Today I am going to a music festival that is in town with one of my friends and then I have to work out some of my plans for free travel with the girls. It’s getting real exciting thinking about where we are going. We leave for Germany on Monday! I’m super excited about that. Ok, I think I’ve written enough. Love to all!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy
The last few days have been so busy and I have been so exhausted that I have had no time to write. Saturday we went to Maastricht, Netherlands; Sunday we went to Brussels; and yesterday we went to Cologne, Germany. Today we had a test in Bible (in fact, I would love to be taking a nap to make up on some sleep, but I felt if I didn't get caught up on here, I might never!) that I stayed up studying for last night and we also have a small quiz in French today. Course, we have had a quiz in French every day that we have had class. Gross :)
I don't really even know where to begin with getting caught up with everything so I guess I will try by starting with Maastricht. Until Saturday, I had only been in the Netherlands when we flew in to Amsterdam so all that I saw was the airport, some windmills and a view from the plane (and it was slightly cloudy that day) so I was really excited to go to Maastricht. It got it's name because it is right on the Maas river, which is actually called the Muse river in French and there are lots of cute little bridges and everything around the town. When we got there, they took us to a small Gothic cathedral that we looked around in for a few minutes, and while waiting on everyone else to finish looking, one of the nuns came and talked to us and asked us where we were from. She was the cutest little lady! She told us that she was from Austria, so her native language is German, but she knows Dutch and English as well (I was impressed!). She told us a little bit about the history of the cathedral and about the one that is right next to it (it sits beside another cathedral that was built after it that is of the Roman style). It was nice to talk to someone in the cathedral because usually we walk in and walk around and they tell us a little bit, but we never really know much about when they were built and all of that. After we walked through the cathedral, they walked us to the city wall (I don't really know the historic significance of it, though) and we walked around it and across it. Then, we were free to go :) So several of us walked around and went shopping. Don't worry, Dad, I didn't buy anything :) We got pretty hungry because we had been walking for a while so we walked past this cute little waffle stand and decided to get waffles... but we forgot that we weren't in Belgium anymore. Seriously, the waffles are NOT the same outside of Belgium! It was so weird because they smelled so good, but we were sorely disappointed. After our waffles, we went into a few little souvenir stores and walked around a lot. It was a very pretty, cute little town and we really enjoyed being there (Sorry for the lack of details... everything is really starting to run together. lol).
Sunday we went to Brussels, Belgium and spent the day there. It was really a very interesting and busy day. We got up and got ready and headed to the train station-- our train left at about 10:30 and we were trying to make it for church at 1 for an English service at an international church. We rode the train for about an hour and 45 minutes and then got on the subway (I have decided that subways are kind of scary and INCREDIBLY confusing. Thank goodness for smaller towns!) to get to worship. What we didn't know was that they had class starting at noon. So we arrived at the church building at about 12:45 and realized that they had already started and tried to sneak in without being noticed (in case people would not notice 30 college students carrying giant backpacks! ha!) but we more than doubled the congregation in size. They later told us that normally they have several more people, but that many people were out of town for holiday or whatever. Let me just tell you, it was so nice to have worship services in English! The church was really excited that we were there, and they gave us cookies and juice! I really enjoyed being there. After services, we went to another cathedral and then walked through Brussels. They took us immediately to what Brussels is known for. For anyone who doesn't know, the story is that Brussels had a huge fire break out and the whole city was going to be lost and then this little boy started "relieving himself" and his father found him putting out the fire. That's kind of a paraphrase, so you can look it up if you want to know more and actually read the real story. Anyway, they now have a statue of the little boy relieving himself and he is called Manneken Pis (I am NOT even joking or trying to be vulgar!... and yes, it DOES sound like it looks). Apparently other countries send him little outfits and they change his clothes every day. The day that we went, he was wearing an outfit from Ukraine. Apparently it was their Independence Day or something. After we saw the famous statue, we ate the most delicious waffles on the face of the planet. They had a little waffle stand that made like every waffle you could possibly ever dream of eating. I got strawberries and whipped cream on mine because I hadn't had a fruit one yet. It was SO messy, but it was AMAZING!
I feel like I should add that I will not weight 200 lbs when I get home from eating so many waffles, in fact, I have been having the opposite problem. Usually I can wear my jeans a few times without washing them and they still fit fine. Since arriving here, I have been putting my jeans on and they are already baggy even on the first wear, right after washing them. I have a feeling it is because of all of the walking that we have been doing, and we are not getting opportunities to snack all the time (except for the occasional Belgian waffle or ice cream cone). So despite the fact that I have been eating quite a lot, and very well (we have had some GREAT food!), my clothes are starting to get too big. Oh well.
Yesterday we went to Cologne, Germany and apparently they are known for their giant cathedral. As soon as we walked out of the train station we saw the GIANT cathedral that pretty much looked like it was about to touch the sun. I have had a hard time getting most of the cathedrals in pictures already, but this one was just ridiculously difficult to get in... I tried my best though and just took pictures of pieces here and there. It was also incredibly beautiful on the inside. There were a few specific things inside that were really neat. First, I noticed that there were tombs all over the place. I never figured out if they were tombs of former popes, or former priests because I can't read German (or maybe it was in Latin? I don't remember...), but they had carvings of the men on them. Also, they had a giant picture of the crucifix and what's really cool about this particular one is that it was made over 900 years ago and still looks to be in perfect condition. Also, during the time that it was made, most artists would portray Christ as very serene while on the cross. This one, on the other hand, showed him with his eyes closed and really looking as though he was in great agony. The final thing that we saw that was really neat, was a gold box that supposedly has the wise men's bones in it. Now, I don't really think that the wise men's bones are in that box, but it's still really neat to think about... and it was a really pretty box. One thing that I have been wanting to get since we got here, but have been holding off on is a Pashmena (sp?). It is a pretty little scarfy thing that they wear a lot over here as shawls or scarves or whatever. Well, I have seen several for pretty decent prices and finally found a REALLY good deal on them-- 3 euros! So I bought two of those yesterday (even though I already have about a million scarves), one red and one blue. They are so pretty and soft!
Anyway, today is a class day and tomorrow we are going on a cruise down the Rhine River. It should be a lot of fun, so I'm really excited about that. I got to talk to Kelli this morning which was really great. Most people I have been able to at least talk to on chat or something since I've been here, but Kelli and I have a 9 hour time difference, and apparently I have become retarded as far as e-mailing is concerned, so hopefully I will get to be better about that. Anyway, the point is, it was a nice way to start the day... even though it was after my Bible test so the day had already started. Ha. Ok, I think this blog is way past long enough. It's almost chapel time so I'm gonna go.
Love you all!! :)
I don't really even know where to begin with getting caught up with everything so I guess I will try by starting with Maastricht. Until Saturday, I had only been in the Netherlands when we flew in to Amsterdam so all that I saw was the airport, some windmills and a view from the plane (and it was slightly cloudy that day) so I was really excited to go to Maastricht. It got it's name because it is right on the Maas river, which is actually called the Muse river in French and there are lots of cute little bridges and everything around the town. When we got there, they took us to a small Gothic cathedral that we looked around in for a few minutes, and while waiting on everyone else to finish looking, one of the nuns came and talked to us and asked us where we were from. She was the cutest little lady! She told us that she was from Austria, so her native language is German, but she knows Dutch and English as well (I was impressed!). She told us a little bit about the history of the cathedral and about the one that is right next to it (it sits beside another cathedral that was built after it that is of the Roman style). It was nice to talk to someone in the cathedral because usually we walk in and walk around and they tell us a little bit, but we never really know much about when they were built and all of that. After we walked through the cathedral, they walked us to the city wall (I don't really know the historic significance of it, though) and we walked around it and across it. Then, we were free to go :) So several of us walked around and went shopping. Don't worry, Dad, I didn't buy anything :) We got pretty hungry because we had been walking for a while so we walked past this cute little waffle stand and decided to get waffles... but we forgot that we weren't in Belgium anymore. Seriously, the waffles are NOT the same outside of Belgium! It was so weird because they smelled so good, but we were sorely disappointed. After our waffles, we went into a few little souvenir stores and walked around a lot. It was a very pretty, cute little town and we really enjoyed being there (Sorry for the lack of details... everything is really starting to run together. lol).
Sunday we went to Brussels, Belgium and spent the day there. It was really a very interesting and busy day. We got up and got ready and headed to the train station-- our train left at about 10:30 and we were trying to make it for church at 1 for an English service at an international church. We rode the train for about an hour and 45 minutes and then got on the subway (I have decided that subways are kind of scary and INCREDIBLY confusing. Thank goodness for smaller towns!) to get to worship. What we didn't know was that they had class starting at noon. So we arrived at the church building at about 12:45 and realized that they had already started and tried to sneak in without being noticed (in case people would not notice 30 college students carrying giant backpacks! ha!) but we more than doubled the congregation in size. They later told us that normally they have several more people, but that many people were out of town for holiday or whatever. Let me just tell you, it was so nice to have worship services in English! The church was really excited that we were there, and they gave us cookies and juice! I really enjoyed being there. After services, we went to another cathedral and then walked through Brussels. They took us immediately to what Brussels is known for. For anyone who doesn't know, the story is that Brussels had a huge fire break out and the whole city was going to be lost and then this little boy started "relieving himself" and his father found him putting out the fire. That's kind of a paraphrase, so you can look it up if you want to know more and actually read the real story. Anyway, they now have a statue of the little boy relieving himself and he is called Manneken Pis (I am NOT even joking or trying to be vulgar!... and yes, it DOES sound like it looks). Apparently other countries send him little outfits and they change his clothes every day. The day that we went, he was wearing an outfit from Ukraine. Apparently it was their Independence Day or something. After we saw the famous statue, we ate the most delicious waffles on the face of the planet. They had a little waffle stand that made like every waffle you could possibly ever dream of eating. I got strawberries and whipped cream on mine because I hadn't had a fruit one yet. It was SO messy, but it was AMAZING!
I feel like I should add that I will not weight 200 lbs when I get home from eating so many waffles, in fact, I have been having the opposite problem. Usually I can wear my jeans a few times without washing them and they still fit fine. Since arriving here, I have been putting my jeans on and they are already baggy even on the first wear, right after washing them. I have a feeling it is because of all of the walking that we have been doing, and we are not getting opportunities to snack all the time (except for the occasional Belgian waffle or ice cream cone). So despite the fact that I have been eating quite a lot, and very well (we have had some GREAT food!), my clothes are starting to get too big. Oh well.
Yesterday we went to Cologne, Germany and apparently they are known for their giant cathedral. As soon as we walked out of the train station we saw the GIANT cathedral that pretty much looked like it was about to touch the sun. I have had a hard time getting most of the cathedrals in pictures already, but this one was just ridiculously difficult to get in... I tried my best though and just took pictures of pieces here and there. It was also incredibly beautiful on the inside. There were a few specific things inside that were really neat. First, I noticed that there were tombs all over the place. I never figured out if they were tombs of former popes, or former priests because I can't read German (or maybe it was in Latin? I don't remember...), but they had carvings of the men on them. Also, they had a giant picture of the crucifix and what's really cool about this particular one is that it was made over 900 years ago and still looks to be in perfect condition. Also, during the time that it was made, most artists would portray Christ as very serene while on the cross. This one, on the other hand, showed him with his eyes closed and really looking as though he was in great agony. The final thing that we saw that was really neat, was a gold box that supposedly has the wise men's bones in it. Now, I don't really think that the wise men's bones are in that box, but it's still really neat to think about... and it was a really pretty box. One thing that I have been wanting to get since we got here, but have been holding off on is a Pashmena (sp?). It is a pretty little scarfy thing that they wear a lot over here as shawls or scarves or whatever. Well, I have seen several for pretty decent prices and finally found a REALLY good deal on them-- 3 euros! So I bought two of those yesterday (even though I already have about a million scarves), one red and one blue. They are so pretty and soft!
Anyway, today is a class day and tomorrow we are going on a cruise down the Rhine River. It should be a lot of fun, so I'm really excited about that. I got to talk to Kelli this morning which was really great. Most people I have been able to at least talk to on chat or something since I've been here, but Kelli and I have a 9 hour time difference, and apparently I have become retarded as far as e-mailing is concerned, so hopefully I will get to be better about that. Anyway, the point is, it was a nice way to start the day... even though it was after my Bible test so the day had already started. Ha. Ok, I think this blog is way past long enough. It's almost chapel time so I'm gonna go.
Love you all!! :)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Home of the Brave
Today we had to leave at 7:30 because we had lots of places to go to. It is Lauren's 22 birthday, so she was a little bit homesick because of that, and on top of being homesick, we were visiting some VERY emotional places. However, we also were able to visit some really neat places too.
The first place we visited was the American Military Cemetery where airmen from WWII are buried. It was one of the most spectacularly emotional places that I have ever visited. I knew that it would be large because the Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for America in WWII. However, there were 4 of us that were walking ahead of the group and as soon as we turned the corner to where we could see the cemetery, we all stopped and gasped. We had a guy who talked to us for a little bit about the shape of the cemetery (it is in the shape of the Red Cross because it allows for bodies to be buried that they continue to find) and different things to do with the war. Most of it was very encouraging, but some of it was also incredibly sad. There was a monument that read "To the silent host who endured all and gave all that mankind might live in freedom and peace." It really struck me how frequently we take for granted the freedoms that we have as RIGHTS rather than PRIVILEGES. Someone gave up their life so that I can live freely. How often do I stop and think about that? Someone lost a brother, a father, an uncle, etc so that we can live in peace. I was also really struck by the unknown graves. They read "Here lies in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." It broke my heart to read that just thinking about the fact that no one knows who this person is, but it was so comforting to know that whether or not we know who that person is, God knows all of us and loves all of us, no matter what.
After that, we went to Dinant and visited a castle there. It was a sort of boring tour because the guy was speaking in French and English and he was really dry and boring, so I don't really know anything about that castle, except that it was pretty cool looking :) Then, we went down these elevators of death called Funiculars that were these lift things that were pretty much hanging by threads (apparently they were supposed to be safe?? lol)... but not really they were actually cables. I was just scared the whole time we went down and especially when we went back up because we had like 20 people in there and the thing was swaying... and I could see way down to the ground. Awful!
Then we went to Bouillon and toured another castle and watched a bird show. The castle had about a million rooms that were all interconnected and everything. It was really cool. I can't imagine having to go through those tunnels and everything with just a candle! How insane!
After spending a little over an hour at Bouillon, we went to Bastogne which is the actual site that the Battle of the Bulge happened, and there is a war memorial there. The memorial is in honor of the United States and the help that we gave to Belgium to make it through the war. The memorial was a star and it had all of the states written around it. I got my picture made with Florida :) Anyway, I guess that's the big news for the day. Tomorrow is a class day and we have to clean our room for room check. Then I have to speak at a girl's devotional. We are planning on having them every Friday, so the other R.A. and I figured that we should go ahead and speak pretty early on in the trip so that the other girls can get more acquainted with each other and feel more comfortable speaking. I better get off here and get some work done!
Good night! Love you all! :)
The first place we visited was the American Military Cemetery where airmen from WWII are buried. It was one of the most spectacularly emotional places that I have ever visited. I knew that it would be large because the Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for America in WWII. However, there were 4 of us that were walking ahead of the group and as soon as we turned the corner to where we could see the cemetery, we all stopped and gasped. We had a guy who talked to us for a little bit about the shape of the cemetery (it is in the shape of the Red Cross because it allows for bodies to be buried that they continue to find) and different things to do with the war. Most of it was very encouraging, but some of it was also incredibly sad. There was a monument that read "To the silent host who endured all and gave all that mankind might live in freedom and peace." It really struck me how frequently we take for granted the freedoms that we have as RIGHTS rather than PRIVILEGES. Someone gave up their life so that I can live freely. How often do I stop and think about that? Someone lost a brother, a father, an uncle, etc so that we can live in peace. I was also really struck by the unknown graves. They read "Here lies in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." It broke my heart to read that just thinking about the fact that no one knows who this person is, but it was so comforting to know that whether or not we know who that person is, God knows all of us and loves all of us, no matter what.
After that, we went to Dinant and visited a castle there. It was a sort of boring tour because the guy was speaking in French and English and he was really dry and boring, so I don't really know anything about that castle, except that it was pretty cool looking :) Then, we went down these elevators of death called Funiculars that were these lift things that were pretty much hanging by threads (apparently they were supposed to be safe?? lol)... but not really they were actually cables. I was just scared the whole time we went down and especially when we went back up because we had like 20 people in there and the thing was swaying... and I could see way down to the ground. Awful!
Then we went to Bouillon and toured another castle and watched a bird show. The castle had about a million rooms that were all interconnected and everything. It was really cool. I can't imagine having to go through those tunnels and everything with just a candle! How insane!
After spending a little over an hour at Bouillon, we went to Bastogne which is the actual site that the Battle of the Bulge happened, and there is a war memorial there. The memorial is in honor of the United States and the help that we gave to Belgium to make it through the war. The memorial was a star and it had all of the states written around it. I got my picture made with Florida :) Anyway, I guess that's the big news for the day. Tomorrow is a class day and we have to clean our room for room check. Then I have to speak at a girl's devotional. We are planning on having them every Friday, so the other R.A. and I figured that we should go ahead and speak pretty early on in the trip so that the other girls can get more acquainted with each other and feel more comfortable speaking. I better get off here and get some work done!
Good night! Love you all! :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
366 Steps to the Top
Yesterday was a REALLY awesome day. I had so much fun despite the fact that I was exhausted! I have accepted the fact that I will get very little sleep on this trip, but I have yet to adjust to just being so busy all day and then getting very little sleep at night. We spent the day in Brugge and Oostende yesterday. Brugge is a canal city and is absolutely beautiful. It had tons of cute little shops, a lace factory, chocolate stores, churches, and little boats floating down the canals.
We left at 9:30 and it was a two hour train ride. We all tried to study, but it was difficult. Finally we gave up and just hung out. When we got to Brugge, we walked around and went to a church. It was called "The Church of Our Lady" and it had one of Michaelangelo's statues. The statue is of Mary and baby Jesus and it is one of the few statues of his that made it out of Italy. I really loved being in Brugge. It was so beautiful, even while raining (yes, it rained yesterday). I am kind of sad that my pictures just can not capture the beauty of all of the places that I have been.
After lunch, we were talking about the Bell Tower (called Belfried) that is there and Andrea and I decided to climb it. Philippe went with us, thank goodness- with my fear of heights it was nice to have someone who I knew would make sure I did not fall. There were 366 steps to the top and it was tiring, but so much fun! I felt kind of like I was conquering my fear. :) When we made it to the top, there was a panoramic view of the city. It was SO gorgeous! We could see the canals, the churches, windmills, etc as far as the eye could see. We were pretty shaky when we got back down because of how far up it was.
We only had about 20 minutes left in Brugge when we were done with that, so we decided to just walk around for a while. It started pouring down rain at that point, so the rain jackets came out and our jeans and shoes got soaked. Fortunately it only rained for about 15 minutes and then the sun came out.
When we left Brugge, we caught a train to Oostende, which is on the North Sea. It was obvious as soon as we got off the train that this was a place unlike anywhere we had been so far. I do not think that it was as beautiful as Brugge (because Brugge was just gorgeous on a completel different level!) but it was just so gorgeous. There were little sailboats everywhere along the side of the river, and when we got to the sea it was just great! It was so nice to play on the beach even though it was chilly! The sand felt really different, and it was kind of brownish yellow (tan?). The water was kind of a greenish color (not like nasty algae green though) with HUGE waves. It was SO cold! The air wasn't bad, just a little chilly because of the wind, but when the water lapped up on my toes, it was like ice water!
After the beach, we got Belgian waffles and then headed to the train. I slept for a little while on the train and then we all studied together and talked. It was a really fun day, with lots of little adventures and fun times with fun people. Today has been a good day, but we have been in class all day and I have to stay up late tonight plus, I need to study so that I can stay on top of things. Tomorrow will probably be filled with less laughter because we are going to several WWII areas including the place where the Battle of the Bulge was fought and an American cemetery. When we get back, I will be able to talk to the Jordan boys on video chat because Creston will be babysitting them, so I'm really excited about that :)
Good night! Love you all!
We left at 9:30 and it was a two hour train ride. We all tried to study, but it was difficult. Finally we gave up and just hung out. When we got to Brugge, we walked around and went to a church. It was called "The Church of Our Lady" and it had one of Michaelangelo's statues. The statue is of Mary and baby Jesus and it is one of the few statues of his that made it out of Italy. I really loved being in Brugge. It was so beautiful, even while raining (yes, it rained yesterday). I am kind of sad that my pictures just can not capture the beauty of all of the places that I have been.
After lunch, we were talking about the Bell Tower (called Belfried) that is there and Andrea and I decided to climb it. Philippe went with us, thank goodness- with my fear of heights it was nice to have someone who I knew would make sure I did not fall. There were 366 steps to the top and it was tiring, but so much fun! I felt kind of like I was conquering my fear. :) When we made it to the top, there was a panoramic view of the city. It was SO gorgeous! We could see the canals, the churches, windmills, etc as far as the eye could see. We were pretty shaky when we got back down because of how far up it was.
We only had about 20 minutes left in Brugge when we were done with that, so we decided to just walk around for a while. It started pouring down rain at that point, so the rain jackets came out and our jeans and shoes got soaked. Fortunately it only rained for about 15 minutes and then the sun came out.
When we left Brugge, we caught a train to Oostende, which is on the North Sea. It was obvious as soon as we got off the train that this was a place unlike anywhere we had been so far. I do not think that it was as beautiful as Brugge (because Brugge was just gorgeous on a completel different level!) but it was just so gorgeous. There were little sailboats everywhere along the side of the river, and when we got to the sea it was just great! It was so nice to play on the beach even though it was chilly! The sand felt really different, and it was kind of brownish yellow (tan?). The water was kind of a greenish color (not like nasty algae green though) with HUGE waves. It was SO cold! The air wasn't bad, just a little chilly because of the wind, but when the water lapped up on my toes, it was like ice water!
After the beach, we got Belgian waffles and then headed to the train. I slept for a little while on the train and then we all studied together and talked. It was a really fun day, with lots of little adventures and fun times with fun people. Today has been a good day, but we have been in class all day and I have to stay up late tonight plus, I need to study so that I can stay on top of things. Tomorrow will probably be filled with less laughter because we are going to several WWII areas including the place where the Battle of the Bulge was fought and an American cemetery. When we get back, I will be able to talk to the Jordan boys on video chat because Creston will be babysitting them, so I'm really excited about that :)
Good night! Love you all!
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Castle in the Hills
Yesterday was such a busy day that I didn't have time to write. I could have stayed up late to write, but it wasn't my night to stay up till one so I thought I would take advantage of the extra sleep time. I still haven't adjusted to the time change and lack of sleep, plus we have been going, going, going since we arrived. I thought that yesterday would be a relaxing day, but I was VERY wrong. :)
Since it was Sunday, we had worship services. First we had Bible class in English upstairs and then we went to the ground floor to have worship in French. It is a very small congregation and the people are so friendly. None of us could communicate very well with them, but we could still feel their warmth and excitement over having us there. It was really encouraging. I found out that the main reason that the church is still there is because of our group coming every year. Nothing was in English, though they did write the song numbers on the board and the scriptures in English. I really enjoyed the singing because I knew most of the songs, and it was easier to learn pronunciation because they sing slower than we do. I have to admit that it was quite hard to say awake, so I tried to pick words out of the sermon that sounded similar to English or Spanish words. That made it easier to know what was going on.
At around 3 yesterday, we went to Franchimont. It is a small Belgian town in the countryside and it was beautiful. We went because there is a castle that is in ruins at the top of a very, very, very (etc.) large hill. I believe it is called Le Chateau de Franchimont. We got off at the trains station and walked 15 minutes in the wrong direction. So, we turned back around and found the correct way. Unfortunately, the correct way was about 3 miles uphill. And it was hot. So we made it to the top of the hill after much sweating, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. When we made it to the top, we saw this BEAUTIFUL castle. Granted, there were giant cannon holes in it and some of the walls had fallen down, but it was just so gorgeous. There were stairs up to the "second floor" and the views of the countryside were absolutely exquisite. I can not believe how beautiful this little country is. When I chose Belgium over Italy, I chose it because it is cheaper. However, now that I am here I can't even believe that I considered Italy. We are in the perfect place for travel, we get to go to other towns several times a week, and it's gorgeous!! I know that I will love Italy when I go there on free travel, but I am so happy that I am in Belgium right now.
Today has just been a class day, so there is not a lot to write about. We had an Apples to Apples tournament which was so much fun! I actually won one game! After a long day yesterday though, it has been nice to just relax. :)
A tout a l'heure! :)
Since it was Sunday, we had worship services. First we had Bible class in English upstairs and then we went to the ground floor to have worship in French. It is a very small congregation and the people are so friendly. None of us could communicate very well with them, but we could still feel their warmth and excitement over having us there. It was really encouraging. I found out that the main reason that the church is still there is because of our group coming every year. Nothing was in English, though they did write the song numbers on the board and the scriptures in English. I really enjoyed the singing because I knew most of the songs, and it was easier to learn pronunciation because they sing slower than we do. I have to admit that it was quite hard to say awake, so I tried to pick words out of the sermon that sounded similar to English or Spanish words. That made it easier to know what was going on.
At around 3 yesterday, we went to Franchimont. It is a small Belgian town in the countryside and it was beautiful. We went because there is a castle that is in ruins at the top of a very, very, very (etc.) large hill. I believe it is called Le Chateau de Franchimont. We got off at the trains station and walked 15 minutes in the wrong direction. So, we turned back around and found the correct way. Unfortunately, the correct way was about 3 miles uphill. And it was hot. So we made it to the top of the hill after much sweating, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. When we made it to the top, we saw this BEAUTIFUL castle. Granted, there were giant cannon holes in it and some of the walls had fallen down, but it was just so gorgeous. There were stairs up to the "second floor" and the views of the countryside were absolutely exquisite. I can not believe how beautiful this little country is. When I chose Belgium over Italy, I chose it because it is cheaper. However, now that I am here I can't even believe that I considered Italy. We are in the perfect place for travel, we get to go to other towns several times a week, and it's gorgeous!! I know that I will love Italy when I go there on free travel, but I am so happy that I am in Belgium right now.
Today has just been a class day, so there is not a lot to write about. We had an Apples to Apples tournament which was so much fun! I actually won one game! After a long day yesterday though, it has been nice to just relax. :)
A tout a l'heure! :)
Saturday, August 16, 2008
I'm not so sure about this French thing.
We went to Germany today! It was so much fun! The day started with French class at 8:#0 in the morning. I was SO tired and we were having to say the words/phrases in front of everyone. It was pretty nerve-wracking, but I feel like I already learned some. Of course, the French that we learned today didn't do us any good except at the market this morning since we spent the afternoon in Aachen, Germany.
There is a market every Saturday on the street that our facility is on. It is from about eight in the morning till one in the afternoon and there are a lot of really cute, cheap souvenirs. I have decided not to shop in the market until the end of the trip because it will be there the whole time we are here. I know that I will love the shopping in Greece :)
Aachen was so wonderful! It is a beautiful city and we had so much fun! We went to Charlemagne's cathedral and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was huge and it had ginormous (I know that's not a word, but it's the only way to describe this!) stained glass windows and everything had flecks of gold in it. They talked about his throne but we weren't actually able to see it, so I'm thinking that maybe they were talking about his bathroom throne? :) Just kidding. After that we walked around. They were having a festival for a cookie that the city is famous for. They really like celebrating over here-- we have already been to two festivals and we have only been here for 3 days! It was an all-around fun day the entire day and I just really enjoyed myself. Our group is really great, and I find myself constantly laughing and giggling... probably partially because I'm delirious from jet-lag and lack of sleep. I can not begin to explain how many times I have laughed until I was crying and my stomach was cramping. Between Sara always closing her eyes in pictures, Andrea falling over into Lauren's lap when the train jerked and Cory doing a lovely Vanna White impression we laughed a lot. Lauren and I got onto the train and laughed for about the first 20 minutes that we were there.
So none of those things are very funny to someone who was not there, but I'm cracking up just writing about it. Oh well :)
Bonne Nuit (Good Night)! Love!
<3 Me
There is a market every Saturday on the street that our facility is on. It is from about eight in the morning till one in the afternoon and there are a lot of really cute, cheap souvenirs. I have decided not to shop in the market until the end of the trip because it will be there the whole time we are here. I know that I will love the shopping in Greece :)
Aachen was so wonderful! It is a beautiful city and we had so much fun! We went to Charlemagne's cathedral and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was huge and it had ginormous (I know that's not a word, but it's the only way to describe this!) stained glass windows and everything had flecks of gold in it. They talked about his throne but we weren't actually able to see it, so I'm thinking that maybe they were talking about his bathroom throne? :) Just kidding. After that we walked around. They were having a festival for a cookie that the city is famous for. They really like celebrating over here-- we have already been to two festivals and we have only been here for 3 days! It was an all-around fun day the entire day and I just really enjoyed myself. Our group is really great, and I find myself constantly laughing and giggling... probably partially because I'm delirious from jet-lag and lack of sleep. I can not begin to explain how many times I have laughed until I was crying and my stomach was cramping. Between Sara always closing her eyes in pictures, Andrea falling over into Lauren's lap when the train jerked and Cory doing a lovely Vanna White impression we laughed a lot. Lauren and I got onto the train and laughed for about the first 20 minutes that we were there.
So none of those things are very funny to someone who was not there, but I'm cracking up just writing about it. Oh well :)
Bonne Nuit (Good Night)! Love!
<3 Me
Friday, August 15, 2008
I Might Just Move to Belgium for the Waffles
Ok so the title is not totally true, so no one get freaked out :) They are really good though. Today has been a really fun day! We had orientation in our classes, except French... which I am thinking is pretty important. I am really loving this trip. It still hasn't hit me that I am in Europe except that the food is different and people are speaking another language. Mom would have really been proud of me because of what I ate today. Our lunch was another Belgian dish that was potatoes, green beans, vinegar, cream, and bacon all mixed together and I ate it!! Not all of it... but I ate most of it!!
After lunch, we went to Liege (pronounced Lee-Age, the G is sort of a soft G) because today was a Catholic holiday and they were having a parade. To be perfectly honest, it was not spectacular. The town was ridiculously crowded because of the festivities and people were literally drinking EVERYWHERE (what a way to celebrate a Catholic holiday! ha!). We were walking around trying to find a place to get Belgian waffles because we were all starving. After walking around for about 45 minutes we finally found a vender selling waffles. It was WELL worth the wait! We all got ones with warm chocolate sauce poured on them and they were WONDERFUL! I never imagined that they would be that tasty!
I wish that I knew at least some French. I'm not one that expects people to speak English everywhere I go, but I just wish that I knew how to say a few simple phrases. It was incredibly difficult ordering today. I really hope that I learn at least enough to communicate some, and I'm sure that my lack of French and desire to communicate will help me learn! :)
After we returned from Liege, we ate dinner and then a few of us went down to play in these fountains that are in the town square. They are fountains that come up from the ground and are for looking pretty and playing in. The water was extremely cold and it was a little chilly out. It was so much fun that I didn't care that it was cold, nor did I care that I slipped and fell on my rear end twice! :) It was so funny! After the fountains we had tea time in the facility and sat around and talked for a while. I have really enjoyed getting to know new people.
The one thing that I want to end on is something that Dr. Johnson said in Bible class this morning. Our class is on Paul, but he said that we are really in a unique place to study the Bible. We are in a place where Catholics and Protestants have fought for years. In a place where there has been so much hypocrisy that people don't want anything to do with religion. How sad is that? Someone showed them the absolute wrong way to live and now they want nothing to do with the right way. It really gave me something to think about. I think it shows just how important our influence can be for someone's soul.
Good night all! Love you lots!
<3Me
After lunch, we went to Liege (pronounced Lee-Age, the G is sort of a soft G) because today was a Catholic holiday and they were having a parade. To be perfectly honest, it was not spectacular. The town was ridiculously crowded because of the festivities and people were literally drinking EVERYWHERE (what a way to celebrate a Catholic holiday! ha!). We were walking around trying to find a place to get Belgian waffles because we were all starving. After walking around for about 45 minutes we finally found a vender selling waffles. It was WELL worth the wait! We all got ones with warm chocolate sauce poured on them and they were WONDERFUL! I never imagined that they would be that tasty!
I wish that I knew at least some French. I'm not one that expects people to speak English everywhere I go, but I just wish that I knew how to say a few simple phrases. It was incredibly difficult ordering today. I really hope that I learn at least enough to communicate some, and I'm sure that my lack of French and desire to communicate will help me learn! :)
After we returned from Liege, we ate dinner and then a few of us went down to play in these fountains that are in the town square. They are fountains that come up from the ground and are for looking pretty and playing in. The water was extremely cold and it was a little chilly out. It was so much fun that I didn't care that it was cold, nor did I care that I slipped and fell on my rear end twice! :) It was so funny! After the fountains we had tea time in the facility and sat around and talked for a while. I have really enjoyed getting to know new people.
The one thing that I want to end on is something that Dr. Johnson said in Bible class this morning. Our class is on Paul, but he said that we are really in a unique place to study the Bible. We are in a place where Catholics and Protestants have fought for years. In a place where there has been so much hypocrisy that people don't want anything to do with religion. How sad is that? Someone showed them the absolute wrong way to live and now they want nothing to do with the right way. It really gave me something to think about. I think it shows just how important our influence can be for someone's soul.
Good night all! Love you lots!
<3Me
Thursday, August 14, 2008
First European Post :)
I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this tired. Tired isn't even the right word. I am completely exhausted. Our flight left Memphis at 7:20 p.m. and we have been going ever since The girl that sat next to me on the flight from Memphis to Amsterdam was from Poland. She liked to talk and she also liked to drink. A lot. As soon as she sat down I could smell alcohol, and I has to endure the awful stench for over 8 hours, all the way to Amsterdam. When we finally arrived in Amsterdam, I could breath fresh air again, but we were completely confused because of mixed-up communication. We ended up getting to our gate on time though, and then our flight to Brussels was delayed by about a half hour. Our flight from Amsterdam to Brussels was on a tiny little plane, barely bigger than a turbo-prop and it sounded like a flying lawn mower :)
Upon arrival at Brussels, we realized that we had no idea if someone was going to pick us up at the airport, nor did we know if our luggage had made it. One girl (Joanna) lost her luggage because of a mix-up in Memphis. Fortunately, she is close to the same size as Sara and I are, so she is planning on borrowing some of our clothes until her bag arrives. After standing around the baggage claim area for a while with no one to pick us up, we finally realized that Philippe would be waiting for us at the exit.
We immediately headed to the Eurail and boarded our train. The European countryside is so beautiful and I cannot believe that I am able to enjoy it for three months!! :) While on the train today, Philippe told me that they would like for me to be an R.A. of one of the girls' rooms. I am watching over about sixteen girls, and getting paid 50 euros a week! The only downside is that every third night, I have to stay up until one a.m. to lock up the hang out room... and considering the profit, that's not a significant downside.
I am really enjoying spending time here with some of my friends. We had Belgian food for dinner and it was so wonderful! After dinner, Philippe took several of us on a tour of Belgium and we made our first European ATM withdrawals and ate our first European ice cream! It is so silly how I want to take pictures of every little detail. I suppose I just don't want to forget anything at all.
I know that I could have so much more to write about, but I am so exhausted that I can not even think straight. It has been far too many hours since I got any decent sleep.
Good night to all! Love and miss you all very much!
-- Me <3
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