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!

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! :)

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

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

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

Just Around the Corner...

Last fall I made the decision to spend a semester abroad. When I signed up, I had nearly eleven months to wait for the greatest adventure of my short lifetime. It is amazing to be how quickly time passes, because I now have only sixteen days before I board the plane with my friends to enjoy three months in Europe.

I have always been a big dreamer, but never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would have the opportunity to study abroad. I love to travel, but I was not certain that I would have the chance to visit Europe. However, I am about to embark on the most amazing journey I could ever possibly imagine. I will see places where the apostles taught, great architecture that has lasted for centuries, beautiful landscapes, the list could go on an on.

After experiencing so much excitement about the trip, I have just recently begun to be nervous. The last few nights I have had nightmares about everything that could go wrong while on the way. I'm not nervous about once I get there, I have just become anxious about forgetting important things, not having enough money (though I have been working all summer and saving my money), the airline losing my luggage, etc.

I decided to start this blog because there are so many people who I wish I could take with me, but I can't... and I want all of you to experience my trip with me. I will not have time to sit down and write every detail to every individual person, so I have chosen to post a blog about my trip instead. I plan to keep a journal when I am traveling, because I will not have internet access at some places that I travel, and then when I am at a places where I have internet, I will write here. I'm definitely NOT discouraging people from e-mailing me, or writing me on facebook, or whatever. I just want to make sure that everyone knows that this is the place to really get the feel for my trip. I will be thinking about you all :)
Love! <3
Me