Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Posted 1 year, 4 months, 2 weeks, 19 hours, 59 minutes ago

Yes, home sweet home!  I had a wonderful Christmas with my family.  After the 16-hour trip, I was back in Charlotte Friday night!  When I flew back from London, I got sick from the plane ride so the long trip across the Atlantic wasn’t exactly peaceful.  Anyone who has flown while sick can sympathize with me.  It’s not fun.  I couldn’t hear until Saturday night!  But I wasn’t the only one sick on that plane.  Every flight I had was booked full with people traveling home for the holidays.

It’s been a blast to come back home and eat American food again, walk around town, go to see a movie… the things I used to take for granted.  Driving in a car has been a nice change, too!  The sky is so blue with hardly any clouds.  Despite the rainy Christmas day, the weather has been good to me!

Yesterday I spent the day at the doctor’s office and Wal-Mart getting antibiotics.  It was great to see so many old friends at Wal-Mart.  Lots of things have changed in my hometown.  The year before I was living in Cullowhee, and then the summer in DC, now I live in Breda, so my town has changed considerably since I have lived here.

I only have two weeks before I return to the Netherlands and to school.  I am trying to make each day count.  The time change has been easy to deal with since it means I wake up early in the morning here, but I dread it when I return home!  It’s going to be cold!!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Posted 1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes ago

We just got back from a wonderful trip to London.  We spent the past three days having fun and seeing the sights, which included visiting Camden Market, Big Ben and the Parliament building, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and touring the National Gallery.  We strolled through Covent Garden Market to get some of Ben’s Cookies, saw STOMP at a theater on the Strand, and celebrated Claudia’s 27th birthday Saturday night at a good-old American restaurant, TGIFriday’s.  It was great to finally get to visit London.  You watch movies and shows about England, but to experience London first-hand is totally different.  And the fish and chips are excellent!

Happy Birthday Claudia and good luck at WCU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Posted 1 year, 4 months, 4 weeks, 1 day, 21 hours, 31 minutes ago

After a rainy trip, we visited the European Commission in Brussels and afterwards wandered around the city center.  The lectures reminded me of the TWC Congressional Speakers Series in the summer.  We ate at an Italian restaurant and later saw the Christmas tree which was beautifully lit up!

I truly loved Brussels.  I have never experienced a city like it yet.  It was so international and diverse. 

There is an “EU” section where all the buildings are government buildings, other sections where the embassies are located (and I saw the US embassy with it’s flags at half-staff for the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day), plus it also has an old, historic center where everything was laid brick (hard for my dress shoes!).  We really didn’t get to see everything so I am looking forward to visiting again. 

The city is officially bilingual (all streets and announcements are in French and Dutch) but just about everyone knows English as well.  While eating at the restaurant there were people next to us who were talking about North Carolina and Duke in English.  What a town!  It is said that Brussels has 20 different languages alone from the different EU governments!  And with the entrance of two more countries into the EU community, two more will be added!

Brussels is also amazing because of the French influence on the town.  After visiting Paris and then going to Brussels, I recognized many different monuments and buildings that were very similar.  For example, there is a church we drove past that looks exactly like the Notre Dame Cathedral.  It was a great beginning to a four-day weekend.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Posted 1 year, 5 months, 5 days, 11 hours, 2 minutes ago

Last Saturday, Claudia, Marjaana and I went to Utrecht to browse the shops, visit the cathedral and just hang out. It was really busy because of the rush before Sinterklaas. Here are some pictures I took:

Tomorrow we visit the EU Commission in Brussels! Let’s hope it doesn’t rain.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Posted 1 year, 5 months, 1 week, 3 days, 12 hours, 13 minutes ago

The PT (Progress Test) is in the books!  It was an open question test, so that just means short answer questions.  It was decent except for when I went blank halfway through.  Word to the wise:  The European law is derived from treaties, legislation and the rulings of the ECJ!  And know what’s up with the Doha round!  Other than that, I only have my OAT the third week of January (sometime during that week) and my paper is due January 10th.  My EBS presentation went well last week and my IC presentation is scheduled for the 11th.

I have been trying to plan excursions on the weekends before the Christmas holiday.  This weekend, my friends and I are going to try to go to Utrecht for the second time—I just hope it doesn’t rain again!  Then December 15th we are planning to visit a friend from my summer internship program in London where he is studying for the semester.  His flat is right in downtown London, so that should be fun.  But of course as soon as we decided to go, the radiation news popped up everywhere.  Let’s just say I won’t be flying British Airways.

It’s been extremely cold here lately, but the rain has held off for three days in a row!  Everyone has been extremely impressed.

Next week our whole study goes to Brussels (Belgium) to visit the European Commission.  I am looking forward to seeing how a part of the European system works.  It’s fun to compare the EU to the US.  And my dealings in Washington this summer will enhance my experience here in the EU.

Happy Friday!