Sunday, January 28, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 3 hours ago

International Operations starts tomorrow.  I am told that there will be five other Americans in my block.  After two blocks of being the only American student at school, I will enjoy the company. We ended up being split up, so there is only one American per tutor group.  I know problem-based learning is somewhat of a shock, but IOP is supposed to be a fun block, which will be a nice change for me. It is a year 3 block, as is the last block (IFM). My previous blocks (SMA and EBS) were year 4 blocks and much harder.

We’ve had a variety of weather lately. We had flurries Thursday night, and cold temperatures. It’s not too cold anymore, though, and has been sprinkling off and on. I hope that the weather doesn’t get too terrible. It’s not very motivating when you have to bike to school in the rain, but the freezing rain and sleet is even less inspiring.  It’s times like those when I begin to miss my baby:

I saw Marjaana off to the train station today. I will definitely miss her, but I do plan on visiting her in Finland sometime this spring.  Only six more months to see the rest of Europe!! So many countries to see, so little time.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 months, 3 weeks, 11 hours, 27 minutes ago

It was called the worst wind storm in 17 years, claiming more than 40 lives, all by the ‘Great Gale.’ Affecting planes, trains, automobiles, and boats across Europe. Yes, the past couple of days, I have been staying home to avoid the drastic change in the weather (and to study).  As this MSN news video shows the many terrible things that have happened lately, I have not been affected here in Breda. But you wouldn’t catch me out on a bike in this wind, it’s been amazingly strong. Plus it doesn’t take much when you only have two wheels! 

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 3 hours, 41 minutes ago

After a crazy Tuesday where I overslept my alarm and woke up 15 minutes before my EBS OAT, I am studying for my Dutch exam on Wednesday.  Yes, armed with only a pen, I took my final for EBS. I literally went from my bed to my clothes to the door and asked my flatmate to drive me to school. But I am just glad I actually made it on time or else I wouldn’t have been able to even take the test.  We’ll see what happens… it’s out of my hands now.

The weather here has been unusually warm, but I am worried it will become colder - just look at the US weather patterns. But it is nice while it’s lasting.

I have been doing some job searching, and even though it is too soon to actually apply for most jobs, I am eager to get out on the hunt.  I have a lot of different aspects to look at.  The first job out of college is extremely important to your career track.  You need to be cautious and picky but still not expect the impossible.  I am just debating the many options I have.  There are so many possibilities!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Posted 1 year, 4 months, 22 hours, 19 minutes ago

After 18 days of America, I am back to school in the Netherlands.  The plane trip was crazy - I can never seem to sleep on the overnight plane rides, but I made it.

I turned in my EBS paper and had BCP today where we were supposed to be different countries in the EU and decide on different factors such as structural funds and different agency allocations.  It was my last class before my OAT on Tuesday.  A lot of the students are now done with classes and are starting their graduation assignments where they obtain an internship and work on their graduation project.  I, however, am starting IOP (International Operations) and IFM (International Financial Management).  Now I am going to be studying for my final test for EBS and Dutch.

I also want to apologize to Ms. Herter’s 6th grade English class for not being able to make the trip up to visit you all, but if you have any questions to ask, feel free to let me know and I will try to answer them!  It helps to have a good work ethic in middle and high school so that you are prepared for college-level work, so keep up the good work!