Updates from Europe

Updates are listed newest (top) to oldest (bottom):

Saturday May 31, 2003
03:12 PM -0700

Well, tonight is my last night in Europe for a while. We switched up the plans today and headed off to Tournai instead of Trier, as Mechthild had just flown back from England and got in at 2pm. Apparently, a tornado struck the main attraction in Tournai, the cathedral, a few years ago and it has been on the verge of falling apart since then. So, we entered, “at our own risk,” and saw what there was to see there. Then we headed over to a small pub/coffee shop and had some banana splits before heading back to Brussels. I can’t believe 5 months have passed since that cooooold day in January when I left from Newark. I’ve had the time of my life, and enjoyed everything I did here (except for the school part). I’ll miss always having to ask people if they speak English, not knowing what food I’m ordering for dinner, trying to live from the Let’s Go book… All joking aside, it’s so hard to leave here not knowing when I’ll be back, after being accepted into a family for 5 months. Mechthild, I can never thank you enough for everything, from great meals every night to picking me (and others) up from Midi or the airport, and just making me feel like a part of your family. Ed, I only saw you for a few weeks, but also thank you for everything. Luke and I are the only people who got a tour of Brussels before Delsemme got to us, and we were the only ones with a host-brother who wanted to go out and actually do stuff with us. Gerry’s on a diet now – your mom’s getting tough with her! Haha. Send pics of the lean mean fighting machine in the future! Jani, I’M GOING TO EAT YOUR FOOD! Great job in “Blood Brothers,” keep up the acting. Thanks for keeping me on my toes in the afternoons after class. It’s always good to come home and have to guess what’s missing from my room! I’m not quite sure how you managed to always win at that game, but congrats. I left some souvenirs for you, namely shaving cream and a shirt. They’re yours to have. Probably no fun since I won’t be chasing you trying to get them back, but they’ll have to do. To everyone from Lafayette: Thanks for all the memories, I’ll never forget this semester! Mike – see you over the summer hopefully on your turf. Drunk Brad – keep making that Caprese salad (and drinking wine)! The rest of my thank you’s are on my homepage, but thanks again to Julia who was always my traveling buddy. We had some great times and have lots of memories. (Including some verrrrry interesting ones from Barcelona… But we won’t mention those!) You better come to visit this summer, even if it’s not the weekend of the 4th. Maybe we can get a tour of NYC like the one we had in Munich – complete with the bloody Aussies and informative tour guide! Signing off one last time from Europe, Mike

Tuesday May 27, 2003
10:18 AM -0700

Ciao folks. Giorno numero tre... Completo! Well, you may think that by buying a day pass for the metro system here, I cheezed out of walking... I'll have you know, that was not the case! I cheezed out of flat walking... Took metros to all the hilly places, THEN walked! Apparently I was not actually on Palentine Hill yesterday... So today, I went back... What a difference when you're in the right place! Lots of ruins there... Incredible stuff, once again. Yeah, then I climber the hill in Trastevere, really really really wanted to take the bus back down, but decided I couldn't wait any longer and walked back. Did some more walking, but I'm doing some blanking out right now... The 82 degree heat with 90% humidity really got to me... Talk to you all when I'm back in Brussels! Byeeeeee

Monday May 26, 2003
11:57 PM -0700

Going to Munich (first leg of return trip) should b fun... I think this is the plane we're taking... http://home.ca.inter.net/~rapickler/regionlg.jpg

Monday May 26, 2003
11:44 PM -0700

To all MacArthur folks: Hope prom weekend was great!

Monday May 26, 2003
10:53 PM -0700

Good morning (for me at least) from Rome! Day 3 is about to begin, first with a change of hostels, then with another long day of walking and such. Maybe I'll decide to use their public transportation a bit today... Eh, we'll see. 5 days till home! Can't wait to see everyone!!! Ciao mi amici.

Monday May 26, 2003
09:06 AM -0700

Day 2 in Rome... Still lonely :-( Oh well, it's still Rome! Picked up my ticket to see the Pope on Wednesday. Got a free guided tour of St Peter's, made ti into the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (almost got lost - there's sooooo much stuff in there), went into the Colosseum and was then chased off Palentine Hill by the rain. Came back to the hostel to plan out the next 2 days and take a rest... Whew... 2 long days in a row. I'll check in again tomorrow! Bye for now

Sunday May 25, 2003
09:00 AM -0700

Ciao da Roma! I'm now in hostel number 2, pretty good location right near the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. I just walked around for 9 hours and saw a TON.. After getting lost looking for a Citibank (to save withdrawal charges... I'll have you know they have the wrong address on their website, so I ended up just going to a regular old ATM), I wandered over to The Vatican to find that their free entrance to the Museums and Sistine Chapel on Sunday is only good until noon... Went into St. Peter's, walked around there, then over to Castel Sant'Angelo. From there, went to a bunch of Piazza's, a few churches, through a park, over to the Colosseum, through the Roman Forum, and back here... I'm sure I left a whole lot out, but I'm really tired and forgot my map in my room... So I can't trace my day for you all. Sorry! Argh... need to rest. Talk to you soon!

Saturday May 24, 2003
02:57 PM -0700

Hi all! I just arrived in Rome. Flight was OK, hopped right on a train and got here. 3 hours from boarding till check in at the hostel... Nt bad. Calling it a night. Have a good one!

Tuesday May 20, 2003
12:34 AM -0700

Good morning from Munich. I'll apologize now for what may be an error-plagued email, as the keyboards here are a little different (not English or French). Barcelona was pretty cool - great hostel, great location (RIGHT on the beach), nice weather (point was, it didnt rain - and rain was in the forecast). We decided we wanted to go see Olympic Stadium on Saturday, and that we did... As we're walking up the hill towards the Stadium, I noticed a HUGE mob of people stading outside the gates. So, I figured there was a popular tour or something, and wanted to go see if we could hop on. Julia began saying that there were way too manz people to be on a tour, so I then looked carefully and they were all wearing Bruce Springsteen shirts. He was playing there that night! Cool - lucky people get to see The Boss in Olympic Stadium. We continue walking, only to see that there are still tickets left. After a walk around the stadium and a lot of discussion, we decided we were gonna go, so to the ticket office we go - cash only! Gates are already open, so we follow the directions we got from someone at the ticket office to the nearest ATM... She should have just said "go all the way back down the hill" rather than "just down this street", but we eventually found an ATM nonetheless and got the money... Then fought our way back up the tons of steps and escalators that scale the mountain (along with thousands of real Springsteen fans) and got the tickets just in time... General Admission... Usually bad seats... We were directed down onto the field and pushed our way up to be the third row from the stage, just off the left side. Crazy! It was lots of fun, then we went out a little on the way back to the hostel... Got in late, had fun - any people over 40 goin to Barcelona? I can tell you where to go to hang out... These places recommended by my tour book were where the "international students" hang out... Well, Julia and I noticed that these "students" were all in the 40+club, which isn't bad, don't go getting offended yet - just not people we want to go to a club and see :-/ Last night we went on a tour of Munich's Biergartens. Some real nice places, met a lot of nice people (except those damn Aussies who like talking about Americans... haha... nah, they were aright). Now we're off to Dachau and then Berlin for 2 days before returning to Brussels for a bit and off to Rome. TTYL!

Tuesday May 13, 2003
04:13 PM -0700

Bonsoir. Just got home an hour ago from a pretty cool art-deco / jazz bar with Mechthild and Luke. Pretty cool place, but very expensive... 7.60 EUR for a Long Island Iced Tea (but I must say it was big), which is about $9. Craziness - I think London may have been cheaper. I'm waiting on word as to when I will be returning to the States. I think June 1st seems to be the magical day now. Until then, It's one more final, Barcelona, Munich, Berlin, then hopefully Rome and other places in Italy. Keep posted with my plans on my site, they're accessible from my Brussels Index page (with the pictures and text links that you were just at). Time for a little French studying, then off to the sack. G'night.

Monday May 12, 2003
11:53 AM -0700

It's Monday, 8:50 pm. 12 hours ago, I was busy doing really poorly on my environmental exam. 10 hours ago, I was busy doing not so well on my strengths exam... Morning was definitely bad news for tests, don't know why. Did better on the ART361 final - very very surprising, to me at least. Engineering classes have always been easier than liberal arts. Anywho, 3 tests down, 1 to go... on Thursday. Getting sad that I have to leave so soon, waiting for news on when my return flight will be - May 31, June 1 or June 2... I want to have a BBQ at my house one of the first few weekends I'm home to see everyone. I'll keep you posted. For now though, it's off to sleep, or at least to watch a movie, then fall asleep. Later folks. Congrats to Chris Gey - Mr. Madrid Fall 03. Hopefully I'll get to come visit!

Friday May 09, 2003
03:12 AM -0700

French speaking final is over! Never have to speak that language again! Just a written test on Thursday and I'm done with it forever... Not like I don't like the French... Just their language. I hope my professor likes Italian cause I definitely said a few too many things in Italian by accident. Oh well! C'est la vie! So now I have to go home, do some reviewing, get ready for tomorrow's party, then crack down after the party for my 3 finals on Monday. 6 hours of testing: 2 hours environmental engineering and economics, open book; 2 hours strength of materials closed book, lots of indeterminate stuff (not usually the best type of problems); and finally, 2 hours with Delsemme - after those 2 hours, I'll never have to know about the French Revolution again. Damn French! Causing all these problems for me in school :-P Anywho, time to get cracking. In 1 week, I'll be in SUNNY, WARM, BEAUTIFUL Barcelona - staying right on the beach. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! I'll be thinking of you, don't worry ;-)

Thursday May 08, 2003
09:56 PM -0700

French comprehension part of the final went ok.. That was yesterday in class. Classes are officially done, now I have a speaking French final today, Environmental, Strengths and Art on Monday, and written French on Thursday... Yes, I have to wait until Thursday for a test which I'll be almost done with anyway! Grrr... But then freedom! :-) Back to studying!

Monday May 05, 2003
12:40 AM -0700

Good morning! It's Monday morning, just got out of class early. No more enviro classes (in Vesalius, at least)! Venice was so great. Check out the pics of our accommodation there - it was interesting, to say the least. Weather could have been better, but was still pretty nice. Coming home our train got messed up so instead of leaving at 10pm, we had to leave at 3:45pm and still got in at the same time. Just my luck! Got lots of work to do this week, so you may actually see some more frequent updates (doing this is much more fun than working for real). Latest decision: coming home on May 31st. Talk to you soon!

Tuesday April 29, 2003
03:14 AM -0700

One week of classes left! Then a week of finals and 2 weeks of travelling (Rodolfo may be staying...). This weekend it's off to Venice, then 2 a travelling break. Almost got to leave Tuesday night and return Sunday, but that was due to a little misinformation! Damn! Well, back to work... I must admit I used this update as a break from work, or, rather, a procrastination tool :-D

Tuesday April 22, 2003
01:04 PM -0700

A quick spring break wrap-up: Paris was great - beautiful weather every day (as you can see in the pictures), some interesting stuff,beautiful views from the EIffel Tower and other elevated locations (churches, hills, etc). The people there were a lot nicer than everyone at home had built them up to be - the French cleanliness factor was, umm... Well, I'll leave that to your imagination. Florence was ok - rain every day took the luster off the trip. A rail strike in Italy ruined my plans to go to Ostuni in Southern Italy, but it worked out OK because we found a good hostel for 2 additional nights and got to see Pisa and Bologna each for a day. In Bologna, Julia and I were victims of a "shit and run" by some bird... Of course after that, access to laundry facilities was zero - but don't worry, my jacket and hat are getting washed tomorrow (good thing it's nice weather here). Capri was incredible - I'm kind of annoyed I napped from 11 till 4 the first day there since it was the most beautiful weather ever, but there were some mighty obnoxious Italians on the overnight train, so I got no sleep. Took some nice walks/hikes on Capri, even though the sky was always cloudy and hazy, there were still many great views. Perfectly clear water, first time I've seen that since Catalina a few years ago. Missed teh Blue Grotto due to rough water, so now I'll have to make a day trip back to the island after the semester to try again... And to eat some more good food, especially from a tiny place in the city of Capri - I had a fresh brick oven pizza (wooden logs, no gas or anything) that was the dough, oil, oregano and salt - that's it... I'd take that over the best regular pizza any day. From Capri we went straight to Milan on an overnight train, this time with a tiny bit more sleep. SPent a day in Milan walking around seeing some cool sights... Everything was closed, so that wasn't great, but then I didn't feel guilty that I didn't go in everywhere :-) Headed off to Lake Como that night, with some more bad weather awaiting us. On the Lake, we stayed in Menaggio, a town right in the mid-section. Got a day pass for the ferries and checked out Varenna and Bellagio, both beautiful places, along with Menaggio. My favorite was Bellagio, even though, once again, everything was closed for the most part (but this time it was because it was Easter, so that's understandable). Oh yeah - My bed collapsed on Saturday night after being warned that the top bunk partially fell onto the bottom bed the night before and slightly injured someone... That was with no one on the top bunk... After I went to bed, presumably around 1am or so, I was awakened by someone jumping onto the top bunk... I slept crawled up in a little ball with my hands over my head just in case the worst happened. Too bad the place was booked solid or I would have been in another room real fast! Cancelled the plans for the scenic train on Monday due to bad weather (what's to see in fog?), lack of sleep and work that needed to be done, so after leaving the hostel at 8am, we arrived back in Brussels, via Basel and Frankfurt, around 10pm Monday. This week I have a lot of catching up to do, a paper to write, and some trips to plan. This weekend will be quiet, with 2 daytrips to Ostend and Antwerp. Will update more soon! I hope everyone had a Happy Easter/Passover holiday season. Either 1 month and 2 days or 1 month and 9 days till I return... I know you can't wait :-P

Sunday April 20, 2003
12:36 PM -0700

Hey. I'm in Menaggio, IT (on Lake Como) right now... Checkin trains to go back to Brussels... Spring break was great, will update more when I'm not paying 2EUR per 15 mins... Just wanted to let you all know I am still alive! haha... More updates and TONS of pics to come soon! Until then...

Saturday April 12, 2003
11:36 PM -0700

Good morning! I'm still in Florence... Not planned, but there is a train strike that we now get to deal with... No worries, went to Pisa yesterday, going to a museum and then riding around Florence on bikes today, and heading out to Bologna tomorrow AM, catching a midnight train to Naples (Capri). Just met a kid from CIEE, a group that is studying at Vesalius with us Lafayette folks. Kinda random, especially when I was just sittin around in the lobby in my own little world! Anyway, better get a jump on the day before it runs away from me... Talk to you all soon!

Thursday April 10, 2003
11:28 PM -0700

Good morning. It's Friday morning apparently, I don't know where the week went.. Anyway, I'm just waiting for everyone else to wake up, so I figured I'd come online and say hi... Looks like crappy weather again today, not too happy about that - as long as the rain holds out though, we should be able to get a lot done, as we are hoping to rent bikes at least for a few hours. Tomorrow morning it's off to Pisa I go with Julia, then down to Ostuni, while Q and Blaire check out Rome... More updates to come soon!

Thursday April 10, 2003
09:26 AM -0700

Hello from rainy Florence! Arrived at 8am this morning, walked around all day in the pouring rain... Oh well, it's still a great place - between the gelati and pizza, it's amazing! Tomorrow we hope to rent bikes and tour around the city some more, then find a vineyard in the country maybe... We'll see. More updates to come soon...

Monday March 31, 2003
09:07 PM -0800

It's now Tuesday morning. Until the time changes for you guys, I am now 7 hours ahead of you on the East Coast, 10 hours ahead of West Coast. Gettin ready for a French quiz, but I figured I'd just drop a line to say London was great! Thanks to Connie and Miranda who let Julia and I crash at their house - it was great seeing you guys! Brand New had 2 incredible shows with Finch that I went to see... They are returning to London on May 24 - so may I! haha Spring break is coming up this weekend - I have way too much stuff to do before then - so you may not be hearing from me for a while... I'll try to post when I can while on break, but no guarantees... Talk to you all soon!

Monday March 24, 2003
08:58 AM -0800

Hey! Back to school after a long weekend in Interlaken. Skiing was fun (a little painful, but fun...), Top of Europe (12,000 ft high train station) was great. Wish we could have stayed in Balmer's - no more comments on that topic. I'm a little sore, but that's not stopping me from gettin geared up for London this week and spring break the week after!!! Talk to you all soon.

Saturday March 15, 2003
12:24 PM -0800

Hola señoras y señores! We´re in Madrid now - just left the Hard Rock Cafe, and are in an internet cafe. Passed a HUGE anti-war rally that we had seen developing all day - all major streets were closed, it was crazy. But since you´ve probably seen that on the news by now anyhow, that´s that. We saw some pretty cool things so far this weekend. Beautiful weather, great location - we´re having a blast! I think we have decided to live in one of Madrid´s parks for the rest of our time in Europe... They´re so nice and seem so safe (whether they are or not, who knows). The weather has also been very cooperative - 21-28ºC (low 80s)!!! Yay for going south! That´s all for now - Blaire thinks we should all go out tonight, so time for that! Catch up with you again soon... Adios! - Miguel P.S. Las personas aqui no hablan como Sam. Yo puedo entenderlos!! querida, Juls

Monday March 10, 2003
05:35 AM -0800

Oh yeah - another big reason for returning so late last night - stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Paris... Bet ya can't say that has happened to you lately :-P

Monday March 10, 2003
03:09 AM -0800

Got back from Normandy last night at 1:45... Just a little later than the expected 9:30! However, we did see an incredible sunset at Chateau Galliard (home of Richard the Lion Heart).. Definitely check out the picture page in a few days when I get them all up. There's close to 250, but I'll filter them a bit, then write descriptions and post them. If I captured just a tiny part of the atmosphere of the evening, the pictures should be great. Just got my package (thanks mom & dad!) with my digi camera memory bank, so theoretically I can take over 11,000 pictures or 14 hours of video. I can assure you I won't come close to dong either of the two, but it's nice to know I can :-) Yeah, so Normandy was incredible, so much history there, especially US history. Sorry about not posting labels for Brugges yet. I will try to find a map now, and do it for later on today. Until then... Au revoir!

Thursday March 06, 2003
01:50 PM -0800

Hectic plannign going on for spring break... Destinations are finalized: Paris, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Capri, Lake Como, train tour over the Swiss Alps and through Switzerland, arriving in Brussels at 6:45am on Tuesday April - just in time for my 8:30 class! Yee-ha! Now in the process of finding cheap hostels and such... Those postcards I wrote a month ago today - now have stamps... Next step is getting them in the mailbox. Have no fear, they will be leaving Europe soon, via express mail (or I'd beat them home... Express just means "less slow"). Well, this weekend is Normandy with Art class... Should be dead tired for Monday morning. Good thing no 8:30 class! Must go pack - g'nite everyone

Sunday March 02, 2003
01:33 PM -0800

Nice slow weekend here... Home all alone, went out twice with Julia, did some cooking (and some making of messes)... So my dad hears that I cooked lunch for Julia (well, it was 50/50) and dinner for Q, and this is his response over AIM... "hold one minute. whats this i hear ur cooking for the girls. we must sit down and talk. it appears to me your doing something wrong. since when do guys cook for girls and i don't want to hear this is the way europeans do this, bull shit. would rather you not discuss this with brian and/or sammy upon ur return home since they think the nilsons are cool people." hahahaha, I love it. That's my old-school dad for ya. Anyway, keep up to date on my webpage (and maybe I'll update my pictures!). There will be an interesting one coming up soon just for Q... Let's say Luke played a little trick on her, and we want the whole world's opinion! Until then....

Thursday February 27, 2003
03:51 PM -0800

Well folks, there is one purpose for this posting... If you can find Gordon Scotch Ale in the US, try one... The only beer I have found that I like here. After wandering around Brussels for over an hour, we came across this lil bar and I got one - good stuff. So yeah, find it, and be merry! haha Goodnight

Wednesday February 26, 2003
09:52 AM -0800

Hey. I'm back! I've been going nuts trying to book Spring Break and other weekend trips and have totally neglected to update this part of the site. We're having some beautiful weather here, around 50 and sunny two days in a row! Spring break plans are almost finalized: Paris, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Capri, Sicily, ________. I can't wait. We booked our hotel today (www.ilgirasole.com) - sooo excited! Pictures from Brugges are up, but no captions yet. I haven't had time to sit down with a map and figure out what everything is. Well, that's all for now. I have to go back to studying for my French midterm. I think study abroad students should be immune from tests (or at least being assigned a grade...). Talk to you soon!

Monday February 17, 2003
01:26 PM -0800

Just got in from a 3 day trip to Amsterdam. It was aright, nothing too great... Although the museums were very impressive. I think we can all agree it was a little bit too long of a weekend, which took a little bit of the shine off it. Pictures will be up when I get a chance - I have a lot of work to do this week.

Friday February 14, 2003
03:06 AM -0800

Oh yeah - today is Valentines Day... HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to those of you it applies to ;-)

Friday February 14, 2003
03:05 AM -0800

Bonjour! Map is up (where I've been/where I want to go), so check that out from the Brussels main page. Last night was a pretty cool wine party - I'm a fan of that :) This weekend brings me to Amsterdam on an Art field trip - should be interesting, will be back Monday night at 9. Next weekend it's back to Antwerp for a day trip and also a day trip to Brugges. Weekend after that I may be heading back to Koln for a night for Carnival festivities :-D Spring break plans are pretty solid: Paris, Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Capri, Amalfi Coast and Rome for Easter (it's all in a big line, so it'll work out nicely). Back to my work that I am choosing to do a little on the early side today - crazy! Keep in touch!

Monday February 10, 2003
12:14 PM -0800

Hey! Sorry once again I've been falling behind on updates. This weekend was a little slow, being that I was still a little sick. I did manage to get out Saturday night though... Cool little cafe/bar thing. As Ed was nice enough to point out, "they're very relaxed." I wasn't totally convinced of the relaxed nature of the place until I ordered a drink and got it 40 minutes later! 1 Strengths test down, 2 to go. Planned my trip to London today, almost finalized. I'll be checkin out Brand New at the Astoria on March 26th AND 29th, good deal. Anywho, off to do some work that I seriously neglected this weekend (hey, when ya see the waffle truck, you HAVE TO jump off the metro and waste some time!). Song of the weekend: Vivo Per Lei... Yes, "Lei" - do YOU know what that means? haha. Goodnight!

Monday February 10, 2003
12:08 PM -0800

Thursday February 06, 2003
07:29 AM -0800

Sittin at home with the flu, writing postcards... EMail me if you want one and think I'm willing to spend 85 cents to amil you one! :-P

Wednesday February 05, 2003
08:37 AM -0800

Hey. Sorry about the lack of updates recently. I've had a cold since before Antwerp/Ghent, and it finally went away yesterday... Last night, my throat started killing me! So, long story short, I am on a bunch of weird European medications to get me better. It's not like the US where 1 pill fixes everything! Anyway, other than being sick, everything is good. First test of the semester coming up on Monday in Strengths... Fun fun fun! Just started filling out postcards, so if you want one, email me your address (or IM, or call my cell). Talk to you soon.

Saturday February 01, 2003
01:56 PM -0800

Just got back fom Ghent. It's been snowing a lot here (by their standards)... Roads are prety bad, but travelling by bus and train is no problemo! Pictures are up to date, and all should be working now. I was told that a few of the old pages were having problems, so I deleted it all and started from scratch... Should be good, sorry for any problems. Must finish up a presentation for tomorrow, then I'm off to bed (to dream that our trip is cancelled and I can go sledding!!!!!). Night!

Thursday January 30, 2003
07:05 AM -0800

All Germany pics are up! Sorry it took so long, but I've been swamped with work... I still am, but I just stole a little time to write all the descriptions and stuff. Hope you like the pics. We're off to Gent and Antwerp this weekend, so more pics will be arriving next week!

Monday January 27, 2003
12:38 AM -0800

Back to school. Germany updates will be posted as soon as I have a minute. Sorry for the delay, but I do have school work to do...

Thursday January 23, 2003
12:33 AM -0800

Thank you Provost! (That's what you say after a really nice dinner on Lafayette!) Wow, I definitely went to the best seafood place ever last night. Continuing my efort to try new food here, I had mussels with cream sauce and Belgian beer. Good stuff. In America, you get a dozen mussels for a meal... Not here - basically, a bucket full of them. Anyway, just wanted to share the good word on the restaurant, but now I forgot the name of it. If you're in Brussels and want to go check it out, let me know and I'll tell you how to get there. Back to homework/planning my weekend trip to Cologne and Namur, possibly. See ya! Check back on Monday for updated pictures!

Tuesday January 21, 2003
03:19 PM -0800

Moved into my new room today. DSL connection, so I'll be online a lot more often than I have been. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTY!!! Sorry I didn't get to have a drink for you... But the trams stop running at 12, so I would have had to also walk home about 10 miles :)

Tuesday January 21, 2003
02:52 AM -0800

My apologies to my "host cat," Gerry, for calling you Jerry. I have been informed that Gerry is the correct spelling for females.

Monday January 20, 2003
04:29 AM -0800

Update on train to Luxembourg: It's now Saturday and I'm on the train to Luxembourg. Left without any major hitches, and should be arriving there in about 2 hours. Last night was fun-Luke and I were left at home alone. Of course I had to go get food 20 minutes after we had dinner (some things never change, no matter how much I eat for dinner), so I went downstairs and was quite surprised when I saw a mouse... I called Jerry (the cat) over for a little dessert, but as soon as she saw the mouse, she ran lke hell out of the room. Good cat! :-/ As expected, the mouse also ran away before Luke and I could get it. Later on, Mechthild and Luke heard the mouse, got it into a deep boot and returned it to the field behind the house. Jerry then wanted to go out - I wonder why?!?! Just thought I should post a long, drawn out, pretty boring story so you don't forget what it's like with me around! haha At least I didn't stop in the middle and forget what I was talking about :-) Otherwise, life is good - now have Fridays off, so my weekend starts on Thursday at 11am :-D Time to doze a little - will write more (aren't you excited?!) on my trip back to Brussels. Later! After the trip: Well, that was a pretty cool weekend. I had a good time walking around checking out the historic Luxembourg. Some pretty cool engineering feats if you ask me! Definitely check out the pictures, they are key! The hostel was pretty cool, except for being woken up at 2am and 5am. Well, there were these sketchy blankets that everyone either threw on the floor or wrapped up in a sheet to they never made direct contact with it in the night. Anyway, I have to get to bed (it’s Sunday night around 12) for my 8:30 class tomorrow, but Luxembourg was definitely cool. Swiss Alps in 3 weeks (I hope), Antwerp and Ghent in 2, and ________ this weekend. Need ideas! Talk to you later! (Thanks to everyone who has been sending me emails. I enjoy hearing from you!)

Thursday January 16, 2003
03:27 AM -0800

Well, last night was interesting... At 1:30am, a car lost control right in front of my house after speeding around a corner, spun out and totalled 2 cars, a small brick wall and a really nice garden right next door. So, of course cops and ambulances and all came and weren't gone until 3:30. Everyone was OK, which is good. Classes are going well, One more class to wrap up the week, then it's off to Luxembourg for the weekend! Pictures will definitely be up on Monday or Tuesday. Email is back working again... If you received the same email from me 2 or 3 times, I apologize, but it was pretty messed up for a few days. Talk to you all soon!

Tuesday January 14, 2003
02:35 AM -0800

Update for evening of January 13 Well, I never did put on the freshman 15... But, the Brussels 25 is souding within reach now - lots of great food every night here! And then all the tempting Belgian and Brussels waffle stands throughout the day. Wow, I feel it! At least I've found a good place to jog nearby, so once the temperature goes up a bit, I will hopefully have enough motivation to go out and run. A few people have asked me when a good time to call is... Basically, anytime between 1AM Eastern and 6 or 7pm Eastern, unless it's a weekend, then 9pm Eastern. (That's 10pm Pacific to 3 or 4pm Pacific, or 6pm Pacific on weekends.) My phone will be off (or at least on silent) during classes and when I'm sleeping, so feel free to leave messages whenever you have an urge! haha Besides the smoking, another thing I don't like here is that if I want to see someone, it's not a "I'll see you in 10 minutes," but rather, "I'll walk down and catch a tram, we can meet at the station in a half hour." Boooo to that, but yay to future days at the park ;-) Time to pack up for class tomorrow, then head off to sleepy land. Night

Monday January 13, 2003
08:20 AM -0800

First day of classes is over... Still need to buy texts though. It seems like I'm still on vacation, but hey, that's not a bad thing, is it?

Monday January 13, 2003
02:21 AM -0800

Outgoing email is a trick to send... I have 17 emails here waiting to be sent, so if you wrote to me, chances are I have prepared something to send, but it's hung up on my system until I can send mail. Sorry! (I have retrieved all of my email though)

Monday January 13, 2003
02:02 AM -0800

Date: Sunday, January 12, 2003 I had this whole long update ready to be posted, then it disappeared on me… So here’s a shortened version. Friday night was pretty cool – went to the old and new O’Reillys and then to Mappamondo. Lucked out and had my host brother along for the trip, so he gave Luke and I (and others) a ride back home after the metro stopped running. Saturday was a lazy day, spent lots of time getting back to loads of emails. Today Mechthild (my host mother) took Luke and I to a park nearby (see picture page for some pics). Beautiful place. We also picked up some freshly made Brussels waffles (not Belgian waffles… there is a difference). Good stuff. It’s off to bed now so I can get up for class at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Oh boy… Night!

Friday January 10, 2003
07:45 AM -0800

What a crazy day today... After spending 2 hours darting around the city on trams and subways (technically, Metros), we went on a bus tour of Brussels. Got out a few times, took some pics... INCREDIBLE pictures will be posted probably tomorrow... So check back! Since I didn't post anything last night, we played a little pool, nothing too exciting. Pictures from that will also be up tomorrow (hopefully). Time to head out... Keep in touch everyone. Talk to you soon! PS - My cell phone number is actually 32-485-42-3031... Some technicalities about calling from the US, ya drop the 0's in the country and city codes. Adios! (Bar-hopping tonight :-P).

Thursday January 09, 2003
02:05 AM -0800

Date correction: January 8, 2003 Today was orientation day 1… Beat Lafayette’s freshman orientation! After some administrative junkiness and 2 pointless tours, we all headed out for cell phones and cards. Fun stuff trying to bargain with a Belgian… It just doesn’t work. At night the study abroad class headed over to Tavernia and got some drinks while getting to know each other. Red wine =/= good. After some fun transportation shenanigans, we were back by 12:45… Over an hour after we set out to return home. I’m out… Until tomorrow! PS – No luggage yet :-( PPS – Cell # 032-0485-42-3031 Talk to you soon I hope! (6 hour time difference from the East Coast – I am 6 hours later than you. Feel free to call anytime and leave a message, but keep in mind that my midnight is your 6PM.) Call as often as you would like – it doesn’t cost me a dime to receive! Goodnight!

Thursday January 09, 2003
02:04 AM -0800

Date correction: January 7, 2003 Well, I made it! I’m in Brussels, settling into my host family’s home. Everything is going OK so far, except for the fact that Lufthansa was nice enough to misplace one of my bags… AAAAHHHH!!!! I better get it back soon… I kinda need it :-/ Anyway, orientation starts tomorrow (Wednesday), so hopefully that will bring some good times with it. That’s all for now.

Tuesday December 10, 2002
02:24 PM -0800

Last Brussels meeting was today! Less than 4 weeks till showtime! :-)