---

* Para traducir todo el texto, ve a Free Translation (haga el copiar y pegar).
* Per tradurre tutto il testo, vai su Free Translation (fai il copiare e incolla).

Hello all, hope you're doing great!

The last few weeks.
The last few weeks I've been working a lot, and I'm still doing so. Since two weeks ago I'm working also in a call-center in the evening, which means that I'm making very long days. I leave home around 8:15 and I'm back around 22:00-22:30. Only during the weekends I have some time off to do other things, go to the city, visit family, go out, fly online on IVAO ;) etc. I've spent too much money during my last few weeks in Holland, which means that I'll really have to live really cheap during these last days: not going out, not eating outside etc. When I leave for Spain and Italy next week, I'll have to make sure not to spent more money than I have on my budget for this journey.

Brussels, Belgium.
Three weeks ago I made a short trip to Brussels, Belgium, together with my sister Caresse. We went by bus. The city is nice, but I must say that cities like Gent and Brugge are far nicer than Brussels. We arrived near Brussels North station, which is not located in the best neighbourhood. Here you could see a lot of prostitution...girls in windows, like in Amsterdam. Many strange figures walking around the area....didn't seem to be very safe. We walked around the city and saw a lot. Caresse was pretty tired of walking, lol. We took also the metro two times. The metro system is good, but definitely needs some urgent renovation. Like the other two cities that I've mentioned, Brussels has also lots of old and antique buildings but also many modern, high buildings which you won't find in the other cities I mentioned. The famous Grand Place square (Grote Markt) is also a must-see, with many people and terrace's, and of course we went to meet the famous Manneken Pis...a statue of a little boy pissing without stopping, and also the famous landmark the Atomium. I think I would like to visit Brussels once more and to see more of it, and to experience the nightlife. That would be somewhere in the future. But I enjoyed it, especially because Caresse was with me....she had a few days off from her work and really wanted to go somewhere with me...but not too far. So that's why we decided to do this.

Öberhausen, Germany.
Last weekend I was in Öberhausen, western Germany, where I went to visit Christian and Tata. I met Chris back in 2004 during an International volleyball tournament in Rotterdam and since then we kept in touch. In 2005 I went to visit him in Germany and after that we met in Thailand as well....where we spent the new year 2005-2006 in Bangkok together with Tata, the Thai girl he's now married with. In summer 2006 I also spent 3 weeks in Germany and had a good time and I saw some parts of western Germany. I went just for the weekend to see them again, and his sibblings and friends. We didn't do anything special....we want to a handball game of Carsten, his little brother, and we spent time at home where friends came by and we had some drinks. I also saw Oliver, his other little brother who is living now on his own, and his mother as well. Didn't see Sonia, his only sister. On January 24th they'll celebrate their first anniversary in Thailand and they are all going, except Carsten and Sonia: Oli, the mother and the boyfriend, the friends Patrick and Florian. If I'll be able to make it, I'll go too!

Spain & Italy
Next week I'll leave from Eindhoven to Madrid, Spain for a few days. Then I'll go to Italy and spend a total of 11 days. Six days in Piemonte (Torino and the area northwest of Torino) and five days in Milano. I'll be meeting with Stefano and Fabio in Piemonte, and with Matteo and Luca in Milano. These are the Italians that I met in Croatia back in August and they invited me to spent a few days in northern Italy. Can't wait to go, I'm sure I'll have a good time there like I had with them in Croatia, and of course it will be good to practice some Italian again. After this I'll visit Paul in Girona, Spain, where I will spend about 5 days. I studied together with Paul and he also went to do his practices in Curaçao in 2003. After this I'll go for a weekend to Pamplona, where I will visit Luis and Adrianna. I met them in Florence, Italy, back in July and I told them about my plans of going to Girona. They found out that I'll be in Spain and they invited me the come over for a few days if I had the chance to do so. After Pamplona I'll spend a few days in Barcelona, from where I will fly back to Amsterdam.

One week in Holland in November.
Once back I will work a few hours again at Luzac, maybe at the call-center as well...to save some extra little money...every little bit is important! Two days after I arrive, Francesca, an Italian girl, will visit me that weekend for about 4 days. She's from Rome and she never came to Holland before. I'll show her Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Holland's two largest cities. I know her from a website of penfriends, since 2004 I think, and we've been corresponding with each other since. This year I didn't hear for a long time from her, and that's why I didn't meet her in Rome. I went to her address, but she wasn't there. When I was back in Holland last month, I saw her on msn and she told me that she was at her hometown in the summer (somewhere in eastern Italy, in Abruzzo or Marche) and that she's not living at the same address in Rome anymore. "Maybe" she'll come with a friend, otherwise she'll come alone.

Hong Kong & Australia
Two days after she leaves, I'll leave to Hong Kong, where I'll spend one whole day and then to Sydney, Australia. Now almost everything is ready: the visa, travel insurance etc etc. I still have just a few paperwork to do in Holland and them I'm done. The real challange will start and of course I hope that everything goes well, that I'll find a job, get to know nice people, make friends, have a good time and that God will always be with me during this adventure. For the first 4 nights in Sydney I have a place to stay already, and during the first days I'll need to open a bank-account, get a social security numer (sofi-nummer) etc. and then...start searching for jobs and a place to stay (shared accomodation). My CV doesn't look bad at all, so I'm confident that I must get a job pretty easy there! In the beginning I'll take whatever I find, even if I'll need to clean...I'll start with that, meanwhile I'll continue to search for something else. I'm going just before the high-season starts, when many other working-holidayers will arrive in Australia, which means that probably there will be more jobs available. After Australia I have a ticket to make a stop-over in Bangkok, from where I would really like to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam and visit that country...and a visit to Laos is also my wish, after hearing about the great stories that Christian and Tata told me about Laos. But everything depends on how things will go in Australia and how much I'll be able to save!

I made a few new videos on YouTube. You can watch them if you want and/or when you have the time to do so...here are the links:

dushi Curacao
Flight Amsterdam-Copenhagen and vacation in Copenhagen & Sweden
Flight Stockholm-Rome & vacation in Italy
Work-vacation in Croatia
Flight Amsterdam-Kiev and vacation in Ukraine


Ok that's all for now!!! Take care all and God bless you all!!!

Elton

---