Just because Kruidvat has medication for every ailment known to man, that doesn't mean they sell pills for homesickness...

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I woke up this morning super homesick with yet another headache. That's 3 days in a row. Needless to say, I decided it was time to go to the pharmacy & look for cold medication as a preventive measure. I mean, for about 9 years straight I've either had the flu or bronchitis or some other horrible cold during the 2nd week of February. It's like clockwork. The problem is, once I got there - I had no idea what to even look for. I had to text Cenay & ask for help because I felt like an idiot asking one of the workers there, haha. Cenay recommended "Otrivin" nose spray; ibuprofen for fevers; & "strepsils" for sore throats... I managed to find an equivalent of Vick's vap-o-rub so I definitely got that. I also loaded up on tissues because this was the first place I saw that had big boxes of Kleenex brand. Don't get me wrong - the tissues I have now serve their purpose, but if I get sick, the skin on my nose will thank me for not blowing it with tissues that have the same texture as sandpaper, lol.

Today was actually SUNNY in Maastricht! I couldn't believe it, so I decided to take advantage of it & walk around a little bit. (Plus, I was in dire need to get out of my apartment where I constantly sit & read). I thought that if I was out & about it would take my mind off of my homesickness, & thankfully, I was right. I walked down to the Onze Lieve Vrouw Basilica. The Romanesque church is one of the oldest in the city & is built on top of an ancient Roman temple. It took about 3 centuries for it to stand as it does today; its oldest part dates back to the 10th century. It actually resembles a fortress, but it's beautiful. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take photos of the inside, but it's absolutely beautiful. I couldn't go much further than the front entryway because I got there when a service was being conducted. Regardless, it's definitely beautiful & all of the candles make it even more majestic.

On my way back, I found an electronics store that sold Nintendo DS stuff. I was SO RELIEVED because my battery died & my American adaptor wouldn't charge it. Luckily they had European chargers so my DS will be able to provide me with entertainment yet again very soon. 😊

When I got back & was eating lunch, I decided to flip on the TV & see what was on the programming during the daytime (because I usually only watch TV in the evenings or @ night before bed). There are a TON of infomercials & home-shopping shows. I actually saw commercials for a lot of the same things that we have in the US - a Snuggie, the Ab Circle Pro, & that belt thing you put on that sends electric pulses into your abs to supposedly give them a workout. I was cracking up. Also, there are a lot of kids shows. There is a Nickelodeon channel that plays all of the same shows as in America, but they're all dubbed in Dutch. At first I thought that was weird because all other American shows are in English with Dutch subtitles, but then it made sense to me that the kids watching those shows either can't read or are just learning to read. That makes sense.

Since school started, blogs from here on out will probably be few & far between, merely for the fact that I have no life outside of European Criminal Law & International/European Environmental Law. The assignments for both classes are upwards of 100 pages of reading for each session with a series of questions to prepare for the group discussion. As you can imagine, it leaves very little time to actually do anything that is of any interest to others. However, I'll do my best to blog regularly for those of you living vicariously through me. 😊

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Photos

Onze Lieve Vrouw Basilica
Main entrance to the church.

Onze Lieve Vrouw Basilica
View from the back of the church.

Comments

[Ah Nuz]

Very goof
I like the goofness of goodg