It's been a whirwind since I returned on January 3, but I have not forgotten that I need to still write about the last days in Paris and my last days in The Netherlands! I will as soon as finals are over...March 12. Better late than never!... read more

Hello all, This will not be a normal blog that I usually write as I am way to far behind on the events of the past week including a day trip to Cologne, Germany. But I just wanted to write and say that I made it to Paris and I'm in heaven. I've spoken only French to all the vendors and the public when I had questions. I really love it here! I will write when I return to Amsterdam on Friday, December 22. Today I saw Monmartre, parts of the latin quarter/bohemian area, and also Les Deux Moulins Cafe where they shot scenes for my favorite movie, Amelie. Tomorrow if there's time I'll go have a cafe there. I am seriously in love and I don't know if I'll sleep tonight. I'll update later with ... read more

This was my last week of school and on Thursday, Susanna invited me to go to a lunch at the faculty club with the head of the Communications dept and also my friend Bro, who wants to go to Seattle next year. I thought the faculty club was just a cafeteria for faculty members but it was a complete restaurant with waiters and table linens! Quite cool and I ordered a goat cheese and honey salad that was great, but still not as good as my mom's salads. =) We talked about Seattle, UT, and the differences, etc etc. After lunch, I rushed to my last mulitcultural class to give a presentation about our topic. Andra and I went first and I was a bit nervous since I hadn't given a presentation in a while. But ... read more

I met Keegan at noon at the Flying Pig again. It looks like a really great hostel - friendly staff and there is free computers with internet for people to use. There's also a lounging area with pillows (no shoes allowed) where lots of people would hang out, drink some coffee, smoke, read, or listen to music. We took the metro (subway) to Waterlooplein, where they have a great market that sells mostly clothing, smoke accessories, purses, tapestries, and jewelry. In every market there's always a lot of the same types of things: Sherpa clothing, itchy but beautiful looking wool hats, irresistable purses with those little shiney mirrors stitched on the outside, and so on. The market also has a flea market section where people spread out their junk on the ground (sometimes on flimsy, slanted ... read more

In between all my travels and day trips, I've actually been going to school, believe it or not! This past Saturday, I met up with Nina for a weekly coffee break. We decided to try out a new cafe called Le Monde (means "The World" in French). The place was quieter and more like a restaurant than a bar/cafe. We both just had a cappucino and the bill came out to 3.30 euros. I only had a 20 euro bill and so I gave it to the waiter guy and Nina gave me some change. The waiter returned with my change and left. I looked down at my change: one 20 euro bill, one 10 euro bill, and a 1 euro coin... I'm so confused! I stare down at the change trying to figure out what ... read more