Its been an adventure

---

Hello all!
Sorry that it has been so long, but I have been very busy. Let me start from last week...
I bought a bike! It is a boy's bright green bike, but it was cheap and it is amazing. I have joined the group of angry locals that rings bike bells at unsuspecting tourists walking in the streets. It seems like public shaming is very popular with the Dutch and I am embracing that custom with great ease. The bike has enabled me to see a lot of the city that otherwise I would probably not be able to walk to.

Classes are going well. I am currently taking International Human Rights and International Criminal Law. The first is taught by a Yale professor, who seems to be very intelligent but it being an early class he tends to drag on. My other professor teaches at the University of Amsterdam. He is Dutch and has a wonderful accent. He is very engaging and informative. The entire program took a trip to the Hague last weekend and we got to see the International Criminal Court and the Peace Palace with the ICJ and the International Court of Arbitration. THe Palace was beautiful. It is made up of gifts given by countries around the world. THe lighting is from one town and the marble floor from another and so on and so forth. We were able to watch a brief amount of the proceedings at the International Criminal Court. President Charles Taylor was there, which was crazy. There was a defendant giving testimony regarding his experience as a soldier in one of the camps that was responsible for the mass slaughter of peoples in Siera Leone. Here is some information about the indictment: http://www.sc-sl.org/Taylor-casesummary.html. He was literally a few feet away, dressed in a very nice grey suit and flipping through pages widely like he was going to find his escape plan or something. It was quite interesting.

After we left the Peace Palace I met up with my friend Devin from Tulane law. He is currently working in the victims and witnesses unit in the ICC. We were able to go to the beach, which was beautiful. They have all of these wonderful beach clubs right on the sand. We spent Friday night just sitting by a fire at one of the clubs sipping on some beers and enjoying the music and peacefulness of the water. It was beautiful. On Saturday we took a canoe trip along the canals of some wonderful park in the middle of the Hague. They had just finished a rose festival so there were roses everywhere and the smell was amazing. We hung out with some of his co- workers on Saturday night. They were a hodge podge group of people from all over. They were very interesting and we had a great time. Sunday morning I took the train back to Amsterdam.

Well, that is generally what has been going on. I know that I need to post pictures and I will... eventually. I would like to give a shout out to all of my girls having birthdays. I am so sad that I am missing birthday season, but no worries great souvenirs are coming back to you all. I have been playing lots of soccer and have been told multiple times now that I am very good for a girl. I am hoping that by the end of the summer they will just be telling me I am good and leaving out the "for a girl part." I love you all and hope that everyone is having a great summer.

Julia

---

Comments

[rebecca farinas]

Bike Life
Hey Jules, Found your latest blog interesting. I bought a bike also, although now I have to move mine to Illinois. I will be leaving New York on August 5. I am eager to move on. Hey I went to the Berlin Wall yesterday, well the Berlin Wall via NYC. Three huge petitions of the original wall, fantastic grapheetie and all has been imported to a shady park here to Midtown and a friend and I had lunch there on Sunday. New York is still hip. Anyway enough about me, it so great to hear about your classes and the amazing experience at the Peace Palace. Big fish stuff for sure. Keep us all posted and remember all of us in your thoughts and prayers. Love, Mom

[shelly stevens]

Go Girl
Julia, Tell those boys they aren't being beat by a woman, they are losing to a girl! Sounds like a great time! Have you gone to Ann Frank's house yet? Keith said it's not to be missed! Have fun! Aunt Shelly

[Uncle Jay]

You'll always be a girl
Look Julia those guys will always see you as a girl, they are incapable of seeing you differently. My girl, when you look the way you do and got all the moves ,goals will be scored and men will be left standing looking confused. Well you know how this family is, so I'm off to work a gas well in West Virginia for 30 days. Love you.......Peace!

[AJ]

i miss you
hey jules, I am still so jealous you are there. have you gone to the heineken factory? I second going to the anne frank house. AMAZING. i hate that you bought a bike, because i hate the bikers...but that's probably because I was a walker. anyhoo, glad you are drinking european beer. isn't it so much better than american beer? man, i miss that stuff. get duvel...great beer. keep kicking butt in soccer. (im keeping this short because i have to be PG on this blog thing). I miss you!

[rebecca farinas]

Hey Jules
Just checking in to see how your doing. I really miss you but of course I hope your having a wonderful experience. Take good care and let us know how summer days and nights in Amsterdam are faring. Love Mom

[shelly]

Birthday
Happy! Happy, happy! It's 2 days after your birthday! Happy, Happy! Have a great day! Love ya', Aunt Shelly

[Peeper]

Do I look human today?
Ju-- I wanted to hollar and tell your Division E family misses thier red-headed step child/foreign exchange student. Also, I had a "do I look human" moment a couple of Fridays ago when I forgot to apply deodorant!!! Yikes! In my defense... I had a wild night playin in a kickball-flip cup tournament... yada yada yada... and I neglected to put on deodorant before work. Needless to say it was SweatFest 2008! (Some background: I joined an adult kickball league that plays every Thursday night. After the game, the team we play in kickball, we play in flip-cup. Its basically the b[r]e[a]st thing I've ever done and has brought meaning to my joyless life without you) "Shoulders, chest, pants, shoes" --Peep aka H-A-R-M-O-N-Y aka J-O-A-N-N (this never gets old)