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Published: August 24th 2006
First beers!
AO and I at an Irish pub in Brugge. It's our first beer of the trip, and it was wonderful. I'm drinking a Belsh beer, Brusses Zot, something about the Belsh being crazy, and AO has Duvel... ummm Duvel...Hey friends, I didn’t get lost, just been busy and with little internet connection. Where to start, where to start. Well, we had no problems with flights or luggage, so that was a relief. Annette picked us up at the airport and then the next day we (AO and I, with chauffer Pascal and friend Zahree) left for Brugge Belgium. We had lots-o-fun there, including going up a belfry tower, visiting a brewery (with free beer at the end of course), playing Frisbee in a park while the boys played sticks, eating kebabs- our new favorite Turkish food, and exploring our hostel, Charlie Rockets. We went to the coast one day and had fun looking at the water and all the weird Belsh public art. Driving back to lux was an experience because Pascal got lost and we ended up in Brussles and almost got squished by two big vans. AO and I just laughed. We spent some time with Annette in Luxemburg, and it was wonderful. Quality time was spent chilling in Wiltz, eating TONS of super food like homemade pizza and crepes for bfast. We got too see the Vianden castle lit up at night and it’s gorgeous.
Pascal loves maps
the boys had no idea where we were going in Brugge, even though it was their job to get directions. so after asking a nice Belsh (he must have been Dutch) they found a map. Pascal was our navigator the rest of the trip. On our way to Heidelberg early on Monday morning, we got on trains and buses without problems, other than giggling in every stop that we had to haul our huge bags around in. We had stairs at every stop, and the bags are heavy and cumbersome to get up steps. We probably looked pretty funny. I called my supervisor when we got into a town that is very close to H-berg, and told her we were there. After 2 hours of AO and I sitting outside the train station and playing travel scrabble, I went back in to check, and she had sent someone to pick us up at the Hberg train station instead. I was pretty mad, considering we then had to figure out how to get to H-berg, and yea. We got in too late to start getting our passes and stuff, so Tuesday was 6 hours of army paperwork, And the army is so efficient…. No.
We are living in a 4-bedroom apartment with a girl from Washington and one from Michigan. They are both very nice and I think we will get along well. We are talking of trips and such, so it should be
Drinks!
Frist drinks, AO has whiskey cause she's hard core, and beer of course. good! The apartments are way nicer than I expected, and even having to pay a little for them doesn’t seem so bad now. We are all close enough to walk to school, and busses and the strass will take us basically wherever we want to go. AO and I plan on exploring them this weekend, to get to know H-berg a little bit, and see the castle and downtown.
I started school today, and let me tell you it was a long day. We had a 3 hour long meeting this morning, which was a lot of sitting and info. There is a new principal at my school (Patrick Henry Elementary School if you didn’t know) and she had lots to say. The school is huge, 1100 kids. I am in the 1st grade, and there are 6 other 1st grades right now, and maybe one more coming. My teacher is super. She’s very nice and welcoming. We are still a little unorganized, but it’s still early. I already have a job, it’s a big wall bulletin board, so maybe those two years of RA boards will come in handy 😊 I am excited to see what the school
Giant Duval!
Pascal wanted it. year will bring, and can’t wait to meet the little kiddos. I’m not biting at the bit to start teaching, but you know. It’ll come.
Things I’ve learned:
Ice tea is bubbly, or really sweet
They have fire hoses instead of extinguishers
Ketchup in Belgium cost like $1
Wireless internet is really hard to get in our apartment
Calling from Europe with out a land line is expensive
Steal condiments from hostels and anywhere else possible
The army thinks everything is a privilege
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Mallory
non-member comment
I'm glad things seem to be going pretty smoothly! And also that the apartment is worth the surprise rent you have to pay. I look forward to more updates about beer and condiments in the future!