All these places feel like home...: December 2006

Last weekend was like a breath of fresh air…

It felt so good to be with someone what knew me! Plus, I strolled around with Ms. Arnold, who is quite the gal (Kim is a close friend of the family and kind of my career idol).

But I will begin with getting to Maastricht, Netherlands: Thursday night I took the bus to Madrid (6 hours on a bus wouldn’t have been to bad but the first 3 hours I was stuck sitting next to an older gentleman that didn’t believe in deodorant!) Once I was at the airport in Madrid I took a flight to Brussels. (And now the best part) Kim had given me instructions how to get to her house from Brussels---which trains to take, the departure times, where to switch trains, how to get to her house from the train station---and her phone number. Ironically, I could not get a hold of her so I had to just follow the instructions. (Hahaha) I felt like “such a big girl” figuring it all out alone. And every person that I asked for help was incredibly helpful. In one of the trains I had a great conversation with a Dutch biology teacher (she was in her mid-twenties). So, eventually Friday night I ended up at Kim’s doorstep!

Saturday, Kim and I decided to be adventurous and hit up 3 countries. Kim drove to this famous (and very touristy) park where the borders of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands come together. We walked around in the park and then decided to head to Germany. In all three countries there are “Christmas Markets” and in the Eiffel region of Germany there is a small town with famous Christmas Market. It was something else trying to figure out the road signs in Dutch/German on the way (hahaha)- we were guess which one meant enter and exit! Nonetheless, we made it and the town was so cozy: the buildings close together, a creek running through the center, and at night the whole town was lit up! Kim and I went from shop to shop, drank hot wine (it’s a specialty there), and ate a popular German snack (hot mushrooms cooked in garlic and other spices).

Later that night, Kim and I headed back to the Netherlands and went to the Maastricht center. Until Christmas, Maastricht hosts a Christmas carnival with craft and food stands and a few rides. We ate tons of homemade french-fries and took all kinds of goofy pictures. There were people ice-skating around this gigantic Christmas tree but it was kind of drizzly out and we knew that if we fell our pants would be totally soaked…so we opted to put a rain check on the ice-skating (actually, Kim was probably going on a date there-hahaha) and instead Kim wanted to show me her favorite Dutch venue. Then Sunday was very relaxing: we walked around the town, rode on the Ferris wheel, and ate homemade waffles.

Last weekend revived my spirit: the whole atmosphere, the deeper conversations, and the comfort of being with a friend. Kim and I had all kinds of very random conversations about Sevilla, life, career goals…thinking about them still makes me smile. I honestly am tickled pink with thoughts of traveling with Kelly, Munson, and Emily…I can’t wait.

I have one more week left of school and then I am done for the semester-CRAZY! My prayers and love to you all. I miss you guys so much and can not wait until I see you.

God Be With You All~