Life is pretty mellow around here. Parent Teacher Conferences mean we did not have a full week of school with the students; I view days without kids almost like days off and convinced the other interns that we should carve pumpkins and go bowling. Staying up a little later on a school night is not quite as detrimental when have to talk to parents as when you have to talk to four year olds. Every week my fellow interns and I get together for dinner and one of our three apartments cooks for everybody on a rotating schedule. I take Intern Dinner Night very seriously and put way too much time and effort into it but I always have a great time. This week I added pumpkin carving to the menu and it was a huge success. I completely enjoyed living in Germany with my fellow Spanish speaking floor mates but the concept of Autumnal celebrations like Halloween and Thanksgiving. I could have forced it on them but it just would not have been the same. This year I have a plethora of North Americans, UKers, and the occasional Aussie or Kiwi who has no problem joining in the fun. Here are photos of Intern Dinner Night if you are curious.

I cannot really explain it but bowling just keeps popping into my brain this fall. I have been encouraging others to awaken their inner bowler; this week three of the interns caved and we headed out for some post school fun. We were expecting your average dark and slightly dingy neighborhood bowling alley but instead it was fancy with a full service bar, plush seats, and a fancy wood paneled shoe room. I have a slightly competitive nature and it was awakened in bowling. The rules of the game are bizarre and fascinating. If you bowl three strikes in a row I understand that it is called a turkey and if you get a strike on the first bowl you do not get to go again which is kind of a bummer. I must admit that I struggle with the slight difference between throwing the bowling ball down the lane and actually releasing it so it does not dent the floor.

Saturday dawned cloudy and chilly but my roommate and I braved the chill and headed to the nearby town of Antwerp. I have been meaning to visit for so time but had trouble getting it together. Many of my travels within Belgium and Europe are to smallish cities and towns where I can over a considerable amount of ground in a day and see the majority of what I am interested in seeing. I forgot that this is not always possible and was a little overwhelmed by Antwerp. It feels like a small town but there is a lot to see and do. Antwerp is known for diamonds and it is believed that roughly 80% of the world’s diamonds were cut by Antwerpian hands. Personally I did not see enough diamonds to satisfy my lustful eye so I can assure you I will be back and I have to get to the Diamond Museum.

We have October break coming up and school will be closed over Halloween. The interns got together and threw a great Halloween party. There was a theme; all costumes must start with the letter “H”. Before this I do not know that I had ever gone to a Halloween Party with rules and I was pretty sure people would wimp out and just go as “humans” in plain clothes but they surprised me and went above and beyond the call of “H” duty. I had a revelation as I was falling to asleep one night and went as America’s favorite “Hockey Mom”. I borrowed clothes from one of the teachers, bought a pair of low prescription rectangular glasses, and had my fellow interns apply layer upon layer of hairspray to complete the transformation. I even one a prize for creativity, how cool is that?

amy