Dear all, does it feel like 2008 passed by in a blur or what?

Dear all, I cannot afford to go to Italy every weekend so several weekends ago I convinced a few of the interns to go check out the authentic Christmas Markets of Germany. We talked about going to Germany for a while but failed to ever set a date or buy train tickets, by the time we got around to it the tickets were exorbitant and it was cheaper to rent a car, hooray for the Autobahn. Four interns and an intern mom piled in the car on Saturday morning equipped with “Harriet”, our on board automated direction giver, and headed for Deutschland.

All I seem to tell you about is Italy lately but I must say that I am addicted. After ten days in late October and early November over the school break I returned to Brussels rejuvenated and ready for the six remaining weeks of school before Christmas break. I also started flight shopping for tickets back to Italy practically as soon as I stepped off of the plane. Over October break one of my fellow interns, Carrie, had to return to the states because of a family emergency and was unable to travel around Europe.

My October break seems ages ago but still I have more to recount. My roommate Bridget and I ended our Italy trip in the Northern city of Milan. Italy any time of year is wonderful but I was beginning to get a bit tired of the rain. We arrived in Milano in the afternoon to drizzle and after depositing our bags at our hostel we went out to explore the city rain coats on hand.

From Venice my roommate Bridget and I literally crossed the country; we went from Venice on the Adriatic Sea to the town of Levanto on the Mediterranean Sea. I loved my time in Venice and wished I could have explored and soaked up more of the surroundings but I was truly looking forward to getting away from some of the crowds. The Cinque Terre is a series of five villages connected by a 9 km, slightly less than 6 miles, foot path that follows the coast over slightly rugged hilly terrain.

I just spent three days in Venice; jealous?

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.

Dear all, life in Brussels keeps chugging along and amazingly enough it is already time for the first round of parent teacher conferences. This weekend was another Brussels weekend but do not think for one second that I am in a rut; there are just always things to do around here. Friday the girl Interns and I went out for drinks at a decidedly touristy bar, Delirium, that is not without its perks and problems.

Dear all, I spent a most enjoyable weekend in the near by Netherlands and thought I would share some of my adventures with you. The reason for my going was to visit my good buddy Kirsten from Leiden and celebrate Founders Day in high style. What is Founders Day?

Dear all, This weekend was a blur and went by way too fast. It started with trumpet calls and cheerleaders as I attended my first ever football game from beginning to end. I never really got into football in college which I understand is ridiculous but I am catching on now. We played a Department of Defense school and they just murdered us, we lost by 26 points or something. I definitely do not understand the rules of football and often was cheering for the opponents. The DOD school made the game look truly graceful where as our guys seemed to keep the paramedics quite busy.