"Nothing Important Happened Today"

If your historically minded, you recognize this as the entry Louis XVI logged into his journal on July 14, 1789, the day the Bastille was stormed in Paris just 25 miles away. (Ok, so the actual entry read simply, Rien!, which translated into "nothing" and it was in reference to his hunting trip earlier that day, but it still makes a good story.) For the first time since I've arrived in the Netherlands I can write, Rien!, with a little bit of enthusiasm. Today was a mundane day which means it had shape and routine to it- the mark of assimilation into any culture, I think. Instead of pulling from the store of topics I want to write to you guys about I just wanted to stop for the day and bask in Rien! Here's the highlights of such a boring day.

1. I woke this morning pleased to find the other occupants on our hallway had moved out. There, perhaps it'll be a bit quieter and I'll not have to sleep with earplugs anymore. More importantly though, our oh so generous neighbors were shoving their trove of European items off on us. I am now the proud owner of a hairdryer and straightener, two things that I've been far to frugal to buy considering I only straighten my hair once in a blue moon and dry it even less than that, but it's nice to have the option.

2. I had a rather lengthy discussion with Dr. Rust today on the first book for my Independent Study on the Holocaust , The Meaning of Hitler. We talked for a little over an hour and he really helped me muddle through all my confusion on the political time line.

3. I printed out my boarding pass for Spain this weekend and received an confirmation email from my hostel in Munich in two weeks, and another email from the plane ticked from Pisa to London during my last week of travel. What a little globe trotter I'm turning out to be!

4. I think I finally solidified plans to get to Amsterdam in a few weeks, which I'm particularly excited about!

5. Lastly, but most excitedly, I received and email this morning asking me to be the official blogger for the Baylor in Maastricht Summer 2010 program!

So there you have it, my plain old boring Rien! type of day.