Whoohoo!!!

Tomorrow at 3:00 my summer officially begins!!!!

Whoohoo!!!

Aside from the one class I have to go to tomorrow, however, I finished my coursework this morning at 10:30 with my history final. Boy, have I had the most magnificent day.

After my final, it all started with a nap... (you know that had to be in there somewhere), after that a trip to get some money and do a little packing and laundry in preparation for my summer vacation. At 13:00, I indulged in my new favorite addiction. I am no officially a "Who's the Boss" a-holic. I've spent the majority of my rest time watching old episodes on you tube (though I tell myself this is me basically watching tv because there's never anything on over here). I am currently lamenting the fact that Sony only released the 1st season on DVD, but nonetheless I am enjoying my new infatuation with the relationship of Angela and Tony. After "Who's the Boss" went off I took a walk, that lasted for 3 hours.

The most amazing history nerd moment of the day? I found the place of the city walls where D'Artagnon was killed in the 1600. You know D'Artagnon, right? He's of the "Three Musketeers" fame, but he was a real historical figure before Alexander Dumas wrote a story about him and he died fighting the Spanish in Maastricht. There's a statue of him on the sight. (It's beautiful, too) and the bottom is inscribed with the ever popular motto, "Tous pour un, un pour tous," All for one, one for all.

In all, I had a marvelous day, my last full day in Maastricht. When I get back here there are going to be too many formalities and meetings to indulge in any exploring or even revisiting of favorite sights. Which brings me to my next point.

I'm going to Italy!!!!

Whoohoo!!!
(there are alot of things to Whoohoo about today)

I've been waiting form my Italy trip pretty much sense I started Baylor in the fall of 2007. I'm so excited to actually get there, you have absolutely no idea. We leave tomorrow directly from class and start 2 1/2 weeks of individual travel. In this time I'm going to see Venice, Lake Como, Milan, Rome, London (again), Dublin, and Edinburgh. The good news is that I've protected all the documents on my computer so I can take my laptop with me.

Whoohoo!!!
(told ya)

Mom actually made this suggestion, though I think it was just a scheme to make it so we can have the occasional skype chat. But it's going to be beneficial for you too! A laptop means internet and internet means blog posts.

Whoohoo!!!

Not every day, mind you, but when I get the opportunity. So that's all for now. Wish me safe travels and I'll see you when I can!

"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.