Where the Frank family spent such a long time in hiding.

This is really the only thing Anne Frank could see from her hiding spot in the Annex besides the sky. She constantly watched and heard the bells. It was her favorite sound in the world.

Freeeeezing! But oh so happy :).

More Beguine nuns! They follow me everywhere! Maybe it's a calling...

This was the coffee shop in Oceans 12...the scene was filmed here with Matt Damon and George Clooney and the people speaking a different language and confusing Matt Damon.

It was so cold! Luckily I had my hat and found my scarf that I'd left at a restaurant the night before :).

The door to the ancient "women's prison" the female figures above the tour guide are of women whipping themselves...typical Amsterdam.

One of the many beautiful canals.

I AMSTERDAM

I just spent a fantastic weekend in another city that has been coined "the Venice of the North.." and the title is honestly more applicable to this city than to Bruges. At least in my opinion.

Janelle (a girl from Canada) and I departed on Friday evening after our midterms while everyone else had taken a train earlier in the day. I think we had the better end of the deal though because a couple drove us there for only 40 euros each both ways. We met them at this metro stop called "Porte de Postes" which was pretty sketchy, and we got there really early so we had to wait a while for them. Arabic men kept asking us to get in their cars and at one point, since Janelle didn't know what the couple driving us looked like, I pretended one of the creepy men talking to us was the person driving us. I think she nearly had a heart attack.

We arrived in Amsterdam around 10 PM on the dot, and it was completely pouring down rain. But even the mauvais weather didn't detract from the beauty of the city. We drove along canals trying to find the train station where Jean and Fatima would drop us off, and I actually think the rain added a little something to the city's atmosphere. The Christmas lights were up, and the look and sound of the drops pattering against the water in the canals was magical. So many people were out walking around, all bundled up and huddling close together. Once Janelle and I stepped out of the car and started walking towards "Bob's Hostel," I just knew it would be a great weekend.

Saturday morning we woke up after an interesting night of Laura shrieking and climbing into bed with Davika because a mouse had scurried across her. Some hippie guy in the same room as us started laughing and saying that he and his friends had been there a week and had become friends with the mice...Quel surprise! I think it was my first legitimate "hostel" experience. Our hostel in Bruges was so nice in comparison, but honestly, what can one expect in Amsterdam? Anyways, we ate breakfast in the hostel and walked to a square nearby for a free tour. We went all over the down town area...From the old women's prison to the old men's prison, to the china town, to the Beguin nun residence, to a place where a piece of bread had saved the life of an old man and when thrown into a fire had not burned (the magic of Amsterdam or something,) to the place where they used to execute criminals (in the heart of the redlight district) by splitting the men in two pieces then ripping apart their rib cages, then yanking out their hearts and throwing them into their faces. Sounds a bit like a horror movie to me! Then, the blood from these executions used to run down this street called "blood street," where there are actually prostitutes selling themselves in windows.

The prostitution is another thing. We took a Redlight district tour at night, and our tour guide was this Australian guy who was actually really funny and made the situation really light! We learned all about the city from him as well as the history of prostitution. As it turns out, the prostitution is really well regulated. It has been going on their for centuries despite attempts at outlawing it. When Amsterdam was merely a port town for sailors, it was extremely popular for the sailors who had been at sea for ages. The government detested the practice, but it kept going despite it being illegal so they decided to regulate it to make it safer.

I was completely shocked by it. Never in my life have I been exposed to something like that and as we walked by all the girls I couldn't help but feeling dizzy and overwhelmed because so many of the girls were younger than me! Something about the whole feeling of the place just really effected me in an inexplicable way. Our tour guide explained that many of the girls just couldn't get any other jobs because they came from such impoverished circumstances in Eastern Europe and were trying to pay their way through university many times. I think I was silent the entire tour because I just couldn't form the words at the moment to explain what was going on through my mind...To think that girls just like me would result to something so extreme and so completely degrading of their status made me nautious. Of course our guide kept cracking jokes to make the situation seem lighter, but I was still dumbfounded. And there were SO many men walking around! Thank God our tour group was safe because I actually felt pretty threatened...Men would hoot and holler at us, even whilst we were wearing about 10 layers of clothing as opposed to the half naked girls in the windows. We got offered 50 euros at one point and I had to gather up all of my energy not to yell at them for being so disrespectful towards women. All I can say is that I let out an immense sigh of relief once we got out of that area...

I guess the Red Light District of Amsterdam is a symbol of how different Europe is from the United States. Drugs and prostitution are so common there, that the inhabitants have simply adjusted life around such practices. To us North Americans, for the most part we are not used to such things, which was why I was speechless while walking around. We also went to the Heinkeken Brewery which was a bit more upbeat and I learned all about the history and origins of Heinken beer and even went on a ride which is "turned us" into Heineken. It was really fun and helped me clear my mind after being utterly traumatized.

Then, on Sunday morning we went to the Anne Frank House and I honestly didn't speak during that tour as well. I think it was the fact that Anne, like many of the prostitutes, was a girl not different from myself. We both have similar wants, desires, and needs. She wrote in her diary almost every day until she was deported to a concentration camp. What really got me was hearing a video recording of her father, Otto Frank, talking in the '60s. He confessed how it took him so long to actually open up Anne's diary after she died to read it and how after reading it, he realized that he had never really known his daughter. For him to realize that he would never have the chance to discuss with his daughter what was going on through her head must have driven him crazy. Yet did he really want to? How much of ourselves do we really conceal in life? We can go throughout our daily activities constisting of talking to people and expressing our concerns, woes, and feelings, but does anyone really attain an accurate understanding of you completely? You never know when you will die; it can happen so instantaneously. To think that there is a chance that some of your most private thoughts will go with you to the grave and no one will ever find out about them is baffling to me. Sometimes this can be good, and sometimes bad. Sometimes you want people to know these thoughts but cannot express them out loud. Some of these thoughts should remain confined in your mind, regardless of your desire to express them. In Anne's case, she wanted her story to be published. She did not necessarily indicate she wanted her DIARY to be published, but she had told her family and friends that she would one day have a book published about her experience, probably drawing from extracts in her diary. At least Otto was able to make part of her dream come true.

Other than the Bible, Anne Frank's diary has been sold and reproduced in more languages and more copies than any other book in the entire world. Its appeal is largely due to the fact that it does not simply give a laying out of facts and events of what occurred during World War II and the Holocaust. It expresses the emotions of a young girl living through such atrocities with which all people can commiserate regardless of their race, religion, sex, or age.

I didn't think that such an exhibit would arouse tears in me, but I think it was the mix between walking up and down the stairs where Anne once hid away for so long, and seeing the Church bells and listening to them chime that she had also seen and had written about, and realizing that the poor girl was not able to live as good of a life as she could have that created such feelings within me. We talk about our ambitions and wants so often, but all that Anne wanted was to live. She was physically incarcerated in a place where she could not live up to her potential. A situation such as that is worse than things such as the death penalty and abortion. Fortunately, Anne was able to use her mind and brain to set herself free when she physically could not run around outside shouting, "I'M FREE!" Think of what that must have been like...To want so desperately to go outside and ask a Nazi "Why are you doing this to us?" And she simply couldn't...I think I would have gone crazy. It takes great strength to keep yourself from making dangerous and wreckless decisions when placed in an unfair situation.

Amsterdam was truly an experience. And I don't mean this insane, drug-induced mind boggling experience, because despite portrayals of Amsterdam in such a manner, the city is so much more than that. I learned more about myself over this past weekend than I think I have my entire life, as wierd as that may sound. I saw women completely emaciated physically and mentally. While these poor prostitutes, some attempting to financially support their families (there is actually a preschool in the redlight district in between windows of women selling themselves and the children are told that the women are "selling kisses,") are trapped mentally in this world of anguish from which they will never escape because sex will never be the same for them, Anne was physically stuck. I never will be in either of those conditions, and I view myself as being extremely lucky. I wonder what the prostitutes think when girls such as myself and my friends walk by. Do they wonder what is like to be like us? I honestly cannot even imagine such a world as that.

Destination Culturation

For finances sake...I stayed in Lille this past weekend. A lot of people actually went to Paris, but I realized that I still needed to do touristy/cultural things in Lille since I've been to Paris many times before. So on Friday I went out for Korean food with some other Erasmus/Exchange students (yeah so I guess that wasn't TOO European ha ha) and then on Saturday me and my Swedish friend Lovisa went to la grande fete du vin! It was about 5 metro stops away in a place in Lille by la grande palais. It was really extraordinary walking in there and seeing all 700 wine stands from all over France. Just in the two hours that Lovisa and I were in there I felt like I'd seen the entire country of France! We were even walking around with a map deciding which region we wanted to try next...I learned a lot about how they made the wine too, and since Lovisa is fluent in French it really forced me to speak it and learn the terms in their language. There was also a huge chocolate and cheese stand...Of course being Scandinavian, Lovisa and I both love chocolate. We bought A TON. No wine, just chocolate and cheese. My guilty pleasures!

So that was quite the experience...When we got back I went over to my Romanian friend Catalina's apartment and she and I went to la gala de la catho...which is basically like prom for Le Catho. I didn't know that, nor did I know that it was a date event, but it was fun being there with Catalina because she also is fluent in French so it forced me to speak the language even more! I guess I must look pretty American because people kept coming up to me and screaming "I LOVE AMERICAAA!" in my face...I'd reply in French, "Bon, mais je suis francaise," and really shock them!

Sunday morning Lovisa woke me up to go to the Wazemme market which was really interesting and exciting! It goes on every Sunday and there are food booths along with booths consisting of the most random things you could imagine...ranging from used clothes to used USB cords. We went into a cute little coffee shop and had cappucinos and then bought some chicken and potatoes which were both DELICIOUS.

So it was a very pleasant and relaxing weekend overall. I think I spoke more French than English, which is exactly what I wanted. At the wine festival people would start speaking in English to me and I'd stop them saying that I really wanted to speak in French. It seemed like they really liked hearing that!

So it's off to Amsterdam on Friday for the weekend. I'm going with some of my Canadian friends here in Valentine Charondierre so I'm really excited for that! Then la weekend prochain I am going to Paris on Saturday to stay with Tessa's boyfriend and go to the Paris vs. Bayonne Rugby game. Finally going to see a sporting event in France! I absolutely love this country. People ask if I miss the US and I miss the people but that's about it...I could probably stay here for an entire year if I didn't have a house back at Santa Clara to go and occupy.

But I guess all good things must come to an end eventually, right?

Bruges: The Venice of the North

I have come to formally accept that I will not be able to go to every country in Europe. Before coming here, I thought I'd be able to get to Italy, Spain, Prague, Austria, etc, but I have had to narrow down my travelling to places that I will probably never visit again. To go to Italy I would want to take at least two weeks to visit Rome, Florence, Milan and Siciliy, and probably pair that trip with one to Spain as well. I realized that since I am studying in Lille, a student town of 1 million inhabitants (125,000 of them being students), I might as well take advantage of my northern location. I mean seriously, who travels around Belgium? I don't think I'll ever visit that country again in my life! So that was why Tessa and I decided to wander up to the "Vence of the North" this past weekend. The city really lives up to its title.

Just from the train ride up North I realized it would be an interesting but exciting weekend. Anyone who says that Bruges is simply a romantic town with not much history is completely wrong and obviously did not spend enough time dabling into all of the quaint village's wonders. We arrived at around 5:30 PM on Friday evening, after an entertaining train ride there in a carriage full of mostly English speakers. A group of older British men got on the train, one of them dressed in a Hawaiian woman fat sack...Little did we know that Bruges was such a small town that he would be kind of the "trade mark" or "symbol" of our trip because it just so happened that for that weekend vacation out of England he had planned out different costumes to wear every day. When getting off the train Tessa and I were overjoyed because we thought we'd never see the man again who heard people speaking a different language next to him (which turned out to be Dutch) and thought it was French and kept speaking to them in French.

Our hostel, the Bauhaus, turned out to be very nice, and it was only 16 Euros a night with breakfast included! There was a pub/restaurant below it that we ate at every night, and it had the most AMAZING Belgian specialties. There was a meat stew we had the first night that really tasted like something my mom would make at home...so filling and delicious! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water! The next night there we ate what was called "Belgian pastry with potatatoes and meatballs..." sounds like kind of a random mix of food doesn't it? Well it turned out to be pretty darn good too! And there were even mushrooms in it...which normally I refuse to eat but given me being in a different country where I wanted to try new cuisines, I decided to eat them too!

Saturday morning we got up at a pretty reasonable hour and rented rickity old bikes from our hostel. I was finally able to absorb the city's grandeur. The architecture is so unique! Even the houses all look like they're from some medieval movie, and there are canals with old boats circulating through the place. We yanked out our "fun sites" map that we had marked up the night before of places we wanted to see, and our first stop was the cathedral of "Our Lady" where Michelangelo's Madonna is located. It is the only place outside of Italy that holds any of the famous artist's work. After a series of crazy wrong turns and bumping down old, cobble stone roads, we made it to the grand cathedral. When we walked inside, we were greeted by a recording of monk's singing. It has really been a long time since I've attended a Church service, but for some reason this particular Church really captivated me. I think it was because there was less of a presence of Jesus and more of one of Mary, which I really liked. Most Catholic churches have looming statues and paintings of Jesus, and here the emphasis was on Mary being the important figure. Granted most of the artwork depicted of her in the place included baby Jesus, but it was still interesting to see her as the more prominent person. At first we couldn't find Michelangelo's artwork, so we spent about 30 minutes wandering around looking at different paintings and sculptures and taking pictures...Until we uncovered a part of the church we hadn't seen and there was an enormous sign saying "MADONNA" directly next to the thing.

Right after that we went to the Beguine nun residence, which was also very awe-inspiring and Mother Mary oriented. I have many pictures of it and for some reason it is hard for me to describe in words...It was like a setting for a fairy tale, with swans and ducks gliding over the little canal surrounding it, and a bridge to carry you across into it. The square itself was surrounded by cute, Bruges style houses were the nuns themselves live, and we saw about 5 of them leaving the church in the square. They looked so old and so little and cute! I really wanted to talk to one of them but there were signs saying that no one was allowed to speak in that holy area. It was really a breathtaking sight. I felt like I could connect with them because of my Holy Names Academy, all girl, nun, experience.

Then it was off to the musee de chocolat (chocolate museum)...of course. It was a bit of a disappointment because it wasn't a chocolate factory, so we didn't get many free samples, but it was pretty interesting learning about the different uses of chocolate and a lot of the myths of chocolate as well. In the Aztec times, people used to be buried with pots full of chocolate because it was a sign of happiness and pleasure which would be carried on to the afterlife!

Apres ca, we went to the oldest pub in Bruges, which has been there since 1515 and since it was packed, we didn't stay long, but it was really cool to see! Then it was off to the brewery tour...after a near tumble off my bike into the canal because it was so windy going across a bridge! It was called De Halve Maan brewery and had some unique beers that no other local pubs have. The whole brewery was like a tour basically, and we started at the bottom and worked our way up. The stairs got SO steep the farther up we went! And at one point, Tessa fell on her bum down an entire flight.

I have to go do some homework now...Obviously as usual there is so much more I could write but it would take too long! Here are some pictures to capture some of the places I described. I really received a good impression of Bruges from visiting!

Les Vacances de Touissant (Autumn Break)

A couple of weeks ago I had my mid-quarter break. Instead of going somewhere warm like Tuscany or the south of France, I decided to head on up to Scandinavia to visit some relatives of the Lorentz family. Honestly though, people always go to Italy, Spain, and Provence. When can you say that you went to Scandinavia? I figured the only time I'd do it would be as a broke, wandering exchange student.

Fortunately I was not going solo on my adventures. It turns out that my friend Mike here from New York needed a travelling companion for the break because Josh's girlfriend was visiting and they were travelling together. So that Friday morning of October 23rd, we woke up bright and early and went to catch a train to the Charleroi airport in Brussels. Why did we wake up that early to go to the airport? I have no idea...but I do know that we waited in the airport for our flight for a good 10 hours. To make matters worse, the flight into Oslo was delayed! I felt so bad for my relatives Ingrid and Arve that were picking us up! But finally we arrived, and there was no passport/visa check getting off the plane which had really worried me because I have no visa anymore, someone in Germany is in possession of it (Grrr). I recognized Ingrid and Arve at once when we stepped outside and clearly from the way Ingrid's face lit up when she saw me, the recognition was mutual. We climbed into the car and commenced the two hour drive up North to Gjovik in the shroud of night. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open as we went, but sleep soon took hold of me. Obviously there wasn't much to see anyways since it was pitch black out!

The next day was pretty cloudy and I was able to attain a more accurate view of our surroundings. There house was so adorable. It looked like a little mountain lodge with traditional Norwegian decorations. Ingrid had prepared a great breakfast for us which included tons of yummy Norwegian cheeses, flat bread, elk sausage, home-made jam, and of course, coffee. Plenty of coffee. We drove up to the mountains after that, which was absolutely freezing, and then to Lillehammer where the '94 Olympics were. It's funny because whenenver I'm looking at train tickets online for my various trips, whenever I type in "leaving from" and try to put down Lille, France, Lillehammer always pops up. I never thought I'd visit the place! So we got to see where the ski jumping happened and then also back in Gjovik where the ice hockey and speed skating went down. The ice rink was this crazy cave like thing dug out from the mountain! Apparently if nuclear warfare were ever to break out in Gjovik that is where everyone would go. Too bad we don't have something like that in the US...

Just over three days Ingrid and Arve became like a new set of parents for me. They were so friendly and Ingrid rarely didn't have a smile on her face. Arve is so intelligent and knows basically everything about Norway's history. I learned all about the controversy between the reindeer owners and the farmers whose crops the famous animals destroy. I also learned about how humble Norwegians are, both from personal experience as well as a story Arve related about how instead of being escorted to Sweden on a private jet, the King of Norway bought a train ticket like everyone else. Apparently his Majesty's security is very light as well. Arve said that if we had wanted in Oslo we could have just walked in and talked to him like he was any other person!

On Sunday night, the night before Mike and I were to leave Oslo for Stockholm, Ingrid and Arve had tons of family over. I felt like an ambassador for the Lorentz family! I was catching everyone up on the goings with my family, Don's family, Sanch's family, and Doug's family. It was cool to see Ingrid and Arve's two sons as well...They have the cutest kids!

Then it was off to Stockholm...We arrived late there too but David Weckner was there to pick us up wearing the "green jacket" that he said to look out for. We drove about 20 minutes out of Stockholm to his ADORABLE house at a suburb called Guda, and met his fiance named Gunilla. I don't think I've ever met as interesting of a person. She is the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sweden and talks non stop, and is VERY articulate! Both in Swedish and in English! We stayed behind the main house in this kind of tree-house with Swedish horses all over it. One of the days, Gunilla actually gave us a tour of Parliament! Stockholm was hosting the European Union congression that weekend so we met all these really important European officials. Gunilla has met Obama multiple times, has "exchanged political views" with Hilary and Bill Clinton, is friends with Al Gore, and has talked with George Bush senior. She travels ALL over constantly, in places like Africa, India, and elsewhere in the Middle East, and really gets to know the inhabitants of such countries on an incredibly personal level. She was telling us about this house in Ghana that asissted woman and children ages 3-30 who had been raped and abused in their lives. She must have learned some terrible stories! Mike and I also went to this cool museum called the Vasa Museum that has this huuuge ship that the King of Sweden many years ago had thought he could engineer the construction of on his own and which sunk about 15 minutes after it set sail in the harbor of Stockholm. I also got to go into David's work with him one morning out in the countryside. He's a horse vet, so it was really interesting to see how that work differs from my mom's with dogs and cats!

There's so much more I could say about my travels that week, but I have a lot of work to do so I have to run...but I'm going to Marseille this weekend in the south of France so I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say apres-ca! A bientot :)