In a cafe in Belgium...

I am in a cafe in Belgium and having a wonderful time! My trip has been fantastic so far! I'm really enjoying myself. I wish I had more time to talk, but unfortunately, my dinner is coming soon and then I have to go. I thought I would just give guys a catch up for what I am doing.

The plane ride was...okay. The first one was fun because the flight attendants were really nice, but the second one I didn't get any sleep at all! It was an eight hour flight. By the time I got to Amsterdam, it was 6 AM in the morning! I still enjoyed myself, though, since it was my first plane rides ever! I was so sleepy though. Gosh! I almost passed out so many times. I was awake for about 48 hours straight, which as you know, is not good for coherent thought. Everyone in my delegation got really grumpy towards the end of the day. It was kind of funny!

Even though I was exhausted, I thouroughly enjoyed myself. We got off the airplane and hopped on the bus from the airport. Our bus is driven by a really cool guy named Danny; I don't know if he speaks a lot of English, but he sure knows how to pull a sharp corner in a bus. There are a lot of sharp corners in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is beautiful. It is ridden with canals and ancient looking buildings. Walking the streets there was a wonderful experience. I have never seen so many bikes in one place before! There are literally more bikes than people in the city of Amsterdam. Bike paths are everywhere, and they are filled with bikers. The bikers there don't stop for pedestrians, ever, so yes, I almost got run over a few times. Oh, and did I mention the trams? There are lots of them too, and just as precarious.

Well, I have to get off right now. I'll try to catch you up on the rest of the trip when I get more wi fi! My schedule is jam-packed, but I am having a great time.

Esther