tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45173097232290087482023-11-15T19:22:58.711-08:00Take Esther To EuropeEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-15381458053979910832011-09-02T16:23:00.000-07:002011-09-02T16:23:25.160-07:00Day FourteenInternet has been out for a long time, so yeah! Let's focus on the <em>adventure!</em><br />
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We left the hotel, and we even got the chance to sleep in! We woke up at seven, baby! How's that for living in style? We had been waking up as early as five, which is hard on the traveling body. We ate food, and I couldn't tell you what we ate 'cause my journal won't tell me. (At least I'm honest) Soon, we were on our trip to Wales!<br />
It was a four hour journey, with a ten minute pit stop in the middle. I hadn't brought any entertainment like Ipods, so I basically just sat and stared out the window. And boy, did the view keep me occupied. I didn't know much about Wales until I traveled there, so I wasn't expected it to be so beautiful. It's incredibly mountainous and green, with small streams stretching through the landscape like veins. Pictures really don't do the place justice. <br />
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The fact that we were in a moving bus kind of hampered my photography abilities. Still, I got a few good pictures. <br />
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By the time that we arrived, we were all ready to stretch our legs. We stopped at a cozy little inn for lunch. There, we met Anna and Will, two Welsh locals and our culture guides for the rest of the day. They were both quite friendly. We ate lunch, which was. . . (searches pictures) <br />
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This! Which appears to be carrot and onion mash, roast beef, boiled potatoes, peas, and bread. I remember it being pretty good. Anna tried to learn all of our names. She did very well, actually. When she was going about naming everyone at my table, she got every name except mine. She squinted at me and was going, "Oh, one moment! I got it, I got it!" <br />
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"Think the Bible," I offered.<br />
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"Ah, you're Esther!" she said.<br />
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Ding ding ding! The bible thing doesn't usually work! Oh well. <br />
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We gathered outside for our walk to a lake. The entire town (the more proper town would be village) was on a mountain, so buildings were scattered across the uneven terrain. I thought it was cool that a lake was up there. <br />
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On a side note, I remember us gathering outside the inn, and that there were a set of about 12 steps leading from the entrance to the ground, protected by a rail. I remember one guy (his name withheld) letting out a cry and then trying to slide down the rail at high speeds. He went too fast and soared into the gravel parking lot, scratching up his palms. Score one for common sense! I remember him begging us not to let the delegation leaders know, because, well, it wasn't a very smart thing to do. (He WAS usually very intelligent)<br />
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So, to the lake! It was a lovely, green spot, full of swans and ducks! DUCKS! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And yet here is a picture of a swan.</td></tr>
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We played a few team-building games before proceeding to attempt to learn the Welsh language. It is the third most difficult language for an English speaking person to learn. It is incredibly guttural, some sounds of the alphabet are more than two syllables long, and I can't even create some of the noises Will was pulling off. I don't remember much, but I do remember how to say the number thirty-six. It's pronounced TREE-dahg-qwakgh. We all had to recite our delegation numbers in Welsh, and in 17 seconds. There are forty of us! It took us a while, but we did it, and beat the Texas Delegation (the delegation that was here before us) record. Eat that, Texas. We beat them in numerous endeavors throughout the trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix18rYh6a45g51gdLp0xQqzH5oYCBGyeXAkBVyRxl6qv_paKuDlPxvrDxpZqJuHr3RmXovMvAf8QTX43J6e03JMpJoEHOjt1qz0ddzvGcxhpV33iY22AZ2LxWdNXS6_hYNzK0wOOCUAZo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix18rYh6a45g51gdLp0xQqzH5oYCBGyeXAkBVyRxl6qv_paKuDlPxvrDxpZqJuHr3RmXovMvAf8QTX43J6e03JMpJoEHOjt1qz0ddzvGcxhpV33iY22AZ2LxWdNXS6_hYNzK0wOOCUAZo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our delegation after destroying the second largest state with the power of harsh and guttural sounds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We walked back to our bus. It was really nice and cool, with a light breeze. Wales is a really nice place, if not perpetually cloudy. We were only there for about forty-eight hours, but I'm pretty sure sunlight isn't very common there. (Edward and Bella have found their new home!) Anna joined us on our bus trip to Bangor University. The trip was about an hour. Bangor University kind of reminded me of ISU in its layout, for those who know what I'm talking about. It was really cool, though. Each student got her own dorm, which was really great! I was really looking forward to my alone time. I enjoy sleeping on my on schedule, too.<br />
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The only problem was the lock on my door.<br />
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Okay, there wasn't a problem with the lock. There was a problem with <em>me. </em>This sounds utterly ridiculous, but I have little experience with key-and-lock doors, so when I was handed my door key I was caught off guard. But no worries, right? I mean, you <strong>just stick the key in the hole and twist, </strong>right? So I did that, and locked myself out of room. My friend turned and said<br />
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FRIEND: Esther, what are you doing over there?<br />
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ESTHER: (while desperately fiddling with the lock) I'm just trying to figure out how this door works! <br />
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FRIEND: What, you mean you can't open the door?<br />
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ESTHER: (leans against the door casually) What do you mean? Of <em>course </em>I can open the door. It's not like I have First Born Child syndrome or anything! Ha ha!<br />
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FRIEND: Do you want help with that?<br />
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ESTHER: Psh, sure, if you want to.<br />
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So the girl went to fiddle with my lock, but I had somehow kind-of-sort-of jammed my key in there. After a few moments of frustration, I finally managed to unlock the door all by my lonesome. <br />
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So take that, unfaithfuls.<br />
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Anyway....<br />
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Dinner was at the cafeteria. I had a sausage stew, lasagna, and tater tots. I know, sounds weird, but it was pretty good. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Tis my food.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Tis the cafeteria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So after that, we hopped on the bus yet again to meet with our Full-On team. Full-On is a group from New Zealand that focuses on building leadership and confidence in teens, and they have a particular relationship with People to People. It was a short trip, and we all loaded into a gymnasium-like place. I don't have any pictures because we all took our lanyards off and I had my camera attached to my lanyard. But, she said dramatically, I will have the experience in my mind forever.<br />
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Today was basically an introduction class for what we were going to do the next day, which was rappelling down a castle. We had a lot of games and lessons though, and I learned so much. I really can't tell you all of what was discussed, but I feel like I changed a little after it. We talked about the differences between being a reactive and proactive human being, what excuses really are, and it was all suprisingly deep and not cheesy. A lot of the ambassadors came in thinking it was one of those, "You can do it if you just believe classes", and it was, but it was more than that. <br />
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After our egos were pysched up, boards of wood were introduced. We were to break them in half with our hands. We all were separated into three groups so the wood-chopping madness would go faster. We were given the option to "soft break" or "hard break" the wood. I chose the latter. Hard break is slamming the lower half of your hand through the wood, standing up. Soft break looks really cool: it's a quick movement were you sort of slap through the wood. However, our full-on coach said to pick the one that seemed the most difficult for us, so I chose the hard-break. <br />
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While everyone was taking turns, we all supported each other and cheered each other on. It was really fun. Some people were nervous, but they all mananged do it on their second or third try. (you only got three tries) When my turn was up, I was ready to break stuff. I was the only one to choose the "hard-break", so I got the tutorial, ha! So after going through all the steps, I took a deep breath, and popped through the board on my first try. It collapsed under my hand so easily and quickly that I hadn't even processed that I broke it until its halves were lying at my feet. So much fun! I think only two people were unable to break the board, but I felt like a super-human. We all got our boards signed: I still have mine in my memory box. After that, we went home to our nice, soft, beds. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dormy.<br />
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</tbody></table>And so, I settled on my bed, wrote in my journal, read a book, and drifted off to dream land. And so goes day fourteen!<br />
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Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-44696438744561229942011-08-16T16:54:00.000-07:002011-08-16T18:13:26.689-07:00Day ThirteenThis was a day full of huzzahs and hurrahs, dramatic battles and victories, pidgeon armies, avengeful peacocks, balls of fire rocketing through the sky, tours of age old castles, tempermental captains, and lessons on queen's beauty products. So yeah, a very fun day. I can't wait to tell you about lucky day thirteen.<br />
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I slept great, and this is fortunate because I would have a very active day ahead of me, full of resplendent birds and faux violence and such. Our breakfast was a massive buffet, and it had these delicious cinnamon pastries (not cinnamon rolls, I think) that I devoured vigorously. Best cinnamony things ever. I ate three.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's my breakfast! Eatin' up my BREAKFAST. Gotta eat my cinnamon thingies, yeah..</td></tr>
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We hopped on our bus, for which I am grateful. I loved walking London, but bus rides provide the much-needed breaks to preserve your mental integrity. We had a small bus tour of London. We hit a lot of the Harry Potter filming sites, such as Diagon Alley and the bridge in the Deathly Hallows that got attacked by Death Eaters (or was it dementors) and that was a lot of fun. We learned some cool fun facts, too. One I remember in particular is about Queen Elizabeth, who used a lead hair paste to style her hair. It caused her to go completely bald, and so she had to use fake eyebrows made of rat skin. Dandy.<br />
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We went to see the changing of the guard next. It was very crowded by the time we got to our viewing site, but it was exciting. Soon the music started to play and we could hear the uniform footsteeps of the guard marching before we could see it, and then we saw the guard stomp right past us.<br />
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The whole process is incredibly detailed, so we didn't get to watch it all. We watched as the guard marched past the Buckingham Palace gate, and out of view. Past our line of site would be the old guard preparing to switch places with the new one, and then the old one would depart. <br />
We took our bag lunches to the park, which was a two minute walk from where we were standing. It was ketchup sandwiches and chips. I like to try new foods, but the sandwich was really gross, so I could only eat half of it. We sat under the trees, eating quietly, until I sensed a disturbance in the force and looked to my left. A giant group of pidgeons had amassed near our group, eyeing us like we were lunch. I took my ketchup sandwich and tore off the bread, and lay the bread around my feet, and soon a massive pidgeon army had become mine! Needless to say, I became drunk with power. I was laughing maniacally and spreading crumbs all over the place. Oreo, my general of my pidgeon army, stayed loyally at my side until we had to go. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQgQyHfP7JY2zweVyr8H2xtP2nl5oXgVEChtvZKgHrii5swxE0MG3bo42oXhaxPDCiiwbcXDdPDfkiEkGVfBHqtCBJQVaYPAhBcJEkfrhql_YpCgEinOpUMUYzlCke1bF2dYv4EKjgPQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQgQyHfP7JY2zweVyr8H2xtP2nl5oXgVEChtvZKgHrii5swxE0MG3bo42oXhaxPDCiiwbcXDdPDfkiEkGVfBHqtCBJQVaYPAhBcJEkfrhql_YpCgEinOpUMUYzlCke1bF2dYv4EKjgPQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+968.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myuahahaahhah! <em>My loyal army! </em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijC2i0pQY3mGZwemOpOIg1FLlCwcc7KiKz29N1LMRTv-V12izwVHk_f-kNENTtfQdHY-jRkSFPVQqzeG-uZHzOZOjPmRDYEdHpnhO_krPhVvYHo2cmhppeDC5lO8aiuRW5lAiHP3vmILE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijC2i0pQY3mGZwemOpOIg1FLlCwcc7KiKz29N1LMRTv-V12izwVHk_f-kNENTtfQdHY-jRkSFPVQqzeG-uZHzOZOjPmRDYEdHpnhO_krPhVvYHo2cmhppeDC5lO8aiuRW5lAiHP3vmILE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oreo, my pidgeon general, and Tim, the envious pidgeon who longs for Oreo's position -- and his ketchup bread.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Next stop, Warwick Castle! I don't remember the journey there at all, but I still remember what it looks like. Warwick is breathtaking. We got an hour of exploration to ourselves, and I had a blast. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoxbaVfyOuWrHODLP5lSDW9h8vsiqmB8ySOAY1N57gZ0K3wf8YWviQ8pF7IXHMV-Vf8ew4vr1mgcZ4XNSHeuyKyW7yyhb8G72qD7bu_veF3-wuJ-QJ81NXl7csu_ZVCYBapCE3Jq8oPQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoxbaVfyOuWrHODLP5lSDW9h8vsiqmB8ySOAY1N57gZ0K3wf8YWviQ8pF7IXHMV-Vf8ew4vr1mgcZ4XNSHeuyKyW7yyhb8G72qD7bu_veF3-wuJ-QJ81NXl7csu_ZVCYBapCE3Jq8oPQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+974.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWidC-hwfnjp-71oe2MWLWh7HoJ8jiQwCAXdeNeSFp3KNnaPadxNwnym8w8ZBlqGx4gvBmsRZyUE46bq6wd0_GsVBybRZ704E8mpkmCpLqT3UGFbsRCiH5bdMrPB_I_zhyphenhyphenDJ6QrA9CgM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWidC-hwfnjp-71oe2MWLWh7HoJ8jiQwCAXdeNeSFp3KNnaPadxNwnym8w8ZBlqGx4gvBmsRZyUE46bq6wd0_GsVBybRZ704E8mpkmCpLqT3UGFbsRCiH5bdMrPB_I_zhyphenhyphenDJ6QrA9CgM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'd show more pictures if it didn't take so long to upload them, but seriously, if you ever go to England, go <em>here. </em>It's gorgeous. So, after we had been walking around for an hour, we were suddenly acosted by an angry captain and his very pointy spear. He commanded us to line up and follow him, and his fellow soldiers started up from behind us and waved their weapons around.<br />
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It was awesome! I doubt anyone would have taken this situation literally, but for your information, this wasn't a real scenario. It was all a part of a training exercise. For the next three hours I would be a part of the Lancaster army, HA HA HA. <br />
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The first super militaristic thing we did was . . .<br />
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Eat food! <br />
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Huzzah! <br />
<br />
We had chicken and potatoes, which are much better than ketchup sandwiches. We ate outside on picnic tables, which was very peaceful. Peacocks hovered around us, indirectly asking for food, since actually <em>asking </em>would have been too much for their poor, pampered brains. I don't have pictures from that moment, but I snuck up behind one and took a picture later. (Peacocks are finicky) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccLNhZMg7nbjnJEybLqjFePoQzu3NGOnRqq5AcXfMWiSfmQAtVhUHtufuyOGG5qig3cr5fhYDv2_nYSxkdmRBSbb368QAmHlavYg07b0IygHdZIGul8v_rWlaUkrU9oeguvdJVILDQHc/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccLNhZMg7nbjnJEybLqjFePoQzu3NGOnRqq5AcXfMWiSfmQAtVhUHtufuyOGG5qig3cr5fhYDv2_nYSxkdmRBSbb368QAmHlavYg07b0IygHdZIGul8v_rWlaUkrU9oeguvdJVILDQHc/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><br />
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I remember one guy giving a girl a peacock feather that he said he found on the ground. We were later warned not to try to take feathers from peacocks, because the lovely creatures are capable of making a sound capable peeling the bark off of iron trees, which would immediately alert the security guards, who would bring you down, which would put you in jail and paying a large fine. <br />
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After lunch, we went to archery lessons. Our guy taught us the structure and the firing capabilities of the longbow, along with basic examples of armor from that century. We have a delegation member who has the magical ability to be chosen for <em>every </em>volunteer situation, and so he was chosen from the crowd of 50 students (many delegations were there too) to put on armor and be stabbed. Lucky guy. . . Our teacher was delightfully lewd, and talked jokingly about every terrible thing that could possible happen to the male anatomy. He was interesting and fun, although he scared the heck out of Gabe (the lucky one) with his various demonstrations. <br />
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We had sword fight training next, where we learned basic sword fighting forms. Gosh if I remember them all. It was a lot of fun cause we got to fight with real swords! Well, they were dullened in case one of us got the idea to murder someone, but they were quite real. We had the pleasure of a young and somewhat hunky sword master helping out that day. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYSh1vDZZmViJqj-uw1UNj3lAcItp6VeLy3QEul7ZHzxcNigRS5_hy9ib_JZaljmDpPuVdqvnADngpoydvbTdC6w5fqlGmlsA29G9THIWV8HEV8njMy5A9ZzTJmrhOSK8LMt4nRrIOPA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYSh1vDZZmViJqj-uw1UNj3lAcItp6VeLy3QEul7ZHzxcNigRS5_hy9ib_JZaljmDpPuVdqvnADngpoydvbTdC6w5fqlGmlsA29G9THIWV8HEV8njMy5A9ZzTJmrhOSK8LMt4nRrIOPA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+1029.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me demonstrating not-so graceful form. I got better. <br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I steadily improved, although it took me a while. It is possible that someday I will become a swordsman. . .Or maybe I'll stick with sharpened butterknives. <br />
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After <em>that, </em>we formed ranks and learned how battles were fought. For the front of the army, it kind of works like this:<br />
<br />
1. Everyone in the front line dies.<br />
2. The line behind them, which was previously unarmed, pick up their fallen allies' weapons and continues the attack. They are called the reserves.<br />
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We played both one and two. When I was front line, I died spectacularly. I watched someone near me be trampled as someone took his weapon. I placed mine gingerly by my fallen corpse, because I didn't want to be trampled. Just because I was dead didn't mean I didn't have feelings. <br />
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When I actually got to kill people, that was a lot of fun. Our instructor said our group was the most uniform when it came to marching. I waved my ten foot pole around and murdered thousands. <br />
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After that, we all relaxed and sat by the river as we prepared to watch the trebuchet launch a fireball into the sky. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy642IBB2GCknQw1CIKSEbaV-Q3aj-d3n2AioJFCYf8SzyshBvb_2ibrGm2btpUu_7CTILGKmCTS92PeH-q9g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
After we said our goodbyes, we boarded our bus and began our trip to Ireland. Out of all the countries, I looked forward to Ireland the most, and I was right to. I'll see you in the next exciting installment of Take Esther to Europe! <br />
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Da!Da!Da!<br />
<br />
Da da.<br />
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Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-18061246566044428672011-08-07T12:47:00.000-07:002011-08-07T12:47:52.081-07:00Day TwelveDay twelve was another one of my favorite days, but it is also quite a blurry one. By the end of the day, I was so delirious with exhaustion that I couldn't remember a lot of it. I'm going to try and recall as much as I can, though!<br />
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I slept very well because our beds were amazing! I took a few pictures of the hotel room, but all after we made a mess of it, and I can't locate them on this computer, so a loss.<br />
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We started our day with a walk to the tube, the part of the London train system that is mostly above ground. It was about a fifteen minute trek through the city and road construction. It was a very pleasant day, though, and the walk was equally so. Because our group was so large, we had to wait for the "Walk" street signal to pop up twice to get our whole group across. <br />
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We arrived at our train with perfect timing, courtesy of our wonderful delegation manager. We didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes. We each grabbed a train buddy, so we could keep track of each other. Mine was a girl named Crosby, and we spent a lot of the day together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHoeJHugcpJdmmleX87NM2GAHCJ4ntUczRBmiMHnI7K53yc_fB_21V7AmWgDcvNBTJbC4Gaz40yo1indIF4vVKyq94HNw5KRPoyjywM6KserdGn3RQS-jr4p26hIwXZOR8tlH6ocCX0E/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHoeJHugcpJdmmleX87NM2GAHCJ4ntUczRBmiMHnI7K53yc_fB_21V7AmWgDcvNBTJbC4Gaz40yo1indIF4vVKyq94HNw5KRPoyjywM6KserdGn3RQS-jr4p26hIwXZOR8tlH6ocCX0E/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+821.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A train going through the station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We rode the train got on a few more trains like this, and then we hit the Underground station, where we rode for about thirty minutes on several different trains. It was a little difficult keeping track of everyone, and making sure they all got on the same train. Sometimes we didn't succeed, and some people got left behind! In the event of that happening, we would just wait at the boarding station until the next train with our buddies arrived. The system is so efficient, that we don't have to wait very long for each train. London, I must say, has a much more efficient train system that Washington D.C. At least in my experience.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dWTT6NpkBrTXjKu5u980SlX9ZGNrAEr_qCfOfLPfiOY-b2pmQRCHlMRUD0iDFBaQXpyxXQmQk_1E1P-WsmKIXpu2pbVCMuHWt6YzpsGeUB7TBKl-eF2KQ6we6dkpCkjRz6SFCl0rc7w/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dWTT6NpkBrTXjKu5u980SlX9ZGNrAEr_qCfOfLPfiOY-b2pmQRCHlMRUD0iDFBaQXpyxXQmQk_1E1P-WsmKIXpu2pbVCMuHWt6YzpsGeUB7TBKl-eF2KQ6we6dkpCkjRz6SFCl0rc7w/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+823.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And so we arrived where we were meeting with a former member of parliament. I can't remember the building or the street, because I was in Sheep Mode. But I remember it was a rich district that . . . had to do with COLLEGES. I'm not going to say more because I'll sound like an idiot. But anyway, we went in a building, up several flights of stairs, and into the the meeting room.<br />
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I was expecting that we would be the only delegation there, but there were tons of delegations. Texas was the majority population, but there were several others. <br />
<br />
Our meeting was about an hour and forty-five minutes long, and our MP talked about how he got his position, what his position entails, and how the government works. It was very fascinating. I was surprised to learn how chaotic parliament meetings are. Ideas and suggestions are thrown around rapidly from any member that has some, and yet it is somehow contained with strict rules of propriety and rituals. I doubt I would be able to learn how it works in an hour and a half. No pictures, because somehow I thought that would be rude.<br />
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We went to lunch at Medieval Banquet (that's its actual name), complete with its own King Henry VIII! They had gowns that you could try on, but I decided not to. Surprisingly, it was the guys that actually tried stuff on. We had a sit down with Henry, who had decided to take a break from his grave and talk to us humble folk. It wasn't an actor or anything. Seriously.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuq1LesvgZCRiIdPUIWUWYBOzmBOVWDRj2vxo8fq9c04pLrKSQLFANHmz4CtYuYVaiO9wtscrFcp0acKHzryOkYAHCmu_kA7_cuLJYGYXw9rrPGCQfGGFMIZwXfV-TY53rK_QpRLBV4YQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuq1LesvgZCRiIdPUIWUWYBOzmBOVWDRj2vxo8fq9c04pLrKSQLFANHmz4CtYuYVaiO9wtscrFcp0acKHzryOkYAHCmu_kA7_cuLJYGYXw9rrPGCQfGGFMIZwXfV-TY53rK_QpRLBV4YQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+839.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking slightly creepy in the natural, purple, medieval glow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eyAWcEmQNSqRcHj1QDH3TmDfeh8Mt2X8wJnEA3zuT5GsgVgKkG9e-7fnPhyphenhyphenKu_23dsEIYCv-q4BntL8hr6W7muyR7jJpg0Dl6ozTMl272SvEJSk4SUmndLe48D0OALE9roI9S9eyPGo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eyAWcEmQNSqRcHj1QDH3TmDfeh8Mt2X8wJnEA3zuT5GsgVgKkG9e-7fnPhyphenhyphenKu_23dsEIYCv-q4BntL8hr6W7muyR7jJpg0Dl6ozTMl272SvEJSk4SUmndLe48D0OALE9roI9S9eyPGo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+834.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the building.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We went to the Tower of London next! We grabbed a few trains and walked the rest, and then we were finally there. I never actually knew what the place looked like, and when I saw it, it wasn't what I was expecting. It was a hodgepodge of different structures, a beautiful, but irregular hodgepodge. It has had add ons, things removed, things remodeled, and so it was very large. It was impossible to take a picture of the whole thing at once.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4GYHvY0qtweLgrGD6fTWxCuec2-3NBSlWAZ9qfE-EOV-4X22NY8hZNOKpx4r_62NCpEe9ebGB2Pfk_T7qs9kzup9WoHgOZ1x84tL7TtM8yh_Q5ICvVcurHHOP6XuAbTBTqT4SxL_vlg/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4GYHvY0qtweLgrGD6fTWxCuec2-3NBSlWAZ9qfE-EOV-4X22NY8hZNOKpx4r_62NCpEe9ebGB2Pfk_T7qs9kzup9WoHgOZ1x84tL7TtM8yh_Q5ICvVcurHHOP6XuAbTBTqT4SxL_vlg/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+848.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tower entrance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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We were all sent off, with buddies of course, to explore on our own. My group was the smallest. It was just me and Crosby, but that meant that we could do what we wanted on our own time, really, so it was nice. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFN6XlldPcN2o5IyD4Ry-kt-YeU3xyUFnXyfSpr8NQV2S8V_hL4GsdD0wblFDA_C-E4EkB9JGPuR9iYPcmH0s7FnDwnwF-It5PCvzB2pNT3Pe8cnvMwUBa6T9j9ND18WmSiP-7r9ZSKk/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFN6XlldPcN2o5IyD4Ry-kt-YeU3xyUFnXyfSpr8NQV2S8V_hL4GsdD0wblFDA_C-E4EkB9JGPuR9iYPcmH0s7FnDwnwF-It5PCvzB2pNT3Pe8cnvMwUBa6T9j9ND18WmSiP-7r9ZSKk/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+859.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We saw a lot of really cool things. One of my favorites was the exhibit of the suits of armor worn by the kings through the ages. It was interesting to see the differences in style as time went on. We also so reconstructions of the horses that the kings rode.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rz2gVtx_mUO-vxqqm5KYsDDjCua5u4vkLY1AeR6Foo4TWDS-MI1pIzgq3nYjx1NfdU6SNNCgYsYT6GghxirrDA-v7QvpCqVCXEW86h4WQAcJi9YHVGJrHrF-CMTQGAppIowpx2WHmRw/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rz2gVtx_mUO-vxqqm5KYsDDjCua5u4vkLY1AeR6Foo4TWDS-MI1pIzgq3nYjx1NfdU6SNNCgYsYT6GghxirrDA-v7QvpCqVCXEW86h4WQAcJi9YHVGJrHrF-CMTQGAppIowpx2WHmRw/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+862.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Edward VI's armor. He was a child king.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGb2kCIDuSb-_NYBUyuWEQwPhPLA0_X8odRm_23TQggXsNb1wyUR7_-1Nv1SiPRjmXhuC3ogqFtS3-_cveXAnkcxeZmal09MDTikbTNNY5AzYZcGxme0HRtM7DwKNPw0OGWzaSNZHpfHA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGb2kCIDuSb-_NYBUyuWEQwPhPLA0_X8odRm_23TQggXsNb1wyUR7_-1Nv1SiPRjmXhuC3ogqFtS3-_cveXAnkcxeZmal09MDTikbTNNY5AzYZcGxme0HRtM7DwKNPw0OGWzaSNZHpfHA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This particular horse stared through my soul and petrified me with its unusual smile. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Time flew by, and we soon only had thirty minutes left. I suggested going to see the crown jewels. Crosby, being ever practical, said that with the line, we might not get through in time.<br />
<br />
"Nah," I said, with a wave of my hand, "we have <em>plenty </em>of time." <br />
<br />
So we hopped in line. It was very, very slow going through the building. You didn't even get to see the jewels at the beginning, just a walk through video presentation that took fifteen minutes to get through. By the time we were out of there, we had 2 minutes to get back! We didn't get to see the jewels for more than thirty seconds, but they were gorgeous. I don't regret it, and I'm glad that we were in a <strong>short </strong>line, or else we would have never gotten out of there.<br />
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I had a blast there. It was full of history, and there was so much to see and do, that I couldn't name it all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR-3Joj18avMzyAOemgDN-vtQ5YIo170W4rktKjidGmoTSEERfz96EVjZpmIkflGxkptrdd5W7JAEKup_Ng13slfh19pSRVAn0tOzYWIUdyOSdgGhsQ-sh7sQiqEyyFX9ky9E-YrEly0/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR-3Joj18avMzyAOemgDN-vtQ5YIo170W4rktKjidGmoTSEERfz96EVjZpmIkflGxkptrdd5W7JAEKup_Ng13slfh19pSRVAn0tOzYWIUdyOSdgGhsQ-sh7sQiqEyyFX9ky9E-YrEly0/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next to the River Thames with Daisy and Luke.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>China town was interesting. You walk five feet, and then all of a sudden everything changes, and you are in a totally different area.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUB39m06Lc4t7DGHOaqEUK7XEGyYyjhdpKH70hWRp8kIxqU_wxQmLZ6YlNfk_lsssfWOhe5mx2DelFwzuFgbPGEDzXlRihztH1YtQfQ_bO8_6e03H8VXPR_k7z0JU_ji5S2jEzvgz5ETs/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUB39m06Lc4t7DGHOaqEUK7XEGyYyjhdpKH70hWRp8kIxqU_wxQmLZ6YlNfk_lsssfWOhe5mx2DelFwzuFgbPGEDzXlRihztH1YtQfQ_bO8_6e03H8VXPR_k7z0JU_ji5S2jEzvgz5ETs/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+926.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Guess what kind of food we had for dinner! <br />
<br />
It's Chinese! I bet you guessed wrong, eh, eh?<br />
<br />
When we got inside, there was a wedding ceremony going on, which I found very odd, but it was really sweet, too. The couple was lovely. We headed upstairs and got our food. I had the best sweet and sour chicken ever! I want ALL of the chicken! I want some right now...Mid dinner, I went into the bathroom and changed into my dress. We were going to see a play, baby! <br />
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The play was <em>Million Dollar Quartet, </em>a long walk from China Town, indeed. I had changed my shoes from tennis shoes to five dollar flats. I forgot to bring my comfortable dress shoes, and so I had to buy mine at a French supermarket! They went with my dress, though, polka dots and all.<br />
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The play was really, really, good. It had the best Johnny Cash and Elvis impersonators. The music was fantastic. Mid way through, they started singing "Down By the Riverside", and I started crying a little because it's a song that we sing a lot back home. Kind of uncanny, huh?<br />
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It was great, but when we got out I was so tired I could have sleep walked. By the time we got on the train, I was delirious. I started to babble. I put a flower hair clip in my hair (like an actual, 3-d, large flower clip) sideways on my head, and I turned to my seat mate/friend and said, "Do I look pretty?"<br />
<br />
"Yes, yes, Esther. You look pretty."<br />
<br />
I turned to my delegation LEADER and said.<br />
<br />
"Kathy!"<br />
<br />
And Kathy said, "Hi Esther! Are you tired?"<br />
<br />
"Oh yes, very very tired. DO I LOOK PRETTY?"<br />
<br />
"You look very pretty Esther."<br />
<br />
Such good people. My friends carried me some of the way, like I was a drunkard. It was a lot of fun, though. As soon as I got to the hotel, I was out like a light. And that was my day!Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-35805208865508722492011-08-01T17:56:00.000-07:002011-08-01T17:56:54.912-07:00DAY ELEVEN: <br />
<br />
I wrote in my journal, <br />
<br />
<em>I slept like a rock last night; like a rock that developed human needs and decided it needed to sleep.</em><br />
<br />
I need to work on my similes. Anyway, today was the day that I would say goodbye to UKSA. A very sad moment, because I think UKSA was my favorite part. It was a great bonding and learning experience, and I will remember it forever. One bad thing that <em>did </em>happen was a real shocker, though. I unloaded my suitcase from their storage room, and to my up most horror, the wheel had broken off! The people that had handled it had snapped it off on accident, and they even put the broken wheel in my suitcase for some twisted memento. Well, there was no way that I could fix the wheel, or afford a new suitcase, so I was stuck with carrying a forty pound black monster around for the rest of the week. Not fun, but at least I had a suitcase!<br />
<br />
We said goodbye to our instructors, a sad moment indeed. I will especially miss Freddy, the adorable one who was willing to kick himself in the butt for 50 pence if he was "in the mood". <br />
<br />
We had a very long walk uphill to our ferry. I would rather not relive that, because, well, it was very hard. I was so thankful by the time I got to the ferry. One male delegate carried my suitcase to the storage room. I love men with their arm muscles and their chivalry . . . of course, that kind of thing happened twice in the trip. <br />
<br />
The ferry ride was about an hour. I occupied my time by reading <em>Water for Elephants. </em>It was pretty good. I might write a review about it someday in my other, much less updated, blog. We landed, hopped on our bus, and headed to London! London is my favorite city that I have visited. It's smaller than I thought it was, but it's really cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21c7HUc8taut-jcpmssu8fMHpewj-sVjDXj8kqikCK7StFKkaRVHeIdDxHdqPs5KDKKn5SFw5lPVPLbQGd7WsB9lKFQb6PxMd1H0U01BKu0Wh4Tr8TaTDf8t4JIGE8T_vfpZFIHWJt5g/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21c7HUc8taut-jcpmssu8fMHpewj-sVjDXj8kqikCK7StFKkaRVHeIdDxHdqPs5KDKKn5SFw5lPVPLbQGd7WsB9lKFQb6PxMd1H0U01BKu0Wh4Tr8TaTDf8t4JIGE8T_vfpZFIHWJt5g/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parliament building!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
We went to the Imperial War Museum. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgce5FJnICq7nkOoS_2M5HIPmgDz4OsN7Lrn9eVzODmpYtGtGL7vGWv4HgFFCv-hC797L-94qzxM49T_M5y34WPXqkLbRaUSHzM8Jcaba_vHOxdy8nefB3rxS9Pzu-NMLbvcXjppfyBwg/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgce5FJnICq7nkOoS_2M5HIPmgDz4OsN7Lrn9eVzODmpYtGtGL7vGWv4HgFFCv-hC797L-94qzxM49T_M5y34WPXqkLbRaUSHzM8Jcaba_vHOxdy8nefB3rxS9Pzu-NMLbvcXjppfyBwg/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It was so interesting! Very, very informative, and really big. Like all others, I didn't get to stay and look at all I wanted, but what I did see was very cool. There was one exhibit dedicated to the life of children during WWII, and it was a real eye-opener. One fact I found interesting was that children were given the biggest portions during the war. They were given meat and vegetables to promote growth. Grains were not recommended because they were harder to digest, and were only given as supplements. I would really like to visit the place again and see what I missed.<br />
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Next up, London Eye! I think it's one of those things that everyone wants to do, and it was so amazing! The line didn't take long at all, due to our P2P privileges, but I think that it would have gone fast anyway because the people working the lines are efficient and the capsules are massive. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmv_iP5jy9sWkiZXnfoQ-eJwLs807DGgLQm5IsG2Sp041amzK7BAkPZ9P8A_pQE4rLSt7eEqbx7aKQmQx4TbkJ8XZ9elyDZ6qqrce8joU_4RhyEPhyphenhyphenUsZ-erGNx20k-4QCYN4LA5YDwHQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmv_iP5jy9sWkiZXnfoQ-eJwLs807DGgLQm5IsG2Sp041amzK7BAkPZ9P8A_pQE4rLSt7eEqbx7aKQmQx4TbkJ8XZ9elyDZ6qqrce8joU_4RhyEPhyphenhyphenUsZ-erGNx20k-4QCYN4LA5YDwHQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+775.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London Eye from a distance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We got into the capsules in no time, and we were soon enjoying the wonderful view.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6e76U3FjhkAQbTnb3rIeUDWPMHW1-_T8Pnpq4pMJ-zsalqX8FT_7PDKUUoWbwjvL3bGG0WeBxZFO1h3402Bb9x9pyed3gfb9uzzCsTUQ0lSQTCgWUc9NTe4N-z5ofTije7xfJ3AIRxM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6e76U3FjhkAQbTnb3rIeUDWPMHW1-_T8Pnpq4pMJ-zsalqX8FT_7PDKUUoWbwjvL3bGG0WeBxZFO1h3402Bb9x9pyed3gfb9uzzCsTUQ0lSQTCgWUc9NTe4N-z5ofTije7xfJ3AIRxM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+786.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI__F0U23ueDY7qDgdxEfU24J0efao7He5L0XEg9qlso4KTRYQ6n77DVVcRiWvoyuyi2aWOQkfId1d0K7VE6dt4-PCjJCn5946N8-BbwO4rb3fc9xVdP1r7TVIKjzwz7be-WJHUjJNw38/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI__F0U23ueDY7qDgdxEfU24J0efao7He5L0XEg9qlso4KTRYQ6n77DVVcRiWvoyuyi2aWOQkfId1d0K7VE6dt4-PCjJCn5946N8-BbwO4rb3fc9xVdP1r7TVIKjzwz7be-WJHUjJNw38/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+787.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in the capsule.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Shortly after this picture was taken, someone said, "Esther, you are so funny!" And I was like, eh? And she said that she thought it was cute how I always smiled so wide. I don't even notice that I smile so wide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHKbY5cVvS9TfGGmumWiyLc2SBpjbNNz3MmtFMeElT6p-s2hONcHobu4MpXFm_cIIQzNydmAGBGXxUHK3qPnrwWsFnZOV0qH0hphEoVKiJ_VtV6hVC4u9iiwWiojfVApoRT4kE_xbNmo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHKbY5cVvS9TfGGmumWiyLc2SBpjbNNz3MmtFMeElT6p-s2hONcHobu4MpXFm_cIIQzNydmAGBGXxUHK3qPnrwWsFnZOV0qH0hphEoVKiJ_VtV6hVC4u9iiwWiojfVApoRT4kE_xbNmo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+783.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my gal pals!<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQWYnqEaDBz9X1PwvqSEiQXJRmGvJJnmSTSbJLC63mubMghICawZNPkQ-F3FcwsjWwOrIbuPfYclJGEZweYLEbTqPuGsFu4nXosyH2U6TYat4eBgOtgW2alk8LwnEYyNNdUaMU1vh9dc/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQWYnqEaDBz9X1PwvqSEiQXJRmGvJJnmSTSbJLC63mubMghICawZNPkQ-F3FcwsjWwOrIbuPfYclJGEZweYLEbTqPuGsFu4nXosyH2U6TYat4eBgOtgW2alk8LwnEYyNNdUaMU1vh9dc/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+804.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We got to the ground too soon! Although the ride was about thirty minutes long. The London Eye is the largest Ferris wheel in the world after all!<br />
We had dinner at a fancy pizza place. The food was delicious, but I could have eaten even more! It started to rain as we left for our bus, and I forgot my rain gear. I got wet, but it was also really fun walking in the rain.<br />
Our hotel was a Hilton, and it was wonderful! My roommate and I got a whole room to ourselves, and the beds were big and comfy, and the bathroom was spacious and clean. We were so excited that we opened up a bottle of water as a toast to our happiness. Shortly after drinking the water, a girl came into our room and pointed out that the water was 4.99 . . . Huzzah.<br />
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Another great day.Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-81406306393249795802011-07-21T16:37:00.000-07:002011-07-21T16:37:36.135-07:00DAYS NINE through TEN (UKSA)DAYS NINE through TEN (UKSA)<br />
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It's odd, even though UKSA was one of my favorite parts, I took like a single picture. It must have been due to the fact that I was on water all the time, and I didn't want to lose my camera in the ocean. It happened to a poor girl while she was boarding a boat, and ever since that I was ever cautious.<br />
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I had a marvelous 5 hour sleep. I woke up surprisingly refreshed! We were now in England! We got off of our boat, hopped on a bus, and then walked to a dock where we waited for yet another boat to the Isle of Wight. We took some pictures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlimCL71PwibEjKWc2LYXGBshQdQbRF6VfuCtmOvM-jmVBeSU8ic0wnsSoj9rVVDfnxxYACdZ57lzOZtWihpgxuHTOtWcNKRoOA-bACtR9m6SZjTbpXWzA7_kmMetHrVzxJ2gO8dlp-Q/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlimCL71PwibEjKWc2LYXGBshQdQbRF6VfuCtmOvM-jmVBeSU8ic0wnsSoj9rVVDfnxxYACdZ57lzOZtWihpgxuHTOtWcNKRoOA-bACtR9m6SZjTbpXWzA7_kmMetHrVzxJ2gO8dlp-Q/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+712.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me feeling like Doctor Who.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was cold near the water, so we made a barricade of suitcases and sat in it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt8cFZbBmBRZ2KZTYu-iTfnOqhtKileyl_RzIuylP1rPA7YFuITNWJ8UKRBMgbguiMy_3GNH0J25dmYfR3E9j5EpuJ1J6IAaN6Y48p2LqlKfSz0TT_A2wm8y7qR8M2C1EuANygfAx9eQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt8cFZbBmBRZ2KZTYu-iTfnOqhtKileyl_RzIuylP1rPA7YFuITNWJ8UKRBMgbguiMy_3GNH0J25dmYfR3E9j5EpuJ1J6IAaN6Y48p2LqlKfSz0TT_A2wm8y7qR8M2C1EuANygfAx9eQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+709.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice and toasty?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Our small boat came shortly after that. It was half covered, and half uncovered. Everyone made a mad dash for the uncovered part...except me. I grabbed a seat under the covered part, and thus, by the end of the trip, I was among the few who were actually dry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFJ1vxSAnjZB3zKixpQnqFeYDVGn8OoTiZoYSTjMmEgIDSsosOeafh-Aqc814s0MQCPNOMXDwudipXNG2l768ztfTPGNKad6WUP5z_TJTgjf1b-oKh1B413zBPm0-NTzZM7AYzM1SRE0/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFJ1vxSAnjZB3zKixpQnqFeYDVGn8OoTiZoYSTjMmEgIDSsosOeafh-Aqc814s0MQCPNOMXDwudipXNG2l768ztfTPGNKad6WUP5z_TJTgjf1b-oKh1B413zBPm0-NTzZM7AYzM1SRE0/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+716.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this girl with all her preparedness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtcTJeXBYjUo4NW-RrWoeBRHdA57yqVGWl8d61DiAgADYYzdz-aPnDK_lPzLRFgOJ8dn-kAhvj2sNKEMz7Oi7iLYaVtw-pjlvDfp0kiU8wWM_4CawOFSCgqqCshbChtfpuhIz692QdWw/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtcTJeXBYjUo4NW-RrWoeBRHdA57yqVGWl8d61DiAgADYYzdz-aPnDK_lPzLRFgOJ8dn-kAhvj2sNKEMz7Oi7iLYaVtw-pjlvDfp0kiU8wWM_4CawOFSCgqqCshbChtfpuhIz692QdWw/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+714.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We arrived at UKSA an hour later. We were greeted warmly by the most handsome boating instructors to grace the ocean. With that serenade gone, we were leaded to the campus where we were shown around. I got a dorm that I shared with four or five other girls. Our dorm was also the only one that had a wi fi hotspot...joy to the world. People often crowded outside our room for wi fi. <br />
<br />
We headed straight to our first adventure, raft building. Seperated into four teams of five, we were given two wooden logs, a barrel, two waterboards, lots of rope, and thirty minutes. Boy, those minutes went fast. Apparently I can't tie a knot because a friendly yet incredibly blunt (I think it's the English way) young man came up to me and said, "That's one shoddy knot!" <br />
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Yes, I loved these guys. Anyway, our raft turned out pretty well. The instructors said that they were the best they had seen yet, yay. We had series of races, which my team all lost. Whichever team I am on during the whole trip lost. At this point I am pretty sure I'm either really unlucky or highly unskilled! The people with the most points won something at the end, and my team got last place. We tied for first with our team cheer, though! We couldn't think of anything, so when our turn came, I led my team in an operatic song of triumph. It must have struck a sweet note, because afterwords a guy came up to me and said, "I didn't know you could sing opera!" My "moment" was brought up a lot after that.<br />
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We had the rest of the day off, thank goodness! I was really tired. The below freezing water and the five hours sleep got to me at last.<br />
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We hung around and just partied. I contacted home, and had a nice long chat with my family, which was wonderful. Dinner was really good! I retreated back to my dorm for some needed R and R.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SeQqTucJhOfgvTF-fsIpxFQ_OTD5LM_khQFIcEb-8mr3bFTY3aa-PoHz3oyX7IABHsSTagMKN03iYbjuAbwsn8Xa6f8MYErB3Q-CLNJXHyLUw_b3TYBtCQaOjOUhrg7OODq0OwgbBho/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SeQqTucJhOfgvTF-fsIpxFQ_OTD5LM_khQFIcEb-8mr3bFTY3aa-PoHz3oyX7IABHsSTagMKN03iYbjuAbwsn8Xa6f8MYErB3Q-CLNJXHyLUw_b3TYBtCQaOjOUhrg7OODq0OwgbBho/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The next morning we had a delicious breakfast! I think it was my first warm breakfast on the trip! I had ham, and hashbrowns, and oh, it was so good. <br />
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We went kayaking. I had trouble finding my wetsuit, so I had to go ask for another. Luckily, it fit me. I got really scared for a second there though.<br />
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We went for our kayaking lessons! I was lucky enough to share a kayak with a good friend. We picked it up pretty fast, and soon we were off kayaking down the coast. It was so wonderful, and I did pretty well. Our kayak stayed consistently in second place. (We were behind two speed demons) We kayaked for two hours. We encountered a deserted boat, crabs, and fish. Our instructors, being adventurous lads, went crab hunting. One got his finger pinched! It was a wonderful experience. By the time we were done, my arms ached, but I felt great. <br />
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We had a bag lunch, and it was sandwiches. I enjoyed my chips, but egg and mayonaisse sandwiches just don't do it for me. Because of the uncertain water, sailing lessons were canceled. I am sad I missed the opportunity, but I was so tired at the time it didn't bother me so much. Because we had to use up the free time, the Is took us orienteering in the forests.<br />
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I didn't accomplish much there, and my team got last place. It was fun, though. And a good memory. One unfortunate guy, while running through a treacherous path down a hill side, tripped, fell into a series of thorn bushes, and then rolled into a patch of stinging nettle. OUCH.<br />
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Later that night we went for our recreational activity. We treked uphill through suburbia for fifteen minutes. My legs went numb, but when I saw the park in the distance I became very happy. I forgot my camera, unfortunately, but the image is still clear in my mind. It was a large green field, and the air was crisp and cool. We did relay races, lots and lots of them, until my legs felt like they were going to fall off. We got to choose between playing soccer and rounders, and I chose the latter.<br />
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Rounders is a lot like baseball, and it was so much fun to play! I really wanted to play more, but the others didn't feel like it. We sat and talked with Dan, one of our instructors, instead. He was a funny, quirky red-head, that didn't know a whole lot about America, I think. His eyes bugged out of his head when we told him America has frozen waffles. He had never heard of such a thing!<br />
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Back to bed with us! It was a great day, one of my favorites. I worked long and hard, and made some new friends too. One of my favorite moments in all the trip.Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-70988330037740584212011-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:002011-07-21T15:47:53.328-07:00DAY 8DAY 8<br />
<br />
Today would go down as the most emotional day of the trip -- at least for me. I can't speak for my other delegation members, of course.<br />
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I woke up sleepy because we had to get up at 5:15 or so in order to get ready in time for breakfast. There was another delegation coming to eat right after us, so we had to eat and clear out. Breakfast was almost warm, with slices of ham and fresh milk and scrambled eggs. I had a really bad experience with scrambled eggs somewhere along Europe, and after that they all tasted nasty, so I avoided them like anyone would avoid a toxic egg. I had a ham sandwich, but had to scarf it down too quickly because I had to go upstairs and grab my suitcase. Since we weren't allowed to use the elevator, I dragged down my suitcase five flights. Better than the drag upstairs yesterday!<br />
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We hopped on the bus. I was excited, for today, but also wary. Today was going to focus on D-Day, and so I knew I was going to weep.<br />
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Grey clouds knit closely together, and rain began to sprinkle us as we stepped off of our bus. I am glad that I took precautions and brought my rain gear, or my fun would have been "dampened". (HAHAAHAHAA) We walked to a cliff side where Germans had been encamped on D-Day, about twenty miles from Omaha beach. Destroyed and ruined bunkers littered the area, along with ones that were still in fine condition. We saw turrets and fox holes and a stand where a massive gun would have stood, being able to shoot over 5 miles if I rememeber correctly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spike in the center is where a giant gun would have been.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We toured a bunker, which was quite interesting indeed. We learned that bunkers were practically invicible structures, and the only way to destroy them was to blow them up from the inside. An example of this stood not far away, where a massive stone more than ten feet tall stood many, many yards where it was originally before the bunker it was a part of blew up. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qp0YpWW6k5fXTum8SJGC5OqYkupDWMo4-8_SAFxNVOS7qbBwQeTSb-BBm7_vqOrujOVAr_mQKf2fZAUkt5_2Lf_DwXa-Io20YseoD_Vxaa8eADPwC1c-d5RvObm2WHTAJt00-3TaR6w/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qp0YpWW6k5fXTum8SJGC5OqYkupDWMo4-8_SAFxNVOS7qbBwQeTSb-BBm7_vqOrujOVAr_mQKf2fZAUkt5_2Lf_DwXa-Io20YseoD_Vxaa8eADPwC1c-d5RvObm2WHTAJt00-3TaR6w/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+647.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bunker intact. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs06NsVI3QYwl9BbWNfTVss-08j-aMhrwt3zhxTpDM_UJ0jLzRbl_ai2R0KertyIaOVJBaY1Uq4GhRUXhaHgvW-9uEndT51gwzDLiQaDrtVQSVCL_tRj3aed0p7pD7aXLr3wtC9UFH4eE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs06NsVI3QYwl9BbWNfTVss-08j-aMhrwt3zhxTpDM_UJ0jLzRbl_ai2R0KertyIaOVJBaY1Uq4GhRUXhaHgvW-9uEndT51gwzDLiQaDrtVQSVCL_tRj3aed0p7pD7aXLr3wtC9UFH4eE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+652.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A destroyed bunker.</td></tr>
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We also saw the cliffs that American soldiers scaled on their way to capture the German base. <br />
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We went to Omaha beach shortly after that, where I filled a bag (that was previously filled with delicious fruit snacks) with sand. We didn't stay long, since a delegation was coming for a ceremony.<br />
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We went to the Normandy American Memorial Cemetery next. It was a great experience, but I <em>really </em>don't want to tap into the emotions that require me to write about it. It's just too sad. I'll just be weak and take it from my journal.<br />
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<em>The rain was pouring by the time we got on the bus, and it still was as we arrived at the cemetery. I think it's kind of symbolic that it was raining. I didn't know beforehand, but we were doing a memorial service for our fallen troops. We stood in a line and recited the national anthem. Some were chosen to place a wreath on the monument that stood overlooking the graves. When I stood there singing, I was pummelled with sadness, but with pride, too. The tears didn't hit until we walked the cemetery. I just wanted to sit in the rain and cry my eyes out.</em><br />
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I remember that my voice was strained when I sang, and afterwords I just stayed silent. If I talked I would have burst into tears. It is truly something to stand before those who have given their lives for you, indirectly or not.<br />
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We went to Caen's memorial museum after that. It was fantastically informative! And of course, I cried here too, but not as badly. I wish I could have stayed in each exhibit longer, but my fellow delegates blazed through each room so fast I could barely keep up! It was like that with all the museums I went to, but at least I got a taste of them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in the Caen's memorial museum</td></tr>
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We set off for our ferry to England! While we were at the building where the bus picked us up for the ferry, I had time to relax. I played some games with my friends and had a really good time. Then we boarded our pick-up bus to the ferry. It was HUGE! Massive, gigantic.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtewGDMI00fnCdg87nAeedKUhlGEPkOLWkjYk2piMEZGG5JVwjJFKSo5GvZ7jg-eWQYwoxIvBtW3sxNsX7cc8Lf_jm4tHotpNRi_MI2iwfbFNIE5Pf-BcSAwMNBx5XUIYLOF0g4JrqBE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtewGDMI00fnCdg87nAeedKUhlGEPkOLWkjYk2piMEZGG5JVwjJFKSo5GvZ7jg-eWQYwoxIvBtW3sxNsX7cc8Lf_jm4tHotpNRi_MI2iwfbFNIE5Pf-BcSAwMNBx5XUIYLOF0g4JrqBE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+697.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We had a quick orientation about the place, and then were sent to our rooms. Because we were welcome guests, the ferry was going to hold a private disco just of us. I'm sure it would have been fun, but I decided not to go. We were only going to get five hours sleep, and if I had gone it would have been cut down to four. Instead, I went to my room. One of my friends stayed behind too, so I wasn't alone. I put on my PJs and let the ocean lull me to sleep. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rHj8O294JU3xMr5vaZsb63Fbe_dCWsNPg5LCkCphQc14LxqG-NYuyownY-M6nE5fUXU6eLpRoevEevZUyQgkFGFTGfSRLZQKGqf2Md7_k9Q3eocXO6aJDz8fEbzfupn1-x4hZ7iYTwo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rHj8O294JU3xMr5vaZsb63Fbe_dCWsNPg5LCkCphQc14LxqG-NYuyownY-M6nE5fUXU6eLpRoevEevZUyQgkFGFTGfSRLZQKGqf2Md7_k9Q3eocXO6aJDz8fEbzfupn1-x4hZ7iYTwo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+699.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for sleep!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-79919231230331634782011-07-19T14:55:00.001-07:002011-07-19T14:55:41.893-07:00DAY SIX through SEVEN(Can't upload many pics, sorry)<br />
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DAY SIX<br />
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Today was the first day of exploring Paris. Exciting, right? I looked forward to visiting Ireland most, but the city I looked forward to most was Paris. From our trip from Belgium, we stayed at a French hotel called <em>Relais de Chartreux, </em>which, without traffic, is about one hour from Paris. But there is always traffic in Paris, so it's more like two and a half! <br />
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When we got to the <em>Relais </em>the day before DAY SIX, we had a few surprises. First, there was another delegation sharing the hotel, which was something I wasn't expecting! It was a middle school delegation. We met a lot of middle school delegations on the trip. Second, was the hotel itself. It looked like a fancy hotel from the 80s that looks <em>okay </em>superficially, but it was actually kind of run-down. One set of girls had their room completely flooded, and my hotel room had a lamp that was supposed to be screwed in the wall, but was hanging by a few wires. At first, I thought it was some artistic choice, but when I saw the wires, I checked for other suspicious things that weren't quite right. Good thing I didn't find any! I shared my room with two other girls. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAi20Y6tILX5UcF3Quf59yJGMB1ZsxmRUg4IGEVXXZJOCGW8s0i8wPfvef26E8B7J_YTXHxR1R9Y3mG003rPg4gpCdzGMHKqNTFjglMVSMmfnweSlMs-iLTJN1wkZ_k5ihX_IQr5kB_sE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAi20Y6tILX5UcF3Quf59yJGMB1ZsxmRUg4IGEVXXZJOCGW8s0i8wPfvef26E8B7J_YTXHxR1R9Y3mG003rPg4gpCdzGMHKqNTFjglMVSMmfnweSlMs-iLTJN1wkZ_k5ihX_IQr5kB_sE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+497.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hotel room. My bed is the blue thing on the right.</td></tr>
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After spending the night, we set off for our tour. It took a long time to get there, so I occupied my time by taking pictures of graffiti on the highway, ha! Too bad I didn't get to watch the <em>beautiful </em>French country side. It's the third prettiest country side I've seen, yup!<br />
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We finally got to Paris. On our way to our meeting point, we saw amazing places like the modern art museum. It looked like it was constructed of pipes!<br />
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And we got to see the Eiffel tower in the distance. It is easily spotted from lots of places in Paris. We arrived to our tour over and hour late, but our tour guide didn't seem to mind. I'm sure it happens to a lot of tour guides who live in Paris! Our meeting spot was just outside the <em>Arc de Triomphe, </em>and it was beautiful. The <em>Arc </em>is truly an amazing monument, and it struck a chord with me for some reason, so I took a lot of pictures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preeeetty.</td></tr>
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We got in a little bit of trouble, actually. Our bus parked right in front of a vantage point for the <em>Arc </em>and some photographers got really mad when our massive vehicle pulled into their shot. An Indian man waved his arms animatedly just like the man at the Amsterdam Burger King. It was actually kind of funny. Our tour guide was a young woman with a very soft voice. She was very polite, and ended most of her sentences with a soft, "Okay?". She was adorable. Some people fell asleep to the peaceful tone of her voice, not that she was uninteresting. <br />
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After that, we had lunch. It was flam, which is like a very thin, and very soft pizza. (Thanks to my delegation leader who told me what it was!) The pizzas were about a foot by foot long, but we still ate like four of them. One friend ate a whole pizza by himself. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Said friend with his amazing hitch-hiker's thumb.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUgT9nE1rrhD9RqECO7paS1XSvf40hZxUIZi8vd0_pw5cqIf4BhF6X-4bypAUc34ZbugcDcdnRyn-pi9aY_efp3a9sLfAXg93jqi5QzqibmkgGL7b3KNnHGQ7QyzMbWWfnPdAFim3VuE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUgT9nE1rrhD9RqECO7paS1XSvf40hZxUIZi8vd0_pw5cqIf4BhF6X-4bypAUc34ZbugcDcdnRyn-pi9aY_efp3a9sLfAXg93jqi5QzqibmkgGL7b3KNnHGQ7QyzMbWWfnPdAFim3VuE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+432.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Said flam.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
During lunch, our delegations were separated into teams that would tour the Louvre later on. It would be kind of like a scavenger hunt for famous pieces of art.<br />
<br />
We had a short drive to the Louvre, which is the largest museum in the world, and it's impossible not to tell. The whole place is massive, and you couldn't fit the whole thing in a picture unless you took it from high in the sky.<br />
<br />
We started underground, meeting at the famous glass pyramid that you see in the pictures. It serves to refract light throughout a lot of the underground area. After being warned about pickpockets, we were slapped on the back and set off on our journey.<br />
<br />
It was great! We only got to spend one hour there, but it was one of the best parts of the trip. To spend such little time there was torture. I would have been fine staying there all day, and then coming back the next. I was looking forward to the Louvre more than anything (except cutting peat, duh) and so I was a little disappointed on how little I got to see.<br />
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We set off to find the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and many other classics. And we found them!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpXohedhPfZH3SDQc1lTE4LjXCgD0ir4wjgY7lJ8Zrp_qkpdnbCgzllBAtMT_kyWv4A7Im4bD-4sY8AGx1OP__sV1AEFNcfM44Ou5H89zPWtMCOMGde3X9YLWM7t0UCUyiJs-lni3kq8/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpXohedhPfZH3SDQc1lTE4LjXCgD0ir4wjgY7lJ8Zrp_qkpdnbCgzllBAtMT_kyWv4A7Im4bD-4sY8AGx1OP__sV1AEFNcfM44Ou5H89zPWtMCOMGde3X9YLWM7t0UCUyiJs-lni3kq8/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+484.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I have tons more where that came from, but I can't upload them all on here so...hurray.<br />
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When we were done, a good friend of mine came up to me and announced she had been pick pocketed. 10 euro gone! I'm glad I kept my money around my neck. I got a few things for my loved ones, and then we departed.<br />
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We went to Montemartre next. It's famous for being an art district, and being on a very high hill. Somehow I managed to keep my pep for the ten minute wall up-hill, and skipped up the stairs occasionally and hummed. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRomv-PjuVRkgCdn2kmV84oEb5Jfie_PBz5kzfSZ2F1-yBO_kRtHC0PZvU_YY-O-kER9vjpuiEv1EBLt8KMNsk9bch8QRs6Aw8optzXNHEDBlq2wInTze1AS3ZJVryd46_qwQP51KKIHo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRomv-PjuVRkgCdn2kmV84oEb5Jfie_PBz5kzfSZ2F1-yBO_kRtHC0PZvU_YY-O-kER9vjpuiEv1EBLt8KMNsk9bch8QRs6Aw8optzXNHEDBlq2wInTze1AS3ZJVryd46_qwQP51KKIHo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+488.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at the top of the hill!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
I lost my pep during shopping time. . .I had already used up all my Paris money and couldn't afford anything else. Basically, I just wallowed around. I tried not to complain too much, but my frustration came through every now and then. My friends were really good about it though. Painters completely filled the square, and everyone except me and two others got their portrait done. I remember a moment where I was walking by, and I was approached by a painter. His eyes glittered upon seeing me, as if I was a long lost relative. Opening his arms, he said,<br />
<br />
"You there, miss! What is your name?" He grabbed my lanyard and flipped it over to the name side. His eyes flickered across the name before focusing on me again. "Ah, Esther! I like you already! Would you like your picture?" He proceeded to tell me the costs for different sizes, all completely out of my price range, but he said it with so much boisterous energy that it was hard for me to tell him no. I said I couldn't afford it, and he frowned. Then his eyes lit up as had an idea, and then he grabbed a pastel and drew 20 on his hand. He motioned me closer and he held his hand to my face, pointing to the number drawn on it. "How about for 20? Hmm? 20 for you." I started to feel uncomfortable, and though I wanted my portrait done a little, I realized I should save my money for emergencies. I spun around without a word and started to walk away. I looked back, and the glitter in his eyes was gone. He drew back a moment, put his pastel back, and looked around. When he saw another woman he drew out his arms and grinned. "You there, miss! What is your name?"<br />
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After shopping hour was done, we went to dinner. We had escargot! It was delicious! It had the consistency of a gummy bear, but it just tasted like garlic and butter, and it was really good. The frog legs had too much bone, though. We had cod, as well, which was okay, and for dessert we had flan. I think I actually gained weight over the trip, ha!<br />
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And so Day Six was over. It was a good day. My favorite part was the Louvre. Which part seems the most interesting to you? <br />
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____<br />
<br />
DAY SEVEN (yeah, there's more!) <br />
<br />
I fondly look back at day seven. It was a full, but not exhausting day like the one before. I slept well in <em>Relais de Chartreux, </em>but I slept well pretty much everywhere! All of the beds seemed like heaven to me, so I didn't understand why girls complained of uncomfortable mattresses, because that never happened to me. They must all be princesses, and I must not be able to feel the pea that's under my own bed. Breakfast was cereal and bread. No meat at all. The bread was stale, and the milk was warm, so needless to say I am glad we left that particular hotel. All the others were just fine to great, though!<br />
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Traffic to Paris was bad yet again, but I actually don't mind too much. I enjoy long car rides. I made a note to myself: If I ever live in Paris, I'm going to own a bike.<br />
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We arrived at the amazing Notre Dame cathedral! It is simply the most beautiful building, and my favorite Parisian land mark, I believe. It was started in the 12th century, and took over 200 years to build! Can you imagine? There were workers that spent their entire lives building just one cathedral. The thought blows my mind.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwQXpe6UpnYGjdv3SclD0yHf8NiSO5EQ6MaPO095INACCk4__R1rBF5hc0HMFhYEzZMqe-qn51Bf_W-nVcfBW9RHqumXGOgJO_8jTD5aVkwEYfqy4b2ynsoTIXDIdHFvmCcR24fRmVAY/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwQXpe6UpnYGjdv3SclD0yHf8NiSO5EQ6MaPO095INACCk4__R1rBF5hc0HMFhYEzZMqe-qn51Bf_W-nVcfBW9RHqumXGOgJO_8jTD5aVkwEYfqy4b2ynsoTIXDIdHFvmCcR24fRmVAY/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+509.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGY86hsTT7ayRc2DcMXNY3C2hwvgbwczun5SL6lO68JbfhW6pqln4YmElgrFYfawjOSfmipE9LuUYF2qddrolGMJkzVEpJxj1_Yh_U1Zwwrm_226vjB6cyHSOomUjwNrAFNbzkddu3ROU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGY86hsTT7ayRc2DcMXNY3C2hwvgbwczun5SL6lO68JbfhW6pqln4YmElgrFYfawjOSfmipE9LuUYF2qddrolGMJkzVEpJxj1_Yh_U1Zwwrm_226vjB6cyHSOomUjwNrAFNbzkddu3ROU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+512.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv11FYjuUY0zzfps84xLHVcXNPxhRsQBNB3veUuMfXjpMfJQk0PWDUFThMqOZS7_lHZqWz-WtXAgsakIl21f9EDULT3wkMoLLKVjn2Fo5BjzFiQiHeFLmEZt1p6RBaJjqD_FwNoQS3gxQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv11FYjuUY0zzfps84xLHVcXNPxhRsQBNB3veUuMfXjpMfJQk0PWDUFThMqOZS7_lHZqWz-WtXAgsakIl21f9EDULT3wkMoLLKVjn2Fo5BjzFiQiHeFLmEZt1p6RBaJjqD_FwNoQS3gxQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+510.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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It is so incredibly detailed, that pictures cannot do it justice. This is a picture of the arch over the entrance...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZPW2GqlCt2iLD5TwGfCRSpNvPk4jPyrGCRDbplnc_KxyQsXZmZ0HI0vjP9nMmwnRbJ6svoNXDsMeywZDQgdtT2EkJ6gn9cyKzpV-469muHwFTWN5knACGPNkj4c8pzXCnRujR3-ma2Q/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZPW2GqlCt2iLD5TwGfCRSpNvPk4jPyrGCRDbplnc_KxyQsXZmZ0HI0vjP9nMmwnRbJ6svoNXDsMeywZDQgdtT2EkJ6gn9cyKzpV-469muHwFTWN5knACGPNkj4c8pzXCnRujR3-ma2Q/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+531.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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And inside was just as amazing. I liked the windows and the arches best. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZQiA_WR_j26LgSlPWFMNSJANKmMBcZMTZOlyhxmJfh5gWHA-FpytZ_lh7aZqPDuHsNuZ99bQtVl0xEyogRMPFw0vi942I8DVihl173GwErKdb1q52syPzgtMMUu3nx8rHfyjZQr-3To/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZQiA_WR_j26LgSlPWFMNSJANKmMBcZMTZOlyhxmJfh5gWHA-FpytZ_lh7aZqPDuHsNuZ99bQtVl0xEyogRMPFw0vi942I8DVihl173GwErKdb1q52syPzgtMMUu3nx8rHfyjZQr-3To/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+524.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We were told to meet outside in an hour. I was the last to leave, one, because Notre Dame is amazing, and two, shopping time was coming up. We walked around a bit. I didn't get anything, even though there were some really cheap items that were also cute.<br />
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Our lunch took place on a ferry tour. It was really nice. I got to sit next to a friend I got to know online, and she is really kind so I enjoyed myself. The tour was interesting. We had microwavable noodles for lunch, which were for some reason AMAZING. I wish I remembered the brand. I could eat them every day. My friend Josh bought me a crepe, which was delicious. Bless his little rich soul. We saw cool sites, like the world's thinnest building.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfP5bvztheH4qlkhy56bP_ISYdoIaBbSN0PzW2rpoQBMYqS4yqisAb1LxBZglmGaaFRS9WB7GkWbHGLSFgkQFbiOpdG3elNvAM9_B7c7AwjqJLl7GH-lif92jkY0siMpeE5y5IuRHl7E/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfP5bvztheH4qlkhy56bP_ISYdoIaBbSN0PzW2rpoQBMYqS4yqisAb1LxBZglmGaaFRS9WB7GkWbHGLSFgkQFbiOpdG3elNvAM9_B7c7AwjqJLl7GH-lif92jkY0siMpeE5y5IuRHl7E/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+568.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's also a museum!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Next up, Eiffel tower! It's a really amazing structure. I wouldn't say that it is beautiful, but there is something about the way it's built that makes it stand out in a pleasant way. I said in my journal that it was "imposingly elegant". <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl4P1-td2MxxBmKoNjboCZxKTIvkj-Coh1cgO8XU6tl7NT8-nkg4fg8GLIveu2CvZR552tm_f4QM7eFtZDhYc29aFR5dpxF-iIT8X9srPkSr1Pb38NoEDcGECd0bU6XsMlRze4xtkHXQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl4P1-td2MxxBmKoNjboCZxKTIvkj-Coh1cgO8XU6tl7NT8-nkg4fg8GLIveu2CvZR552tm_f4QM7eFtZDhYc29aFR5dpxF-iIT8X9srPkSr1Pb38NoEDcGECd0bU6XsMlRze4xtkHXQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+584.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
We had free time, so we toured the park next to the tower. We saw ducks! I love ducks! It was a really pretty place. Charlotte our DM (unintentional DnD reference) got our tickets, and we went up! The view was gorgeous, and that was only half way up!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqWciYhK4bCPlXBd7mhurgojEWLzUg-cWWP5qiums2bpKcYQZFV2f98pkf3r5KBtQQDqru1pTiQM44p4jDSTnb9r8qUfftlRcjXo1YNZ5W8NgYiZRzRg_flapCzp-MGj5fYPElFq8TcU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqWciYhK4bCPlXBd7mhurgojEWLzUg-cWWP5qiums2bpKcYQZFV2f98pkf3r5KBtQQDqru1pTiQM44p4jDSTnb9r8qUfftlRcjXo1YNZ5W8NgYiZRzRg_flapCzp-MGj5fYPElFq8TcU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+605.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It's a shame we couldn't reach the stop. There was a ticket mix up and ours didn't have the authority to allow us to go up to the top. A shame, but I still had a good time.<br />
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After that, we went to our hotel, Le Grand Hotel de l'Esperance. It was a very nice hotel. Our hotel rooms felt like actual rooms you'd find at home, only classier and not covered with posters of Hugh Jackman. Dinner was leg of lamb with roasted vegetables, with apple tarts for dessert. And that was the end of day seven!Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-67847742150310457902011-07-19T14:55:00.000-07:002011-07-19T14:55:22.610-07:00Day Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Okay, I get it! Being prolific is an area in which I fail terribly, and I understand that. It's half because I am busy, and half because it takes anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 for one picture to load on my computer, and I just don't like waiting for that. It's my internet connection, and it has a horrible upload speed. Therefore, to save me some time, I'm down sizing my days starting with day 6.<br />
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DAY FIVE:<br />
<br />
Today I woke up after a somewhat restless night. Throughout the night, I kept thinking it was later than it actually was, so I kept on waking up at obscene hours, at one time actually waking up my roommate. She forgave me, but I still felt bad. <br />
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I believe that breakfast was in a small restaurant upstairs. I had cereal, because there was no meat available, and an apple for the road. I regularly took apples from breakfast buffets to eat for later. Just getting my money's worth. As I was leaving to go downstairs, a French-speaking gentleman greeted me, and I greeted him back in French, and it is entirely possible that he never found out I was American, ha ha! Well, scratch that. The ever painfully obvious lanyard probably gave me away. But it was pleasant because he called me <em>madame. </em>Belgium is friendly, yet very professional, and I like it there. <br />
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We hopped on our bus to Bastogne. The trip would take about 2 hours, and I occupied myself by taking pictures through the bus-window, even though I didn't have a window seat. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLFb_FOi8C_G5KprndLMCH2w665w1bp__Y6z9YqleYjVUt5cpwXj67OeiP7VthYr8QNwa9hNguGYNG0pOq6TzBy3-UA9tcWNLN-XI3rB7HgslkS55Qi8wihhwJzxgV8iqR3ocj2MsKUg/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLFb_FOi8C_G5KprndLMCH2w665w1bp__Y6z9YqleYjVUt5cpwXj67OeiP7VthYr8QNwa9hNguGYNG0pOq6TzBy3-UA9tcWNLN-XI3rB7HgslkS55Qi8wihhwJzxgV8iqR3ocj2MsKUg/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+212.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belgium-y area which I cannot identify.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQp9dt5J0UpyifqcfVEwwpHWNUaat6YclPDxjU6EF8q5YOrfpNQeaXos-YDdCWJp7FMAcWQAHcj_0vHlwlupq1DPcowkMraKISwgqxdTPv8xtBEFCDzAvtXZgh7zBjRpBkIEIOQsWWQQM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQp9dt5J0UpyifqcfVEwwpHWNUaat6YclPDxjU6EF8q5YOrfpNQeaXos-YDdCWJp7FMAcWQAHcj_0vHlwlupq1DPcowkMraKISwgqxdTPv8xtBEFCDzAvtXZgh7zBjRpBkIEIOQsWWQQM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+209.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A highway! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>If these delightfully gray pictures fascinate you, the other ones I took during this particular journey will as well, because they all look the same as these two. It was a gray day in Belgium.<br />
<br />
We arrived in Bastogne, now a pleasant and small town, but once the stage of the WWII Battle of the Bulge.We stopped by an oddly-shaped building that had glass walls at the bottom floor, and through the glass you could see staircases going down to a cafe like area. Our friendly tour-guide, who was also the oldest tour guide we would have, hopped on the bus and said hello.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMhYyfJysEKqb-sGMGjF4A4LaMcfZaTs4aiLroC3wLNetOS8qZUgfXT41I19FQ0E0-lZRtiLvh9ZqGOIOr4u8yqzMSvwbz_RwCvMRucO47ePIfe7MloBio8tUX2aRMv8ILfOEkSnvM3c/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMhYyfJysEKqb-sGMGjF4A4LaMcfZaTs4aiLroC3wLNetOS8qZUgfXT41I19FQ0E0-lZRtiLvh9ZqGOIOr4u8yqzMSvwbz_RwCvMRucO47ePIfe7MloBio8tUX2aRMv8ILfOEkSnvM3c/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hello!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We didn't stay on our bus for long, however. Soon our tourguide had us out and to our first site -- a tank. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WYQjRdKlJRlUM6weaezNy6_jhgSnH5HJXOHV-gP8NuVnodsBmRtkYvXnF0XtcYtflsdIoXn6bDH1JkCjndyz5YlrfSvPbl_GCluRurw5jWrxTkPxOlHLwVBSHfeYCiRWPme4vMozdIQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WYQjRdKlJRlUM6weaezNy6_jhgSnH5HJXOHV-gP8NuVnodsBmRtkYvXnF0XtcYtflsdIoXn6bDH1JkCjndyz5YlrfSvPbl_GCluRurw5jWrxTkPxOlHLwVBSHfeYCiRWPme4vMozdIQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+219.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How can<em>tank</em>erious! ... The jokes need work, don't they?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This was a real tank used in the Battle of the Bulge, with its own battle scars...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfbELGshW74tXQAUDKxNjarPQa0W9ei8dDiagoOX0SQ61dDQ00cJqQj9u2Hyt28KCxxRXDGcjWx3LnqUzO72wlE5WfiMpvj3vfBZUDjkkCag01dle85xczkzuXF-9116J6r43wP6GWig/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfbELGshW74tXQAUDKxNjarPQa0W9ei8dDiagoOX0SQ61dDQ00cJqQj9u2Hyt28KCxxRXDGcjWx3LnqUzO72wlE5WfiMpvj3vfBZUDjkkCag01dle85xczkzuXF-9116J6r43wP6GWig/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+226.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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After that, we hopped on the bus for a short ride to the General Patton memorial, where we discussed how Patton affected the war, and what he accomplished. Our tour guide was very interesting about it, and because he had experienced the battle himself you felt like you could take his word for what really happened. We took a few snapshots of the memorial, and then got on the bus for our next stop -- a church.<br />
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The church that we had visited had been a shelter during <em>blitzkriegs </em>and had been bombed multiple times. Since then, it has been rebuilt and stands proudly as a site of the town's bloody history. Our guide pointed out several interesting things about the church, such as an American flag that was painted on the ceiling when the church was built, out of gratitude for our help. I thought that was really neat. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzWqlq1rBKtVqhNFUaHfasfce1i3xkZRLIKqkfcOFhQZDCFlTZZ5tASVS1ZOnLLJw-0b8U7CZF9nLRolsgKqxXy8WyC0Gtz9y_Bpu5cNYydGqxE_CCHNbh7gn7pG4H-fDlrPd7A6Gkm4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzWqlq1rBKtVqhNFUaHfasfce1i3xkZRLIKqkfcOFhQZDCFlTZZ5tASVS1ZOnLLJw-0b8U7CZF9nLRolsgKqxXy8WyC0Gtz9y_Bpu5cNYydGqxE_CCHNbh7gn7pG4H-fDlrPd7A6Gkm4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+244.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We walked back to our bus.<br />
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Next stop was a large memorial that was a massive dedication to what <em>American </em>troops accomplished during WWII (With Bulge being particular) simply called Mardasson Hill. It was a giant five-pointed star engraved with each of the fifty states' names, and the top had a wonderful view of the country side. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFm3I_Pre90ondp3GTe3fQGg40qc1SwZsMQ-c1MULJm_EREK__Frtt92RTzq6WOJLqh6SCLbSi7IhoGsJ5kqGVZY1QGbWzEUAYDAmETl0DRUeGGSPp9WiqUDfY1Q-z9uXEdj9oGIxkpNA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFm3I_Pre90ondp3GTe3fQGg40qc1SwZsMQ-c1MULJm_EREK__Frtt92RTzq6WOJLqh6SCLbSi7IhoGsJ5kqGVZY1QGbWzEUAYDAmETl0DRUeGGSPp9WiqUDfY1Q-z9uXEdj9oGIxkpNA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+262.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1G9B9ccUM8eu6vq6hpMMcNXQ7vhbNyKYxwT9qXyTfmbjSAdeVunNiMRXsP0fnTJCjeU28bl9nJYSG76eLawb8ZmzFPQSxdWrNi55tF_Bk5cN36XPgZvGd2M4b2ui1-BpAg2IbCKL3I8/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1G9B9ccUM8eu6vq6hpMMcNXQ7vhbNyKYxwT9qXyTfmbjSAdeVunNiMRXsP0fnTJCjeU28bl9nJYSG76eLawb8ZmzFPQSxdWrNi55tF_Bk5cN36XPgZvGd2M4b2ui1-BpAg2IbCKL3I8/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+256.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing on the point with Indiana on it! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr1Ksa7yiOCUNirE008nkfXcNnGIA00qDPS4gdka9xOmAqiZFv4xyC_m9NFQZFkSxe0k96b3wD_hXc5ZgVdKHhhNJwOxJ38o03Vqj8wCnvfh8MlTM4vAIcsWxYH9PAPmJ2yYwpX3f4mM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr1Ksa7yiOCUNirE008nkfXcNnGIA00qDPS4gdka9xOmAqiZFv4xyC_m9NFQZFkSxe0k96b3wD_hXc5ZgVdKHhhNJwOxJ38o03Vqj8wCnvfh8MlTM4vAIcsWxYH9PAPmJ2yYwpX3f4mM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+257.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7In9Ze0xJJ9FLkZMI-l33UsOth13dYiewUK49V1wV-ZC4E9K4chIIPH0ctl6MiQGtAWVXG3h4pnNje6U4NVhX7Or54blgxtF5-ybgnOHqlZe1hnfl73qVxsogWpxblZB3goOnvR-dS0/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7In9Ze0xJJ9FLkZMI-l33UsOth13dYiewUK49V1wV-ZC4E9K4chIIPH0ctl6MiQGtAWVXG3h4pnNje6U4NVhX7Or54blgxtF5-ybgnOHqlZe1hnfl73qVxsogWpxblZB3goOnvR-dS0/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Dakota delegation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Walking here inspired a part of my journal entry later that day.<br />
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<em>"I gained a whole new perspective on World War II, and how it affected everyone, and how those affects are still present in Bastogne. It almost seems like the city is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Battle of the Bulge, and what </em>American <em>troops did there in particular. I think that it's wonderful that the efforts of our country have not been forgotten."</em><br />
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We had a nice talk, but we couldn't stay long. Too many sites to see! This was the most enjoyable part of the tour, but the places I visited afterward held a lot more meaning to me. <br />
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Next we went to visit foxholes in a forest not too far from Mardasson Memorial. There, we learned about the typical life-style of a man who had to endure living in fox holes during the battle. Usually, there was one hole to two men, who would take shifts. One would try to sleep while the other looked for and fought off enemy soldiers. It's a terrible idea that was only considered mandatory back then. Some of the guys messed around and pretended they were soldiers. One guy grabbed a log and hoisted it like a bazooka.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafu5ATB0hl7a-O4iVJtL4mUEVDoFatOTfaD10UIY9nX0xd3SAtLDT9Bfg5hP2pzx7vO5UGNUDbDsNUxCiCQiCYMrk-0hWVWeeiBSJo8oa9afWzjNqrRCKaLMQLND3lsfsQxeTi1l2YcU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafu5ATB0hl7a-O4iVJtL4mUEVDoFatOTfaD10UIY9nX0xd3SAtLDT9Bfg5hP2pzx7vO5UGNUDbDsNUxCiCQiCYMrk-0hWVWeeiBSJo8oa9afWzjNqrRCKaLMQLND3lsfsQxeTi1l2YcU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I messed around too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtaZVvo6kptNcZ4Ljths6xyFQqFnDaZjRwj_Go4tM7vWNyEpriJ9wtvBPixxEiCAiK24ZuQMnpBaffYtPpJC6fU-fG7wH-DKkOpCOiaXUMdNReCsIjeJwVTCr4GL9mogSWmZbA9DjCcI/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtaZVvo6kptNcZ4Ljths6xyFQqFnDaZjRwj_Go4tM7vWNyEpriJ9wtvBPixxEiCAiK24ZuQMnpBaffYtPpJC6fU-fG7wH-DKkOpCOiaXUMdNReCsIjeJwVTCr4GL9mogSWmZbA9DjCcI/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So yeah, it was a little fun, but it was sobering as well. Looking at those giant, mishapen holes in the ground brought so many images to my head that it was painful.<br />
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We headed for a German grave site next. . .It made me sad to the point of almost crying. I suppose this is the enemy we are talking about here, but let's face it, these were people. Literally most of them were young boys who had their lives cut short before they knew who they were, or what they even truly belived in. I don't have the right to pronounce who among the dead was evil, or had foul intentions, because for all I know, one of them could have wanted to be a doctor, or one was so caught up in the romance of war he didn't realize what he was into before it was too late. <br />
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After our tour we set off for Paris. The trip went rather quickly, until we got into Paris, where there is no such thing as a stop sign. Traffic was horrid. It took two hours to get to dinner, but I got a good view of the city along the way. In the distance I saw the Eiffel tower and got really excited. I was in the city of love and lights and really large art museums! So exciting.<br />
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Dinner was beef and potatoes at a cool little place called <em>Auberge du Pere, </em>and it was pretty good. Half way through dinner a good friend of mine accidentally spilled coke on me, and when I let out a startled yelp everyone in my delgation made sure to take the good time to turn around in their seats and <em>"shhhh!" </em>at me. . . It kind of hurt my feelings, since everyone else was being loud, but oh well I suppose. <br />
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We went to our hotel, which was a two hour drive too, called Relais de Chartreux. I'll get on that in the next day! <br />
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Well, that's the end of day five! What do you think?Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-26614009006842850792011-07-09T13:52:00.000-07:002011-07-09T13:52:34.538-07:00DAY FOUR:<br />
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It was my last moment in my first hotel, and it was a sad moment indeed. It had one of my favorite hotel <i>rooms</i>, though not the best. Not to say the hotels were bad, though. P2P provided almost all good hotels...almost.<br />
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I showered, and having near-control of the shower head, I managed to get "cleanish" without spraying water all over the bathroom floor. (Instead of a shower curtain, it had a minuscule glass door) Never underestimate the power of a shower curtain, my friends.<br />
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I stayed behind for room checks while my roommate tugged our suitcases. That's generally how it works. In room checks, our delegation leaders check for broken beds, lamps, trash, dead bodies, etc. Almost all of our hotels didn't have anything wrong with them...almost.<br />
Anyway, our room was clear, so I was free to eat food!<br />
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I had bread and ham!<br />
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Then we got on our bus!<br />
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We departed for Belgium. We probably stayed in Belgium for about 36 hours, so it was my shortest country stay, but I liked what I saw. On our two hour journey, while still in Holland, we saw windmills! That got me excited, cause, you know, Holland and windmills is like peanut butter and garlic. They just <i>go </i>together.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei53VB7bh3-afhtiOdRMV21oZ8YI7Fp3BdzO_MVcd-2xrO8Aq6y1IHQsrhh8oBOl-GoJ5OGpLQxKKqunS2U5TqO1S_gcGetAcx0aKJe9h50EDQ3L-Zqx1haq4xzQpbuyfYLTn0VtF93k/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei53VB7bh3-afhtiOdRMV21oZ8YI7Fp3BdzO_MVcd-2xrO8Aq6y1IHQsrhh8oBOl-GoJ5OGpLQxKKqunS2U5TqO1S_gcGetAcx0aKJe9h50EDQ3L-Zqx1haq4xzQpbuyfYLTn0VtF93k/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+182.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The majestic windmill in its natural habitat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Belgium was a 2-hour trip from Holland. When we arrived at a Belgish (no, I'm not saying Belgian) rest stop, everyone magically spoke French and Dutch, so now I had a better idea of what people were saying, since I take French. I felt pressure to buy something, so I bought a Twix bar. It was the only snack I bought. Same with drinks. I recycled water bottles I got at my lunch by refilling them, so I didn't have to BUY water, no sir. I'm too cheap for that! <br />
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We arrived in Brussels soon after that. I probably won't remember a lot of this day, because my camera ran out of battery by noon, and I didn't write much in my journal at night, but this was one of my favorite days. Brussels is kind of like an American city...maybe Indianapolis? Either way, it's a pretty blend of new and old, and I only wish I had more pictures to share.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTjIxl43NeaSi6yXTSBRbZ51S_i-6ssheWITQIBh-EklKM-XA5Z4_Lqe5JK7rlyjmJRyz_uH1pAZOKcJyLhZUqm8L-zgI-fLbiDOZJXAnLeBqPT5K1OBIHj4yYs63ry94lBDjSTlSzKM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTjIxl43NeaSi6yXTSBRbZ51S_i-6ssheWITQIBh-EklKM-XA5Z4_Lqe5JK7rlyjmJRyz_uH1pAZOKcJyLhZUqm8L-zgI-fLbiDOZJXAnLeBqPT5K1OBIHj4yYs63ry94lBDjSTlSzKM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+191.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The center of town! Surprisingly traffic-free!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCBJMjzN-XSQU9QKRYsk4JEGLlda81BkDHywgbgg_2-628jYgsRFN7lDXVJpZ07x9TClHL0ngHIVEVbeMZUnWUDvixXk0Tntk9JD0Q4WGv8poTzvs3HxRLRr5A2hoN6_P_c53KpnTYcU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCBJMjzN-XSQU9QKRYsk4JEGLlda81BkDHywgbgg_2-628jYgsRFN7lDXVJpZ07x9TClHL0ngHIVEVbeMZUnWUDvixXk0Tntk9JD0Q4WGv8poTzvs3HxRLRr5A2hoN6_P_c53KpnTYcU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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First, we had a small tour of Brussels. It's quite a lovely city. We stopped by a shopping district which is like one giant, beautiful alley-way. We were walking, and then a giant hall opened to our left. It was awesome!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaIQmdkzmoiUReq13HR6vjRTML084xy6dZtvN6FA_amh2ygz1GuiCBNX10iWgmfsRp96JKSHjx2EkHwR-swYyrCeGWmjNes3_u-9hoGquc5V6quwBnMTQFeG_KMWLzve9OtfVnRb_0fs/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaIQmdkzmoiUReq13HR6vjRTML084xy6dZtvN6FA_amh2ygz1GuiCBNX10iWgmfsRp96JKSHjx2EkHwR-swYyrCeGWmjNes3_u-9hoGquc5V6quwBnMTQFeG_KMWLzve9OtfVnRb_0fs/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+198.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't it pretty? We ate on the second level, right about in the middle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We had lunch in a cool little place. It was a cozy, two story restaurant. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVuLZ3sC5aJrYfHRc6u3HVXA28Mlo9yYd_B9xLC6iBfWygYuFMrqQBcLZqS9jN9NMSLj-Wzo0amZ-6y9tN_EPN1CmfjED-TdAWCEvVNaq0KwtYCYy-8-UlXGr62UnqYWxcTQXONiOnEVE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVuLZ3sC5aJrYfHRc6u3HVXA28Mlo9yYd_B9xLC6iBfWygYuFMrqQBcLZqS9jN9NMSLj-Wzo0amZ-6y9tN_EPN1CmfjED-TdAWCEvVNaq0KwtYCYy-8-UlXGr62UnqYWxcTQXONiOnEVE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPRt67k6zqsnbIfchNx6mWU5C4l2tqfheQdFo6rcufU_I7iVFSsh54tTQyLNG1U9E3CudT9KDyUBdMRueBzYoUm_OH48FXLQ6zDmjXuAdVv6-Uwv-EAO0UGV1IAW8t36jNZBK67X4F7c/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPRt67k6zqsnbIfchNx6mWU5C4l2tqfheQdFo6rcufU_I7iVFSsh54tTQyLNG1U9E3CudT9KDyUBdMRueBzYoUm_OH48FXLQ6zDmjXuAdVv6-Uwv-EAO0UGV1IAW8t36jNZBK67X4F7c/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+200.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turkey with sweet gravy, boiled potatoes and asparagus, and bread.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-Q1GODdoilxD7_slczj41VPTrB05hBHPr7BUxFepuTenzRwB39-r2nabIYj9i0SHVwDFd3cDs9vWDJfCB1ZVOy5-fFRHAwy_BU1ZZwYiFHNZGe4t7R1rMH0DuVWVxIcLno0lVyPGJko/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-Q1GODdoilxD7_slczj41VPTrB05hBHPr7BUxFepuTenzRwB39-r2nabIYj9i0SHVwDFd3cDs9vWDJfCB1ZVOy5-fFRHAwy_BU1ZZwYiFHNZGe4t7R1rMH0DuVWVxIcLno0lVyPGJko/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creme brulee -- yum!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We went to Grand Palace next! It's considered one of the most beautiful plazas in the world, and I completely agree. It's beautiful! I wish I managed to get more that one picture, but my battery died after I took it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yi2KPgX0beDHjE3U6aFGgx6KVwMsh5H8W8OolF4YuR0kQZ8u5VCCnK7d1gjL2kM0GHjpjSQfHCI9Ij8VC9eD2UMFIElMsRMCa2Q5p1Cu1HDdWwXkvTjdP1BO0d5ijMYS8kD53qXPa6w/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yi2KPgX0beDHjE3U6aFGgx6KVwMsh5H8W8OolF4YuR0kQZ8u5VCCnK7d1gjL2kM0GHjpjSQfHCI9Ij8VC9eD2UMFIElMsRMCa2Q5p1Cu1HDdWwXkvTjdP1BO0d5ijMYS8kD53qXPa6w/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Grand Palace. It gets prettier past the turn, I'm afraid.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We had some free time to go shopping, so we did. Two guys from the North Dakota delegation were really sneaky. They took an empty can, placed it near a bench, and then proceeded to lay on said bench. They got 10 euros in ten minutes by looking like homeless boys...or something. Maybe in Brussels if you see a can, you throw money in it. I bought a few things at the market place, and I found something I really liked for my friend. I didn't get it at first, so I walked back to Grand Palace, and upon realizing that I <i>really </i>wanted to buy it, grabbed a friend and ran back. It was a lot of fun. My best shopping experience. I got WiFi sitting on the steps of a building, so I tried to chat with the people back home. No one was online... *tear*<br />
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Next we had the chocolate factory! It was full of chocolate and yummies of all shapes and sizes. We saw a chocolate chess board, chocolate shoes, chocolate letters, the works. Belgish (yup, still Belgish) We had a cool presentation about chocolate making. When the lady asked for volunteers, my hand shot up like a bullet. So I poured chocolate in a mold, shook it to get rid of bubbles, and put it aside. My shaking wasn't up to the lady's standards, so made me do it over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUFM-zvJZpWMJcYToxxtbICNtVlM6oksaxTzYQcAC_RKGdTTKoP0uDetIuz59dx2AzQ_GwkHIFsU7Dez_LZtl7SKdLye8rf51YG0EG-8NuCsJGBfXWHLBJ-Rz9_o8iM2S2AwN0CdINo4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUFM-zvJZpWMJcYToxxtbICNtVlM6oksaxTzYQcAC_RKGdTTKoP0uDetIuz59dx2AzQ_GwkHIFsU7Dez_LZtl7SKdLye8rf51YG0EG-8NuCsJGBfXWHLBJ-Rz9_o8iM2S2AwN0CdINo4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+205.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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I bought a few things afterward, but not much because Belgian (fine) is so expensive. It is, for the record, very good, though, so if you ever want some good chocolate, call Planet Chocolate!<br />
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We went to our hotel after that. I do not remember what my room looked like -- oh, yeah, I do. It was a pretty good room, small as it was. It had a shower with a curtain, so I can't complain! And beds are the best thing ever invented for human kind after a 16 our day on your feet.<br />
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And so that was day four! It was a lot of fun because at the point, everyone was making friends with each other. I liked the things I bought, and the city is beautiful. Until next time!Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-60534298798553287552011-07-06T18:49:00.000-07:002011-07-09T13:53:34.777-07:00Day Three<i>I'm baaaaack! </i>I might have lied about updating yesterday, so yes, my word is technically useless by this point, but hey, I was studying for my learner's permit...*grins*<br />
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DAY THREE, AMSTERDAM:<br />
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I was fully asleep when the hotel room phone rang and jolted me awake. I was thankful for it, actually. I was having a <i>terrible </i>dream about checking in my luggage at the airport. There was a lady with a really big black hat in my dream, and she told me that my luggage was too evil to pass through the force-field of good, past which was where all the luggage was kept. And then all my delegates were all like, "Boo you, Esther! Boo!" Anywaaaay....<br />
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Breakfast! It was in a dining hall and was a large, white table laden with food -- mostly bread. Europe likes bread, I really must say. So I had a bowl of unsweetened cornflakes (the only cornflakes Europe has, because Europe is also health conscious) and ham. I LOVE ham!<br />
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Shortly after this, we got on our bus for our tour of Anne Frank's house. I was really looking forward to visiting <i>Anne Frank's Huis</i>, because there is so much history rooted in such a small building. I used to read a book about Anne Frank's life when I was young over and over again, so I had sentimental memories attached to it as well.<br />
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We stopped in front of an Anne Frank statue to regroup.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZabr8ct-RWjy1Y5nPJQSKHe78SMAF5sgzr0986MEnC8erWVrNEmGKPzftscRItBAwGKLnoUlxzuR5pvkaqghUovzuKk-lVX7H0bc_O0Uxv5CWEf-ChvGUVLc2FUQUnwYTY2AknmYaoU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZabr8ct-RWjy1Y5nPJQSKHe78SMAF5sgzr0986MEnC8erWVrNEmGKPzftscRItBAwGKLnoUlxzuR5pvkaqghUovzuKk-lVX7H0bc_O0Uxv5CWEf-ChvGUVLc2FUQUnwYTY2AknmYaoU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne's house is right around the corner. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>And then we took a thirty second walk to the real-deal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0jsxDeT16uCa1KZT4rCDM2fPaS8hHlsy9HnuCcX_5QEzgIeUTNbxnMwpe2NXc2EphPQEsnKnRt0D3qcVXwBXfIYBFkXwd8JDdCbh4775YDuxJ4GdlJmmEp4K95KFyhN880fAHfY-DiU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0jsxDeT16uCa1KZT4rCDM2fPaS8hHlsy9HnuCcX_5QEzgIeUTNbxnMwpe2NXc2EphPQEsnKnRt0D3qcVXwBXfIYBFkXwd8JDdCbh4775YDuxJ4GdlJmmEp4K95KFyhN880fAHfY-DiU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ain't she a beaut? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've seen pictures, but the house is definitely smaller in person. There was already a massive line building up in front of the museum, and it wasn't even open yet! But being an all powerful people to people person (P2PP) we got to bypass the line and head straight in. Myahahah.... Before we did that though, we all paused to take pictures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbmu-lt1m_xydYUVY_JxY6Q4k3_-EeAYudz-TlM5dpqWWdqNh8jM501ayfDOYmbQ-bJx_vIfWQkf87hziljIqaG3guYzo1KB1kmbhqb8hxDuOOsjT9NI3hJI5-nTY7McS8mzmNz47l48/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbmu-lt1m_xydYUVY_JxY6Q4k3_-EeAYudz-TlM5dpqWWdqNh8jM501ayfDOYmbQ-bJx_vIfWQkf87hziljIqaG3guYzo1KB1kmbhqb8hxDuOOsjT9NI3hJI5-nTY7McS8mzmNz47l48/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+084.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and a friend on the front steps of Anne Frank's house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And then in we go! We had a short presentation on the history of the place, which was interesting to say the least. Past this point we weren't allowed to take pictures, so I took pictures of the ... pictures on the wall. I have a tendency to take pictures of pictures, a habit that you will be familiar with by the end of this blog.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GMa1rL3qa6SF-bUBcR8jU_lS4J9qZWIed2hXxPYxcd4lnzmQ6NLjkdZPuxYYskrQmhJSZTquhiZXNVosATUd7hel65w3PH61JU5srmVeXZV1GOhXXy-8GRUEmtS_-YBob1VMcQiVU4s/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GMa1rL3qa6SF-bUBcR8jU_lS4J9qZWIed2hXxPYxcd4lnzmQ6NLjkdZPuxYYskrQmhJSZTquhiZXNVosATUd7hel65w3PH61JU5srmVeXZV1GOhXXy-8GRUEmtS_-YBob1VMcQiVU4s/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram of the main house and annex.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCC5MAR1pfREUpI1uZCJu0aAOpGr-Mw0IqiyNtzAlixgaH0bFr7QnheUuKlPbgHQuNJ66Ghqm2CopvmMfiwRrAw8go742ca7Cp-Gq8kJ9WrObBBXnrH8yAktqjsDR2ZGpgT8oSRRKigQ/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCC5MAR1pfREUpI1uZCJu0aAOpGr-Mw0IqiyNtzAlixgaH0bFr7QnheUuKlPbgHQuNJ66Ghqm2CopvmMfiwRrAw8go742ca7Cp-Gq8kJ9WrObBBXnrH8yAktqjsDR2ZGpgT8oSRRKigQ/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+090.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time line. The picture above 1941 really had an affect on me: I loved the wistfulness of it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Next we had our tour. Wow. Everyone was still tired from jet-lag, including me, but you just had to wake yourself up for something like that. I wrote something in my journal that kind of sums it up:<br />
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<i>I <u>knew </u>of Anne Frank because I had read of her, but as I walked through that house I felt as if I actually <u>knew </u>her. It was great, and it was depressing. . . When I looked in her room and saw all those pictures glued to the walls, (</i>Note: all cut and pasted by her from books and magazines) <i>I realized that she was real. She had to go through all of it. </i><br />
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<i> </i>I learned a lot about how she lived, and it was a very small space to live in, yet she made in bearable. I have yet to read her actual diary, which is kind of shocking because I have wanted to read it for so long.<br />
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We saw the toilet, which is an odd thing to say, but I thought it was interesting because they could only flush it when the building below was closed, which was very late at night. They also had to be dead-quiet, no sounds or anything to give their position away. I couldn't imagine living like that, especially for so long like Anne and her family did. A life like that should be the stuff of fiction, but it isn't.<br />
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After our tour, we exited through the . . . Okay, I'll give you a chance to guess. . . <br />
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We exited through the gift shop! Shocker! It was actually really neat. They had <i>Diary of a Young Girl </i>in every major language, and lots of post cards. I grabbed a couple of the latter, but when I got home I realized they had been smushed. A shame, since they were some of my favorites. A friend of mine grabbed a muffin, and shortly after declared that it was the best muffin he had ever had. I never throughout the trip bought food, which is a good thing because my money ran out at the end. Instead, I feasted off the snacks of richer, junk-food-loving delegates like a vulture. Good plan, right? <b>P2PP TIP: Spending-money is important. You get three square meals a day, but sometimes breakfast won't be enough for people with big appetites. </b><br />
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We had lunch next! We had to do something new where we had to pick someone we had never talked with before, and talk to that person throughout lunch. I got a tall guy named Tre, who had a one thousand dollar camera.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQrw2WKfowvQDSecjJz3wGPFm5ZX05KpNfUPvp01IzwC5WKargweXwxU6ij3M8QmX1SFZKxL5SOj__e0ubEBSX0F2lAL_ixpSkna01ddnI3drcJ5nTnkbaMiI1f6HQ1CK0nKDw1SAphE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQrw2WKfowvQDSecjJz3wGPFm5ZX05KpNfUPvp01IzwC5WKargweXwxU6ij3M8QmX1SFZKxL5SOj__e0ubEBSX0F2lAL_ixpSkna01ddnI3drcJ5nTnkbaMiI1f6HQ1CK0nKDw1SAphE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Word.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We got to choose our meal. I chose the giant bowl of Ramen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5-Hcow0tW-9fYXIBhfzT8lBdtBL-YQvFW-asHyAxoOyYvcZtl4az_TUtYPMLHMkjcLN4wqnGRs9RL-LkLox2F4nQJHxMi68W7aIq4C0JvcpL9UTwQ51MXj-ESsFxh6IFJqLkaURtIHE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5-Hcow0tW-9fYXIBhfzT8lBdtBL-YQvFW-asHyAxoOyYvcZtl4az_TUtYPMLHMkjcLN4wqnGRs9RL-LkLox2F4nQJHxMi68W7aIq4C0JvcpL9UTwQ51MXj-ESsFxh6IFJqLkaURtIHE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+100.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think that green stuff is grass.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>My ramen tasted like grass. I think the green things were chives, but they tasted like grass. I filled up fast though, since the bowl was the size of my head. The chicken was good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsBGs1Rgojgxnc4Sm9tM8d7Fket3XR7V1Z0A_qGq75i3FmPPTA4TMFuF0g-EagV_w3hPbWwiz9_qWrShvNWqTzcAnc9l0An69xmpOYrbOLQXf_4iY4hOHn4NFqV9IzOOYTk9ovLDKQ78/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsBGs1Rgojgxnc4Sm9tM8d7Fket3XR7V1Z0A_qGq75i3FmPPTA4TMFuF0g-EagV_w3hPbWwiz9_qWrShvNWqTzcAnc9l0An69xmpOYrbOLQXf_4iY4hOHn4NFqV9IzOOYTk9ovLDKQ78/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+099.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tre messing with my camera.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Next up, canal tour! The canal tour was a lovely chance for all the delegates to unwind, or in some cases, fall asleep immediately.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5jec9-dT5DuL8b_u-KUgzZ3k90xzNX1xxGFS9bTHzws9RE_lYIXiW2cspHO5_jfak1QLQzgos0NQjpj_1yJBMaXwFtKQe6CirEXCpBaTzYBXe2Kz_-NAHPAbL7p01EVTgMdZeDWT1qA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5jec9-dT5DuL8b_u-KUgzZ3k90xzNX1xxGFS9bTHzws9RE_lYIXiW2cspHO5_jfak1QLQzgos0NQjpj_1yJBMaXwFtKQe6CirEXCpBaTzYBXe2Kz_-NAHPAbL7p01EVTgMdZeDWT1qA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+126.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Lullaby, and good night...oh, they are already asleep." </td></tr>
</tbody></table>I got some good pictures of Amsterdam.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaeMUc8_KWn82oFQCJ2Sae4w2t7tpGd2M4u5fxVHO954cZ3utj4XRVcjPnp_lh-7mMw_0NHCWVlTDWVQMuRZGJexuDMscxnML2Eb6ZWY1g2ZrUOX3RWHQdXeSdlqzou0_PhfUBhfeRp8/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaeMUc8_KWn82oFQCJ2Sae4w2t7tpGd2M4u5fxVHO954cZ3utj4XRVcjPnp_lh-7mMw_0NHCWVlTDWVQMuRZGJexuDMscxnML2Eb6ZWY1g2ZrUOX3RWHQdXeSdlqzou0_PhfUBhfeRp8/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySS4yOvLMsu9lnM58nwBeMRv5zg2ZVBoBNxV4lIEp27HK-SVIPP5nMVYwrE2g75rMRov5VkiGFq7MA3uSpfeq8pq5Xx94UsLNvTZ69tnc1WsUP0tAvkcjr5bigMwH7krUIBB1XiVM-FI/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySS4yOvLMsu9lnM58nwBeMRv5zg2ZVBoBNxV4lIEp27HK-SVIPP5nMVYwrE2g75rMRov5VkiGFq7MA3uSpfeq8pq5Xx94UsLNvTZ69tnc1WsUP0tAvkcjr5bigMwH7krUIBB1XiVM-FI/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A boat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGjbb23aeYxkZlytTXL3391dbEM1267_uBxyob86PbD9eI-pAdOJCAbFavFqZ4UZ1cI8pVPuR9cZvL048MhNlqJHzHl26CwE0YvSyMQm8A2JVJ1dSdOxKLzZscuC08m8rPERhGWUPsZ4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGjbb23aeYxkZlytTXL3391dbEM1267_uBxyob86PbD9eI-pAdOJCAbFavFqZ4UZ1cI8pVPuR9cZvL048MhNlqJHzHl26CwE0YvSyMQm8A2JVJ1dSdOxKLzZscuC08m8rPERhGWUPsZ4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+131.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A boat <i>house! </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwIKznK8Pqkgv3EoCwnWQR4M2CrlUNOwGADWnoW8WxaqZW7MwPTbfOCH75xn-7mK7TmdXrHDiNJcFmV0LExF7HHrtIIr7rouwTIdBnIwpYeoQ6ZFFl63U-r3J2ZN7v8ex0wH1AhngOFc/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwIKznK8Pqkgv3EoCwnWQR4M2CrlUNOwGADWnoW8WxaqZW7MwPTbfOCH75xn-7mK7TmdXrHDiNJcFmV0LExF7HHrtIIr7rouwTIdBnIwpYeoQ6ZFFl63U-r3J2ZN7v8ex0wH1AhngOFc/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+119.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Frank's house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBsZmw78-W8lT7g5qQX0rXwW0RTZ6CviUpvQvfq5B4zOsltLeqQtlbPCcfjiNF4MbINN7LvRCuobOcWy6i5T4VCVreheVFUeTRg-I6p0ax3B4T8WinUlG2lWtjmsgpHeAmkNbyic6gYk/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBsZmw78-W8lT7g5qQX0rXwW0RTZ6CviUpvQvfq5B4zOsltLeqQtlbPCcfjiNF4MbINN7LvRCuobOcWy6i5T4VCVreheVFUeTRg-I6p0ax3B4T8WinUlG2lWtjmsgpHeAmkNbyic6gYk/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+130.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The world's largest floating Chinese restaurant..and possibly the only floating Chinese restaurant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Next up, diamond factory! I have to say that I don't really care for diamonds. They are basically just very shiny rocks, and I would actually rather someone buy me a PS3. But after the tour, I was enlightened a little bit. A lot of hard work and talent goes into making the perfect diamond, so I respect those shiny rocks a bit more. I have tons of pictures, but I will only show a few because my internet has a horrible upload speed.<br />
<br />
After learning a few things, we went upstairs where our guide locked us in a room so he could show us the pretties. We were all still tired, so when we weren't going crazy over the shiny beauties, he declared that we must be very bored. I was actually quite interested, but like I said, but I didn't go bombastic. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzjeSyE6o0dq7vaFtZ84z2ynKwK7kgDEiO1LL9gYK5nTQlO1kGNylCOa5C46qtfYsFIQdIezQ1m3OaigpdloGSK3GUkFewoM4d_LlAnk1SUfl2ImkIRQ6jYp3RPlMN6bwORv3rH0X2gA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzjeSyE6o0dq7vaFtZ84z2ynKwK7kgDEiO1LL9gYK5nTQlO1kGNylCOa5C46qtfYsFIQdIezQ1m3OaigpdloGSK3GUkFewoM4d_LlAnk1SUfl2ImkIRQ6jYp3RPlMN6bwORv3rH0X2gA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+145.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our guide pointing out the various carat sizes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqcCPPm8ZUkDQWJ3ZPrV59U4nBz_rF36pCn5q6s4-hcjbdtTWGIqGUxolrTHI_QO7iWREa-_DQJhJjYs-GwsWRGuEmdAcWa6nk2yAtbPQP3wNjtwl1EszceFBFP6x6Cs7Ld9UMfRJ59A/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqcCPPm8ZUkDQWJ3ZPrV59U4nBz_rF36pCn5q6s4-hcjbdtTWGIqGUxolrTHI_QO7iWREa-_DQJhJjYs-GwsWRGuEmdAcWa6nk2yAtbPQP3wNjtwl1EszceFBFP6x6Cs7Ld9UMfRJ59A/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+147.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite necklace. I liked the ruby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here I learned that the price of a diamond is not determined by its size, but rather it's clarity and color. Interesting, huh? That's why the black diamond isn't valuable.<br />
<br />
After our tour, we went back to our hotel. Yay! I had a very nice day that day, and learned a lot. Amsterdam is one of the most interesting cities I visited. Just don't visit the gift shops, unless you want to buy something X-rated, ha.<br />
<br />
I'm off to bed!<br />
<br />
EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-86969015297520982572011-07-04T20:00:00.000-07:002011-07-04T20:00:43.562-07:00I'm Home!Well lookie here! I'm home at last! Well, I've been here for several days, actually, in somewhat of an exhausted stupor, but I am back to tell you that I am happy and ready to show you my trip. <br />
<br />
<i>Huzzah!</i><br />
<br />
I had a wonderful time while I was away. I had so many new experiences, and made so many friends. My delegation traveled alongside another from North Dakota, which as a whole formed a group of 41 students. By the end we were all like a family...singing repetitive, yet catchy songs on bus rides, eating each others food, assigning familial roles, etc! (Well, it was mostly me eating other people's food, I have to admit...)<i> </i><br />
<br />
I did so much, and I have so much to say, that to tell you everything about my trip in detail would take a very, very, long time. Quite honestly, I'm not sure how to tell you all the details! I might have make several posts, each including an <i>enthralling </i>narrative and sprinkles of pictures. Or, I could do it all in one fell burst. We'll see. I'm doing this as I go. <br />
<br />
Soooo....<br />
<br />
Let's jump right into this! <br />
<br />
DAY ONE:<br />
<br />
I slept surprisingly well for a girl who's experience of a life time was to start the next day. It's a good thing, too, since I was going to be up for the next forty-eight hours. My flight was at noon, and I was supposed to be there at the airport two hours early. Since we had to do a few things before the flight, I woke up at seven. We had Subway for breakfast, and it would be the last of the fastfood I would have for seventeen days...yeah. Sad moment. Fried food is good food. <br />
<br />
<i>So good. </i>. . <br />
<br />
*snivel*<br />
<br />
Anyway, I wouldn't mourn deep-fried goodness until late in the trip. Should I really be morning the loss of heart disease, anyway? We arrived at Indianapolis Airport a little later. I am pretty sure that JFK Airport in New York is bigger, but Indianapolis Airport seemed bigger to me. It's massive and shiny! We met with the rest of our delegation. Passports were handed out, bags were tagged and put on the conveyer belt, and we gathered in the shopping cul-de-sac until preparations were ready. We had a lot of down time, my mom, my sister, and I, so we bought a frappe from McDonald's and chilled. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxSX3M4HoyE-sAXJ846Y6d0Mh3i1fxM7TB5XvImY3ITmXOPreTNij8MmsXIWaBirKE9Kf5shanXtgavSpmOuR99cMmSuD_CSe4yjwjn_cVLOoEWk5dA63Tp6LRnDUxeSkNasb2aFa5Cs/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxSX3M4HoyE-sAXJ846Y6d0Mh3i1fxM7TB5XvImY3ITmXOPreTNij8MmsXIWaBirKE9Kf5shanXtgavSpmOuR99cMmSuD_CSe4yjwjn_cVLOoEWk5dA63Tp6LRnDUxeSkNasb2aFa5Cs/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The airport dining area.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We gathered together again after that. We each have a delegation number so we could keep track of ourselves. We started with twenty-five, since the other delegation from North Dakota had numbers one through twenty-five. We have count offs, where each delegate counts off his or her number in succession. I thought I would mention this now, since count offs happen a lot during the trip, and there are some funny stories with them! I'm number thirty six, and luckily I never missed saying my number unless I fell into a session of deep thought. That, like, totally happened like, twice.<br />
<br />
I do not have much pictures of my airport experience, but I won't forget it. Soon we were all ready to go, and it was time say good bye to our family. I was emotional about it, but I didn't shed any tears, thank goodness. I think crying would have made saying good bye harder to do.<br />
<br />
Off we go! We had to wait for our flight.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozuet9zx2gSF877rACPW92ETlswNGog4ZEI6Q1o_ovmNMIKhvPrwh5pEUN6X1D_QuS4VN0REc8YqT3e-FoxnslopumRPNJgys_S6CsQSLKbd6-otlwcQ0Nf9pzo1P9AQjhO44b9mxPa4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozuet9zx2gSF877rACPW92ETlswNGog4ZEI6Q1o_ovmNMIKhvPrwh5pEUN6X1D_QuS4VN0REc8YqT3e-FoxnslopumRPNJgys_S6CsQSLKbd6-otlwcQ0Nf9pzo1P9AQjhO44b9mxPa4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dramatic silhouette of two girls waiting for our plane. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> But then we boarded. The plane from Indianapolis to New York was a small, 32-seater with a cabin that lingered with the smell of stale sweat. It was clean, though, and I had a good seat mate. Have I ever told you that I had never flown before? I wasn't very scared because I have the up most confidence in today's technology, but I was wary of the whole cabin pressure thing. I have sensitive ears, and a friend told me that chewing gum helps with the ear-popping, so I was chewing my gum vigorously to say the least. The plane took off, which I must say is my favorite part. I was giggling like mad with glee. But I don't fly very well. It isn't the fear of heights, and I don't think it's motion sickness because I don't look out the window, but I suddenly got very ill halfway through the 2 hour journey. The girl next to me took good care of me by distracting me with a game of cards. It helped a lot.<br />
<br />
We landed, and I was alive! After my feet were on the ground I was as right as rain.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpasf-DwuduR1kyE0xBwYTZ2MEYslnZgV4HFqgSFnTcC7oM4Svm-VHmllbyK2EjP8ReZ0LkD0Io7UwmcyllOrqKyNDyEcufK8TPjvnAlmipReBxF2zGWUfRf2Jp5Q-wGEDIimMj-xEKaM/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpasf-DwuduR1kyE0xBwYTZ2MEYslnZgV4HFqgSFnTcC7oM4Svm-VHmllbyK2EjP8ReZ0LkD0Io7UwmcyllOrqKyNDyEcufK8TPjvnAlmipReBxF2zGWUfRf2Jp5Q-wGEDIimMj-xEKaM/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My fellow delegates are fine too; THEY didn't get sick at all.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
We checked in and did all of that wonderfully entertaining airport stuff before we had a 3 hour dead-time. We all got something to eat, because we wanted as little of airplane food as possible.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IZAgFCGNc0l8ja5gtIDqa1ZD-ZW43EHPSG_1cNWDsX5-dsykEosJc_0F8CwS_pNe1JK_nOqNkZRKJSn4ZfMoUD2wQZlKaqMfkKpQ22rNtpafujvA85ywUwWq49OB2rsdMYO2uRA_nw0/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IZAgFCGNc0l8ja5gtIDqa1ZD-ZW43EHPSG_1cNWDsX5-dsykEosJc_0F8CwS_pNe1JK_nOqNkZRKJSn4ZfMoUD2wQZlKaqMfkKpQ22rNtpafujvA85ywUwWq49OB2rsdMYO2uRA_nw0/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P-I-Z-Z-A is G-O-O-D</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I won't get into the details of the airport. We hopped on our plane and this time it was a massive thing. Three rows of seating in the middle, and two rows on the sides. It was a fat bird of a plane, and the one I had ridden before it was just its scrawny offspring. I got a window seat, ha ha, which mean I had a wall to lean against when I wanted to sleep. The flight had free movies, and an excellent selection. A friend of mine, Josh, went simply ecstatic when he learned that he could watch Harry Potter, which is is favorite movie series ever.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6Ao0SLM8u6Evq6_kjXBIY-RHLoxwfEQKvM40KaoOCNaQSM4hcJsO3l8tYmLSwcRs1BcdWnc5tc0HOOc-Ec6eniOggeljmFnyS6-c1Dac03ytZ8XCNXGls98WQ4OZHCCNfVsxbjvOcD4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6Ao0SLM8u6Evq6_kjXBIY-RHLoxwfEQKvM40KaoOCNaQSM4hcJsO3l8tYmLSwcRs1BcdWnc5tc0HOOc-Ec6eniOggeljmFnyS6-c1Dac03ytZ8XCNXGls98WQ4OZHCCNfVsxbjvOcD4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three and a half hours of happiness within one small remote.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Me? All I wanted to do was sleep, but you know what, that wasn't going to happen! During the 8 hour flight, I didn't sleep for more than thirty minutes. I have no clue why. About four hours in, we had airplane food. Not much to say about it except that<br />
<br />
The Legends Are True<br />
<br />
And so, Day One quite literally melted into Day Two, whilst I flew on Momma Bird across the ocean.<br />
<br />
DAY TWO<br />
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Tired yet? I was. I stayed awake enough to watch the sun set, then rise again only a few hours later. It was weird, but in a really cool way! Kind of like riding in a time machine with glass windows and scrawny metal bird offspring. Yup, just like that.<br />
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We landed in Amsterdam! Yay yay yay! Oh, the ability to move blessed limbs, how I missed thou. I bounded off the plane with my group, raced to baggage claim, where we...claimed our bags. My bag is a wonderful standout color of black, and I had no trouble spotting it among the other, much less black suitcases. More bounding to our meeting place. We had an hour of dead-time to wait for our North Dakota delegation to land and join us, so we set off and had a party, baby.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WOO! WE'RE OFF TO THE PHARMACY!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woo! A sign in Dutch!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-Mc6qkE5R6FlQkW4oNSSUogzMEDRInuf8vFd145RYVBJkKWFi2EnUgE0lz9M6ZBhaI4Z6cD9KktoEvneKUKSKLGLp7d2gHkfDBnm3wUXefXDScdw1VrRacUC1O81aLiI0PXtoESX_I8/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-Mc6qkE5R6FlQkW4oNSSUogzMEDRInuf8vFd145RYVBJkKWFi2EnUgE0lz9M6ZBhaI4Z6cD9KktoEvneKUKSKLGLp7d2gHkfDBnm3wUXefXDScdw1VrRacUC1O81aLiI0PXtoESX_I8/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a giant clog on a giant pedestal! </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5ej9k_7u31NVk0A21Q0nSjtURZb0OZ5kP4yl8ed_aV-2Q02nkxSLA6OZU_LjpA_ssj0AWodHBnSK6RUnDhHVXLW9m5LfSoABgg9PQb9Z2oW0ltB92UC_lRF52GAPAXzj5rb4eMGoQzg/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5ej9k_7u31NVk0A21Q0nSjtURZb0OZ5kP4yl8ed_aV-2Q02nkxSLA6OZU_LjpA_ssj0AWodHBnSK6RUnDhHVXLW9m5LfSoABgg9PQb9Z2oW0ltB92UC_lRF52GAPAXzj5rb4eMGoQzg/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a thousand mini clogs with various, non-cloggy uses!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table> Mid party, we decided to get something to eat. Well, my friends did. I was still full from my Food of Legend dinner. We stopped at the largest Burger King in all of Holland! Not a hard thing to achieve, but hey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7dyyinXrQ5oWcIWrVmwJMjdfImGgiXNm5Aqx6Km94zM9weNWdy-Nko_oxyUnF0detmSAJqKJ-OEPFsAzCTr2sVAa9LPGEKzLRvwnbDhRkc434abhegQqbkWNdwS01wMOsPApetJadwE/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7dyyinXrQ5oWcIWrVmwJMjdfImGgiXNm5Aqx6Km94zM9weNWdy-Nko_oxyUnF0detmSAJqKJ-OEPFsAzCTr2sVAa9LPGEKzLRvwnbDhRkc434abhegQqbkWNdwS01wMOsPApetJadwE/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duh duh duh!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The guy in management got really ticked shortly after we took the photo. He waved his arms about maniacally, pointing at us and jabbering various phrases in Dutch. Apparently, it is so not cool to take pictures of fast food restaurants, and you shouldn't do it, ever. While I was waiting for my friends to order, I was approached my a security guard. He was burly, and I was afraid I had done something wrong until he said,<br />
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"Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong" and we had a nice pleasant chat. Interacting with the locals already, yeah!<br />
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We went back to wait for North Dakota. We waited by the window looking into the baggage claim, in order to spook them out, but they must have had a different baggage claim because they snuck out behind us! North Dakota had a lot more students to our eighteen, and I was a little shocked when our group suddenly grew to forty-one strong. Wow! A full bus from hereon out, huh? Speaking of buses. . .<br />
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Our first bus! The girl holding the microphone is our delegation manager, and I think she was only 20 at this point, but she was really mature and cool! She's English, too, which makes it even better. She was going to manage our activities from this point onward. Our first activity was the cheese farm.<br />
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We met the family early on, and they were really kind. The cheese farm was a quaint, homey place, and I liked it a lot. We went to a giant barn that was filled with structures of hay, set up like a play ground. <br />
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We swung around on a giant rope. I gave it a whirl, and had a blast. When I tried to get down, my foot got tangled in the foot-hold, and I got stuck. But, thanks to my amazing dexterity and flexibility, I put one foot on the ground while my other leg was vertical to my head, and this was where I untied myself. Good fun, good fun!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our delegation!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Next, we learned how to make clogs. The man teaching us was really funny, and he made the clogs like he had made them hundreds of times. Judging by the basket of clogs behind him, I think he has, ha.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoF8CaXyssmEiJG4lEnQKIj_6LWWsk-ofBRB3upeI4uUHWb4qcDzc3qo9WCMOGxgiW6DszcOUXCrjEk1b3YUWiqzddFGp56Mc7qNz-XXRj9urZCAErlxhP3sg6sENpdK-GfeuYqRmU5c/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoF8CaXyssmEiJG4lEnQKIj_6LWWsk-ofBRB3upeI4uUHWb4qcDzc3qo9WCMOGxgiW6DszcOUXCrjEk1b3YUWiqzddFGp56Mc7qNz-XXRj9urZCAErlxhP3sg6sENpdK-GfeuYqRmU5c/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I made a clog from a log and it made me kind of groggy/ don't let your clogs get too wet or they will get so soggy</i></td></tr>
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We also walked the cow fields. We all hopped into a wagon pulled by a tractor and set off for those moo-velous cows...until our tractor ran out of gas. Then we trekked it on foot, which was awesome. I barely stepped in any cow pies, which is a feat to behold because there were a lot of cows. Speaking of cows...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcJDdulv90NigjA74tVIAs839IUUfvyaPnpKrearqDOkVLE1UI4Rn59esG5XSmc7_0ORI0d2qcrNM5oBqrX-lPrn3i3-VfFSHNh48cZ7FaeaOnGzgKdOb3VLuMKCHkpi4-Gz1zMiQAxo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcJDdulv90NigjA74tVIAs839IUUfvyaPnpKrearqDOkVLE1UI4Rn59esG5XSmc7_0ORI0d2qcrNM5oBqrX-lPrn3i3-VfFSHNh48cZ7FaeaOnGzgKdOb3VLuMKCHkpi4-Gz1zMiQAxo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+039.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My wonderful, intelligent, grinning cow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You may have seen this cow once, before, but even if you have, tough luck. I am showing this cow again. I simply adore this cow. I loved him so much I adopted him. Yup. He reminded me of my guinea pig back home. I think cows and guinea pigs are closer than chimpanzees are to humans. Just an observation.<br />
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Next, we learned how to make CHEESE. Sweet, delicious cheese. I love cheese almost as much as I love cows, so this was interesting. Of course, there was a slight problem with me trying not to fall asleep as I listened to the nice cheese lady tell us about how cheese is made. It wasn't that she was uninteresting, it's just that I was really tired.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at our smiling, completely exhausted faces.</td></tr>
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We got to try a lot of cheese. Peppercorn cheese, garlic cheese, smoked cheese. It was all there. At dinner we got to try stroopwaffles, which are delicious. They are caramel squished between two paper thin waffles. Yum yum.<br />
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After dinner, we boarded our bus for our next destination. The two little girls who lived on the farm greeted us by riding next to our bus, riding donkeys. One lucky boy got the opportunity to ride one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad6MvR7r_0hfyjMFoUY8sq9VOdOII8lSWgj7amyr4X9OWASa7ETxzH5F64-KQeW1a76mte_jy2F8lI7NyilhfNI0vkgWN5Apr52omXSe9Pcp2PVdjRYJShBFMeQhPEN_wCEUmmEOJkco/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad6MvR7r_0hfyjMFoUY8sq9VOdOII8lSWgj7amyr4X9OWASa7ETxzH5F64-KQeW1a76mte_jy2F8lI7NyilhfNI0vkgWN5Apr52omXSe9Pcp2PVdjRYJShBFMeQhPEN_wCEUmmEOJkco/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weeeeeee!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And we were off for a brief orientation of Amsterdam! We visited Dam Square and a few other cool places. I don't remember the exact details of the tour, since I had by that point turned into a zombie, but I have PICTURES!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR7P-onNzzzvHmkPpEiBb_DWW8fvrbpYpljslQqBenkm_GWO7JmF-U_CCfUpXVHzNwU6VgCI5iU1hYHdhAuskL3t8g9Uio-qxcDMVsTWH9RfxinQZmWuuxGAAQBPRCNZrKv6_oqAJIvU/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR7P-onNzzzvHmkPpEiBb_DWW8fvrbpYpljslQqBenkm_GWO7JmF-U_CCfUpXVHzNwU6VgCI5iU1hYHdhAuskL3t8g9Uio-qxcDMVsTWH9RfxinQZmWuuxGAAQBPRCNZrKv6_oqAJIvU/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Amsterdam streets from our bus.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGrKJ7CWurGeE-7l5JMJ3KUQAzbstyaHHbXmkfdJal6V0m7h6IVONpBEa1nt7XJSn2eLwM38W0Q__eqyhHXpuodUKeKXEiIaGY2zdvfgUXeky1-kmAHJieTbuS3m6pd4ctH26cFrzOAA/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGrKJ7CWurGeE-7l5JMJ3KUQAzbstyaHHbXmkfdJal6V0m7h6IVONpBEa1nt7XJSn2eLwM38W0Q__eqyhHXpuodUKeKXEiIaGY2zdvfgUXeky1-kmAHJieTbuS3m6pd4ctH26cFrzOAA/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some, as soon as they hit the bus seats, found themselves rendered unconscious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlEXLnv4kgW-m9bI_5S_LoyfH9wqYzVLx0IEeYlQ8SabaoZEVKJYJf7zjmvFvBe20dl35PNl5302XayTBdqsq0eOQVXMRu3HC2GvsxLTQ9_NEiLku9yq9mjfKCOKU_xsYc6ad_JZ7Ft4/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlEXLnv4kgW-m9bI_5S_LoyfH9wqYzVLx0IEeYlQ8SabaoZEVKJYJf7zjmvFvBe20dl35PNl5302XayTBdqsq0eOQVXMRu3HC2GvsxLTQ9_NEiLku9yq9mjfKCOKU_xsYc6ad_JZ7Ft4/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZRZxb-J9WjYXFK6jhRadybLZOGcLMXu2vx1oEffo3D7FV4viz1flZZHysan5W8-ymTKee4K7RA_q8AT2FuCUiuyTEcV27wLPO8k7q52vgZwJcVYtJwHtUD3V74Lv74Uydwa8rx26Fqo/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZRZxb-J9WjYXFK6jhRadybLZOGcLMXu2vx1oEffo3D7FV4viz1flZZHysan5W8-ymTKee4K7RA_q8AT2FuCUiuyTEcV27wLPO8k7q52vgZwJcVYtJwHtUD3V74Lv74Uydwa8rx26Fqo/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite pictures. Taken from a bridge.</td></tr>
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Okay, not a lot of pictures, but there are more to come, trust me! What I didn't fail to take a picture of was my very first hotel room in Europe. It was probably the largest <i>hotel </i>room I had all of my journey, actually. It was very nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMbNDneudViz69ut0z3KS03xfHwTndYe5sxg6iRWBoKaloddaZvM0oyneS6ExAH9Pi06RZRdMY3FPUr4sFAgbvs5IRrNd_1GS4ys-Oz7Bcnlt-8EjzMCRmu_37iURYoVWodWKS_6ZmHw/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMbNDneudViz69ut0z3KS03xfHwTndYe5sxg6iRWBoKaloddaZvM0oyneS6ExAH9Pi06RZRdMY3FPUr4sFAgbvs5IRrNd_1GS4ys-Oz7Bcnlt-8EjzMCRmu_37iURYoVWodWKS_6ZmHw/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+071.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's...a bed!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROSxI8_-IwwPfRXMLAVnog63AwGQrXdwFt4XCRWOz1jUCj4agPdyeRzlq8_wrDUDNI4twrM6RHK1sxoSEUTGeBKztxerq-qgZhld-ra3QJsB6U8aI22fGJwvjlvyTJGkX2-UFzxocq2Y/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROSxI8_-IwwPfRXMLAVnog63AwGQrXdwFt4XCRWOz1jUCj4agPdyeRzlq8_wrDUDNI4twrM6RHK1sxoSEUTGeBKztxerq-qgZhld-ra3QJsB6U8aI22fGJwvjlvyTJGkX2-UFzxocq2Y/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's...a toilet...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5yO_Xo4flfQFYrKkWIVq4bbjQYtqxnGUDuTxrOnpcoAmAQkXXZqcsBlHov9dUrf9HEeJtxSER3N5kQUwuQmUl0fwMrMKu3mdeZVWmWr-dOf_n2R3lxFRXBxScdAvYoVhxDo9p83ln6c/s1600/Take+Esther+to+Europe+171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5yO_Xo4flfQFYrKkWIVq4bbjQYtqxnGUDuTxrOnpcoAmAQkXXZqcsBlHov9dUrf9HEeJtxSER3N5kQUwuQmUl0fwMrMKu3mdeZVWmWr-dOf_n2R3lxFRXBxScdAvYoVhxDo9p83ln6c/s320/Take+Esther+to+Europe+171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pleasant view.</td></tr>
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Relaxation at last! And what a full 48 hours of consciousness! It was a really good day, and even though I was sleepy, I enjoyed every moment of it! I wrote in my journal, which is something we have to do every day, and fell asleep.<br />
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More days to come tomorrow!<br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-41835654040415900212011-06-24T07:12:00.000-07:002011-06-24T07:12:12.318-07:00On a boat on my way to IrelandThis is a really, really, big boat. I'm sitting in the restaurant on about the fourth level, right next to the window, and I am getting a little bit dizzy, but it's nice here. I'm sitting with a delegation from Georgia; not much conversation, but I suppose I need to blog right now anyway.<br />
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There is so much to cover, I don't even know where to start, seriously. I have done so much in the past few days that they are actually blurring a little. I'm glad I have my journal, so I can remember most of my trip. I am so behind in telling you about everything, I am thinking that maybe I'll tell you about this morning, okay? I'll probably get to more details after my trip, which sounds terrible, but it's the best I can do. <br />
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So, I went rappeling down a castle wall today as a part of the Full On section of my trip. (!!!) It was amazing! First, let me tell you a little bit about Full On. It's a program based in New Zealand that focusses on helping young people with leaderships skills and confidence. I really learned a lot about focussing my energy on the important things, and not on the unimportant, pessimistic things. I am going to do my best to concentrate on a more proactive outlook from now on, because it really felt great looking at life in a different perspective. We did workshops yesterday, and we rappelled today. Yesterday was great. We broke boards with our bare hands. I was afraid that I wouldn't get it, but I broke the board on my first try, HA HA! It felt great! We get to keep them. I had my friends sign them and now I kind of have a yearbook of sorts, except it is a wooden board and it's broken in half straight down the middle. (I have good percision, no?) I don't have any pictures of that, but I have some for the next day. My friend took a video of me flying down the castle wall, but it isn't interesting because I am not actually flying...I am creeping. Like a little bug. But I did it, still! <br />
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I wish I could upload pictures, but the internet is too slow! I promise that I will as soon as I can. There isn't much trip left: like only four days, and one of them is dedicated to travel. I can assure you that there will be a lot of uploading when I get back. <br />
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So, about rappelling today. I started with confidence. I was all like, "I can do this, I can do this!" We arrived at the castle, and it was really pretty there. I saw the tower that we were about to go down, and it was tall. Still, I was like, "I can do this!" We strapped ourselves in our harnesses and helmets, and separated into two different groups. My group was first. We climbed the winding stairs of the castle tower, which was dizzying. We lined up behind a ladder leading to the top of the tower, and prepared for our descent. Up until I got to the top I was perfectly confident. But when they hooked me up, put me on a metal platform, and told me to <em>lean back </em>I got scared, to be honest. We were really high up, and there was nothing beneath me at all. My hands were shaking as I gripped the rope, but the guy who was helping me was really nice, and he helped me a lot. I leaned back and got rid of the slack, and now I was hovering over the ledge with only a rope stopping me from falling. <br />
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I stepped off.<br />
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<em>AAAAAAAAAAH! </em><br />
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I'm just joking. It wasn't that bad. As soon as I stepped off and planted my foot on the wall I felt a lot better. The hardest part is taking the first step, putting all of your faith into what you are doing and going for it. It's kind of metaphorical, isn't it? I feel like I learned a lot from that moment. I went really slow down the castle, but everyone cheered for me anyway. By the time I got down, I was feeling great. A little woozy, but great. Like I said, I wish I could post pictures, but all you have is words for now. <br />
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I splurged and bought a sweatshirt for myself, and a photo pack of my adventure. It was a little expensive, but I'm glad I have momentos for something as awesome as this. <br />
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I'm on the ferry to Ireland now. I can't believe I am already to the last country in my journey! It has gone so fast, hasn't it? I should get off now, for I am getting seasick. I'm doing great, everyone!<br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-75774563939614215392011-06-18T12:18:00.000-07:002011-06-18T12:20:56.636-07:00At UKSAI am at the United Kingdom Sailing Academy, and having a blast. It's soo much fun here! We built rafts today, and it was great. We split into four diffenent teams, and we each had to build rafts using wood, surf boards, rope, and barrels. Then we had a relay race with our teams, which each split in half so we could relay, of course. It was lots of fun. We did a lot of other challenges, too. About five. My team was in last place, and we had to belly flop into the cold, cold, ocean water. It was amazing, ha! We also had a challengfe for the best team cheer, and we didn't have one so I totally winged it and had the others follow my lead. It actually worked out. Kind of. I sang slightly off key. Our teacher gave us a 7 out of 10 for our cheer. Not bad for something made on the spot. We are going to have dinner soon, so yes, I probably have to go. I thought I would share some pics with you though! Starting with Amsterdam, and I will see how far I get.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmWbXmRxinBopmXCAwzEp8LmNzQF-97bR2vf3t-qG70ob1TBMttc7A44xsPMFgLK-DdeByjax3WxIlmDyF95uCM6k3s7do0PzZxD7swCJTNJNncfaoX5e6LvCXS6NcVNqH3H37TKQC1U/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmWbXmRxinBopmXCAwzEp8LmNzQF-97bR2vf3t-qG70ob1TBMttc7A44xsPMFgLK-DdeByjax3WxIlmDyF95uCM6k3s7do0PzZxD7swCJTNJNncfaoX5e6LvCXS6NcVNqH3H37TKQC1U/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and some gals at the Amsterdam airport. We browsed the shops for a while, but I didn't actually get anything.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdflpeKxyZzn_DKL3ONMV3obZXmkcrKH32YnHQU1zJmY4DuJJnllI_Zn1YiqI-sRgQWnc1W0p491iTfM-FjkADLMbeUALDkd5oeKV_3iKb6RNoAZFovBTkBjJjoKtq7JZQMNh-KjMGr0/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdflpeKxyZzn_DKL3ONMV3obZXmkcrKH32YnHQU1zJmY4DuJJnllI_Zn1YiqI-sRgQWnc1W0p491iTfM-FjkADLMbeUALDkd5oeKV_3iKb6RNoAZFovBTkBjJjoKtq7JZQMNh-KjMGr0/s320/030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our two delegations in the hay barn of the cheese factory we visited. My tiny head is visible in the background! It was so much fun there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpXdPdJtmKvwNAgJnKJmkWjMdqeJP50Akzoy0-pLqcIDcnKUIwjpXNciWlVs0l33P-Pmk65oKE0NtMCnHkb8CWMhVI1_iCL3w5M3f0U3GEiG9fIUUy68s0R6fwiWqkkdwaRQfLMdZxNo/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpXdPdJtmKvwNAgJnKJmkWjMdqeJP50Akzoy0-pLqcIDcnKUIwjpXNciWlVs0l33P-Pmk65oKE0NtMCnHkb8CWMhVI1_iCL3w5M3f0U3GEiG9fIUUy68s0R6fwiWqkkdwaRQfLMdZxNo/s320/039.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cow. I adopted him from the cheese farm, I swear. His name is Minos. He winked at me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJxfMtKfHtrOo8mFEsR8iaLA8Af9E-50eq19MWOlOuNUXfwGleWZ9URKdQBIM38MiisdCNu5ioZe9Jr_NRhl7WYQfsmoUitktVRIgetFpSsbZBhcekVMqYqDexrU3kvQO3StW-Gth1SU/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJxfMtKfHtrOo8mFEsR8iaLA8Af9E-50eq19MWOlOuNUXfwGleWZ9URKdQBIM38MiisdCNu5ioZe9Jr_NRhl7WYQfsmoUitktVRIgetFpSsbZBhcekVMqYqDexrU3kvQO3StW-Gth1SU/s320/049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice Dutch man making clogs. It was really interesting to watch. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOX-yTiTUu7ipXJomKZ1LUPXZGBY19RHOUP3LkVKiFJF67pJ20wWb3zrXgGQbSi3Fo3L1R822Jh2bybJgykrcxMLSpHEcnUKeoCfq0uicG3n6JJMVJL3U707QnInf5vQ1puZZeRx3_No/s1600/068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOX-yTiTUu7ipXJomKZ1LUPXZGBY19RHOUP3LkVKiFJF67pJ20wWb3zrXgGQbSi3Fo3L1R822Jh2bybJgykrcxMLSpHEcnUKeoCfq0uicG3n6JJMVJL3U707QnInf5vQ1puZZeRx3_No/s320/068.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The streets of Amsterdam.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jEpAXELVS3NSVGejsQKfKHKK2ZD8YWzG0ej03bz8djrXs1QWoSjjUKolQsx21jTFWcn8gTVwx49Grl_Bv_koLfXL5p6IxYo8-H9sFo0g_wFU5KzGC0SmkdU1_wIhiZK3m5irCOEIix0/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jEpAXELVS3NSVGejsQKfKHKK2ZD8YWzG0ej03bz8djrXs1QWoSjjUKolQsx21jTFWcn8gTVwx49Grl_Bv_koLfXL5p6IxYo8-H9sFo0g_wFU5KzGC0SmkdU1_wIhiZK3m5irCOEIix0/s320/070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of a house from a bridge. Amsterdam is full of bridges and canals. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rl-0qEqEo440YROCotkG7mFPzmdECcthBAEb9Rl3hsxoLjYvVgRvjOhz4hq2cGnr72Bhvioq5L3OkuccwzzAqbamjQrPmPjJf-tLIuAzw-vGlBMwGrhkLZoJk4p59DNMPpv693xzLoA/s1600/084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rl-0qEqEo440YROCotkG7mFPzmdECcthBAEb9Rl3hsxoLjYvVgRvjOhz4hq2cGnr72Bhvioq5L3OkuccwzzAqbamjQrPmPjJf-tLIuAzw-vGlBMwGrhkLZoJk4p59DNMPpv693xzLoA/s320/084.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and a friend in front of Anne Frank's home. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpqXkuYqv9763_EsYfDXUezoA1vJujcXWoEraipYodjC1S6pgdx1Hu8i2AdEccjINXt0I-vPRAbwPNASu1PIX5pBRkG69xVSICmoy2BQMhjlX4lfcPnBYzPqzaU4g_ynuqtDg9mTZH6M/s1600/092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpqXkuYqv9763_EsYfDXUezoA1vJujcXWoEraipYodjC1S6pgdx1Hu8i2AdEccjINXt0I-vPRAbwPNASu1PIX5pBRkG69xVSICmoy2BQMhjlX4lfcPnBYzPqzaU4g_ynuqtDg9mTZH6M/s320/092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pigeon. I adopted him in front of Anne Frank's house. His name is Walter. He glared at me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtv3qPHRPOSTWbpbc65qNg_XBhidH2NCmv4hwfKZsPKd_EYYduaVEUKDYNfEEXEnK_YTPT0MpvlMJwkE1BhVadXSYdS2VccdANWLfzAT6FC8TCBULVLPSVoWlrKJyrzG2d9eiHBxwFjY/s1600/094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtv3qPHRPOSTWbpbc65qNg_XBhidH2NCmv4hwfKZsPKd_EYYduaVEUKDYNfEEXEnK_YTPT0MpvlMJwkE1BhVadXSYdS2VccdANWLfzAT6FC8TCBULVLPSVoWlrKJyrzG2d9eiHBxwFjY/s320/094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, friends, and an Amsterdam park bench. (Look, mom, pictures of me!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVotY8viUU1YD0w7eqyW1OLyesYIxKuG9mVsvjybDPXUYNnKuiIDVYgmLQCbI_I6wyUUQjommXf3-FM2C4iI62sutkPxX2EUe4Ku3zafoRwaRmwMkFUpM0P4eMIiBOxxpQdQ-PMfKAH8/s1600/108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVotY8viUU1YD0w7eqyW1OLyesYIxKuG9mVsvjybDPXUYNnKuiIDVYgmLQCbI_I6wyUUQjommXf3-FM2C4iI62sutkPxX2EUe4Ku3zafoRwaRmwMkFUpM0P4eMIiBOxxpQdQ-PMfKAH8/s320/108.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of a house from Amsterdam's canals. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCV-yT-Psp-fc9G_GpA0WX_eYSAahwz-rvipTrgIfxxJsYd-mlS5Z3-2gWOLbEH8UX302MaRQv9lLUUZnrRvLF8CKWzTTyRh2qfXFnTnr5XSswdvfIhxkLI20pWQEWwBdMMuZOB2Gvk8/s1600/182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCV-yT-Psp-fc9G_GpA0WX_eYSAahwz-rvipTrgIfxxJsYd-mlS5Z3-2gWOLbEH8UX302MaRQv9lLUUZnrRvLF8CKWzTTyRh2qfXFnTnr5XSswdvfIhxkLI20pWQEWwBdMMuZOB2Gvk8/s320/182.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A windmill! It really is Holland!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdngWDTkLW9eEIcJWLlEgKtYQkFVcmcrXZQnbVyyxRhlMv4AWVNHlO0wg0jbcIjryyTFA8NSYolKHTFdwsAXd-gsfBYtxoSFz-rTHi8u6_SfFh1aDRrGQVQeEsLFkVggz-ssf7irRa4f4/s1600/194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdngWDTkLW9eEIcJWLlEgKtYQkFVcmcrXZQnbVyyxRhlMv4AWVNHlO0wg0jbcIjryyTFA8NSYolKHTFdwsAXd-gsfBYtxoSFz-rTHi8u6_SfFh1aDRrGQVQeEsLFkVggz-ssf7irRa4f4/s320/194.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few pics I got of Brussels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTBqerrYtl8beITS1tKpwi8QZbd-loPMCuPfQrEAdZZMEN83QVaYwOyLbxA9jWu-VahHh9uDHhNhC7fWQ1S7tDk97ZqtS091HVrBhGxQLcGJTRc9s7Bg-tb1A91axvohyphenhyphenR4rCNj2CX4M/s1600/199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTBqerrYtl8beITS1tKpwi8QZbd-loPMCuPfQrEAdZZMEN83QVaYwOyLbxA9jWu-VahHh9uDHhNhC7fWQ1S7tDk97ZqtS091HVrBhGxQLcGJTRc9s7Bg-tb1A91axvohyphenhyphenR4rCNj2CX4M/s320/199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to eat some food, baby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ1GUeHVPS5mVQm2sDLaIHq0sbAm40_vO8U9Xak4J2KoE2i5edRQER-YQ81oFQU78l_exB2n5hJRL5BYD3eYXVmdp9az6GsJGdmMLW9YNwVTgeoD7C5utWerOkN6CvqxdjtlMkdqk7d4/s1600/203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ1GUeHVPS5mVQm2sDLaIHq0sbAm40_vO8U9Xak4J2KoE2i5edRQER-YQ81oFQU78l_exB2n5hJRL5BYD3eYXVmdp9az6GsJGdmMLW9YNwVTgeoD7C5utWerOkN6CvqxdjtlMkdqk7d4/s320/203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grande Palace entrance, I believe.<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Okay, out of time. I hope to post more soon! <br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-44020007641146466772011-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:002011-06-16T13:03:41.757-07:00In Paris, FranceI'm in Paris, France! I'm doing well! I don't have much time to chat, unfortunately. I have to get ready for an overnight ferry tomorrow. But I thought I would give you a small catch up. It's hard to remember everything that I have done, so I'm just going to pull things out of my head, ha! They might not be in order.<br />
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In Amsterdam, we went to to a chocolate factory. It was a lot of fun. I got to assist the chef in making chocoloate! I got it all over me, but it was great.<br />
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We went to Grand Palace in Brussels, Belgium, a few days ago. It was one of the most beautiful places I've seen. My camera ran out of battery, so I couldn't take pictures! It was depressing, but hey, I still have the memories. I shopped a little. <br />
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We went on a tour of Bastogne, as well. I loved it. The whole city seems dedicated to perserving the history of the Battle of the Bulge. I learned a lot there. We went to a German soldier WWII cemetery, and I got really emotional. I think it's just the whole idea of people laying down their lives for something bigger kills me. When we go to Normandy, tomorrow, I'm probably going to cry, ha!<br />
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Notre Dame! We went there today. It is probably the most beautiful <em>building </em>I have ever seen. It is amazing. To think that 200 years went into constructing it is insane. I felt so content walking through it it. It's a fantastic archetectual feat, indeed.<br />
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We went to the Eiffel Tower today as well. It was so much fun! I have pictures, but I don't have time to post them at the moment. The view was amazing. We got a few guys who totally panicked over the hieght though. I worried for him. Suprisingly, I was fine. I got a lot of good pictures of Paris. I hope I get to share some with you.<br />
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We went to the Louvre. I could stay there all day. It was wonderful. <br />
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Okay, I have to get off now. I'm thinking of all you guys. Hope to post more.<br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-3333678922802508762011-06-14T03:28:00.000-07:002011-06-14T03:28:57.085-07:00In 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. <br />
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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!<br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-71301591988325948782011-06-09T18:39:00.000-07:002011-06-09T18:39:02.449-07:00Departure In Three, Two...I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow morning! Wow, it's hard to believe the long wait is over. The preparation has been long, and sometimes stressful, but I've learned a lot. I think I'm a lot more ready for my trip now than I was months ago. I'm writing this little, perhaps uninspiring post just to let you know what's up!<br />
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The departure countdown widget might be off. I don't think it takes in time zones. Anyway, I'm going to be departing at noon Eastern Standard time. I have to wake up early in order to get to the airport, so I hope I get a lot of sleep. I'm afraid I won't because I'm so excited!<br />
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Also, while I hope to update this as often as I can, my schedule is a little hectic, and some places I visit won't have internet connection. I still hope to give you lots of updates on my trip, even if the said updates are miniscule.<br />
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Well, that's pretty much it! I should go finish packing. Thank you for keeping up with me this far, and I hope you keep an eye on my blog. Thank you everyone!<br />
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See you in Europe,<br />
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EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-86292482121535250592011-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:002011-05-29T16:06:19.096-07:00My Itinerary<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><br />
Hello everyone,<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">You know, I should have put up some of my itinerary sooner. I have so many of you helping me, but I haven't even posted up details yet. I smack the side of my face with a fresh tuna out of remorse. It is a very remorseful tuna from the country of Remorseland, that is the level of my remorse. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anyway, it is an honor to present you some of my itinerary! I don't think I'll post it all on here, because that would take a long time, so I thought I would present you with some activities I'll be doing in each country, in order of the countries I visit. Sounds like a good system, I think. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Firstly, I should give you the "before I go" details. I'm leaving the country in 11 days, on June 10th. Wow, that's so close. I get shivers of excitement just thinking about it. You know what would be cool? If I could put a live countdown or something on this thing--oh, just did! You can now view a live countdown in the right-hand corner of the screen, ha ha! I'll be leaving from the Indianapolis airport, then to Boston, and from there to Amsterdam, Holland! And then, along with my fellow delegates, I begin my journey. So let's cover what I'm going to do.<br />
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<strong>AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND</strong><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- I'm going to take a tour of some of the radical urban buildings of the country, like Europe's first skyscraper. I'm looking forward to the cube homes, myself, because it looks like they are going to fall over. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0Rq173Ka6r0oN8A-lWIcnFVpOKqELF1FPHcYHXepYcdKTV4ZCiFss7xFmYuG-Y1It9hJtGbA69sEmO-QDLl9hWTew1acHVtjC04Kbh8Wab16WGFCIbE7snsR0rUivxE-vWb-IrFtjsQ/s1600/Cube+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="127" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0Rq173Ka6r0oN8A-lWIcnFVpOKqELF1FPHcYHXepYcdKTV4ZCiFss7xFmYuG-Y1It9hJtGbA69sEmO-QDLl9hWTew1acHVtjC04Kbh8Wab16WGFCIbE7snsR0rUivxE-vWb-IrFtjsQ/s200/Cube+House.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talk about SQUARE-FOOTAGE...See what I did there?<br />
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</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Our group is going to visit Anne Frank's house and learn how she and her family hid from the Nazis for years during WWII. I'm really looking forward to this.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Also, we are going to take a canal cruise and take a tour of the lovely city.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- And enjoy a visit to a diamond factory to see how the stones are cut. I wonder if they will let me keep one if I beg. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- We'll visit a typical farm and see how clogs are made and learn the secrets of Dutch cheese. There's some joke about the word cheese and me smiling here, but I lack the wit to turn it into something substantial. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>CHARLELOI, BELGIUM</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Learn about the secrets behind Belgium's famous chocolate when we call upon a local chocolatier for an educational briefing. I want a piece of chocolate even more than a diamond, which may sound weird to some, but for me it makes perfect sense.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Discover the city of Brussels, including a visit to the Grand Place and see the Manneken Pis.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>PARIS, FRANCE</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Travel to Bastogne to remember the bloodiest of all battles fought in the Second World War -- the Battle of the Bulge. Hear what life was like as a child in Bastogne in those difficult days. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- We'll take a small French lesson. I'm actually taking French, so we'll see how this goes. I'll probably still learn a lot because my French skills <em>sont petit. </em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Take a look at Paris with a guided orientation. I'll see landmarks like the Place de la Concorde, and the Champs Elysees. From there I'll take a look at the Arc de Triomphe, and then it's on to the Louvre! Exclamation points aren't enough. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>NORMANDY, FRANCE</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong><em>- </em></strong>Today, I'll go to the top of the Eiffel tower and take in the spectacular view. I might just have to pull my "Queen of the World" bit here. I'll take pics. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- I will visit the Le Memorial de Caen Museum. The museum gives light to the effects of D-day. The Museum describes Hitler's rise to power, and the dark years of uncertainty. This is one of the things I am looking forward to most. I don't know the exact details, but it's likely that I will begin crying at some point. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>ISLE OF WIGHT, ENGLAND</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- We are going to attend the United Kingdom Sailing Academy for two days. It's known as the holy grail of sailing. It sounds like an amazing adventure. I don't know how to sail or paddle anything, so it will be a great learning experience. Definitely a highlight of the trip. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>LONDON, ENGLAND</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- A visit to the Imperial War Museum to discover how WWII has changed the world. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Ride on the EDF Energy London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world. It's over 443 ft tall! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Meet with a former or current member of Parliament. Here, we will explore the history of the British constitution and how the country's politics work. I'm honored.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Explore the Tower of London. We all know the stories behind this one, folks! I'm looking forward to it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>WARWICK, ENGLAND</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- We will make our way to Buckingham Palace to view the changing of the guard -- fantastic!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>NORTH WALES</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Visit the medieval town of Caenarfon, and discover the Roman Empire. At the fort, learn about the early history of Wales while viewing the site from which the Romans launched their final assault on the Druids.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- My Full On experience, which is a day dedicated to personal growth, takes place here! I will have the opportunity t learn leadership skills, set personal goals, and step outside my comfort zone. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>CAHERSIVEEN, IRELAND</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- I'm going to learn how to <strong><em>cut peat! </em></strong>This is the best day ever! There is no sarcasm! I have no <em>idea </em>why I want to do this so badly. Maybe it's cause peat is cool.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Also, we will join our hosts in a day of helping the local community - such as preparing meals for the elderly, visiting the local hospital, and catering to the gardens. Sounds wonderful. I can't wait to help.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- Take a stroll through the town and learn about local history. I adore Ireland and so I'm really looking forward to this. Its history is so interesting..</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>MY FINGERS ARE CRAMPING UP </strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well, that's some of my itinerary! I left stuff out, mostly Ireland and England, but I hope you get the gist of some of the activities I will be doing. Thank you very much, again, for making this possible. I hope to post pictures when I go as often as I can. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Regards,</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Esther</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div></div>Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-52832927218846964842011-05-19T18:40:00.000-07:002011-05-19T18:40:22.008-07:00Thank You!I have found many generous people willing to be my sponsors, and I truly feel blessed. I was expecting somewhat a depressing ordeal finding people, because I wasn't expecting much, but what I got was a wonderfully enlightening experience. I sometimes forget how giving people can be, but now I'm just sitting back with a happy warm feeling enveloping me. I would like to thank the people who have become my sponsors! I can't thank you all enough in words, but please know that I appreciate the gifts that you have given me and I pray that you all have a wonderful summer. Thanks to you guys, I know I will have a good summer myself.<br />
<br />
So, here are my sponsors so far<br />
<br />
MY SPONSORS:<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">BRENT and MELISSA POUND</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;"><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">CINDY WREN</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
CATHERERYN DRAKE</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">RICHARD and LIZ FUSON</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">And another thank you to my chief sponsors!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;"><br />
<strong>TYLER and STACEY EMLEY</strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">RON and TAMMY AUSTIN</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;">NEIL and KIMBERLY STAKEMAN</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">__________</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I cannot thank you all enough. You've already made me so happy. I hope that my sponsors will visit my blog often to get updates on my journey. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Thank you,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Esther</span><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;"></span></strong>Estherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517309723229008748.post-64607562302388064772011-05-19T14:25:00.000-07:002011-05-19T15:45:08.351-07:00So, What's Going On?Dear readers and sponsors alike,<br />
<br />
<br />
This is the part where I step up to the microphone (in this case, my keyboard) and introduce myself and my mission to you. There are those who already know what I'm doing, but I'll put the permanent info here. There's a lot to say, but I don't wish to bore you so I'll try to do it as succinctly as possible! <br />
<br />
WHAT I'M DOING<br />
My name is Esther, and I am going to Europe this summer! <em>Weee</em>! <br />
<br />
Okay, a little <em>too </em>succinct. Again...<br />
<br />
What is that dream, you may ask? Well, it started with a letter I got in the mail. It was from an organization you may have heard of called People to People. In the letter, I was invited to attend a seminar in order to be eligible to join their acclaimed Student Ambassador Program this coming summer. I looked at what the program entailed and I was automatically ecstatic, but I'll cover what I'll actually do later. I went to the seminar, and I fell in love with what this program was all about. <br />
<br />
The People to People Student Ambassador Program, simply put, is a large, very long-standing effort to promote peace and understanding between countries. Its Student Ambassadors travel to different countries to meet, bond, and learn from the people there. There are also several days where they interact with a country's community, such as planting gardens or helping out at a senior center. By the time the SA comes back, he or she will have had a deep educational and cultural experience that will have changed him or her forever. This year, students will travel to Europe on a deep exploration through six of its countries: France, Belgium, Wales, Ireland, England, and the Netherlands for 18 solid days. I've looked at the itinerary, and there isn't a single moment where I'm not doing something.<br />
<br />
It sounds incredibly...incredible. And it is! So I immediately signed up for the interview. I was a little nervous, but no pain, no gain, right? Two days later, I got a phone call and I learned that I had been accepted. I was now a Student Ambassador! Huzzah! The preliminary round of my new journey was over. Next was the harder, much more expensive part...<br />
<br />
The trip costs 7,239 dollars. Just thinking about that price tag I swallow nervously. Of course, this included all of my transportation, (several airplane flights, buses, and a ferry ride.) food, (from food I'm used to to escargot) , hotels, and activities (from cutting peat to warm Irish homes to taking lessons at a sailing school). This doesn't include everything else. I need new clothes and travel enmities. I won't go into the details, (Trying to be succinct and failing) but it's a lot of money.<br />
<br />
So know I'm on a quest to raise the remaining funds I need to go on my trip! The deadline is getting closer, but I know I can do it. Right now, I'm focusing on letting people know what I am doing and asking if they would be my sponsor by donating me some money. <br />
<br />
What do you get when you become my sponsor?<br />
<br />
A BRAND NEW CAR!<br />
<br />
I'm sorry, you won't get a new car. You do get a really, really, really, happy girl though. AND, if you permit, I would like to put your name on here to let everyone in the universe know that YOU made a girl's life even better. <br />
<br />
So, let's do this shindig. Keep checking in on my blog for more of my journey's information and sponsor lists!<br />
<br />
EstherEstherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122197764217544424noreply@blogger.com0