Dancing Like No One's Watching....

I spent the weekend in Paris!!!

2008-07-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Paris and had a fabulous time! I love that city, the energy, the sights, the food! I will definitely be back. I saw sights that I waited my whole life to see. I took a lot of pictures so instead of posting them all here, I'm just posting links to my albums on Facebook. Enjoy. :-)

Photos from the Eiffel Tower

Photos from the Arc de Triomphe

Photos from the Louvre Museum

Photos from the Pantheon

Photos from La Memorial de la Deportation

Random Shots from Paris

263 Prinsengracht

2008-07-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Anne Frank House

We visited the Anne Frank House yesterday and I found the exhibit very touching. We were given a presentation of:

**Anne's History-she was actually German but her family fled to the Netherlands as the Nazis took power in Germany. Soon the Nazis reached the Netherlands. In February 1942, the Nazis began rounding up all the Jews in Germany and the occupied countries for evacuation to the East in what the Nazis called "The Final Solution to the Jewish Question."

**a tour of the Secret Annex-where Anne and her family hid for 25 months from the Nazis, along with the van Pels family and Dr. Friedrich (Fritz) Pfeffer, a dentist who was a friend of the Franks.

**details on the fate of the families-Hermann van Pels was murdered in the gas chamber at Auschwitz in either September or October 1944. Anne's mother died of tuberculosis (or starvation) in January 1945 at Auschwitz. Anne and her sister died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen Camp; the others all died from disease in various Nazi concentration camps to which they were transferred from Auschwitz. Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only person to survive.

**and how the diary was discovered and published-Upon Otto Frank's return and discovery of his daughters deaths he was presented with Anne's diary from one of the people that helped them hide and who had accumulated what items the Germans didn't take after the raid. After alot of soul searching Otto Frank read his daughters diary and in the process learned more about a girl that he thought he knew completely. In her writing it was her wish to publish her writings upon her survival from hiding.

Pics from my visit to Brussels, Belgium!

2008-07-13T03:41:00.001-07:00

My visit to Antwerp, Belgium!

2008-07-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

I really loved Antwerp and would love to go back! It had such a regal feel!

The guy on the left is a living breathing human being! Freaky isn't it?

The guildhouses of Grote Markt.

I thought I knew love until I tried these Belgian frites (fries)! OMG!!!!! They were sooooo good. Words, can't express how good these fries were! In Belgium, pomme frites are considered a national treasure, they are still prepared fresh potatoes and sold on the streets from numerous french-fry shacks, known as a fritures or frietkoets. I tried them from several stands but the one above was highly superior! I WILL find a way to get back to Antwerp to my new found love...those Antwerp fries!

My Day at the Hague, Netherlands!

2008-07-13T00:53:00.001-07:00

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands and the official seat of government (although Amsterdam is the actual capital per the Dutch Constitution. The Hague is home to over 150 international (legal) organisations. These include the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Here we visited the Internal Criminal Court and sat through one of the confirmation hearings for the Special Court for Sierre Leone on the indictment of former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an independent judicial body set up to "try those who bear greatest responsibility" for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War. We were not allowed to take pictures inside due to security risks but the interior is impressive. It was very interesting to see the testimony of "insider" witnesses(those who were right there when the killings happened and played a major role in the murders of innocent people upon the orders of their commanders). They sat there giving details like anybody's neighbor. I remarked to one of our Dutch counterparts that the the witnesses didn't look like "bad guys" although I knew they were. Her response was...."they are no more bad guys than your US soldiers who follow orders from their commanders...". Hmmmmm....

Afterwards, we walked the Hague town square and saw some interesting sculptures.

We had lunch at an Old English styled restaurant called "Roots" and were given a briefing of rhe International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia by Christian Chartier, the Senior Information Officer of the International Criminal Court and Michael Karnavas, President of the Executive Committee of the Defence Council of the ICTY.

We also visited The Peace Palace in The Hague which is home to a number of international judicial institutions, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)and the renowned Peace Palace Library. The International Court of Justice is by far the most well known institution in the Peace Palace. The ICJ was created as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations when they both were founded in 1946. The Court has a dual mission: to settle legal disputes submitted to it by UN member states in accordance with international law and to give advice which is referred to by UN organs and agencies.

I find the story of the Peace Palace very interesting:

In the second half of the 19th century, European nations invested heavily in building professional armies and marine fleets. All experimented with the development of newer and faster weapons that could be used on a wider scale.

Against this backdrop, the Russian Tsar Nicolas II took a remarkable initiative. On 24 August 1898, he invited the governments of all major nations to join an international conference on peace and disarmament. According to the Tsar, he thought it would be better for the prosperity and progress of mankind if governments sat down and talked and concluded agreements instead of being divided and hostile towards one another.

Initially, his call met with a great deal of scepticism. After all, Nicolas II was one of the many European rulers who were building up their military power. It was only after President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States reacted positively that the Russian initiative gained momentum.

At Russia’s request, The Hague was chosen as the venue for this first peace conference. The Netherlands had the right profile. Dutch humanists like Erasmus and Grotius had stood at the cradle of international law and the Netherlands had always stayed relatively neutral in European conflicts.

The agenda of the 1899 Peace Conference included proposals like freezing military expenditure, banning the use of submarine torpedoes and the technique of throwing explosive missiles from balloons, as well as stopping the development of new weapons with an increased greater firing power. Last but not least was the idea to use the principles of mediation and arbitration in order to prevent or end future international disputes.

The results of this first World Peace Conference were astounding: a convention with 61 articles for curbing the arms race, the humanisation of the conduct of war and the foundation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

Naked Man

2008-07-09T14:22:00.001-07:00

****UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE****
I found a video of the naked man on youtube....ENJOY!

Canal Cruise

2008-07-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

I went on a canal cruise and it was sooo relaxing. I tried to chill and just enjoy but I did snap a few shots. Mostly of a few little houseboats on the water, a couple of duckies and a chinese restaurant on the water. I also snapped the captain who was sitting right next to me. He was pretty nice...albeit slightly intoxicated. Everytime someone asked him about a landmark he screamed..."Sit down, why don't cha?"

Afternoon in Amsterdam

2008-07-07T00:39:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the weekend catching up on my rest but Sunday I did get up and took a stroll through Amsterdam's busy streets. I stopped at a local chocolatier and bought a scoop of ice cream and a piece of mint chocolate. Yummy!
I went to a show at the world reknowned Boom Chicago at Leidesplein Theatre. Check this site out for more info about this group http://www.boomchicago.nl They were hilarious!
I saw a dance troupe break dancing outside the theatre.

Oh....and I saw a naked man balancing himself from a pole.

Yep, I'm in Amsterdam! ;-)

Being a good girl...kinda ;-)

2008-07-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

I started class today and so far I'm pretty happy I signed up. My classes are interesting and engaging. But I have a question: Why is there always one idiot in every class to take up class time with a bunch of overly intensive or irrelevant issues, questions etc. I'm really like...STFU!!! Aside from me and my friends...law students have a bonafide fortified tendency to suck.

The walk to school is about 2.25 miles so I'll have a daily walk of about 4.5 miles daily. Awesome! With gas prices being so high I've been planning to do more walking and save that gas money for clothes, shoes and purse shopping. You know...necessities. A'dam is the perfect place to start some new good habits...and some bad ones too...but not me though! ;-)

I'm still jet lagged. Halfway into the walk to school the sweet feeling of sleep engulfed me. It took everything I had not to lay on the ground and just fall asleep. I didn't though...last thing I need is to wake up to some weirdo humping on me. Needless to say...coffee is my friend.

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!

2008-07-02T13:50:00.001-07:00

I took off at 8am and toured Amsterdam until 3pm...on foot. My feet have never hurt so bad in my life. I ended up tossing my shoes and buying new walking shoes in route. And I had a wonderful time! Let me tell ya, I saw soooo much and there is still sooo much to see. I even got to do some shopping! I bought 2 VERY cute jackets at Zara. It was very tempting to spend my entire semester's tuition on some (or even 1) of the fabulousness I saw.

I took in plenty sites and just enjoyed the weather and culture. In Dam Square I saw the Royal Palace and a street performer juggling fire to a crowd of amazed onlookers.
And on the other side I was humbled by the National Monument which depicts a crucified Christ, men in chains and howling dogs. The history behind this monument is the Nazis occupied Holland from 1940-1945. They deported 100,000 Amsterdam Jews, driving many, including young Anne Frank and her family, into hiding. Near the end of the war, the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-1945 killed thousands, and forced many to survive on tulip bulbs. This monument is now considered a monument for peace.

I also visited the popular Flower Market. This busy block of cut flowers, plants, bulbs, seeds and garden supplies attests to Holland's repuation for growing flowers.

One thing that is pretty interesting to me is that is pretty common to have to PAY to use the restroom. I don't mean just tipping the bathroom attendant. I mean if you go to eat at a restaraunt...the bathroom facilities are not free. Even in McDonalds there was a woman sitting outside the door waiting for 30cents.

On my way home I went grocery shopping and since most of the items were in Dutch....for the time I was shopping, I truly knew what it felt like to be illiterate. I looked at the items and tried my best to guess what I was buying. So aside the always recognizable fruit.....I think I have milk, I think I have cereal and I think I have some chips.

I've arrived.....and I love it!

2008-07-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Okay first of all, I can honestly say that my 11 hours combined flights to get here weren't so bad. I drove from Jacksonville, Florida to St. Louis (15 hour trip) to say goodbye to my mom and son and then took a flight from there to Chicago and from there to Amsterdam. The flight to Amsterdam (7 hours) honestly went pretty quickly. I flew United Airlines and I was really impressed with the service. They served a snack, dinner and breakfast. The plane was roomy and the guy I met on the plane sitting next to me was super cool (Charles)! He had me rolling the whole flight!

When we arrived I was immediately ripped off at the currency exchange and got back about 100 euros for $200 US dollars. But our economy sucks so it's to be expected. Now, with me being gone for a month I of course had to pack a lot of stuff. And my bags were HEAVY. If I had it to do over I would have picked better ergonomic friendly bags to carryon since I absolutely refused to check luggage. Something, maybe, similar to what Charles is modeling above. You like?

The airport itself was awesome and totally diverse. I saw this cool cheese booth too. Did I tell you I love cheese? Well, I do. :-)

Okay, I left the airport and took the train to Amsterdam Central Station. I gave up on lugging my huge bag around and checked my bigger bag and went back later to retrieve it. There's sooo many people and sooooo many bikes. I think its awesome the way people of all sizes and ages are able to maneuver their bikes so well. I'd love to leave in such a bike friendly society.

This is truly a beautiful place and eclectic place!

Now, one thing that I noticed: people here walk alot so their description of distance is.....shall I say "skewed". For instance...right down the street probably means about 10 blocks. I swear I walked about 1 1/2 to get to my apartment based on a few friendly directions of "It's right down the street, dear". I love it! I even love the walking. And the people here are soooo friendly.

And it takes soooo long for it to get dark here. When I walked back to the train station to get my bag it was like 9pm here. It looked like Noon. At 11pm it still looked like the afternoon.
The view from my apartment is awesome too. I can even see a canal from my window! So far, I love it here!

Ps....I miss my Bunny!:-)

I'm on my way to Amsterdam, yall!!!

2008-06-27T19:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm packing as we speak. I'm doing study abroad at the University of Amsterdam (studying international criminal law). I'll be there for the entire month of July and will return the first week of August. I'm soooooo excited. This will be my first trip to Europe and yall know I want to make the most of it. I plan on visiting Brussels, Paris and Germany if I can fit it in. I have an uncle in London so depending on how my money stretches I may make it there too. I wanna eat some pancakes, chocolate, "different" fun and exotic cuisine and take in every site there is to explore. :-)