¡Feliz navidad...

y prospero año nuevo!

p.s. Yes, I am related to Santa Clause!  

Working on intelectuality

In  The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind  Mark A. Noll says, "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind....American evangelicals are not exemplary for their thinking, and they have not been so for several generations...Despite dynamic success at a popular level, modern American evangelicals have failed notably in sustaining serious intellectual life" (3).  

After reading the first half of this book, I have decided to help with the overall evangelical mind by publishing scholarly articles.  

I have decided to start small: 

 

p.s.  It took a lot more work than expected to get this much printed, so I've decided to retire while I'm still in my prime.  

My glasses, please

I need my glasses to read but not to see.  I forgot my glasses in Chicago quite a long time ago and I've been able to manage without them, so far.  After about 30 pages worth of essays written, my eyes are crying, pleading for the curvature that my glasses provide.  Every book I pick up taunts me, dares me to read it without getting a headache.  My body needs rest, but my eyes scream for an oasis of loving sleep, a chance to see blackness nothing.        

No matter how much I romanticize, the fact is that I am still about two pages away from finishing my essay on Jahiliyyah, the barbaric time before the arrival of Muhammad.  I shall continue.  

Je, that was actually kind of funny

Some background: 

• I was talking with my dad this morning concerning some glasses that should have gotten here about a week ago, but never showed up in my post-box.  
  
• At the end of my sophomore year, someone stole my white racing bike out of the Sammy bike closet.  It had a flat front tire and was chained up.     
  
• My father recently ordered a belt for himself and some thermal underwear for my sister, to help her survive the long winter days in Chicago.  They should be in the same box as my glasses.   

My dad said this morning: "I hope the guy who stole your bike isn't wearing your glasses, my belt and Sara's undies."

I tried imagining what that would look like... :D

Like, no way!

Enough is enough.  Please please PLEASE stop saying "like" all the time!  I feel like everyone is like, acting out their life.  Like, it gets on my nerves and I'm like, "Ah!  That makes me like, so mad!"  Seriously now...

I recently ran across this interview of Mrs. Palin that reminded me that I was going to write about my dislike of the overuse of "like."  She says: "I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me to somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door." 

 I agree with her prayer...but...two "likes" in one sentence is pushing it for me.  *sigh*  

Maybe with like, some sleep I'll be much better in the morning because then I'll be like, all rested up!  

Some of my favorites...

These are some of my favotire "statuses" from facebook concerning Obama being the new president of the United States.  I'm leavig them in their original form, so there might be a few spelling errors. 

H***** ****s "is dreading the rise of socialism..." 

N**** "now that Obama is president, white people may find a need to use that underground railroad." 

N**** "is gonna vote for McCain because i really don't wanna see my taxes go up.......im sorry, i like spending my money, rather than the government."  

B*** "is concerned how Obama makes Christ Like statments."  

E*** "needs to hear someone who has actually lived in a socialist State actually claim that A) Obama is a socialist or B) that is policy ideas are bad."

E*** "is satisfied with the presidential race though unsatisfied with the reactions to it by his 'christian' friends.

What are some of your favorites?  

In Honor of Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

"You know, comrades," says Stalin, "that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this --who will count the votes, and how."  

I got that quote from here.    

A WOW update

World Opportunities Week is going full blast, and I'm on my second cup of coffee (refills only cost 50 cents!).  

WOW has been going extremely well.  I've really enjoyed meeting all of the mission representatives and helping them with anything they need.  In some way I feel like its part of what I should be doing for the rest of my life, serving people.  Since I'm so involved with planning, I know exactly (at least I'm supposed to) what is going on and I want to attend all of the events.  There are some excellent speakers and events going on this week, so I'm kind of tight on time.  This busy time might be the boost that I need to get things done, I don't know. 

What good is a boost though, if I waste my time writing in my blog all day?  Nada. 

Something made me chuckle today.  I sat next to Mrs. Habecker in chapel today and she thought I was a mission representative.   She asked me if I was enjoying my time at Taylor.  She was quite embarrassed when she found out that this was my fourth year at Taylor...  :P    

Russia and the presents

It's probably time to sleep when I start talking in my essay about how the Russian government should have given the presents a voice after the emancipation of 1861. 

work work work...

The 30 of of October of 1983

"El 30 de octubre de 1983 el candidato por la UCR, Raúl Alfonsín, se impuso en las elecciones presidenciales, dejando atrás la dictadura militar que asumió el poder en 1976."

I realised that while I've been working on my Russian history essay on the effects the industrailization of Russia had on the revolution of 1914 (and prior revolutions as well), that Argentina is celebrating 25 years of democracy today! The military dictatorship had been in power from 1976 until 1983.    

Free Hugs...

everybody needs them!  

Untitled

As I (try to) plan my future I have to keep in mind that any knowledge that I gain, any achievements that I make, any awards that I win, should be for God's glory, not my own or the Greenman family.  Sometimes I catch myself thinking up hard ways to live life to be able to create opportunities for myself to grow.  If God wants me to grow in a certain way, he will make it happen.  That takes trust in knowing that he knows what is going on and that my adventure is slowly and patiently finding out what that is.  I've been thinking a lot lately about the order of actions.  Many times we pray to God, "Please Lord, bless us this day as we ____."  Instead, we should be searching what the Lord wants and asking, "What do you want me to do?"  That way, we automatically know what we do will be blessed.  Not easy, but blessed.  

The funny thing is...this whole post makes the first seven words of the paragraph completely and utterly pointless...which is pretty cool.  Renee wouldn't approve grammatically though.  

Tids.

Heads up, if my rss feed isn't working for you, try rss feeding me again.  I had to change my original blog address from elgauchitoarg.blogspot.com to joshgreenman.blogspot.com because of some mix-ups with my url provider.  All that to say, sorry for the inconvenience!  

Here is an update on my life: 

trying to study, 

don't feel like it.

maté.

future,

five year plan.

I see Ruwe,

she has a fancy hat on.

That is all.  

These made me think

Click to enlarge.





Banksy is his http://www.banksy.co.uk/

My life is a leaf

I'm not feeling too poetic, but I do feel like a dried out, crumpled leaf that has been thrown into the wind, waiting for the nearest current of air to guide me to my next location and stage of life. Who knows? I might end up in a gutter, in an ocean, on the top of a mountain; a whole new kind of world awaits me.

But to be honest, thinking about the huge decisions (probably the biggest in my life) that I have to make within a few months scares me silly. I'm flexible for anything, which helps...right?

MuKappa (and friends) lunch table

For the past few years I've been eating lunch at 11 am Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays at the dinning commons. Over time, I have been able to find friends who ate ate at the same time and we've been able to build a little community. Going through old emails, I found one written by one of the original 'members.'

The email is dated from 10/29/2006 and states:

Josh!

I hope you had a great weekend hanging out with your mom! It was nice to meet her today, too bad we couldn't have talked longer.

Anyway, are you going to have class at 11 next semester? I can register at 2 pm tomorrow, and I have the option of taking a class at that time or at 1 pm, and I will take it at 1 if we're going to eat lunch at 11, but if you can't then I will take it at 11. So, let me know as you can if you know yet.

Thanks!

Ann

And the rest is history...

I would like a job, please.

This last Tuesday I was able to attend a discussion on how to manage money and be monetarily sound. The people giving the presentation were from Charles Schwab investments. They had some great things to say, even I feel that most of the tips offered were pretty obvious (when you have debt, pay it back right away). I have been reading through a book entitled "International Jobs." The author of the book states, "I will never forget the powerful presentation of one senior professional at a career panel I attended. He opened his remarks by saying that when he speaks to a group of approximately fifty students, generally thirty will approach him at the end of a panel for questions; only five might ask for a business car; and if he has a good day, only two will call to follow up for an informational interview. Those are the only two he might - he informed the surprised group -consider hiring" (10).

Sure enough. At the end of the presentation only about three or four of us (out of 50ish?) stayed to talk to the four Schwab representatives. I don't have any interest in working with an investment company, but I was able to practice my networking skills. I now have a phone number, four names, and a business card for my efforts. Not only that, but they know my name, my story, and my face. I was also able to tell them what my budgeting system was: just don't spend money. When they heard that, they gave me some chocolate bars. :)

Loneliness has a definition.

"The loneliest maté is the one cebado alone." - Josh Greenman

Lucky for me, Ruwe ccompanied me with downing two whole liters (minus some that spilled onto my pants) of extra yummy extra strong maté. She had to visit a museum in Indianapolis so we drank one liter on the way down and another on the way back up to Taylor.

p.s. My stomach hates me now.

Shaving the beard

Ha, my thoughts exactly.

(Got it from here)

I'm almost there...

(Got it from here)

Distractions distractions...I've actually been doing pretty well lately. Obviously, there is always room for improvement. But, I think I'll be able to graduate on time. ;)

If anything, this video is what is currently distracting me the most.

Let's see what other history majors are doing...

Popular Jobs for History Majors

Statler & Waldorf

Click to enlarge.

What do YOU think?

Copied from The New York Times.

Mongols + Orthodox Church = Love

I've decided to write about the relationship that the Mongols and the Orthodox Church had during the Tatar occoupation of Russia. I feel like I've been typing for ever and should have at least 23 pages...but I only have 3 or so. Ugh this is going slow. :P

The Ideal Student...

...isn't me.

I've always had a hard time skipping classes. Even when I'm burning with a 130 degree fever, I still feel as if it's my responsibility to walk through the five feet of snow, uphill both ways, to get to class. It probably has something to do with the way that my parents brought me up.

Mom and dad, I have something important to tell you. I skipped class today for no apparent reason. I'm feeling perfectly fine, but I've been going through something called senioritis where you don't feel like doing schoolwork (or going to class). It's already starting to set it. Thankfully I have pretty easy semesters this year. I invited a friend to go with me to a local coffee shop (she's in the same class as I am) and we both enjoyed our skip.

Mother, please don't cry, but I'm actually writing this blog entry as my professor is lecturing on global warming. He says that "It is caused largely by the carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, the amount of which is growing each year because of our use of fossil fuels." Interesting, no? Not really.

Don't worry mother, I will graduate. My fear of not graduating is far greater than my wandering mind...

The Soupies

Fall '08 Soupies.

Rules at boarding school

After many years of searching, I think I've finally figured out why they made us tuck our shirts in at boarding school:

A Grateful Heart

I recently gave a kilo of mate to my friend Dr. Felix Aguilar, whose father worked for the Argentine embassy in Washington. He had run out and was getting a bit desperate. I offered to give him some and sent it through campus mail. I received a note a few days later:

Josh,

Thank you so much for sending me the kilo of mate. I drink Mate every morning when I study and pray … so … You’re helping me with my walk with the Lord!!!

Again thanks for your kindness.

Felix

Je... :)

Sleep

My mind wanders
and my heart jumps.
Thinking about today
about all I had to say.
What am I to do?
Dang it, it's almost two!

Help me think

I have two projects in mind concerning the Russian Orthodox Church. First of all, I'm supposed to write an eight to ten page essay about Russian history prior to 1796 (death of Catherine II). I've been trying to brainstorm some to know where to start my research. I have two ideas so far and need to see which idea has more sources. Since these topics are in themselves quite broad, I shouldn't have too much trouble finding information. My two ideas consist of Orthodoxy's influence on society and government in the 17th century (I chose that date because there seemed to be quite a bit written on this century...I still need to find out why) and the story behind the the schism of 1054. The schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox church in Constantinople always interested me and I have been unable to go into detail about what exactly happened. Of course, I would have to find a way in which to tie in the separation of the two churches with Russia, but that shouldn't be too hard to do. I could include how and why Constantinople fell and how church power shifted to Moscow. I am in my early stages of brain storming, so please help! I want to have this paper finished by next week if at all possible.

My second project is planning a class field trip to a Russian Orthodox church in Indianapolis or the surrounding area. This responsibility includes finding a church that meets my requirements (close, Russian Orthodox, etc), writing to the Bishop and asking him if he would be willing to give us an informative discussion on Russian Orthodoxy (and how it has changed since coming to the West, etc), researching the church's traditions (how we should dress, whither or not the girls should cover their heads, etc), and find a traditional Russian restaurant to finish off the day. I need to start communicating with our department secretary to find out how to reserve a van and how to get money for people's meal plans.

I'll keep you updated on how these projects go.

Souphouse Retreat

There are always a lot of people in our house and there aren't too many times where we can hang out as a family. It was decided that we were to escape to Michigan, where Ben Mattice's family lives. It was great being able to be goofy and have some great talks. After playing laser-tag, we spent the night on the beach on a tarp and it was extremely cold. Thankfully on Saturday (when we we kayaking, dune jumping, etc) there was a lot of sun. Ben, Upendra, and I paddled for about 3 miles and I got a badly burnt. We were able to meet a lot of new people, some of which might come down to Upland to visit us. We had a bonfire on Saturday night with the girls and we were finally able to make it home to the Souphouse at 1:30 am.

Crazy day.

6:30- Wake up
7:00- Morning Dew
8:00- Pancakes for Morning Dew
9:00-11:00- Work
11:00-1:00- Astronomy lab
1:00- 2:00- Lunch with friends
2:00-4:00- Work
4:00- 5:00- WOW Cabinet
5:00-6:00 Dinner
6:00-9:00 Work
9:00- 11:30- Cleaning the Souphouse
11:30-12:00...- Goofing around and writing this blog.

I can't wait to go to Michigan...

I Miss

I miss solid floors so that when I jump my things don't fall off of my desk.

Gone

I decided that it was too late in the day and the couches looked too junky to really hope someone would buy them. Anna, Ian, and I moved the couches out to the side of the road and I stuck "FREE" signs on both of them. I'm glad to say that both of them are gone and that we now have a back room to store MORE junk. :)

Summer is over.

To say the least this summer was one of the best I've had in a long time. What makes a summer a good one? I think that having enough to do is the key to being happy during summers. It's fun to spend a day or two in front of a tv but after a while I get bored and need to do something productive, constructive, and non electric. I spent most of my summer traveling and visiting friends and family. I was able to invest in some great people and feel like I have family who I am not directly related to.

I had a great summer and now I'm looking forward to a great semester. While I've been gone things have changed, which is a good thing, but it will still take a while getting used to. I should be updating my blog with daily happenings more often now (yay for a keyboard that works!) that I have a computer again. Upland has a Labor Day weekend sale and I'm going to try to sell two couches and a bike helmet tomorrow. :)

I´m here...now what?

Guess what? I kind of lost my paper with all of my phone numbers in Santa Cruz...so no one really knows I´m here. :P On a lighter note, no one replied to my request for free housing either. My next step is to try my friend´s phone number and if no one answers then look for a nice little youth hostel to stay at. At least I speak the language!

Next Step: Santa Cruz!

I leave for Bolivia tonight at 12:45 am and will be getting into Santa Cruz around 6 pm. I still don´t know where I will be staying when I get there or if anybody will even be around to pick me up from the bus station. That´s half the fun, isn´t it? It turns out that half of my graduating class will be in Santa Cruz so I´ve decided to make the effort to see everyone. Chau for now... Please pray that my last minute pop into Santa turns out smoothly.

P.S. So far I´ve slept in 5 different houses here in Salta, je.

Argentina Hasta Ahora

I've been in Argentina for a month. So far I've slept in seven beds in four different provinces. Of my time here I've only spent a week in Jujuy (sorry mom and dad). My summers in Argentina are usually slow with few activities since I've lost touch with most of my friends and the ones that I do have now live in other provinces. This summer has been completely different. I've been experiencing more fatigue than what I usually do during school (without the stress of course) due to the constant moving around and traveling. For a while I was only sleeping five hours a night in Salta because I had so many people to see and so many things to do. If the rest of my summer is like this then I will be quite content. The weather has also been great. I've only had to wear my winter jacket for a week in the month that I've been here because it's been getting up to the 60s. I really do hate Indiana winters a lot... Argentine isn't some sort of magical place where it's always fun and warm but right now it feels very fun and extremely warm. I don't always know where I belong, but one thing that I do know is that I always feel misearable when I leave Argentina and that those feelings are real.

I'm in the process of planning trips to Bolivia (Santa Cruz) and Cafayate (wine vineyards). For what it's worth, I've (re)discovered Argentine reggae.

Girls these days...

I remember back in the day when girls used to like being serenated to. Now you have to be good at typing text messages in short hand and signing foto blogs. I know that I sound like an old man now, but I miss the good old days...


P.S. `Falta azucar´ means `Needs sugar.´ Je.

Talented Friends

Not only are my friends good at modeling, but they sing too. Let me know what you think...

Hanging out in Salta

I got in to Salta (two hours from Jujuy) yesterday afternoon. The bus ride was interesting because I sat next to two travelers from Canada and France and talked about our travels throughout the world. Things seem to be going well so far. We´ve managed to record a few songs which will be posted as soon as they are loaded. I´m staying at Josi and Luciana´s house, two friends who I met at camp a year and a half ago. We ate dinner at 2 a.m. last night. 5 p.m. dinners seem so foreign to me now...

Life in Jujuy so far

He doesn´t look too happy to see me, huh?

• Maté
• Text messages
• Seeing old friends
• Building a chapel
• Midnight walks with Clyde
• Being walked by Clyde
• Chasing stray cats and dogs with Clyde
• Watching Lobo Jujuy beat Unión de Santa Fe at the stadium
• Eating dinner at 10 pm
• Argentine tv stations
• Sleeping in until 12 pm, sometimes
• Waking up at 8 to work at camp, sometimes
  

Córdoba was blue

The cold made my days in Córdoba blue.
...
But I still had a blast.

Fortunes

I had my fortune read today by some Gypsies. They told me that they have family in Jujuy. I'm pretty sure that they are my neighbors.

I can't remember everything that I'm supposed to be going through within the next 10 years but the Gypsy's first reading was dead on: "You work hard but don't make enough money." I should probably get a job one of these days...

Make me happy. Now.

The best way to make Josh happy: I walked into into the hostel that I am currently staying at and told the front desk girl my name in English (since I had registered with my American debit card). ¿Yoshwa? ¡Pero si pareces argentino! (But, you seem Argentine!)

:)

Ciao Signora, Hola Qué Tal?

I'm leaving the city of Buenos Aires today and heading up towards Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city. Córdoba is known as Argentina´s city of education because of the large quantities of students who reside there. Córdoba has a lot of colonial style housing dating from the Spanish occupation, it should provide me with a few photographic opportunities. I'm going to try to make it up to Jujuy by Monday or so, depending on the economic situation.

Taking a walk through El Caminito

A few images from my walk through El Caminito, a street dedicatd to artists and musicians.

Mercedes, my love.

Mercedes Sosa is my favorite female folk singer. Her song "Gracias a la Vida" never fails to give me goose bumps...

p.d. Dedico esta canción a mi primita Andrea. Te quiero mucho che...

Stand Up

Late last night* the Argentine people united to send a message to president Kristina Kirchner : "Please talk with us!" In Buenos Aires alone there were thousands banging their pots and pans trying to be heard by the national government. There has been a deadlock between the farmers and the national government for about 90 days concerning the high export tax. Due to the highways being cut by the farmers, I have been unable to get out of Buenos Aires by bus. I guess I'm going to have to fly out on Thursday and spend the weekend in Cordoba.

*Yes, I did partake in the demonstrations. I should have some videos uploaded to youtube soon.

Stuck in B.A.

I took the 'subte' to the bus terminal today and found out that there isn't a single bus going to Cordoba due to road blocks. In fact, none are even trying to make the trip since there isn't any possible way through. I then tried the train station, but the office that provides tickets to Cordoba and Tucuman is locked up and won't even open until Monday. In other words...I'm stuck in Buenos Aires until further notice. It's a good thing that I don't have any sort of fixed schedule planned out because I could be here for quite a few more days. There's lots of things to do and see here so I won't be short of entertainment. Let's just hope that my wallet holds out long enough...

Buenos Aires is Argentina and Argentina is home. It's been fun taking in all of the familiar sights (ex. sidewalks and taxis), sounds, foods, and literature. My friend Amy Wood gave me a book on Che's last days in Bolivia and I just bought a copy of his Bolivian journal (in Spanish) to go with it. Today I saw an old man selling some home-made sausage and cheese, so I bought some. It's really good, especially if I don't think about what it's doing to my body. Today at the train station I bought some home-baked bread to go with it. Yums.

Recoleta Cats

The cemetery in Recoleta (neighborhood in Buenos Aires) is an exquisite example of what beautiful cemetery architecture should be. Many famous people are buried there, including the Duarte and Sarmiento families.

One thing that struck me was the number of cats that I saw there. There were at least 20 within view, with many hiding, I'm sure. I overheard a tour guide say that they helped keep the rats away, which is why they were allowed to stay.

Life in Argentina post Europe

*I'm not here to judge or criticize any one's life style. Observations help me analyze my own and see what needs changing.

I feel like I've always been faced with the dilemma that many rich kids (probably) face. I can imagine how it feels to have a friend with less money brag about an object that they have that isn't really worth much. It's not that it doesn't mean anything, it just doesn't make sense to brag about it in front of someone who has more (as superficial as it all is). Likewise, I always become uncomfortable when someone brags about how good their society is, how bad the next person's is, and how everyone should live like them. Traveling through Europe (and other parts of the world) has shown me that there are so many more ways to live life that really seem to work. If anything: fast is good but not always the best, on time is cool but not always fun, big does not equal better, and a humble attitude is everything.

Being back in Argentina has brought up a strange kind of homeish feeling. The sidewalks in Buenos Aires look exactly the same as in Jujuy and Salta. Go figure.

The Freedom to Not Vote for Nobody

(http://i29.tinypic.com/9fv5nq.jpg)

I've been yelled at multiple times by family members for not voting in the U.S. elections. They say that I need to exercise my right to vote. I remember talking to an older gentleman on my way to Libertador (a small city in Jujuy) and him telling me how he hasn't voted in the Argentine elections in over 20 years, and hasn't gone to jail because of it! He couldn't really tell me how he got away with that though.

I can argue that I am either exercising my right to vote, or enjoying the freedom to not have to vote for Nobody.

A Most Random Thing.

I was sitting in front of a huge white bridge today with my friend Pablo when all of a sudden I saw someone who looked kind of familiar walk by. Who would have known that I would run into my friend Christian's parents who live in Tarija (Bolivia) here in Buenos Aires? They are on their way to Sweden. Talk about randoma.

FYI Argentina

I've been quite busy here in Indiana these past few days. I'm not sure what kind of Internet access I will have since I will be visiting friends in Buenos Aires until Sunday and then in Cordoba until (?). My Spanish is so rusty. Ouch.

Country Superlatives

*I acknowledge that I have only seen certain areas of these countries and that my observations where greatly influenced by the weather and such. My biases include that I am a white male who grew up in Argentina with a pet dog.

Prettiest people: Sweden
Friendliest: Belgium
Most Punctual: Switzerland
Least Punctual: Italy
Grouchiest: Latvia
Most familiar culture: Italy
Most beautiful landscape: Switzerland
Nicest trains: Sweden
City with most dreads: Geneva
Most tourists in one city: Copenhagen

That was long

I'm back in Klaipeda getting ready to head back to the States. My trip from Switzerland was the longest journey I've had in a long time (it almost rivals my trip to Peru, but not quite).

I took a total of 7 trains (10:30 am to 11:00 pm) to get to Italy, 3 buses (6 hrs in total) in Italy, Latvia, and Lithuania, and 1 airplane (2.5 hrs) from Milan to Riga.

I actually missed one of my trains within Italy (and the second one was an hour 'retardo') but I took advantage of the extra three hours to eat some panini and gelato. Mmhh good.

Tomorrow I plan on packing, spending time with friends at the beach and ice skating, and taking care of Roberto, my hostess' son.

The journey continues

Farewell Europe, hello North and South America.  It's hard to believe that I can count my days left in Europe with one hand.  Even cooler though, I need at least three hands to count the countries that I have visited within the past 5 months.  

June 2nd: Trains to Milan and stay the night in the airport.

June 3rd: Fly to Riga, Latvia.  Take bus to Klaipeda, Lithuania.

June 4th: Skate for the last time in Klaipeda.

June 5th: Fly to USA.  

June 10th: Argentina

Seeing old friends

It's been great being able to see old friends while traveling throughout Europe.  Better yet, I've been able to meet a lot of new people.  There seems to be a pocket of ex-Tambo (the boarding school I used to study at) students here in Switzerland.  All except one of the guys (not pictured) that I know in Switzerland were at least once my roommates (in some cases, two or more times as well).  It's been interesting to see how much they have and haven't changed.  Each person still has their certain peculiarities which have been accented due to a new environment.

One thing is for certain: We're all forgetting our Spanish.  It's a good thing that I'm heading down to Argentina for the summer.          

Historical Photo

I feel like I see this photo every time I take a history class that has to do with the United States, immigration, South America, Africa, and England.  It's a good visual description of the horrors that slaves had to endure on their trips over to the western hemisphere.  It wasn't uncommon for slaves to throw themselves over-board at the slightest chance to escape the torturous trip and a life of labour with no chance of becoming free.     

I need to get out of Belgium NOW

I have never struggled with my weight; I've pretty much stayed the same since high school. My eating habits have been quite healthy most of my life due a great selection of fruit and vegetables available in Argentina. Compared to my days in high school, I do a lot less physical exercise though...

I might suffer from a heart attack if I stay any more time in Belgium. People eat so many fries here it isn't even funny (maybe for some people it is). I didn't sleep my first two nights because my body was in shock. You could look at it as a way for me to get ready to visit the States in a few weeks. What will I be eating in Switzerland? Cheese and chocolate? :)

Belgium

Belgium has been a blast (thank you so much Anthony!). I leave for Swizterland on Saturday morning. The first two photos were taken in Brussels and the last two in Bruge ("The Venice of the North").

Estoy en Belgium

I had a safe trip from Denmark to Belgium. For some reason the security guards in Copenhagen didn't really trust me and checked me extremely well. In fact, they emptied my backpack out and ran it through the x-ray machine twice. The security guard who checked me didn't believe that my mp3 player played music and didn't have a hidden blade inside.
Yesterday Anthony and I went to Wavre to visit a youth group which his dad leads with a girl fron the States. The kids were really cool and friendly. I really thought that I would be able to understand quite a bit of French...but the accent totally throws me off. If I read something I can understand 30 - 40% of it, which won't really help me if someone is giving me directions (to the bathroom).

This morning we all headed over to Toni's (Anthony's uncle) house to help move wood into his basement. Everybody will be quite sore tomorrow... After finishing that chore we (Anthony, his friends and I) went to Mons for a beer festival. We just got back from that actually. It was kind of rainy but one of his friends provided some sweatshirts for us to wear (mine was huge).
Tomorrow morning Anthony is driving us up to Brussels for church. After the service nous are driving back for lunch. I will be in Charleoi until Tuesday until I take the train to Brussels to meet up with Anthony (who will be studying until then) and Amy.

Update on Travels

I went over to a friend of Linnea's apartment last night to watch ''So you think you can dance Scandinavia.'' After finishing an episode of Seinfeld, we all left the apartment to head home. For some reason though, my keys didn't work on the apartment door (they did on the main door). So...I decided to climb over the wall and bang on someones window to have them let me in. I felt kind of nervous doing that because I wasn't sure how people would react to seeing someone jumping over walls. Thankfully no cops came, even though it would have made for quite an interesting night. I was finally let in after about three minutes of pounding on someones window. I guess they gave me the wrong set of keys.

I'm taking the train to the Copenhagen airport after lunch today and from there flying to Belgium. Sweden, I shall miss you.

A visit to Copenhagen

After missing my first bus by 30 seconds (literally), I was finally able to make it Copenhagen for a few hours of exploration. Copenhagen is a lot busier than Stockholm, but it still offered some great places to sit and relax. After wandering aimlessly about for an hour or so, I noticed that there was a little red dotted path on my map, so I decided to follow it (I really wasn't sure what it was). It turned out to be a great touristy walk that took me through the most beautiful parts of the city.