So Much to be Thankful For!

This was definitely one of the best Thanksgivings ever! I was so glad Dennis and I got to make the trip to Alabama together. This was his first trip back to the States since we moved to Belgium in August 2004. The two weeks we were there flew by, but it was a great visit.

We arrived at the height of Alamaba football fever--Even our pilot updated everyone with the Alabama - Auburn score as we headed away from Atlanta towards the great state of Alabama. I laughed--we were truly back in the South! Once we arrived in the Huntsville airport, we were greeted in another truly American way--a man sitting with his family noticed Dennis' HU t-shirt and yelled toward us, "If you had studied harder, you could have made it to Pepperdine!" =) I love the US and the way people joke freely with each other! That something we miss in Belgium.


Mom and Dad hosted the Thanksgiving dinner at their house this year, and it was a full house! I was off the hook from kitchen duty this year, because I got the "big cousin" job! It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it... *wink wink* We played games, hiked through the woods (i found our clubhouse ...well, what's left of it!) And played on the old tire swing. I really had fun showing them all my old haunts.

Dinner was wonderful! All those great family traditions and comfort foods! Like mom's ham with aprocot stuffing, and grandma's sweet potato casserole! Mmm!

Later mom got out a pinata, which we rigged up in the hall for the kids. (I think we had as much fun watching as they did hitting and diving for candy!) The pinata later doubled as interesting hats...

But the kids weren't the only entertaining ones... (By the way, that's real china on their heads...not paper plates!)

To be continued... =) it's bedtime for me now

What'dya know...!

Hey Y'all! (you like that? I'm getting back to my Southern roots!)

'Lil update needed... No, I'm NOT working 7 days a week! I guess that just rolls off my tongue (or rather finger tips) to say something is 24/7 and it just kinda flowed into my last blog! lol. No, I'm working a normal Monday - Friday job, but I have been putting in a few extra hours with the PWC and SOX audits. Things finally slowed down this week though. I didn't really do ANYthing Friday...I was just "worked out." So I left early to enjoy my weekend!

Secondly, I just realized why I hadn't had any posts on my blog lately. I was kinda wondering why no one felt like leaving comments...? Man--do I feel silly! I forgot that I had put a "screen" on my comments, which requires that I check them before they appear on my blog! So I had like 18 comments waiting to be approved! Ha ha! Thanks, guys, for all your comments over the last couple of months! ; )

Also, I think I forgot to mention in my last blog that we're not moving into our house until next June. The owners of the house are in the middle of building their own house, so they wanted to stay a little longer before moving out. They will pay us rent once we start paying on our mortgage (which will probably start in January.)

Anyway, that gives us lots of time to go furniture hunting-- which we desperately need to do!!! We currently own one big bookshelf, and two fancy TV dinner tables! LOL! (The church apartment we've been staying in was already furnished.) GOOD THING there's IKEA (pronounced ee-kay-a, Matt!)! (For those of you States-side, if you haven't experienced that amazing store yet, you're missing out. I've heard it's in a lot of the big cities now, though. It's like an H&M but for houses! Yeah, yeah...another great European store! Oh well!) We've also been recently introduced to "kringloop winkles" too, which are like Goodwill stores but with furniture! They have huge wardrobes for like ten EUR! Very fun.

I'm so excited about our new house. It's gonna feel like a mansion compared to what we've been living in (nothing more than a dormroom, basically!) We feel really blessed with this house! And we're really looking forward to having a place for all of you to stay when you come to visit! ; )

So much to say... so little time!

Yes, it's definitely been a while! I been so busy, I've totally neglected my blog. =( But I guess it's the sacrifice of bringing home a monthly paycheck!!

So yeah, I'm a full-time working woman now. I've been working for Johnson Controls since July 31st, and I'm really enjoying it. I was kinda worried that I couldn't handle working 8 hours a day 7 days a week, but my days go by so fast, I don't even notice it! I'm currently working as a team member of the UK General Ledger department. Basically, I'm doing a lot of administrative and basic accounting stuff. I get to write big cheques (notice the British spelling!) in Pounds and Pences. lol! I'm also becoming a pro at Excel. Mostly what I do all day is reconcile acounts and try to figure out why the numbers don't match up sometimes. It's often a big messy puzzle-- in other words, a good challenge!

Next line of business...


We bought a HOUSE!!!
Yes, and now we're saddled with a 30 year morgage. Does that make us adults now? =) The house is practically everything we were looking for! It's an old, semi-farm house from around the 1920's (we think...) and it's been completely renovated, including the roof and facade. There are three bedrooms, a small office/sewing room, a regular office, one bathroom, living room, dining room, big kitchen, utility room (that has an additional shower--weird, eh?), and outside is a huge two car garage/workshop. All that's on the ground floor. Upstairs is a gigantic attic where several more rooms could be added. The backyard is very inviting! And there's a shed at the back that acts as a "gate" to the field beyond the backyard. It's completely livable now, but has so much potential for new ideas and upgrades.

Here's some pics to get an idea... More are posted on my Flickr site (see thumbnails to the right --->)

(below:) It's so wide, that I couldn't get it all in one photo! I'll have to make a panorama later...

Dennis is really excited about this double garage! What you can't see is that to the left, there is a whole other section that is a workshop area. He's already dreaming up projects...! If you look really closely, you can make out the shed with the red door at the back of this picture. On the other side is our field (which is currently inhabited by a herd of chickens and goats!)

The patio is so inviting! I wish I had a picture of the view out onto the patio from the kitchen... it's really charming.

The living room... (okay, you have to imagine it without all the knick-nacks and doilies and flower-dy curtains!)

This is looking across the dinning room area and into the living room. The room is a lot lighter than it looks. The kitchen... which is large enough to be a second dinning room almost!

Check out Flicker for pictures of the attic and celler along with a few more. I would have uploaded them all, but I reached my uploading limit for the month, according to the website. =( So...to be continued until next month! ; )

Kamp!

Two weeks ago, Dennis and I pack our sleeping bags, our tent, and our swimsuits and headed for camp! Bible camp is nestled in the beautiful hills of the Belgian Ardennen. This is a shot taken from the famous "Love Tree"... we hike up the road from camp, which is down in the valley from the tree.

Every morning, Luk taught lessons from the book of 1 Corinthians. He tackled tough subjects like how we can keep each other accountable, how to be in the world but not of it, whether it's okay to marry unbelievers, why sex outside of marriage is less than perfect, and how Gods love for us never fails.

In the afternoons, there were all kinds of activities--swimming, mountain biking, "capture the flag," long hikes, and I even taught 'em how to play American football! (We played "flag football" with the tea towels stuck in our shorts =)

Cards was a popular pastime in the evenings. Check out Dennis' beard--it's his camp tradition!

The last evening of camp is "Bonte Avond" night. No one's quite sure how it got it's name, but it's a night of skits and silliness. Here's us doing the "Focus on God" skit that some of you may recognize ( Mom, remember the spanish version from Honduras??)

And you can't have camp without a bon fire! Collecting wood for the fire takes the place of the afternoon activity on friday, and you should see how enthusiastic everyone is to drag whole trees a mile down the road in the heat of the summer! But seriously, they are! The bigger the fire, the better. And this one was pretty big! (Though the picture doesn't do it justice...)

Pictures courtesy of Luk Brazle. Check out more at www.belgianbreeze.blogspot.com !

oh the unknown!

So i thought I'd be content once I knew I had a job...

Well that big day has come and past! Yeah, last friday was an eventful day for me! Dennis took me shopping that morning (yeah, really!) for a new outfit for graduation. Then during the graduation ceremony, i found out that I graduated with distinction! (that was a shocker!) Afterwards on the way out, I was checking my phone to see if Holly has called, and what I found instead was a message from my agent (that sounds important, huh?!) saying that Johnson Controls was offering me a job!! What a way to start the weekend!!

Me listening to the good news about my job!

Then, to top off the evening, Holly and Luk had prepared us a grilled feast at their new place! It was so great to share that exciting day with friends and family!

Me & Ans celebrating

Holly and Gideon; & The guys playing with fire :)

Now, though, I feel like a anxious teenage girl sitting by the phone waiting for THE Call! Only, it's not a boy I'm waiting around on this time, it a company offering me a job! lol I still haven't gotten the details about when they want me to start and how much their willing to pay me. Bible camp starts this weekend, and I don't even know if I can go yet! According to the lady at the head hunting agency, I am supposed to hear something by today at the latest, so I'm anxiously waiting... and waiting...

pomp and circumstance

No caps and gowns this time, but tomorrow I'll be graduating from Vlerick with my Masters in General Management!!

Yeah, I guess Europeans don't get into the whole graduation ceremony much. It doesn't seem to be as big a deal here as it is back home. No student speeches, no traditional entry song, no caps with tassels. And no hoods for the masters and doctorates. But that's okay...hopefully soon I'll still get to bring in the fat check! ; ) Well...maybe not so fat at first, but income none-the-less!

Dennis and I are SOOO ready to get moved out of our tiny little apartment into a house of our own. After I find a job (which might not be long!) we'll start talking to the banks about loans and start seriously looking for a house. We'll probably go ahead and move into an apartment in Gent while we look, though. Then we'll be closer to Luk and Holly and won't have to commute to help out with church stuff.

Luk and Holly are doing really good, by the way! They're all moved in, and I've spent the night with them twice! You can read more about their renovating adventure and Gideon's new teeth =) on their blog: www.belgianbreeze.blogspot.com

Eating at Luk & Holly's (with the LST students and my friend, Tandy, from AL)

HELP!

I think my diabetic Degu's ate a sugar cube!! They got loose from their cage and ran around the church building last night! oops! =)

*shhh! we don't talk about that!

Ok, it might be taboo and politically incorrect, but I wanna talk about homosexuality.

So here's a few questions I've been pondering: where does a homosexual preference really come from? Is it biological or does it develop through environment? Should it be seen as a "disorder"? How do we as Christians deal with it and them?

Back home, I had these questions as well, but they didn't seem so urgent. I never had any close friends or acquaintances who were gay. I worked with a couple over the years, but never long enough to get to know them. So it wasn't until recently, really, when I came face to face with these issues.

So what are the typical responses? Liberals say "they're born with it--it's natural" and conservatives say "it's not natural--it's a choice and it's wrong." As Christians, we believe God teaches that homosexuality is wrong. "...nor the homosexual offenders...will inherit the kingdom of God." - 1 Cor. 9, 10. However, the struggle is that it's hard not to absorb some of what the media is feeding us--that homosexuals are born that way. And once you befriend a homosexual, you see that they believe it too. It can be hard to be a Christian in a "tolerate everything world." But if homosexuals are born that way, then do we conclude that God created them imperfect? I know that we all fall due to our own sinful desires. But the natural desire for sex in a heterosexual way is God-given... it's only the wrong timing (etc.) that can make it sinful. Sexual relations within marriage are beautiful and encouraged by God. So...why would God give someone homosexual desires if there was no way for them to rightfully fulfill that desire?

Maybe there are some sinful desires that we must live with and fight against all our lives. But I still have a hard time reconciling this one. As I've become closer friends with one of my gay guy friends, he's opened up and shared a lot and answered a lot of my questions. When I asked him, "When did you 'know'?" He answered that he started to realize "something's not right with this picture" around age 14 (i think) but that he was really distressed about it. It took him a couple of years before he would admit to himself that he was gay.

Does that sound like a choice?

Okay, so then we might say, yes, he has the choice to remain abstinent.

But is that it? Is that what God desires? I'm not sure, but I don't think so. I've read a couple of really interesting articles lately, from the website of the NARTH organization (www.narth.com). Now I'm starting to understand how homosexuality might develop and how I as a Christian can deal with people who struggle with this. I believe that homosexuality is a dysfunctional relationship behavior just like serial dating, bulimia, passive aggression, and obesity can be. They can all be viewed as stemming from personality traits, genetics, or environmental causes. But when we meet a bulimic, we don't show them the cold shoulder--we immediately recognize that they have suffered some kind of emotional pain and that they are in an addictive behavioral cycle that they cannot stop without help.

What I'm really trying to say is that if we want to be effective loving Christians, we need to understand where the problem is really coming from, and what can be done about it. We need to recognize that homosexuals don't choose to have homosexual feelings. But we also need to be true to our faith and really believe that this isn't the life God intended for them; just as we don't give up on the bulimic girl and say "oh well, it's the cross she has to bear"--no...we try to get help for her! (Of course, she has to be willing to admit that there is a problem, or you can't help her.)

The answer that homosexuals can find healing and can change is refreshing news to them as well. Can you imagine being in denial about your desires--just to hear one group saying "you can't change--accept it!" and another group saying "you sinner! what you do is unnatural!" If they admit to themselves that they can't change, then they must give up their dreams for a "normal" life and family. But if they believe that they weren't born that way, then they're covered in guilt for the feelings they can't control. That must be torment for a teenager or young adult.

*** This is the most incredible idea I've discovered-- We DO have hope to offer ! In the past I always believed homosexuality was wrong, but I felt kinda mean about delcaring that message to them. I wasn't too excited to tell them they could never have another relationship. Jesus didn't go around condemning as much as he did healing and offering hope. And I guess I never really felt like I had anything of hope to offer homosexuals. (yes, eternal life, but at the price of loneliness for the rest of their life here.) Well, now I believe they can be fully restored if they choose to. But I had also accepted the media garbage that homosexuals are perfectly happy in their trendy little world and don't suffer because of their lifestyle. So telling them they can change would be just as offensive. But I'm here to tell you that I have seen the pain in their eyes and heard the longing in their voices. They might look confident and happy on the outside, but it's not always the case. We all know that lives like Rachel and Monica (Friends) are not realistic, so why to we believe that "Will and Grace" is?

Well...i think that's about all my ramblings for today. If you're interested, please read the articles I found, and let me know what you think. I want to hear all your views!

articles:

"How Might Homosexuality Develop? Putting the Pieces Together" http://www.narth.com/docs/pieces.html

"Educating the public on the Causes of Homosexuality"
http://www.narth.com/docs/coll-harren.html

Degu's and Interviews!

Today has been rather exciting!

My morning began with a trip to Brussels--that big dirty city which boasts the HQ of the European Union and the United Nations. I've never really been fond of Brussels because it's so huge and spread out. Plus, there's so much French spoken there, and so few English and Dutch--so needless to say, it's a bit intimidating. I've been twice in the last week, however, and it's starting to grow on me.

This morning, my boss and my colleague (Charly) and I met with Carlson Marketing to discuss a possible partnership between us and one of their clients. Their office wasn't in a typical office building--no, it was set back in a beautiful upscale neighborhood surrounded by trees and ponds and croaking frogs! lol The meeting went well, and my boss offered me a ride back to Antwerp, so I didn't have to take the train.

When I got home, there were two furry, little critters waiting for me!! Dennis and I are now the proud owners of two Degus! One of the American families at church (the Mabes) are having to move back to the States and could not take the degus with them, so we adopted them. Degus were originally thought to be some kind of squirrel, but now are supposed to be in the same family as chinchillas--however, some researchers think they may not be rodents at all, but closer to the rabbit family.



They're such funny, curious little things! And since their social creatures by nature, they enjoy being held and played with. Unlike most other critters, they have the ability to recognize and bond with people. Right now, though, ours are a little skittish since they're out of their normal surrounding. Hopefully I can get some pictures of ours on my blog before too long! (the other pics are random ones I found on the internet.)


The last exciting news is that I have an interview with UPS! It's for the newer position that was presented to me by them--Planning and Communication Specialist. I would be working in the district marketing department, rather than the European-wide department of the other position. But I wouldn't mind that, since it's still in Marketing. It would give me the change to get my foot in the door and build up some experience while I'm still working on my Dutch. So keep me in your prayers next Tuesday morning. Thanks!

And the job search continues...

It's really a humbling experience to apply for jobs in a foreign country! Especially one in which English is merely the THIRD most commonly spoken language. You know, it's hard enough to compete for jobs in general--but my situation is that they won't even consider my other possible strengths because I don't even meet the minimum language requirement. It's almost as if I were applying for graduate-level positions with nothing but a high school deploma! That's how I feel sometimes, anyway!

But thank goodness we serve a mighty God who is in control even when we aren't!! Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me during my job hunt! I had some encouraging news last Friday. I've gotten several negative replies from applications lately, which wasn't unexpected. But my application to UPS was one I was really counting on...and I hadn't heard anything for nearly two weeks! Anyway, Friday I got an e-mail from the recruiter letting me know that her collegue had not gotten back with her yet about my application, but in the meantime, another manager had shown interest in my resume! So now she's setting up an interview for me regarding that position. (It's also in marketing--yea!--but it's only a district-level position unlike the other one I applied for, which was at the European-wide level. Still, I just need to get my foot in the door somewhere!)

Anyway, I'll keep you updated! =)

MAY...a month of beginnings

This month has been full of firsts!

I started my new internship, which is going really well. I'm working with a classmate, Charles-Henri (who's a "Wallonian" -- a.k.a. from French speaking Belgium), to develop a proposal for a customer loyalty program for VTB-VAB, our sponsoring company. VTB-VAB is similar to the American "AAA"-- a roadside service agency. The research can be tedious at times, but the marketing aspect of it is really fascinating! My psychology degree is definitely useful in a subject like this! I'm getting to use a lot of my Dutch as well. Thankfully, Charles-Henri is fluent in multiple languages, so he makes up for what I don't understand. Overall, it's a good challenge.

Like I mentioned before, another first is that we are hosting our first LST team in Gent this summer! Check out Luk and Holly's blog for some pictures...
http://belgianbreeze.blogspot.com/2006/05/lets-start-talking-has-started.html

One of the most exciting "firsts", though, is that we have begun meeting as a church in Gent, now! Our first meeting was at Luk and Holly's new house, and the second one was held in the LST reading room. We are continuing to worship with the Antwerp congregation on Sunday mornings, and then we meet in Gent for an evening worship. It's really exciting to finally be worshiping together in Gent! Here's some pictures:
http://belgianbreeze.blogspot.com/2006/05/church-plant.html



Gideon is expressing my feelings exactly:

bunny...?

Here's a funny pic of some of my classmates...

Maud, the girl in the "bunny" suit, lost a bet to Emmanuel, the guy on her right. The bet wasn't even that big of a deal...it was a debate over what date our IMAX business game started. But it evolved into a big deal! Emmanuel went out and rented that suit for Maud to wear around school! She had to hop around and deliver Easter egg chocolates (a week after Easter!!)

You might notice that they're holding up Maud's ears...we think that Emmanuel got a bad deal. Her suit looks more like a dog than a bunny! (even the tail's a bit long instead of a fluffy puff...)

=)

Summer RAIN ...Well, it finally feels like summer is here! I got caught in a sudden thunderstorm last week. It was such an incredibly sunny, warm day that everyone was making plans to meet friends out on a terrace for a drink or to barbeque. But as I was leaving school and walking towards the train station, I could tell it was going to storm. I could smell it in the air and feel the wind picking up around me. In the distance, dark clouds were rolling in. If I had been in Alabama, I would have expected tornado weather!

Before I left Gent for the day, I wanted to see how our LST team was doing, so I was in a bit of a dilemma. Should I play it safe and head straight to the station? Or go see the LST girls and chance getting stuck there for a while because of the storm? Well, I decided to chance it and go see the girls.

I made it to their place just in time, but the door was locked! I found out later that they were down the street getting dinner. Anyway, 60 seconds after I left the clouds broke loose and in another 60 seconds I was drenched! The rain was being blown around in sheets and before I made it to the station, there was hail too! Believe it or not, in the midst of all this, I was smiling! Yes, I was drenched...yes, I had a hour ride before I would get home, but at least it was warm rain...and I really miss a good thunderstorm! So I enjoyed myself!! =) (But I did still run the rest of the way to the station and enjoyed the storm from a dryer spot!)


LST ...I guess I should explain what and who our LST team is! "Let's Start Talking" is a worldwide mission program that builds relationships through teaching English. The reading material for the lessons comes from the book of Luke, which is the basis for great conversation and questions. Then, if one of the readers is interested, they are invited to church and to study the Bible further. This summer, we have our first LST team in Gent! It's actually made up of two teams--the first one is two girls, Jessica and Kristy, who are staying for three weeks, and then a second group of two girls and one guy will arrive and stay six more weeks. We're really excited that they're here to help us this summer! The first week has gone great, and we're hoping to have one of the students at church this coming Sunday. Please keep this ministry in your prayers, and pray that we will be able to follow up well will all the contacts that are made!

I HAVE A BROTHER!!

I was starting to wonder if my brother and his wife were merely figments of my imagination... But just this morning my worries evaporated when I opened my e-mail and THERE it was! A letter from Matt!!! =)
In fact, he's probably been wondering himself what happened to his life since it's been kinda non-existent...turns out he's been spending all his waking hours in the lab at school working on his project to end all projects.

You'll have to ask him the details, but from what I understand, it's a pretty fancy robot complete with a webcam and sound system!

Toni's also been swamped with work, spending all her free time applying to med schools. Matt and Toni are both graduating this month from Harding University (my alma mater! ; )

~

Infamous Harding Swing

Three swings and a ...

~

Congrats you two!!

Subway never tasted so good!

The greatest thing happened to me today! Okay, well, TWO things! First, our stock trippled this morning--from 150-ish to 500!! (no...not real stock...just the stock of our simulated company. We're in the middle of a intensive, week-long competition at school.) So needless to say, my group is excited and motivated to see how much more we can grow before this afternoon. (I might as well note, though, that we'd have to reach 2000 before we'd even be able to touch the current leading group! haha)

So the second greatest thing that happened today was that I discovered the new Subway in Gent!! Yep, Belgium's first! The ONLY other fast food restaurants are McD's and the Quick (a belgian burger place)...and there's Pizza Hut if you count that as fastfood. Otherwise, you can go get fries at a local mam and pap's joint. But other than that, the pickin's are thin. I never realized how much I'd miss the choices in America...

The moral of this story is to APPRECIATE what you've got! =)

Spring is in the air!

SPRING!


Wow! The weather has been great the past week! And we thought spring would never come! I love it this time a year when the rain slacks of and the sun comes out! The whole city comes alive... everyone's sitting outside of the cafes drinking their coffees...students biking around town in shorts and skirts...birds singing...flowers blooming! At lunch we all sit outside in the courtyard to eat and soak up the sun. I feel so envigorated and full of energy! Thank you God for spring!


I especially love the flowers in Europe... They go crazy with flowers! The city has special gardeners who change the arangements in the "round abouts" every few weeks... and, like in the first photo above, they have flower baskets hanging everywhere! The flower shops are hard to resist too... this time a year, i'm iching to buy a bunch of plants to start a pot garden! I didn't do so well with my plants last year... haha! I have wide window sills, so I put my pots outside my windows. Well, the windows are kinda hard to open, so my plants didn't really get watered as much as they'd like, i'm sure. Plus, a few times we had some really strong wind, and my pots got blown out of the window and crashed in the courtyard below! oops! I guess plants don't have nine lives. I should stick to cats! =)
I guess we're appreciating the beautiful weather even more because of the harsh winter we had. Normally, it starts warming up by march, but we're a month overdue! We were still getting snow when it was supposed to be getting warm!



By the way, if you ever get a chance to come to Europe in the spring, you HAVE to make a visit to the Keukenhof. (see photos above and below) Its a huge garden in holland that borders tulip fields. There are thousands of tulip varieties in the gardens, and special flower expositions in inside. I saw one kind of tulip that was probably as wide as a CD and twice as tall (just the flower part!)

Whew!

Yea! I'm DONE with exams FOREVER! (at least, for now!) I feel so good. I'm not even sure how well I did (hopefully good enough to pass...!) But it doesn't matter, because I made it through the week--6 exams and a presentation--and I'm still alive!
Sleeping in has never felt better! Or starting a new book and not feeling guilty about it! lol. If you can't tell, I'm really enjoying my Easter weekend! =)
Friday and Saturday, Dennis and I were busying helping out with the youth weekend in Antwerp. I normally spend time with the older teen girls, but they were not here this weekend. It was a good thing, too, because it forced me to practice my Dutch and get to know the younger girls. (The older kids are better with English.) I felt like I bonded with a few of the girls and guys, and they all seemed really responsive to the bible studies. So overall, it was a great weekend. Then Saturday night, Dennis and I drove up to spend some time with his parents--something I haven't had time to do in a long time! It's always nice to get to see them and relax at their place. I am truly bless to have TWO sets of christian parents who love me!

Lucy

Meet Lucy!


...Mom and Dad's newest four-legged friend. They adopted Lucy last fall, after losing our old friend, Belle.

Lucy is about 7 years old, and is very much a lady! She's full of affection and makes the funniest faces! (See her "smile" below!) She's also full of quirky behavior--she's especially scared of loud noises like sneezes or unexpected sounds, like when she steps backwards onto a plastic sack.
She's a lot of fun, though! I'm glad Mom and Dad found such a good dog!

"Family Photo, Christmas 2005"





Lucy's "Smile"

My school...Vlerick

So this is my school...the place I wake up at 6:30 every morning, take a tram, a train, and a bike to get to!

It's really an amazing place to be at! Right in the middle of downtown Gent, in the heart of Belgium. On pretty mornings, I love my bike ride to school. I pass some really great architecture...first an old church with an acient stone wall, then over a wide canal (it's hard to bike up that curved bridge!), then past a tall, old elementary school, a fancy bank, and a castle!

Poland

Last month, my Masters in General Management class took an "International Business Trip" to Poland. It was the first year Vlerick decided to make this trip (previously the MGM classes had gone on a Ski/Study trip to France!!) so it was a little unorganized, but interesting.

The idea for the trip was for us to get a taste of what business is like outside of Belgium (or Western Europe in general). None of us knew quite what to expect, and many were imagining a cold, drap country still suffering from the effects of their communistic history. What we found, though, was a colorful, thriving culture! We got the chance to visit with some other business students in Warsaw, and visits some companies in Krakow (where we spent most of our time.)

Old town square, Warsaw