Europe

I don't even know where to start. I think I've been putting this off because I know I won't remember everything I have to say.

First of all...Amsterdam is amazing. It's a beautiful, clean, and eco-friendly city with a lot of character. The canals and architecture combine for an amazing background. Bikes...millions and millions of bikes. They are everywhere. They take their bikes and bike lanes very seriously. Bike lanes are just as legitimate as car lanes. As part of our class, we are learning about substance use as a global problem. We've gotten to visit an addiction treatment center and the international criminal court. We've been on an "underground tour" by a former addict who took us around the city a bit, telling us about his life when he was homeless and addicted to drugs (and his life since then). We've also had guest lecturers talk to us about drug policies and mentalities. Most of the points for our actual class are coming from daily reflection papers and quizzes.

There has obviously been a lot of sightseeing too. We've taken a boat tour in the canals, we've been to the Van Gogh museum, the Rijksmuseum, the flower market, Madurodam (a miniature version of Amsterdam), and much more.

This weekend was our free weekend, so we were welcome to travel somewhere nearby on our own. Two friends and I decided to spend the weekend in Paris. Today was so long and my legs and feet are SO tired, but we did so much. We got up this morning and walked around, awe-struck. We went to the Louvre, the catacombs, and the Eiffel Tower, and each one was amazing. Seeing things in person that you've only ever seen in pictures and movies is so much fun. It never does quite feel real - even now I feel like I could wake up and be at home, in the middle of finals week or something! We ate at a French restaurant and I tried escargot for the first time (not quite as bad as I was expecting...the texture was strange but they had a nice pesto sauce or butter on it that made the taste pretty good).

Everything has still been amazing so far. It feels completely unreal, in the most wonderful way. :) This website won't let me add very many pictures to each post, so I'll do a few over the next day with some of the pictures I have!Read more