Hey all,
It's been awhile since I've written. I want to keep up better with this. I just wait until there are too many things to tell and then I don't want to sit down and write for hours. Also, please keep me informed of things at home. I love getting emails (at bri_cutie@yahoo.com) about what everyone is doing. I'm also trying to figure out how to just link to photo albums because it takes a lot of time to put each photo on this page and I want to share entire albums.

I got back from Amsterdam last Sunday. It was different. Las Vegas has nothing on the debauchery that is happening in Amsterdam. I could go on and on about all the interesting little cultural things that I picked up there, but it's really hard to put into words if you didn't experience it.

Ten best things about Amsterdam:
1. 300 pound and over the hill hookers can actually find work
2. When you cross the road you must cross: a twenty foot side-walk, a bike lane (where motorized scooters can also drive and out of all the lanes this is where you are most likely to get hit), the tracks for trams going both ways, the bus lane, and finally the car traffic. And the sign flashing a green walking man does not mean that cars will stop (even when their light is red)
3. A half pound of fries in a paper cone with a cup of mayonaise on the top is apparently a treat
4. The city is built on canals. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine you are in Italy
5. Don't eat anything called a "Space Cake"
6. Everyone speaks English and all signs are in English except of course the bus schedule, the directional signs at the airport and train stations, and anything else vital for tourists to understand.
7. No matter what street you turn down, you somehow always end up at Central Station
8. Men will do anything to get your attention- much more aggressive than American men- including singing "Stop! In the name of love" and "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz to you in the middle of the street
9. Every business had a cat and it was not uncommon to see them rubbing all over espresso machines, the ice cream containers at Ben and Jerry's or even slinking all over the bar where we were staying. The manager told us that it was because of mice which were a result of the dampness. So let me get this straight, I'm either ingesting cat hair and the mites that come with that or mouse feces?
10. Only a 45 minute flight, at sunset, over the English Channel= Amazing

Oh and one additional thing, and my personal favorite, their version of a hotdog is a hot, crispy baguette with a hotdog sized hole all the way through it except the bottom is closed. They spray in the sauce and then jam the hotdog down into the baguette, which distributes the sauce. It is AMAZING! Hopefully I will be able to upload the Amsterdam photos soon and post the link to them.

Something I've learned about myself: seeing old buildings, artwork, and museums is great to discover past culture, but I'd much rather sit in a coffee shop and use my eyes and ears to experience my surroundings and the culture now.

I bought a book on Prague, which is one of the places that my group will be traveling during our three week "Easter break." Three weeks for Easter? I'll take it!

Things I've learned while in England:
-Potatoes will sprout in two days
-Bread will mold in four, both of these probably due to the moisture
-The city will shut down in case of snowfall
-Your hair straightener will blow up if you plug it in
-Girls will wear a mini skirt in the middle of Winter but say they aren't cold because they have tights on... tights?
-Fosters is the Keystone Light of England college students
-Sexes are not separated. Bathrooms, showers, you name it, it is all co-ed
-Teachers are called your "tutor" and you address them by their first name
-You do not buy books for a class but, instead, check them out from the library in 1 week intervals
-Do-it-yourself, complimentary chlamydia tests are actually sent to students by mail from the university
-The cheeses and breads really are better in Europe
-I am inadequately prepared for the cold, in fact my goal tomorrow is to find a warm coat
-Tipping 5% is adequate
-The pound is stronger than the Euro, I really wish England would use Euros
-You can put clothes on the heaters here because they are actually radiators
-Women actually wear heels on cobblestone because they are slaves to fashion (not me, seeing as I don't really know which hospital my student healthcare works at and I don't want to break my ankle)
-You can sit in the back seat of a car on the right-hand-side and see yourself in the rear-view-mirror... think about it
-My teachers don't think much about American's and never miss a chance to make a crack at us
-The English are much more concerned about the environment than Americans
-There are curse words in the English vocabulary that don't even have a translation into American English
-There is a reason that the rate of obesity is low here, the portions are child-sized
-International packages= expensive
-The soda pop here is disgustingly sweet, which is good, I've been trying to stop drinking the stuff and now I can
-And on that note, when you order a glass of soda in a restaurant, it doesn't include free refills
-No one has heard of ranch dressing, which they pronounce much the same as we pronounce the word "raunch"... not synonymous
-In the response to the recession, the government gives a 2.13% discount off all retail merchandise, which makes it so much more affordable
-Football (aka soccer) is boss
-Trains are not cheap, a twenty minute trainride costs about $8
-They really do announce to "Mind the gap" which is perplexing seeing as the gap is at most ten centimeters


I've really been working on my Spanish. I'm really behind and the last time I took a class at all was 1.5 years ago. Luckily I've met a lot of people from Mexico and Spain and while I'm too embarrassed to actually speak around them, they quiz me from time to time and I listen to their conversations.
Plans for the future include: a trip to Paris to stay with one of Martha's friends, the Easter Break extravaganza, and a trip to London to visit Kat, one of my sorority friends who I haven't seen since I left U of I.