"You don't speak Dutch, do you?"

 Something I learned about myself:

There is no place like home. Even though I did not spend the weekend at my home, the Goerdt’s couldn’t have been more gracious if they tried and I felt right at home. For the first hour that I was there, I was running around like a crazy person admiring all the things that I miss about living in a home—refrigerators, paper towels, framed pictures—you know, the little things. Throughout the whole weekend, I was so blessed to be able to relax and really relish in the fact that I was spending time in a home and with such a wonderful family. The weekend definitely refreshed me, and in a very real way allowed me to appreciate all that the Lord has given me. Which in and of itself, is one of the most important things we experience as humans.

I'm not creepy enough to run around taking pictures of people's houses,
but one of the many advantages of staying in a house is the ability to make
mac and cheese at night.

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Belgium. I mean, I feel like I ate the whole country. At the very least, I ate my way through my time there. Ellie and I took a casual day trip to Brussels on Saturday and had a wonderful day soaking up the sunshine and spending time together. Not to mention, it felt so good to finally be around a language that I understand and can speak! It would be nearly impossible to pick what was the most delicious thing that I ate, seems to be a theme of this semester. . . The day started off with a Belgian waffle, aka we got off the train and I looked at Ellie with a frantic look on my face explaining that I NEEDED a Belgian waffle or else I would die. Overdramatic much? After the waffle, we sat in the main square in Brussels and had a Belgian beer. I had raspberry beer, which basically tastes like juice so it was delicious. The person watching was absolutely amazing, and I was just giddy that I understood what they were saying! After we walked by another waffle stand that looked just as delicious so naturally I had to get another one, this time with bananas, nutella and whipped cream. Gosh darn was it good. The day wouldn’t have been complete without Belgian ‘pomme frites’, so even though I felt like I was going into food comatose, I persevered and ate some delicious fries. See what I mean, I basically ate the whole country.

My first Belgian waffle. Ordered competely in french! 

Belgian Beer and people watching. Life is good.

                        

                 Must. Finish. French. Fries.                                                      Taking a picture while balancing heaping  

                                                                                                                               waffles is harder than you would think. 

An Adventure I Went On:

Biking! You know how people say ‘it’s just like riding a bike’? Whoever made that up was wrong. Everybody in the Netherlands rides their bike, and I mean e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y. So naturally I had to take part in this little piece of Dutch culture, on Saturday night Ellie and I went on a nighttime bike ride around her little village. When I hopped on the bike, I was a little bit shaky. Aka I couldn’t steer straight. Luckily there weren’t too many cars (or pedestrians) on the road, and despite my swerving we had a lovely nighttime ride! By the next night, I was feeling a lot more confident about my abilities and we biked to dinner and then to the beach after. It was hard work, but absolutely worth it. 

Night One. Thanks Ellie for the editing!

                                                      At this moment, all of the hills were worth it. 

Just absolutely beautiful. 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Anne Frank house. If you didn’t know this about me, it is time that you did. . . For a long time I was obsessed with Anne Frank. As weird as it sounds, I totally went through an Anne Frank stage. I don’t know if that is normal, but it’s totally my life. So to finally be in her house and walk through everything that I have read and wondered about was so amazing. It blew my mind to think that it hasn’t even been 100 years since all of this took place, and I was again reminded of how blessed I am to be able to live out my faith in the way that I can. Being there absolutely took my breath away in the best possible way, and it is moments like that where I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be here in Europe and experience these things for myself.

You can't take pictures in the house, but I
did manage to snap a pic with my good friend, Anne.

One Last Thing:

As I was nearing the end of a long class today, I was growing increasingly weary. But then something caught my eye, I turned around and noticed the light streaming into the magnificent Gesu church through the back window. As I followed the light to the front and my eyes gazed upon the altar, I noticed something remarkable. The light coming into the Church had not only put a perfect spotlight on the Cross, but a perfect shadow was created behind it. Amidst the craziness that has been this semester, and especially as Lent has been passing by it seems so quickly, it was such a beautiful reminder for me to remember what it is all about: the cross. It is in those small moments, where we can remember that everything we have comes from the cross and Christ’s suffering that the world seems to make a little more sense. I pray that everyone is having a fruitful end of Lent as we are quickly approaching that joyous Easter Sunday.

"The Cross cannot be defeated for it is defeat."--G.K. Chesterton