No, its Northern Ireland

So this will probably be my last foreign post (tear...wipe...sniff), but congrats to all of you who have kept up with my banter thus far.  I think I'm floating somewhere near the 20 post mark, so good on all of you.  There may be a treasure map waiting on the other end...

I flew into Dublin on the night of the 22nd, hopped on a bus to Belfast, and was greeted at the stop by a local friend of a friend named Richard who I have stayed with these past few days.  Richard and his wife Lisa live in a Belfast suburb named Hilsborough, and have been extremely generous and selfless tour guides during my time here.

Yesterday we woke and enjoyed some waffles which I smuggled through customs, then jumped in the car and took a tour around the greater Belfast area which is pretty much the epicenter of the struggles which have taken place over the years.  The streets and neighborhoods we drove through were painted with murals of various heros (either Catholic or Protestant depending on the neighborhood) who had influential rolls during the struggles through the years.  It was really remarkable to drive down the streets and be so close to such a fresh and recent part of Irish and British history, and see some of these philosophies applied in other scenarios like the current Israeli/Palestinian situation.  Truthfully I couldn't believe how ignorant I was to the entire conflict which was so recent, and it was an eye opening experience to witness firsthand, especially through the Treacys perspective of it all.  Afterwards we came back, took a nap, then went and had dinner with some of the Treacy's friends from church.

Today we woke and went to the 8:30 service at the Treacy's church.  Richard is a former Anglican priest, and he helped out with communion this morning, so I got to tag alo

ng and go to the service.  Afterward Richard and I came back, changed, and went north to the Giant's Causeway, which is about an hour and half north across the sea from Scotland.  Depending on who you ask, the causeway was either a result of volcanic activity, or constructed by an ancient celtic giant, but none the less, it is a really remarkable sight to see.  Afterwards we took a drive up the coastline for a bit, then headed on back home to catch the tail end of the closing ceremonies of the olympics.

Tonight will be low key, dinner here, and tomorrow I ship off to DC!  I hope you all are well, and have enjoyed keeping up with this blog as much as I have.  Be well, and I look forward to catching up with all of you on the other side of the pond!

Best,

Blake

So you know why they call them Belgian waffles?

Because they perfected them...that's why. I don't have any clue of the origin of waffles, but if another society created them (maybe the Mongols, or the Prussians), the Belgians surely crossed the t's, dotted the i's and tucked the little puppies in bed, because they are ridiculous. In Brussels they are sold on the streets like funnel cakes at the State Fair. I ate three today. Three. I ate dinner, went and got one, walked away and consumed my first, then came back to the vendor with the spare Euros I had. That is how good these things are. I dare you to come to Brussels and eat just one. Actually buy two ahead of time, and if one will tie you over, I'll eat the other one. Thats how good these things are.

Sorry for the ranting, i just had to vent that. Belgium has been an incredible trip. The family I am staying is remarkably hospitable and generous, and I have not been short of new experiences and adventures. Yesterday we went to a nearby military base to do a little grocery shopping for the week ahead. It was like someone took an enormous exacto knife, cut out a few American stores, and glued them to a countryside in Belgium. We walked in these stores and I felt like I was walking in any standard grocery back in the states. They had a dip isle. I have never been so excited to see Copenhagen and Red Man Chaw in all my life...and I don't even like the stuff. I was back in the land of 99 cent Suave shampoo! It really made me think more about the sacrifices our soldiers overseas make every day, and the everyday familiarities like Texas Pete Hot Sauce I take so much for granted. I have grown to miss that kind of stuff more than I realized I would, so I can only imagine how much more these brave men and women are, not only here in Europe, but further more in the Middle East.

Last night we checked out the downtown night life in Brussels, and as luck would have it, I ran into Will Shafferman. I knew he was in Brussels, and we had been trading emails back and forth, but it turned out completely coincidental (divine) that we ran into each other at this random bar. It is really cool to be in a different country, and turn the corner and see a familiar face, I guess you just have to try it sometime.

Today I walked around downtown Brussels, and did some reading, window shopping, and waffle eating. Afterward I came back and watched a few movies with the family and here now I sit. Midnight here, but merely quittin' time over in the States. I hope all of you are good, and had a good Wednesday at work! I'll talk to you soon.

ps-They have Chi-Chi's in Belgium. I have fond memories of going to Chi-Chi's for my birthday in Waverly Place in Cary, NC, and my dear sweet Mom giving me Dave Matthews Band tickets (RIP LeRoi) when I was in 4th grade or something. Every time we drive by one, I probably freak those in the car out with my animated reaction toward such a noble establishment.

pps-They also have Food Lion, though it is called something else which I doubt translates to Food Lion, but at any rate it is the same logo.

In Brussels

So there is a song called "When I Paint My Masterpiece" by The Band in which the third verse starts out "Well I left Rome, and landed in Brussels, on a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried". Though I didn't exactly leave Rome, but rather Geneva, and the plane ride was really quite smooth, it was the only relevant thing I could think of. I arrived last night (about an hour late, thanks EasyJet) and after grabbing my bags, was welcomed at the gate by the mother of the family I am staying with here in Brussels. Turns out Brussels is a big ex-Pat hub for both military and corporate officials, so there are several international schools all around the area. The family I am staying with are not only teachers at one of these schools, but also run a non-profit youth ministry here, and conveniently enjoy hosting sojourners like me in their abundance of free time. At any rate, they were the Young Life leaders of a buddy in DC when he was over here in high school, and he put me in touch with them, so big props to you Lide Paterno. Needless to say we hit it off pretty immediately with our Young Life backgrounds and what not, so Brussels has already bee a great joy. Oh and they have a hilarious dog named Goomie, pictures to follow. Today it sounds like I might get to go to Waterloo where Napoleon had his last battle and fell to Wellington, so that should be sweet. I'll report back on how that works out. If any of you know anything else cool about Brussels or Belgium, I am all ears. Hope all is well!

Beginning to see the end...

Good morning one and all,

I am still here in Switzerland, soaking up the fresh air and the perpetual view of the Alps which I wake to every morning outside my window. We finished renovating that house on Friday, and have pretty much been laying low outside of a climbing adventure we took yesterday and running. Right next to the base is a big park/forrest thing that is full of trails which has proven great for a little Euro cardio. The woods are big and dense, and though I feel I could be jumped by a pack of Wolves at any moment, it is really a beautiful place to go run and be alone for a while. I was running down a trail this morning and got ambushed by some thorns...that was sweet.

Tomorrow afternoon, I am flying up to Brussels to spend a few days with a family up there and see a little bit more of the European mainland. I really don't know much about Belgium at all, but am excited to see it and get to know this family who will be hosting me. After that I will be headed back up to Ireland, and will spend a few days in Belfast, and surrounding parts of Northern Ireland. Maybe I will make a trip to the Giants Causeway, but I cant make any promises. Aparently Northern Ireland is very different that the rest of it, due to the protestant infulence, but i'm not sure and will have to report back. Anyway, after those few days in Ireland, I will board a plane and be back in the States on August 25. I decided a few weeks ago, that it was time to come on back to the states, and though I am cutting this trip short by a few weeks, I feel really good about my return to DC. Anyway I hope all is well with you all, and I look forward to talking to you all when I do.

ps-In an addendum to the last entry, I tried to go see the Dark Knight again...it didnt work

pps-For whatever reason, the spell check doesn't really work when I ask it to, so please forgive whatever mispellings you notice.

The Elusive Dark Knight

Hey Everyone,

I hope this blog catches you all in good spirits. All is going well here in Switzerland, and we are nearing completion with this house we have been working on. Today's work was dedicated to tying down loose ends like hanging curtains, replacing smoke detector batteries, and ensuring all the lights were connected and functional. The house we are preparing will be inhabited by 20some female students from the German side of Switzerland who are coming here for school, so naturally we are trying to make the house as warm and welcoming as possible. After work today we came back and grilled out, then took it back to the Raleigh State Fair with some deep fried Milky Way bars for dessert...they were a hit among the Euros.

So I can't really remember if I have commented earlier on our luck thus far with The Dark Knight, but the saga is just to epic not to mention. A movie could be made about our pursuit to see a movie. When we left the states, our flight departed Washington, DC on July 13 while the Dark Knight released in theatres later that week in the USA. Then came Ireland. Ireland was an interesting journey for us, in that of the 8 or so days we were there, we slept in the car (remember, a VW Golf) for 5 of them. Needless to say, after day 3 or 4 days, we weren't exactly thrilled to be in the car, and were really excited about merely turning off our brains for a couple hours and enjoying some good ole fashioned Caped Crusading in what we thought would be the Irish opening of The Dark Knight. We arrive at a theatre only to find out that it opens in three days, which is conveniently one day after we arrive in France. I wish I could express to you all the dissapointment in our hearts that night, really, it was one of the greatest let downs I have experienced in a long...long time. Fast forward to last night, the grand opening of the Dark Knight here in Switzerland. We arrive at the theatre, make it through the lines, and purchase tickets, excited for the masterpiece which will soon unravel before our eyes. Luckily Matt payed attention in French class, and after confirming it with the ticket salesman 4 times, discovered the showing was in FRENCH, yes FRENCH, and the ENGLISH speaking theatre across town which was showing it was already sold out. You must be joking. No Blake, not joking at all, I am really without explanation as to how this movie is so difficult to on the big screen. After last night's events, I have just decided I can wait until I make it back to the states, my heart can't take this kind of emotional volatility any more. Thus concludes my European saga with The Dark Knight. If any of you have not seen it yet, and are reading this from the greater Washington, DC area, maybe we can go when I get back, though I can't make any promises that the movie will actually play while I am sitting in the theatre.

Christmas Hope and Powertools

Today started out as an overcast day here in Switzerland, and shortly after lunch turned into a flat rainy day. We, however, didn't let the rain dampen our mood, and continued to try and be productive around here at the base. We finished our shed project yesterday, which brought us to a slow, gradual renovation process in a house turned dormatory that YWAM owns here. This has consisted of a good deal of moving, rearranging, and finally today, setting up some of the rooms for students who are going to arrive here next Monday. While moving, we discovered an old box FULL of random stuff like the complete works of Mark Twain and National Geographics from the early 80's, and also within it held a little jewel known as "Christmas Hope" (http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Hope-Various-Artists/dp/B000H0MMN6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218568059&sr=1-9). This joyous selection features some of your favorite Christmas tunes sung by various artists like Michael W. Smith, Gary Chapman, and everyones favorite...4Him. Needless to say, once we found a CD player, we embarked on a Christmas journey not traveled by many, and not soon to be forgotten. Once that started playing, productivity skyrocketed, and the rainy day blues couldn't hold us back. Turns out I'm an electrician...who knew? Speaking of unrealistic resourcefulness...I think I may go see The Dark Knight tomorrow. I might have already seen a bootleg version of it, but really I feel like it is pretty irreplaceable on the big screen, so standby for reactions. Anyway things are going well here, the food is still good, the people are still nice, and Michael Phelps is still winning.

The Land of Expensive Shoes

Happy Sunday All!

I hope this blog finds you all good wherever you are. Things are great here in Switzerland and the adventures keep coming. So first off, how about the opening ceremony the other day? Wow,

pretty remarkable, I think they probably employed a group the size of Fiji to make that thing happen. It was really neat watching the opening ceremonies in another country and truthfully I dont know that I have ever been more proud to be an American. I know it sounds hokie but its really true. When you see an Olympic team showing up from a country like Zimbabwe or Sudan, knowing what these people have come from and will go back to, I just cant help but feel so fortunate for so many liberties which I was literally born into.

Yesterday we went into Lausanne for the day and explored around for a bit. We first stopped at this store called Jumbo which is equivalent to a Dicks Sporting Goods in the states. This was a sobering visit when I went to the shoe isle and found picture A. 199 Swiss Francs for a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 11's? These shoes are about 90-95 USD in the states, and the swiss franc and the dollar are trading at about 1.08 Francs to every 1 USD. That means that these shoes are selling for 183.94 in dollars?!? Aparently, however, Switzerland is widely known worldwide as having one of the highest standards of living which really doesn't suprise me. Aparently Starbucks baristas get paid something like 26 francs an hour, Beth do they pay you that much at Murky?

Anyway after that cultural lesson learned at the Jumbo, we pressed on to the International Olympic museum which overlooks Lake Geneva in Lausanne. Really what are the odds of American being in Lausanne, Switzerland while the Olympic games are taking place? Exactly...pretty slim. The museum was pretty incredible, so much so that we spent 6 hours in it. I could go to length about all the artifacts they had preserved from before the time of Christ, or all the torches used from all of the modern day Olympics out on display, or even all the sweet signed olympic gear they had (signed pair of Jordans, '92 Dream Team, really), but this blog really couldn't do it much justice, so you'll have to wait and hear it in person. Anyway after the Olympic time, we came back to the base, ate dinner, and pretty much laid low the rest of the evening.

Sorry for the lack of brevity, but its my blog and I do what I want.

Love

B

Just so you know that i'm not completely losing my mind, refer to example B. What?!?

Euro Toilets

Morning All,

Brett Favre is a Jet???? What? Sorry I just had to get that out there as I cant really keep up with the inns and outs of pro football and I am just confused right now.

So one thing that continues to throw me for a loop while I scoot around this crazy continent is the toilets. Yes the toilets. So the basic fundamentals of use are all self explanatory (if not then we would have real issues), but then the challenge shows up when it comes to flushing. I dont think I have come across a single toilet in my time here which has a flusher handle in the standard place. Wierd. Look, for example, and the following picture. You may ask yourself "self...where does one flush such a toilet" and after searching and testing various things it turns out it is the square above the toilet. Who knew?

In other news, things here at the base have been great and we have had things to do every day. The shed we were working on is now washed and sanded down, and we are waiting for it to dry as we had some rainfall yesterday. We also moved a bunch of stuff yesterday which is never fun but always fun at the same time. Anyway I hope you guys are good and getting amped about the Olympics...USA! USA! USA!

Change of Course

haha hey y'all,

I have appreciated all of your notes and comments regarding that crossing back to the states, but upon further review and discussion have opted out of doing it after all. I thought a lot after I had that spot on the boat on whether it was really for me or not, and remembered one of my goals for this whole trip was to see some of Europe, and while that has been accompished thus far, I felt like I could do better through another route. So with all that said, I hate to dissapoint, but I just didn't feel that was where I was being led. Anyways we are now in Switzerland at the YWAM {youth with a mission} base near Lusanne. Matt stayed here about 5 years ago, and still had some contacts here, so we came up and are getting to stay here for free. While we are here we will probably do some renovation work around the base, and will likely take day trips on the weekends. This morning we scrubbed dirt and mold off of a shed at a nearby property, and this afternoon holds lots of sanding and painting of this bad boy, pretty sweet. The funny thing is the work that is going down here doesn't really seem too different than what we were looking to do down in France, so it seems this is something we cant really escape. Anyway we are here safely, and enjoying all the food we can eat.

Sorry for the delay

Friends and Family,

Sorry it has taken me a few days to make a post, as I have been fairly busy working! The afternoon after my last post, our phone rang saying I had work in Cannes the very next day. After that days worth of work, I came back to Antibes, and decided to walk the docks to see if I could dig anything up there, and sure enough I came up with 3 more days worth of work which concluded today. Oddly enough, all three of us have had the exact same stroke of luck and have all had 4 consistent days of work leaving us all with at least 400 euros which is clearly a nice little buffer. In other news, instead of waiting around for my flight which leaves on September 29 to come back to the states, I have been accepted to be a mate on a boat which will be crossing the Atlantic starting August 12. As a result of that decision, we decided to go spend some time away from France with the little bit of time we have remaining, and will go check out Switzerland on Tuesday. Haha I know that this is really throwing many of you for a loop, but I realized that this is really probably the only opportunity I will have in life to cross the Atlantic under sail, and know that if I dont take advantage of this shot, another one wont likely pop up. Also, some good news is that we will be arriving in Annapolis which is so close to many of you, so I will be back in DC pretty much when I get back! Anyways I will be able to do more from the Swiss base we will be staying at (as we will have free internet), so I look forward to catching up on some of your emails, and making a couple more posts. I hope and pray you are all well, and cant wait to hear from you!

BCW

Sunscreen Application

Good Morning Team,

I woke this morning at about 7:00 am, and was down on the docks by 7:20 asking if anyone needed any daywork. Unfortunately no one needed any help yet again, so I took advantage of the time and went and read some scripture on a nearby beach for a bit, then came here and hopped on the internet. Here is a picture from this morning.

I have also re-realized recently the importance of thorough sunscreen application. It seems like every season I have to learn this stupid lesson. We came off the beach two days ago, and by the time I had gotten in the shower that night, I had a wonderful red patch on my back, near my armpit, and an oblong star like shape on my sternum...cool. I have no idea how my attention to detail can really be that poor, but somehow I find a way.

Today will probably be low key yet again. I'll probably go to the beach, read some Sherlock Holmes (which is really good by the way), and if i'm feeling really crazy, I might even send a postcard. Also, there has been a new tradition of playing basketball down on the docks with the Philipino crew of one of the boats, so that may go down later tonight.

Groundhog Day

Hey All,

I hope everyone is having a good Sunday wherever you are. Things are not much different here in Antibes, Fr haha. I mentioned to Matt and Rob the other day I felt like it was Groundhog Day with Bill Murray here. Granted every day looks different to a degree, but it is like Walk the docks-go to the beach-check the internet-eat, or maybe walk the docks-check the internet-eat-go to the beach haha, so you know what I mean. We have not had any luck with employment yet, but we are talking about changing our strategy this week and splitting forces over the different ports. There are several docks in the area (Cannes, Antibes, Monaco) that we could separately go to on our own, which could forseeably grant us more luck, so we'll probably give it a shot. Outside of that nothing is really new except a new found love for Jimmy Buffett, go figure. Please keep me posted with inns and outs of your life and i'll do my best to keep you all updated as well! Take Care

Unpreparedness+Little Money=Bad Idea

Haha ominous title eh,

So today is day 3 without work here on the yachting scene in Antibes, France. It has been a steep curve learning the inns and outs of this industry, and remarkable how inadequately prepared I could really be for this. Aparently we have arrived toward the end of the season here (literally people have said "well why did you come here?") and the day work we have been trying to find is quite scarce (incredibly lucky people find it twice a week). On top of that there is this rediculous certification called an STCW 95 which qualifies people to be deck hands upon a ship. Conveniently this certification in Fort Lauderdale, Fl is a booming 825$, but here in Antibes is about 1200 euro (which is a copious amount of dollars). With all this being said, we (I) are in somewhat of a monetary pinch at the moment, go figure. Literally people have completely separate resume's for their yachting career, and mine doesn't really translate well (college diploma=pretty meaningless). We are addressing other options for things to do in a couple of weeks that could be free, but even in that I wouldnt be suprised if I had to cut my trip short. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, I may need emergency evacuatory funding haha, but seriously. I have also been having some bouts with homesickness and unsettledness while here, which has been an interesting thing to learn about myself. I find myself really missing things I dearly love (friends, family, North Carolina, DC, the English language spoken), but truthfully I really feel like God has me here for something, so I gotta stick it out until I feel different. Outside of all that, I have my health and there are worse places to be trapped in than the South of France. I went to Monaco yesterday, it was cool.

In Nice!

Bonjour All!

Since my last post, we have had some pretty miraculous moments take place, which I cant even begin to describe via blog, but really neat stuff nonetheless. We were on our way to meet one of Robs friends for dinner last night, and stopped for directions, finding that we had a nail in our tire. So the one thing we didnt have insurance for on the car was the tires...go figure. So we end up finding a tire shop down the road (which was closing) and had the guy take out the nail and patch up the tire for 10 euro which beats the heck out of the 90 we would have likely had to spend through the car rental. After a sweet dinner, we headed to the Airport and spent the night there to leave Dublin this morning at 6:20 and arrive in Nice, Fr this morning. Once we got here we made our way to the hostel to find that they were all booked and wouldnt have room until next monday? which needless to say was somewhat difficult to hear. We ended up checking back about 10 minutes later to find that 3 spots had opened miraculously, and we were luckily there to fill the holes. Tomorrow we will begin looking for the work we are going to need to sustain our time over here, so prayers are great haha. I miss you all and hope you are well.

Away from Galway

Hey All,

We ended up going up the Cliffs as expected to be met with a lot of fog, so we ended up going back to Galway for one more night and crashing with our friends there. The next morning we said good bye to Galway and headed back to the Cliffs for one more shot at seeing them. When we got there, there wasnt even 100 yards of visibility, but after waiting it out, the sky ended up clearing up really nicely and provided a great hike for us. After spending some time walking to an old castle thing and back (about 5 miles), we came back to the car, and headed south to a tiny town called Annascaul. Annascaul is the home of a man named Tom Crean, who was an anartcic explorer on several expeditions, including the Endurance with Sir Ernest Shackleton. When his exploration days were over, he came home and opened a pub called the South Pole in, so we went and checked it all out. Afterwards we ended up taking this random road which took us to Lake Annascaul which is a beautiful lake tucked in this massive valley. There we parked and slept in the car again, and had a pretty incredible view when we woke the next morning. Today we took a tour around the Dingle penninsula and will either drive back to Dublin tonight or tomorrow morning. At any rate, all is well and I hope it is there too. Love, Blake

In Galway

Hey All,

Sorry for the brevity of the post earlier, I am still getting used to paying for internet and these euro keyboards, so please forgive my poor punctuation. As stated we arrived in Galway, Ireland two days ago, and have called this home for the past few nights. The first day we pretty much just walked around a lot and eventually ended up meeting up with that guy Guion, who took us to a legit Irish pub that plays "Trad" or Traditional Irish music which was sweet. That night we all ended up sleeping in our rental car (a VW Golf) and uncomfortably woke the next morning either due to uncomfort or smell. That day we did a lot of laying low in town, and ended up meeting some neat people in the process. There was a man who is trying to be a Franciscan monk who was passing out tracts who I started a conversation with, who ended up inviting me out to lunch and we talked about Catholecism and his Irish upbringing over some Chowder which was really great. That night we ended up getting in touch with one of Matts contacts and have now gained a floor to sleep on which is a HUGE upgrade needless to say. Today we woke up, hooked up with Guion, and drove northwest for the day to a beautiful town called Clifden. Clifden is a quaint that seems to be nestled right in between a harbor on the Atlantic and farm country, so the views were pretty remarkable. We roamed around a bit there and then settled down in a little cafe with a book and tea and took some time to relax which was quite theraputic. We came home, ate dinner, and are fixing to head to bed shortly. Tomorrow morning we will sleep in a bit, then travel south to the Cliffs of Mohers for the day (see picture). I hope this finds all of you well, take care.

The Road to Galway

Hey All!

We safely arrived at Dublin airport at quarter till seven this morning, five hours ahead of eastern standard time. The flight was fairly painless, and all bags arrived as expected. We didnt really have a plan regarding our schedule here in Ireland, so instead of burning a day in Dublin, we decided to rent a car and drive across the island to Galway. The drive was very scenic, and took about 2 hours, which beats the bus ride we had originally planned on (both fiscally and in time). When we arrived here, we got out and walked around a bit, tried to contact some friends here in Galway, then ended up going and taking a nap over on the side of the road. Eventually we woke up, walked around a bit, and finally got in touch with one of Matt and Robs friends from Chapel Hill who has been here studying the music and film scene. Galway is known as the center for the arts here in Ireland, and has proven to be a unique experience.

Time in Cary

Well I decided to come home, in Cary, NC where I grew up, and spend some time at the house with the family before my departure on Sunday.  The time here in Cary has been good, a little wild trying to ensure I see everyone I want to, and tying down loose ends before the trip.  I got to sit down and grab lunch today with a good buddy I graduated with named Russell Warriner.  While other people have graduated and gotten jobs at various institutions, gone to grad school, or maybe did a little of both in a fellows program, Russell was the liaison for the University of North Carolina school system in Shanghai, China at Fudan University.  I didn't know what Fudan was either, but apparently is viewed as the Stanford of Chinese universities, so needless to say Russ is kinda a big deal (he's gonna be mad I wrote that, sorry Russ, you are).  So at any rate, we got to catch up on the ins and outs of our past year out of school, and the unique experiences we have been able to enjoy.  Russ is now speaking Chinese, and more importantly developing some really neat relationships with many students at Fudan.  It is really just remarkable the differences he was explaining that exist at a very basic social level between America and China.  Something even as simple as culdesacs (sp*) and mowing the lawn are luxuries not afforded by the majority of Chinese citizens.  Needless to say our conversation has just gotten me even more excited about the trip to Europe, and the opportunity to meet people who have been raised in a completely different culture, and likely see things very different than me.  Russ had to drive up to Boone today to meet with the good people of Appalachian State University, so we concluded our talk, had a quick hug in the parking lot, and split for our cars.  Before I could pull out, I saw Russell run back and tap on the window, telling me he nearly forgot, and had a present for me.  "Oh, ok" I said to him, not really knowing what exactly that could mean, but I hopped out of the car and met him holding some sort of package wrapped in Chinese newspaper.  "Should I open it now?" I asked Russ, to which he responded "yeah, sure" knowing he would have to explain.  So I pull off the well layered newspaper to find this little package of something that looked strangely like vacuum sealed lung butter, "What is this?!?" I ask Russell, and with a huge grin and eased demeanor he responded, "Chicken Feet".

Well I caved...

In the light of an unmapped trip to Europe taking place in several weeks, I have decided to take the plunge technological advancement has allowed, and create one of these blogs.  This will hopefully serve as a decent reference for me, my travels, and general well being while across the pond.  I will still do my best to correspond to whomever through email, but this can hopefully give you a more general idea of life.  I am still in DC, and will be until July 6 or 7 when I will venture home to Cary, NC and spend some time there before we depart on July 13.  Pre-departure posts are likely, just to try and get a feel for this whole blog thing, so feedback is welcome