5-27-07 Masstricht

Some things are universal. Last night while we were walking we saw a guy cat call and rev his engine at the woman crossing the street in front of him. She responded with what I would assume was Dutch profanity. I was very glad to find out that it wasn't a successful pickup in their culture either.

I noticed in both Amsterdam and Maastricht that when we tell people we are from the states they become a type of modest, and expect us to want things bigger and better. Both of the universities we were at emphasized how small they were. The University of Maastrict has as many students as UCA. All the people we talked to in Maastricht and Aachen began by telling us that it was a small city, but they loved it because... I guess they don't expect Americans to come from small towns or value small communities.

Mike and I have always talked, though rarely seriously, about moving out of the country for a couple of years. I think that it is something that I've wanted more. Mike has already lived in Germany for 3 years, so he is not as intent on it as I am. I've thought about Australia a lot because I am worried about the language barrier, but it is becoming clear that I would have quite a bit of time to learn the language in Europe if I could only find a job that would hire me. This trip is doing a lot to make my desire stronger. At this blissful moment the only thing that worries me is my family. I have an aunt who refuses to watch Johnny Depp movies because he moved to France, and, "The French hate Americans." I'm afraid my reasons for wanting this would be lost on them. It really would be a great adventure and Mike seems to be getting easier to persuade. We'll see I suppose.

5-25-07 Maastricht

The train ride yesterday morning started out a little crazy, but it was in no way an indicator of how the day was going to go. Maastricht is beautiful. It is exactly what my mind fantasizes about when I think of a European town. The old buildings, the small shops, and the cobblestone sidewalks are what my mind's eye had predicted.

The campus tour was interesting, and ours fortunately went very well. One of the only difficulties we had was finding the Student Center. it seemed to me that it would be very difficult to find things at that university unless you knew exactly what to call what you were looking for. We were assured by everyone we asked that there was not a student center, but they all also recommended we lunch at the Econ Building. We ended up spending on hour and a half, if not more talking with a student who works in the Communications and Relations Department. She was mainly working on putting together the university's Open Day which sounded like UCA's Welcome Week.

Now that I've gone on about how quaint the city looked, I must admit that I was surprised by the brands of the stores we saw walking around. I also saw several Jesus statues and crucifixions, and they had the think Jesus faces that I am use to. I wonder how many other things I have decided were cultural differences that really weren't.