"I'm from Holland! Isnt that wierd???"

So after this weekend I think its safe to say that Amsterdam is my new favorite city in Europe.  I was a little unsure what to expect from the city considering its slightly raunchy reputation, but Amsterdam defied all my expectations and definitely blew me away.

Amazing french fry place right beneath the hostel

We arrived in Amsterdam on Thursday night and after struggling for a good hour to find the right train to take us to our hostel we made it to Dam Square which is a wonderful area right in the middle of the city. I was a little nervous about the hostel quality after reading some of the reviews but the place was actually quite nice and the eight of us ended up with a pretty sizeable room to ourselves, which reminded me of summer camp in a wonderful way.  Our hostel was also above what seemed to be the most popular french fry stand in Amsterdam which was of course a wonderful addition to our trip.

Thursday night we all got ready and then went out to find a pub for the evening.  The one we ended up finding was right in the middle of the red light district which was an experience I was not entirely prepared for.  Walking along a street filled with prostitutes and sex shops definitely made me feel more like the naive girl from Georgia than I usually do, but I managed and it was still an experience worth doing.

Friday morning we woke up early to the sounds of a local clock tower chiming incessantly for a good five minutes.  This was a little overwhelming, but it did make us all get out of bed so I guess that's a plus.  We spent most of the day walking around the city, an experience I greatly enjoyed considering how beautiful Amsterdam is.  The canals are everywhere and they are flanked on both the sides by small roads and adorable houses.  I also remembered during out walk how wonderful it is to travel with guys. The boys basically took the lead on all navigation and directions and I just got to sit back and enjoy the sites.  Under the lead of our fearless sherpa Noah, we walked a good six miles on Friday and managed to make it to a cute vintage neighborhood called 9 streets, Vondelpark, the IAMsterdam sign, and some beautiful canals.  A particular highlight of the day was buying bread and cheese from a local shop and eating it while sitting on the side of a canal.  Between this and the fact that it was one of the nicest days ever in Amsterdam (I of course was still cold and wore my giant jacket) the whole day was pretty amazing.

Amsterdam <3

Fantastic Farmer's Market in Amsterdam

We once again went out to some local pubs on Friday night causing us all to wake up a little later on Saturday.  Once we made it out of bed we all headed over to a farmers market in the heart of Amsterdam.  This place was amazing.  It had tons of booths with different types of foods and treats but it also had a bunch of other ones selling records, clothes, and other souveniers.  We spent over three hours at the market eating tons of delicious snacks and shopping. Afterwards we all walked over to the Rijksmuseum which was incredible.  The museum is huge with tons of paintings from famous Dutch artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer.  After the museum we were all feeling energized enough to make our way over to the Heineken Brewery for a tour.  I was a little nervous about the tour since I didnt love the one I did at the Carlsberg plant in Copenhagen, but this tour was amazing.  The whole thing kind of felt like Disneyland for adults, fully equipped with lessons in how to brew beer, a ride, a bar, games and a movie.  It's definitely a must see in Amsterdam.  After the experience we were all pretty tired so we picked up dinner and headed back to the hostel for a fun night in.

Me enjoying my cheese and mushroom pancake

Sunday we set out on a mission to find traditional dutch pancakes and eventually ended up at a local pub.  The pancakes were massive, crepe-like, and smothered in melted cheese so needless to say I greatly enjoyed myself.  I think the waitress was a little overwhelmed by all the noisy Americans in her pub demanding pancakes but all in all it was an amazing experience.  After the pancakes we chilled in one of the many parks for a while just relaxing, and then headed over to the botanical gardens.  The gardens were fun and had some cool things (including a california redwood and a butterfly house!) but I think we were there just a little too early in the year to get the full effect, because most things werent really in bloom yet and everything still looked a little dormat.  It was still fun to walk around though and I think we all enjoyed our afternoon.  After the gardens we all headed over to the Amstel canal, which is the biggest canal in Amsterdam and probably my favorite part of the city.  We got there just as the sun was setting and eventually settled ourselves at one of the many outdoor cafe's to enjoy a drink.  I have to say, sitting on the edge of a canal with a beer and some friends is one of the most amazing experiences ever and I would sincerely recommend it to all.  It was especially wonderful when a local  in a boat began playing "The Way You Look Tonight" on his trumpet while sailing down the river.  Once the sun set we all just headed to dinner and then out for another fun night.

Outside of the Anne Frank House

Monday was our last day in Amsterdam which was a little sad, but since we didnt have to fly out until 930 we managed to get a fair amount done.  In the morning Rachel, Sarah, Rob and I headed over to the Anne Frank house.  The museum and the house was probably the most amazing place I went while in Amsterdam.  The experience was a little intense, but it was so incredible to see the place where Anne Frank actually slept and to see all the original pages of her diary and stuff.  I read the Diary of Anne Frank in 9th grade and the book really touched me, so it was great to get to experience her world.  After the museum we met up with everyone else and headed to lunch at another amazing little cafe right on the canal.  Afterwards we all walked over to museum square again to finish our last day in Amsterdam with the Van Gogh museum.  I really liked the museum, but I think I enjoyed the Rijksmuseum a bit more just because it had more variety.  After the museum it was time to head to the airport so after one last quick stop at the french fry place beneath our hostel we all headed out to the airport to fly back to Edinburgh.

Needless to say, the entire weekend in Amsterdam was incredible.  I had a great time getting to know everyone I was with and just experiencing one of the most amazing city's in the world together.  I hope to make it back to Amsterdam sometime soon, but if not I have nothing but great memories from my time there.

This week is going to be busy with lots of work and research, but I'll try and update soon!

“24 hours a day, seven days a week. No job is too big, no fee is too large."

This post is going to be short and sweet which doesnt happen very often so I hope you guys enjoy it.

Monday was spent just trying to get caught up on everything I had put off over the past two weeks in Copenhagen and during Caroline and Julia's visit.  I did laundry, went grocery shopping, uploaded pictures, and, since the weather was still beautiful, even went for a run.  This was a first for my time in Edinburgh but fortunately my constant walking seems to be keeping me in shape and the run wasn't too rough.  It was incredibly windy though and I was not at all prepared for the sheer amount of strength it takes to run into the wind.  I have so much more respect for all of you that run on beaches now.  After my run I decided I deserved a reward so I knocked together my mom's fajita recipe which was delicious if I do say so myself. And, since I made way too much, my flatmates got to try some too which they were very excited about considering the rarity of Mexican food in Edinburgh.

Tuesday was my last day at Parliament, which was very bittersweet.  The morning was spent organizing and cleaning up the office which greatly appealed to my meticulous nature.  Once the cleaning was done my MSP treated us all to a drink at the Member's Bar in Parliament.  Thats right, the Scottish Parliament has a bar in the building where all workers get a discount.  I did not know about this bar until recently but it may be my favorite part of Scottish politics, definitely a tradition America should try to imitate...  Anyways, after we left the bar my MSP invited me into his office to talk to him about my experience.  This ended up turning into an hour long discussion of politics and history, and is one of my fondest memories of my time in Parliament.  Robert is a really great guy and he is so knowledgeable about all different types of government it was great hearing everything from his perspective.  Just a fun fact, the British are much more supportive of the intervention in Libya than the Americans, not just because they have a lot of Libyan immigrants, but also because in the UK, and Scotland specifically, there is a certain sense of duty to help those who strive to be free of opressive regimes.  However, according to Robert, the UK has been very wary about acting on this sense of duty because it doesnt want to appear like its trying to interfere in other nations since the UK is pretty much known as the world's greatest historical colonizer.  Interesting huh?
Wednesday and Thursday were my first days in the campaign office for Alex.  I am currently the only one manning the office which I was a little nervous about, but so far it seems to be going really well.  The office is very nice and its not too far away, although I do have to take a train to work.  I can already tell that these next few weeks working for Alex are going to be VERY busy for me.  Busy in a good way of course.  The campaign is really revving up and its exciting to be right in the middle of it.  Today a former UK MP came in to talk to Alex but since Alex wasn't there he ended up sitting with me for forty five minutes discussing the difference between the American federal system and the UK one.  Did I mention I love my job?

Anyways I just wanted to give you guys a quick update on my life.  I'm off to Amsterdam in about half an hour for the weekend so I'm sure to have lots to update on after that trip.  I hope everyone has a good weekend!

"If I'm not back in five minutes just wait longer!"

So this weekend was one of my favorites since I've been in Edinburgh.

Wednesday and Thursday I pretty much just worked and relaxed after my long trip to Copenhagen, but I did manage to come up with my topic for my internship's massive research project.  I think I'm going to do Communication and Voter Targeting in Scottish Politics.  Both of my bosses are really interested in voter communication and I already know a lot about the topic so now all I have to do is actually start my research paper...still coming up with the topic was a pretty big achievement for me. 

Reunited in Edinburgh!

Anyways so Thursday night Caroline and John arrived in Edinburgh!!! I met up with them at their hostel after work which may seem like a simple  concept, but considering that Caroline didn't have a phone or a computer we basically had to assume that the other person would be at an arbitrary meeting place we had set days earlier.  It worked out, but I think its safe to say that we all formed a much greater appreciation for the convenience of cell phones.  After completing our complex meeting arrangement Caroline, John and I headed to a local pub for dinner.  Since it was St. Patrick's day and unsurprisingly Edinburgh does St. Patrick's day very well, we all headed out with a bunch of my friends from Edinburgh to one of our favorite Irish pubs.

With our free shirts!

The line was a bit long, but the pub was very fun and on top of that they were handing out free t-shirts which clearly all of us college students were very excited about.  John even got a St. Patty's day hat! So between the free stuff, the irish pub scene and the cheese fries afterwards it was a very fun evening.

Outside Holyrood palace!

The next morning we woke up to the most beautiful day I have experienced in my past two months in Edinburgh.  There was barely a cloud in the sky and I swear the temperature was almost 50!!! So amazing.  Since the weather was so nice Caroline, John and I decided to climb the Walter Scott Monument.  The Walter Scott Monument is a giant sculpture dedicated to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott right in the middle of New Town.  It was a little exhausting climbing the increasingly narrow stairs that led to the top of the monument, but the views were amazing.  I got some great pictures of the city and Caroline and John really got to experience just how incredible Edinburgh really is. After climbing the monument we walked around the Royal Mile for a bit, went to Adam Smith's grave and then ate lunch at one of the cafes where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter- this was an especially exciting experience for Caroline who turned to me and said "I'm drinking inspirational coffee!"

The beautiful Edinburgh castle from the Walter Scott Monument

After lunch Julia finally arrived from Berlin and we all headed to Parliament together. Not going to lie I felt pretty cool getting them all in behind the scenes and showing them where I worked and stuff.  They were all very supportive and even allowed me to drone on about how cool my internship was for a solid amount of time.  That's true friendship right there. After Parliament we all walked across the street to see Holyrood Palace, the queen's residence when she's in Edinburgh.  It was a pretty cool tour fully equipped with an audio guide and a ticket thats good for a year.  Not really that useful for Caroline, Julia and John, but I'll definitely be back with some of my other friends to see the gardens when they open in the Spring. 

A little scared for our ghost-tour!

After Holyrood palace Caroline, Julia and I ditched John for a bit in favor of TopShop where we spent a good hour of our afternoon.  Caroline and Julia found some cute things, but I obviously only wanted to buy swimsuits and since its gonna be a good two months before I'll be back in warm enough weather to enjoy them I ended up not getting anything which was a bit depressing.  After shopping we all went to dinner and then I took everyone to get fried Mars Bars (a traditional Scottish treat). After the fried chocolaty goodness we decided to go on a ghost tour of Edinburgh.  Apparently Edinburgh is on of the most haunted cities in the world so it's pretty well known for having scarey ghost tours. We ended up going on an underground tour of Edinburgh where our tour guide wove some seriously creepy stories about body snatchers and Caroline's personal favorite "baby-farmers."  They then proceeded to lead us into the pitch black and very claustrophobic underground vaults and without ruining the tour lets just say they freaked us out in ways that would never be allowed in the constantly lawsuit conscious United States.   So even though the tour was much scarier than I think any of us fully anticipated it was overall quite the exhilarating evening.
Saturday morning we all woke up early and went to have a traditional Scottish Breakfast a la a hole-in-the-wall place by Caroline and John's hostel.  Despite the fact that it consisted of black pudding (a.k.a congealed animal blood) the breakfast was delicious.  I personally feel that the British do breakfast better than anyone else.  Their bacon is pretty much heaven on earth.  So after that wonderful morning experience we all headed over to the Royal Mile to go to the Scotch Whiskey Experience.  For those of you who dont know (which should be none of you) whiskey was created in Scotland and Scotland's pretty much known for having the best whiskey around.  Also, just to clarify, what we call scotch in America is basically just whiskey from Scotland, and since almost all whiskey in Scotland is from here they feel no need to specify that it's scotch.  Thus scotch in Scotland is known as whiskey  Anyway, the whiskey experience was incredible.  It had a ride through the whiskey making process, a lesson in how to choose your perfect whiskey, a tour of the world's biggest whiskey collection and a free whiskey tasting! I think this was definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us, even Caroline and I who arent exactly the largest whiskey enthusiasts.

The world's largest whiskey collection and my delicious British Breakfast

Since Saturday was also the Scotland vs. Italy rugby game we ended up just hanging out in a pub for most of the day to watch the game.  Of course we did make a side trip to get the best baked potato in Scotland, which was completely worth missing some of the action. That night we spent most of the evening just hanging out in my flat drinking and telling stories before I had to say goodbye to everyone.  It was great having Caroline and Julia here and I feel so lucky that i have such amazing friends who would come all the way from America to visit.  It made me really sad saying goodbye to them but I know I'll see them again soon so I'm just glad we got to experience Europe together!

Today I had my first official campaign work day.  It was an action day getting everything ready for the gear up into full campaign mode so I spent the whole day working with the fellow interns and employees in the office.  It was super fun just getting to know everyone and I actually felt like I was doing something that would have a big impact on the election.  Plus Alex brought his adorable three-year-old son  to the office for the day.  Finn has blonde hair, blue eyes and speaks with a Scottish accent and is pretty much the cutest thing ever.  I may have gotten a little distracted from my work playing with him but it was soooo worth it.

Tomorrow I have a day off so I'll probably just try to catch up on some laundry and work I've been meaning to do, but then I leave for Amsterdam on Thursday and I could not be more excited!!!!

Talk to you all soon!

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,you step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

Lots to update on from this weekend so everyone bear with me!!!

The week was mostly about working and getting ready for Copenhagen, but on Tuesday night I did attend my first campaign event.  I met up with Alex's campaign manager and some other volunteers and we all went canvassing (for you non-political folk that means knocking on doors) in a local neighborhood.  I was a little nervous about this because of my memories of canvassing for healthcare reform in Georgia, but even the Scots who didn't support Alex were all very nice. Some of them asked very specific questions which was a little intimidating considering my limited introduction into Scottish Politics but I managed to answer most of the questions well and the whole night was very fun!

Wednesday and Thursday flew by and on Friday I headed out for Copenhagen!!! After two planes, a bus ride, a train and the longest passport line I've ever seen, I finally got into Copenhagen.  I was a little nervous about taking public transportation to my hostel but fortunately most of the airport signs are in Danish and English so I was able to figure everything out without too much trouble.  I did however accidentally board the train without paying and only afterwords found out that if they catch you doing that its a 200 dollar fine.  Lucky much?

Sami and I with our sadly quite small dinner

Once I got to the hostel I met up with Sami and a bunch of her friends from Finland.  We all headed out for dinner where I learned my first piece of information about Copenhagen- its insanely expensive.  People told me that I would spend a ton of money in Copenhagen but I didnt fully understand until I got there.  Sami, the Finlanders and I wandered around for a good 30 minutes looking for a place to eat that cost less than 20 USD for an entree.  The best we could find?  Burger King.  Normally I wouldnt be upset about this, but apparently European Burger Kings charge you for both water and ketchup and then only give you one pack of ketchup for your money! Like seriously? one pack of ketchup gets me through about four fries.  Such a rip off. Anyways, despite the burger king incident the night ended up being very fun.  We met up with Perry and then all went out together.  Ironically we ended up at a place called the Scottish Pub which I obviously was very excited about. It was great just hanging out and seeing everyone that night and I think we all had a really good time.

Pretty Copenhagen

 

Enjoying the all you can drink bar

Saturday night Shawn and I slept in a little late (typical) and stumbled out of bed around 1030 in search of some kind of breakfast.  Unfortunately, due to our severe dehydration the closest reasonably priced place we could find was 7/11.  At first we were pretty iffy, but fun fact number two, 7/11's in Copenhagen are the best thing ever.  They are really well stocked with delicious food and the nice tellers dont make you pay for ketchup and it was just an all around wonderful experience so well done 7/11.  After that Shawn and I just walked around and saw the sites until Julia got in and we met up with her and Perry for lunch.  We just walked around for the rest of the day, which may sound boring, but it was so surreal and amazing being in a foreign city with all your best friends, I would sincerely recommend the experience.  Later that night after Mitchell got in we all went to dinner at a local pizza place (please notice that we are eating at the most basic restaurants available because of the absurd price of any food remotely unique)  After dinner we all headed to a great all-you-can-drink bar in downtown Copenhagen.  We ended up having a great night just dancing and hanging out with everyone.

Danish Crown Jewels!

Delicous Danish Pastry

Saturday morning under Julia's influence we all woke up a little earlier and headed out to the palace to watch the changing of the guards.  Unfortunately, I, as lead navigator, took us to what I thought was the palace but ended up being this random castle where the crown jewels are.  Small mistake but ended up being okay cause we got to see pretty crowns and rooms and stuff :) After that we went to a delicious danish bakery for lunch where Julia and I got the best pastry of all time. After that we headed out to the Carlsberg Brewery for a tour.  Unfortunately things got a little more difficult then we planned.  Fun fact number 3 about Copenhagen, the Danish language is impossible to pronounce.  The street names and signs were basically jibberish to us, and we took to just saying random words for anything in Danish because we couldnt even begin to say things correctly.  Anyways after getting off at the wrong stop and having to push a baby stroller out of the way to make it back on the bus in time we managed to make it to the Carlsberg factory.  The actual tour was subpar since we didnt get to see any beer being made but the tour did include a stop at the horse stables and two free beers so overall it was quite enjoyable.

Me with a Carlsberg horse!!!

That night we all met up again and headed to a local pub where a Dave Matthews cover band was doing live music (so ironic that I had to leave Georgia and come to Copenhagen to see a Dave Matthews cover band preform....) It was Sami and the Finlander's last night so we went all out and bough shots of fisk which is a uniquely Scandanavian liquor that tastes like a combination of Greek uzo and rum.  Can't say I enjoyed it that much but still fun to try.

Little Mermaid Statue

Outside Christiana

Sunday morning we met up with Julia's friend Michelle for lunch and then headed over to a really cute area of Copenhagen for a canal tour.  Some of the river was still frozen so we had to walk a bit to find the canal and once we were on the boat it was freezing, but it was still a really fun way to see the city!  The canal took us to a lot of the big sites including The Little Mermaid statue (Hans Christian Anderson the author of The Little Mermaid was Danish), the royal palace and Christiantown home of the infamous Christiana which we got off and walked around in for a while.  Christiana is basically this hippy commune that when you enter you literally feel like you've been teleported into the sixties.  Its like Berkley times ten.  There's hippies everywhere, skateparks, and all of these novelty gifts.  Not exactly my scene but definitely worth seeing. After Christiana we headed back to the hostel for a much needed nap and then went on a search for some traditional Danish food for our last night.  We ended up finding this tiny little place that was ridiculously overpriced and served us some of the oddest food ive ever had.  It wasnt bad but, for example, Julia's steak was served with a raw egg on the side.  Like huh?  If this is what traditional Danish food is like I can't say I'll be trying that again any time soon..

After dinner we were all pretty exhausted from our past few nights so Shawn, Perry and I just bought a pint of Ben and Jerry's and hung out for a few hours just catching up.  It was so great to just chill with them and talk, even though we were in Copenhagen it felt like it was just another night at SC which was great :)

Today I spent pretty most of my day in transit back to Edinburgh, but tonight USC hosted another dinner for us so I came back to a lovely three course meal courtesy of USC.  Not a bad way to be welcomed back to Edinburgh.

This weekend went by so fast but it was one of the best ones ever.  Despite its ridiculous cost Copenhagen is an amazing city that was made all the better by the presence of some of my best friends.  Im off to work tomorrow but then Julia and Caroline get in on Thursday and the fun starts all over again in Edinburgh! I'm truly living the life right now and I couldnt be happier :)

Talk to ya'll soon!

Not the golfers, you fool! The gophers!"

It's amazing how fast time flies by.  This Saturday I will have been in Edinburgh for 2 months which means that I am almost halfway through my time here.  I can't believe how quickly it all has gone by, and I'm sure the next two months will be even faster.

This week was mostly spent working and studying.  I had a paper due Friday which made my weekday evenings pretty stressful, but now that it's done I've officially finished class for my entire Junior year.  Crazy huh?? I still have my research project left to do, but considering that's not due until May 13th I think its pretty easy to understand my excitement about my new freedom.
Since I had the paper I spent Tuesday and Wednesday night in the library trying to knock it out of the way as soon as possible.  Thursday I got to work early because my MSP, as chair of the cross-party committee on visual impairment, was hosting a bunch of visually impaired people for a luncheon and discussion.  It was my job to get all of these guests through security, reception and to the committee room in time for the meeting.  This may not sound that difficult but throw in a couple seeing eye-dogs, some frustrated reception workers and a lot of canes and the whole thing is much more challenging.  I felt pretty legit though because they were all looking to me for instruction and direction and I knew what I was doing so I was really able to help them.  Plus there was free food at the luncheon ;)

Celebrating Marchant's 21st!

Thursday night was my friend Marchant's 21st birthday and since I was able to finish my paper early I went over to Marchant's for the evening's festivities.  It was really fun to just hang out with my friends and forget about work and school and everything. Plus there was cake.  We all went to a local club later that night where I received my first ever compliment on my singing voice.  I'm not entirely sure of the judgment of the person complimenting me, but hey I'll take it.

Friday I spent most of my day sitting around my room being lazy, but that night a friend and me went to a popular bar in New Town.  I havent spent much time in New Town so it was really fun to see a different part of the city.  Everything in New Town is just much hipper and newer than Old Town (shocking right?) and the whole scene had a great young vibe.  I'll definitely have to get back there sometime soon.  I also got a lovely walking tour of New Town where I saw the homes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Alex Salmond (the First Minister of Scotland) and Alexander Graham Bell.  Overall a very fun night :)

The 18th hole of the Old Course

Saturday I woke up early to go to St. Andrew's with Rachel and Lindsey, and after a slight struggle we managed to find our way onto the correct bus.  For those of you who dont know St. Andrews is home to the world's first golf course and the University of St. Andrews which is one of the most prestigious universities in the UK.  It is also where Prince William went to school and met Kate Middleton, so that was a huge plus for me :)  I wasn't sure if I would like the city, but I ended up LOVING it.  It was a beautiful, quaint little town right on the water perfect for a day of sightseeing. 

 Our first stop was the golf course. It's called the Old Course (original I know) and is right on the water and very beautiful.  There is also this old men's club right on the course that is Scotland's only remaining "all men's clubhouse."  Stupid and misogynistic if you ask me, but whatever, Lindsey, Rachel, and I accidentally walked in so I guess we made our statement.  The rest of the day we explored the town and the city which was really great.  The town has a very collegiate vibe and reminded me of Cambridge or another east coast college town.  We looked at a lot of ruins and school buildings which were all very beautiful, but the highlight was definitely when we stumbled upon this tiny used book store which had all these amazing Scottish novels from so far back.  I ended up buying a Scottish nursery tale book from 1889 as a souvenir.  Unfortunately after the book store we had to pretty much run back to the bus station to catch our bus back to Edinburgh so we didnt get to see anything else, but all in all a very good day.  The only negative I can say about St. Andrew's was that we were able to see pretty much the whole town in a day so I can definitely see it getting a little boring if I was going to school there.

Me on the beach in St. Andrew's and various buildings in town.

Today I woke up very late thanks to my miraculous blackout curtains (since the sun doesnt set until midnight in the summer every dorm room has these really intense dark curtains that block out all sunlight), but managed to drag myself out of bed to go shopping. I was just looking for a couple gifts and some necessities, but I ended up on a massive search for the perfect Scottish flask.  It was challenging, but I think I've finally found the one I want.  With any luck I'll be able to buy it tomorrow and finally have gotten the one thing I wanted from Scotland.

This week's going to be mostly about preparing for Copenhagen on Friday.  I could not be more excited!!! I can't wait to see all my friends from home and catch up with everyone.  I may not be able to update again before I leave but if I dont expect some great stories when I get back from Copenhagen!!!