Finally...Home!

Being back in Escanaba is amazing! The lack of Internet is a bummer tho...the blog can't be done on Sundays because the library is closed! I am finding a balance of taking care of as much as possible before Naomi arrives and relaxing. Being here is most enjoyable. I wish time would slow down!

The trip here went quite well. Naomi and I went to Brussels and spent the night there. The hotel was incredible - Naomi found it and we only had to pay 70 Euros! It was right downtown and if we make it back to Brussels some day we will stay there again. The city itself was a bit disappointing - fairly modern and dirty. It had a few amazing places though.

Staff entry way to our hotel's front desk.

The staircase leading up towards our room.

The courtyard.

Our room.

The breakfast room.

Brussels skyline.

On the main square.

Old architecture - paid for by colonies?

The cathedral on a hill overlooking the center.

The backside of that cathedral.

The street in front of our hotel.

A joke about the Manneken Pis - the 400 year old statue that has become a symbol of Brussels.

Manneken Pis - dressed up like the Dalai Lama. He was in town.

I got on the plane without any trouble and made it to JFK which was a nightmare. Worst airport I have ever been to. Filthy, disorganized, falling apart, and expensive. Everyone was rude - even the people driving those stupid carts honked whenever someone thought about stepping onto their path. Welcome to New York I guess.

Cape Cod.

Arriving in Detroit was like a breath of fresh air. The city itself might be in shambles, but the airport is top notch. My friend Jake picked me up and I crashed at his place. A beautiful spot overlooking the lake. I was struck by all that open space.

Detroit.

In the morning, my friend Ashley picked me up. We spent the morning in Ann Arbor which was incredible. If I could live anywhere in the States it would be Ann Arbor. The time was too short, but when she dropped me off at the airport, it turns out I had missed my flight. Delta sent me an 'updated itinerary' showing a 2pm departure - originally noon. I guess they switched it back without telling me. It ended up being a bonus, because I called Ashley back to the airport and we got to spend the rest of the afternoon in Ann Arbor! Glad the airline didn't hassle me about the flight change.

Leelanau & Grand Traverse Counties.

I made it home in time for my mom to clean up the house a bit, so she was happy, and they were actually at the airport to get me this time! The house was a bit of a mess because of the new wood floor.   Still is. That is quite the project, but it is going to be beautiful. I am happy to help out with it a bit. Glad I came in toward the end though.

Since being home I have been busy arranging all sorts of odds and ends. The floor has taken up time, but I also found some nearly new bikes (as a surprise for Naomi), got the car cleaned and fixed up, and did a bunch of wedding stuff - we got all the glasses yesterday! It is amazing all the details that need to be worked out.

Tonight I get to drive the Cougap which is now looking and running beautifully up to Marquette to pick up Naomi. We used to spend months apart, but now a whole week seems like such a long time! I can't wait to see her. For now I need to get home and put another coat of wipe on poly onto those base boards.

Surprise!

Joost!

What a week! School is officially over! One of my students even gave us a really tasty present. We had light days at work as I am choosing to do my preparation for the fall in the fall. As there are so many unknowns and so much collaboration this makes the most sense to me. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to the colleagues who will not be returning next year, but I switched gears into Summer Vacation mode quite quickly.

Cupcakes from Taco.

On Thursday we went go-karting. It was a group of about 20 guys, including our friend Joost from Mali. It was a lot of fun and I came in 5th - not bad. Yesterday Joost was staying with us and we ended up doing a little gardening and heading into the city for a visit to the World Museum. It was nice and the weather was beautiful for pictures.

The World Museum

A sand mandala - one of two existing in the West. Normally they are swept away as soon as the monks finish.

Today is a busy day as we need to tie up lots of loose ends and get some packing done. This morning we were able to get all of our American Heirloom tomatoes in the garden. It was a lot of work clearing out all the weeds. Hopefully they don't come back too quickly!

Erasmus Bridge.

Harbor Museum.

City Hall - even Rotterdam can be beautiful when the sun comes out!

Tomorrow the journey to the USA begins. For me anyway. Naomi and I will travel to Brussels in the morning and spend the day there - which is why I write this blog a day early. My flight leaves from Brussels on Monday, a bit too early to catch a train from Rotterdam. Hopefully I will get to meet up with a friend in New York followed by a night with friends near Ann Arbor. Getting home will take well over 48 hours this time.

Tomato plants - hopefully they will still be alive when we get back!

July?

Hard to believe it is a new month. The weather still feels like April. Summer hasn't really come to the Netherlands yet. This week was very full...but not with school. There was quite a lot of time that I was able to be at home, and this was necessary, because we had to set up the big new wardrobe we got from Naomi's dad. It looks really nice now.

Friday we got to meet our new colleagues for next year. The school arranged a time to get to know each other and exchange some ideas and information. It really worked well and as a staff we are pretty positive about the coming year. The same was true for last fall...we shall see if morale deteriorates as quickly as it did this year. The new additions do seem to have much more experience than we did though, so this gives me some hope.

Yesterday we had a nice time in Delft picking out some gifts for people in the States. It is hard to imagine that in one week my suitcase will be packed and ready to go. I am excited! Today we cleaned up the house for Naomi's little bachelorette party and while she was having fun with her friends I toured the city with one of my friends. The central station was undergoing construction and with the leftover materials they had a workshop where you could come and build things. We were not able to get a stand which was a bummer, but it was still fun to watch for awhile. Things are winding down at school, only a few more days left!