in Amsterdam

Holly and I just arrived in Amsterdam. 7 hrs of flight time finished, 11.5 to go. Already my papers and books and proposal and funding application forms feel very far away. The knot in my stomach is starting to unravel as I look forward to the next few months. This is going to be a big change of pace.

Here are the main facts about this trip:

· Dan is doing an internship at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) for six weeks.
· The internship is also going to contribute significantly to my final paper for school.
· We are staying in a beautiful home in Cape Town.
· Holly is going to do some volunteering as well – the details will get worked out when
we arrive.
· We will be in Cape Town until until June 3rd, then we are going to Holland for 9 days.
· We are returning on June 12th.

I really cannot believe we are going to Cape Town, it is still sinking in. This is really a dream come true for both Holly and I. I will be fulfilling a 6-week internship at the legal resources centre, and in all honesty there is really no other organization (in the world) I would rather be working with. It is absolutely incredible. I am very thankful for this opportunity.

The airport in Amsterdam (Schiphol) is nice – Holly just bought a tea and we are sitting together in the ‘nautilus cafe’, its colored like the morning, and the fields stretch green close beyond the tarmac. Holly kissed me for that line. We just had our first kiss in Amsterdam. Life is good.

Holly has quickly gotten comfortable with her travel belt/fanny pack that fits under her shirt. I even had to remind her to take cash out before going to the counter so she wouldn’t have to pull her shirt up to her chin to get to her money in front of the cashier. I am not there yet, but it’s really just a matter of time.

Holly and I are both glad that this is only a two month trip, any longer and it would have been a lot harder to say good-bye. Not all of you will know this, but Holly and I were originally going to move back to Ghana in September. But the plans fell through. In retrospect we are thankful. It’s good to be close to home.

It is currently 2:29 AM my time, and I didn’t sleep at all on the plane. This is likely one reason why all my sentences are only 10 or so words long. My thoughts are short. Life is short. Live it. And don’t use clichés. Because they are lame-o.

Words and phrases that we can see from where we are sitting:

Juicy details
Sleep, relax, refresh, connect
See, buy, fly
Special offer – lowest price
Cafe Amsterdam
Accessorize
Daily fresh kicks