A Very Busy Week!

Wow! In the course of one week, I said a sad goodbye to one friend, said hello to yet another, and accomplished one of my biggest work goals for the year! Not too shabby!

Tuesday morning, Michelle and I sad a teary goodbye at the airport... it was so much fun to have a friend in town. I didn't realize just how sad I'd really be once she was gone, but I was really, REALLY sad. I had gotten used to having someone to hang out with every night, and it was kind of weird to be alone again. Luckily, another friend, Brad Hledik, who happens to be the boyfriend of another one of my Michelle's (Michelle Wald), arrived to Amsterdam early in the week. He was here for work, so we didn't really get to hang out until the weekend.

The main focus of my workweek this week was the costing class that I have been getting ready for during the past month. There was a course very similar to this one offered back at WHQ in Beaverton (that my wonderful former boss and mentor Toh Lau had written), but the one that I had written and adapted was specific for the European team. I have to admit - speaking in front of people is NOT my favorite thing to do, especially for three hours, which was the length of the class. I had 10 participants for this class, and, gladly, I'm happy to say that it went really, really well. It was fun to watch the "lightbulbs" going off. I have to do another one in a few weeks, but I feel much better about it now that I have one under my belt. This was a huge project for me, and one that is a big part of my performance evaluation for this year, so I'm really glad to have it over with!

The classroom, all ready for my students (note the candy - I needed to keep them awake somehow!)

We even had a textbook!

On Friday, Brad checked out of his hotel and moved in with me for the weekend. We had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Italian place that evening, and met up with one of his friends that is in the process of moving here. We were both pretty tired from the long week of meetings and such, so that night was not a late one.

Brad is training for the Marine Corps Marathon in October, and this week was his first week of marathon training. Saturday morning, we did his first long run, which was supposed to be 6 miles. We got a little lost (I'm beginning to feel a bit like a broken record here!) and so I think we probably did about 7.5, but we both felt really good. After that, we made our way to Antwerp, which I had visited briefly on my trip back from Champagne and had really enjoyed. Chocolate, beer, and Belgian Waffles - what more could a girl ask for? We had some great weather, so we spent a majority of the day just walking around, enjoying the sights and smells of this great city.

Beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp

The interior of the Cathedral

Belgian Chocolate!!

Belgian Beer - yummy!!

One funny story about Antwerp... So, the name literally means in Dutch "Hand Throw". This comes from a local legend of this evil man who would cut off your head if you didn't pay his steep fines to enter the port. Kind of in David and Goliath style, there was a small guy who one day stood up to the evil dude, and cut off his hand, and then threw it into the river. And this, my friends, is how Antwerp got its name. :)

The statue of the hand thrower in front of the city hall