Christmas in Leiden

After Schiermonnikoog, I spent Christmas in Leiden with Matt, the other Rotary scholar, and other friends who stayed here for the holidays. We cooked Christmas dinner, and open New Zealander Christmas crackers. We even made our own paper snowflakes to remind us of a "white Christmas." Paul and I later that night went to Christmas Eve Mass.



On Christmas Day, I had Christmas lunch with Matt and his friend Ryan. Although it wasn't the same as being at home, it was good to spend it with friends.

Schiermonnikoog

It was in August when I arrived to Holland and met my new friends. It's amazing how fast time flies. We all agreed that the time was too short, but definitely glad that the semester and exams were over. To help relax after exams, some friends and I took a trip to one of the northern Dutch islands, Schiermonnikoog. It was truly beautiful, and probably one of the best trips I have taken. The group was truly international including myself from the US, Barbara from Slovenia, Emma from Holland, Paul from New Zealand, and Cem from Turkey.

No cars are allowed on the island so it was very nice and peaceful. We cooked good food, enjoyed good wine, relaxed, and enjoyed each others' company. It was a nice feeling to not have the hustle and bustle of everyday life, or even the fast pace schedule of sightseeing when traveling. This is a place that I will definitely return to in the future.

Sinterklaas

In the United States, Christmas is the day around the winter holiday that gifts are given. In many cultures in Europe, including Holland, St. Nicholas Day is more a time to give gifts than Christmas. St. Nicholas in Dutch is Sinterklaas.

In Holland, Sinterklaas comes in November. There's a long story about who he is, where he comes from, and who is helpers are. Each story is a little different from the other, but they all include Sinterklaas in a red suit with a white beard. He's slim, not fat. And he doesn't have elves, but zwarte piets.

I also had the chance to run into Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piets; however, I think I'm a little too old to believe that the one I met was the real one ... if there is a real one ...

Fundraiser for Filipino NGO & Rotary

In the United States, my interests and extra-curricular involvement included volunteering with non-profit organizations and organizing events. Naturally, I wanted to continue this type of involvement in Holland. Emma, my friend from Holland, and I organized a fundraiser to educate indigent Filipino children. Emma is directly involved with this non-governmental organization (NGO) and after she told me about her work, together we planned to help raise money for the children.



The event was a great success. Our friends and colleagues were very open and generous to the cause, and everyone enjoyed themselves.



Matt, another Rotary scholar, and I also took this oppotunity to introduce everyone to Rotary and their educational programs. It was a perfect occasion to talk about the humanitarian work that Rotary does, as well as how it supports young people through their educational scholarships.

Leiden Rotary Club

Matt, the other Rotary Scholar from St. Paul, and I visited and presented to the Leiden Rotary Club. The Club was very receptive to us and is willing to help us with anything that we may need during our stay in Holland. We will be returning to the club again in January to do another presentation and have lunch with the Rotarian in charge of exchange students. We look forward to more involvement with the club.

Thanksgiving & My Birthday

For twenty-some years, I have always spent Thanksgiving with my family. For the first time in my life, I missed the turkey and after-Thanksgiving shopping. However, I can't complain ... I am having the time of my life.



Not only was it Thanksgiving, but it was also my birthday. This coincidence only happens every so often, so it was easy for my international friends to celebrate both Thanksgiving and my birthday.

Some of us had a nice Thanksgiving/birthday dinner (but it did not include turkey or ham), and then we met other friends out afterwards. Although it wasn't the traditional American Thanksgiving, I had a good time with everyone. I got gifts from all around the world to help remind me where everyone's from!

The Irish Experience: Dublin, Ireland

A couple of friends and I visited Dublin, Ireland, to get the true Irish experience. Barbara, from Slovenia, and Dom, who is Croatian but goes to law school in the States, and I, spent several days exploring the city. Dom and I also had a chance to venture out into the suburbs a bit and see the true Irish countryside.




In Dublin, we enjoyed the traditional sites, including Trinity College Dublin, Christ Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Guinness Brewery, Jameson Distillery, Temple Bar, and more. It's true when people say that Guinness tastes so much better in Ireland than in the States. We were in Dublin right before the big Halloween celebrations, so there were many tourists in the city. I now know where Boston gets its feel. Boston is very similar to Dublin - for obvious reasons.



Besides spending time in the city, after Barbara left, Dom and I explored the countryside. No wonder green is the country's color, because everything was green. Surrounded by the sea, the rolling hills create a splendid view from all angles. We were able to see a port city and an Irish castle. The trip off the continent was very interesting, and I hope to return to explore the rest.

Rotary Club Lisse-Bollenstreek

I visited my host's Rotary Club and got to make a small presentation about myself, my studies, and my ambitions. My host, who is pictured in the center, standing with me the the Club President, is also a lawyer in Holland. When I arrived, her and her son picked me up from the airport and helped me get started in Holland. Also, her son has shown me around and has been great to hang out with as well.

The Lisse-Bollenstreek Club is a fairly decent sized club with about 40 members or so. Lisse is located near Leiden, but is less populated, and would be considered more of a town. I plan to attend the clubs in Leiden with fellow Rotary scholars in the near future.

An Evening with the Prof.

Succeeding in academia is a two way street. The students learn from the teacher, but the teacher also learns so much from the interactions and developments of their students. From my own teaching experiences - at the secondary level, teaching at IU, and most recently as visiting lecturer of law in Vietnam - I appreciate the interaction between students and their teachers.

Our course enjoyed an evening with one of our professors. A small world it really is, he knows my law professor in the States personally from their meetings in Europe. We enjoyed discussions, both on the academic level, but also on a social level, that helped all of us understand each other and get to know everyone a bit better.

In November, one of my MBA professors will be traveling to Holland, and we plan to meet in Rotterdam. These are all proof of how small this world really is!

EURO Road Trip 07 - Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest

One thing that I have missed in Europe is driving. Being from the United States, and especially Indiana (where everything is so spread out), driving is a natural daily task. Here in Holland, cycling is a natural daily task. You would be amazed at that the Dutch can do and carry on their bicycles. Just for example, one day, I observed a mother carrying three children on her bicycle! One was in a seat attached to the handle bars, the other behind her, and another standing right in front of her. Well, if you can't picture it, trust me, I had to take second looks.

But with October approaching, many of us wanted to experience some German culture, so we decided to take a road trip to Munich and see what Oktoberfest was all about. After some discussions with other Germans, I discovered that many Germans haven't experienced Oktoberfest. To many, Oktoberfest is mainly for the tourists.




It was an interesting road trip. Since I had the most experience in driving long trips, everyone deferred to me for organizing the excursion. We rented a Mercedes-Benz van, crammed into it, and headed for the German autobahns. It took us around 8 hours to arrive, driving at times 170-180 km/hr with the traffic jams and the breaks.

It's known around the world that on the German Autobahns there is no speed limit. That's only partially correct. In some areas, usually the rural areas, that is correct, there is no speed limit; however, in more urban areas, you would be lucky to drive 120 km/hr. If you are thinking that 170 km/hr is fast, we made plenty of BMWs and Mercedes pass us at upwards to 200 km/hr. The Germans really do know how to build their cars and their highways.

Oktoberfest was a lot of fun. It was basically a big fair that included German beer. All of us who went were from other parts of the world, including the US (myself), Russia, Turkey, New Zealand, Scotland, and Greece. One thing that I have enjoyed is meeting people from all around the world and learning about their culture. What's even more interesting is all of us experiencing something new together.







Besides Oktoberfest, Munich is a beautiful city. Home to BMW, Bayer, Siemens, and other Fortune 500 companies, it's a city lined with historic architecture and history ... and Starbucks! (There's only one Starbucks in Holland - at the airport!) Unfortunately, our stay in Munich was only for a few days, otherwise we would have ventured and explored more. We'll save the rest for another time.

Indiana, Our Indiana ... the Founding Fathers in the Netherlands

As most of you know, I'm proud to be a Hoosier! With three degrees from Indiana University, it's tough not to be proud of your alma mater. As a result, when I arrived to Holland, my first instinct was to see if there was an IU Alumni Chapter established.

There was not a chapter established, so I took on the responsibility and initiative to get one going. From my experience serving on the Board of the Central Indiana Chapter of the IUAA, I was able to organize our first meeting of the Founding Fathers.

Four of us met at Vakzuid, a Bar/Restaurant in Amsterdam located in the Historic Olympic Stadium. Our group consisted of two Dutch, and two Americans (including myself). Although my Hoosier experiences were more recent than some others, it was interesting to hear stories about what the others took away from their time at IU and Indiana. We look forward to building our group and getting more folks involved.

3rd of Oktober - Liberation of Leiden

Every year, Leiden celebrates a holiday that no other city in Holland celebrates. It's 3rd of Oktober. This holiday is to commemorate the liberation of Leiden from the Spanish in 1574. The holiday includes festivities, traditional cooking, and lots of celebration. Although the traditional dish is Hutsput, some of us decided to enjoy some Ethiopian food instead. Hutsput was saved for another time!

Rotary Nederlands 07-08

On the 29th of September, all of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars in Holland and some Rotarians convened in Amersfoort, a smaller city in Holland. There are three scholars at Leiden University, Matt, Nick, and myself, and others are studying in Amsterdam, Groningen, Delft, and other cities and universities around Holland.

The meeting was a great opportunity for all of us to meet. Although we're studying in different parts of the country, Holland isn't very big and the public transportation is amazing, so it's easy for all of us to visit each other.

There are many different countries represented, such as Malaysia, the US, Australia, Japan, and Canada, just to name a few. Together we decided to organize and host a conference for young professionals interested in humanitarian work. We all come from different backgrounds of law, medicine, transportation, and humanitarian volunteerism, so we hope to be able to reach a wide range of interested people. We also hope to use this conference as a way to advertise and inform people of the Ambassadorial Scholarships and other educational programs offered by Rotary.

Hoosiers in Berlin

After the weekend in Frankfurt, I took a bus to meet fellow Hoosiers in Berlin. Lesley, a former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, was leading a group of Hoosiers to Germany to look into what Germans were doing with alternative energy sources. Lesley and I know each other not only though Rotary, but we also both participated in the Indiana Food & Agriculture Trade Mission to Taiwan and Vietnam last Fall.






It was a pleasure to see old and meet new faces. But also, to experience Berlin was a whole new adventure. The city holds so much history while it boasts modern architecture.






While in Berlin, I also visited the Berlin Rotary Club. It was held in the infamous Aldon Hotel, and the lunch, from what the Rotarians stated, was one of the best in the city. I had the chance to exchange club flags and experience Rotary outside of the U.S. One revelation that I had was that although English is the international language of business, one can more easily attract business by knowing the others' native language. I look forward to learning more languages as my next long term goal.