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!