I am in love with the Pringles Man.

Since the train coming back to the castle from France on Saturday, I have bought and consumed four containers of Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. No, not the little tubes, the big, full-sized ones. Yes, I did have some help. But, wow. I hope these things don't have TOO many calories, the nutrition facts are in Dutch. There goes however much fat I burned off walking a million miles in London/Paris... I think this will be one of those occasions where I OD on a certain food until I can't stand to look at them anymore. Previous cases: Bologna sandwiches, cottage cheese, the buffalo chicken sandwiches at the dining hall... not that I don't still eat all of those (minus bologna) on occasion.

Also on the subject of food: Yesterday in Intercultural Communications we got to learn about different countries and their types of food. We also got to EAT! He brought in different foods from other countries for us to try. It was wonderful, our favorite day in that class so far. We also learned about Dutch Christmas, which was pretty cool. They have Santa Klaus instead of Santa Claus, and he lives in Spain instead of the North Pole. He's dressed more like a preist or pope instead of the guy on the Coca-Cola cans we know and love. Instead of elves, his helpers are two little African slave children. Um, yeah. Then we got Santa Klaus chocolates and slave children lollipops! It was... interesting... and delicious.

Anyway. I am very nearly caught up with all my work here. I just have to write one essay for Ethics and I am back on track. Midterms are next week though, hopefully I'll do okay. None of the teachers have given us any clue what to expect on them, so it'll be tough. But none of the mid-terms count for a particularly large amount of our grade, so it'll be okay.

Tomorrow I'm off to Ireland for the weekend. Jill and I are staying in Dublin for the night so I can visit Azelie, then we're meeting the rest of our usual travel group in Belfast sometime the next day. I'm excited to be going somewhere that speaks English. I have no idea about the food there, but if potatoes are still plentiful that's fine by me. Also, Irish is one of my favorite accents. Aze says it's beautiful but suggested we stay in Dublin because there's more to do and Belfast is kind of dull in her opinion, but we've already made reservations and such so we'll have to make do.

The weekend after that I visit Amsterdam with Jill and Heather. I think that's it, but there may be more of us. I'm excited to scope out the area and pick out the best spots for when Aaron and I visit. I know I want to see the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, the Sex Museum and the Torture Museum. I doubt I'll try anything in the "coffee shops" but it'd be interesting to see how one worked. And I'd like to see the red light district, but maybe in the daytime, because I could imagine that place being sketchy at night. I booked the hotel for Aaron and I last night, I found a pretty inexpensive one in a nice location within walking distance to the major attractions with breakfast included. I think I did a good job. I'm so excited for his visit :) EXACTLY THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY! He arrives on Wednesday the 7th, he's taking a train/bus to Well, staying in a nearby hotel for the night, then Thursday afternoon we're going to Amsterdam until Sunday, and then he'll be back at the hotel for Monday and Tuesday and we'll hang out in Well and the other little Dutch towns and then he leaves on Wednesday. I'm beyond excited, I miss him lots.

The weekend after Amsterdam with Jill and Heather I just decided to go on a ski trip in SWITZERLAND! Okay, so, some of you are laughing. This is probably because if you know me, you know that: 1. I do NOT like the cold, 2. I cannot ski, 3. When I attempted snow boarding it resulted in a BROKEN LIMB, and 4. I am not very good at things that require a lot of physical endurance. Yes, all this is true. However, I have always wanted to learn how to ski, I enjoyed the little snowboarding I did, I will bring every warm piece of clothing I took to the castle and wear it constantly, and it's fairly inexpensive at like 140 Euro for the entire weekend: lodging, rentals, access to the slopes, and for 15 Euro more you get instructions. And at least one other person can't ski and is going, so I won't be left behind or whatnot. Jenna, Shaunagh, Sammantha, Whitney, and I think a few other people are also going. I'm excited. Even if I tire myself out even more, it's definately an experience I'm looking forward to. How many people can say "I've been skiing in Switzerland?" it just seems like a cool thing to do.

After that weekend, AARON VISITS! :)!!!

Hehe. That is all.

Love and miss everyone, like always, I enjoy your comments so keep them coming!

<333 Ashley

PS. Leave your address if you'd like a postcard! I don't know when I'll get around to it (and stamps are .89 euro each, ugh!) but I'll try to send one to everyone who wants one at least once :)