Week 1: After arriving in Europe, I took off for a little vacation of sorts. There are posts below about this time, so I won't say much about this week.
Week 2: Still on vacation.....see my posts below. :)
Week 3: Okay, this is where I quit blogging. I started work during week three, and wow, what a week it was. I don't think I have ever studied so hard as I did when I had to learn the ins and outs of European Regulation. Feel free to ask if you need to know what it takes to sell medical devices in Europe. :) This weekend was one of the few that I didn't travel.
 |
| Is this not the coolest looking office ever?!? |
Week 4: The weekend of week four was great! I had looked up before I left to see if there are any Relay for Life events in Belgium. To my pleasant surprise, there was!!! I traveled to Sint-Truiden, a city in the eastern part of Belgium. After a wrong train (minor detour as I like to say), I arrived at Relay for the Luminaria ceremony. It was great to visit a Relay and see that the magic of Relay is so global!
Week 5: Brugge! One of the most beautiful cities on earth! Brugge is known as the Venice of the north; while I have never been to Venice, I must say that Brugge was pretty awesome! I went with Chris and Betsy (the other American interns at Obelis). We spent the day sight-seeing and searching for a chocolate shop that Chris wanted to visit (he knew it was on a street corner....).
Week 6: Amsterdam and Rotterdam!: The Netherlands was beautiful! I posted a bit about this weekend already.
Week 7: I decided to stay in Brussels for the weekend; this does not mean it was a boring weekend though. I discovered several things. The local market, where I was able to find slipper socks (don't laugh at me) for only 1 euro. I went downtown and saw a little glimpse of a Hollywood great - Steven Spielburg. He was in town for the premiere of a little movie called "Adventures of Tintin" maybe you've heard of it? The city was insane with all of the people outside of the theatre. Okay, maybe I did jump right in. It happens.
Week 8: Vacation!! Okay, okay, I went on vacations every week. But this was a week long. I had some vacation days, so I took advantage of a Tuesday holiday, took Wednesday-Friday off work, and went to Hamburg, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark. I really enjoyed spending some time away and seeing some new places! By the way, the language and the money in Denmark were both a strange adjustment. I posted a couple of pics of Hamburg in an earlier post, but here is Copenhagen (and my awesome commute there).
 |
| Just a ferry ride across the North Sea. That is Denmark. |
 |
| The Copenhagen LDS Temple |
 |
| 7748 bikes had passed that spot....that day. The Number in blue is so far for the year. |
Week 9: Paris! Come on, who doesn't want to visit Paris once in their life. My recommendation? Go in the off season! We had hardly any lines, the city was beautiful, and prices (travel/hotel, etc.) were very reasonable. I went to Paris with Chris, Betsy, and Betsy's mom who was visiting for a couple weeks. We had a great time and saw a lot! Paris should take a week, but somehow, we managed to see the major sights in 2.5 days. It makes me tired just thinking about that weekend.
Week 10: MEDICA. I went on a business trip to the world's largest medical device trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany. It was great to spend some quality time away from the office with many of my coworkers. And goodness, we worked hard! In three days, our team managed to visit nearly every non-European manufacturer at the show (well over 2000 exhibitors).
 |
| Laughing at the cheesy uniform is not allowed. |
Week 12: On Saturday, one of my German friends (who was living in The Netherlands at the time) came up to Brussels! It was a lot of fun to see the city with someone else and show her around. We found some interesting sights and had a lot of laughs along the way! Thanks again Laura! On Sunday I traveled to Antwerp, Belgium. A girl from my home-ward is currently serving her mission there. I showed up at the church and surprised her. It was great!! Sister Welch is an awesome missionary. The diamond shopping in Antwerp was pretty sweet too.
Week 13: GERMANY!!! Do I go to Germany too much? meh. This time was to complete a dream of mine! Christmas market shopping. I chose to go to Koeln (or Cologne in English) for two reasons. 1. It is close to Brussels. I wanted to spend as much time enjoying the location as I could, not stuck on trains. 2. There are no less than 7 Christmas markets in this one city! I went to 6 of the 7. If ever given the chance, don't pass up the opportunity to visit the German Christmas markets!
Week 14: I had my last day of work at Obelis. It was really sad to leave all of the great people who I had gotten to know and learned to love. I really miss everyone! The weekend was spent packing, shopping, and enjoying some of my favorite things for the last time. I also enjoyed the ward Christmas party and spending time with some of the most inspiring people I have ever met!
 |
| The medical regulatory team!! Miss you guys! |
Week 15: My last hurrah! in Belgium. For my last day, I went to Oostende. The coast. Nothing like walking along the beach of the North Sea in December (burrrr!). It was beautiful though! I left Belgium on Tuesday, with a few tears shed. My four months over there were such a great experience. I cannot believe everything that I was blessed enough to do, see, and experience. I grew and changed so much as a person.
No comments:
Post a Comment