Sunday, April 22 , 2007
9:27am Monday on the bus.

Today was a bright sunny day with temperatures warmer than any other day this week at around 24°C. Greg and I had both planned to go to church with the family in the morning; unfortunately we didn’t wake up until after 1 in the afternoon. I had lent Greg some earplugs because I was going to be up on the phone for a bit, and he was snoring when I was going to sleep so I wore some too. We slept right through our alarms until our cell phones died. Shortly after getting up we were downstairs for lunch, spaghetti served with cheese sauce or pesto sauce. After lunch our host parents took us the monument for the battle of the nations. Its the biggest monument of its kind in all of Europe. Its constuction was started in 1813, 100 years after the Battle of the Nations where Napoleon was first defeated by an army of half a million from all the corners of the known world. In front there is a lake that is supposedly representative of all the blood that was spilled in the battle. In side the monument there is a central chamber or “Crypt”, while no one is actually buried there, statues of soldiers keep vigil in memory of the fallen. Over the years the statue has been used by many as a symbol of German Patriotism. Hitler once gave a speech from the front steps of the monument; it felt kind of strange standing on that spot, imagining rallying thousands of people to the Nazi cause. Anyhow, We climbed up to the top, it was a lot of steps, but not as many as the Dome cathedral back in Utrecht. The view was great, you could see the whole city and most of the surrounding area. Afterwards, we went home for a BBQ supper. A couple of hot air balloons flew low overhead. He cooked up chicken, pork, sausages, and a bunch of other stuff. I sat across from Martha, their youngest daughter, it was funny because her spoon was far too big for here so she asked her dad for a smaller one. I had three steaks and then played them and their neighbours some fiddle music. We then went inside for some cake and I presented my slideshow of pictures on their big flatscreen tv. They were impressed to say the least. It wasn’t until after 10:20 that we had finished the raspberry cake that my host mom had made for dessert. I still had to pack and do laundry. The most frustrating part was that I couldn’t get online to get in touch with Miranda; I never know where I’ll be living the next week or wether or not I’ll have internet so I want to take the opportunity to do so where possible. Anyhow, only 48 days left; Its all Good™.