I have exciting news!!!
Last Thursday, I went for a riding lesson at a nearby stable. It was great to get back in the saddle again, and it all came back to me pretty quickly (so did the sore muscles!). Audrey, my instructor, then proceeded to offer me a half-lease (or half-pension, as they say here) on a 10-year-old bay Hanoverian dressage horse! He’s a gorgeous horse, and also very very tall!! (Probably 18 hands… his back is definitely over my head!) I am going back this Thursday for a test ride, and if I like him, I am going to do it! I will get to ride three times a week, as well as take a lesson on him each week with Audrey. They have a small dressage ring and access to forest trails I can ride him on, at least while it stays light in the evenings! I am really excited about this, because I have missed riding horses, and also because it will give me something to do with myself while I am here! Apparently my level of skill after a 3-4 year break is still fairly good. The horse needs the exercise, and I need to improve my riding, so it’s win-win-win situation!

This weekend, Cassidy and I went to Antwerp to visit Ashlee. We spend Saturday in downtown Antwerp. We walked around the streets, did some shopping, saw the river and the town square and a cool church, saw a movie, had dinner…. It was a nice relaxing day! The legend of Antwerp is that there was a giant who charged the people huge taxes to use the river. If he caught someone cheating him, he cut of their hand. Then a guy named Brabo killed the giant, and cut off his hand and threw it in the river. That’s how Antwerp got its name – it means something like “hand that was thrown.” There are lots of hand symbols in Antwerp because of this. There is a square in Antwerp with the ‘Town Hall’ building that includes some of the oldest buildings in Antwerp, as well as the statue showing Brabo, the giant and the hand. When we were there, there was some sort of weird show going on… but of course it was all in Flemish, so we couldn’t understand it! (In the northern half of Belgium, the official language is Flemish, which is a form of Dutch. In the southern half, it’s French. In Brussels, it’s both, so all the signs have to be in both languages!).
Parade of the day: A marching band of little kids in green and white uniforms!!
It’s always really interesting here to see the mix of old and new. There will be a really old building right next door to a modern one… there was a lot of this in Antwerp….

School: Thursday and Friday, the teachers had meetings all day long, so ALL the classes had subs! I was in a class with Tori, a student teacher from Luther. Because she has been here, I haven’t spent much time with that 1st grade class, so it was really good for me to spend some time in there. I think I know all of the 1st graders’ names now!!! Friday was a half day, but kids could sign up for “Fit Friday,” which involves staying at school and playing soccer or other sports. We interns helped out with that, and I was one of the lucky ones who was with 1st and 2nd graders. We played soccer, Duck-Duck-Goose, and then went inside and watched Finding Nemo. This Wednesday we are going to the Antwerp Zoo! Someday soon I will get some pictures of the kids up so everyone can see them! Funny story: on Thursday, I had recess duty and this kindergarten boy was following me around the playground! I asked if I could help him with something. He said no. I asked if he was going to follow me around, and he said yes! And he did, for awhile, then all of a sudden he disappeared!! It was pretty funny.

Randomness: On a jog, in a park, I saw two guys practicing their fencing skills!
On the train, I saw the conductor/ticket-taker fighting with a guy! They were fighting in the train, then suddenly they were on the ground outside! It was crazy! (Yeah, the train guys even wear the uniforms and little round hats!!)
Well, that’s all for now… pictures from Antwerp are up!

-Erin