Day Five- Thursday January 10, 2013

 This day was probably my favorite so far! It was an amazing day and night! The breakfast was fabulous like usual-except I treated myself to a mini croissant with Nutella and that just did not agree with my stomach. Lesson learned. I have to admit that I LOVE this city! It's so quant, friendly, and clean! I am excited to shop in this town when we get a break! :D 

We went on the bus to the Basisschool Amby, a primary school in a more suburban setting. It only has about 500 children and the principal seemed like an amazing person who advocated for the children. When we arrived, there was coffee, tea, and three delicious looking pies. I told myself not to eat any because of my stomach. We talked with the principal about the high pressure of getting children to come to their school because there are so many primary school in this area, but not enough students. The principal mentioned that there is three levels of curriculum to meet the needs of the diversity of levels in the classroom, aka "smartness levels" as the principal said. 

Our tour was fabulous! The kids just loved us! Amy and I toured around and one classroom was particularly lovely! We asked them if they knew any American television shows and they knew a ton! And because Amy and I babysat practically our whole lives we knew so many of them!! The kids got a big kick out of this and so did the teacher. They were able to speak some English because of American television shows, movies, and video-games. 

After the best school visit yet, we went to lunch at a greek place. (that's questionable) They served us chicken that was fried in balls (like falafel?), a small salad, and fries. They were tasty but not healthy at all, especially when you have two fried items on the plate! The food was okay, plus I didn't go starving, therefore all is well.

We went on a city tour lead by Rene of the city of Maastricht. I truly LOVE this city. This is Rene's hometown and it was just delightful weather. I am pleased we took the tour today rather than yesterday. I love all of the shops, and the architecture! It reminds me a little of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. We saw the Town Hall, which was ornate and I loved the gold accents on the building. During the tour we went into a church that has been converted into a rather large bookstore. So pretty! We also saw another church, but this one still has mass in it. There were these weird statues that were super bright and had a weird texture to them. I loved the unexpected element to the statue, especially in this city. Those statues are definitely a conversation piece to the city. 

After the statues and churches, we stopped in front of a old pub. Rene looks at us and says "this is my favorite bar, time for a drink." He just cracks me up with some of the things he says. I enjoyed a latte macchiato! I love my lattes!!!! I also think it is cute they give you a little cookie on the side. The girls got some sort of hot non alcoholic beverage and the boys got…what do you think?!? Some sort of alcoholic beverage! haha

We next saw the gorgeous water and the infrastructure around this part of town seems to be a lot older and less built up. We explored the park, saw some animals and took tons of photos.

Next we went to the liquor store for some supplies for Jake's birthday celebration. I ended up getting vodka at the liquor store. Then at the convenience store I bought a banana and bread for a nice peanut butter and banana sandwich for dinner. It was nice to have a lighter dinner because eating out all the time is not my favorite thing to do. We waited for the bus for forever to get back to the hotel. I napped and got ready for the festivities. 

We pre-gamed the bars in Dana and David Wieners' room, which was huge! We took shots, danced, sang, and most importantly bonded! Christina, and Anna, and I had lots of fun acting like fools and taking lots of silly photos. I definitely had a blast at the pre-game so I knew the night was going to be a fun time. We ended up at McDonalds for some reason and I remember eating some fries. Then we hit the bar/club/disco. We all danced and had such a fun time!! They mostly sang American songs and I think we might have taken over the bar. Then we went to another bar which had more dancing, but WAY less people. It got crowded eventually! Jake and I were dancing a lot and of course just as friends because he has a girlfriend of 3 years and I totally respect that. I actually came home at 3:15AM and I told Amy (she didn't go out-she needed the night to send time with herself and talk to friends and family) how nice it was to just dance with a guy who is a friend. 

Side Note: Well things went became a little awkward in the morning, when someone thought Jake and I hooked up at the bar. Well it was a complete rumor and so not true. I was not mad at the girl that started the rumor, I was just mad that someone would think I could do something so sleazy and inconsiderate. I am known to be classy and hold myself to a very high standard. Honestly, drama just gives me anxiety, so I was a little down in the beginning of the Paris trip, but I am going to drop it now. I have already talked to the girl and Jake and everything is cool. :)