Annie Marek

Archipiélago de Colón (aka. Galapagos Islands)

2011-09-13T16:31:00.000+02:00

This week I hope to get you - all my loyal blog followers - up to speed on my last few months so get ready for it! It’s been an exciting time and I’m just itching to share it with all of you!

And I’ll start with last month where I was in the Galapagos Islands! Yes, you just read that right. (Here’s where you open a new internet screen and check where the Galapagos Islands are.) It shouldn't surprise you that it took us about 40 hours door-to-door travelling from Belgium. That included one overnight stay in the Guayaquil airport.

You might be surprised to know (like I was) that there are over 18 islands in the Galapagos but only 4 are inhabited. A great majority of the islands, 97%, are national park; and on the remaining 3% there are only about 23,000 people. I’ve put a little map for you below and circled the islands we were able to go to, some are close and only a 20 min shuttle boat ride from the Baltra airport to Santa Cruz – our “home”. And some are far away with a big ocean we never could have made it there on the transport boats.

The islands are BEAUTIFUL each one is so unique and different. It was an amazing trip and there are so many pictures I could share with you all (over 450!) - but I won’t. I think it's better to just share with you some of my favorite pics of the flora & fauna and the people...

North Seymour Island and a marine iguana

Tortoise at the Charles Darwin Station, Santa Cruz Island

The beach at Isabela Island

Blue-footed Boobies on North Seymour Island

Sea lion pup on North Seymour

Owner of an organic coffee plantation on Santa Cruz Island

Flamingos on Isabela Island

Traditional Ecuadorian dancers at the Ms. Puerto Ayora pageant on Santa Cruz Island

Me on Bartolome Island, Pinnacle rock in the distance

My fantastic (and last) MBA team! Sean, Nick, Kelly, me, Paula, Gert, Tara & Iulia

While we were on the islands we volunteered with Galapagos ICE, a USA based NGO that is dedicated to improving healthcare and education for residents of the Galapagos Islands. Working daily with Emily, the President & Founder, and Eric, the Executive Director, refueled me after my long MBA year. Now I feel like I'm ready to get back to the real world! Or almost. ;-)

Coming soon another post...the final days of MBA and graduation! :)

See you soon!
-Annie

Tearing down the wall

2011-07-16T13:19:00.000+02:00

Note - The delay in posting was due to China's internet censorship. :(

Greetings from China! Monday (6 July) was the first day of our study trip to China and I am overwhelmed by all I am seeing and tasting in Beijing! I wanted to share with you some of my first reactions of this new city, new country, and new continent for me that might interest you. This message below will be posted on my blog once I leave China (yes, China not only blocks facebook but my little blogspot too).

Beijing loves fast food. McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and even DQ. I only broke my “will not eat at USA fast food restaurants outside of the USA” rule once to have a Green Tea Blizzard. It sort of tasted like home! J

I don’t know that much about Chinese history. There are Emperors and dynasties that sound familiar but I’m not able to say who came when or even in what order. I realized this when I was walking around the Old & New Summer Place. History in this area of the world is completely unknown to me and I don’t like that. Also unknown to me was the amount of pollution in the air – look at the pics below, the white clouds are not fog but SMOG.

Old Summer Palace

New Summer Palace

Beijingers are extremely helpful and friendly. Two minutes after I open a map people not only ask if they can help me but they offer to lead me to my destination. This is has turned out to be a lifesaver because many people do not speak English (even within the tourist destinations).

We are one in a million. There are so many Chinese tourists in Beijing that foreign tourists stick out like a sore thumb. So that said often times when we’re walking we find people are taking our picture…so we started taking their picture back!

Me (purple shirt) and Paula (blond hair) with Chinese tourists

The view is always worth it. Earlier in the week my classmate Paula (from Ireland) & I did a day bike & hike tour of the Great Wall in a non-touristy area. It was hot and sunny and the Great Wall isn’t a really easy climb, it’s steep and there are many broken steps, but the view was worth it!

Did you know the Great Wall was so steep?

The Great Wall

Yes, Beijing is a great city to visit but I don’t think I could live. There are just SO many people and the city is SO huge that I think I would get lost daily.

See you later!

-Annie

PS: To my family & friends in the USA, I hope you had a great 4^th of July! I truly missed the celebration, the picnic-ing, the parades, the boating, the fireworks and most importantly seeing all of you!

NormanDy

2011-06-26T12:38:00.000+02:00

I just finished another busy month at school. For the last 8-odd weeks we have been “working” at companies for our In Company Project, think unpaid internship. But our projects came to a full stop this past week with our paper and defense. I’ll post more about that later, but today I’d like to share with you my trip to Normandy at the beginning of this month.

June 2 is a holiday in Belgium and my work was closed on the 2^nd & 3^rd so I took a long weekend and went to the Normandy area of France. Also with the Anniversary of D-Day (June 6) being so close I thought it would be a great time to visit and it was! Unfortunately the Anniversary was on Monday and I had to get back to work so I wasn’t able to attend any of the memorial services.

Normandy has been on my list to visit for years but at my grandfather’s funeral I decided I needed to go to Normandy. Now I wouldn’t describe my family as a military family, but both my grandfathers and my father served in the Army. My grandfather that passed away was stationed at a POW camp in the USA during WW2. At his burial the flag was draped over his coffin, the bugler played Taps and the poem In Flanders Fields was read. We are a patriotic family. We grew up going to church on Memorial Day, flying the flag on the 4^th of July (impressive because my parents don’t have a flagpole), and buying poppies from the Vets. Yes, I needed to go to Normandy.

I went solo and traveled by train, but for any of you thinking of visiting you really must rent a car. I would have been able to see so much more if I had my own wheels, note trains do not go to the landing beaches and they also cannot pull over so you can explore the markers along the side of the road.

In addition to the WW2 sites, there were 2 things in my guidebook that I wanted to see: Mount St. Michel and the Monet gardens.

Mount St. Michel is a rocky island (when low tide) on the northern coast of France. There is a monastery dedicated to Saint Michael (as in the Archangel). It is a maze of narrow passageways and is a completely unique place. It is one of the most visited places in all of France and I will confirm that…there were so many people!

Mount St Michel in the distance on the left and the long line of cars waiting to get in.

Mount St Michel & me.

After MSM I traveled to the Brittany American Cemetery. This was one of the times I wish I had a car. The cemetery is located 3 km outside of a city that the trains or buses don’t even go to, so I taxied it. I wanted to go to this cemetery because my grandmother told me the best man from their wedding is buried there.

Leonard Wistrcill, S Sgt 47 Inf BN 5 Armd Div, Minnesota Aug 12 1944

I arrived close to closing time and the cemetery was quiet and peaceful.

Saturday I took a mini-van tour and was able to see many places that no train would take me to. We started at the German Cemetery that has a large mass grave for over 300 unknown soldiers in the center.

Sainte Mere Eglise is the site of a large paratrooper landing on D-Day. The church honors those soldiers by depicting them as angles in the stained glass windows.

We also went to see the landing beaches: Utah and Omaha. It was a cold gray day and the wind held the voices from the past.

Omaha Beach

There were also stops on the cliff at Pointe du Hoc & Longues sur Mer to see the bombing craters and the remains of the pillboxes.

The sea of gravestones at the Normandy American Cemetery marked the end of our tour.

The day was subdued and many times we would load back in the min-van and reflect on what happened 67 years ago.

I had one more stop on my trip, Monet’s gardens. Remember from my Easter blog that I was able to see Monet’s Water Liles series, well now I was able to go to his water lily pond. Art came to life before my eyes and I was filled with inspiration.

If you weren't able to tell by the length of this post, Normany is an amazing place and I'm glad I was able to see it!

See you later!

-Annie

PS - Click HERE to see all my pics.

My Belgian Birthday

2011-05-30T19:40:00.003+02:00

All I wanted for my bday was: Waffles, Chocolate, Beer, Fries, Music, Sun, and to celebrate with FRIENDS

Yesterday was my birthday and Brussels organized a huge weekend festival for me: The Jazz Marathon. There was over 100 free concerts in the public squares outdoors and inside clubs across the city. Ok, maybe it wasn’t all for me, but it was perfect way to spend my birthday.

My birthday always falls on/near the Memorial Day holiday weekend so I’ve gotten used to celebrating it over a few days. Now Belgium does not celebrate Memorial Day, but I was still able to spread the celebration across Saturday and Sunday to make it last longer.

Saturday evening I met a group at one of the outdoor squares for the Jazz Marathon. We were so close to the Marcolini chocolcate shop I had to stop in and get some. Marcolini is said to be one of the best chocolate shops in the world and it's located right in Brussels! Unfortunately the prices are not really student-budget friendly so I hadn't been there before. If you're wondering, normal sized chocolate bars run about 9€ ($14)! So this definitely was just going to be a little tasting, we got 5 little pieces of chocolate (each about the size of a key on the computer) for 2.70€ ($4). My choice was dark chocolate with citron (lemon) which is my new favorite.

After the chocolates, we headed to another square where the band did Michael Jackson songs! It was such a fun night singing to his 70s and 80s hits and listening to the group's French monologues between each song.

On the way back to the train station we stopped at a waffle shop and had a Brussels waffle. The Brussels waffle is the same as the Belgian waffles we usually have for breakfast in the USA. (Note: it’s not my favorite that is the Liege waffles with the crystallized sugar inside.)

On Sunday I was back in Brussels at the big square – Grand Place. We arrive just as the music was starting at 3pm and since the sun was so warm, we just sat there for hours. Sitting there in the sun I had my Belgian beer & fries.

It really was such a nice relaxing weekend and I had a GREAT time with my friends. I’m not sure where I’ll be next year on my bday, but I will always remember my big 31.

But if I do happen to forget where I was, here’s my birthday picture in front of the Manneken Pis (thanks for the idea Grandma Irene!).

See you later!
-Annie

PS. View all the pics online by clicking HERE.

I love Paris in the springtime.

2011-05-14T16:14:00.002+02:00

Paris is lovely in the springtime. As you may remember I spent one day there in March and I vowed to return again, well over Easter break I did. I went there with a few classmates and fell in love with the city.
The temp was 25C (~80F) and there were people out everywhere! The parks and the streets were filled with people. Actually, every place I went to was filled with people. So many people that the queues outside the Louvre and at the Eiffel Tower were hours long. I decided that I didn’t go to Paris to wait in line and I vowed (once again) to return. I think I’ll never go up the Eiffel Tower because when I do, I’ll probably saw now I’ve done it all in Paris and I don’t need to return. L

Even though I didn’t do the “big ticket” items I did get around and see the city.

I went to the Eiffel Tower at night and took a boat tour. (I had a lot of fun playing with my new camera this trip!)

I went to the early Easter mass at Notre Dame and it turned up that it was a special mass for the Boy Scouts. The place was packed and I had to sit on the floor. (I thought of you Katey & Mark!)

An alumnus from last year’s class and fellow American invited us over for Easter brunch – THANKS AGAIN ROB (I’m so upset I forgot to take a pic of the event!). The menu was a mix of the best of USA, France & Belgium: French toast, crepes, mimosas, jello shots, can o’ cheese and chocolate fondue. Delicious! Similar to my new Thanksgiving Tequilla tradition - I think I will have to make Easter jello shots next year. I wonder if mom still has those jello egg molds?

After brunch we took a hike up to the Sacré Cœur for amazing views of the city. We found ourselves in a swarm of people which was far worse than being at the mall on a Saturday afternoon!

Later that night a few of us went to Bar Hemingway at the Ritz. This small bar was a hang of Hemingways and was named after him. To say this place was exclusive is an understatement; I’m surprised they didn’t kick us out. Cocktails here ranged from expensive to really expensive to extremely expensive (one was 500€ = $750). We each ordered one drink and took about 3 hours to drink it, just to get our money’s worth! Drinks for ladies come with a rose I guess Hemingway sure knew how to treat a woman.

This brings me to my last day in Paris. Easter Monday is a holiday and I found out too late that the museum I really wanted (d’Orsay) was closed but we found l’Orangerie open that’s home to Monet’s water lilies collection. I was shocked to discover that these paintings are huge and so much more beautiful than the pics in a book.

Before I left Paris I set out to find the Statue of Liberty Replica…or the Statue of Liberty. It was an item marked on my tourist map and I wanted to see it for myself. Here it is!

It’s 1/5^th the size of the original and faces her bigger sister to the west in NYC.

So these are my highlights from Easter in Paris 2011. I apologize that this post is longer than normal, but as you can see there is just so much to do in Paris. The first time I visited the City of Lights it was for 1 day, this time it was for 3 days, next time I think I’ll need to spend a week there. Hopefully I can fit that in before the end of the school year!

Au revoir!
-Annie

Home sweet home

2011-05-01T14:50:00.000+02:00

Well it’s about time I show you my little studio. While I wanted to show it to you months ago, I never quite got around to it. There are many reasons you haven’t seen it before, either I was too busy with school, off travelling somewhere, or my place was just a mess. Yesterday when I was grocery shopping I picked up a 6 pack of TP and I realized, this may be my last purchase of TP in Leuven. Who knew TP would bring on so many memories?!?!?
So there’s no time like now to share with you pics from the place I have called home for the past 8 months.

When first arrived in Leuven I walked around with a classmate for 2 days looking at studios. There were some that were so small I don't know if an adult would fit and some were so unpractical with a shower in the kitchen. My most favorite one though was one we never saw. We saw the Mt Everest stairway and said, no not worth it. After all those, I found this stuido: ground floor, near shopping, grocery and laundry.

Bedroom area

Fridge, office and dining area

Living area

Kitchen area with bathroom door open

As you can see it's not that big and the kitchen is essentially in a pass through to the bathroom. But it's home. Some weeks I was on campus from breakfast through dinner so I really didn't need much more than this. There are only 2 things I really wished I had - an oven and a freezer. But if you can find that in a studio in Leuven you're lucky.

My large things were provided by my landlord - bed, closet, desk, & table. And I was able to buy many things from last years student's (lamps, storage drawers, ironing board). Everything else was purchased in 2 mega trips to Ikea.

And that's it, this is my home. While I do love it, I definately hope my next place is bigger and has interior walls. :)

Happy Sunday everyone! See you later!
-Annie

Dear Auntie Annie

2011-03-30T11:53:00.000+02:00

I received the email below from my niece and I wanted to share it with you (with my sister's permission of course). This year at school has been filled with so many great people, experiences, and places to visit - but I do miss my family & friends back home. I miss the holiday gathers, the weddings, and seeing the new babies still wrinkly. Abby was just a tiny peanut when I left but she'll already be walking by the time I return home. A year may be a short time for me, but for her - it's an entire lifetime! And while email is great and skype is fantastic, it will never replace a hug! So watch out little Abby, I've been saving up hugs for you and when I see you again I'm not letting you go! ;-)

March 29, 2011

Dear Auntie Annie,

It’s me – your niece Abby!

I’m almost 9 months now and thought I’d dictate a letter to you. I like to Skype with you, but I’m big enough to send you a letter too. Don’t worry, mommy knows how to understand “daa-daa-da, baa-aaaaa-aaah, ahooooo, etc.” and write it below.

I’m so proud of you, with your hard studying and fun adventures in Europe. Going back to school after being in the working world must be a tough adjustment, but it seems like you have done quite well. Do you get report cards? If you do, I bet they look really good and deserving to be placed on the front of the refrigerator!

We look at all your pictures of the places you’ve been so far – touring Belgium, all over Italy, exploring Barcelona and quickie Paris. Mommy says she has seen movies and looked at magazines and books with these places, but you are actually there! It must be so wonderful to be so close to so many interesting places. In less time it takes daddy to drive to Omaha to see my grandma and grandpa Zadina, you can hope on a train and go on a new adventure to a historic European city. Don’t get me wrong, driving past corn fields in Iowa is fun, but I bet the scenery from your train is far more interesting!

You left Minnesota when I was a little baby last August. Thank goodness for technology and Skype! It sometimes feels that you are so close - still at home in South Saint Paul. Because of you, I love to look at the computer and “type”. Mommy says before computers people hand-wrote letters on paper, took them to the post office and they were delivered to you. Good thing we have Skype and email because we have not had much luck with the Belgium post! But even though we see you on the computer and email you, we really miss you. It’s the times when we all get together, like Christmas and Easter, when we miss you the most.

I’ve been keeping busy while you have been gone. Mommy takes me to swimming lessons once a week. So far, all I can do is float with some help, but I guess that is a good thing! I like to splash around and practice in the bathtub at night.

I also go to Early Family Childhood Education classes at school. We learn songs and play with other kids. I like to watch the other kids and talk to them.

I also love to play and watch cousin Felix – he always makes me laugh! He came over to play one Saturday and I let him use my high chair for lunch.

Other times I just play around at home. My new favorite thing is to roll around and hide under the coffee table. No crawling yet, but I’ll work on it for you.

That’s about it for now. It’s getting to be my bedtime soon. I love you very much and look forward to Skyping with you again soon!

Lots of love and kisses,
Abby

P.S. Mommy says hello and misses you too.

~Here comes the sun, do do do do~

2011-03-29T08:06:00.000+02:00

Well spring has arrived in Leuven! This Sunday we started “summer time” (aka. daylight savings), the flowers are blooming, people are wearing shorts and sunglasses, and most importantly the SUN is back.

This new season reminds me how long I’ve been here and how quickly time has passed. I arrived at the end of summer and went through all of autumn and winter. Now each season was lovely, but I do think spring might be my favorite. People are again out in the parks and everyone seems to be smiling! And with temps in the mid-teens (Celsius) you’d be smiling too.

In my spring adventures, I have started jogging and I'm exploring the nooks and crannies of Leuven on foot. Have you ever been on a run, seen something in the far horizon and decided to reach it? Or have you seen a sign with an arrow and decided to check it out? Well I have and now I can in Leuven. Unfortunately I don’t take my camera with me on my jogs, but I’ve discovered some pretty great areas in and around Leuven. One of these days I’ll walk my runs and take pics of the quaint residential area in Heverlee, the tiny city park with the little bridge, or the big statue of Mary atop the hill at the Abby. My adventures lead me down some curvy and windy roads and I sometimes get a bit “lost”. But there’s not too much to worry about, there’s always a sign that points me pack to Leuven.

One of my most favorite spring locations is the botanical gardens. It’s actually quite close to my place and it's a perfect place for a cool down walk. This time of year, there are many flowers in bloom with many more just starting to sprout up from the ground. I’m sure this place will be a favorite in the months to come.

If you click on the pic above, I've started a folder dedicated to spring (so far it’s just the gardens) but I’ll be adding to it over the next few weeks. If you’re still stuck in winter (hello to my family & friends in Minnesota and to cousin Lori & Jon in Alaska!) – these are dedicated to you!

See you later!
-Annie

A day in Pairee is not enough.

2011-03-14T17:12:00.002+01:00

Paris is less than 4 hours from Leuven by car and less than 2 hours away by super-fast train. Wow! Back in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I can’t even get to Chicago in that time. So why did it take me over 6 months to get to Paris??? I’m not sure if I remember all my reason why but I don’t have to worry about that anymore. That’s because last Friday - I went to Paris! :)

I was only in the city for the day…actually it was less than 10 hours…but it was lovely. I was able to see some of the sights and I know what I definitely want to do when I go back. The pics may not show it so well, but the weather was nice – it was about 12C (55F) with cloudy skies that would sporadically open up with the warm sun. Ahhhh… Click on the pic below to link to my album.

I know you're thinking it - no, one day in Paris is not enough, but I’ve got that covered. I’m headed back for our 3-day weekend over Easter. On the must do list is…Eiffel Tower at night, the Musee d’Orsay that’s overfilled with Impressionism paintings, and a Bike/Segway/Double-decker bus tour so I can see much much more of the city.

I’ll leave you with my favorite French phrase of the day…I was at the tourist information center and a woman from Jersey was in front of me. Jersey stated to the lady behind the counter, "I heard the Eiffel Tower is less crowded at night. Is that was true?” The lady replied, in the most perfect French accent, “Madame, there is only one La Tour Eiffel in the world. It is always busy.”

So, I'll leave you with that. As I'm sure you guessed, the super busy weeks at school are gone and we're now back to normal with our meter just set to busy. I'll be back to blogging, and keeping you up-to-date on this crazy adventure...only 6 months left.

See you later!
-Annie

Study break

2011-02-24T19:44:00.000+01:00

For all those concerned out there - yes, I'm doing ok. Sorry I haven't blogged, emailed, skyped, called, sent a letter in a while but school's been taking up all of my free time. Every day (yes, 7 days a week) I'm at campus by 9am and I stay until stomach says it's time for dinner. Some nights that's 6pm and some nights that's later, much, much later. And I'm afraid it's not getting any easier these next few weeks, take a look at my next week calendar below...

FYI: "DL" = Deadline. And yes, that's right. I have 2 large papers and 2 large presentations due next week on top of a full week of class. YOWZA is right!!!!

So that all said, I won't be blogging for a bit. This is just a little study break for me letting you know I'm ok and I'll get back to you soon!

Take care and I miss all of you!! See you soon!
-Annie

La Bella Italia!

2011-01-20T23:21:00.000+01:00

Winter break (#3/3)

Well here it is. My final post from my wonderful winter break is…drumroll please…ITALY!

Five classmates and I headed to Italy to spend the first week of winter break, Dec 20 – 27. We started in Rome, but immediately travel to Florence including a trip to Pisa and Sienna, and then returned to Rome for Christmas.

It was a really great trip and I enjoyed part of Italy I saw – how many places can you say that about?

Impressions of Florence – a dreamy city. Everywhere you look there are beautiful buildings with al fresco paintings, statues of Roman gods, ornate fountains, museums and churches that are breathtaking and when looking over the city you see a sea of red roofs.

Pretty Pisa – we didn’t spend much time here, our mission was to see the famous Leaning Tower. Mission completed.

Siena – a different Italy. Sienna is a medieval town and it was so unlike every other part of Italy we saw on this trip. My highlights of the city were the enormous piazza and the inside & out candy-stripped Duomo (cathedral).

Roma! I told my family that since I wouldn’t be coming home for Christmas, I would spend it with the Pope instead. We started with a tour of the Vatican which left me speechless, it really is overwhelming. I have never been in a place that has such wonderful rich history that continues to be written. I am Catholic and I was so excited when we were able to get into St. Peter’s Basilica for midnight mass on Christmas Eve and I was happy again to return to the square for the noon Christmas Day blessing.

While in Rome we also visited many Roman ruin sites (when in Rome!), saw the famous Tivoli fountain, the Colosseum and oh so much more. Rome itself is a living museum and everywhere you I’d see something and wonder “What’s that?” but my tourist map failed me. (Maybe next time I should travel with a Rick Steve’s book?)

One last note on Italy, the pastries, food, coffee, and wine is all amazing. I can’t do it justice by explaining it here, so I won’t even try. You just must go there and taste for yourself.

Ciao!
-Annie

And as always, click on any pic or the link below for all 447 pics I took!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Italy?authkey=Gv1sRgCOWg1ar58uPmsgE

Drinking the kool-aid.

2011-01-11T13:56:00.000+01:00

(Winter break email #2/3)

I met my friend Jill, from the USA, in Brussels on Dec 28. Jill and I have known each other since 2006 when we were selected to be part of the same Rotary GSE (Group Study Exchange) team to Germany. In those past 4 years we have had many traveling adventures together, so when she said she’d visit me where ever I was – I had no doubts. Our days GSE-ing still have so many great memories and so we started off this latest adventure by visiting a dear Rotarian friend we meet back in 2006, Walter.

Me & Jill at the Starbucks (her fav) at BRU airport

Walter is from Kircheimbolanden (Kibo), a small town in Germany “near” Frankfurt (1 hour by train). Kibo is a gem of a town that most tourists don’t think to visit since the train doesn’t pass through. But that’s their loss. Walter waited for us at the train station and greeted us with a large pretzel (so much better than flowers). Over the next 2 days, Walter gave us the tour of the town and we revisited some of the same places from years ago and he took us to some new sites.

Walter gave us a pretzel at the train station

Walter indulged our every need of Kibo. He borrowed the key for the city (literally!) so we were able to walk atop the city wall. We also visited the mountain top, but like last time, the weather kept us from seeing the view. And he even took us for schnitzel and spatzle after I stated my craving.

Don't drool on your keyboard!

We had a really great time, but my most favorite was fondue-ing at the Litchi’s. Walter and his wife Rosemary invited us over for an evening of delicious cheese, wonderful wine and home-baked Christmas cookies. But the food was nothing compared to the company. It was just so fantastic to sit around a table with Walter, Rosemary and Jill, and relive memories from years ago, debrief on the past 4 years, and discuss current situations with us and around the world.

The fondue caldron

I am so thankful for the GSE experience years ago that brought us all together and entwined our lives. I don’t know when the next time we will intersect again, but I’m looking forward to it! As my friend Greg says, I drink the Rotary kool-aid and I have a kool-aid smile. :-)

THANK YOU WALTER AND ROSEMARY FOR SHARING YOUR KIBO WITH US!

See you later,

Annie

Click on any of the pics above or the link below to see all pics from Kibo

http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Kibo?authkey=Gv1sRgCMK4uYfNju_PmwE

Winter break is officially over.

2011-01-09T02:03:00.000+01:00

I’m writting this while sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back to Brussels (I'll post it after I return to Leuven, where I don't have to pay for the 'net). It was a great three weeks off! I’m sure your just itching to hear about my experiences and I’m itching to tell you. I’ll start with my most recent adventures since it’s the most fresh in my mind…

If you’re not familiar with the weather in Belgium for the winter months let me shed some “light”. It’s either: cloudy, partly cloudy, overcast, with rain or snow but always grey. Are you surprised that my only requirement for winter break was to find the SUN?! I found it in Barcalona.

One of my friends, Jill, came over from the USA and we spent 8-long days in Barcelona. That is just the right time to enjoy the city, see everything you want and still feel like you had a relaxing vacation. After 4 months of classes, I needed some R&R. We had a great time. We walked around the city visiting museums, churches and parks. I didn’t realize that Barca was home to so many artists, we found: Picasso, Gaudi, Dali, and Degas to name a few. Good thing we weren't allowed to take pics inside many of these museums, since my blog is rated G for all audiences.

Me & Jill, 2 Americans outside the royal palace where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella greeted Columbus after he returned from discovering the new world (aka. America).

With days filled of visiting museums we needed a little different break in our culture so we went to a FC Barcelona football game (soccer). The Barca stadium is the 3rd largest in the world seating almost 99,000 fans. It was impressive but also surprising to find out that there is no alcohol served inside. It’s so common back in Minnesota to have a beer at the Vikings or Twins games – but not there. After a second thought, it’s probably a good idea that 99,000 fans don't have access to liquor. We can only guess what that much excitment fueled by mood-enhancing beverages would look like.

Those dots are people...not ants!

During our 8 days, we also took 2 day trips, the first time one was to visit Monserrat – a monestary on top a huge mountain that Rick Steve’s recommends*. We took a cable car up to the Monestary and from there a funicular up to the (almost) top of the mountain. We spent the good part of a day up there walking around, looking at the views and talking. It was breathtaking – the views and the heights!

*If you don’t know I’m a huge fan of the Rick Steve’s travel books. He’s never steered me wrong and if you’re travelling soon I highly recommend picking up one of his books.

The monestary is on the left, and I'm on the right.

Our second day trip was going to be visiting Figures and Cadaques to see the Dali museum and home. We made it to Figures but lost our way back to the bus station and missed the bus to Cadaques. Since that was going to be our chance to visit the Mediterranean Sea, we decided to head back to Barca and find the beaches there. And boy did we find the beaches, it was long and lovely, the water was cold and salty, and we had a great time.

If you're counting...since arriving in August, I’ve visited 6 countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, & Spain) and touched 2 seas (North & Mediterranean). Taking the whole of Europe, I know that’s not that impressive but I’m optimistic these next 8+ months I’ll be able to multiply those numbers. Besides all the places to visit, I’ve got friends I want to visit. So if you’re out there reading this – be warned. I’ll find you yet! :)

Take care and see you soon!

-Annie

PS - To see all my pics from Spain, click on any of the pics above or the address below: http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Espana?authkey=Gv1sRgCNf_2_mHvLevzQE

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-20T07:29:00.000+01:00

After a week of exams, a weekend trip with classmates, a social skills retreat for school, and some last minute group this past weekend I am now officially on holiday break. Yippee!

Today, hopefully if the snow keeps away, I'll be boarding a plane with 5 other classmates. We'll be spending an entire week in Italy - 2 days in Florence and 5 days (including Christmas) in Rome. Our must-see list is not too full, just the usual...Vatican museum, Roman ruins, the Pope, etc. We want to keep it as relaxing as possible because we are, after all, on holiday.

These past few weeks have been crazy. I haven't had a chance to blog and I have 3 running through my head. I'm so sorry wasn't able to do that, but since a picture is worth 1,000 words I'll share my photo albums - which are probably much more interesting anyway.

1. A small Thanksgiving celebration me and 2 other USA-ers hosted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Thanksgiving2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOro0bXxk9LrwAE

2. The Holiday spirit - from St. Nick's Day to a Holiday party and then to seeing Santa at the Christmas market:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Thanksgiving2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOro0bXxk9LrwAE

3. A train trip with 27 other classmates to Luxembourg and Trier, Germany:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/HappyHolidaysAtVlerick?authkey=Gv1sRgCP2asOi0xfrYPg

Happy Holidays! I wish you all safe travels and many moments of laughter share with the ones you love!
-Annie

Groceries

2010-11-24T21:46:00.000+01:00

I’ve been thinking about this post for a while and I can’t think of a better day to post it on then on the USA's Thanksgiving Eve.

I really didn’t realize I was so spoiled in the USA. Pre-MBA, I would hop in my car drive to my SuperTarget about 5 miles away where I could find groceries, meat, bread, electronics, and pharmaceuticals, all in 1 place! I would load enough provisions to last me for a month and take up every inch of space on my shelf or in my freezer.

It’s a bit different here in Belgium…

There is a local market on Saturday mornings where there is always a line at the large fresh fruits and vegetables stand. There are also stands at the market selling dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, olives, and bakery items, just to name a few things. I have 2 butchers near my place. I can’t tell which one is better because they both are packed each day with customers! And then there are the bakeries. Oh, the bakeries. I could write an entire blog on them alone. In fact I will. Stay tuned for the bakery post…must do more research. Mmmmm…

pics from the market

If you’re wondering yes, Belgium does have grocery stores. Since I don’t have a car, and I have to get all I buy home with my own two feet I have to go there almost weekly. I bought a fun little cart from a past student and it’s served me very well on my voyages to the grocery store. You’d be surprised how many things it holds!

Inside the grocery store still is a maze to me. I worked in a small grocery store during in my high school years, so I’m too stubborn to ask where something is located. I wonder around the store and make a mental note where things are. Today I found that sugar (granulated and powder) is conveniently kept by the coffee and tea, 3 aisles away from the flour. And the flour is kept in the baking aisle near to the maple syrup – YES! I found real maple syrup here!

O'Canada!

So I’m finding my way around the store, but many items are just different here. Vanilla extract for cooking is replaced by vanilla sugar. Bacon is only thin sliced. And there is no comparable peanut butter here. I really didn’t eat a lot of peanut butter pre-Belgium but now I miss it. One of the other USA-ers here reintroduced me to the jelly sandwich (which I don’t think I enjoyed since I was 12) – but it’s missing something, like a big smearing of Skippy. I miss it so much I asked my family to “Please send peanut butter” along with my winter wardrobe in my care package.

There are a few Belgium-isities in the grocery stores related to the country’s fondness to chocolate and waffles.

Here is a pic of the chocolate section of my small local store.

And here are some pics of the waffles area. Waffles here are a snack, not breakfast, and come in many shapes, forms and food-ness: ie. the honey filled waffle cracker a friend introduced me to.

One note on grocery stores is most close at 7/8pm and are not open on Sundays. That just adds a little fun to this student's life.

I hope you enjoyed this post and think about me the next time you're walking through Sam's Club, Rainbow, or my fav SuperTarget! Would you be able to carry everything that's in your cart home? :)

And last but not least HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Thank you to everyone out there for letting me be in your life! I have SO much to be grateful for this year: all my family and friends that are constantly supporting me, my new friends in Beligum that have taught me so much, and this year I'm especially grateful to all the Rotary family members who work each day to better the world - thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity.

See you later!

-Annie

Rotaract Road Trip: Brugge & Oostende

2010-11-15T20:19:00.001+01:00

I did a quick recap of my vacations (aka. holidays) the past few years and realized that most have been because of Rotary - Chicago, LA, Ireland, Denmark, Germany. It’s pretty much guaranteed that each year I take a Rotary trip to the PreConvention and usually add on my own a pre or post trip on top of it. I go to the PreCons (our cool slang term) because they are loads of fun - there are so many incredible people from all over the world and we form instant friendships through our connection to Rotary!

Pic from PreCon 2010 in Montreal, Canada

So it’s no wonder when my Rotaract friend Lars (on the pic above - on the right in the hat) & I headed on a road trip to Brugge this last weekend we had a great time. I don’t think I’ve laughed so much since I arrived in Belgium. But that’s most likely because Lars has known me for years and not just months like my classmates.

If you’re not familiar with Brugge…well read about it on wiki or to see it with a Hollywood flair check out the movie In Bruges (warning – it’s a bit of a dark comedy and rated R). Some of my non-Belgian-familiar friends might be confused ... Brugge = Bruges, Brugge is the Dutch spelling and Bruges is the English.

Anyway, back to the weekend -
Shortly after arriving we went to the chocolate museum. Yes, I did say the chocolate museum and you can stop drooling now. It was a very educational and interesting place – I learned about the history of chocolate, what makes milk, dark, and white chocolate different, I saw a chocolate Pres Obama and even a chocolate “fountain” Manekin pis that pees chocolate. I couldn't possibly make that up - see below.

Saturday we went on a night tour of Brugge in the rain. The rain made it a real Belgisch (yes that’s a word – see photo album link below) experience because it rains nearly every day or at least it looks like it’s about to.

On Sunday we hopped a canal ride for a new view of the city and the rain actually stayed away. But see, it still looks like it’s about to rain.

And since I’ve never been to the North Sea and Lars has a car, we went up to the coast to Oostende for a seafood dinner. Still looks like it's going to rain, doesn't it?

Surprisingly, we made it the whole day on Sunday with absolutely NO rain.

It really was a great weekend, I had a lot of laughs, spent time with a good friend and for a weekend I forgot about all my classwork waiting for me in Leuven.

See you later,
Annie

PS – You can click here to see my entire photo album from the wkend.

A Festival of Nations

2010-11-04T22:30:00.000+01:00

Last week we had an all campus celebration of all of countries (over 40!): The Intercultural Event. It was such a great time we’re still talking about it. There was great food, great drinks, awesome singing and dancing by our classmates! The only unfortunate thing about it was there was so much food I didn’t get to try it all! Hopefully the night happens again and I make it over to the tables I missed this time. :)

I’m sure your wondering what the USA brought to the party. Well after much discussion we decided on s’mores. S’mores are something known to the whole US AND is not from another country. Really what else could we have done? I know my friends in MN are thinking “Why not a hotdish?”, well I don't think that would represent my friends from Texas, Colorado, or NY. And of course there’s other dishes, but each of those (like we US citizens ourselves) comes from someplace else…hamburger, hotdog, chips, etc. So s’mores it was. Did you know that not many people outside of the US knows what a s’more is? We weren’t able to find a suitable fire, so we had to use a microwave but it worked and they were a hit! My favorite comment of the night was, “Leave it to the USA to invent something like this”. Note to all s'more lovers - they are 110% better with Belgian chocolate!

me with the s'more and James demonstrating how big you have to open your mouth to eat them

I also cooked with a couple of my classmates from Slovakia. I have such a strong Czech ancestry (75%) I guess we could be cousins! So we held a family reunion of the former Czechoslovakia and cooked koblihy (or shishky in Slovakia). We made over 130 and cooked for 7 hours! It was a lot of effort but mostly tons and tons of fun. And as for our results – well the koblihy didn’t turn out as good as grandma’s but for our 1st attempt they were pretty good (besides grandma’s been making them for decades). I was also sharing with the guys that I grew up in Veseli, near a town called New Prague - which has Dozinky days. I also shared with them the Czech phrases I know: “How are you”, “Give me a kiss” and “Lick my butt.”. Can you tell which ones I learned from my grandma and which one from crazy uncles?

Marek (his 1st name!) showing off the koblihy

So it really was a great time and I can go on and on. But since a pic is worth 1000 words, I'll let them do the speaking!

a live music performance

dancing from all over the world

just one of the many many delicious tables

too many countries to count

Enjoy your week and see you later!

-A

The Great Pumpkin!

2010-10-31T22:56:00.000+01:00

When I was a kid Halloween was easily my favorite holiday hands down, but not that I’m an adult it’s one of my least favorites. Well it was until this year…

When I was little, I enjoyed dressing up in a costume that you could show your grandma, and note that this costume could hold it’s own against the unpredictable MN weather (ie. the great Halloween bizzard of 1991!), and I also liked the pumpkin carving. Oh the pumpkin carving!

While I don’t remember the very first time I carved a pumpkin, I do have many fond memories of carving sessions. I remember going to the grocery store with the family and picking out a pumpkin so big we could barely carry it. Then my sisters, brother, and I would sit on the cold basement floor with newspapers surrounding us and our “tools” (real knives, screwdriver, you name it) scattered about. I have many happy memories about Halloween. And now I will add Halloween 2010 to that list.

Most of my classmates had never carved a pumpkin before. Even one of my classmates said – I’ve only seen that on cartoons. My reply was – we actually do that! So Friday night we had a pumpkin project at school. We went to the Colyurt to buy our pumpkins – since carving isn’t common here, we had to buy pie pumpkins (one-fifth the size of the ginormous carving pumpkins in the USA). Then we went back to campus, spread out yesterday’s newspaper and started carving!

...concentrating...

pumpkin guts

even our 3-armed classmated joined in the fun and made 2 pumpkins

I really had a really great time and I think my classmates did too! I want to thank each one of them for a super fun night and I won’t ever forget their first pumpkin carving!

Vlerick pumpkin project team 2010

See you later!

-A

P.S. Thank you to Tracy & Debby for letting me take your pics from fb!

Mechelen, Be.

2010-10-18T08:15:00.001+02:00

As promised, I went out and explored my new home instead of posting a "normal" blog. I went with a classmate to Mechelen - just 30 minutes from Leuven by train. Click on the link below to see the whole album!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/Oct2010Mechlen02?authkey=Gv1sRgCMy1247BuJT3hAE

See you later!
-Annie

REM (not the band)

2010-10-06T23:32:00.000+02:00

Last weekend (1 – 3 October) was the fall REM. That’s Rotaract Europe Meeting and not the band. I haven’t been to a REM concert but the Rotaract thing is super fun!

Living in the USA, I’ve restricted my Rotaract travels to the location of the Rotary International Conventions aka. RIC (2005 Chicago, 2006 Copenhagen, 2007 Salt Lake City, 2008 Los Angeles, 2009 Birmingham UK, 2010 Montreal). I always have a great time at these celebrations – yes that’s right the Conventions are a celebration. It’s a gathering of hundreds of Rotaractors from all over the world to share ideas, partner on service projects, and to get to know each other and celebrate together our common mission. Just look at these pictures below from the Birmingham and Montreal RIC. Doesn’t it look fun?

Ok, but now I’m in Belgium and I’ll count that as Europe. So I’m going to take every chance I get to go to the Rotaract meetings over here. The first one was REM in Amsterdam – it only takes 2 hours to get to Amsterdam from Brussels. The weekend went by very quick; I arrived on Friday night and left Sunday after breakfast. The committee put on a really good show: opening session in a “not that old” church (which means built in the 1800’s), local pub crawl with host clubs, more meetings, canal tour, Heineken tour, and a fancy dress gala.

But the best part about it was it was so good seeing my friends again – some of those Rotaractors I’ve been Conventioning with since 2005 and some I just met in June in Montreal. This time in Amsterdam I met another great bunch of them from all over Europe and I’m excited to see them again in January at the next REM in Belgrade! (Click below to look at my pictures.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/REMOct2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_Fj_Kkre74ugE

See you later,
Annie

FYI - Amsterdam is far too big to see it all in just 36 hours so I’ll be back sometime this year.

A year

2010-09-23T00:04:00.007+02:00

I often think about my life a year ago: A year ago, I didn’t know I would be a full-time MBA student. A year ago, I didn’t know I was going to move away from all my family & friends and the only home I’ve ever known. A year ago, I didn’t know I was going to leave my job for a big unknown adventure.

A year ago, I wanted to experience something great that would change my world. I was not thinking about Belgium or Vlerick*, but now that I’m here I can’t imagine being anywhere else but sitting in -1.01 at Vlamingenstraat 83, 3000 Leuven. (*You can read about my crazy adventure to Vlerick in my June post.)

What a difference a year makes. This past year has flown by and I know the 2010-11 school year will go by just as fast.

We’re only 3 weeks into the MBA program and we’ve already finished 4 classes - of which 2 have papers due in mid-Oct and 1 has an essay test due in early Oct. We have 3 more classes in the works, oh and I can’t forget that we have to keep up with our CVs and the career opportunities that come our way. We will have over 20 courses, 1 in-company project, 1 study trip to China, and 1 NGO project all within 12 months. I know what you’re thinking…WOW!

And that’s exactly what I was thinking. But then I stepped back and remembered something in my handy-dandy 2010-11 Ambassadorial Scholarship Handbook from RI:

While your studies are important, they are not the foremost reason you were selected as a Rotary Scholar. Don’t spend all of your time studying. Realize that the greatest education this year will not come from a textbook or coursework. :)

Now it’s shortly after midnight here on September 23. This is a very unforgettable date for me and a group of people. If I was with you last year on this date, I am so grateful for what I learned from each and every one of you. You have impelled me to improve upon my life; my experience here will be richer because of you.

On that note, I’m going to bed.

See you later,
Annie

People and places.

2010-09-02T18:40:00.000+02:00

I realized I haven’t yet mentioned anything about the people I’m meeting and my new city: Leuven.

My classmates. Day was day 2 of class and I’m so happy to finally meet everyone. Before class started, I only met about 30 of my classmates (out of over 80). I met the first 30 around Leuven before class began - you’ve probably seen them in my pics. It was nice meeting them on a smaller scale; I was able to talk to them individually and I had a chance to get know them. So meeting the remaining 50 was a little overwhelming - I’m so happy we’re wearing name badges! My classmates are from all over the world and I think my class is about 90% international. That’s one of the reasons I chose a European business school, the internationality of the classroom is unlike anywhere else in the world. I’ve met classmates from Singapore, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Kenya, Colombia and so many other places. We all have our reasons why we chose Vlerick, but there’s one underlying theme for all of us: to experience something new, to work with people from all over the world and to learn from them. I usually don’t put a lot of weight in first impressions but after meeting my classmates I think I can safely say that this is going to be one amazing year!

Rotarian and Rotaractors. Leuven has a Rotary Club and is home to the largest Rotaract club in the district. I attended my first Rotary meeting on Tuesday night and was able to meet and talk to many of the Rotarians there. Their meeting was held at 7pm over supper at a restaurant in a nearby town, Kessel-lo. The meeting was in Flemish, which unfortunately I don’t know, but I think I was able to understand some of it. If I listen hard enough I can pick out a few works and know what’s going on. Their presentation for the meeting was by a club member and former Rotaractor, she was talking about the results that came from a joint meeting Rotary-Rotaract brainstorming session about how to connect the 2 clubs. That’s a topic that I’m always interested in. :-) My next Rotary event is on Sunday - a walk through part of town followed by a bbq. I’ve only met 1 Rotaractor so far, he was kind enough to pick me up from my airport hotel and take me to Leuven, hopefully on Sunday I’ll meet more of them.

Leuven. Leuven really is a small city with a big university. I get everywhere by foot. Some of my classmates rented bikes but I’m enjoying the walks. At home, I need a car. Places are far away and there is no mass transportation that takes me from home to work or home to shopping. Here in Leuven, I live near the center of the city and yes it’s a bit loud but I like the city noise. It’s also no more than a 20 minute walk to anywhere I need to go. The town has everything I need, but I need to go to many stores to get my shopping list done - I’m used to Super Target. Here in Belgium I go to the Apotheek (pharmacy), Delhaize (grocery), Hema (household), Kruidivat (drugstore…different than pharmacy), fnac (electronics), and then there’s the numerous clothing and shoe stores. I also need to make sure I get my shopping done before they close. Most stores (including grocery) close at 6pm and are not even open on Sunday. I’m used to 24/7 from the USA so this one is taking me a some time to get used, but I’m really enjoying the lazy Sundays…which I’m sure will become study Sundays as soon as school picks up.

My studio. Ok if you’ve been wondering yes, I’ve moved into my studio but it didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped. I haven’t been able to unpack because I don’t have a wardrobe and they’re finishing the renovation so every day they come in and do something and I get home and clean up after them. I just want to unpack already. They promise me on Saturday I’ll have it, but this will be their 3rd promised day…I’m not optimistic. So it’s not presentable and definitely no pics.

If you have any questions let me know and I’ll try to answer them all.

See you later!
-Annie

BRU 28 Aug 10

2010-08-29T16:32:00.000+02:00

And now, pics from Sat afternoon and dinner in Brussels!

Leuven

2010-08-29T16:27:00.000+02:00

Finally! Pics from Leuven, click on the pic below.

The great search

2010-08-26T12:07:00.000+02:00

I’ve been in Leuven only 5 days now, but it feels like a lot longer…in a good way. I’ve been walking in the city each every day and learning my way around city center and slowly learning how to pronounce the name of the streets like Bondgenotenlaan and Vesaliusstraat.

My mission the first few days has been my housing for the year. You see my school, Vlerick, is only a grad school and doesn’t have student housing. But the Katholieke University (KU is the oldest Catholic Univ in the world) is also in Leuven and has temporary accommodations available. My temp housing is about a 15-20 minute walk away from city center (which is a nice walk except when it’s raining). I’m safe and warm here but I need to find a place to live for the year. I arrived in Leuven on Saturday and started my great search on Monday … after I got a local phone – a necessity when calling prospective landlords.

The International Student Housing office at KU provides assistance in finding a place to live (well they have computers to search the web and phones to use) but they also have people that will read your Dutch lease and help you with Leuven law. So it’s helpful, but what has also been extremely helpful is my classmates and my own 2 feet. I got a lot of great advice from classmates that arrived before me, I also walked around with another classmate that was also hunting and it was really the walking and calling numbers listed on TE HUUR (for rent) signs. And in the end I called a rental agent and found a studio within 2 hours – I move in on Monday. I’m glad I started by looking on my own, when I went with the agent I had a general idea of what’s available and prices. It was less than what I wanted in a studio and a bit more than what I wanted to spend but I heard all the good places with good prices were taken way back in June. So I’m happy with what I have, it’ll work for the year. Once I move in I’ll post pics of my place, because I know you just can’t wait!

Finding housing was really important. Why you ask – well it’s the final step for the visa. My USA passport only gets me 90 days as a tourist so to stay for the year I need a student visa. The Belgium gov’t requires many things to get this visa – from my tax return, bank records & pay stubs to FBI record to a medical certificate. So I sent all these docs to the Embassy in NYC and I eventually got my visa back …except it’s only good until Nov 15, 2010! I was so concerned, but it turns out that this is just provisional and I need to finish the process after I actually arrive in Leuven. Now the process is go to city hall no more than a few days before move-in and register with them (they need a copy of my lease and to be safe I’ll bring all my docs from school). Then the city sends a police officer to my address to make sure I live there. Really.

So it’s now Thursday and I move on Monday. I don’t want to shop for things for my studio because I don’t want to buy more I need to move from here to there. And it’s raining outside – again. Maybe instead of shopping for household items I’ll shop for a rain coat. I think I’m going to need more than the 1 I brought. ;-)

Later!
-Annie

The journey

2010-08-23T06:58:00.000+02:00

I'm 2 days in Leuven and things are going great. I met a great Rotaractor from Leuven that was so kind to not only pick me up from my hotel near the airport in Brussels but take me around Leuven and show me the city. Then today - day 2 - I met many people from my class and had a great time getting to know them.

I know you're all itching to see pics, but before I show pics of Leuven I wanted to share pics from my journey to get here. A couple pics at the begining are from a goodbye supper my immediate family had for me. Then there's a few from my parents house my day of departure, the airport, and then me on my journey to BRU. I flew Icelandair (love them!) first class due to a sweet summer sale that made my ticket less than 50% what other airlines charged. First class also gives much more luggage allowance and access to the 1st class lounge in Iceland. I had 2 checked bags (70 lbs each) and 2 carryons (20 lbs each). That's a good start to what I need for the year but I left my big winter coat and boots at my parents...word is I'll need them soon.

So enjoy these pics below (click on the pic to link to my picasa site) and there'll be more soon!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Annie.Marek/TheJourney?feat=directlink

My adventure begins

2010-08-20T10:12:00.001+02:00

Well it’s been a crazy rollercoaster of emotions these last few weeks. Each day has been filled with many highs and lows, everything from deep belly laughs with friends to the stress of preparing for a year away. I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time with my family and friends. I didn’t get everything perfectly organized like I wanted. And I definitely didn’t get enough sleep. But yesterday at 7:20pm I boarded my plane. And that’s what I’ve been saying from the start, as long as I can get on that plane I’ll be fine – and it doesn’t matter if I don’t have one piece of luggage with me.

Ha! But I did have luggage, lots of luggage. 2 checked bags (up to 70 pounds each), 2 carry-ons (up to 20 pounds each) and 1 purse. All of this was included with my first class ticket on Icelandair. I was so lucky when I was booking my flight that Icelandair had a huge air sale for the flight I wanted to take. My first class ticket on Icelandair was less than half what other airlines were charging for coach – and there weren’t any coach seats left on my flight. I like first class there’s more leg room, a free paper, and a meal option. I think all my traveling should be first class from now on.

Me in my seat, notice the leg room!

I am so grateful to every one that helped me and supported me these last few months. Thank you to my family that became my team of personal assistances – helping me with everything from laundry to shopping errands and even sending faxes. Thank you to my friends that listened to me and helped me keep my stress level low. Thank you to all the Rotarians and Rotaractors that have helped me prepare for this process, I’m inspired by all your selfless acts and am so honored to represent you. And thank you to everyone out that came to my party, called me on the phone, sent me a message, or met me for lunch/supper/coffee – these moments are my treasured memories.

See you later!
-Annie

Only 6 days.

2010-08-14T06:46:00.000+02:00

This last week has flown by and I know the next one will go by even quicker. Last Friday was my going away party and I was so glad to get a chance to see so many family and friends in one place. It was a nice warm Minnesota night which I know I’ll miss in the cooler temps of Belgium. I posted the pics under The Marek going away party tab.

Then on Saturday was what usually is my most favorite night of summer (trumped only by my going away party): Twin Cities Rotaract Annual Drive-in. This tradition has been going on in my club far before I joined 7 years ago and I’m going to miss it next year. We always get a big group to go we grill out before dark and then the good ole fashioned 1950’s fun begins! The Drive-in plays 3 movies, but I never make it through the 3rd one. Here’s most of our crew this year but for some reason only 1 cooler got in the pic, believe me we had a lot more food than that.

TC RAC Annual Drive-in Movie night 2010

The rest of the week has been a blur of activity. Between meeting up with more friends, dentist appointments, Rotary & Rotaract meetings (where I received a Paul Harris Fellow!), numerous visits to the bank, and many other miscellaneous errands I haven’t had much time to pack or even think about packing. That’s probably a good thing because I know I need to still go shopping. So that’s what I’ll do tomorrow, shop. Sunday is for pre-packing. Mon, Tues, & Wed are to finalize everything. Then on Thurs (only 6 days away!) at 19:20 I hop a plane to Brussels and my real journey begins!

The Marek going away party

2010-08-07T21:37:00.002+02:00

Last night was my going away party (tear). It was a great Minnesota night and I was so happy to spend it with my amazing family & wonderful friends!

Click on the photo above to see pics from the night.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end."

2010-08-05T17:37:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was my last day of work and it was pretty sad. I’ve only been at the firm a little less than 2 years, but I know my experiences there will always play a huge part in my career. I also realized that yesterday was my last day of working for at least 13 months! I’ve been working since ever since I was 16 - at least part time – so it’s a little weird to think that I won’t be employed again until next October.

I won’t have time for work while I’m in school. The MBA program will be keeping me busy during the “working hours” of the day. In the remaining time, I’ll be getting to know my classmates, my new home, connecting to Rotary & Rotaract and traveling. I know that will keep me busy, so why try to fit working into that mix?

I’m a little uneasy about the lack of income for a year. Don’t we always want our revenue to be greater than our expenses? Oh - I don’t want you to think that I don’t have the money thing figured out - I am an accountant after all. The Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship covers a super majority of my tuition. As for the remaining tuition balance and my living expenses, I will be using FAFSA and my own savings account. So I know I’ll be fine.

Ok, but back to the Semisonic lyric…over these last 2 weeks in the US I’ll have a lot of endings and goodbyes. There are the little things I think about each day, like not driving for a year, not being able to read a sign on the street, not going to Target, and not seeing the American Flag hanging from the light poles. Then there are the big things…like all the people I will miss, all the birthdays, the holidays, and the so many other events that individually are small but together add up to a year.

I know that this will be difficult but I have 2 options. I can either, number one, sit in my apartment all day and skype or email my family & friends back home. Or, number two, I can go out and embrace my new friends, explore my new city and welcome this new culture. I choose number two - because then I’ll really be living.

Packing

2010-07-26T04:52:00.000+02:00

I’ve been busy packing up my condo these last few days and I’m amazed at how much stuff I’ve accumulated in the past 5.5 years. From clothing to kitchen wares to office supplies – I’m just amazed at the stuff I had that was not necessary. I already donated two car loads to Goodwill and Bridging and my car is packed for the number three trip tomorrow. How did I collect all of this stuff or more importantly why? Maybe it’s simply because I had the space to fill. I had a two bedroom condo so I needed to fill that second bedroom. I had a big closet so I needed to fill it with lots of clothes. But it was really all unnecessary. I think I’m really going to learn how much I don’t really need this year.

So what do I pack for school? And how do I get it there? These are the really big questions that keep me up at night. When I arrive in Leuven, I’ll be in temporary housing until I find an apartment to rent for the school year. I think I should be able to find a place within a week or two. (Let’s hope!) So the temporary living situation makes me think I take a “small” bag and then have someone mail me a more of my clothes when I have a long-term place to stay. Then I start to think about summer vs. winter climates and clothes. But as a Minnesotan I think I’m overly prepared for that. In Belgium, the average low in the winter months is about 33F (.6C) with an average high of 42F (5.6C). Which actually sounds pretty nice compared to the bitterly cold Minnesota winters with record lows of -40F (-40C)!

Ok, focus Annie. And back to packing the condo. I just a few more boxes left and I’ll be all set for the movers to show up on Tuesday. After I get all my belongings into a 10’ x 10’ storage unit, I have just over 3 weeks to think about my next round of packing…oh, I can’t wait.
-Annie

Crossing things off...

2010-07-21T06:18:00.000+02:00

Just a quick update from my to-do list...

*My condo is rented (YAY) so I'm mid packing right now. I have to be out by July 28...so soon!
*I received my FBI record back in record time. Thanks to my Senator!
*I mailed my completed VISA application to the Belgium Embassy in NYC. Hopefully there's no hang ups there.
*I put in my official notice at work - my last day is Aug 4.
*I bought a one-way plane ticket for Aug 19 to Brussels on Icelandair. My calendar says that's less than a month away...aaahhhh!

Also - my friends and family are throwing me a going away party on Fri. Aug 6 at the Split Rock Grille (Radisson - Water Park of America). If you're in town, please stop by and say "hi" and "bye"! Click HERE for the link and you should be directed to the website, just enter your name to get added to the guest list.

Vaarwel for now!
-Annie

The To-Do list

2010-07-16T06:30:00.000+02:00

I started a to-do list a few weeks ago and each day I add something to it. I wish I could also say each day I cross something off...but that's just not happening. I mention my to-do list to friends and they laugh, I'm not quite sure why. It's not funny. Or maybe it's just not funny to me. Hopefully my to-do list below gives you a little glimpse of what's running through my mind, and hopefully it makes you laugh. :)

I included all the items from my original list even the completed ones...as you can see there are not too many...

*Renew my passport. Must get an expedited passport through the mail, can't do same day in Mpls. (COMPLETED)
*Figure out medical insurance while in Belgium. (Update - will purchase when in country, school will assist)
*Make a dentist appointment
*Should I get life insurance?
*Give current employer official resignation letter with end date.
*Schedule exit interview with HR
*Email new FB friend from Russia (COMPLETED)
*Complete Belgium VISA application
*Get FBI record. Contact Senator for possible assistance. (Update - I got a phone call today, July 15, it's in the mail!)
*Email Rotary program counselor update (COMPLETED - 7.6.10)
*Phone call with 5960 chair for status update (COMPLETED - 7.6.10)
*Contact REM committee for ticket, accommodations ? (COMPLETED)
*Email RI counselor questions (COMPLETED wk of 7.12.10)
*Email school list of questions (PENDING answers from school)
*Provide 5960 chair update
*Find friends in Belgium. By that I mean contact the Rotaract Club of Leuven and current AS in Belgium. (COMPLETED)
*Book REM accommodation, purchase ticket
*Pack and organize my condo
*Buy a plane ticket
*Take computer to the geeks for a checkup
*Update my blog! :)

So that's my list as of 11:30pm on July 15. I know there's a lot of things that I'm forgetting...but I don't have time to sit down and write out my to-do list. So if you know of anything I'm overlooking - please let me know!

-Annie

The last 6 months...

2010-06-27T18:01:00.003+02:00

I am so happy that I will be attending the MBA program at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium!

This process has Even though I applied for the Ambassadorial Scholarship over a year ago, my journey has really just been over the last 6 months. I could go on for pages about this process - but I don't think that would be very interesting to you. And if I start to be boring now, before I even leave the USA, I'm afraid I'll lose you to much more interesting blogs out there.

So instead I'll give you a quick summary of the last 6 months in my life:

*I applied to 5 universities and each one had a different application process. All had essay requirements, some had phone interviews, and a few even had skype interviews.

*I took the GMAT and was happy with my score. Since I got accepted to each university I applied to, I know that schools were also happy with my score too.

*I had to make the difficult decision of which university to attend. Each one I applied to was great but in the end I felt chose Vlerick because I felt the international experience, corporate partnerships, and location were a better fit for me.

*I have been spending as much time as I can with my family, friends and Rotaract clubmates. I know I'll miss them all so much!

*I just returned from the Rotary International Convention in Montreal. It was wonderful meeting up with my friends again and I can't wait to meet up with them in Europe! I also was sharing stories with Yvette & Clemens, 2 other Rotaractors from Germany, who are Ambassadorial Scholars this year to Ireland and Australia, respectively. It really is a small world afterall!

Hello family & friends!

2010-06-27T06:06:00.001+02:00

I am so honored to be selected as an Ambassadorial Scholar by Rotary District 5960 (Minnesota & Wisconsin, USA) and proud to be sponsored by West St. Paul/Mendota Heights Rotary Club. The next year of my life will be so exciting and I’m looking forward to participating in this amazing program of the Rotary Foundation!

I have been an active member of the Rotary family since I joined Twin Cities Rotaract in the summer of 2003. Soon after joining the club, I began to take on leadership roles within the club and have served on the executive board ever since. I am currently the 2009-10 President of the club but my term ends on June 30, 2010. In the past, I have had other opportunities to travel with Rotary. In 2006, I was selected to be a team member on a Group Study Exchange and traveled to Rotary District 1860 in Germany. I also have traveled to the past 6 Rotary International Conventions where I have made lifetime friendships with Rotaractors and Rotarians all over the world.

I grew up in Veseli, Minnesota, a small rural town 40 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, where my family and friends were all close. I stayed nearby for college and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls in 2002 with a double major in Accounting and Finance. I have been working in public accounting for over 7 years and for the past 2 years I have been working as a financial statement auditor and business consultant. Recently I was on a team assisting one of our clients with an initial public offering (IPO) for the NYSE.

I really enjoy what I do. I work with many different companies in a variety of industries and am able to work with a great teams of people. I also like working with numbers which is a very good thing for an accountant. :) My past work experiences have made me want to further my professional career. An International MBA program will allow me to expand my business knowledge, participate in a cross culture learning environment and will help me strengthen my leadership skills.

I am so happy to have Rotary International providing me this scholarship. Rotary is a large part of my life and has become a second family to me. During my scholarship year, I will be involved with the local Rotaract and Rotary Clubs. I hope to attend as many events and participate in as many service projects as my schedule will afford. I also hope to connect with the Rotaractors I've met at the conventions and continue our friendships.

Thank you for following me and I hope you are as excited as I am!

In Rotary and Rotaract Service,
Annie Marek