So, here I am again, writing an overdue blog. I’m not sure if anyone even will read this thing anymore, but I thought I’d post just for fun. What’s happened since the last time you heard from me on here (yeah, back in June!)? In no particular order, some random happenings from the last 5 months:

1. The Duke Program was awesome. They’ve asked me back for next summer as well!  It was also great to see my whole family in North Carolina for a family reunion!

2. I finished up my internship with Global Human Rights Defence but am still freelancing for them working on editing country reports for submission to Dutch agencies as well as UNHCR and other involved human rights agencies.

3.I’ve stopped playing soccer as I’ve had even less time than I had imagined with my job search, classes, Dutch lessons, etc. I miss playing, but overall it was a good choice.

4. The first block of classes for my master’s this fall are over as of last week. I had a general course on Public International Law as well as Human Rights in International Relations. The grades have not come back yet, but I have a pretty good feeling about them.

5. I go to Brussels, Belgium tomorrow for a conference involving the subject matter of my research I’m working on at the University (the role of NGOs in post-conflict societies). It’ll be my first time in Brussels, so I’ve planned an extra few hours before the conference to check out what the city has to offer.

6. The job search is in full effect. I’ve sent off about 5 applications to various tribunals and organizations in the Hague and have had one interview. I should find out in the next week and a half or so if the job is mine. I would really, really like that if it were the case, but I’ll keep you posted.

7. I’ve started playing Squash here in Utrecht sometimes with Stijn on the weekends. It’s basically a different version of racquetball and I really dig it!

8. I was able to go back to Dallas over the weekend of 26 September to see my beautiful best friend Amanda get married. It was a whirlwind weekend but a great time and a beautiful wedding. It was also nice to see my friends!

9. Looking ahead, Stijn and I are headed to the US for Christmas vacation from 16-31 December. We’ll spend the majority of the time with my parents in Ohio, but we’ll also drive to Kansas to see the extended family for the holidays. We’re also preliminarily planning a side trip to Washington, DC and New York…that would be my first time in either city, so if you have suggestions, please send them along!

10. I hope to graduate from my master’s program at the end of January. The only two things that stand in my way for that are a Moot Court class and my thesis. Time is ticking for both, but I hope to make it out alive

That’s about it for the update. Sorry it’s pretty bare and that it’s been so long. Maybe I’ll be better about keeping you up-to-date in the near future, especially about the job and the upcoming travels. If you’re still reading this, I’d love to hear from you about what you’ve been up to!

Tot ziens!

So, short and sweet recap:

Christmas: fast and furious whirlwind tour through the US. Great to see family, wish I had seen more friends, but 10 days is short when you have a long list of things to do.

New Year’s: On a plane back to NL from US with my dog, Sunshine. As uneventful as it sounds.

New Apartment: Fabulous. Lush. Posh. Everything I wanted it to be and more. Will post pics soon (I hope).

Ski Trip: Awesome. Learned how to snowboard. Learned how to not be so afraid speaking Dutch. Learned that Apres Ski is sometimes as fun as being on the slopes. Hope to get back on a mountain soon.

LLM: Just started it this week. International Criminal Courts and Guilt of Nations are my two classes. It’s going to be intense, but it’s going to be fun. Of course, more to come re: this.

Research Project: Up to 50 pages and still going strong. I meet with Ian tomorrow to track our progress.

Other Thoughts: Love Barack Obama. Hope someone investigates Bush Co. Would love a trip to the beach somewhere soon. Not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day without a valentine. Anxious for birthday #27 on 22 feb. Sorry for being lame and not posting for a while. Hope you’re all well!

Tot ziens
xx

Hallo allemaal!!

I have just a quick post to make about my big news today: I landed an apartment from 1 January on…it is fabulous and I get to bring my dog, Sunshine. It is about 5 minutes biking to the center, 10 to my soccer practices/games, and 5 or so to class…and it’s in a great location (ironically on the intersection where I had my fun bike accident with the car I blogged about a while back–random!)

It is on the Jan van Scorelstraat … here’s the outside view of my building. I’m on the achterzide (back side…with a deck terrace…just wait for it!)

And the inside view out to the deckterrace with the beautiful double doors:

From the big double doors, here’s the view towards my bed (notice the fabulous light fixture, too!):

The Kitchen is next (and yes, it is a washer in the kitchen…but we don’t judge–space is a premium in the NL and why not have the washer in the kitchen?!):

The final photo is kind of a view from the entry-way hall–it’s nice that the kitchen is separate from the rest of the living space. The shower is to the left as is the toilet:

I’m really looking forward to living in this place and to be able to have my dog. We will definitely enjoy the space!

In other news, I have found an amazing website: www.kersthits.nl where it’s possible to listen to all the christmas music one can stand! Check it out if you’re in the mood for festive songs and not too tired of it from the radio stations already

At any rate…soccer game Saturday and also another all-club party Saturday night…the theme for this one is “When I was younger, I was a fan of…” and you must dress as anyone whom you idolized in your youth. I don’t know about idolatry, but I always thought Madonna was pretty freaking awesome…so I might go for a Madonna look, circa 1984…but maybe a little more classy than the following:

No matter what happens, I’m sure it’ll be fun. Still have not received my digital camera in the mail, sadly, so I won’t be able to post photos of mine…but maybe some from our website will be on there. Oh yes, speaking of websites and our soccer team, check this out! Goals #1 and 4 are brought to you by me…some of you may have seen this because I posted it to facebook earlier…I just think it’s quite fun. Enjoy!

Hope you are all doing well! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone..it’s weird to have missed it. I just had some pizza with friends and am off to bed. Tot ziens!

I got my computer back after it’s been on “vacation” at the apple store for almost two weeks! It is definitely a sign that I am overly reliant on a piece of technology if I think it was the longest two weeks of my life…but it was! I hated not having my own laptop when I needed to do my research, check my e-mail, write my paper, etc.

But now, it’s all better and now I’m looking ahead to the next big thing…a trip to Kansas tomorrow! I leave fairly early in the morning and for the first time in my life, I am all packed more than 12 hours before I have to leave. This is big, people. This never happens. However, somehow I managed to get it all done this morning before I went for a run and to the law library.

I am really looking forward to the symposium later this week but also to the time to spend with my mom, who will be visiting from Ohio, and my friends of course (and my dog Sunshine–how could I forget?!)…

Not much else has been going on in the last few days. I’m still getting lots of congratulations and positive comments about Barack Obama being elected as president. At the election party we were at the other night, the regional TV station came in and I made a quick appearance in my Obama t-shirt…good times! I’ve also played some soccer…too bad we lost again. It’s a shame, but we’re improving slowly but surely. The good news is that I am now in sole first place as topscorer of the whole club. Check it out here. There are still plenty of games to play in the season, so I’m not getting too arrogant yet, but it’s kind of fun!

I better get going on cooking some dinner soon and finalizing all the things for tomorrow. See some of you very soon!

tot ziens…

Hello, All.

So much has happened in the last week or so: I’ve finished (and passed) the Dutch level 2 class, I tried out for (and made) the soccer team here, I moved out of my old apartment and into a new one, I’ve applied for the LLM program, and I have made plans to go to London at the beginning of October. I owe you all another post but I have no internets in my new apartment, so right now I’m writing from the Janskerkhof in the center of the city.

I should know more about the internet situation tomorrow–ultimately I’m supposed to get access at my place but I don’t know exactly when that will happen. I must go and run some errands right now but I hope everyone’s well!

Good luck to everyone starting classes/jobs/new chapters. My thoughts are with everyone’s friends and family in New Orleans. What a sad situation…

Tot ziens!

Jessica