Monday, August 4, 2008

.

This may be completely unnecessary  but it cant hurt, ha, of course I am back in America where  have started a window cleaning business but just until I have enough cash to start learning how to DJ...all while going to school. 
As for the future of this blog, I suppose this is my last entry. After all, it was not about me. It was about the things that happened to me and I am back in Suburbia. No worries, I am having a ball. ;-)

         - gw

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Stranded?

Allright, so, here I am in Nijmegan awaiting my airplane tickets. How terribly suspensful this is. Andrew leaves his host family at 4:00 am on monday morning. I am at his host famlies now. do you see the rising action here?

Ill let you know.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Nijmegan.


Unbelievable. This bunny named Elmo has still not moved. Hello friends and family. I am in Heemskert once again staying with the always cool Caleb, but only for a few hours. I am getting ahead of myself though, lets start where I left off. So I had a wonderful time in Paris, I climbed to the top of the Eiffel tower. I mean really, I climbed it as high as I could on the stairs. After my climb I then endured the most mortifying elevator ride in my life. The experience was pretty cool, but interestingly enough nobody speaks Frence on top of the Eiffel tower. Unfortunately the catacombs were closed on Monday but I assume a few years from now there will be a next time. I keep on thinking how great it would be to come to Europe with family. Someday :-) So I said goodbye to my wonderful host ( Enguerran ) and got on the train to Nijmegan. Andrews little town ( Lindem ) just outside of Nijmegan is adorable. His home was once a barn and has been converted into a very beautiful and spacious home. Nijmegan itself is the 5th largest city on The Netherlands and looks like a perfect little backlot of some Hollywood studio. It is something like over 1000 years old. Yesterday Andrew, Hima, and I headed to Amsterdam for the last time cause Andrew went to the Radiohead concert. Me and my friend Hima just hung out in the city. I do believe I saw some of the most absurd things I have ever seen last night in Amsterdam...and to think it was only a Tuesday night. In fact, for the first time Europe shocked me last night. But nevermind that. I only say nevermind that because to think about those absurd happenings would put a damper on this beautiful stormy day in Heemskert. My scene right now is rather safe. Here in Amsterdam the word "safe" means "chill". In fact, let me guide your gaze the the photo on the top left that accompanies this entry. Ha, everyone of these cats are from different places. Columbia, Holland, Belgium, Chile, California, etc... Allright so I am off to Nijmegan now so I will update again tomorrow. Also from there I can call the Embassy. Again, thank you Mom and Dad for helping me get back to America. Marianne I love you so much but if you left my Macbook in your car I will step on Sissy. Andrew, I got you some radical things in Paris. In fact, I got you two things just dont tell anyone else in the family, ok? Randy and Jessica I will I cant wait to see my new Niece and the only thing standing in my way is that ticket making it here to Nijmegan. Mom, I hope that puts the fire under your butt ;-) Oh hey Mike&Eric, I remember when I lived with you guys you did not have salt and pepper shakers for some reason, or you needed new ones, I dont quite remember. Point is, whatever your salt and pepper shaker situation is now, its about to get a whole lot cooler with something I found for you guys in Brussels :-) I hope you all had a smashing time at the girls birthday party. I look forward to seeing the 4,395,658 photos that were taken.

I miss you all and Ill see you soon enough.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ratatouille.

Paris is being as friendly as ever to me once again, I had a beautiful last 2 days. Andrew and I snooped around the cemetary again, this time we were hell bent on finding Jim Morrison. His fan base is pretty radical, and not the good kind of radical. I feel bad for all famlies gravestones who lie within 500 feet of Morrisons grave, they have all had Doors lyrics carved into them for the past 37 years. My new host Engurran is so radical. He is the pinnical of brilliant Couch Surfing host. Last night he made Andrew and I true Frence ratatouille, then after dinner he played us some Frence classics on his guitar. Andrew has actually departed to Nijmegan and I have decided to stay in Paris for the weekend, I will be in Nijmegan on Monday night. There is still some things that I would love to see ( The Catacombs, Versille... ) so I am an independent boy in Paris. Oh, and today it was funny how things worked out. I have never seen a bigger even in my life then what I attended today. It just so happens that Paris gay pride was today! There were people as far as the eye can see! Paris has a gay mayor so naturally the citizens are pretty progressive on the issue of homosexuality. So, unlike America, it was not just gays that attended the massive bash but everyone in Paris. I ran int my incredible first couch surfing hosts at pride and to my suprise there was a couch surfing get-together that I had no idea about. Now I am at one of the couch surfers flats in Paris and were about to go out for the night. Thats how its been so far here in Europe, igs as though im in an ocean of brilliant people just going where it takes me, you dig? Allright we had better ger a move on. Until next time. Hey thanks so much Mom & Dad ( and no Andrew thank heavens they did not get the camera :-) for helping me right now. Ill call tomorrow. Later.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Mugged.

Yesterday in Paris was as wonderful as it was rotten. Andrew and I went over to our friends sean flat and baked some very classy frence frozen pizza. After that we wandered through the historical Père Lachaise Cemetery until it closed for the night. A few hours later we took the night bus and were approached by ' druggies who tried to sell me some hash and Valume. When I said no thank you one of them took out a knife and told me he would kill me if I did not give him my day bag. Oh boy, Je' Taime Paris. So yes, I am out an I-pod, my plane tickets back to America, my radical steel wallet, my drivers licence, my speakers, 50 percent of my REI bag, and a slew of other things. What matters most is that I got away with the important things, My life, my passport, and my credit card. And I have got something that those punks will never have, an amazing family whos got my back ;-)

P.S. Hey mom this is for you, this is Andrews Adress in Nijmegen.

krommenhoek 8
linden (cuijk); NL
5439 NE

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Foux de fa fa.

Ello. I said hello like that because everyone thinks I am a German, and Germans say that. I know this because I am staying with a German guy now here in Paris. He is a couchsurfer like Andrew and I.

Paris is beautiful. I cannot say that enough. Its absurd.

Now I understand what all the rage is about. Today I entered Notre Dam and it was stunning. Paris is hands down the most incredible place I have seen in Europe. I have gotta make this quick! I am in an internet cafe a few blocks from the Mouilan Rouge, Paris is dope. We are meeting a Canadian named Sean in a few minutes! Until next time...

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Brussels.

Bonjour! Another photo-less post, shame shame shame, soon as I get my hands on a Macbook I'll throw some photos up. The past 2 days were so perfect! After a good nights sleep at Charlines house in Belgium we took off to Brussels, is the most incredible place! I fell in love about 37 times. I went with 4 friends but by the end of the night we were partying with 8 people! They were friends of Charlines and they were such charecters! They were all our age and hell bent on shouting about how great America is. oh bless their hearts... ignorance is bliss. Then after a long day of exploring Brussels we crashed at Charlines mansion of a home and took off to Amsterdam the next day for a legendary bash. The squat community all got together for something called the "White Trash Party". If you were not dressed as white trash you could not party. It was so interesting to see how many renditions of white trash there were. The squatter community consist of British, irish, african, japanese, and anyother nationality you could imagine. The white trash look ranged from Nascar'esque to Amy Winehouse'esque. If you want to see photos os me from that party get ready for some major thigh shots. All I had were these radical little swim trunks I got from Randy a few years ago, and Im very sure Mike gave them to Randy. After waking up in Amsterdam we took off for the camp. So right now I am typing from a youth hostel in thge beautiful Elst, Netherands. I am here for a camp that has been put on by AFS. That is the orgonization that sends students abroad. We all put our minds together and tried to say that my name was Gar'et and I was from Sweden. Apparently I looked the part but it dident work out so well. ASF told me it would be no problem and I could crash on anyones bed but apparently some pissed off unhappy person ( I suspect a short blonde troll of a woman named Viki ) called the ASF headquaters and they told her that I could not crash on a bed purchased by them...some even though it will be empty because the student who was ment to occupy it got sent home. Everything actually turned out for the better. 1 hour and 33 Euros later I was in my own private room; shower, bathroom, the works. Everyone here at this hostel is hooting and hollaring about the big game tonight Russia VS Holland so everyone is packed like sardines in the bar singing " Ole'ole'ole'ole" and watching the game on a projector. Ha, honestly, they are making a big fuss in there! These Europeans are serious about their Futball. Allright folks, id better get in there because there are about 50 AFS student hollaring for everyone to get to the game! Next post will be broadcast out of Paris, Salut!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Keyboard.

Hello all, I am afraid this blog will be terribly written because I am writting on a frence computer. Seriously this is dope, I cant even put periods in my sentences. wow, nevermind I guess I just figured out hoz to do a period. Of coursem ......I should have thought to press the number 8. The last few days have been incredible, if I could figure out hoz to put an exclimation mark on that sentence you can bet your botte; dollar I would have put one. in a nutshell I have stayed with the captivating squatters of A;sterdaM. They find qbandoned buildings and turn them into counter coultural fortesses. seriously, I thought charecters like this only existed in films. All the girls are like punked out versions of TOnks ( Andrew and Mike...you know what I Mean ) qnd all the guys are like Sid Vicious....except alot happier then Sid. Seriously, only photos can truly give you guys and Idea of zhat these Squatters are like. But they are all so kind and their cause is to bring down rasism and hate all over Europe. Their entire hoMe is a work of art and I cant wait to get some photos up for you guys to see. Yesterday we spent 11 hours trying to reach our host in La' Houpe, Belgium but ze finally found her, Her home is beautiful and absurdly massive. Us Americans were shocked last night when we all decided to go for a swim, the swimming pool in indoors. The french girls all laughed at us for being shocked. They think I look like buzz lightyear... and Jonny Bravo. Today we are headed into Brussels ( dad I will eat a Belgium waffle on your behalf ) we were in Brussels yesterday for 10 min. and I allready in love. Once I get to a computer that is not Frence and clearly hellbent on destroying the way I write I will tell you all more. Later all!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Amsterdam.


Hello everybody, yesterday was pretty loco in all the best ways. My flight was bumped up to first class at the last minute! That was so dope. Flying 8 hours when your in first class isnt long enough. I didnt sleep a wink on the flight, but I did watch a really pleasent movie called "Under The Same Moon", watched "Horton Hears a Who", Got massaged by the seats for about 40 minutes, and listened to the best of Idena Minzel. That last one was not that enjoyable really...But the flight was a good time thats for sure. I arrived at the Spichol Airport in the morning and from there my friend Andrew ( who I went to school with ) and I headed to Amsterdam where we met 3 of his friends; Hima, Caleb, and Mikiya. From there we explored the city by foot. We saw some pretty absurd things, when walking down the red light district I noticed one scandily clad employee in the window who was about 270 pounds and had less teeth than nessasary to come off as not being a meth head. But shockingly there were some bombshells in the window, you know, if your into that sort of thing. The architecture of the buildings down here is incredible. I cant seem to get over the little details about these builings. the doors are all incredible. Some intricatly detailed dark woods, entirely ancient looking rusted iron, brand new and bright green, and some about 3-4 feet tall. I have always had a thing for cool looking doors, so naturally, im getting my fix here. The stairs are all insanely steep and narrow. I am not proud to say that the stairs here in Amsterdam being climbed by the obviously American tourist have made for a cheap laugh. And by obviously American I mean on par with the body type of the meth head harlet in the red light district. It is so great to see how many nationalities reside here in Amsterdam. The little pubs are owned by loud red headed irish wemon who serve wonderful beer but mortifying red wine. The book stores owned by bubble english wemon, the smart shops by rastafari men, and the clothing stores by edgy looking black chicks. This is the second most diverse city ( if not equally ) I have been in next to New York. Yesterday we had the funnest time getting handfuls of bread and tossing them in front of silly looking overdressed girls and watching the meyham. Hundreds of birds would bombard the dizzy dames. Obceneties sound much funnier when they are screamed by Dutch girls. It was all in good natured playful bird war. When you run out of bread you run out of Ammo. The way bikes work here is really funny. Everyone steals eachothers bikes. If you leave it unlocked you are saying "take me, and ill take yours " I still havent fully understood the concept. We left Amsterdam at yesterday around 7:00 and headed to Calebs place in heemskerk ( a small suburb in Harlem, 25 min out of Amsterdam ) His host family is really great, as is their apartment. Calebs room reminds me of Arnolds room in "Hey Arnold" ( Andrew you know what im saying...)
Allright! Well, I just woke up and showered in preperation for today. Caleb is going to "Do Fitness"... the dutch say fitness instead of gym. Andrew is just waking up, and Mikiya is going to smoke the Hookah, and I am going to snoop around this beautiful neigboorhood. We will all meet up Later tonight in Amsterdam to see the nightlife. Apparently it gets very cold here in Eastern Europe at night...better bring a jacket! Allright guys! Again, I love you all and thanks for reading. I will be updating every chance I can get my hands on a computer. As for the bunny in the photo...I dont know. This bunny named Elmo dosnt move. His cage is left open all the time and he stays put. The red-head is Andrew. Both Andrew and Elmo are very cool... one just dosnt move.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

19.






Hey folks, I will be approaching my last year as a teenager in 9 hours and so far its off to a pretty memorable start. In fact, I am terribly certain that this will be the most memorable birthday of my life. Four days ago I was in Mesa AZ seeing off. Two days ago I was behind enemy lines in the bowels of Little Rock Arkansas where id say one out of every Five of its under-evolved citizens looked like something that crawled out of "The Hills Have Eyes", I sat next to one on the airplane that informed me that he can communicate with god, but only through a direct connection via his nephew who has been in prison for the last 7 years on multiple possessions of Cocaine. Today things are much nicer in the beautiful ( but humid ) Memphis, Tennessee. I flew into memphis because there is a direct flight from the Memphis airport to Europe. I am staying with my sister and her 3 year old daughter Ellie Grace. My niece is the very reason for the graceful photo that accompanies this entry, Just this morning I awoke with a start because my sisters hyperactive dog Sissy was jumping on my face, I shrugged it of and just as soon as I had fallen into a deep peaceful sleep my niece Ellie Grace had seen what Sissy had done and followed suite. She demanded to play with my "funny machine". My "funny machine" is my Macbook pro, it scored this nickname for its ability to distort faces using its built in camera. She pressed alot of buttons and as a result captured this photo. In a matter of hours I will be boarding a plane to Amsterdam where I will meet up with my friend Andrew who has been in school over there for the last 7 months. From Amsterdam, I will spend some time in Brussels, Belgium to party with the locals by night and eat waffles by day. After Brussels we will be attending a camp put on by all of Andrews friends who have been studying in the Netherlands for the last 7 months. I think it will be at a hostel in Nijmegan but I am not sure yet.  They are calling it a "camp" but word on the street is that its going to be a bit more like a 2 day going away bash. Then, its off to Paris. I will be spending the most time in Paris and I have some incredible people lined up to host me there... After Paris I will head back to Nijmegan to relax with Andrew and his host family for a few days.  So I am off to Amsterdam,Brussels,Nijmegan,Paris, then Nijmegan again. This will be so incredible... heaven know whats in store for me in all of these wonderful places.  In fact, I dont even think heaven knows whats in store for me. But, as long as you check this blog every-other day, you can be one step ahead of heaven because I will be posting  photos along with cleverly written anecdotes about my adventures in Europe. Thank you to those of you who made this trip possible and I love you.