Buying a notebook for the first time

I'm getting a notebook. It is the first time that I'm buying a notebook on my own. Normaly matthijs makes these kind off dicisions but this time I wanted to do it on my own.
At first I thought about the way I'm going to use it. I'm going to play: music, photo, movie, television, life chatting and use it for school and my projects. I wanted a wireless connection, duel-core procesor, 2 gb internal memory and a intergrated webcam. The final choise after half a day searching came down to two notebooks; the Acer 5920 and the HP6570. At first I liked the acer more because it had a dolby surround system, but when I went to the media markt and had a look at the acer laptop I was not so impressed. I didn't like the looks (gray collor) and the dolby surround sounded awful. The keyboard started vibrating when you turned on the music. So after that the chooise became easy. This is the notebook that I am going to buy:
It has got everything I like for a reasonable price. I will probably buy it on tuesday in the store. First I have to go to work today. Unfortunatly because I allready dreamed about heving the notebook at home :-))
greatings jose

Start planning only 8 weeks left

Matthijs and I have now really begun to plan oure journey for the comming year. Here is a list of the thins we have to do before we leave:

1. Getting a appartment in Freiburg ( we found out yesterday we have to do it ourself aghhh)
   
2. How we arre going to move to Freiburg
3. What stuff to bring with us.
4. Working on my project to finish it in time before I leave.
5. Buy a laptop so we can internet everywhere (and update this blog)
6. Learn to speak better German than we do now.
7. Making more plans for what I will do in Freiburg, so I won't get board. One year off is no fun if you don't have anything to do.
8. Get Visas for USA
9. Get tickets/ reservations to travel to freiburg and Colorado

I allready have started making a pack list, check the insurance, get aproval of our housing agency to have someone els in oure appartment while we are gone, get a return garanty to start school and work in sepetmber 2008, buy a trafel book about colorado, start to write about our journey on my blog!, find out what to do with my scooter, set departure dates, and much more.

It is now kicking in for me that we have only 8 weeks before we go to Freiburg.

I will probably spend all my free time in th ecomming weeks; planning, organizing and enjoying that we are going to leave real soon.....

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lolapaipro/191695720/

Games at work

It is holliday also for the children at work. (I work with handicapted children) They are getting board after a few day's at home and because off the rain we can't go outside. So I oganized a game day. I called it Fear factor (i organized something simulair at the belgie kamp 2006).

We divided the group into two. The Two teams had to battle eachother. We started with a mind game schrabel. Than we had the lunch break. After that we continued with a kind of potato run. I'm made this game up myself so I'll will explain it a bit more.
First you make a course as wide as a wheelchair with one or two curves in it. One person in a wheelchair gets a spoon attached to his chair. You place an egg on the spoon. Now he/she gets a blindfold on. A team-mate is selected to guide the person with the egg trough the course.
The other team members and the oposit team can direct or redirect the person wih the egg. The person with the egg has to concentrate on one voice because everyone starts shouting and pointing in a diferent direction. The team has to work together and everyone is getting involved.
It was a great succes and we had lots off fun!!!!(foto's from the fear factor sportsday at the belgiekamp 2006)

Discovered something cool....last FM

Hi today I am taking it slow because I have to work nightshifts the comming 3 day's. Browsing trough the internet I came across Last.FM This is a site where you will find all your favorite music and much more. I made a playlist of all my favorite tracks so I can listen to it all the time.

I'm also searching for intresting sites with information about Colorado and Freiburg. On Hyves there are some intresting groups that share information. This way I can get first hand information.Today the summer holliday started in this region. For me that meens I'm having holliday from school. Unfortunately I still have to work. I used to have holliday in this week but I had to cancel it because of our moving plans in september. Because the kids from work also are selebrating the start of their holliday, it will be fn working tonight!

Jose

Planning to move abroad / verhuisplannen voor het buitenland

This morning the Cabel guy paid us a visit. He has fixed our telephone kabel so we can call and go on internet again. So now I can tell you more about oure plans for the comming year.

Matthijs has got an offer from work that he will be put on a tenure track. A tenure track is a contract where conditions are listed. If matthijs realizes this condtions he wil be assistant profesor and he will get a contract at the technische Universiteit delft for unlimitied time. So a verry good careere oppertunaty.

One of the conditions was that he has to go abroad for one year. About 2 moths ago it became clear that this one year abroad will start in coming september.

Offcourse this came verry unexpected, especially now I just started school. I thought about it for some time but disided to go along with matthijs. The alternatieve to stay home and continue school was not really attractive because we would not see eachother for over one year.

I contacted my school and work. I got a year off from work with the garanty that I can come back at Steinmetz after one year. I was verry lucky because a colleague of mine wanted to go to school coming year. Now she can because of my absence of one year. It was pure luck! After one year I can come back and continue school and work as if nothing happened.

At this moment we are planning to move to to Freiburg im Breisgau (germany) on friday the 21^st off september. We will life there for aproxametly 5 months (untill the end of february)

At the end of february we will move back to the Netherlands with all our stuff. We are now plannig to stay a couple off day’s in Holland to repack and than continiu oure journey to Boulder, Colorado (US). I will be staying there untill the end off august and matthijs is coming back to the Netherlands somewhere in september. My school starts again in september that’s why I have to go back early. This sabatical year is not just a year off holliday for me. I would get board verry soon. So I wrote an project for myself. I want to learn more about the way handicapted childeren live and spend their time abroad. The idea came from my fisit to Shanghai and my work at the Schakel (NL). The care for handicapted children is so different in both countries but not bad ore better just different. It made me curious about the care in onther countries.

I want to collect information from two companies in germany and two companies in amerika. To learn more about the workmethodes in both countries. I want to put all the data in a database and hopefully I can use the information for my end report from school (scriptie). For the coming year I will recive studie pionts for school.

The project can be as bigg as I want it to be, there are many countries nearby Freiburg with homes for handicapted children and maby I can get the help from other students that go aroad (after I return to the Netherlands) so I get as much information about other countries as I can… So far nobody has made such a database. You can imagine I’m really exited about it!

In the coming months we have to organize: housing, moving, packing, renting out oure home in rijswijk, visa’s for Amerika, planetickets and mush more. Although it is a lot to organize we are so happy that we can get this change. We grab it with both hands and enjoy!

Greatings José

Nederlands:

Het KPN mannetje is langs geweest en heeft onze telefoon en internet verbinding weer gerepareerd. Dus nu kan ik jullie eindelijk meer vertellen wat er staat te gebeuren:

Matthijs is op een tenure track gezet. Dat is een contract waarbij hij aan bepaalde voorwaarde moet voldoen. Als hij dat doet dan wordt hij na twee jaar vast aangesteld bij de Technische Universiteit in delft als Assistent profesor. We kregen ongeveer twee maanden geleden te horen dat een van de voorwaarde is dat matthijs een jaar naar het buitenland moet en wel vananf september.

Zoals het er nu uitziet vertrekken we op 21 september naar Freiburg im Breisgau (duitsland) we blijven daar 5 maanden tot eind februari. We komen voor een paar dagen terug in NL om vervolgens naar Boulder, Colorado (US) te verhuizen. Daar blijf ik tot einde augustus en matthijs komt in september terug. Ik moet namelijk weer naar school in september.

Van mijn werk heb ik terug keer garatie gekregen en kan weer op de zelfde locatie terugkomen en instormen in de tweede klas SPH.

Ik heb nu dus een jaar vrij. Ik zou me snel gaan vervelen als ik niets zou doen dus heb ik een project voor mijzelf geschreven. Ik ga inforamtie verzamelen over hoe gehandicapte zorg in het buitenalnd is geregeld. Ik wil in duitsland twee bedrijven bezoeken en in amerika. De inforamtie die ik verzamel zal ik in een database plaatsen. Ik hoop dat ik deze dan weer kan gaan gebruiken voor mijn scriptie.

Nu zijn we dus al druk bezig met alle voorbereidingen zoals: reis regelen, data plannen verhuizen, huis verhuren, visa’s, tickets en nog veel meer. We hebben er beide heel erg veel zin in en zien het echt alls een geweldige mogelijkheid, die we met beide handen aanpakken!

No phone or internet for one week

My neighbours have damaged the phone kabel in our building. At this moment I don't have an internet or phone conection. I hope iot will be ficksed soon. I'll let you know...

De buren hebben de KPN kabel beschadigd in onze flat. Op dit moment heb ik dan ok gee ninternet of telefoon verbinding. Ik hoop da teht snel wordt verholpen ik lat weten wanneer dat is.

Jose
(This message is send from work/ dit bericht is verstuurd vannf mijn werk)

I'f got a 9

I have got a 9 for my work experience for the last half year (feb-july) at the Schakel
I just had to tell....

Ik heb een 9 voor mijn praktijk van het laaste half jaar op de Schakel
Ik moest het even kwijt....

groeten José

My last exam of this year

Last week I was studying for my last exam. It was about the dutch law rules. We could keep oure book and notes while doing the exame. It was an easy exame I had expected much more from it. But the most important is that I pass the exam. Hopefully I will know next thursday (5 july). Thursday 28 june, I got an 8 for my final reflection report (afsluitend refelctieverslag). This was a really important grade.
I also had an final meeting with my schoolguide. He was verry pleased about how everything went this first year. Me two so we where finished verry quickly. hopefully I get my final grade this week two.
The 5th of july is my last day at school. We only have to preform at a schoolplay about the youthcare in the Netherlands. The play is part of a big project that lasted half a year. We had to work in a group and write all sorts of reports about "bureau jeugdzorg" (youthcare in holland) especially about the employees working at bureau jeugdzorg. I was really intresting to learn about this profession. But I wouldn't want to work there, thats an important lesson I learned.
It feels really strange that I'm in my last week of school. And it is not just the vacation offcourse it is also the fact that i'm going to take a school/work break of one year to go to Freiburg and Colorado with matthijs. In september 2008 I will start working and studying again. More about these plans and the consequences in my next entry......

greatings josé

Nederlands: Ik heb donderdag 28 juni mijn laaste tentame gedaan voor dit jaar. Het was het tentame recht. We mochten onze boeken en aantekeningen er bij houden. Het bleek dan ook een makkelijk exame. De zelfde dag kreeg ik ook het cijver voor mijn afsluitend reflectieverslag. Een 8! Dit was een heel belangrijk cijver. Ik had ook het eind gesprek met mijn school begeleider. Hij was erg tevreden over mij en vond het erg goed gegaan het eerste jaar, ik vindt dat ook dus we waren snel uitgepraat. Volgende week krijg ik hopelijk het eindcijver voor mijn praktijk.

5 juli is mijn laaste schooldag. We moeten dan alleen nog maar een toneelstuk opvoeren over een mederwerker van bureau jeugdzorg. We hebben met een groepje een half jaar aan dit project gewerkt. Ik heb veel geleerd maar vooral dat ik niet bij bureau jeugdzorg zou willen werken. Veel te hectisch en dramatisch.

Het voelt nu raar. Als ik straks het stuk heb opgevoerd hoef ik een tijd niet naar school. Niet omdat ik alleen vakantie heb maar omdat ik pas in september 2008 weer naar school ga en ga werken. Ik heb een onderbreking van een jaar omadt ik mee ga met matthijs eerst naar Freiburg (DE) daarna naar Colorado (US). In mijn volgede post zal ik hier meer over vertellen...

Camping trip

Today I'll be leaving for a camping trip of two nights in Epe (NL) This is not just any camping trip but a special one. It is called "oude koeien weekend" (old cow weekend). With a bunch of friends from matthijs we organize a camping trip every year. The main purpose of this trip is to laugh and remember all the funny stories. (ouwe koeien uit de sloot halen) especialy after a few drinks!
This year it is the first year that a couple of new "old cows" join us (some of oure friends had a baby). It will be fun!

Yesterday I packed everything but is was quite hard to figure out what to bring sinds the weather forecasted prodicted thunderstorms and cold temperature.
I hope we get spaired from horrible weather but than aigain this way we create more old kow stories....

Greatings José

Nederlands:
Ik vertrek vanmiddag voor een kampeer uitje in Epe (NL) We doen dit ieder jaar met vrienden van matthijs en noemen het oude koeien weekend. We gaan namelijk altijd na een paar borrels op leuke verhalen over vroeger ophalen (oude koeien uit de sloot halen).
Het was lastig inpakken want de weersvoorspelling is vreselijk. zie boven
De foto's komen ook uiteraard op mijn blog

Camping trip

Today I'll be leaving for a camping trip of two nights in Epe (NL) This is not just any camping trip but a special one. It is called "oude koeien weekend" (old cow weekend). With a bunch of friends from matthijs we organize a camping trip every year. The main purpose of this trip is to laugh and remember all the funny stories. (ouwe koeien uit de sloot halen) especialy after a few drinks!
This year it is the first year that a couple of new "old cows" join us (some of oure friends had a baby). It will be fun!
Yesterday I packed everything but is was quite hard to figure out what to bring sinds the weather forecasted prodicted thunderstorms and cold temperature.
I hope we get spaired from horrible weather but than aigain this way we create more old cow stories....

Greatings José

Nederlands:
Ik vertrek vanmiddag voor een kampeer uitje in Epe (NL) We doen dit ieder jaar met vrienden van matthijs en noemen het oude koeien weekend. We gaan namelijk altijd na een paar borrels op leuke verhalen over vroeger ophalen (oude koeien uit de sloot halen).
Het was lastig inpakken want de weersvoorspelling is vreselijk. zie boven
De foto's komen ook uiteraard op mijn blog

The final weeks / de laatste lootjes

I'm now in my final weeks before my first years at the haagse hogeschool ends. I'm still doing fine. Last week I have got a grade 9 for my first research project. I was so happy about it. I really enjoyed doing it. But I even enjoyed it more to get sush a good grade ;-)
Yesterday I had to finish my last paper . It is called end reflection report (41 pages). It is about everything I have done in the last year. I worked really hard to finish it on time. It took me about 2 weeks to complete. Now I have to have a meeting with my school turor do an exam law and preform at a drama production. Than I'm finished ( if i complete it with good grades)

But I also did some fun things. On friday we had a staff trip. We drove to Arnhem (NL) to a tipi camp. We did all sorts of activities like: making a catapult, volleyball, build a piramid and much more. It was really fun. Afterwards we had a mexican dinner arround a camp fire. We had been difided over 4 teams . Unfortunatly my team did not win dispite our best efforts.
There are some onther changes going on I will tell more about it later......

greatings josé

Nederdelands:
Het zijn nu de laaste lootjes. Ik ben bijna klaar met mijn eerste school jaar op de haagse hogeschool. Gelukkig gaat het goed I kkreeg vorige week nog een 9 voor mijn erste onderzoek dat ik heb gedaan. daar was ik heel erg trots op!.
Nu heb ik gisteren nog mijn eindreflectie verslag ingeleverd. (41 blz) Dit was heel hard werken om het optijd af te krijgen ik heb er maarliefst 2 weken aan gewerkt, maar het is wel gelukt.
Nu moet ik alleen nog een eindgesprek hebben met mijn schoolbegeleider, een drama productie opvoeren en een tentame recht doen dan ben ik klaar. (als ik dit allemaal met goede cijfers afsluit. )

Ik doe gelukkig ook nog wel leuke dingen hoor. Ik ben vrijdag op personeelsutje geweest in Arnhem. Daar was op een hele mooie locatie een tipi kamp. We deden er allerlij activiteiten zoals, een catapult maken, volleyballen piramide maken en nog veel meer. We sloten de dag af met een mexicaans dinee rond een kampvuur. Heel gezellig! Hellas heeft mijn team niet gewonnen ondaks dat we zo hard ons best hebben gedaan.

Nu is er in ons leven nog een hoop aan het veranderen. Ik schrijf daar de volgende keer over.

groeten josé

work and commity progress

My job coache at work is on holliday. She is the Personal guide (persoonlijk begeleider) of 4 children. During her absence I take over her duties consurning 3 of the children. So at this moment im te personal guid of 3 childeren. I really like the responsebility that I have. I make disicions and make sure that the children are oke. I handel all their paperwork and inform the childrens parants oubout their kids.
I dont have to be a personal guide just yet it is something I actualy have to learn in the second year off my school. So for me it feels like I'm doing more than oké. I hope that I gat be a personal guide more offten.

foto from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubcletus/515707127/

Mattijhs came back from his conference in seoul. He bought me al kinds off presents. A bag , korean agenda, a book about learning korean and much more. Really sweet of him. He is allready working verry hard. He had some great offers from a profesor in colorado and he thinks he has a solution for a problem that excisted for 10 years (got the idea in the airplane). So life is as usual.

I'm two day's off but for me it is time to do my homework. I have worked 4 morning shifts in a row and I can hardly make any homework after I had a morning shift.

O I forgot to mention. On wensday I had my first meeting with the activity commision. It went really wel. I had lot's of imput in the meeting. And the next day I had a meeting with one of the commision members of stuvee (oure student commity) He said that he had some information for me about a organisation for students that want to set up a exchange project with european students and get funding for the project. The commity members thought directly about me because I had send in an idea about exchanging knowlege between foreign students. I was so honnerd that they came to me and it seems like a really good plan to set something up. The organisation has 12 million euros to spend on projects. Hopefully I can do something with this in the near future. I'm now thinking about ways to organize a project. I find it reaaly cool to get fnding for a project that I can set up and organize.
You will here more about it.....

greetings josé

Nederlands:

• Ik ben tidens de afwezighied van mijn werkbegeleider de persoonlijk begeleider van drie kinderen op de schakel. Ik vindt dit heel erg leuk om te doen. Het persoonlijk begeleiderscahp hoef ik eigelijk nog niet te doen dit is iets wat in het tweede jaar pas zou moeten, maar ik vindt het zo leuk dat ik hoop dat ik het na de terugkomst van mijn werkbegeleidster meer mag doen.
• Matthijs is terug van zijn conferentie in seoul Ik heb allerlij kadootjes gekregen.
• Ik heb woensdag mijn eerste stuvve activiteiten commisie vergadering gehad. Ik had veel in te brengen
• Donderdag had ik een gesprek met een commisie lid van stuvee. (de studie vereniging) Hij had info over een organisatie die 12 miljoen euro te besteden heeft voor projecten die door studenten worden georganiseerd die als doel hebben het uitwisselen van kennis met mensen in europa. Ze hadden meteen aan mij gedacht omdat ik al ee nidee daar over had ingestuurd bij de commisie. Het lijkt me heel erg leu kom hier iet mee te gaan doen. Ik ben nu besig met bedenken wa tik zou kunenn doen. Het zal een groot project worden dat wel tot een jaar mag duren. Ik ben er nog lang niet uit wat ik zou wilen doen maar het lijkt me wel super cool om subsidie te krijgen voor je eigen project.
  

Cycling

First I made some homework untill 11.30 than I prepared for a long ride on my mountain-bike.
I stated off offcourse in rijswijk going to Voorburg - Leiden. I ate my sandwish sitting in the gras alonfg a bussy canal with many boots.
As I entered Leiden I saw signs going to Katwijk. The sun was shining so I diceded to go in the direction off the beach. I made a couple of wrong turns to finaly arrive at Katwijk aan Zee. I parked my bike and went up hte beach. The wind was pretty hard so I picked a spot where now wind was blowing. It was just wonderful. I even thing I gaind some collor on my face.
After one houre I paked my things and went one my journey home. I took the cycle path in the dune going to The Hague.
The weather was starting to change. Cloud where winning from the sun. Only 10 minutes after I arrived at home the rain started to fall. It didn't matter because I was high and dry in my hammock on my balcony. the temerature was still oke and I feld really relaxed.greatings jose

Conference in Seoul, Korea

Matthijs is departing today to Seoul. He is going to attend a conference on optimization. This time I am a bit jealouse. We fisited Soeul together in november 2004. I had such a great time in the city. Lovely people (10 mil off them), good food, and a 24 houre economie. Sinds we returned i'm looking for way's to go back to seoul. Unfortunatly i'm not able to go this time I have to go to school....to bad maby next time.
Matthijs wil be returning next saturday so he is just gone for one week. I have lots of day's off. I have to make home work but I want to do some shopping and eat what I like most. (you have to treat yourself ;-))
Just the sleeping on your own is something I never get used to.....

greetings joséNederlands:
Matthijs gaat op conferentie naar seoul hij vertrekt vanmiddag en komt op zaterdag weer thuis. Het is jammer dat ik niet mee kan maar ik zal ook goed voor mezelf zorgen ;-)

(foto's korea 2004 josé)

My grandpa's funeral

Westgaarde, Amsterdam

Yesterday my grandpa found his last resting place.
At 10.30 we al gathered in his room at the elderly home to see him before he would be placed in a wooden coffin. There where many flowers and picitures of my grandma (how pased away 5 years ago) and the famely. For me it feld right this way.

We drove to Westgaarde cremation center in Amsterdam. There where many people to say good bye to him. We listen to music that he loved and my mother ,brother and me had prepared a speeche. Unfortunatly my tears came while speaking so my poem was difficult to hear between tears. After standing together around the coffin saying the last goodbyes we walked away in the lounge where all the other people where waiting. It was a verry nice funeral. My grandpa will be cremated adn his ashes wil be scattered over a ash field at Westgraarde. I hope he has found his peace.

The poem I wrote:
Als ik dood ben, treur dan niet
Ik ben niet echt dood, moet je weten
Het is mijn lichaam dat ik achterliet
dood ben ik pas, als je mij bent vergeten.
Herinner mij niet in sombere dagen,
herinner mij in de stralende zon,
hoe ik was, toen ik alles nog kon.

Mijn opa heeft dapper gestreden,
en zo moedig heeft hij alles aanvaard.
dit deed hij in alle omstandigheden
Dit zat gewoon in zijn aard
Vol trots wil ik dan ook aan hem zeggen,
rust zacht, we vergeten je niet.

josé

Nederlands:
Gisteren hebben wij afscheid genomen van mijn opa. Hij is gecremeeed op de Westerbegraafplaats in Amsterdam. Het was een mooi afscheid. Er waren veel mensen die ons en vooral mijn moeder steunde. Hierboven staat het gedicht vermeld wat ik heb voorgedragen door mijn tranen heen.

My Janusz Korzack VSE has been approved

foto: bergen aan zee van Debby Goselink

In januari I attended a seminar about the child psychologist Janusz Korczak. The teacher gave us some information about the conference in september about Janusz Korczak. It has took me al lot of time and effort to get every thing ready /sorted out to be able to go to the conference.

1. First I had to get time of from work. (this was a big problem because allready 4 people had their holliday planed) after 1,5 month I got permison from work.
   
2. I needed permision from school to be away during a school week
3. I had to register for the conference
   
4. Then I applayed for a VSE (vrije studie eenheid) this is a study point that you can fill in yourself. In 3 years you need to get 6 off these points. I had to wrote a proposition to get these VSE points. Yesterday my proposition got approved (YES)

The conference will be held in Bergen aan Zee from 22-28 september. It is an international conference so I will meet lots of people from the same working feeld from other countries. After the conference I have to write a report about my experience to get the VSE study point.
I'm really excited about it.

greatings jose

Nederlands:
Ik heb toestemming gekregen voor een VSE (vrije studie eenheid)
Ik ga naar een conferentie in september van de janusz Korczak stichting. Zij houden een internationale conferentie over januz Korczak (beroemde poolse pedagoog) Als ik er geweest ben moet ik nog een verslag schrijven om de punten toegekend te krijgen.
Ik heb er in elk geval heel veel zin in.

My grandpa has past away

After we got back on sunday from oure trip to ronse and leuven, I called my mother to see how everything was going. She told me that my grandpa was not doing verry well. His health was deteriorating fast. I disided to go to amsterdam where he is staying in a elderly home in stead of going to a meeting at work. I'm so glad that I made that disicion. I arrived at 12.30 on 7th of may. He recognised me and I told him about the weekend in leuven. He resonded and he was still drinking a bit of water. We even tried to give him a sigaret. As time progressed he got more quiet and his breathing got verry bat. Because he was on morfine he had halusinations and had a frightning look on his face. The docter gave him something to relax. Arround 15.00 or 16.00 o'clock he would not respond to oure calles anymore. He only took a breath because his brain kept on going to give a signal to breeth. So we sat there and talked while every 5 minutes we tought he was taking his last breath. What a horrible way to see someone that you love in such a condition. Every time we wished for him that he would take his last breath but he was a strong man. But he didn't win the fight. He died this morning around 00.30
We will mis him deeply but he was verry sick and in lots off pain so i'm glad he has found peace at last. We where able to say goodbye to him and hold his hand while still conscious. This makes it a bit easyer to cope thit the lost of my grandfather.
josé
Nederlands:
Mijn opa is vandaag overleden om 00.30. Hij was al erg ziek en ik ben samen met mijn moeder er gisteren bij geweest hoe hij steeds verder afzakte. We hebben hem nog kunnen gerust stellen en hebben zijn hand vast gehouden. Maar het was een strijd die hij niet kon winnen. Ik ben daarom ook niet heel verdietig maar blij dat hij nu rust gevonden heeft.

City trip to Ronse and Leuven (BE)

Last weekend we had rented a car and went to matthijs his sister marije and brotherinlaw mark. To see their child, thomas. What a great little guy. He is so sweet and smiles at you the hole time. We had lunch and marije and mark gave us a tour of their home. It has become really beautiful. We hadn't seen the place for over one year so a lot has changed in that time. The biggets change of all is offcourse that thomas is born. But they have a lovely place together. I wished we could fisit them more often. In the afternoon we even helped to give thomas a bath. We and he really enjoyed it.
Around 4 o'clock we went off, to go to Leuven in Belgium.
After a couple of wrong turns we parked the car in front of the hotel. The hotel was right in the city center. We left oure stuf in the room and went out to see some of the city. It was beautiful weather so everyone was sitting outside on a terras eating and drinking. We joined them two.
After dinner we walked arround and a bit and went to a pub on the big market square. Great place with good music. Arround 2 o'clock we went back to the hotel.

On sunday they served an amarikan champagne breakfast. It was really great!!! We drunk champagne, koffie, orange jus and ate to much off those lovely rolls.
We paked oure baggs and checked out at 12.00. We walked to a park and we sat down. When we got board we walked a bit further again. Leuven is really a great city. I even think it is nicer than Amsterdam. I can imagine myself living there. There are always people on the streets and it is an old historical town with lots of restaurants and cafe's.
After a while we got tired again and we had found a lovely place to have lunch. I at Fresh asperagus (yummy!) By the time we where finished 15.00 we disided to go home. The weather changed into clounds and a lower temperature. All in all we had a really lovely weekend!

greatings jose

Nederlands!

• We hebben een auto gehuurd afgelopen weekend en zijn naar matthijs zijn naar mark en marije gereden in Ronse (BE) om de lkeine thomas te bekijken.
  Wat een mooi mannetje. Hij lacht steeds heel lief en maakt allerlij leuke geluidjes.
• Om 4 uur zijn we doorgereden naar leuven. Daar hadden we ee nhotel geboekt
• Leuven is echt een hele leuke stad. Ik zou er zeker kunnen wonen. We hebben lekker gegeten en rond gelopen en genoten van het champagne ontbijt.
  
• Na de lunch op zondag betrok de lucht en zijn we weer op huis aangegaan
  

piciture of matthijs in Hawaii

I didn't wat to let you miss this piciture off matthijs in hawaii.
He told me the jetlag is horrible and it is pretty hard to find a restaurant for dinner that is not in a 5* hotel. He and some others rented a car to see a bit of the island. It must be beautiful there matthjis told about high waves and lots of plam trees.

In rijswijk everything is going great. I just finished my big research project from school just in time because I have to hand it in tomorow.

On thursday (tomorow) the fourth and final semester will start. We have 4 classes tot to.

• Recht
• Praktijk werkgroep
• Methode
• Drama

So it is oke. I'm not saying easy because you never know what the homework will bring....
I know for sure that we have to finalize a reseache on the jeugdzorg and make a drama production out of it. You will here more about it later.
If I get good grates after this periode is finished I will get my propedeuse.
So work with me baby...

greatings jose

Matthijs arrived at hawaii safely

As the titel of this post allready said matthijs has arrived in hawaii. It was a long trip and his biorythem is completely mixed up but he e-mailed me that he is doing fine. When he departed from holland he was wearing his hawaiian shirt. The piciture below was taken 05.00 in the morning.

He has visited many places allready with several conferences, but somehow it is different for me that he is visiting a conference in hawaii. It is a place that trigers your imagination. I always dreamed off going to hawaii once, but it is just to far to really go. Now it is real for matthijs. And I can get a glimps of it two through matthijs his eyes.
He promised to make lot's off picitures.

Meanwhile I enoy myself with cleaning the appartment. (instead off making homework ;-))
I feel really relaxed. I have litle homework and lots off fun. Do you know that feeling when you have cleand your house you feel really good about yourself. almost if you clean out your brain at the sametime.

Marjan visited me today. We had dinner on the balcony with a glas of rose wine enjoying the sunset. We talked untill 23.30 It was like the old day's when we went to school together.

All in all I had a wonderful day.

photo: Jack Hay at www.flickr.com

Nederlands:

• Matthijs is veilig geland op hawaii
• Zijn bio ritme is goed in de war maar hij maakt het prima
• Ik heb het huis schoon gemaakt
• En met marjan op het balkon gegeten met een roseetje kletsend en kijkend naar de ondergaande zon. Helemaal geen slechte dag vandaag