Where are you from?

Hello my faithful readers:

I'm back in Istanbul again and I have to say that Turkey has been a blast. It's a lot different than Greece, but overall the people I've met (in Turkey) have been just as nice (as the Greeks). Since I've been on vacation the first question that I always get asked is "Where are you from?"

It became a running joke for Oksana and myself because it almost invariably is the first question out people's mouths when they saw us. I'm exotic looking (read: I'm black) when compared to the other folks you saw walking around in Greece & Turkey. When they realize that Oksana and I were traveling together they express surprise and immediately try to figure out why an American is traveling with a Russian!

I especially love it when the pushy vendors trying to get us into their restaurants, rugs or souvenir stands try to start up conversations by speaking to me in French or Portuguese to get a reaction. I have observed that here in Turkey they are likely to start with French instead of English when addressing me. I'm sure they think that I'm either French or African (from a french-speaking country) although one guy in Greece started speaking to me in Portuguese at first.

I've even started to ask this question too because let's be honest, it's the easiest ice-breaker there is when you're meeting someone new. I've met some of the nicest people from around the world on this trip including: Australia, Canada, Greece, Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and yes even the US. Hopefully we'll keep in touch - I exchanged information with a lot of the people I've met.

I'm here in Istanbul solo for the next two days. This morning my travel buddy Oksana headed back to Belgium to attend our graduation ceremony. I won't be attending the ceremony because the scheduling didn't work out for me, but as of Monday I'll officially have my MBA. :) It's also the day I head back to NYC for an overnight layover until my morning flight home to Georgia.

This trip has been magical for me - I really have loved every single moment both here in Turkey and Greece! When I get back to the US, I will have to hit the ground looking for work. But for now, for the next two days, I'll focus on savoring the last few moments of my vacation! Enjoy the pics of some of the people I've met while along the way!

It's time to lose some weight...

Hello my faithful readers:

This morning I'm sitting here on the patio of my bungalow and realizing that my life is pretty freaking amazing. I wake up pinching myself everyday that I've the opportunity to travel and see the world when so many are suffering right now. I'm currently in Paros and I think this will be a laid-back place for us after the frenetic sightseeing in Athens and the festive party atmosphere of Mykonos.

So far Greece has treated me well - all of our accommodations have been solid. Our room in Athens wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped, but if that's the worst thing we'll experience then it was still fine –I loved the hospitality I was given there.

I'm also starting to feel much better now that I'm kicking the cold or bug I started getting in Athens. Yesterday I got a little over heated (too much time in the sun) and I started to break out in hives again, but today I'm clinging to the shade, avoiding direct sunlight and covering up my skin so that I don't melt like the vampires in "True Blood."

I’m also learning a lot about not getting so attached to my material things on this trip – at every location I’m leaving something behind simply because I have way too much luggage for all of the moving around we’re doing. We have been lucky with our transfers from the ferries in Mykonos and Paros, because our hotels picked us up and dropped us off for free. If I had to carry all of my luggage on public transportation - it would be absolutely horrendous.

The motivation behind the shedding of my seemingly unnecessary belongings is my superstitious hope is that if I leave something behind, eventually I’ll return. I’m mostly happy that all of the things I’ve left behind have been on purpose (I’m known to leave very important things unintentionally).

Now the only thing I have to do now is make sure I don’t weigh a million pounds by the time I leave Greece. So far the food has been good and I’m making my way through all the Greek desserts as well. I'll have fun trying them all though. It's worth every pound I'll gain. :)

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

On the road again...

Hello my faithful readers:

The past few weeks where a whirlwind of activity for me. I barely had time to think, much less update in any detail what was going on for me. My twitter feed gets a lot more updates on my life because it's only 140 characters and I don't have to spend a half hour thinking about what I want to say there. Now I before I head out for another day of adventures I figured it would be good time to share some of my current thoughts.

I've finally completed all of the requirements for my MBA program at Vlerick. This year has been one of the best years of my life and as I spent the past few days in Leuven saying goodbye to all of my new found friends from the program - it was a bittersweet moment for me. I was happy that the hard work was over, but I realized that as a result of the work ending I won't be seeing and talking my friends everyday like I did when we were in class.

I've mentioned it before, but most of my learning this past year has been through random conversations with my new friends from the program. We've shared our thoughts on topics as diverse as business (we were MBA students), politics, healthcare, travel, love and life. I'll miss these moments full of laughter, great stories and fellowship most of all.

Now that I've packed up my little life in Leuven, I'm on a whirlwind adventure through Greece. Yesterday was my first full day here and I have to thank one of my classmates Orestis for all of the great advice he's given me for my trip. The hospitality of the Greek people has been amazing. From the moment I arrived at my little hotel everyone has been more than helpful. I've NEVER had so many people on a trip offer their phone number for me to just give a call if I needed help with anything or even just wanted to meet up for a trip. I LOVE IT HERE!

Yesterday on the walk up to Acropolis I also met a few Americans who were living in Europe. One young lady is studying here in Greece until December (she's from Utah). I also met a cool young woman who used to live around the corner from me in Bedstuy and is currently living in Paris. I'll try to post a few more blogs during my 20 day odyssey as I head to Mykonos, Paros and Santorini (in Greece) and Istanbul and Cappodocia (in Turkey).

Now I'll try to figure out how I'm going to survive moving all of the luggage I brought with me. I have the feeling that a few pieces of clothing will be sacrificed for the sake of lightening my load by the end of this trip. I'll be moving around a lot with my classmate Oksana, who is joining me later tonight!

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

All good things must come to an end

Hello my faithful readers:

My Giving Back Project for School of Life (SOL) International Foundations in Roatan, Honduras is drawing to a close and it has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. For the first time in a long while, I feel that my work will actually be used and will make a real difference to the organization I’m helping.

Yesterday in the morning we had a meeting to discuss the comments and suggested changes for the plan we submitted to SOL last week. We submitted a comprehensive plan covering the areas of action (activities and operations), financial, fundraising and marketing. Our entire group met with Dave (one of the SOL founders) and Andrea (our project advisor). I was delighted to hear that they liked our suggestions and would be presenting it at their upcoming annual Board of Directors meeting.

After our morning meeting we went out for a glass bottom boat cruise with some of the SOL kids in the afternoon. It was a pleasure seeing the excitement of the youngest kids as we floated by all of the exotic sea creatures at the bottom of the sea.

I’m happy that I came to work on this project. Being here has made me appreciate some of the things I take for granted on a daily basis like constant internet connection, hot showers and even shoes! The one thing I won’t miss is all of the mosquito bites!

I’ve also had a lot of time to reflect and although if you were to ask me today where I think I’ll be living come October, all I could tell you is where I don’t want to live. The great news is that I have started to write down my goals through the next year and a half. I intend to write out my more long-term goals before I leave the island. After today’s meeting I added one more thing to the list --I want my work to be used and appreciated in my next job. I can’t tell you the number of times I wrote tour and festival strategies at my last job that went unused (and probably unread).

The experience here in Roatan has been challenging, lots of fun and something I hope to never forget. We’ll get out of here a little earlier than anticipated and I’m thinking about the air-conditioning, hot showers and constant internet connection waiting for me in my next destination (I'm leaving early and will be visiting my family and friends in Georgia for the weekend)!

As always thank you for reading and for posting your comments! I love hearing from you.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

Trust yourself

Hello my faithful readers:

I’ve been here in Roatan for exactly two weeks now and it feels like so much longer. The word to describe how I’ve felt in the last day has been languorous…it’s impossible not to relax when you’re semi-disconnected from the real world. Even the sun poisoning and the resulting hives I’ve been dealing with have decided to chill out (but only a little bit, since I still have them).

It’s not as if I’m not working while I’m here in Roatan, as we’ve actually done quite a bit of working on our respective plans for our project. I’m responsible for the marketing plan and we’ll deliver the full plan for review to our project advisor on Tuesday. But even with all of the work we’re putting in – Roatan has such a relaxed vibe that I’m enjoying sort of just going with the flow of things.

One of the things that I’ve had the time to think about a little bit more is the whole – “I’m- graduating-from-my-MBA-program-soon-and-I-haven’t-really-scratched-the-surface-of- job-hunting-at-all-issue.” Alas, the beaches of Roatan make me want to become a beach bum and travel the world in search of endless paradise. Would that be such a terrible thing?

Coming into the MBA program was my opportunity to learn more about the world. I’ve done that, and I’ll continue to do it as much I can, but I realize that in some ways one year was not remotely enough time. Learning is, in my opinion, a continuous process and I’ll cycle through being the student or the teacher (as determined by the situation).

The one major lesson for me this past year was that as an outside observer –it’s easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes that other side of the fence has weeds or infestations of bugs that you couldn’t see from your side of the fence though. Yes – it’s an old lesson, but I’m hard-headed and I needed to learn this particular one on a much grander scale.

But I’m happy to have learned this lesson again, because looking at things from my neighbor’s side of the fence gave me much needed perspective on my life. I’ve discovered some things about myself that I have to improve in order to become a better me, as well as some things that are working well for me.

The one thing I’m working out for myself now is what balance means to me. I’ve always heard that life should be balanced, but what exactly does that mean? It’s something that I’ve thought a lot about lately and I’m still thinking about it now. In the past I’ve focused almost solely on my career. I recognize now that yes, my career is important to me, but there are other things in life. I’d like to spend a little more time focusing on those ‘other things’ in life now.

It’s time to write some new goals for myself, because the year has led me to a place that I didn’t expect initially. I had a plan before I arrived in Belgium, but I’m not quite the same woman I was a year ago. I'm a little more mature, a lot softer and I recognize now that the old plan won’t work for me anymore.

Here’s a quote I read today that resonates with me:

Trust yourself. Create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement. -- Foster C. McClellan

I’ll start with this – trusting myself to do what’s right for me. Then I’ll work on creating the kind of life I’ll be happy with (for the rest of my life). That’s most important for me now – a happy life.

As always thanks for stopping by to read my blog. I appreciate all the comments and support you give me.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

I'm an adventurous woman now

Hello my faithful readers:

This weekend I became an “adventurous woman” as my friend Javiera called me. If you know me well, then you know that I don’t do so well with heights. You’re talking to a girl who is more than a little frightened of going on a down escalator. So the fact that I actually got up the nerve to zip-line across the Honduran jungle is a pretty big deal.

The experience zip-lining or “canopy” as it is called here on Roatan, was the beginning of my birthday weekend celebration. The trip was organized as a treat for some of the more well-behaved kids from the tutoring program for SOL. Once I relaxed a little bit (about halfway through) I had an amazing time and just enjoyed the view from up in the air. For me zipping through the air was rather peaceful once I forgot that I was terrified of heights. Seeing the happy expressions on about 12 of the SOL kids after getting through the course was rewarding as well – they truly inspired me to face my fears.

After my morning of the canopy tour – we ended the night by going out for dinner and drinks in the West End section of the island – the part of town where we generally hang out most when we want to grab drinks or dinner. We went to local Balleda stand for dinner where I had a tasty pollo (chicken) one. Then we headed to Sundowners Bar (refreshing frozen margaritas), Mayan Lounge (vodka 2 for 1 special & the much needed ice-cold air-conditioning), then to the Blue Marlin (delicious brownie with vanilla ice-cream). After the Blue Marlin most of the group was tired from such a long day and we made a relatively early night of it and I was home and safely tucked into bed by 11 PM.

On my actual birthday I woke up super early again (it’s hard to sleep here past 6:30 AM because it’s so sunny and hot by then). Our power went out around 7 AM so I went outside to cool off at the docks. We’d decided that we would do a day-trip to West Bay (the area on Roatan where most of the resorts are located). After a 5-10 minute water taxi ride from West End we arrived to a strip of resorts and lots of beach. We walked the strip enjoying the cool water lapping at our feet. Then we had a lunch then headed back here to Sandy Bay. It was a relaxing day for me and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my 32 years on this earth.

Mwuah,

A Broad

Something to think about

Hello my faithful readers:

I’ve been here in Roatan, Honduras for exactly one week. In the meantime I’ve started to take note of my surroundings…Roatan has more Americans here than on the little island of Manhattan. I kid, but it has been strange to hear so many American accents since I’ve arrived. From what I’ve observed, many of the people who own businesses here (bars, resorts, restaurants and dive shops) are expatriates. I haven’t talked to many of the American expats yet, but I am curious about what motivates them to move here to the Honduras. Life here isn’t as convenient or easy as you’d find in most of the developed, western world.

Earlier this week we went to the neighborhood (Sandy Bay) where most of the kids who are helped by the School of Life (SOL) International Foundation live. It was an unsettling experience for me because the neighborhood was a mix of fancy resorts, nice beachfront homes and the homes of where the kids live. Some of the homes where the kids lived were in such stages of disrepair that they didn’t even look inhabitable to my untrained eyes; all of this was across the street from a luxury resort. Many of the other neighborhoods here (e.g. Coxen Hole) have similar tough living conditions.

I knew that Honduras is the second poorest country in America, but visiting has affected me more than I expected it would. It makes me realize that even my most humble living conditions were more like luxury homes in comparison to the homes of most of the kids who participate in SOL.

The things I’ve taken for granted-- potable drinking water, hot showers, food, shoes and education are all things that are not readily available for the kids that actively participate in the program. This is something that isn’t as easy to ignore when you’re not faced with it on a daily basis. I remember having this same uncomfortable feeling when I was in China earlier this year. How do you reconcile whining about not having the money to splurge for your next pair of the newest, hottest shoes when some kids don’t have any to wear?

The thing that gave me a little hope was seeing the kids have a good time at the SOL Recreation program, despite whatever they were facing at home. Five nights a week from 5-8 PM, the kids can come to the courts (an old unused basketball court that a local resort allows SOL to use) and play. SOL provides them with the space and a few basic pieces of equipment and crafts (e.g. balls, skates, books, construction paper, markers) to keep them from getting into trouble – gangs and drugs are a big problem here.

The most shocking thing was the number of two-year olds who walked into the courts on their own. I just couldn’t imagine as a parent allowing my two-year old to walk the streets by themselves especially at night. In fact throughout the whole evening we only saw one parent come to the courts with her four-year old son.

On the evening that we visited the courts there were about 35-40 kids participating. I saw kids playing fierce games of futbol (soccer) or basketball, drawing pictures and even rollerblading. That evening there was a great deal of ingenuity and perseverance from the kids using the rollerblades; all of them were using just one skate because of skill or simple availability of skates. It was a funny sight, but the kids were fearless and having a ball doing tricks on their self made obstacle courses. It was a humbling experience for me to see that this one little program seemed to give them an escape- a few hours for them just to have a good time.

My hope is that through our efforts we can recommend practical ways for SOL to implement more structure and procedures to the folks at SOL so that they can continue to help as many of the kids as they can. There is so much need here that it’s hard even with an MBA to decide what advice is relevant for the current situation. Resources – financial and human are severely limited for SOL. It’s tough to find suitable volunteers who are willing to spend the time it takes to keep the programs going for more than a month or two at a time.

If you’re looking for ways to make a difference – consider volunteering or donating to a worthy organization. To make a donation or find out about the opportunities to help SOL, click here.

In transit

Hello my faithful readers:

Wow – I can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this blog from my apartment in Roatan, Honduras. Life has changed a great deal for me over the past year – in fact at this time last year I was preparing to give notice to my job to embark on what has turned out to be the experience of a lifetime for me – pursuing my MBA at Vlerick in Belgium.

I’m here in the Honduras for one of my last projects as a Vlerick MBA student with my team of four other students (Chris, Javiera, Jess and Julio). We’re here to help School of Life (SOL) Foundation to put together a fundraising plan. SOL is a foundation, based here on Roatan to help children in the Sandy Bay community who are at risk youth – risk of drugs, gangs and dropping out of school.

I arrived in the Honduras on Thursday afternoon following a long travel, which involved me taking the train from Belgium on Tuesday afternoon to London. From London I flew to NYC where I had a few hours to try to get into the city from JFK, do a little shopping and take care of my much needed manicure-pedicure at my spot on 7^th Ave and near 34^th Street.

I also caught up with one of my best friends Olin when I was in NYC but only for about an hour and a half at his Spanish Harlem apartment. I wish we’d had the time to catch up a little longer, but I had a flight to catch, so I headed back downtown to wait for the train to Newark, NJ where I had a hotel room for the night. The New Jersey Transit trains to the Newark Airport where I was catching my hotel shuttle were delayed; after a 2+ hour wait at Penn Station, it was almost 3 AM by the time I made it to my hotel.

The next morning I was up bright and early to prep for my flight to Houston, TX where I had a short stay with one of my other best friends Gigi. I also got to meet my godsons (her twin boys) for the very first time since their birth a little over a year ago. It was great to see Gigi in mommy mode and to see the boys in action. They were adorable and although I couldn’t imagine myself raising twins, Gigi was in her element and you could see that she’d spent a lot of time creating an environment focused on their comfort and enjoyment.

I didn’t get to see much of Houston because of some of the most torrential rains I’ve ever seen. I made a mental note that I should NEVER visit that city during Hurricane season. That’s why I consider it a miracle that all of my flights in and out of Houston were on time.

Our apartments are located right off of a lovely beach and the views are amazing. Our apartment complex is lush with vegetation with lots of beautiful trees and bushes. I’ve also seen lots of hummingbirds, crabs and fishes since I’ve arrived. I don’t mind that we don’t have hot running water because to be quite honest the cold showers I take are a relief from the heat. I love it here, despite all of the creepy crawly bugs and flying bugs, an unavoidable part of life here in the Honduras, which have taken a liking to biting me (and the rest of the team).

My favorite thing to do so far is to sit at the beach or at the top of our pier and stare out at the ocean. My access to internet is limited and I don’t have a mobile phone here with me so far Roatan has been a great place to get a little thinking and reflecting done. Before I arrived I thought I would be freaked out by not having constant connection to the internet, but when you’re disconnected from the rest of the world it’s s relaxing and it gives me time to think about the future without the distractions I would normally have. I’m also getting a lot of reading for pleasure in, something I haven’t done much this past year because things were just too busy.

We’ll get started working on our project full throttle tomorrow. But for now we have the rest of this weekend to enjoy getting acquainted to Roatan and all of the pleasures it has to offer. It’s very laid-back and the team is a lot of fun. Let the good times roll!

Awkward situation #1046

Hello my faithful readers:

Last night I had a lovely evening hanging out with my friends and fellow classmates. One of the highlights of my night was attending a reception for one of our visiting speakers, the former leader of the SDP in Iceland and Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs and External Trade. It was here where I had one of the most awkward moments in my life.

Here's how it happened (as I recall). One of my classmates introduced me and another classmate to his wife (Mrs. Iceland), as Americans. Here's a rough approximation of what I remember from the exchange with Mrs. Iceland.

Me: "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Mrs. Iceland: "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. I thought you were African because you're so dark."

Me: (with a blank expression on my face if my classmates who were there can be trusted) "No, I'm American."

Mrs. Iceland: "I've been to America and I've never met anyone as dark as you are..."

My American Classmate (who happens to be caucasian): "No we've got plenty of people like her in America, especially in the south."
Mrs. Iceland: "Are you two here together?"
My American Classmate: "No we didn't come here together."
After this exchange, I checked out of the conversation and she proceeded to chat with some of my Indian classmates. My classmates and I laughed later about the situation with Mrs. Iceland, but I finally had a reason to discuss this topic on my blog. Race and it's effect on me has been on my mind for a while now. The one thing that I noticed since my move to Europe is there seems to be more openness to just say what they're thinking, even if it could be perceived as off-putting by others.

As an American, I find that Europe is not nearly as politically correct as the United States has become. People here are likely to utter racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments in public forums -- and that's what I've personally heard in English, I can only imagine what I'd hear if I spoke French or Dutch fluently.

For example, last week in our M&A weekend, one of the speakers made the slightly offensive comment "All you'd need to do is hire a couple of cheap Indians and you can get around the security of the virtual data rooms."

When I heard this comment, in a public forum, all I could think was if they had made this type of comment in America, they would have been fired or at least strongly reprimanded. One of my other classmates from a country in Eastern Europe also noticed the comment and mentioned that he was offended as well.
I have to say that since living here in Belgium, I've run into many people who have never met an "African-American" before. In fact, most people have never interacted with a person of color before. If I'm asked by one more person to touch my hair, I think I'll scream. I understand that for most people it is not coming from a hurtful or malicious place at all; they are curious and want to know more about the different texture of my hair. Somehow, as well-intended as it is meant to be, I always end feeling like some sort of animal at the petting zoo when the topic comes up.

Most of the people of color here in Belgium are from Africa and India. Especially amongst the Africans, I have noticed that there are not many working in high paying, professional careers. I do not begin to assert that I know enough about the reasons why there are so few Africans working in white collar careers here in Belgium, but I believe that it has to have some effect on how I'm viewed and treated outside of the safety of the walls of Vlerick.

When I first moved here back in August, I set up an appointment to view a studio apartment. I confirmed with the man on the phone that I would be there and when I arrived, an older (white) woman answered the door. She didn't speak much English, but from her body language, she was telling me that I wasn't welcome. I did not even get the chance to see the place and that was within my first week of moving to Belgium. The experience was painful, but I have tried not to let it color my experiences. It is my experience that most of the younger generation are a lot more open to other races.

Being here in Europe has awakened a curiosity to find out more about my roots. In the US, they started calling us "African-American" back in the 1990's, before that I was simply known as 'black' and if I'm honest, that is still what I refer to myself as most of the time. I don't have enough knowledge about my families roots to say where my family might have been from in Africa. It makes me wonder if I can truthfully call myself "African-American?"

What many people do not realize is how much diversity there is amongst "African Americans" in the US. We all have many different hair textures, skin tones and backgrounds. That diversity is what makes us such a rich, beautiful people.
What I appreciate most about this whole experience of living abroad is how different my life is from a year ago. A year ago, I would have never imagined that I would be sitting in the same room with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade from Iceland. Although I have experienced a few awkward and uncomfortable moments since I've moved here, it's well worth it. I'm learning more about myself and growing as a person each day. Although there are days where I feel overwhelmed by the pressure of processing so many new experiences (+ my course work), I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.
The other day (before awkward situation #1046) one of my classmates said to me, "I don't see you as an African American, I just see you as an American."
I hope that one day we'll get to a place where all people will truly be judged by the content of my character and not the color of my skin and it won't matter so much.

Thanks for reading today. This is something I've wanted to get off my chest for a while. I'd love to hear what you're thinking. Sound off!

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

I was robbed!

Hello my faithful readers:

To say that I've had a rough couple of weeks would be the understatement of the year, yet I still realize that my problems are nothing when compared with your average person's issues. I have a lot to be thankful for, like the fact that I have a roof over my head, food to eat (most of the time) and the clothes on my back. That's enough to give me the foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy, although yesterday the "safety" I felt in my (temporary) home was threatened.

Yesterday, I had a break-in to my studio apartment here in Leuven. Thankfully I was not here at the time (I was at school all day doing group work) and they really only made out with my cameras and lenses. I'm really pissed off, a little afraid and even more upset about having my space invaded and having someone to go through my things. I realize that in the scheme of things this is something that won't kill me, but make me smarter, tougher and hopefully more careful in the future.

When I came home yesterday, the first problem I noticed in my apartment, was that one of my shirts was in the trash can and that I hadn't put it there. The first thought I had was that my landlord had come in for some emergency and done some work because a few of my storage boxes had been moved and a lot of the bags, clothes, papers were all over the place. Someone went through all of my papers, they rifled through my passport and my travel wallet. I know because they tossed all of this stuff on my floor.

I called my landlord to make sure he didn't have anyone doing any work in here first. He told me that someone else in our building upstairs had their lock broken in a break in attempt - this didn't happen to me, because my lock did not look like it had been tampered at all. Hearing this last night, only made me more angry because I felt like this is information that should have been shared with all of the tenants in the building.

After speaking to him on the phone, he was no help because he was in Brussels at the time, I went to the police station near my building. It was closed, so I marched back home and called one of my friends here who kindly talked me down and helped me to find the number of the police. I called them and they sent officers over about a half hour later.

The two officers came in and looked around, asked me a few questions and had me to fill in a report. I was hoping that they would do some fingerprinting or something, but they didn't and they said that it would be impossible to get good prints off my leather camera bag. This is my second experience with the Belgian police in the last two weeks. I have to say that although they have all been nice, I believe I'd be a be a much more thorough police officer than they seem to be.

Leuven is supposed to be one of the safest cities in the world. Before yesterday I felt like it was and some of my classmates have left their doors unlocked here in Leuven. Now for me, it's a place where I will be looking over my shoulders and giving everyone the side eye wondering if they broke into my apartment and rifled through my things and stole my camera. This whole experience makes me even more homesick and I realize now, more than ever, just how charmed my life has been up until now. I'm just hoping that the rest of this year will be smooth sailing from here on out.

I have to say here how thankful I am for all of the calls, texts, facebook messages of love and support I've received from everyone. You have no idea how much it means to me and it will take me a little time to get back to normal, but you are helping me to speed the process up!

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach