Clearly I am not very good at keeping an ongoing blog, and for that I apologize.I suppose I have a little catching up to do…

I last left off in Amsterdam...After spending seven days in the magical city of Amsterdam we took a train to Munich, Germany.We went to several bier gardens and the Hoffbrau House (of course) and went on a free walking tour of the city.There was so much history, it made America seem so boring. While we were in Munich we couch surfed with some Turkish guys in a dorm for exchange graduate students studying in Germany, and had a really great time.There were people from Turkey, Kenya, Ireland, France, Finland… pretty much everywhere but Germany, all hanging out together and learning from one another.It was an incredible experience.On our last night we cooked everyone an American meal (patty melts and fries cooked in the oven - which they had never heard of) and they all loved it.

After that we took another train to Cologne, Germany.There we did a lot of exploring the city on foot.We went to a chocolate museum (yum!) and saw this gigantic, ridiculously intricate, gothic church called the Cologne Cathedral which is one of the most well known pieces of architecture in Germany.It took over 600 years to complete, and despite being hit by 14 bombs in WWII, it did not fall.It was really neat and inspiring.One day we took a train to Bornheim, Germany where Beth's brother-in-law's family comes from to get them some souvenirs.It was a quaint little German town where everone knew everyone else and no one spoke English.Beth's four years of studying German managed to pay off, though she refused to speak it unless absolutely necessary.We stayed with two really cool PhD students (studying genetics) in Cologne, one from India and one from Portugal.They were really funny and entertaining and one of them went to the Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) concert with us on our last night.SSLYBY's guitarist, Will, is Beth's ex and remains one of her closest friends (we have since grown very close) and it was really cool to see the first show of their first European tour.We hung out with the band until 5am and had to catch an 8am plane to Dublin the next morning (in VERY bad shape).

We were in Dublin for less than 24 hours total.We stayed with Beth's friend Carrin, an Australian whom she knew from working at camp in New Hampshire a few years prior and who had been living in Ireland (she happened to be moving back to Australia the day after we left, and it also happened to be her birthday).We spent much of our time in Dublin the airport, lost on a bus, or sleeping off massive hangovers, but overall it was a good time.I was able to meet up with a friend that I had known from working at camp and catch up.Unfortunately I could hardly keep down water, much less attempt to drink a Guinness.I will surely have to return to Ireland in the future for a rain-check for that Guinness. We flew back to Kansas City the next day, sad to go home but ready to get some real sleep for the first time in three months.By the end of the trip I felt like a completely different person.Traveling has opened my mind and made me realize that I am just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of a much larger picture.I have come to both appreciate and despise the American way of life.

After returning home and spending a week in Kansas City and a week in Cincinnati, we drove to New Hampshire to work at the summer camp that Beth and I had met at the summer prior.After two months of working as a charge nurse at a camp for little rich girls, Beth and I took our time driving down to Florida to visit friends and family and check out Disney World.Then it was another week or so in Cincinnati (where Beth and I bought a really cool old Volvo), then back to Kansas City to work at their Children's Hospital for three months.We've been renting a house with one of Beth's old friends, (which hasn't really worked out as well as planned) spending quality time with Lexi (my beloved Jack Russel) and Oscar (Beth's twin brother's adorable dachshund who's been living at our house for almost three months), and going back and forth from here and Springfield, MO to see our good friend Will. It's freezing here and has made me remember how much I hate winter. Tonight is my last night of work and once again, I am reminded how quickly time flies.The days seem long, the months short, and before I know it three months have passed.Weird.

So what now?Ecuador!We're going for a month to volunteer in the Cloud Forest and explore the country of Ecuador, leaving February 4th.I will try to be a bit more on top of blogging this time, but do know that I am a procrastinator and so it may take awhile.I'll try to post some more photos from my travels in the near future.

Be well!