On top of the Ferris Wheel In Dam Square photo by Lisa Bullerbyn

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already November. How did Halloween get here so fast? This was actually the first year that I didn’t dress up so I don’t know whether that means I’m getting old or this year was special. (I’ll go with the second one) The whole mentality of dressing up here in Amsterdam is quite different though. It’s not the typical costumes that I would expect to see back home. Instead on Saturday there was a parade of zombies emerging from the metro stations and marching their way through the city. Scary! Imagine Dawn of the Dead but literally crawling in front of you as you come out of Albert Hein (the chain grocery store).

This weekend I did get the chance to see my uncle, who was flying through, on his way back home to Louisville. Orn was the first family member I’ve seen in the past three months and it made me really happy to see someone familiar. Part of leaving for college is gaining an independence away from family and establishing yourself as an individual. Maybe some of you have experienced that already coming to Bellarmine. I on the other hand lived half an hour away from home and was back at least twice a week. So what is the best thing to do when you are away from home? When it comes down to staying in touch while you’re away there are a few options. First you can skype, call, email, facebook. If you do this too much though, then you’re completely missing out on the experiences around you. On the other hand you can just cut yourself off from the world and say “See you at Christmas!” I prefer the middle road, the one in which you stay close (maybe speaking once a week) but still not limiting yourself from the activies around you. How did people do it 50 years ago when all they had was snail mail?