I would strongly recommend to any of you who have been reading my column to study abroad. The Office of International Studies is in Hatcher Hall, and there is alot of information available about all of the different programs you can use to go abroad. The small amount of paperwork necessary is simple, and the costs are much lower than you might think. TOPS still covers my tuition with my program, and there are many other options available for financial aid. LSU has a great International Studies Program, but I don’t think that they get the recognition they deserve. Thank you, Jane Chandler, for putting up with my habitually late paperwork and helping me set up my semester here.
In my time here I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris, I’ve driven on the Autobahn in Germany and I attended a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Five hundred words every other week is simply not enough to tell you guys everything, and there’s so much left to say. For every great story in this column, there are another 10 that I’ll be telling for the rest of my life.
My travels have taken me to Paris, Nice, Rome, Florence, Antwerp and, of course, Amsterdam. My plans include trips to Morocco, Granada, Athens, Crete, London and Lisbon. I had never been to Europe before, but now that I’ve been traveling I fear that I may be addicted to it.
My favorite part of this time abroad is the people I’ve met. I’ve made new friends from all around the world. I will always remember Carl, Simon, Vesko, Monica, Nina, Giuseppe, Beth, Matteo, Dave, Maria, Linda, Rebekah, Laura and far too many others to include them all in this column.
I don’t think I can adequately explain to you guys just how much fun I’m having here. Yesterday was Queen’s Day, a national Dutch holiday celebrating the Queen’s birthday. Queen’s Day is held at the end of April because her real birthday is in January when it is way too cold.
Queen’s day was insane. The streets were completely full of people who came from all over Holland to party in Amsterdam. Everyone wore orange, the color of the royal family. My friends and I walked around, stopping at all of the different parties and watching all of the live bands playing all over the city.
My friends rented small paddle-boats to cruise around the canals. The boats were great until Simon and Matteo got too drunk and sunk one of the boats. How this happened, I just don’t know.
It has been a real pleasure writing this column for you guys. If any of you are considering studying abroad, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
 
Will thinks canals are pretty cool.
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