a slice of the city

shawna's friend Christina Sharp is here right now... having a good time getting to know her and talking through how we both can't believe that we didn't know each other in California since we knew all the same people. we have been walking around the city a bit and she has been helping remind me to take pics of things that will help everyone who reads this to see what i am seeing everyday. so, here are some sensory pictures... :)


in vondelpark... i run here as often as i can. it is a huge park in the middle of the city with tons of trails and open spaces. this time of year it is especially beautiful... the 2 girls are christina and noelle

on herengracht at dusk.... "gracht" means canal in dutch. you have to say the "g" and the "ch" with a gutteral spitting sound (sort of like in german). really pretty to listen to (ha ha).
beautiful night... a bit cold, so we went home not long after this ;). i run the canals pretty often too... really when i get bored with vondelpark. keeps things interesting.

back in action

sunset at Scheveningen beach in den Haag

so, i have been in den Haag for the past week and working on Field Orientation with CAI. Not only running logistics, but participating as well. it was for all of the people that have been on the field for 6 months to a year. pretty intense time, tons of sessions and meetings. god stuff though. took even more personality tests, so now i can really excuse all of my actions behind these tests (JUST KIDDING!) but seriously, I am an ENFJ, SPATE, an activator, developer, includer, have positivity and woo and am accomodating. so... there were a bunch of tests that outline personality, conflit management skills, strengths and giftings. and then what to do with all of that, what that looks like in team dynamics, models for work, etc., etc., etc... all good stuff, but so much to process and work through. so, i have been out of contact with the rest of the world for a bit. but, we were let out on occasion to go into the city to hang out :) logisitcs went well and there are many ways that we can tweak it for next time...

some really cool building in den Haag

sidenote: i love this country. reason: most people are as tall or taller than i am. it is stinking great. i was on the train yesterday and there was a guy sitting next to me that, i kid you not, had to be about 6' 7''. this is so not normal. i learned last week that many of the people that are just adjusting to culture are really missing american food, little differences between here and the US, but i can't get over how tall people are here. too funny.

more to come. here are some pics of the end of the 2 weeks (i couldn't find my battery charger until the end of the 2 weeks. classic.)...

at de Oude Mol in den Haag... this little bar down the street from the monestary we hung out at the end of the night when sessions were over. Met some really cool regulars and the bartender is wonderful. her name is Daphne and she is getting her masters right now in art curation for corporate companies. we are planning to get together for lunch or dinner sometime when i am in den Haag during the week! Daphne is the girl in the pic by herself below... Klaus is another guy that we met... German guy who is a higher-up in Shell, which is based out of den Haag. some very cool conversations with him. He is the gentleman in the pic next to the candle. all the rest of us were part of FO.



































celebration dinner at the Graf's house the night before everyone went home to the countries they are currently residing in. Kerri is attempting to feed Laina's chickens, Hud (our soul care man) and Al (my boss) trying to talk, and as many people as possible fitting into the kitchen to help make dinner for the 30 people that are at the house... good times!