XXX hearts bikes!

We arrived to Amsterdam on Wednesday the 13th and were immediately charmed by the warmth, beauty and SUNNY streets of Amsterdam.  I'm not quite sure what I expected to find, but this is a place where I could spend much more than the time we are here for over the next few days.

We've had presentations on the challenges of diversity including a focus on women's right, GLBT issues and the growing tensions among the Muslim community and the dutch.  Amsterdam is a very inclusive city where the general motto is live and let live, but it would be wrong to say that the city is without it's community tensions.

For those that don't know A'dam is a city where there are nearly 800,000 people and there are almost as many bicycles (500,000).  The entire city commutes to and from by bike and it is just incredible.  We had the chance to visit the bicyle repository where bikes that are stolen or abandoned arrive.  Adults with learning and physical disabilities restore thousands and thousands of bikes each year and bikes that arrive here are reclaimed, recycled and sold back to bike shops.  It is quite the operation.

Today we travelled to the Hague to visit the international criminal courts and were actually able to sit in on a portion of a trial.  We also had the opportunity to visit parliament and visit with a member of the VVD party (the "liberals" which here in the Netherlands are socially liberal and fiscally very conservative).  Had a chance to talk about issues ranging from the education system to immigration policy and everything in between.

Tomorrow is a trip to Flavoland to visit a dairy farm and learn about renewable energy efforts as well.

Sorry, I haven't written more--we literally start every morning around 8 and don't finish up most nights before 10:30. 

Next post will be some photos!

All,

Sorry I haven't posted yet. It has been go, go, go since we arrived here in Brussels. I am quickly beginning to understand why other Fellows have shared that any chance you get 1-2 hours of free time, you usually go back to your hotel room and take a nap!

We arrived on Saturday morning and our city coordinator tooks us on a walking tour all around Belgium--we started on noon and didn't return to our hotel until around 7:30.   Brussels is an incredibly beautiful city full of old history, historic buildings and incredible chocolate, waffles and beer. On Sunday we took a train to the Ghent a city in the Flemish region of the country. While we did stage a minor rebellion to stop our walking tour to get additional layers of hats and gloves (it is freezing here), we really enjoyed the walking tour.

The colleagues that I am travelling with are all quite intriguing and accomplished folks from across the US. We have fellows representing Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Alaska, Atlanta, and California in our group. There are actually four other people who work in Philanthropy.

Some funny moments have included the many confusing to figure out (to us) washrooms.  More than one of us has walked into the wrong restroom and also not being able to figure out how the entire facility works.  More later –we’re off to the EU for the day!

Pictures soon!

Off we go...or not so much

My flight that was to depart for DC this morning has been cancelled due to the storm that has been labeled "Snowquester 2013," although I've already received multiple reports that this was the storm that wasn't.  We're scheduled for two days of orientation at the German Marshall Fund Office but I won't be arriving until tomorrow evening.  Didn't think the travel obstacles would occur here in the US, but hopefully if all goes well, I will be on a flight for Brussels on Friday evening.

Was also shocked to hear the news yesterday of Hugo Chavez' death in Venezuela.  Whether you loved him or hated him, you can't argue that he was a loud  and charismatic voice for the poor and disenfranchised in his country and across the world.  I will be interested to dialogue with European leaders about how he was perceived and received in their countries. 

Still reporting from Denver, Colorado---J-Lo.

Friends and Family--

On March 6th I will depart on a great adventure in 2013. I have been selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States to travel to five different cities in Europe including Brussels, Amsterdam, Athens, Prague and Paris. There are 50 Fellows that are selected each year and this year three were selected from Colorado. They include a Denver City Council member, an engineer from the Air Force Academy and yours truly.  We will travel first to DC and then to Europe for approximately 25 days in March.
 

The German Marshall Fund is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization that works on strengthening transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan.  The Fund was established as a gift from Germany in the 1980's in recognition of our contributions to rebuilding their country after World War II.

 

I'll keep this blog for the month of March as a travel journal so those who want to check in on my from time to time can do so. The title of the blog reflects the insights and ideas I'll bring with me along the way that were originally shaped where my childhood was spent on Blueflax Street in Pueblo, CO.

 

Let the adventure begin!