Rotary District 5320

Follow the travels of Amy Henslin, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, as she pursues her studies in the Netherlands!  View her full blog at http://amyrotaryambassador.blogspot.com/

“I was awarded the 2010-2011 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to pursue a Masters in the field of Public Policy & Human Development. I’ve decided to join the world of blogging to share my adventures in the Netherlands and my journey through this amazing schloarship program. Honored to be representing District 5320, I’m very excited to be joining District 1550 in Maastricht, the Netherlands!”

• Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:25:00 +0000: Thesis Submitted! - Diary of a Rotary Ambassador
  
  
  Well, now that I’ve handed in my thesis, I’ve finally found some time to write :) The past month or so I’ve lived between the library and my apartment working on “the monster”. 100 pages later, 170 with the Appendix, and some nice binding I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.
  
  
  So what was I up to before my writing “hibernation” began? Well part of my family came to visit! My sister, her husband, and my mother came out for a few weeks and we toured Maastricht, northern Germany, and parts of Belgium. It was exciting to say the least, and although I’ve been in Europe for awhile now, it reminded me just how much I love being a tourist. Here are some pictures from our fun trip.
  
  
  Towards the end of my mom’s trip, I also got to meet up again with Erik, the Ambassadorial Scholar from Missouri. It was great to have one last cup of coffee together and reminisce about our good times in Maastricht. 
  
  

  Boat ride on the Maas

  Being almost blown away while checking out a WWII monument on the Maas

  In Cologne with my sister

  In Berlin at the Kennedy Museum with my mom

  
  
  
  
  

  Gorgeous "birds -eye" view of Hamburg

  
  
  
• Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:20:00 +0000: Time Flies! - Diary of a Rotary Ambassador
  Wow, it has been awhile since my last post! Well things here in Maastricht are as good as ever. I've been keeping up with my thesis and will hopefully be able to submit a draft at the end of the week. The past few weeks have been filled with gorgeous weather, with some pretty stormy weather this past week.
  
  At the moment my days aren't too exciting. I spend most of the day writing or working projects and have started counting down the days until my family comes to visit. I'm very excited to have them come and get a little bit of a break from all this writing.
  
  Despite the writer's block and frustration at times it's nice to have a few flickers of "the light at the end of the tunnel" now and then. I've also started applying for jobs, so we'll see how that goes. In the mean time here are some pictures of sunny, beautiful Maastricht for you to enjoy. Hope everyone is doing well!
  
  

  Studying in the park on a sunny afternoon

  
  

  Sitting in the park attempting to study in such beautiful weather with my friend Ann-Louise

  
  

  My bike route to and from seminar every day

  
  

  One of the many ships that passes along the Maas River every day

  
  

  One of the three main bridges connecting Maastricht over the Maas River

   
  
• Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:54:00 +0000: Cathching up - Diary of a Rotary Ambassador
  
  
  So it’s been a few weeks since my last post. What have I been up to? Well, mainly school.  Well into my migration specialization I have seminars every week with varying presentations, papers, and exams. It has been really interesting to work in depth with the topic of migration and getting some literature to fuel my thesis isn’t a bad trade off at all.
  
  
  I’ve also s revamped my resume, CV, and German Lebenslauf in an effort to have some  job applications submitted in the next couple of weeks. I’ve never been a stranger to applications, but job applications (potential full-time salary) are definitely a different ballpark than all of my university applications thus far. I’m excited the thought of working full-time at the end of this year will give me an opportunity to dive into my field and really gets some hands-on experience with everything I’ve been learning. 
  
  
  I’m also excited because it seems that spring is slowly but surely arriving. Look for some pictures at the end of this week for of the gorgeous flowers popping up all over Maastricht.
  Until then, have a great week!
  
• Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:32:00 +0000: Rotary Weert - Diary of a Rotary Ambassador
  
  
  A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Rotary club in Weert. As usual it was a great evening and I really enjoyed talking to many of the members in the club. It was also interesting to receive some “insider tips” on how to prepare and what to do during Carnival (which took place this past week). Such as only the foreigners dress up before Sunday, and Sunday and Monday I should be prepared for a huge parade and lots of festivities.
  It was also a pleasure to talk to one member specifically about the details of the Ambassadorial Scholarship. He was very interested in getting the process going in Weert, what my application process was like, how I found out about the scholarship etc. It was great to be able to connect him via email to members in my home club (Fullerton Sunrise Rotary) to answer his questions about the Rotarian side of things.
  
  
  Along with exchanging banners the club also presented Erik and I with two fine bottles of red and white wine, what a nice surprise and great ending to a lovely evening.
  
  
  Here are some pictures from the evening, enjoy!
  
  

  Explaining my thesis topic to the club

  Exchanging banners with the club president

   Hope you all have a great week!
  
• Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:06:00 +0000: Potluck! - Diary of a Rotary Ambassador
  I would venture to say that food and I have had a long loving affair. I love baking (cooking is growing on me), reading food blogs, and taste testing whenever I have the chance. So during Stephan's last visit to Maastricht my roommate Marta and I decided we should have a potluck. That's right my midwestern roots have kept the concept well and alive even if I happen to be on another continent.
  
  As I've mentioned before one of the best parts about my masters program is its international atmosphere. Which by default means my friends here in Maastricht are from a variety of places from all over the globe. Which in terms of taste testing really works to my advantage ;)
  
  We ended up being 9 people in total and I was utterly amazed at the effort and care each one of my friends put into preparing their dishes. This evening of fine dining has officially beat out all of my potluck experiences thus far. Here's a run down of my amazing guests and their delicious dishes : Marta (Italy) made Pasta alla carbonara, Stephan (Germany) made Frikadellen (meatballs), Lucas (Singapore) brought and prepared Laksa and Durian for dessert, Annlouise (Norway) brought Lapskaus (stew), Inger (Norway) & Tobias (Germany) brought Russian salad (a Norwegian recipie), Hendrik (Germany) brought pizza bread, Chloe (Australian/Maltese) brought wonderful Maltese stew, and I made some Apple Pie.
  
  It was a great evening and I'm pretty sure we all went to bed very full. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy!
  
   
  
  
  

  Lucas' noodles for Laksa and some dessert toppings.

  
  

  Durian, which we all learned requires a very acquired test, was deinitely unique!

  Chloe's amazing Maltese stew!

  
  

  Marta's Pasta alla carbonara next to Lucas' Laksa

  
  

  Annlouise's Lapskaus

  
  

  From Left to Right Inger, myself, Annlouise, and Stephan taste testing