a visit with Pierre

I'm not going to lie. I was terrified at the thought of going to some strange person's house who didn't speak English. And when Pierre greeted me with a huge hug, I was more than a little creeped out. But it turned out that Pierre was one of the funniest people I have ever met. On Friday night, Pierre took me and my roommate, Amanda, to a disco to meet some of his friends. I was surprised to find out how many people there actually spoke English. The next morning, Pierre, Amanda, and I met with some of the other Americans and hosts to tour a nearby castle. The view was absolutely amazing. While at lunch at a local restaurant, we discovered that in Luxembourg, you have to pay for any extra ketchup you use. We then drove to Belgium to see a memorial for Americans that died in World War II. That night we went to barbeque with the other host and Americans. A good time was had by all.

The next day, Pierre took Amanda and I to see a methane digester that is shared by his community. A total of 19 farms send the manure there and the heat is used to heat all of their houses. We then went to a farm to see robotic milkers before catching the bus to head to Germany.

All this joy riding might sound like a lot of fun, but riding in a car with Pierre was quite the expereince. I would compare it to riding a rollercoaster. And I held on for my life every time I got in the car. Another interesting point was that in Luxembourg, all you have for breakfast and dinner is bread. And sometimes cheese. But it was a very good experience and I had a lot of fun.

Laurel