The sonogram.

There is so little time, of late, to write anything substantial. Although we are working only ten hours daily, on average, there is a level of fatigue we have never felt before. I am assuming this is due to the pregnancy. Of course we hesitate to believe it; so often the body has miscarried a child that it seems rather unrealistic. Personally, I did not take it as truth until we saw the results of the sonogram, several hours ago.

For those of you unaware, a sonogram performed to verify pregnancy includes instructions to drink forty-eight ounces of water two hours prior to the exam, and then try to maintain sanity. It was very uncomfortable after the first hour, and even rather painful approaching the second. Added to that, the sonography department was behind by a patient, so there was additional waiting time, which caused us to be nearly unable to walk once the name was called to submit to the exam. Although it was not amusing at the time, it turns out the amount of urine retained in the baldder was far too much and we were asked to void; however, at that point the bladder was already stretched and a pelvic sonogram was no longer an option. Instead, a trans-vaginal sonogram was performed. It was really quite invasive but the desired effect was obtained. We saw the child, and heard a healthy heartbeat at ten weeks gestation. It was marvellous to behold, and for a moment it seemed nearly magical. At the exact same moment, my faith was renewed in God and my displeasure was heightened toward the act of willful and elective abortion. This was no "group of cells clumped together" as activists for the National Organization of Women claim. This is a child in the strictest sense, with brain waves, a heartbeat, a recognizibly formed body. That is undeniably clear, in my opinion.

How very joyous, this; the parents are anxious, of course, and scrambling to raise enough funds for the Host to remain at home and care for the child for at least the first six months of life. However, upon studying a budget, that is not only possible but easily so. There will be no issues.

Most unexpected news.

How best to say this? Bluntly, I suppose: the body is two months pregnant. I suppose all the stress-induced vomiting was really morning-sickness. This is indeed a surprise. I cannot call it unplanned, as it would be technically untrue. The vast majority of adults know whence babies come, and in performing the act, one knows there is a chance, no matter how small, of conception. So: not unplanned, and not unwanted; but a surprise nonetheless.

Home safely, now.

I must say that the most enjoyable moments in Europe were in rather small towns in France and Germany, for two reasons. One is simply because they were absolutely magnificent in their simplicity and beauty. I long to live in such places, away from the concrete-and-neon façade that is Las Vegas. There was a generosity and warmth there that I have never sensed before.

Secondly, it was because in these small towns we met with our dear friend...she requests her name not be revealed but I am hoping I do not break trust in merely discussing this aspect of the trip. Witty, delightful and actually quite bright, she has just graduated from a rather prestigious international school, with honors. We enjoyed her company greatly, and that of her friends and family as well, who were more than gracious. How I wish she would see her own strengths.

Our return to America was less than savory; unruly children and their rude parents ruined most of the flight, and extreme incomptence at O'Hare International in Chicago caused us much trouble. After twenty-eight hours of total travel time from Northern France to Las Vegas, we were well past exhausted. And, returning to work the following day where they had just implemented a fifty-eight hour work week was not the best to come into, but our experiences abroad were worth it, entirely.

The only thing is that I was so foolish to think that somehow, the issues I was avoiding at home would perhaps disappear upon our return. Still, I believe our time away did help alleviate immediate pressures and also, time with friends overseas (or, "across the pond", as Niven likes to say) was incredibly refreshing. To be honest, I think that has renewed my faith in many things.

Europe: Entry the fifth.

This entry was written by Bruyère whilst in Europe.

So...we leave tomorrow morning. I might cry :-(

Meeting was fun...shes great!! It feels natural being together. Tannah likes her, and we got to meet her family and other friends. We had eis together in Kandern! that was a blast. And then, when we got to Lille, there was a barbeque, and I saw Tintin (their cat)...who Molly just LOVED. And we got crêpes for lunch that were just excellent, and we got to go to church with them too, and we learned a song called "Célébrer" or something, I remember the tune and the chorus but that's it. Logan got to be out a little and talk to her, he really enjoyed that, he wasn't sure if he would or not but he says the opportunity presented itself so...I'm glad they're friends, they hold each other up, I think. ::cries:: I don't want to leave, but I miss home, too, sometimes. Like all my problems are waiting for me there but also my family and friends who I love...it's hard.

Better get to sleep, our plane leaves early.

Europe: Entry the fourth.

This entry was written by Bruyère whilst in Europe.

Just got in to Kandern and meeting with our friend today...I'm so scared. Like, she feels like my cousin, we've known each other for a long time and I know her parents and all, but we've never met face to face...I hope she doesn't think I'm geeking out.

Europe: Entry the third.

This entry was written by Bruyère whilst in Europe.

Ah...

Big news at the end (for most of you but I do have a big mouth) but I'll update for now the rest. Paris was absolutely stunning! We stayed just outside of the city in Rosny-sous-Bois near a mall and a McDonald's...which really does call a quarter-pounder a royal-cheese. :-) My French was so so rusty, I spoke in present tense almost the whole time, but I was understood and everyone was very kind, accomadating, helpful. I see tho, why some Americans come back to the States saying French people were rude...because the Americans were rude!!! OMG, I have never been so embarrassed. People going up to counters saying, "Yo, I need you to change my traveller checks". And then like throwing the checks at them. I'd ignore them too. It was so shameful to watch. A group of Americans destroyed the elevator at our hotel, they were running around yelling, and the other guests just tried to ignore it but the vandalisers were like, "We're Americans, we can do what we want!" Awful. But anyway, we went to Parc Astérix and it was so much fun! Even tho we only went on 2 rides, Tonnère de Zeus and La Trace du Hourra, the tobbagan ride (without tracks!!) which is unlike anything I've ever seen, really. The Zeus ride was scary and I kept hoping I'd die just so the fear would end. I cried, oh it was evil. Even Tannah was scared, he'll admit it too. But we got pics of Astérix and Obélix, and ate French-style hotdogs...oh and in the city we had French-Mex!!! Which was AWFUL but I think that's because we expected auténtica comida mexicana, not a French-style Mexican place. Good food just...not Mexican, y'know? Kinda similar to our Irish hot-dog experience, interesting. Oh and then...I got so stressed because were supposed to go to Kandern, a very small town in Germany near Switzerland, and none of the French travel agents knew where it was, they kept saying it was in Switzerland...so I got stressed because I thought I'd have to try the same transaction in Germany knowing far less German than French, and I spent the next full day in Paris puking all over myself in various public places, so all we got to see aside from the Eiffel tower was the Cathédrale de Notre Dame (incredible!) and the Arc de Triomphe, which was actually pretty sobering.

We took a nite train...12 hours, to Berlin from Paris and went to Wolfsburg to see the VW Museum, which was really cool, and we plan to see Checkpoint Charlie tomorrow. I'm still sad, I would have rather skipped Berlin to see more of Paris but :-( things didn't work out.

More on all that later.

So....the news. The night before I started my stressed out vomitting spree (ask about the doctor in the mall) we went to the Eiffel Tower and have a lovely dinner and saw the tower all lit up. We wanted a pic together in front of the tower, and while Tannah was showing the girl how to work our camara, I stood there, a little annoyed that he took so long. Then he turned around got on 1 knee and proposed. At first I almost laughed because I thought he was joking then I saw the ring and I was so shocked and excited I didn't know which hand the ring went on and he had to show me. It was excellent! Just perfect. And we got pics of it all, and made 3 girls cry.

Ahhhhhh.

So much to tell, really. Just tons. And right now we have over 400 pics so...it'll be awhile before it's loaded up to the online album.

I must go, we're limited to 15 mins internet time and I already took my time and Tannah's and there's a line starting up.

Europe: Entry the second.

This entry was written by Bruyère whilst in Europe.

So, it's our last night in London. Let me bring you all up to speed. (By the way, I spent £2 to be able to type this, which is about $4, so you all better read this!!!) Our trip started out HORRIBLY. We were supposed to leave Vegas at 2pm, but the hydraulic and electrical systems went out on the plane at the runway, so they taxi'd us back and made us get off. The next flight to LA was at 6pm, but our connecting flight to Dublin was at 5...so aftrer 2 hours fighting with the *VERY* rude American Airlines staff, we got a flight to LA, but they didn't know if we could get a place to stay the night there. We got there and the LA staff was excellent, we got comped a fine hotel room, and 3 meals, plus they couldn't get us on a flight to Dublin for 4 days, so they booked us one to Heathrow in London then a connector to Dublin. So all in all we lost only 1 day 4 hours. Plus, on the flight from LA to London, they had to accomadate a large family so we got bumped from coach to business class...and on an international flight its awesome!!! Champagne, Bose speaker system, a linen menu and tablecloths, little fruits and cheeses...I mean the dinner choices included veal. Plus, free Cartoon Network! I slept most of the flight but Tannah couldn't so he was exhausted the whole next day.

Seong-Hwan picked us up at the airport, (thanks Seong-Hwan!!) and showed us around Àtha Cliath (Dublin) and helped us get used to hostelling. He booked a great hostel for us too, the 4 Courts Hostel. Rated like in the top 5 for the past 3 years. We have great pics of the river and Temple Bar District. He also showed us how to ride the trains, and we went to Bré (Bray) to see the beach and the countryside.

We only got to stay there 2 days and we had to leave for Scotland, since our trip was behind already. Except oops, I forgot to book passage to Scotland. So, $299 later we were there. BEAUTIFUL. Our hostel was in the heart of Old Town, not 5 mns from Edinburgh Castle. The city's multi levelled, as in streets upon buildings and alleys leading into wynds behind gardens on top of other buildings. And the history I learned at the castle...the Scots have a lot to be proud of. The Stone of Destiny and the Royal Honours were awe-inspiring. We only got to stay there a day. :-(

Then London. Okay I thought stuff before was expensive...$1.25 to the euro...but its $1.90 to the pound sterling. A freaking McDonalds value meal is $14! Our hostel is great tho, it serves cheap food (bland, but okay) and it's got a bar and a nightclub too. Right off the Tube station, Russell Square. The Tube (London's Underground, or Metro) is excellent, we were pros after an hour. Buckingham Palace was...um...not as impressive. The Changing of the Guards was cool tho, and one of the fuzzy-hatted men said hi and I have a pic of him doing that. We saw a ton of stuff in London, and there's tons more, but we had to pick and choose. There's a statue of Abe Lincoln here, in a park square dedicated to great statesmen! He's a few meters behind Winston Churchill. Oh, and the computer keyboards overseas are different. It has more keys, like £ and € so there's only one shift key which is way too small, and the @ sign is in a diff place, etc. My fingering's way off.

Hmm...4 mins left...

We're leaving for Paris tomorrow. So far here in the British Isles the American sentiment hasn't been too bad...most people will mouth off about Bush but not as bad as most Americans I know. I heard its a little worse on the mainland but we'll see.

Oh, also, culture shock: nude people everywhere. America is prudish, I decided. In regular magazines there's just pics of naked people, standing there doing stuff. And the shows, on prime time we heard about chomping carpet and all kinds of other stuff that I can't repeat here. The big news in Europe right now is that Rrance and Holland have both rejected the EU Constitution, which is a huge deal but honestly I'm not sure why, except that now, it probably won't be ratified.

Europe: Entry the first.

This entry was written by Bruyère whilst in Europe.

Have to write quick, internet's expensive here.

In London now, already saw Dublin and Edinburgh...excellent. So much history. Seong-Hwan's grown up so much. We went to a ton of pubs in Ireland...apparently that's all there is to do in Dublin, is drink, but I have to say a Guinness in Ireland tastes so much smoother. Also we did some shopping, saw the university, went to a tiny coastal town called Bré, and had a blast at the hostel!! It was only like 2 blocks from Seong-Hwans apt, which he shares with a Scandanavian roommate, and our hostel was comfortable and well, a culture shock. Co-ed bedrooms, 1 bathroom with 2 showers (again co-ed)...it was still cool tho, we watched movies and met another travelling American and lots of other Europeans. It's great to be in that kind of atmosphere.

With Edinburgh...first our hostel is in the middle of the city...we're in walking distance from the castle! I mean, we booked last minute so there was only a suite available for $90 a night, grrrrrrrrr, but its all there was, but it was okay since the castle was incredble. It's eerie to touch the walls of a castle that's been standing longer than your country has existed. We had a lovely dinner there too, and got some mead. I decided I love mead. Also I wanted a Sgian Dubh so bad but I was afraid it wouldn't be able to fly back with us...so I didn't. Oh and heilan' coos!!!! My fave animal, I'm obsessed. Very nice people here, helpful. Learning alot for my next trip!!! I'll write more later, on to Paris in a day or so...love to all!!!