Easter, Folk Dancing and Jerusalem Artichokes

I can't believe it is already Holy Week - here, we are having all classes through good friday, then we have two weeks off. Interesting. However, there is a folk festival coming to town, they arrive on holy thursday and the festival is friday through monday. Interesting. So the photos are from the ads online, and there are notices in the paper, etc. I'll get live pictures on the real thing. I'll probably go there on the way back from Mass on Sunday. Especially since the festival is about half-way between my place and the Church where I'll be.

I like this group - they are Slovakian and seem fairly energetic. The weather here has also gotten better. It really hasn't been ever as bad as I thought it might be. But now, the sun is high enough in the sky to shine in my front windows - over the buildings across the street. That is very nice since it gives me a lot of sun in the front window in the morning. It has been warm enough that I have opened the windows for short periods of time.

Now for the Jerusalem Artichokes. I've never met one before - at least no so far as I know. They are called aardperen in Dutch - that means ground pears - like potatos are called aardappelen - ground apples. I got some in my Veggie Bag this week. (That is the bag of veggies that I get for 5 euros every Monday.) I cooked them up - yummy - Smaakelijk!!! They have a mild nutty taste, tastier than a potato, but about the same consistency - also, they are really knarled, so harder to peal. You can see my education is quite well rounded - dance, veggies, etc.

I was thinking of titling this entry: My Life with the Penguin. You see, the Linux mascot is a penguin. Linux is a free operating system for the computer - so you don't have to pay for the Microsoft products. It is open-source which means it was developed by people all over the world working in collaboration for the good of all. I've been using it for about a month. So far I'm mainly very happy. However, as with learning any new system, I have had a few mishaps and lost documents. Ugh. But it's getting better and I'm learning a lot. One of the political science people over here thinks that Open Source software is the source of hope that people can work together and build peace. That is a pretty good reason to get on board.

I also had some initial contacts with a CSJ who is working in Brussels - english-speaking. Hopefully over the Easter Break, we'll be able to connect. She is working on fair trade between Africa and Europe.

Blessings and Peace for Holy Week and Easter,
Amy