Another Finnish School Visit...Without Shoes.

We visited mama Anne's (our adopted Finnish mom) classroom again and this time with our other American friend, Shawn from New Jersey. Of course, when we entered the school we all took our shoes off...a Finnish tradition. The day consisted of visiting and presenting to approximately 10 classes of students. We made a presentation about life in the U.S. from the Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, and New Jersey perspectives. This school does not receive many international visitors because it is about 45 minutes north of Jyväskylä, so many of the students are shy to speak in English.

Italy: One Year Anniversary & Baby-Moon!

Our last airline trip and holiday together before our tiny dancer arrives. What a better place to spend our "baby-moon" then in one of our favorite countries--Italy! Charlie met me in Rome, after the EMA meeting, and we jumped on a train headed South to a sweet little seaside village called Gaeta. The one-hour train ride (from Rome) did not travel straight to Gaeta, so we jumped a 25-minute bus in Formia headed to our dreamy holiday spot. The comune of Gaeta is a picturesque Italian holiday spot, home to a NATO base, and part of the Regional Park of Riviera di Ulisse. We stayed at the il Vecchio B&B which had a killer balcony that looked out over the village and sea and the owner was great!

Sea Grotto at 29-weeks prego.

Our first night we discovered the best pizza spot where all of the locals were eating, Da Emilio. You know it is good when the tables are full and the patrons are all speaking Italian. Charlie ordered the house wine for 7 euro, thinking it would be a glass of wine (he was thinking he was still in Finland because 7 euro is the typical price for a glass of wine). Next thing you know a beautiful bottle of wine appears on our table. Too bad his pregnant bride could not help consume the Italian nectar...and so, our first night we were both in heaven as I ate pizza and Charlie got loopy on house wine. The next few days we laid on the beach, ate amazing Italian food, and hiked Mount Orlando which allowed for spectacular panoramic views of the village, castle, fortress, and sea. It was the perfect combination of everything we love about travel--relaxation, site-seeing, hiking, adventures, local culture, amazing food and drink, and sunshine.What a great way to celebrate our one-year anniversary and life pre-baby!

Another Erasmus Mundus Association Meeting...in ROME!

Vatican, by night!

Antipasto...we are always well-fed at these meetings.

Earlier this year, I was asked to co-lead a working group on the "Future of EMA". The aim of the working group was to strategically discuss the future challenges/opportunities of our association, as there are some potential challenging implications of the EU proposing to streamline all educational programs under one umbrella. One scenario would be that all programs, including EMA, under this umbrella would lose their brand identity. So, one of my tasks at this meeting in Rome was to co-lead a presentation and discussion on our future. It went well and many great ideas came from it.

Yum! Gelato.

The meeting also became a forum for political posturing with the upcoming elections, which is not a strong suit of mine. I decided that I would be my authentic self and not get all political. Who knows if my strategy hurt or helped my campaign. Many EMA friends and colleagues were surprised when they found out I was with child. In fact, this led to some funny questions...one male friend asked, "How did that happen?" I responded, "Do you really want to know?" And, he embarrassingly tried to eat his words. Overall, though, I felt very supported by the community and no one seemed to think that me being pregnant would hurt my presidency nomination, although many said it would make it more challenging for me to actually win. Time will tell!  

Woohoo! I Made it Through Round ONE...

27-weeks prego and growing!

The EMA election results for round one are in and WOW...I made it to the final round--woohoo! ALL EMA members across the globe (there are approximately 8,000) had the opportunity to vote via an online voting process. Now, the hard part--convincing 200 active members at the annual assembly to vote for me in the final round even though I cannot be there in person to play the political game. Yep, that is right...I will be 8.5 months pregnant and not able to travel to Barcelona. The chances of me winning are slim, but it is worth a try.