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brugge & bday 064
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

happy birthday to me again (this time in dutch)

well for the last 4 years i've spent my birthday at exotic locations around the world...in AIESEC conferences...don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining, but it was nice to have a birthday this year in a city where i'm at least living and not have to follow a conference agenda :)

thanks to all of you who sent birthday messages from home and abroad, they were very warmly received

happy birthday to me :)

candles on cheesecake
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

i'm told that i can no longer claim to be in my mid-20s...as 26 is closer to 30 than 25...true..so be it! 26 is a great age so far :)

while the clock ticked over past midnight onto the 19th i was laughing and enjoying a few drinks at a comedy show in amsterdam with a dutch friend

i later enjoyed a lovely breakfast made by my dear friend and housemate, Brenda, and then we strolled around a few of the great markets in this picturesque city

after a bit of an afternoon nap (can't keep up the pace like I used to now that i'm 26!) we got all dolled up and went out for dinner with a very international bunch of friends here in amsterdam...some of us also joined in for salsa dancing afterwards till the wee hours of the morning

big hugs and thanks to everyone who came to dinner and/or dancing to help me celebrate...especially volodja, clementine & mizuki who all travelled for at least a couple of hours to join us!

and of course thanks to my family :) it was great to talk to you all (except i missed you, Liam) on the phone and to hear dad sing "a little ray of sunshine" again...and of course thanks for the bra and undies too! ;)

new york...brugge...adelaide! (??!!)

brugge clocks
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

clocks in the lobby of our brugge hotel...the similarities between new york and adelaide are so obvious that there's no point to describe them here

right, my South Australian friends?? :P

aussie shielas in brugge

kelly me and amy brugge
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

here is the reason i was in brugge, belgium...two of my oldest friends - Kelly (now a physio in London,friends since primary school) and Amy (now a landscape architect in London, friend since we were neighbours from age of 2)...who are now inseparable friends in London together

we headed to brugge for the weekend, along with Amy's housemate, Anna, for a very relaxing weekend of strolling around a very pleasant old city, eating, drinking, more eating and drinking etc

it was really nice to be with old familiar friends - able to reminisce about good old times, create new memories and discover new dreams

let's hope all those romantic valentine couples had half as much fun as us!!

brugge from canal

brugge 2005
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

kennis voor het leven...knowledge for life

bouba
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

meet "Bouba"...the cute kid in the yellow shirt...who, after an exhaustive week-long search in his city, Djenné, Mali, discovers the answer to the question: what is the greatest part of knowledge?

this inspiring story is told through a film narrative, from the perspective of a 'griot' (a West-African storyteller; in this case Afel Bocoum, who is famous in Mali)...this is one of the stories told from generation to generation in this part of Africa and it is wonderfully captured in this film by Dutch director, Sander Francken

after much searching Bouba discovers that the greatest part of knowledge is not about earth, air, water & fire...not about the animals & how to hunt them...the knowledge in your head might be more true than what is in books...and the knowledge in your heart is also important...

but the greatest part of knowledge...is what we don't know

thanks bouba for reminding me of all there is still to discover

Pedro (Portugal) & Jan (Poland) & XXXX (Qld)

Pedro (Portugal) & Jan (Poland) & XXXX (Qld)
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

Beer - fantastic medium for cultural understanding.

Shelias on couch

Brenda, Victoria, me & Maria
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

Brenda, Victoria, me and Maria. Was nice to see I wasn't the only one in my Wallabies jersey that night.

Erica (Canada) & lamington (Australia)

Erica (Canada) & lamington (Aussie)
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

Erica was sampling an Australian cake called a "lamington". I baked some similar for my team mates at work, although mine didn't look EXACTLY the same...more like lamington fingers, but everyone seemed to like the taste (I wouldn't know cos they weren't gluten-free :(

Tom & Brenda fall victim to attack of the clip on koalas

Tom & Brenda (NA) & attack of the clip on koalas
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

Latin ladies and cute koalas & kangaroo

Latin ladies and cute koalas & kangaroo
Originally uploaded by Zozo.

Here is the first of several photos from a small gathering that some of the trainees had in Amsterdam at Aussie pub - Coco's Outback - to celebrate Australia Day.

Maria (on right) won the kangaroo as a prize - for her question: "How many kangaroos are living in Australia? I tried to find this out on internet but NO WHERE does it say!!!"